Every day, whether in exact words or implied phrases, we hear the complaint, "I don't have enough time!" As we look around us, many join in by bemoaning, "I don't have enough space!"—a sentiment evidenced by the proliferation of storage facilities. It appears that even with task-saving technology becoming smaller and more compact, life moves faster than these innovations, seemingly requiring more space despite physical reductions in size.
However, are the questions of time and space more profound than daily hassles and limited perspectives? The existence and essence of time and space have perplexed thinkers throughout history, leading many into extensive contemplation.
I. Aristotle and the Prime Mover
Aristotle spent much of his time and used substantial space in his writings discussing both concepts. Contemplating whether time exists, he determined that it does, defining it as "time is the measure of motion with respect to the before and after" (Physics, 219b1–2). Continuing his logical progression, he realized that movement brings about change, necessitates space within which to move, and, most importantly, requires a Mover. He named this originator The Prime Mover.
Working through the detailed explanations and definitions in Metaphysics, one can connect Aristotle's Prime Mover to his definition of God (differentiated from lesser gods). Key attributes of this Prime Mover include:
An eternal nature positioned outside of time.
The quality of inherent goodness and perfection.
An unchanging, immaterial state.
A thinking intellect that produced the first movement. (For further reading, see Aristotle's Metaphysics, original text, or the translation by W.D. Ross).
II. Medieval Scholasticism: Aquinas and Augustine
Similarities and differences to Aristotle's view can be traced through St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine of Hippo, René Descartes, St. Anselm of Canterbury, and writers from Sir Isaac Newton to the present day.
St. Thomas Aquinas built upon Aristotle, framing the Prime Mover as the First Mover—unmoved and identified as the Judeo-Christian God—expanding the concept to emphasize that God actively maintains ongoing movement.
St. Augustine of Hippo, in Confessions and City of God, established a biblical basis that time is a creature, brought into existence alongside the universe before the creation of humans. Therefore, time is neither eternal nor merely a human mental construct. Augustine asserted that “there can be no time without creation” (bk. 11, ch. 30). There was no "then" before time, heaven, and earth were made because time did not yet exist (bk. 11, ch. 5, 13).
Augustine used scripture to substantiate his views, anchoring his theory in Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” Addressing what God was doing before making the universe, he noted that "before" requires time to exist for any sensible answer. He drew upon Psalm 90:4 (and 2 Peter 3:8), “For a thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by,” to demonstrate that past and future are merged in God's eternal "now" (I AM). Furthermore, he cited Psalm 102:25–27:
"In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands… But you remain the same, your years will never end."
III. Descartes and Newton on the Infinite
In his Principia Philosophiae, René Descartes illustrates a transition from doubting everything to recognizing the existence of a perfect God. He argued that the foundation of all knowledge rests on the knowledge of God and that disbelief stems from preconceived opinions.
Descartes differentiated between space and time, noting that space is indefinite while time is abstract:
"Il n'y a point de temps imaginable avant la creation du monde quel Dieu n'eust pule créer, s'il eust voulu." (There is no conceivable time before the creation of the world that God could not have created if He had willed.)
This brings to mind foundational scriptures on God's eternal nature:
"The [reverent] fear of the LORD [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of knowledge..." (Proverbs 1:7, AMP)
"Jesus said to him, 'I am the [only] Way [to God] and the [real] Truth and the [real] Life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.'" (John 14:6, AMP)
“I am the Alpha and the Omega [the Beginning and the End],’ says the Lord God, ‘Who is [existing forever] and Who was [continually existing in the past] and Who is to come, the Almighty [the Omnipotent, the Ruler of all].’” (Revelation 1:8, AMP)
Building on these concepts, Sir Isaac Newton famously defined absolute space and time in his Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687):
“Absolute, true, and mathematical time, of itself, and from its own nature, flows equably without relation to anything external...” (vol. 1, p. 6)
Newton described God as eternal and infinite—not equal to duration or space itself, but enduring and present everywhere, thereby constituting duration and space.
