Can God have feelings?

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I have been told, but I have not been able to confirm, that it is infallible Catholic teaching God cannot have “feelings.” This means that all instances where Scripture describes God as “angry” or “jealous” or “pleased” have to be interpreted in light of arc of theological development in salvation history as the people of God know and understand Him more correctly.

Can anyone confirm or deny this? Thoughts?
 
I’d be interested to know this, too. As far as I can figure from scratch:

Feelings do not derive from our fallen nature.
Humans have feelings.
Jesus is human.
Jesus is God.

Jesus, who is God and who is also human, has feelings.
 
Feelings and emotions are physical responses in a material body. They also imply that the subject of those feelings is a temporal being. As such, God, properly speakings as the Divine Nature, cannot experience feelings or emotions.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, as having human nature which is both physical and temporal can experience feelings and emotions.

Expressions of God’s emotions in Scripture, particularly the Old Testament are what is called athropomorphic expressions, meaning that the sacred author used language that humans would understand making God seem more like a human being that they could relate to.
 
Yeah, from what I understand God doesn’t change but it can appear that way.

For example, God loves King David when he’s good and hates King David when he was evil. But from a right perspective, God doesn’t change his mind. God has ALWAYS hated evil and loved good.

Personaly, I imagine it as people running left and right in front of God’s throne. He unchangingly loves the people on the right and hates the people on the left. But his relationship to each individual person changes as they run back and forth.
 
Katholish said:
Feelings and emotions are physical responses in a material body. They also imply that the subject of those feelings is a temporal being. As such, God, properly speakings as the Divine Nature, cannot experience feelings or emotions.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, as having human nature which is both physical and temporal can experience feelings and emotions.

Expressions of God’s emotions in Scripture, particularly the Old Testament are what is called athropomorphic expressions, meaning that the sacred author used language that humans would understand making God seem more like a human being that they could relate to.
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Perfect.

Can you provide me with references which show that this is infallible Catholic teaching?
 
I don’t think there is anything explicitly stating that “God does not have emotions”, but here is part of *Dei Filius *Chapter 1 from the First Vatican Council (infallible)
  1. The Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Roman Church believes and acknowledges that there is one true and living God, creator and lord of heaven and earth, almighty, eternal, immeasurable, incomprehensible, infinite in will, understanding and every perfection.
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  1. Since he is one, singular, completely simple and unchangeable spiritual substance, he must be declared to be in reality and in essence, distinct from the world, supremely happy in himself and from himself, and inexpressibly loftier than anything besides himself which either exists or can be imagined.
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God is defined as eternal, unchangeable, and a spiritual (i.e. immaterial) substance. Each of these excludes the possibility of God experiencing emotion.
 
^Supremely “happy” in Himself? Isn’t that an emotion? 😛

I hope there is something more explicit, but I think your citation will due for the time being.

How does this affect the notion of Him as a loving Father?
 
Love is a human emotion, but more properly speaking, it refers to an act of the will of embracing a perceived good (which is not an emotion). Happiness has a similar understanding dealing with possession of a good.
 
Katholish said:
God is defined as eternal, unchangeable, and a spiritual (i.e. immaterial) substance. Each of these excludes the possibility of God experiencing emotion.
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Wait, do souls and angels then have emotions, because you say a spiritual, immaterial being can’t have feelings, and that’s what human souls and angels are. So can they have feelings?

And Jesus has feelings, doesn’t he, due to his dual nature?

Also, thanks for this information. I’m kinda surprised by this, but as they say, you have to change your views to fit God, not God to fit your views.
 
Of course he has feelings. Love, anger, and sadness, jealous are feelings, emotions.

If he has no feelings, then he has no love.

And we all know he loves his children, so yes he does. The bible also has mentioned God being angry and jealous. If he has no feelings, he would not be angry, jealous, sad, happy or feel love.

Asking if God has feelings is one of the most ridiculous questions I’ve ever seen asked.
 
BlueShadow123 said:
Of course he has feelings. Love, anger, and sadness, jealous are feelings, emotions.

If he has no feelings, then he has no love.

And we all know he loves his children, so yes he does. The bible also has mentioned God being angry and jealous. If he has no feelings, he would not be angry, jealous, sad, happy or feel love.

