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“In the seventeenth century it was fashionable to regard the universe as a gigantic machine that had been set in motion by God. Even today, many people like to believe in God’s role as a Prime Mover or First Cause in a cosmic chain of causation. But what does it mean for a God who is outside of time to cause anything? Because of this difficulty, believers in a timeless God prefer to emphasize his role in upholding and sustaining the creation at every moment of its existence. No distinction is drawn between creation and preservation: both are, to God’s timeless eyes, one and the same action.” — Paul Davies
In the seventeenth century it was fashionable to regard the universe as a gigantic machine that had been set in motion by God. Even today, many people like to believe in God’s role as a Prime Mover or First Cause in a cosmic chain of causation. But what does it mean for a God who is outside of time to cause anything? Because of this difficulty, believers in a timeless God prefer to emphasize his role in upholding and sustaining the creation at every moment of its existence. No distinction is drawn between creation and preservation: both are, to God’s timeless eyes, one and the same action.