Stuck on this lately...

[PaganSpirit]

For a long time I've considered myself a panentheist, but lately I've been
thinking:

I've pretty much come to the conclusion that the Universe - that is, space, not necessarily everything in it though - is infinite. I mean, that's why it's space. Now the conflict this has presented me with is this: when I think of panentheism, I generally get an image of the universe as an orb, within an aura of bright white light or a great cloud of light, something of that sort. In other words, I take it as God being bigger than the universe, transcending it while also being imminent within it.

Now, with the acceptance of space being infinite in size, logically speaking, God can't really be bigger than it. Also, I don't consider God as being limited to concepts like size, as God is beyond all concepts. So this brings me to pantheism. Problem here is, people seem to generally define pantheism as God and the Universe being totally equal, and that isn't what I believe either. Lately, I've seen God as being like the essence of the Universe, not so much transcending but underlying, and the Universe is like the physical manifestation of God, a lesser than real reality, like the shadows in Plato's cave. Kind of like God is to the Universe what the Soul or Mind is to human beings. So, in that sense, God and the Universe are One, but at the same time, they're not entirely equal.

Would this still be considered panentheism? Or a particular kind of pantheism? Or is it somewhere in between? Or is my thinking on panentheism just skewed? I've been a little torn on this lately.

[PaganSpirit]

Nevermind, I've found my answer. I totally missed the sticky on different types of Pantheism. Well I went and read the article on Naturalistic and Dualistic Pantheism and realized that most of what I've heard is of the Naturalistic bend, but my theology is definitely closer to Dualistic Pantheism, with perhaps a slight Panentheistic leaning.

[TygerTyger]

Glad we could help!

[Windsmith]

It might also be worth bearing in mind that the Universe is not infinite. Yes, to the puny human brain, it seems that way, because it's so friggin' enormous, but it does have edges. Somewhere beyond where we could ever travel, there is something (or Nothing) that is not our Universe. There may be other Universes; there may just be cold vacuum. Not something that's likely to become known in my lifetime, so I rarely think about it. But it's something for you to ponder, maybe.

[PaganSpirit]

Originally Posted by Windsmith

It might also be worth bearing in mind that the Universe is not infinite. Yes, to the puny human brain, it seems that way, because it's so friggin' enormous, but it does have edges. Somewhere beyond where we could ever travel, there is something (or Nothing) that is not our Universe. There may be other Universes; there may just be cold vacuum. Not something that's likely to become known in my lifetime, so I rarely think about it. But it's something for you to ponder, maybe.

True, but as I see it, said cold vacuum is pretty much just the continuation of space. Of course the Universe itself is constantly growing, but I don't quite see how space, being space, would have edges, as I don't suppose there's some kind of physical firmament, making it an enclosed sphere or something.

But then, who knows