> You could replace "physical" with "god" in your definition and it would read true to many religions.
The difference is that the concept of physical minimally satisfies the required features to fill the conceptual role implied by science. If you replace physical with god, you are either eliminating the necessary properties of god or you're assuming more than is warranted.
Necessary properties of our concept of god, e.g. intelligent creator. If you deflate the concept of god such that any sort of eternal grounding substance of the universe is "god" then you've abandoned what is important in the concept of god (or attempting to engage in sleight of hand).
What do you mean "our" god? You do know there are many other understandings of god that are different from the mainstream stereotypical Abrahamic definition of god, right?
"God, therefore, is the one most simple essence of the entire universe"
-Nicholas de Cusa
"We shall find God in everything alike, and find God always alike in everything."
-Meister Eckhart
"The superior devotee sees that God alone has become everything...He finds that everything, above and below, is filled with God."
-Ramakrishna
"In order to attain perfect union, we must divest ourselves of God...The common belief about God, that He is a great Taskmaster, whose function is to reward or punish, is cast out by perfect love; and in this sense the spiritual man does divest himself of God as conceived of by most people."
Do you have a substantive point, or are you just trying to be pedantic? Clearly, if your conception of god is contentless such that it's isomorphic to a basic physical substance then there is no problem. If your point was simply to point out such conceptions, well, OK, but I'm not sure why you felt the need to point that out.
The difference is that the concept of physical minimally satisfies the required features to fill the conceptual role implied by science. If you replace physical with god, you are either eliminating the necessary properties of god or you're assuming more than is warranted.