Quantum Entanglements and the Lutheran Dispersal of Salvation

1 Introduction

Ernest L. Simmons claims that “the Trinitarian doctrine of perichoresis could be metaphorically interpreted as a form of Divine phase entanglement with the world.”^[1] Following Sally McFague, Simmons also says that “Thought is internalized speech and in order for us to think about anything at all we must verbalize it, which means it becomes abstractly derived from our experience.”^[2] This essay will assume that religious dogmas are not merely metaphorically interpreted using scientific theories. Despite approaching reality from two different viewpoints, science and religion both try to arrive at conclusions about God’s created reality. The reality which we experience and which was created by God is the same one, and any scientific theory describing it may offer clues as to how God created this reality and His reasons for doing so. Science and religion do not exist in such different and separate planes as to make them merely metaphorically compatible. Science can be used to understand religious dogmas in a literal way for the two complement each other when studying the world around us, even if they diverge when studying the world beyond our existence.

The intention is not to add another instance of the God-of-the-Gaps argument, shown to be null by Spierer.^[3] Instead, the goal is to offer a possible way in which God controls the fabric of space-time by manipulating the existence and nature of quantum entanglements. Contrary to Simmon’s opinion, this is a use of findings from the field of quantum physics in order to shed light on a Christian dogma put forth by Martin Luther. Such use of a scientific theory maintains God’s revelation as the primary guiding worldview and uses quantum physics as a valid field enlightening God’s work in creation. It upholds a hierarchy between science and religion which corresponds to Luther’s conviction that God is revealed only at the cross of Christ.^[4]

This essay will try to use the scientific theory of space-time entanglements in order to understand Martin Luther’s notion of the timeless distribution of salvation gained on our behalf by Christ’s suffering on the cross. It is essentially an attempt at constructive theology, which means it is highly speculative in nature, and corresponds to the guidelines put forward by Philip Clayton in his essay “Constraint and Freedom in the Movement from Quantum Physics to Theology.” As such, this essay does not intend to convey stated facts or established truths but to open the door to further discussion concerning the fields of quantum entanglement and Lutheran soteriology.

First, an explanation of Luther’s conception of the dispersal of salvation is in order, followed by a discussion of the characteristics of such distribution concerning time and space. The next section will then introduce the concept of quantum entanglements as studied by physicists today. It will prepare the ground for a presentation of the mode in which entanglements may facilitate the dispersal of salvation. A presentation of the proposed mechanism for the distribution of salvific grace using quantum entanglements follows in the final section.^[5]

2 The Dispersal of Salvific Grace

The relationship between Christ’s crucifixion and the dispersal of salvation across time and space is not unique to Luther. However, it is the following quote by Luther which inspired the ideas henceforth described:

So that our readers may the better perceive our teaching I shall clearly and broadly describe it. We treat the forgiveness of sins in two ways. First, how it is achieved and won. Second, how it is distributed and given to us. Christ has achieved it on the cross; it is true. However, he has not distributed or given it on the cross. He has not won it in the supper or sacrament. There he has distributed and given it through the Word, as also in the gospel, where it is preached. He has won it once for all on the cross. However, its distribution takes place continuously, before and after, from the beginning to the end of the world. For since he had determined once to achieve it, it made no difference to him whether he distributed it before or after, through his Word, as can easily be proved from scripture.^[6]

Luther tried to explain why the creature itself never conditions salvation. He was vehemently opposed to any dogma claiming the human individual has an ability solely reserved for God. The creature cannot know God where the latter does not reveal Himself, and it cannot save itself from the punishment imposed upon it following the Original Sin. Salvation cannot be brought about by the creature himself by performing good works, by praying or by any other creaturely means; it is reserved for God alone to choose individuals for salvation. This salvation is granted to select individuals thanks to Christ’s sacrifice on the cross; the central locus generating salvation is the cross of Christ, and that arguably is the place from which God distributes it. Christ’s crucifixion is the most critical event in human history; It overcomes sin where no other event can. In the above quoted passage, Luther makes an essential distinction between the crucifixion generating salvation, and the mode of dispersal of salvation. These two actions are separate in Luther’s view and do not take place simultaneously, but in different forms and at different times. This essay will try and use contemporary advancements in quantum mechanics to shed some light on the mechanism which may underlie salvation and the way Luther understood its dispersal.

