Introduction
building upon ideas in Amipotence
I offer this essay as a sympathetic response to three contributions in Amipotence:
- The introduction by Thomas Oord, which lays the foundation for understanding God as the most powerful force in the universe, rooted in love;
- John Buchanan’s essay, "Why Can't God Do More?," which introduces the idea of paranormal capacities in God, such as telepathy and psychokinesis, as expressions of non-coercive divine action;
- Darren Iammarino’s essay, "The Force and Form of Love and God's Cosmic Body," which compellingly argues that the whole of the universe can be understood as God’s body.
Thanks to all three, and to the many other authors in these anthologies, for their evocative ideas, from which there is so much to learn.
God as Relational Field
An Embodied Spirit of Love
“God is a universal but invisible spirit without a localized body...The amipotent Spirit has no body but has material and mental dimensions...Amipotence is the most powerful force in this universe and every other that might exist." (Thomas Oord in Amipotence)
Thomas Oord and others in the open and relational tradition often speak of God as all-loving but lacking a localized body, such that God cannot intervene in worldly affairs in a unilateral or coercive way. God has no hands except our own, goes the saying. At the same time they speak of God as a loving Spirit, at work in the world, which is "the most powerful force in this universe and any other that might exist."
This conception of God as a universal Spirit raises an important question: Can we experience this Spirit in a direct and immediate way, or must we only infer its existence? Oord and others in the open and relational tradition argue that we can and do experience the Spirit, albeit in what they call non-sensory way, most often as an inwardly felt lure or prompting toward the fullness of flourishing life. This experience is deeply relational, dynamic, and personal, often felt as a call toward beauty, truth, and goodness.
Yet, the emphasis on God lacking a localized body experienced in non-sensory ways can lead some to feel that the God to whom open and relational theology points is, all things considered, primarily a matter of mental inference: an abstraction to which one might intellectually assent rather than a reality that can be directly perceived or felt. This perception risks portraying God as distant or detached, undermining the relational nature of divine presence central to open and relational thought.
Field-Like Divine Embodiment
The very idea of God as an omnipresent Spirit suggests a form of embodiment, though not in the traditional sense of a solid, localized body. Localized forms of embodiment, such as those characterized by solid matter, are typically defined by fixed boundaries and rigidity, limiting their capacity to adapt to external conditions. Such objects include mountains, trees, and stones, as well as our own physical bodies—the latter of which serve as instruments of our more coercive agencies, such as when we will ourselves to raise our hands. Instead, God’s embodiment might be better conceived as akin to a field of energy—dynamic, relational, and permeating all things.
This conception resonates with how we experience liquids, with their fluidity and ability to adapt to varying circumstances, or gases, which fill every available space, making their presence expansive and non-coercive. They also resonate with our experiences of wind and breathing, reminding us of the dynamic, unseen forces that sustain and interact with life. And, not least, with music, which moves us in ways that are intangible yet deeply felt, but which cannot be grasped with the hands or seen with the eyes. These, too, are forms of embodiment, though not highly localized, reflecting a kind of material presence that is flexible, relational, and universally available.
Advances in condensed matter physics further enrich this metaphor. Solids, liquids, and gases are just three states of matter among many others. For example, in its superconductive form, matter exhibits unique properties that provide rich metaphors for divine embodiment. Superconductors allow the frictionless flow of energy, symbolizing God’s ability to interact with creation without resistance or coercion. They also exhibit quantum coherence, enabling particles to remain relationally entangled over vast distances, reflecting the omnipresence of divine relationality. Furthermore, superconductors demonstrate magnetic qualities, such as the Meissner effect, where they expel magnetic fields, creating a unique interplay of resistance and attraction.
In this vision, God’s embodiment is dynamic, adaptive, and relational—more akin to a field or flow than a localized, solid form. This field-like nature enables God to be present to all things at all times, influencing them in non-coercive and responsive ways.
Divine Agency as Relational and Emergent
The idea that God is embodied in field-like ways—such as gases, liquids, or superconductive materials, or like breathing and music —may elicit resistance from those who emphasize God as an intentional agent. After all, we do not ordinarily conceive of liquids, gases, or superconductive materials as "intentional" agents, even though they act on and influence others. This concern may stem from the assumption that for something to be an intentional agent, it must occupy a particular region of space with clear boundaries, not unlike a solid object.
