Eternity

Under eternity or something eternal one understands something that has or exists independently of the phenomenon of time neither a temporal beginning or end in time.

Etymology

The original meaning was probably " long period," from OHG Ewe "lifetime " coming ( probably originally from ie. * Əiw " lifetime, eternity "). Even in the 16th century was prayed by ewen ewen to. Colloquially, therefore, one understood by eternity for a long time ( " It will take forever," an exaggeration ). It can be seen that initially only one was "endless" forever of several possible meanings of the word today.

Through theological influences - especially by the time the opinion of Augustine - the term " eternity " later adopted in particular the importance of the " timelessness ".

Use in physics and philosophy

The concept of eternity is not scientifically defined, since the known physical theories that deal with questions of cosmology formulate not make sense, the concept of infinity. ( See also: steady-state theory )

Philosophically, one sees concepts of logic or mathematics as timeless, and in this sense as ever. The term content of " infinite time ", was developed by Plato and Plutarch and taken over by the younger Stoics. It is the name given to the Boundless, in which all phenomena are located, the beginning or the end can not be thought. Eternity is considered Plato as the true form of being, ie as a way of being the ideas that are free Will from it all. For the ancient thinkers the world was infinite, ie also beginningless.

Eternal things ( eternal in the sense of ' time-independent ') seem to persist unchanged from the beginning to the end of our conscious time, if we perceive it at all. Nevertheless, it is not forever be equated with static.

Use in some religions

In particular monotheistic religions ( Jewish faith, Christianity, Islam) speak of the eternal God and the eternal kingdom of God and of eternal life. The eternity as an attribute of God expresses his existence from independent and temporal terms such as beginning and end. With a concept of its immutability, it is not necessarily connected.

The man promised eternal life leads to a sharing in the divine eternity. Some think this albeit from a beginning, according to the temporal death. The Bible, however, ( eg, John 15.3 EU) understands eternity as a quality concept. Eternity begins thus not only after death, but begins with the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ and it happens in the relationship of the believer with God. For the believer as physical death is a transition to the completed eternal life, which got its start however ( cf. Jn 3 EU ) already taken in " Neugeborenwerden ".

In the original text of the Bible, the concept of time was eon (Greek aion, aionion ) eg in the temporal sense ( the original meaning) in addition eternally translated by Luther next "world" with eternity / what is controversial, since the choice in individual cases appears arbitrary and significant theological and eschatological consequences. The "eternal" life would be so much more a " äonisches life " with a beginning and end. When the New Testament will unequivocally express "eternity" in the sense of endlessness, negations as immortality, immortality or indissolubility be used in the original Greek text.

For many medieval philosophers and theologians, in particular for many " mystics ", and also for some forms of Buddhism "eternity" means a life in a - eternal, "standing", freed from temporal differences - present.

So writes Meister Eckhart:

" The Well, the fact God created the first man, and the Now in which the last man will pass, and the Now in which I speak, are the same [ ... ] and are nothing but a nun. [ ... ] Is therefore in him [the man who lives in the present ] neither suffering nor time sequence, but a constant eternity. "

The early modern author Andreas Gryphius formulated:

" My are not the years that took the time. My are not the years that may come about. The moment is mine, and I 'll take the careful, so the time and eternity is the mine, made ​​. "

You can also Ludwig Wittgenstein to write similar views. This writes in his Tractatus 6.4311:

"If one does not understand infinite eternity to time duration but timelessness, then he lives eternally who lives in the present. "

Use in the legal language

In the German legal language the term eternity by the terms "eternity clause " or " forever guarantee " for the Article 79 paragraph 3 is used the Basic Law. After that, the federalist principle of organization of the Federal Republic of Germany and two articles of the Basic Law of the inviolability of human dignity (Art. 1 GG ) and entered into force on 23 May 1949 general constitutional principles (Art. 20 GG) forever are protected against modification and abolition.