The process of dispersal of salvation is an ongoing one. Although it originates at the crucifixion (which we can regard as a singular occurrence), salvation is given to humanity in a continuous process, an ongoing event. The term ‘dispersal’ denotes a process of giving to the masses, but when it comes to salvation that may not be the case. When we speak of a person being saved, we imply that the person is undergoing a qualitative change whereby they no longer exist in a mode affected by sin — the person’s existence changes in a fundamental way. It is not the new condition which is dispersed. Instead, some information must emanate from the event of Christ’s crucifixion and reach multiple individuals whose underlying condition of existence is changed. This information designates whose life is to be changed and in what way. For the purpose of this essay, this transmission of information will constitute the dispersal of salvation (despite no information traveling between entangled partners; this point is explained below). Other than these definitions, this essay will not try to define what constitutes salvation and its dispersal.

Luther sees salvation as being dispersed from its primary locus - the cross of Christ - to humanity over time. He sees salvation as being dispersed throughout the creature’s historical existence, both before and after the crucifixion itself. Such information relating to salvation would have to travel between different points in space instantaneously as well as between different points in time, to allow for salvation to be granted timelessly throughout the universe.

In Luther’s view, time is not a factor in the dispersal of salvific grace: it happens because of the crucifixion but is not limited by it when it comes to the initiation and scope of its dispersal. The distribution of salvation is a constant state of occurrence, happening since creation and which will continue to happen into the future, until an unspecified event will happen or maybe even forever. This fact severs the temporal and spatial causal relation between the crucifixion and the dispersal of salvation. Furthermore, the timelessness of the distribution of salvation raises some interesting questions about the relation of salvation to space-time and, as we shall see, also challenges our classical perception of space-time and relates directly to conclusions drawn from modern quantum mechanics.

If God disperses salvation prior to the occurrence that initiated it, how is the information of the crucifixion transmitted through time? The contention is that some connection must exist between different points in time, which facilitates the transfer of this information. To speak of the duration of travel would make no sense as it travels without any relation to time itself; it is reasonable to assume that the transmission of such information occurs through pathways that operate independently of the flow of time. An agent affected by the passage of time can experience the effects of salvation and therefore sees the messages as traveling from one point in time to any other without anything inhibiting their communication or application. These connections between various points in time and space correspond to space-time entanglements, which will be described in the next section.

This simultaneity of communication makes time a contingent phenomenon. If some communication operates outside temporal boundaries, time may be just a construct of our own minds, either originating with us or imposed upon us by God. Within our mind, time manifests as a succession of events. However, if time is contingent, then this succession may be nothing but an illusion, and it may be nullified altogether to produce all events simultaneously. We should then ask ourselves why do all events present themselves to us gradually rather than simultaneously and who is producing this effect for us. Is this just the way God created us, or is God continually buffering reality for us and dispensing it little by little as to not overwhelm us?

Answers to these questions have implications for a wide range of subjects, including free will or the absence thereof, which will not be discussed here. The following section will present quantum entanglements – a phenomenon studied by physicists, which may shed some light on the way God is dispensing salvation the way Luther described it.

3 Quantum Entanglements and the Fabric of Space-Time

In an attempt to shed light on the feasibility of Luther’s assertion about the timelessness of the dispersal of salvation, we turn to the field of quantum physics, specifically quantum space and time entanglements. The intention is not to glorify biblical record by claiming recent advancement in physics support scripture, which had allegedly reached the same conclusions thousands of years ago. As explained in another essay, science further elaborates upon God’s creation.^[7] Hence, the field of quantum entanglements allows us to describe and understand God’s work while remembering that God only reveals His true nature at the cross of Christ.

This essay contends that quantum entanglements can explain Luther’s idea of the timelessness of the dispersal of salvation because of their ability to show that time and space do not strictly adhere to our perception of locality. By showing that a phenomenon transcending locality can exist, the theory of time entanglements renders itself a plausible mechanism for implementing the dispersal of salvation, described by Luther as transcending locality of space and time.

