Is God Non-Physical?

[LightofTruth]

I'm not a bible scholar myself but isn't the creation story in the OT?

Yes, it is. And when the Hebrew was translated into Greek, the equivalent Greek word for image was eikon.
That means that anyone who understood the word eikon in Greek would understand what it means in Hebrew.
In other words, if I understood the meaning of the word eikon as it is used in the Greek N.T. then I would not use that word if I understood the Hebrew word to mean something different when translating the Hebrew into Greek.

 

[BilliardsBall]

So can God only interact with the physical through human beings?

No, but Jesus appearing in person had tremendous effect, since He is known to 2/3 of the world through Islam and Christianity!

 

[osgart]

That was a very long-winded way of not answering the question.

Our time and space probably isn't the only physical existence there is. Our existence probably is not base root existence. It's probably derivative from something more profound.

 

[WalterTrull]

Ok, I admit that I didn't read all the other replies. Somebody probably already said this. (I also admit I'm lazy)
Obviously, the universe is not physical.

 

[Terry Sampson]

Our time and space probably isn't the only physical existence there is. Our existence probably is not base root existence. It's probably derivative from something more profound.

I'm hard pressed to imagine anything more profound than a profound universe.

 

[1213]

Does God then only interact with the universe through us?

By what the Bible tells, no, for example because He created this world without us.

 

[PearlSeeker]

Before you say yes, I'd consider anything non-physical unable to physically interact with the universe.

If God is non-physical and does interact with the universe, how is this possible if God is not physical.

OTOH, if God is physical, shouldn't we be able to detect/measure God?

Interesting questions.

God as the source of all existence is definitely non-physical.

A being of Pure Actuality, lacking any potentiality whatsoever, would also have to be immaterial, since to be a material thing entails being changeable in various ways, which a purely actual being cannot be. Such a being would not come into existence or go out of existence - both of these being instances of change - but simply exists always. In fact, he would have to be eternal or outside of time and space altogether, since to be within time and space also entails changeability.
(E. Feser: The Last Superstition)​

 

[loverofhumanity]

Before you say yes, I'd consider anything non-physical unable to physically interact with the universe.

If God is non-physical and does interact with the universe, how is this possible if God is not physical.

OTOH, if God is physical, shouldn't we be able to detect/measure God?

That’s a good question but one quality God has I believe that man does not is that He can create.

He does not need to interact physically as He can create physical Representatives to communicate with us in our form as human beings. The fact He can create makes it possible for Him to create any being He likes in any form He desires to interact with any types of beings in the universe whether they be human or in another form.

Some reflections:

Verily, were God the Exalted to appear in His (proper) grade and form, and in a manner befitting His Station, no one could ever approach Him or endure to be near Him.

In every world, He appears according to the capacity of that world. For example, in the world of spirits He manifests Himself to them and appears unto them with the signs of the Spirit. So, likewise, in bodies in the world of names and attributes; and in the worlds which are not known to any save God. All of these worlds have their position from this Manifestation. He appears unto them in His Form, so that He, their Lord, may direct them, and draw them nearer to the seat of His Command, and cause them to attain to that which was ordained for them. As His Reality is not known, so likewise all that is related to Him is not known, except to a certain degree. (Baha’u’llah - Provisional translation)

 

[Nakosis]

Ah, materialism. The idea that anything not of a physical world is not real. The idea which is doomed from the start because it comes up with an idea of physical, yet fails to clarify what it is.

Before we start...
Do we mean by physical, firm enough to touch? Because sunlight and rain are not in this way very physical, yet as a result grass and crops grow.
Do we mean able to be seen? Because radiation and viruses can't be seen without special equipment but they very much affect the world.
Do we mean constructed of materials not of matter? Well, thoughts are a result of neurons firing but the actual thoughts have no substance. Yet thoughts invent many things that make the world what it is today, and our fears hold us back from many experiences we'd otherwise do.
Even concepts like democracy which have no form at all have a profound impact on the world.

So even by your own rigged perception of what God should be, I have proven that in fact, non-physical things do affect the world. The only case you could make is that God is somehow outside this reality. But if we go by deism, that doesn't seem to need to matter. God would have simply created everything from a wormhole and closed it to leave us to it (I'm not, strictly speaking, a deist but I'm not a full-blown micromanagement God either).

Physical as I use it means anything can physically affect the universe in such a way that its effect can be measured. Sunlight and rain can be measured.

