Time&Eternity

Aspects of a Theology of Time 227
of relationships: relationships to living things and nonliving things, to one’s
self, and to God.
A chronological-linear concept of time alone does not do justice to these
facts. Visualized through the image of the infinite straight line, it cannot
even render comprehensible the irreversibility of time that is firmly anchored
in experience. Time is more than can be expressed in a geometrical
figure, regardless of whether the figure is a straight line, a circle, or even a
spiral. Theological reflection has repeatedly shown that an open understanding
of time marked by the “already” and the “not-yet” is indispensable.
From scientific observations, I was also able to conclude that, for an adequate
understanding of time, a consideration of the respective proper times
of systems is essential. The significance of proper time is not exhausted by
marking an individual extension on a universal timeline. In a broader sense,
the meaning of proper time includes also internal time, as can be observed
in biological, political, and economic systems. 219
I consider it important and productive to bring a concept of time that is
broadened by this perspective into the discussion with interpretations of
time that tend to be accepted uncritically by sheer force of habit. As an example,
we shall take a look at Eccles. 3:1–15. Is it not precisely this internal
time, in its relation to external time, that actually explains the significance of
the words of Ecclesiastes—”For everything there is a season, and a time for
every matter under heaven”? 220 The text would be banal if it dealt merely
with chronological-linear time, with an infinite conveyor belt on which
birthing and dying, weeping and dancing, war and peace are transported
like small parcels. However, a look at some commentaries on this passage indicates
that the interpretation that claims that Ecclesiastes is giving prominence
to a temporal determinism is presented as the only reasonable one.
Even if the views are somewhat divided with respect to details, general agreement
prevails regarding the emphasis on the fateful character of time. The
commentators formally indulge in determinism: Everything happens according
to a fixed plan; “every single fact is determined”; 221 every event happens
beyond human control; 222 God’s acts overpower and overshadow all
human actions; 223 all actions are predetermined, and every human activity is
therefore useless; 224 only one and the same thing is repeated over and over; 225
we are dealing with the helplessness of human beings vis-à-vis the time that
is determined by God, whereby the twenty-eight uses of the word time ( c e - t)
elicit a feeling of fatalism; 226 indeed, we are dealing with the “emphasis on
the absolute dependence of all earthly things, with a strong emphasis on the
exclusiveness of God.” 227 It is striking to me how securely these deterministic
glasses fit on the noses of the commentators. An opening of the closed