Quantum entanglements are a phenomenon in which subatomic particles or points in a field (for instance, an electromagnetic field) share their core states; the definition of a quantum state is “the ordered collection of possible measurements of a physical quantity, along with the probability of each one.”^[8] Any change in the state of one particle or point entails a concurrent change its entangled partner, no matter the distance between them and more importantly - no matter when those entities exist in time; concurrent changes could be set light-years apart in space, or exist years apart in time. Such change in a quantum state is termed a quantum event, and occurs concurrently between two entangled quantum particles or points in a field, in such a way that it becomes impossible to tell which is the cause of which.^[9]

Juan Maldacena, a physicist at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., uses a handy analogy to illustrate quantum entanglements: he speaks of a pair of gloves. If you find one glove, say the right one, you can immediately be sure that the other glove, the one you have not found, is the left glove. If we transpose this scenario to the quantum world, then both gloves could be both the right glove AND the left glove, until you observe one and check which one it is, by which time it will stop being both kinds of gloves and suddenly fall into one category alone. It will “harden” into one type of glove only after you look and check which one it is. In essence, its definition as any one kind of glove depends on the observer checking which one it is, and it does not “decide” which one it “wants” to be until an observer checks upon it. The spooky thing is that once you find out which kind one glove is, the other glove instantaneously becomes the corresponding complementary glove, no matter where (or when) it exists! This effect happens immediately when the entanglement occurs in space, and as much as it is possible to say that it happens “simultaneously” when we speak of time entanglements. The second glove’s complementary “decision” as to which kind of glove it needs to be depends on the first glove (the one it is sharing the entanglement with) assuming an identity when an observer inspects it.^[10]

This phenomenon entails the collapse of classical causality as well as classic locality. In the space-time we perceive, causal order is very well defined: we know precisely which event causes which other events according to their order in time and their location in space. Once these causal relations become amorphous, the coherence of space-time is lost, for there are no causal relations to define spatial proportions or temporal precedence. Space-Time manifests out of these correlations between events within it. This approach is termed by George Musser “Quantum Relationalism.” Quantum entanglements in space and time violate the principle of locality, which states that chains of cause and effect must remain unbroken for space-time to remain intact. Any event happening in space-time can only be influenced by other events happening in its immediate surroundings and cannot be affected by events happening at a distance. This applies to both events happening in the immediate physical surrounding and also to events happening in the immediate time preceding any influenced event. Without this locality, space-time starts to take on an entirely new meaning.

Physicists have also found that entanglement can occur between different points in a quantum field, which are more fundamental than subatomic particles. A quantum field is a highly entangled system with entanglements happening between different points within it. These fields are always vibrating, but we do not see the vibrations because the different vibrating parts cancel each other out. For this to be possible they must be entangled. Multiple correlations exist between different parts of it, and any fluctuation within it is matched by another fluctuation in another part of it. We cannot explain those entangled fluctuations; we do not know how they appear, and we do not know how they are related to space-time itself.^[11]

One can think of space-time as a fabric made up of threads being woven together to form a continuous cloth. If we now think of the threads as quantum entanglements that happen from one particle to another (or one field point to another), we can imagine space-time as being made up of many such entanglements forming a coherent whole.^[12]

4 Conclusion: The Mechanism Underlying the Dispersal of Salvation

Delving into speculative inquiry, we may now try to construct our conception of the distribution of salvation in such a way as to take advantage of our understanding of quantum entanglement and the way space-time relies upon it for its structure.

The basis for analysis is an intuitive assumption regarding the generation of the entanglement itself: Whenever two events are so closely correlated as those happening to entangled particles, it is reasonable to think of them as controlled by some third element. Such an invisible third element, which exists beyond our measurements, coordinates the events happening on both sides of the entanglement. In such a case, when we see or cause a quantum event to one particle or point in a quantum field, we immediately see the complementary event happening to the other entangled particle or point but see no information transferred between them. When we understand the two events as caused by a third element, Einstein’s light-speed limit is still maintained, as no information passes between the ends of the entanglement at superluminal speeds. Such information would be supplied differently from the third partner to the entanglement, controlling both its visible members simultaneously.

