Time and Beyond Time | C. S. Lewis

An episode of the Reformed Thinking podcast, hosted by Edison Wu, titled "Time and Beyond Time | C. S. Lewis" was published on February 13, 2026 and runs 32 minutes.

February 13, 2026 ·32m · Reformed Thinking

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Summary

Deep Dive into Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis - Time and Beyond TimeIn this chapter, C.S. Lewis addresses the difficulty some find in believing that God can attend to millions of human beings simultaneously. Lewis argues that this problem arises from assuming that God exists within the same time-series as humans. While human life is experienced moment by moment—where the past disappears as the future arrives—God almost certainly exists outside of Time altogether.Lewis explains that God does not experience a succession of moments. Instead, every moment from the beginning of the world is always "Present" for Him. To illustrate this, Lewis uses the analogy of an author writing a novel. The author is not bound by the imaginary time of the story; he can pause to think about a character for hours, yet no time passes for the character within the book. Similarly, God has infinite attention to spare for every individual, hearing a split-second prayer with the leisure of eternity. If time is a straight line, God is the page upon which the line is drawn, seeing the entirety of it at once.Understanding God as timeless helps resolve theological difficulties. It explains how God could be the sustainer of the universe while simultaneously living as the human infant Jesus. While Christ's life is a specific period in human history, it is eternally present in God's timeless reality. Additionally, this concept reconciles free will with God's foreknowledge. God does not "foresee" our actions by looking ahead on a timeline; rather, He is already in our "tomorrow" and simply sees us acting. Lewis concludes that while this theory is not essential dogma, it effectively removes certain intellectual stumbling blocks.Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologianYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@ReformedExplainerSpotify Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1t5dz4vEgvHqUknYQfwpRI?si=e-tDRFR2Qf6By1sAcMdkdwhttps://buymeacoffee.com/edi2730

Episode Description

Deep Dive into Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis - Time and Beyond Time

In this chapter, C.S. Lewis addresses the difficulty some find in believing that God can attend to millions of human beings simultaneously. Lewis argues that this problem arises from assuming that God exists within the same time-series as humans. While human life is experienced moment by moment—where the past disappears as the future arrives—God almost certainly exists outside of Time altogether.

Lewis explains that God does not experience a succession of moments. Instead, every moment from the beginning of the world is always "Present" for Him. To illustrate this, Lewis uses the analogy of an author writing a novel. The author is not bound by the imaginary time of the story; he can pause to think about a character for hours, yet no time passes for the character within the book. Similarly, God has infinite attention to spare for every individual, hearing a split-second prayer with the leisure of eternity. If time is a straight line, God is the page upon which the line is drawn, seeing the entirety of it at once.

Understanding God as timeless helps resolve theological difficulties. It explains how God could be the sustainer of the universe while simultaneously living as the human infant Jesus. While Christ's life is a specific period in human history, it is eternally present in God's timeless reality. Additionally, this concept reconciles free will with God's foreknowledge. God does not "foresee" our actions by looking ahead on a timeline; rather, He is already in our "tomorrow" and simply sees us acting. Lewis concludes that while this theory is not essential dogma, it effectively removes certain intellectual stumbling blocks.

Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologian

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@ReformedExplainer

Spotify Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1t5dz4vEgvHqUknYQfwpRI?si=e-tDRFR2Qf6By1sAcMdkdw

https://buymeacoffee.com/edi2730