A Rational Cosmology: The Possibility of Eternal Existence

Having previously explained the impossibility of simultaneous infinities, we proceed to refute some commonplace errors regarding the idea of infinity. It is frequently said: "If nothing can be infinite, then everything will have to be destroyed someday."

This in no way follows from the assertion that no entity may ever have an infinite quantity of anything.

Let us say that an architect has designed a tower of such durability that no known substance can erode or puncture it. There is absolutely no guarantee that this tower will ever be destroyed. It can be said to be invincible, but it will always have a finite age!

After one thousand years, the tower will be one thousand years old. After one million years, it will be one million years old. No matter how old it becomes, its age can still be measurable, and thus is not infinite.

Thus, it is possible for things to last indefinitely, and there is no inherent guarantee that everything will someday be destroyed. While man's mind cannot envision infinite size or infinite smallness, it can conceive of the possibility of "infinite" longevity of anything: buildings, planets, animals, men, so long as these entities had a certain origin in time.

This phenomenon can be referred to as a chronological infinity, though I use this term with reservation, because it does not truly describe an infinity, for all the measurements concerning it must be in all cases finite. The true infinity, or a simultaneous infinity, concerns either coexistence of infinite and finite measurements or the presence of all infinite measurements within an entity.

God has been defined by the religious as an object of allegedly infinite quantities of everything, i.e. omnipotence and omniscience. However, the rational man would need to reject God by this definition, because it implies a simultaneous infinity: the technique of measurement-omission cannot be applied to the formation of the concept, "God," and, thus, "God" cannot be a legitimate concept unless it is a hypothetical God that does have a finite age, and exhibits delimited qualities and abilities. (And, simply because something is conceivable, does not guarantee that it exists; the existence of such a conceptually legitimate God would still need to be proven to be within the realm of reason.)

Indeed, the recognition that "chronological infinities" can indeed exist ought to convey great hope to man; it implies that there are no cosmological or metaphysical limits to how long any entity, including a human being, can continue to endure. Most importantly, there is no inherent "built-in" restriction on the human lifespan, and what keeps us from leading eternal lives is simply the insufficiency of present technology, which can someday be overcome.

Read other parts of "A Rational Cosmology" by clicking here.