IV. Modern Physics: Relativity and Fine-Tuning
Moving forward, figures like Albert Einstein, Hendrik Lorentz, Hermann Minkowski, and Henri Poincaré shifted perspectives from absolute measures to the observed framework of the spacetime continuum. Poincaré was actually the one who used spacetime as one word and in his essay “The Measure of Time” considers the possibility of “an infinite intelligence.”
The failed Michelson-Morley experiment disproved the idea of "space ether" and cemented the speed of light in a vacuum as a constant. Einstein's General Theory of Relativity revealed that space and time are interwoven, with massive objects warping the fabric of spacetime. Because Einstein’s theory has been tested so much over time, these theorems are trustworthy. (However, mathematical formulae that support theories, experimentations, and observations that support or disprove theories are developed by finite beings.) Time has a beginning and needs space. Minkowski famously remarked in 1906 that "space by itself, and time by itself, are doomed to fade away to mere shadows."
Beyond the geometric bending of spacetime described by relativity lies a deeper mystery: why does a universe defined by time and space possess laws hospitable to life at all? As theoretical physicist Stephen M. Barr notes in Modern Physics and Ancient Faith, the fundamental constants of this universe point strongly toward intentional design:
Nuclear binding force: If it were 4% stronger, stars would burn out instantly; if 10% weaker, no carbon or oxygen would form.
Carbon resonance: Fred Hoyle calculated that an energy state in carbon-12 had to be precisely tuned to 7.66 MeV. A fraction of a percent off, and life as we know it could not exist.
Stephen Barr frequently discusses how the initial conditions of the universe set the stage for a universe that actually has a meaningful "history" and "duration." Without these specific conditions, time and space would either collapse instantly or fly apart too quickly for anything to happen. Such duration connects to Newton’s absolute time or Augustine’s creaturely time and must be precisely calibrated. Barr’s cosmic constants show the billions of years resulting in an observable “before and after” that indicate planned engineering of the parameters of space and time or creation. The precise chemistry and fundamental constants of the universe are balanced on an infinitesimal knife-edge, pointing toward intentional design rather than blind chance.
Conclusion
It appears that the Prime Mover, God, provided just the right recipe for time and space. One way to try to conceptualize the infinite might be that if we were to calculate and store the unending mathematical sequences of Pi, the entire physical universe and all outer space does not have the capacity to hold it. According to Galileo Galilei, “Mathematics is the language in which God has written the universe.” We only discover it as well as the science and chemistry laid by God. This physical limitation of our universe highlights the stark contrast between finite human systems/material limits and the infinite, uncontained nature of the Creator.
Bringing together Aristotle’s Prime Mover, Augustine’s creaturely time, Newton’s absolute framework, and Barr’s finely tuned physical constants, a compelling cumulative picture emerges. The universe—and the very arena of spacetime in which it unfolds—is not a cosmic accident. While humanity remains bound by daily anxieties over limited hours and crowded quarters, the Creator exists entirely outside those constraints. From the ancient philosophical deduction of a First Cause to the modern mathematical proof of cosmic fine-tuning, the evidence whispers and shouts alike: we may constantly run out of time and space, but our Creator does not.
Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. 5 Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the []line upon it? 6 To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, 7 When the morning stars sang together, And all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Job 38:4-7, NKJV
Complete Bibliography / Source List
Aristotle. Metaphysics (translated by W.D. Ross).
Aristotle. Physics (219b1–2).
Augustine, St. Confessions (specifically Book 11, chapters 5, 13, and 30).
Barr, Stephen M. Modern Physics and Ancient Faith. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2003.
Descartes, René. Principia Philosophiae (References via Adam and Tannery, Oeuvres de Descartes, or CSM translation).
Minkowski, Hermann. Public lecture on relativity (1906).
Newton, Sir Isaac. Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica (1687; translated by Andrew Motte, revised by Florian Cajori. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1966).
Bible References: Proverbs 1:7; John 14:6; Revelation 1:8; Job 26:7; Job 38:4–7.