If God is an immaterial being, how can he make material beings?

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Ben_Sinner

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A question I’ve been pondering today.

Can anybody help?
 
Quantum mechanics shows us that “material” things are made out of immaterial pattern and structure - I would say those patterns live in the mind of God.
 
Can you give a reason that he wouldn’t be able to? If not, then I don’t see what the issue is. If so, we’ll see if we can address your concern. ^^
 
The mystery moves more towards how He can create out of nothing. Remember, we do not come *out of *immateriality.
 
ProdglArchitect said:
Can you give a reason that he wouldn’t be able to? If not, then I don’t see what the issue is. If so, we’ll see if we can address your concern. ^^
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I was thinking in terms of St. Thomas Aquinas’s 4th way. How things are just parts of a perfect form.

So if material beings are part of a perfect form, God, who is immaterial. How is that possible?
 
If our spiritual souls (which are limited) can move our solid bodies, why could an infinite spirit not wholly control matter?

ICXC NIKA
 
Ben_Sinner said:
I was thinking in terms of St. Thomas Aquinas’s 4th way. How things are just parts of a perfect form.

So if material beings are part of a perfect form, God, who is immaterial. How is that possible?
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Aquinas’ 4th way:

  • *]There are differing degrees of perfection in things. (premise)
    *]If things have differing degrees of perfection, then there is a supreme perfection to which other things approximate. (premise)
    *]The supreme perfection is the cause of all the degrees of perfection in other things. (premise)
    *]Thus, there is something that causes the being and goodness of every perfection in all things, and this is God. (1-3)
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  • Why would God’s being perfect and immaterial limit him from creating material beings?

    I’m sorry, but I still don’t understand what the issue is.

    1. *]God is perfect. (premise)
      *]In order for God to be perfect (omnipotent), he must have absolute and complete knowledge of all things that can and do exist. (premise)
      *]Material things exist. (premise… or… fact, given that we exist)
      *]God must have knowledge of material things. (1-3)
 
I was taught by the Jesuits over 60 years ago that G*d, by definition, is omnipresent and omniscient.
 
God can do anything, as He is all-powerful and all-knowing.
 
You’ve been here longer than me. You should know a healthy bit of snark is essential to these boards. xD

But, in a more serious vein, I’m fairly certain most people’s definition of God explains it. If you want a philosophical argument, I suppose it would need to come in the form of a cosmological argument.

Let me turn this around. What makes you think that an immaterial being couldn’t make material beings?
 
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