Abstract
This paper provides a general overview of emergence, and then examines the role emergence plays in different areas of science and theology, including big history or the evolutionary epic, religious and theistic naturalism. Critical remarks on the notions of time expressed in these discourses are also provided. The paper then assesses J.T. Fraser’s hierarchical theory of time in relation to emergence, and adduces the position Fraser would take with respect to emergence. Finally, the paper concludes with a playful coda from the standpoint of a man of letters, for whom letters have an elemental importance.