Block Universe and the Physics of Time

Central Question: Is time a fundamental feature of reality, or is it an illusion created by human consciousness? The Block Universe model (Eternalism) suggests that past, present, and future all exist simultaneously in a four-dimensional spacetime “block,” with the flow of time being a subjective illusion. This scientific framework offers striking parallels to the mystical concept of the Nunc Stans.

What is the Block Universe?

The Four-Dimensional Spacetime

In classical physics (Newtonian mechanics), time was treated as:

  • Absolute: A universal “clock” ticking uniformly everywhere
  • Separate from space: Time and space were independent dimensions

Einstein’s Theory of Relativity (1905-1915) revolutionized this:

  • Time is relative: It passes at different rates depending on velocity and gravitational field
  • Space and time are unified: They form a single four-dimensional continuum called spacetime

The Block Universe Model

The Block Universe (also called Eternalism) is a specific interpretation of relativity that asserts:

  1. All moments of time exist simultaneously as a static, four-dimensional “block”
  2. The past, present, and future are equally real—they are different “locations” in the block, not different ontological states
  3. The “flow” of time is an illusion created by consciousness moving through the block (or by conscious moments being distributed throughout it)
  4. Change is an illusion—nothing “becomes”; everything simply “is” in its respective spacetime location

Analogy:

  • Imagine a film reel: All frames exist simultaneously on the reel
  • When you watch the film, you experience the frames sequentially (the illusion of motion, of “now”)
  • But the entire movie already exists—past, present, and future frames are all equally present on the reel

Similarly, the Block Universe suggests:

  • Your birth, your current moment reading this, and your death all exist simultaneously in the spacetime block
  • Your consciousness experiences them sequentially (the illusion of “the present”)
  • But from an atemporal perspective, they are all eternally present

Philosophical Implications

If the Block Universe is accurate:

  • Free will is challenged: If the future “already exists,” are our choices predetermined?
  • The “now” is arbitrary: The present moment has no special ontological status—it’s just where your consciousness happens to be
  • Death is not an ending: Your entire life (birth to death) exists permanently in the block; you never “cease to exist”

Einstein, Minkowski, and Relativity

Hermann Minkowski’s Spacetime

In 1908, mathematician Hermann Minkowski formalized Einstein’s relativity geometrically:

“Henceforth space by itself, and time by itself, are doomed to fade away into mere shadows, and only a kind of union of the two will preserve an independent reality.”

Minkowski spacetime:

  • Events are points in a four-dimensional continuum
  • The “distance” between events is measured using the spacetime interval (combining space and time)
  • There is no universal “present”—different observers slice spacetime differently

Consequence: What one observer calls “now” is different from what another observer calls “now” (relativity of simultaneity).

Implication: If there is no universal “now,” then the “flow” of time is observer-dependent—suggesting it may be subjective, not objective.

Einstein on the Illusion of Time

Einstein famously wrote to the family of his deceased friend Michele Besso:

“For us believing physicists, the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”

Einstein’s view:

  • The block of spacetime is the reality
  • The subjective experience of “now” moving forward is an illusion of consciousness

This scientific position echoes the mystical claim that eternity is the ground reality, and time is a cognitive overlay.

The Eternalism vs. Presentism Debate

Eternalism (Block Universe)

Position: Past, present, and future all exist.

Support:

  • Relativity: No universal “now” means all moments are ontologically equal
  • Symmetry: The laws of physics treat past and future symmetrically (time-reversible at fundamental levels)
  • Predictive success: Relativity’s predictions (GPS, gravitational lensing) validate spacetime as a unified block

Consequence: Time is like space—you can’t “travel” to the past or future, but they exist just as much as “here” and “there.”

Presentism

Position: Only the present moment exists. The past no longer exists; the future does not yet exist.

Support:

  • Intuition: We experience only “now”
  • Causation: How can the future affect the present if it doesn’t exist yet?
  • Free will: If the future already exists, choices seem predetermined

Critique of Presentism:

  • Relativity undermines the notion of a universal “present”
  • If there’s no universal “now,” which “present” is real?