Asking if God has feelings is one of the most ridiculous questions I’ve ever seen asked.
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I’ve always wondered about the “He is a Jealous God”----but someone recently explained that that means He is jealous of People worshipping and idolizing other Things, Places, and People besides Him. 👍
 
OrdinaryMelkite said:
I’ve always wondered about the “He is a Jealous God”----but someone recently explained that that means He is jealous of People worshipping and idolizing other Things, Places, and People besides Him. 👍
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Exactly and jealousy is a feeling. An emotion. Same with love, anger, happiness…
 
OrdinaryMelkite said:
Ultimately, Love is a Feeling (as well as other things, like a Choice), so yes, one could say God has feelings. 👍
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Love is not a feeling it is a decision. What is the ultimate example of Love? Jesus on the Cross. That was not an emotion, it did not “feel” good. It was a decision to sacrifice for the benefit of another- or for a good.
 
Inhimthroughher said:
Love is not a feeling it is a decision. What is the ultimate example of Love? Jesus on the Cross. That was not an emotion, it did not “feel” good. It was a decision to sacrifice for the benefit of another- or for a good.
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Love isn’t always a decision.

Also too, aside from LOVE, we know that God has experienced jealousy, anger, sadness and happiness.

Those are definitely feelings/emotions.
 
If God can have feelings, then he can change from one state of emtions to another, therefore He can no longer be considered immutable. This, of course, is manifestly false (cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Compendium Theologiae, part I, chap. VIII).*

dhspriory.org/thomas/Compendium.htm#8

Emtions are in the sensitive appetite. God, however, has no sensitive appetite, therefore He cannot have emtions.

Emotions are had by beings that are in potentiality. God, however, is pure act, therefore He cannot have emotions.

See St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Contra Gentiles, book I, chap. 89-91.

www2.nd.edu/Departments/Maritain/etext/gc1_89.htm

“Hence it appears that of our affections there is none that can properly be in God except joy and love, though even these are in Him not by way of passion, as they are in us. … But even other affections (affectiones), which are specifically inconsistent with divine perfection, are predicated in Holy Writ of God, not properly but metaphorically, on account of likeness of effects” (SCG, chap. 91).

*See also Dr. Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, which teaches: “God is absolutely immutable.” - jloughnan.tripod.com/dogma.htm
 
SouthpawLink said:
If God can have feelings, then he can change from one state of emtions to another, therefore He can no longer be considered immutable. This, of course, is manifestly false (cf. St. Thomas Aquinas, Compendium Theologiae, part I, chap. VIII).*

dhspriory.org/thomas/Compendium.htm#8

Emtions are in the sensitive appetite. God, however, has no sensitive appetite, therefore He cannot have emtions.

Emotions are had by beings that are in potentiality. God, however, is pure act, therefore He cannot have emotions.

See St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Contra Gentiles, book I, chap. 89-91.

www2.nd.edu/Departments/Maritain/etext/gc1_89.htm

“Hence it appears that of our affections there is none that can properly be in God except joy and love, though even these are in Him not by way of passion, as they are in us. … But even other affections (affectiones), which are specifically inconsistent with divine perfection, are predicated in Holy Writ of God, not properly but metaphorically, on account of likeness of effects” (SCG, chap. 91).

*See also Dr. Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, which teaches: “God is absolutely immutable.” - jloughnan.tripod.com/dogma.htm
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Doesn’t being unchanging disable God’s ability to create the Universe? And Move? And Incarnate himself?
 
God is Act and has no Potency. There can be no change in Himself. Creation did not change Him the Incarnation was the assumption of a human nature into the Divine person of the Son. Neither of these are changes in God nor were they potencies in God. God is what He is. He always has been and always will be.

He cannot be angry and then not angry. This would show He has a potency for anger, happiness, sorrow, etc. God has no potency. Jesus felt emotion in His human nature.
 
BlueShadow123 said:
Love isn’t always a decision.

Also too, aside from LOVE, we know that God has experienced jealousy, anger, sadness and happiness.

Those are definitely feelings/emotions.
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When is Love not a decision? It would also help to know your definition of love.
 
Inhimthroughher said:
When is Love not a decision? It would also help to know your definition of love.
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My definition of love has nothing to do with the OP’s post.

Yes God has feelings, that is why he has been mad, jealous, happy, sad… ect.
 
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