Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 31:2 (Jun 1988)
Article: Is The Doctrine That God Is Spirit An Incoherent Concept?
Author: C. Glenn Kenadjian

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JETS 31:2 (June 1988) p. 191

Is The Doctrine That God Is Spirit An Incoherent Concept?

C. Glenn Kenadjian*

According to the Scriptures1 and to traditional Christian theology, God is conceived of as thinking and acting spirit, completely lacking any material components whatever. In essence this means that God is a nonembodied mind. Anthony Kenny apparently feels that this is a very problematic concept.

I know of no successful treatment of the philosophical problems involved in conceiving of a nonembodied mind active throughout the universe. It is indeed rare among theistic philosophers even to attempt to solve the problem.2

It is of course not the fact that God is a nonembodied mind that is so problematic in his eyes. It is the concept in general of a nonembodied mind, particularly one that can act on the material universe.

One thing is certain: Very few people have so far replied to this criticism of theism. Complicating matters, Kenny’s criticism is quite brief—and it is not all that clear as to why he thinks the idea is so problematic. Therefore in order to give a response this article will draw upon materials written for different but related areas, primarily the areas of the possibility of disembodied human minds and theories about the nature of human minds. From these works I will try to suggest the companion problems for theism and then critique them.

I. Conceptual Considerations

It is granted that there are a number of difficulties involved in conceiving of a nonembodied mind. It is also difficult if not impossible, however, to picture a thousand-sided figure. Yet most would not say that the latter presents philosophical difficulties for such a figure existing. I mention this as an example to point out that there is a certain ambiguity involved in saying that conceiving of a particular entity is problematic. Problematic in what ways? What problems in conception mean that a particular entity cannot exist, and which are simply due to our limits in mental capacity?

The following is a list of possible reasons for saying that a nonembodied mind is conceptually problematic. For each one I will evaluate its applicability and validity as an objection.

*Glenn Kenadjian is a national training director with Campus Crusade for Christ in Arlington, Virginia.

JETS 31:2 (June 1988) p. 192

1. A nonembodied mind is conceptually problematic because the concept is internally contradictory. If the concept is internally contradictory, it would indeed be as meaningless as the notion of a square circle. This is most certainly not the case, however....

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