Spammer Posted July 9, 2013 Posted July 9, 2013 Well they do have this:John 4:24But that does not imply immateriality unless you buy into the whole dualistic idea of "Ideas" (or forms or philosophically, "universals") as being somehow immaterial.You need an additional premise in there to conclude that the sentence "God is a Spirit" makes God "immaterial" EVEN IF the phrase is translated correctly.And as LDS, all we have to do is understand the phrase as saying "God is a Soul" instead of "spirit" to have it mean, as Joseph defined the word "soul", a body united with a spirit.Certainly that was a common usage of the term in the 19th century and before where phrases like "100 souls perished when..." were used to describe some disaster- clearly the word soul was not synonymous with spirit as it now often is.Edit:But we also have this: Luke 24:39With all the previous verses I quoted earlier, this just shows that, surprise surprise, the Bible contradicts itself. Moses saw God's back, and Jacob saw him face to face, yet he doesn't have flesh and bones.So clearly the Bible leaves the issue, as always, being subject to interpretationYup, it all depends on the philosophical assumptions we bring to the table, and all the messiness that entails, when we first crack open the sacred texts.
mfbukowski Posted July 9, 2013 Posted July 9, 2013 Yup, it all depends on the philosophical assumptions we bring to the table, and all the messiness that entails, when we first crack open the sacred texts.And so can we escape "the philosophies of men"?Nope.They are in the very culture itself. Everyone knows that "courage" is real, but how much does it weigh? Is it "immaterial" or a "substance" or just a word to describe a set of behaviors?Take your pick. 1
mfbukowski Posted July 9, 2013 Posted July 9, 2013 Yeah, Bowman tried to use that one too. The problem they have is that the same Greek word (pneuma) that is translated to the English word "spirit" is the same Greek word used to mean "breathe" and/or "wind", both of which are material."The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind."
Spammer Posted July 9, 2013 Posted July 9, 2013 "The answer my friend is blowin' in the wind." I'm seeing Dylan with his froggy voice perform this weekend. I'll let you know if he's figured anything out after all these years. I'm not optimistic. 1
Gervin Posted July 9, 2013 Posted July 9, 2013 I'm seeing Dylan with his froggy voice perform this weekend. I'll let you know if he's figured anything out after all these years. I'm not optimistic.seeing him with wilco in 2 weeks. saw him last summer ... he's got it all figured out, in my book, but don't expect the voice to convince you ...
Spammer Posted July 9, 2013 Posted July 9, 2013 seeing him with wilco in 2 weeks. saw him last summer ... he's got it all figured out, in my book, but don't expect the voice to convince you ...Yup, Dylan with Wilco, MMJ, Richard Thompson, et al. Americanarama. Can't wait.
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