 

[Nakosis]

Jesus ascended to his Father in heaven. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

I can see many non-physical things in my head.

 

[PearlSeeker]

Why boundless wouldn't be able to interact with bounded? It's like saying you can't draw something on a paper because you are not flat yourself.

An example of God's physical effect is simply the existence of physical world. Also our body interacts with our non-physical essence...

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Yes, it is. And when the Hebrew was translated into Greek, the equivalent Greek word for image was eikon.
That means that anyone who understood the word eikon in Greek would understand what it means in Hebrew.
In other words, if I understood the meaning of the word eikon as it is used in the Greek N.T. then I would not use that word if I understood the Hebrew word to mean something different when translating the Hebrew into Greek.

Why is anyone reading Genesis in Greek?

 

[LightofTruth]

Why is anyone reading Genesis in Greek?

It's believed that the earliest translation of the Hebrew O.T. was into Greek. So anyone who didn't know Hebrew could read the O.T. if they knew Greek.
And when they translated Genesis 1:26 they used the word eikon.

Luk 20:24 Shew me a penny. Whose image (eikon) and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar's.
Luk 20:25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's.

 

[LightofTruth]

I can see many non-physical things in my head.

The word IMAGE is a noun.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

It's believed that the earliest translation of the Hebrew O.T. was into Greek. So anyone who didn't know Hebrew could read the O.T. if they knew Greek.
And when they translated Genesis 1:26 they used the word eikon.

Luk 20:24 Shew me a penny. Whose image (eikon) and superscription hath it? They answered and said, Caesar's.
Luk 20:25 And he said unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which be Caesar's, and unto God the things which be God's.

That would make sense if you were a Greek speaker. But I'm assuming we are talking about English speakers. They should read the original Hebrew text, or a good Jewish translation straight from the Hebrew text. No Greek translation necessary.

 

[LightofTruth]

That would make sense if you were a Greek speaker. But I'm assuming we are talking about English speakers. They should read the original Hebrew text, or a good Jewish translation straight from the Hebrew text. No Greek translation necessary.

The English translations use the same word, image, in both Genesis 1:26 and Luke 20:24

That's because the meaning is the same. The image of Caesar was stamped onto coins just as what was formed into the image of God was called "man"

 

[MJFlores]

Ahh so you are not referring to love yet love was the subject of your question. So what are you referring to?

Luke 10:27-36 New International Version (NIV)

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.

A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.

Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

So how do you measure this kind of love.
Is it measurable in $$$?
I'm pretty sure this is incalculable. The victim doesn't know the Samaritan and the Samaritan does not know the victim. Yet he cared despite being strangers to each other. What Jesus Christ said maybe a parable but these things do happen and is happening when we care for strangers.

When we care for strangers, we care because God commands us to Love our neighbor as we love ourselves. And by doing so, God is seen in us because again God is love.

This love cannot be quantified, measured by any means.
This love does not need a French kiss with an MRI result to prove it.
But a simple helping hand can be a life changing experience.

 

[ChristineM]

Luke 10:27-36 New International Version (NIV)

He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.

View attachment 40814

A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.

Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

So how do you measure this kind of love.
Is it measurable in $$$?
I'm pretty sure this is incalculable. The victim doesn't know the Samaritan and the Samaritan does not know the victim. Yet he cared despite being strangers to each other. What Jesus Christ said maybe a parable but these things do happen and is happening when we care for strangers.

When we care for strangers, we care because God commands us to Love our neighbor as we love ourselves. And by doing so, God is seen in us because again God is love.

This love cannot be quantified, measured by any means.
This love does not need a French kiss with an MRI result to prove it.
But a simple helping hand can be a life changing experience.

Observed and measured...

Commonly referred to as the god spots.


You have no idea what a french kiss is, it denotes friendship, not love.

 

[MJFlores]

Observed and measured...

View attachment 40819
Commonly referred to as the god spots.


You have no idea what a french kiss is, it denotes friendship, not love.

MRI results is about romantic love - they are having sex.

Trump is an expert on french kisses - his lips are ready to go.

 

[ChristineM]

MRI results is about romantic love - they are having sex.

Trump is an expert on french kisses - his lips are ready to go.

View attachment 40830

Wrong, the mri scan i showed was one of several nuns who volunteered for the scan to measure their love of god

You kiss trump, i would rather be eaten alive in a pit of ravenous slugs

I will be happy with the real "bisses", of a true french kiss... When this pandemic is no longer of course