Process theology
Encyclopedia
Process theology is a school of thought influenced by the metaphysical process philosophy
of Alfred North Whitehead
(1861–1947) and further developed by Charles Hartshorne
(1897–2000). While there are process theologies that are similar, but unrelated to the work of Whitehead (such as Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
) the term is generally applied to the Whiteheadian/Hartshornean school. Process theology is unrelated to the Process Church.
(1897–2000), John B. Cobb, Jr.
, and David Ray Griffin
. A characteristic of process theology each of these thinkers shared was a rejection of metaphysics
that privilege "being" over "becoming," particularly those of Aristotle
and Thomas Aquinas
. Hartshorne was deeply influenced by French philosopher Jules Lequier
and by Swiss philosopher Charles Secrétan
who were probably the first ones to claim that in God liberty of becoming is above his substantiality.
Process theology soon influenced a number of Jewish
theologians including Rabbi
s Max Kadushin
, Milton Steinberg
and Levi A. Olan, Harry Slominsky and, to a lesser degree, Abraham Joshua Heschel
. Today some rabbis who advocate some form of process theology include Bradley Shavit Artson
, Lawrence A. Englander, William E. Kaufman
, Harold Kushner
, Anton Laytner, Michael Lerner
, Gilbert S. Rosenthal, Lawrence Troster
, Donald B. Rossoff, Burton Mindick, and Nahum Ward.
Alan Anderson and Deb Whitehouse have attempted to integrate process theology with the New Thought variant of Christianity
.
The work of Richard Stadelmann has been to preserve the uniqueness of Jesus in process theology.
:
is the expression of the diversity of cultural backgrounds and assumptions that people use to approach the Divine.
of process theology does not represent a hypostasis of divine and human persona. Rather God is incarnate in the lives of all humans when they act according to a call from God. Jesus fully and in every way responded to the call of God and so the person of Jesus is theologically understood to be “the divine Word in human form.” Jesus was not God-man in essence, but fully identified with God at all moments of life.
Reference works
Process philosophy
Process philosophy identifies metaphysical reality with change and dynamism. Since the time of Plato and Aristotle, philosophers have posited true reality as "timeless", based on permanent substances, whilst processes are denied or subordinated to timeless substances...
of Alfred North Whitehead
Alfred North Whitehead
Alfred North Whitehead, OM FRS was an English mathematician who became a philosopher. He wrote on algebra, logic, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of science, physics, metaphysics, and education...
(1861–1947) and further developed by Charles Hartshorne
Charles Hartshorne
Charles Hartshorne was a prominent American philosopher who concentrated primarily on the philosophy of religion and metaphysics. He developed the neoclassical idea of God and produced a modal proof of the existence of God that was a development of St. Anselm's Ontological Argument...
(1897–2000). While there are process theologies that are similar, but unrelated to the work of Whitehead (such as Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin SJ was a French philosopher and Jesuit priest who trained as a paleontologist and geologist and took part in the discovery of both Piltdown Man and Peking Man. Teilhard conceived the idea of the Omega Point and developed Vladimir Vernadsky's concept of Noosphere...
) the term is generally applied to the Whiteheadian/Hartshornean school. Process theology is unrelated to the Process Church.
History
The original ideas of process thought are found in the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead. Various theological and philosophical aspects have been expanded and developed by Charles HartshorneCharles Hartshorne
Charles Hartshorne was a prominent American philosopher who concentrated primarily on the philosophy of religion and metaphysics. He developed the neoclassical idea of God and produced a modal proof of the existence of God that was a development of St. Anselm's Ontological Argument...
(1897–2000), John B. Cobb, Jr.
John B. Cobb
John B. Cobb, Jr. is an American United Methodist theologian who played a crucial role in the development of process theology. He integrated Alfred North Whitehead's metaphysics into Christianity, and applied it to issues of social justice.-Biography:John Cobb was born in Kobe, Japan in 1925 to...
, and David Ray Griffin
David Ray Griffin
David Ray Griffin is a retired American professor of philosophy of religion and theology. Along with John B. Cobb, Jr., he founded the Center for Process Studies in 1973, a research center of Claremont School of Theology which seeks to promote the common good by means of the relational approach...
. A characteristic of process theology each of these thinkers shared was a rejection of metaphysics
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
that privilege "being" over "becoming," particularly those of Aristotle
Aristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
and Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas, O.P. , also Thomas of Aquin or Aquino, was an Italian Dominican priest of the Catholic Church, and an immensely influential philosopher and theologian in the tradition of scholasticism, known as Doctor Angelicus, Doctor Communis, or Doctor Universalis...
. Hartshorne was deeply influenced by French philosopher Jules Lequier
Jules Lequier
Jules Lequier was a French philosopher from Brittany. He wrote in favour of dynamic divine omniscience, wherein God's knowledge of the future is one of possibilities rather than actualities...
and by Swiss philosopher Charles Secrétan
Charles Secretan
Charles Secretan was a Swiss philosopher born on January 19, 1815 in Lausanne, Switzerland, where he also died on January 21, 1895. Educated in his native town and later under Friedrich Schelling in Munich, he became a professor of philosophy at Lausanne , and later at Neuchâtel. In 1866 he...
who were probably the first ones to claim that in God liberty of becoming is above his substantiality.
