Time and Eternity (Cornell Studies in the Philosophy of Religion) (Hardcover)

by Brian Leftow (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Brian Leftow makes an important contribution to the longstanding debate among philosophers and theologians about the nature of God's eternity. The author develops a powerful and original defense of the notion that God is eternal in that he exists timelessly; that is, that though God exists, he does not exist at any time. Leftow defends the claim that a timeless God can be an object of human experience, and he attempts to delineate the extent of such a God's omniscience. Finally, the author pays special attention to the relation between the claim that God is timeless and the claim that God is metaphysically simple.

About the Author
Brian Leftow is Nolloth Professor of the Philosophy of the Christian Religion at the University of Oxford and a Fellow at Oriel College. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 377 pages
• Publisher: Cornell University Press (May 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801424593
• ISBN-13: 978-0801424595
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,369,114 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Solid text dealing with the Timelessness of God, November 3, 2000

By	T. B. Vick "Learn 2 Discern" (The Lone Star State) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Brian Leftow's book is one of the best books (and one of the few) available dealing with the timeless view of God. Leftow begins his work by discussing certain necessary presuppositions that are entailed in the overall debate. After this, Leftow moves into a chapter aptly titled "The Possibility of the Timeless" where he discusses every facet of timelessness and how these issues might apply to God (in an overall context of the book). Leftow then moves into a discussion of eternality. In this section Leftow covers tense, alethic modality (eternity and necessary existence are connected), and simplicity and absolute necessity. Moreover, the text then covers the historical aspect of the issue at hand. Leftow delineates (quite ably I might add) what Augustine, Boethius, Anselm, and Aquinas (i.e. the classical view) believed and taught regarding God and time. On a more modern note, Leftow discusses the popular journal article written by Stump and Kretzmann titled "Eternity." Leftow brings to light what he likes about the article and corrects what he thinks is in error. He also delves into the opposing view (i.e. the temporal view of God) and refutes some of the problems with this view. Lastly, Leftow gives his own arguments for why he believes God is timeless, how that affects foreknowledge and freedom, how timelessness and personhood relate, and the omniscience of God with respect to His (God's) being timeless. This book is a wonderful text in support of the timeless view of God. However, it is an academic text, and written in such fashion. Therefore, if you don't know the lingo and have the back ground in the issues you may get lost. But do not let this deter you from reading an otherwise excellent text. If you are wanting to research the issues then I suggest this book along with Paul Helm's book titled "Eternal God" and John Yates' book titled, "The Timelessness of God," and a good dictionary.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is an Academic book & not for novice philosophy readers, April 23, 2000

By	Hannah-nanna (South Bend, IN USA) - See all my reviews

The author is well known and respected in the area of philosophical theology. Leftow's offering is nothing short of stimulating. The book offers not only the meat of the arguments about God and God's timelessness but Leftow condescends to include his own presuppositions and the historical development of the argument (Augustine, Boethius, and Anselm). Leftow also anticipates numerous counter-arguments (personhod, the openness of God, and epistimic change) and offers thought provoking proposals of his own. This all said, and acknowledging that this is a wonderful book on the subject, Leftow's Cornell Studies offering is high-end and not as easily accessable as I would like. Many theists, outside the Philosophy of Religion circles could benefit from an offering that is less technical and more explantory at the non-philosopher level. For those that do not mind a deep and analytical investigation this book is a good book in an excellant series (of which 5 are published).