Yet process theology challenges this assumption, offering a broader and more dynamic image of agency. While God is indeed an individual agent in process thought, God is also a compound agent, partly composed of other entities—indeed, of the universe itself. An agent is not a self-contained subject, isolated from the world by impermeable boundaries, but rather a relational subject, whose agency emerges in response to others and is constituted by relationships.
This relational agency is evident in human life, particularly in relationships like parenting. Parents are intentional agents, but their identity and agency as parents arise through their relationships with their children. Similarly, God’s agency begins with and is defined by loving relationships with the world. God’s very identity cannot be sharply separated from the world God loves.
If we extend this relational understanding of agency to God’s field-like embodiment, God’s agency might be better conceived on the analogy of fields rather than solid objects. Fields are relational by nature, permeating and interacting with their surroundings. In this vision, God’s agency arises in the midst of relationships, influencing and being influenced, loving and being loved.
Field-Like Agency and Paranormal Capacities
Process theology also suggests that divine agency may include capacities analogous to what we call paranormal in human life. These include telepathy—feeling the feelings of others at great distances—and psychokinesis—influencing other bodies at a distance. In the case of God, however, the notion of “distance” is irrelevant, for God’s field-like agency is equally present to all things at all times.
God’s Spirit acts telepathically, empathically feeling the joys and sufferings of all creatures, and psychokinetically, influencing them through non-coercive beckonings—what process theology describes as lures, urgings, or callings. These promptings are experienced within the subjective lives of creatures as invitations toward greater flourishing, harmony, and creativity. Like water adapting to the contours of its container or a field permeating all available space, God’s Spirit dynamically adjusts to the needs and circumstances of each being.
The Universe as God’s Body
Process theology deepens this vision by affirming that the universe itself can be understood as God’s body. The materiality of the universe, in all its diverse forms, is not separate from God but is an integral part of God’s life and being. Just as children are an inseparable part of a loving parent’s life, or lovers are part of the beloved’s life, so too is the materiality of the universe part of the divine life.
If the universe is God’s body, then every encounter with material reality is also an encounter with a side of God. When we touch, see, hear, or otherwise experience the physical world, we are engaging with a dimension of the divine. The natural world, from the solidity of a mountain to the fluidity of a river or the expansiveness of a cloud, becomes a medium through which God’s presence is revealed.
When we respond to the material world with love, care, and respect, we are participating in the divine life. Loving responses to the material world align us with the field-like force of Amipotence—God’s universal, relational presence that seeks the flourishing of all things.
The Big and the Small
To say that the universe is God’s body is to affirm the interconnectedness of all things and the intrinsic value of each thing. The material world, in all its forms, occurs within the divine life, expressing God’s relational presence and creativity. This perspective emphasizes that God is attentive to the each as well as the all, caring for the particular as much as the whole.
When we encounter the material world, we encounter God—not only in the vastness of the cosmos but also in the intimacy of the smallest details. We do not need to think in gigantesque terms to experience God’s body; the divine presence is revealed in the simple and the ordinary, in the gentle touch of a breeze, the solidity of a stone, or the whisper of a stream. And, of course, in the eyes and face of the other person, the other animal—those whose presence calls forth our recognition, care, and love.
When we respond in love, we participate in God’s field-like agency, contributing to the unfolding of divine purposes in ways that are non-coercive and life-affirming. This vision enriches our understanding of divine embodiment and agency, revealing a God who is deeply present, relationally engaged, and profoundly intertwined with the sacredness of the cosmos.
