There was a thought I shared with him that night which I don’t think I’ve discussed with him or anyone else, before or since. I was reminded of it this morning as I was doing a bit of reading. I’m sure the idea isn’t original to me, although in my years of studying and reading theology I can’t remember seeing it articulated in quite this way.
As you may have guessed from the title, I was led to this thought by trying to consider Nietzsche’s “eternal return of the same” from the standpoint of Christian faith. Part of Nietzsche’s point in that doctrine is that if every moment of your life were to repeat itself interminably, then you’d better find a way to make sure you can be proud of every moment. Is there anything comparable in the Christian imagination? I realized that there might be.
God is present with us in every moment of our lives, but unlike us, God doesn’t enter into those moments and then instantaneously pass through them into something else. Unlike us, God has for eternity been in every moment of our lives along with us, and will never leave those moments. That’s what it means for God to be eternal.
The consequence is that every time we do something good, noble, virtuous, brave, generous, beautiful, God gets to enjoy that moment with us forever. It also means that when we do something cowardly, vicious, evil, depraved, hurtful, self-centred, ugly, God is forced to witness those moments and feel them intimately, endlessly. So then here’s the really shocking thing:
We have the power to create the heavens and hells from which God can never escape. Indeed, we have already done so, countless times. And God has willingly handed that power over to us from before the beginning of time.
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John Ottens has a Master’s degree in Theological Studies, and is a stay-at-home dad. Find him online at johnottens.ca.
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