Can We Put God in a Box ?

A Philosophy of Religion Lecture in the City of Lost Angeles

Professor, I don't think we can put God in a box.

[The professor paused the lecture on the definition of God in the Ontological Argument].

[The Ontological Argument says that "God" is the Greatest Conceivable Being, greater than which none other can be conceived. As opposed to, say, a goose, or a Ford Aerostar, or a Kleenex full of snot, or a cavity, or a Cabbage Patch kid, or a nose ring, or a pulsar, or an electron].

I agree, but I'm not sure we agree for the same reasons, the professor said. What do you mean by it?

Well, the student said. I don't think we can define God.

Oh, that's not the same thought that I had. The professor said, can you define "box"?

[The student was about to talk--took a deep breath in--then laughed].

Uhm, he said.

Take your time.

A way of understanding that constrains something, he said.

[The professor furrowed his brow]. And then he said, I thought that a box was a material object used for storing or transporting objects that are smaller in size than the box.

[The class was silent as they considered this potentially life-changing information].

Another student said, well, that's a literal definition of "box." But that's not what he meant. [She pointed to the other student].

[The professor winced at the word "literal"]. I won't ask you what the word "literal" means, because I'm afraid of what you might say.

[The students laughed. They'd heard the professor rant about "literal" before].

The professor said, when people say they have can't put God in a box, they don't mean that you can't store God in your garage, or trunk?

[The students laughed].

Because I agree, the professor said. God is not that kind of thing.

The student said, I don't think we can understand or know what God is.

And the professor said, do you think you can put a box in a box?

And the student said, huh?

And the professor said, do you think we can put a box in a box?

If you mean a literal box, yes, if they fit, another student said.

But by "box," the professor reminded them, you meant "a way of understanding that constrains something," the professor said.

I'm not sure I understand the question anymore, the student said.

[The professor smiled]. Maybe we're making this more difficult than it needs to be.

[Some students who were fading snapped back].

The professor continued: The reason I don't think you can put God in a box, as you said, "literally," although the word literally doesn't help because it's its own antonym, is because I know what God is and I know what a box is, and God is immaterial by definition, and boxes are material and are for storing or transporting material objects of a size and shape that fits into the box, and I can't put God anywhere, because I am not that powerful to relocate an immaterial object like God. That's why I can't put God in a box in my garage. I am not changing definitions. I'm not speaking metaphorically. I'm using these common words in ordinary ways. There's not really anything mysterious here.

[The prof continued]. From my way of seeing things, it's as if you interrupted the lecture to point out that you can't brush the Holy Spirit's teeth.

[The students smiled].

I see what you're saying, another student said. He was using "box" as the same as "definition." But if we can't define God, how can we even say that we can't put God in a box?

Good point, the professor smiled. Yes.

Another student said, yeah, and what if you can't define "box." Because putting a "box" in a box would be saying you understand or define the word "box."

Right, the professor said.

[It was quiet as students pondered this].

There is a temptation, the professor said, to think that we can't think at all, because we can't understand words about spiritual things. And that has the effect of opening us up to error, or to just giving up. What's the point, then? Right? But what if we can understand that God is not the geese, that God is not part of nature at all, but is rather the creator of nature.

[Another student crinkled his nose and said], but doesn't that constrain God. Don't we risk constraining God with *our* understanding?

The professor said, does understanding the word "box" *constrain* any box?

[The student kept crinkling his nose]. I guess not.

Another student said, maybe there's a difference between constraining and understanding.

[All the students thought about this and the professor's eyes went to and fro. They all seemed to agree].

The professor said, I think that's the correct understanding of both "constraining" and "understanding"--they are not the same thing.

So in terms of God, the professor said, and this argument, if it's true that God is the greatest conceivable being, if that's the correct understanding, then of course you can't constrain God, can't put him in a box, because he is the Greatest Conceivable Being. He's not limited by what we think. It's by that understanding , by that definition, that I can see that's true. You need some clear understanding to be able to say something, right? Merely saying something requires at least some understanding.

But doesn't that mean we made it all up? another student said. I mean, where did we get this understanding?

Let's clarify something here, the professor said, before we go to break:

1) Atheism is the view that the concept of God is the Greatest Conceivable Being, and that humans created God. That concept exists only in our minds. Which are probably in turn our brains or some function of our central nervous system and brain activity.

2) Theism in this tradition is the view that the concept of God is the Greatest Conceivable Being, and that that idea is evidence that humans did not create God , but that God created humans for a purpose, and that our brains and central nervous systems , and our minds were created in such a way that we can understand God and relate to him.

Only one of these can be true because they contradict each other. Either God in this traditional sense created the world and us with it, or the other way around, we created God. Either God exists outside of, independently of the human mind or only within it.

Is that clear?

[They all nodded thoughtfully].

What serves as evidence for either side will be brought to bear more carefully in the coming lectures. If we can get past talk of boxes.

[Students laughed].

See you after break. We could all use some coffee. What is this, Ketel One or Grey Goose? the professor asked a girl as he pointed at her water bottle.

Copyright Lucas J. Mather, 2018
All Rights Reserved
Originally Posted to Facebook Thursday 26 April 2018 at 11:41 am