Zeit und Ewigkeit: Die Frage der Zeit in Kirche, Naturwissenschaft und Theologie

Sammanfattning: The aim of this dissertation is to explore the possibilities of an adequate understanding of time by discussing concepts of time (and eternity) as they appear in church texts, theological thinking, and natural science from the Newtonian era to modern physics. Relationality, dynamics, multiplicity, and narrativity are suggested as indispensable dimensions of such an understanding. Inspired by P. Ricoeur´s thesis that time should be conceived of as narrated time, Chapter One offers an analysis of what German, Swedish and Australian hymns, considered as theological narration, say about time and eternity. Significant shifts throughout history are noted, especially concerning the concept of future and eternity, the latter tending more and more to be integrated into time. Chapter Two deals with time in biblical and theological thought. It is shown that in biblical thinking time is inseparable from its content. Moreover, two common forms of opposition, that between cyclical and linear time, and that between God and time, are criticized. The theological analysis focuses on three distinctions of time and eternity: a quantitative (e.g. O. Cullmann), an ontological (e.g. Augustine), and an eschatological (e.g. I. U. Dalferth). Though not unproblematic, the eschatological distinction is the most promising. Time has to be understood in terms of relation. Chapter Three starts by analyzing Newton´s concept of absolute time in comparison to the Leibniz-Clarke correspondence. The impact of Newton´s concept of God on science is considered. In connection to the theories of relativity and quantum physics the autonomy of time and the significance of language are discussed. Cosmology, thermodynamics and chaos theory are dealt with from the point of view of time. Drawing upon the results of the previous chapters, Chapter Four explores the possibilities of a dynamic and relational understanding of time. Various trinitarian approaches are examined. These prove helpful in elaborating the that of relationality, but not the how. An appropriate understanding of time is most adequately pursued in eschatological terms.