Abstract:
What is the constituent nature of God? Most scholars project the idea that God
is an absolute, pure spirit devoid of matter. In this paper, I engage this position
from the African philosophical place. First, I contend that the postulation that
God is pure spirit stems from an ontological system known as dualism. This
system bifurcates reality into spirit and matter and sees spirit as good, and
matter as evil. Therefore, scholars who subscribe to this theory of dualism,
posit that God, the Supreme Being is the ultimate good that is, and is pure
spirit. Secondly, I disagree with this position. Using the African theory of
duality, I argue that everything that is has both spirit and matter, and that spirit
and matter are good. Thus, God as an existent reality consists of spirit and
matter. I will support my argument using Asouzu’s Ibuanyidanda ontology
and Ijiomah’s Harmonious Monism, two African culture-inspired
philosophical systems. In this paper, I employ conversationalism as my
philosophical method.