- Jay McDaniel
Ten Suggestions
- God as a Universal Spirit
God is an omnipresent Spirit without a localized body, expressing material and mental dimensions and serving as the most powerful force in the universe. - Inference Is Not Enough
Merely inferring God’s existence intellectually risks portraying God as distant or abstract, which fails to capture the immediacy of relational divine presence. - Relational Experience of God
We experience God directly as an inwardly felt lure toward flourishing, emphasizing relational, dynamic, and personal encounters and also in the material world itself, which is God's body. - Field-Like Embodiment of God
God’s embodiment can be understood as akin to a dynamic field of energy, relationally permeating all things and adapting to their needs. - Metaphors from Physics
Superconductors, with their frictionless flow of energy and relational coherence, offer rich metaphors for God’s non-coercive, omnipresent agency. - Relational and Emergent Agency
God’s agency arises from relational interactions, more like a nurturing parent or dynamic field than a distant ruler or isolated solid object. - Paranormal Capacities of Divine Agency
God’s field-like presence includes capacities akin to telepathy and psychokinesis, influencing creation non-coercively through lures and promptings. - The Universe as God’s Body
The material universe, in all its diverse forms, is an integral part of God’s life, expressing divine presence in both the vast and the intimate. - Attentiveness to Each and All
God’s care encompasses both the whole and the particular, revealed in the vastness of the cosmos and the eyes and faces of others, human and non-human. - A Sacred and Relational Universe
Encountering the material world invites participation in God’s loving, non-coercive agency, contributing to the sacred interconnectedness of all things.
Summary
Open and relational theology envisions God as an all-loving Spirit, omnipresent yet lacking a localized body—understood as having a fixed location with rigid boundaries, like a physical body perceived with the eyes.
While this view has its merits, it carries three challenges:
Is there an alternative? I think there is. It is to affirm the non-localized embodiment of God: the way that God is present in and to us, in loving ways that are known and felt, but not in a localized or rigidly defined way.
Is there an alternative? I think there is. It is to affirm the non-localized embodiment of God: that is, the way that God is present in and and to us, in loving ways, that are known and felt, but not in a localized way.
The idea of non-localized embodiment enables open and relational thinkers to address these challenges by imagining God’s presence as dynamic, relational, and experiential, not unlike:
All of these—gases, liquids, wind, breathing, and music—are part of the material world sensually felt, but the forms of materiality they present to us are non-localized compared to objects of visual perception perceived in detached ways. They are non-solid,.A recognition of forms of matter that are, compared to vision, non-localized or field-like can help us affirm a sacred presence that is fluid, expansive, and deeply intertwined with both the sensory and material dimensions of the world. A presence that is, to use a word favored by Thomas Oord and other theologians, Spirit.
While this view has its merits, it carries three challenges:
- God as Distant and/or Merely Inferred: It risks portraying God as distant, as merely something that can be inferred but not directly experienced.
- Impoverishes notion of Religious Experience: If open to experiencing God, it limits that experience to an inwardly felt, immaterial lure, seemingly disconnected from the material world. It lacks a sacramental dimension, that of experiencing God more directly in the material world.
- Separation from the Senses: It can suggest the life of the senses—including hearing, touching, tasting, and smelling—is unreliable and disconnected from God. This separation of sensory life from divine presence perpetuates a dualism between mind and body, sensuality and spirit, that has plagued much of historical religion.
Is there an alternative? I think there is. It is to affirm the non-localized embodiment of God: the way that God is present in and to us, in loving ways that are known and felt, but not in a localized or rigidly defined way.
Is there an alternative? I think there is. It is to affirm the non-localized embodiment of God: that is, the way that God is present in and and to us, in loving ways, that are known and felt, but not in a localized way.
The idea of non-localized embodiment enables open and relational thinkers to address these challenges by imagining God’s presence as dynamic, relational, and experiential, not unlike:
- Gases and Liquids: These forms of matter adapt to varying circumstances, filling available spaces in expansive and non-coercive ways.
- Contemporary States of Matter: Insights from condensed matter physics, such as superconductivity and quantum coherence, point to non-localized forms of interaction and influence.
- Wind and Breathing: These dynamic, unseen forces sustain life and move through spaces with fluidity and intimacy.
- Music: Field-like sounds, such as music, resonate deeply within us, filling spaces without boundaries and evoking relational, experiential connections.
All of these—gases, liquids, wind, breathing, and music—are part of the material world sensually felt, but the forms of materiality they present to us are non-localized compared to objects of visual perception perceived in detached ways. They are non-solid,.A recognition of forms of matter that are, compared to vision, non-localized or field-like can help us affirm a sacred presence that is fluid, expansive, and deeply intertwined with both the sensory and material dimensions of the world. A presence that is, to use a word favored by Thomas Oord and other theologians, Spirit.