Growing Block Universe

Position: The past and present exist, but the future does not yet exist.

Support:

  • Preserves causation: The future doesn’t exist until it becomes present
  • Respects experience: We experience the present accumulating

Critique:

  • Still incompatible with relativity (requires a universal “growing edge”)

Lee Smolin’s Critique: Time Reborn

The Case for Real Time

Physicist Lee Smolin challenges the Block Universe in his book Time Reborn (2013).

Smolin’s argument:

  1. Time is fundamental, not emergent or illusory
  2. The laws of physics evolve—they are not eternal and fixed
  3. The future is genuinely open—not predetermined by the block
  4. Becoming is real—change is not an illusion

The “Thick Present”

Smolin proposes a “thick present”:

  • Not an instantaneous point, but a duration with causal depth
  • The present is where irreversible processes occur (entropy increases, events become fixed)
  • The past is fixed; the future is not yet determined

Critique of the Block Universe:

  • Smolin argues the Block Universe removes time from physics, making it unable to explain why the universe changes
  • If everything “just is” in a static block, there’s no explanation for thermodynamic irreversibility (why time has a direction)

The Framework’s Response

Even if Smolin’s “thick present” is correct, it still points toward a reality where linear narrative is secondary:

  • The “thick present” emphasizes immediate causal relations (the now)—not a narrative arc from past to future
  • Smolin’s critique is of timelessness in physics, not of the Nunc Stans as a spiritual realization

The mystical perspective bypasses the physical debate by locating “real time” (Kairos—divine, meaningful time) in the vertical dimension of awareness, independent of the horizontal dimension of Chronos (sequential, measurable time).

Spacetime and Consciousness

The Hard Problem: Where is “Now”?

If the Block Universe is real, a profound question arises:

Why do we experience a “now” at all?

  • The block contains all moments equally—there’s no objective “present”
  • Yet subjective experience is always in a “now”

Possible explanations:

  1. Consciousness creates the illusion: Awareness generates the sensation of “moving through time” as it encounters different moments in the block
  2. Conscious moments are distributed: Each moment in spacetime contains a “slice” of consciousness experiencing itself as “now”
  3. The observer collapses the wave function (quantum interpretation): Consciousness “selects” which moment is experienced as present

Simulation Hypothesis and Rendered Reality

If reality is a simulation or rendered construct (as suggested by Simulation Theory), then:

  • The Block Universe is the complete data structure (all frames exist in code)
  • Consciousness experiences a rendered sequence (the frames played in order)
  • The “flow” of time is the playback mechanism, not the underlying reality

Rizwan Virk (The Simulation Hypothesis):

“Religious narratives often hint that ‘the created world is subject to God’s direct control’ and that we are in a ‘rendered reality’.”

Implication: The world is not “physical matter in time” but information that consciousness experiences as time.

Theological Implications

N.T. Wright: Defending Real Time

Orthodox theologian N.T. Wright argues against viewing time as an illusion:

Wright’s position:

  • God created time and space as good—they are not illusions to escape
  • Jesus’s resurrection was physical—validating matter and time
  • The “tomb really was empty”—a historical event in time, not a metaphor

Wright’s concern:

  • Denying time leads to Gnosticism—viewing the material world as evil or unreal
  • The Christian narrative is rooted in history (Heilsgeschichte—salvation history)
  • If time is illusory, then God’s action in history (Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection) is negated

The Non-Dual Counter-Position

The non-dual view does not negate time but re-contextualizes it:

  1. Time is real as an experience—we experience past, present, future
  2. Time is secondary to eternity—it is a dimension within the Nunc Stans, not ultimate reality
  3. The Resurrection validates consciousness over matter—Jesus demonstrated that the “laws” of the narrative (death, entropy) are secondary to awakened awareness
  4. God’s action in history is God entering the illusion—the Incarnation is eternity intersecting time, not eternity becoming time

