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Is God Supernatural?

idav

idav

Being
Premium Member
Is god supposed to be a supernatural being? A couple of things come to mind when people say god has to be supernatural. One that god has to be outside our understanding or from the opposite spectrum that supernatural doesn't exist therefore god doesn't exist. Can god be natural or is that something that nullifies any aspect of the term god?

Perhaps these definitions for supernatural are enough to discuss.

supernatural -(of a manifestation or event) attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature:
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/supernatural

supernatural -1 : of or relating to an order of existence beyond the visible observable universe; especially : of or relating to God or a god, demigod, spirit, or devil. 2a : departing from what is usual or normal especially so as to appear to transcend the laws of nature b : attributed to an invisible agent (as a ghost or spirit)
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/supernatural
 
Sunstone

Sunstone

De Diablo Del Fora
Premium Member
Some folks imagine deity to be supernatural, some natural (e.g. pantheism), and others a mix of natural and supernatural (e.g. panentheism). To me, the strongest of these positions is pantheism. But all of them are speculative.
 
George-ananda

George-ananda

Advaita Vedanta, Theosophy, Spiritualism
Premium Member
Is God Supernatural?

If God exists he must be supernatural by the definitions. What could a natural God look like. Just nature? Then why even call that God?

I really see two types of pantheism. The first is where matter/energy is everything. This is what Richard Dawkins calls 'sexed-up atheism' and this would be one of the rare times I agree with him. The second type of pantheism (which is the type I believe; Advaita) holds that God/Brahman is pure consciousness and the universe is a great thought-form of this God/Brahman.
 
Rick O'Shez

Rick O'Shez

Irishman bouncing off walls
idav said:
supernatural -(of a manifestation or event) attributed to some force beyond scientific understanding or the laws of nature:
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/supernatural

supernatural -1 : of or relating to an order of existence beyond the visible observable universe; especially : of or relating to God or a god, demigod, spirit, or devil. 2a : departing from what is usual or normal especially so as to appear to transcend the laws of nature b : attributed to an invisible agent (as a ghost or spirit)
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/supernatural
Click to expand...

I think all versions of God are supernatural according to those definitions.
 
Gyrannon

Gyrannon

Agnostic Necromancer
If its a Deity, then yeah that being is Supernatural.

Also, how do you examine a being that is by definition impossible to examine? What could Science look for when hunting for God? Its not like we can get a blood, tissue, or urine sample from him.
And say God has complete & utter control of Science & don't want to be found via Science? Sure, we can disobey him (Free Will an all), but I doubt we can alter the laws of the universe just to prove or disprove the existence of God.

My Opinion: Unless God simply shows up and yells to the entire world "Yes I'm real, talk about something else!" the only way to prove that God is real, is to somehow die, and somehow come back to life WITH irrefutable evidence back from death.
Other than that, this God debate could last all the way to the extinction of the human species.
 
Gyrannon

Gyrannon

Agnostic Necromancer
Ana.J said:
Well, I would not diminish God to a redundant addition. What can be more natural to the creation than creator? ;)
Click to expand...

True, but with God in mind - What is Nature when compared to God who apparently created Nature? How can it be defined?
And besides, anything involving a being who can do absolutely anything pretty makes everything else which is apparently self-automated redundant.

When you think about it, everything else is redundant. Even setting up a rule book is redundant when you could simply program that into our brains.
 
Kelly of the Phoenix

Kelly of the Phoenix

Well-Known Member
idav said:
Is god supposed to be a supernatural being?
Click to expand...
I don't think God can be. After all, if God must do according to His nature, then anything He does is natural, so ...

We have a tendency to think "supernatural" means anything we can't do, but that doesn't mean OTHERS can't do them naturally, like flying or seeing ultraviolet or ...

George-ananda said:
If God exists he must be supernatural by the definitions. What could a natural God look like. Just nature? Then why even call that God?
Click to expand...
Do we call love "love" or "a bunch of hormones that promote social pair bonding"? Just because we can determine the natural mechanisms doesn't mean we also can't use a shorthand for it.

And I know someone will pipe up with "but not everyone can agree with what 'God' is, so it's meaningless". Well, abusive people have funny definitions of "love", but we still remain loyal to our definitions even though bad guys have theirs.
 
PeteC-UK

PeteC-UK

Active Member
Hi Folks..

Is "god" supernatural..??....

Yes - to those who dont know Him - He is indeed fully supernatural, beyond comprehension...

But - to those who directly EXPERIENCE His Presence - it becomes indeed, fully natural - pat of the living moment to moment experience without any apparant seperation at all..Indeed - the only way to know this "god" is indeed to experience the state directly for the Self - this of course, is Gnosis ;).
 
Rick O'Shez

Rick O'Shez

Irishman bouncing off walls
PeteC-UK said:
But - to those who directly EXPERIENCE His Presence - it becomes indeed, fully natural - pat of the living moment to moment experience without any apparant seperation at all..Indeed - the only way to know this "god" is indeed to experience the state directly for the Self - this of course, is Gnosis ;).
Click to expand...

I'm curious, how exactly do you experience His presence? What is it actually like?
 
U

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
idav said:
Can god be natural or is that something that nullifies any aspect of the term god?
Click to expand...

God is both natural and "supernatural". God is life. There isnt a separation between natural and non natural. If it exists, its a part of reality and life whether we know much about it or not.

I dont feel it nullifies the word if we separate the bias and definitions that god is supposed to be defined by "abrahamic" terms rather than considering it an pronoun (like he or she) that can describe gender nuetral entity, goddess, an object, or whatever we see as our focus of worship.

Thats why supernatural doesnt quite work with the word god. If you said Krishna, Yawaeh, Ra, etc then Id say they are more supernatural since these religions see these beings outside of human observance as per he definition in the OP.
 
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