Immateriality

Immateriality is a quality of God and of the human soul. The immateriality of God denotes that he forms an absolute contrast to matter; he is simple, and has no parts, and so cannot be dissolved; matter, on the other hand, is made up of parts into which it can be resolved. God is also free from the limitations to which matter is subject, i.e. from the limits of space and time. The immateriality of God is therefore the basis of the qualities of eternity, omnipresence, and unchangeableness. Thus the immateriality of the soul includes likewise simplicity as another of its qualities. This, of course, does not absolutely set it above the limitations of space and time, since the soul needs the body for a necessary organ of its life; nor does it set aside any further development, but it certainly includes indestructibility, and thus serves as a proof of immortality (q.v.). The materiality of the soul was asserted by Tertullian, Arnobins, and others, during the first three centuries. Near the close of the fourth, the immateriality of the soul was maintained by Augustine, Nemesius, and Mamertfus Claudianus. See Guizot, History of Civilization, 1, 394; Krauth, Vocab. of Philos. p. 245. SEE IMMENSITY OF GOD; SEE SOUL, TRADUCTION OF.