Time&Eternity

Time in the Formulation of Scientific Theory 149
ory of relativity allow the assumption of timelessness under certain physical
conditions, but they do not allow its realization.
The assertion that time has been degraded to a function of space is inappropriate.
Why speak of a spatialization of time when one can just as easily
speak of a dynamization of space? 181 If the need for the transformation of
spatial coordinates was already expressed in the Galilean Transformation,
then with the theory of relativity, time has approached space in the sense
that now its necessity for transformation also becomes clear. Time and space
emerge together as entities tied to movement. Thus, they find themselves
equally relativized, but not identified with each other: “Relativity has broken
down the isolation of time and space but not their distinction.” 182 It has
thus become clear “that already within the framework of physics, time,
space, and matter have a deep internal structural connection.” 183 It is not
autonomy in the sense of qualitative distinction that has thereby disappeared,
but rather autonomy in the quantitative sense. Instead of a fourdimensional
continuum, it would be better to speak “of a (3 + 1)-dimensional
continuum,” 184 since one is dealing with differences within a framework
of relatedness—not with absoluteness, but rather with relationality. 185
The dualism between absolute space or absolute time and relative space
or relative time, as well as between space and time, has become superfluous.
186 If there is something in the theory of relativity that is to be characterized
as absolute, then it is the principle of the constancy of the vacuum
speed of light. Light sets the “boundary and dimension” of space and time;
as the basic variable of nature, it attains a unique metaphysical, though
finite, status. 187 For this reason, it is not surprising that theologians using
this interpretation have tried to see links here to the discussion of God’s
infinite light and that they look for connections, for example, to the Johannine
symbolism of light. 188
Time and the Quantum World
“Subtle is the Lord, but not malicious.” 189 These oft-quoted words of
Einstein give an impression of Einstein’s passionate rejection of quantum
theory. He would have preferred being a cobbler or a casino employee
rather than a physicist, if he were forced to give up the strict requirement of
causality and accept the notion “that an electron exposed to radiation
should choose of its own free will, not only its moment to jump off, but also
its direction.” 190 For the person who had provided important impulses for
the development of quantum theory, for instance with his 1905 hypothesis
of light quanta, quantum mechanics certainly appeared to be “quite awe-