Formless Matter

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What is it? Several early Church fathers seem to believe that God organized formless matter into the universe. Should it be considered nothing, as some Greek philosophers seem to have viewed it or should it be definitely something? Just what is it, exactly?
 
ChristIsTheWay said:
What is it? Several early Church fathers seem to believe that God organized formless matter into the universe. Should it be considered nothing, as some Greek philosophers seem to have viewed it or should it be definitely something? Just what is it, exactly?
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We are not entirely in the dark as to some of what occured BEFORE creation. The Bible reveals that
  1. God was at rest
  2. God played with Wisdom
  3. God knew you and loved you
  4. Wisdom delighted in the sons of men
  5. The Spirit of God moved over the dark waters of the sea…also refered to as a formless void
  6. The Father and the Son delighted in a shared glory before ever a thing was made
  7. The Spirit is subtle pervading all
What is most interesting…the formless void is also refered to as a dark sea. Now, I believe, one of the background stories of the Bible is the story of this sea and how it plays out. The Bible begins with the Spirit of God moving over this sea…and ends (in the Book of Revelation with this curious phrase…“and there was no more sea”…and “the water flowed from the throne of God in the Temple of the City of God…down to the sea where it made the salt waters fresh.”

(Water in the Bible is either fresh or salt…with salt water an image of evil…for example in James…“Can blessing and curses come from the same mouth? Can fresh water and salt water flow from the same source?”

So to answer your question…what is this formless void?..It is the sea of limited possibilities…or, if you will, admixtures of good with imperfection.
God is perfect good…and there is no spot or blemish in Him…but let us give thanks to His Son Jesus for His Mercy endures forever. God has eternal mercy on our limited good. The salt waters are made fresh.

Didn’t you ever wonder why an entire section of the Bible was devouted to measuring out with the angel and the thousand cubits…how wide the fresh water river was that flows eternally toward us in Heaven?
 
Answering your question with a bit of scientific speculation…creation began with burning pools of hydrogen…Peter, James, Paul, John, and the Prophets all claim the Universe will end with a consumptive fire. The sea becomes a lake of fire forever receding…fleeing the Face of God.

Anti-matter was set ablaze…plays out…and returns to a neither world of anti-matter
 
ChristIsTheWay said:
What is it? Several early Church fathers seem to believe that God organized formless matter into the universe. Should it be considered nothing, as some Greek philosophers seem to have viewed it or should it be definitely something? Just what is it, exactly?
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From the philosophical point of view the concept of formless matter is a bit of an interesting one. On the aristotelian view, and to a certain extent on the platonic view, matter requires a form, a ‘whatness’ to give shape and identity to the matter, all dogs-big,small,brown, blond have a certain ‘dogness’ by which we recognise them as dogs. this ‘form of dogness’ given intelligibility to the matter of the dog.

Completly formless matter would be what Arostotle called “prime matter” that which had the radical potential to take on any form, to become any ‘what’ (this is even more basic than atomic or subatomic particles as the higgs-boson of it exists has the form of ‘higgs-boson-ness’ for want of a better word. This formless matter which has the potential to become, is certainly not nothing as if it has potential then it is something with potential to be. The concept of creation from nothing is on a diffeent philosophical level.

If you were able to specify church fathers or (pagan) philosophers who mentioned it maybe we could be of more help to you.

Hope this helps
 
Theophorus said:
If you were able to specify church fathers or (pagan) philosophers who mentioned it maybe we could be of more help to you.

Hope this helps
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Justin Martyr, among others. And yes, it does help. Thank you and Pugsly for responding.
 
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