If Not Where, Then When?

We humans perceive our existence on a time-space continuum. I can plug my current location into Google Earth and see the precise space that I am presently occupying, and I can look at my wristwatch that is tuned to the atomic clock at the Bureau of Standards to know within a fraction of a second when I am occupying that space. Our human frame of reference is based upon when we are where. This cannot help but significantly affect our theology because it is only natural to try to locate God in those same terms of time and space. To this point I have argued that omnipresence makes moot the question where is God by more appropriately asking where is God not? By that same principle, then, the question of when God is present is reasonably transitioned to when is God not present? I can understand that this line of reasoning can seem pretty silly, that is until we more closely examine human behavior. I think it’s fair to say that most people locate God in time and space, and as a result reach the logical conclusion that there are some times when God is not present—or at least as present as at other times. My experience informs me that many people actually think of God as having an on/off switch that controls whether or not God is “aware” of what’s going on. For true atheists this is not the case because there is nothing to turn on or off, but I will reiterate here that the fact of something negates the theory of nothing. So, as I continue on my Lenten quest of giving up those things that stand in the way of my communion with God I am confronted with the virtually impossible challenge of finding a frame of reference other than time and space.