Time and Eternity: An Essay in the Philosophy of Religion

Stace's "Time and Eternity" presents a distinctive philosophical analysis of religious experience that attempts to bridge the gap between mystical consciousness and rational inquiry. The work develops a phenomenological approach to understanding the religious dimension of human existence, focusing particularly on the experiential basis of claims about divine reality. Stace argues that mystical experience provides a unique form of knowledge that transcends ordinary temporal consciousness, offering direct apprehension of what he terms the "eternal order."

The monograph's central thesis maintains that authentic religious experience involves a fundamental shift from temporal to eternal consciousness. Stace distinguishes between two orders of reality: the temporal order of everyday experience and the eternal order accessed through mystical states. This distinction, he argues, resolves many traditional philosophical puzzles about divine attributes, particularly the problem of how an eternal God relates to temporal creation. Rather than treating eternity as endless duration, Stace interprets it as a qualitatively different mode of being that can be directly experienced in mystical consciousness.

Methodologically, Stace employs careful phenomenological analysis of mystical reports across various religious traditions. He examines common features of mystical experience, including the dissolution of subject-object duality, the experience of timelessness, and the sense of ultimate reality. This comparative approach allows him to identify what he considers universal structures of religious consciousness beneath cultural variations. Against both dogmatic theology and reductive naturalism, Stace advocates for taking mystical experience seriously as a source of metaphysical insight while subjecting it to rigorous philosophical analysis.

The work engages critically with several philosophical traditions. Stace challenges both traditional theistic philosophers who rely primarily on rational argumentation and logical positivists who dismiss religious claims as meaningless. He argues that both approaches fail to account for the experiential dimension of religion. His position also contests psychological reductionism that would explain mystical experience purely in naturalistic terms, while avoiding the opposite extreme of uncritical acceptance of all religious claims.

Stace's contribution to philosophy of religion lies in his sophisticated attempt to develop a middle path between rationalism and fideism. By grounding religious philosophy in careful analysis of mystical experience, he offers a framework for understanding religious claims that neither reduces them to psychological states nor accepts them uncritically. His work remains influential in discussions about the epistemology of religious experience and the relationship between mystical consciousness and philosophical reflection.