David Bentley Hart offers a nuanced middle ground:

  • Creation participates in God’s being (analogia entis)—it’s not identical to God, but it’s not wholly separate
  • The world is not “merely an illusion,” but it depends entirely on God for existence
  • If the world were purely illusory, then “the loss of the world is also an illusion,” leading to nihilism
  • Hart suggests the Block Universe might describe how God experiences creation—all moments present to the divine mind

The Vertical vs. Horizontal Axis

Chronos and Kairos

Greek has two words for time:

  • Chronos (χρόνος): Sequential, measurable, linear time (past → present → future)
  • Kairos (καιρός): Opportune time, divine time, the “right moment”

The framework’s position:

  • Chronos is the horizontal axis—the narrative timeline (the Block Universe’s domain)
  • Kairos is the vertical axis—the intersection of eternity with time (the Nunc Stans)

Jesus’s proclamation (Mark 1:15):

“The time (kairos) is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near.”

Not “chronos” (linear future event) but kairos (the eternal now intersecting this moment).

The Intersection

The realized eschatology claim that “the Kingdom is now” does not deny the horizontal timeline (Chronos) but asserts:

  • The vertical dimension (Kairos) is always accessible—independent of where you are in the horizontal timeline
  • The eternal now (Nunc Stans) is orthogonal to the block—it is not in time but intersects every point of time

Implication: Whether the Block Universe is true (all moments exist) or Presentism is true (only now exists) is irrelevant to accessing the Nunc Stans—it is a shift in consciousness, not a movement in spacetime.

Practical Implications

The Observer Outside Time

If the Block Universe is real:

  • Your entire life (birth to death) exists simultaneously
  • The “you” experiencing this moment is one “slice” of your four-dimensional existence
  • The awareness observing this moment is not bound to this moment—it is the timeless Listener

Practice:

  • Imagine looking at your life from outside the block (as God might, with all moments present)
  • Notice: The Voice (DMN) narrates within the block (“I was… I am… I will be…”)
  • The Listener (awareness) observes from outside the block (timeless, eternal)

Realization: You are not the character moving through the block—you are the awareness observing the entire block.

Releasing Future Anxiety

If the future “already exists” (Block Universe) or “does not yet exist” (Presentism), either way:

  • Anxiety about the future is unnecessary—you cannot change what is or create what isn’t
  • Planning is still functional—but it does not require emotional investment in a non-existent future

Practice:

  • Notice anxious thoughts about “tomorrow”
  • Recognize: Tomorrow is either already fixed (Block) or doesn’t exist yet (Presentism)
  • Either way, worrying changes nothing
  • Return to the only accessible reality: now

Key Insights

  1. The Block Universe model suggests all moments exist simultaneously—the flow of time is a subjective illusion
  2. Einstein and Minkowski’s relativity supports Eternalism—no universal “now” means all moments are equally real
  3. Lee Smolin argues time is fundamental—but even his “thick present” emphasizes immediacy over narrative
  4. The debate between Eternalism and Presentism is orthogonal to the Nunc Stans—spiritual timelessness is a shift in consciousness, not physics
  5. The Listener exists outside the block—recognizing this is liberation from temporal imprisonment

Further Reading

Within This Framework

Philosophy

Neuroscience

Practices

Scholarly and Scientific Sources

  • Albert Einstein, Relativity: The Special and General Theory (1916)
  • Hermann Minkowski, Space and Time (1908)
  • Lee Smolin, Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe (2013)
  • N.T. Wright, Surprised by Hope (2008) — Orthodox critique
  • David Bentley Hart, The Experience of God (2013)
  • Rizwan Virk, The Simulation Hypothesis (2019)
  • Craig Callender, What Makes Time Special? (2017) — Philosophy of time

“The distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”

— Albert Einstein

“If spacetime is a block, then from God’s perspective, your entire life—every moment of joy, suffering, choice, and realization—exists eternally. You are not becoming; you already are. The task is to recognize this.”