This essay suggests that this third mysterious element is God. God is the One upholding what we see as quantum entanglement by coordinating instantaneous concurrent events to both the participating particles or field points which are entangled with each other. Either He causes such events to happen to both members of the entanglement, or He completes the corresponding event following a man-made event to one participating particle or point. This suggestion is a tentative one, in the hope that it will lead to further discussion which may even alter the original suggestion somewhat. The nature of constructive theology is inherently speculative, with its main aim being fostering discussion as to (in this case) the relationship between science and religion, rather than setting a concrete monolithic dogma.

By controlling the two concurrent events happening in each entangled instance, God could be exercising control over created reality by deciding where and when two particles or points would become entangled. God materializes the entanglement itself by forcing quantum events on one particle as those imposed on the other; He decides where and when such an entanglement happens and where and when it should stop happening as well. This is an interventionist control of reality since quantum events are forced upon the particles or field points. However, the mechanism by which God dictates these events upon each member of the entanglement remains a mystery.

Such divine intervention using quantum entanglements can facilitate the timeless dispersal of salvation, among other things; by deciding which entanglements to form and maintain, God also decides whom to save at any point in time. Since entanglements are not bound by space and time, they can be created at any moment and at any time and control any other moment and any other point in space. Their implementation for the dispersal of salvation can take place outside of the flow of time, and we would still experience salvation as taking place within our conception of time. The dimensions of space and time would not be a factor determining the spatial and temporal coordinates of salvation since the entanglements’ apparent (but false, no doubt) arbitrariness renders these coordinates irrelevant. This mechanism is analogous to that of a spider pulling the strings of its web to set the fate of prey caught in it. The spider can even be distanced from the caught creature but is still able to control the latter using the strings he has created beforehand. The prey may have just a faint conception of the spider or even none at all, but it is at the mercy of the spider via the force exerted by the spider web itself. The spider web functions as the fabric of space-time in which we exist, while the web’s strings are equivalent to quantum entanglements forming the fabric of space-time. Our fate is set by the same means as the fate of the prey: by God deciding which entanglements to uphold and influencing reality in a way that leads to specific individuals being saved. By manipulating entanglements as strings making up space-time in a non-local and a-temporal fashion, God can manipulate reality.

Scientists have observed that the speed of mutual change within the entanglement is at least four times the speed of light, an observation which precludes the possibility of information transfer between the entangled partner.^[13] Nevertheless, the information dispersed for the purpose of salvation is implemented using the entanglements for a systemwide information transfer between the point of salvific origin and its destination. In essence, the mutual dependence within the entanglement is used to convey data of grace, similar to the way which has recently been proven possible within computer circuitry.^[14] As entangled changes occur throughout space-time, their occurrence conveys data pertinent to the salvation which is to occur and the subjects which are to be saved.

This control leads to us experiencing salvation, as well as a reality set in an attenuated fashion, forming the sequence of spatial events we know as the flow of time. George Musser goes as far as to abolish space altogether: “influences can leap across space as though it were not really there, the natural conclusion is: space is not really there.”^[15] If we extend this to time as well, we may say that time AND space might not exist. This possibility was hinted to by the author of the second Petrine epistle: “With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day,”^[16] and also by the author of Psalm 90: “A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by.”^[17]

Salvation may be just a momentary event, as is all creation, and may appear to us as a phenomenon spanning time in its entirety due to our gradual perception of time as an elongated process. Why do we experience time this way? Perhaps our minds are too feeble to experience such a vast mass of events, and we were therefore created to experience time gradually so that we are not overwhelmed by it. It would then be interesting to understand the mechanism by which time is made gradual on our behalf. Perhaps future advancements in quantum physics can be used to shed light on this matter.

To conclude, this essay hereby submits for consideration a speculative proposal as to how God may be influencing and maintaining creation. It elaborates upon the way entanglements can be formed and used by God in order to disperse salvation the way Luther described it, as a timeless phenomenon taking place both before and after the event which caused it – Christ’s passion on the cross.