Reconciliation between God being spaceless and omnipresent

[21Dec17]

I’m considering converting to Christianity. I need a little help reconciling the two ideas in the title. I know it is said that God is not physical and space is physical, so that at least is helpful.

 

[ProdglArchitect]

God exists outside of what we call space-time. To Him, all of existence is present as an eternal now. The past, present, and future are all equally there to Him. All moments and places are equally present to Him. As such, He is said to be present at all moments in all times. This presence does not require a physical aspect. A lot of the time, we have trouble with this because we tend to only think about presence as a physical condition, rather than a metaphysical one.

 

[Shakuhachi]

Rather than “outside” space-time how about pervading, supporting and surrounding space-time.

 

[JimG]

Pervading, surrounding, supporting, give the impression that God is spread out all over space (and time). But he isn’t. He is a pure spirit with no extension in space. It can be said that He is where he acts. And he acts everywhere and everywhen, even in holding all things in existence.

 

[Kei]

God is the source of all existence, and all that is is supported by His Power.

 

[Shakuhachi]

Do is omnipresent, ever present everywhere.

 

[ProdglArchitect]

Rather than “outside” space-time how about pervading, supporting and surrounding space-time.

I just wanted to reinforce what Jim said. God does not support existence, He IS existence. It’s a very important distinction. God is the act of existing itself, He is pure act. We say He is everywhere because that’s the closest our minds can come to understanding God’s reality.

That’s something you’re going to have to come to terms with as you seek to understand these types of questions. We cannot know God, period. He is infinitely beyond our comprehension. That being said, we can come to understand Him through what He has chosen to reveal to us, as well as through comparisons to things we do understand. These types of analogies will always be lacking, but they do help up develop our knowledge of God, and have allowed us to get a glimpse of His reality.

 

[Wesrock]

God has no extension in space. However, He is the continual cause of existence of everything that exists at every moment in time. By virtue of being the cause of you and me and my cup of coffee and all the molecules and atoms and sub-atomic particles, He is present. There is a contact, not physical contact, but contact with Him/His power, between a cause and its effect, and in this way He is present.

Thomas Aquinas’ medieval Latin translated to English is hard reading for some, but here is what he writes on the matter:

http://www.newadvent.org/summa/1008.htm#article2

Article 2. Whether God is everywhere?
Objection 1. It seems that God is not everywhere. For to be everywhere means to be in every place. But to be in every place does not belong to God, to Whom it does not belong to be in place at all; for “incorporeal things,” as Boethius says (De Hebdom.), “are not in a place.” Therefore God is not everywhere.

On the contrary, It is written, “I fill heaven and earth.” (Jeremiah 23:24).

I answer that, Since place is a thing, to be in place can be understood in a twofold sense; either by way of other things—i.e. as one thing is said to be in another no matter how; and thus the accidents of a place are in place; or by a way proper to place; and thus things placed are in a place. Now in both these senses, in some way God is in every place; and this is to be everywhere.

First, as He is in all things giving them being, power and operation; so He is in every place as giving it existence and locative power. Again, things placed are in place, inasmuch as they fill place; and God fills every place; not, indeed, like a body, for a body is said to fill place inasmuch as it excludes the co-presence of another body; whereas by God being in a place, others are not thereby excluded from it; indeed, by the very fact that He gives being to the things that fill every place, He Himself fills every place.

Reply to Objection 1. Incorporeal things are in place not by contact of dimensive quantity, as bodies are but by contact of power.