tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post1305909622203576346..comments2024-03-28T13:23:50.623-05:00Comments on Alexander Pruss's Blog: Does Christianity require a belief in matter?Alexander R Prusshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05989277655934827117noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-18931749153227992202016-04-15T13:17:51.322-05:002016-04-15T13:17:51.322-05:00I wasn't defending idealism, though that's...I wasn't defending idealism, though that's one way of denying the existence of matter. I definitely want to be a realist about the physical world around us, not just in the cheating way that Berkeley is. However, I think it's definitely unclear whether the correct physics will have a concept that answers well to the word "matter". It might have fields rather than particles, say. Alexander R Prusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05989277655934827117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-65499151804149742392016-04-15T12:42:59.464-05:002016-04-15T12:42:59.464-05:00As a Christian immaterialist (of the Berkelian var...As a Christian immaterialist (of the Berkelian variety, essentially), I (relatively) long ago came to the conclusion that not only does Christianity not require the existence of matter to be coherent, but there are no good philosophical reasons to believe in the existence of matter and good reasons not to do so...hence, immaterialism.<br /><br />Anyway, I might also point out two recent publications that came out about this topic:<br /><br />1) Idealism and Christian Philosophy by Steven B. Cowan and James S. Spiegel; and<br /><br />2) Idealism and Christian Theology by Joshua R. Farris and S. Mark Hamilton.<br /><br />Read the first one and am soon to buy the second. Quite good so far.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-16676359478637129942016-04-14T22:29:18.944-05:002016-04-14T22:29:18.944-05:00It's a majority view in the Tradition that ang...It's a majority view in the Tradition that angels are immaterial, though it's not an official teaching. There are, however, Church Fathers who thought otherwise, e.g., Athanasius who thought angels were made of subtle matter.Alexander R Prusshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05989277655934827117noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3891434218564545511.post-15856959555194644822016-04-14T16:49:19.675-05:002016-04-14T16:49:19.675-05:00Interesting piece, thanks. How do you think tradit...Interesting piece, thanks. How do you think traditional beliefs concerning angels would fit into this?edwardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07709298797853511005noreply@blogger.com