Process theology soon influenced a number of Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
theologians including Rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
s Max Kadushin
Max Kadushin
Max Kadushin was a Conservative rabbi best known for his organic philosophy of rabbinics.-Biography:After graduating from New York University, Kadushin studied for the rabbinate at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America during the 1920s. There he encountered Mordecai Kaplan and soon became a...
, Milton Steinberg
Milton Steinberg
Milton Steinberg was an American rabbi, philosopher, theologian and author.-Life:Born in Rochester, New York, he was raised with the combination of his grandparents' traditional Jewish piety and his father's modernist socialism...
and Levi A. Olan, Harry Slominsky and, to a lesser degree, Abraham Joshua Heschel
Abraham Joshua Heschel
Abraham Joshua Heschel was a Polish-born American rabbi and one of the leading Jewish theologians and Jewish philosophers of the 20th century.-Biography:...
. Today some rabbis who advocate some form of process theology include Bradley Shavit Artson
Bradley Shavit Artson
Bradley Shavit Artson is an American rabbi, author, speaker, and the occupant of the Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean's Chair of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, California, where he is Vice-President...
, Lawrence A. Englander, William E. Kaufman
William E. Kaufman
William E. Kaufman is a Conservative Jewish rabbi, theologian and author. His 1991 book, The Case for God, was the first on Jewish process theology.-Education:...
, Harold Kushner
Harold Kushner
Rabbi Harold Samuel Kushner is a prominent American rabbi aligned with the progressive wing of Conservative Judaism, and a popular author.- Education :...
, Anton Laytner, Michael Lerner
Michael Lerner (rabbi)
Michael Lerner is a political activist, the editor of Tikkun, a progressive Jewish interfaith magazine based in Berkeley, California, and the rabbi of Beyt Tikkun Synagogue of San Francisco.-Family and Education:...
, Gilbert S. Rosenthal, Lawrence Troster
Lawrence Troster
Rabbi Lawrence Troster is Director of the Fellowship program and Rabbinic Scholar-in-Residence for GreenFaith, the interfaith environmental coalition in New Jersey. Rabbi Troster co-chairs the Interfaith Partnership for the Environment of UNEP . He is also pursuing a D. Min...
, Donald B. Rossoff, Burton Mindick, and Nahum Ward.
Alan Anderson and Deb Whitehouse have attempted to integrate process theology with the New Thought variant of Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
.
The work of Richard Stadelmann has been to preserve the uniqueness of Jesus in process theology.
Major concepts
- GodGodGod is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
is not omnipotent in the sense of being coercive. The divine has a power of persuasion rather than coercion. Process theologians interpret the classical doctrine of omnipotence as involving force, and suggest instead a forbearance in divine power. "Persuasion" in the causal sense means that God does not exert unilateral control. - Reality is not made up of material substances that endure through time, but serially-ordered events, which are experiential in nature. These events have both a physical and mental aspect. All experience (male, female, atomic, and botanical) is important and contributes to the ongoing and interrelated process of reality.
- The universe is characterized by process and change carried out by the agents of free willFree will"To make my own decisions whether I am successful or not due to uncontrollable forces" -Troy MorrisonA pragmatic definition of free willFree will is the ability of agents to make choices free from certain kinds of constraints. The existence of free will and its exact nature and definition have long...
. Self-determinationSelf-Determination TheorySelf-determination theory is a macro theory of human motivation and personality, concerning people's inherent growth tendencies and their innate psychological needs. It is concerned with the motivation behind the choices that people make without any external influence and interference...
characterizes everything in the universeUniverseThe Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
, not just human beings. God cannot totally control any series of events or any individual, but God influences the creaturely exercise of this universal free will by offering possibilities. To say it another way, God has a will in everything, but not everything that occurs is God's will. - God contains the universe but is not identical with it (panentheismPanentheismPanentheism is a belief system which posits that God exists, interpenetrates every part of nature and timelessly extends beyond it...
, not pantheismPantheismPantheism is the view that the Universe and God are identical. Pantheists thus do not believe in a personal, anthropomorphic or creator god. The word derives from the Greek meaning "all" and the Greek meaning "God". As such, Pantheism denotes the idea that "God" is best seen as a process of...
or pandeismPandeismPandeism or Pan-Deism , is a term describing beliefs incorporating or mixing logically reconcilable elements of pantheism and deism Pandeism or Pan-Deism (from and meaning "God" in the sense of deism), is a term describing beliefs incorporating or mixing logically reconcilable elements of...
). Some also call this "theocosmocentrism" to emphasize that God has always been related to some world or another. - Because God interacts with the changing universe, God is changeable (that is to say, God is affected by the actions that take place in the universe) over the course of time. However, the abstract elements of God (goodness, wisdomWisdomWisdom is a deep understanding and realization of people, things, events or situations, resulting in the ability to apply perceptions, judgements and actions in keeping with this understanding. It often requires control of one's emotional reactions so that universal principles, reason and...
, etc.) remain eternally solid. - Charles HartshorneCharles HartshorneCharles Hartshorne was a prominent American philosopher who concentrated primarily on the philosophy of religion and metaphysics. He developed the neoclassical idea of God and produced a modal proof of the existence of God that was a development of St. Anselm's Ontological Argument...
believes that people do not experience subjective (or personal) immortalityImmortalityImmortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
, but they do have objective immortality because their experiences live on forever in God, who contains all that was. Other process theologians believe that people do have subjective experience after bodily death. - Dipolar theismDipolar theismIn Process theology Dipolar theism is the position that in order to conceive a perfect God, one must conceive Him as embodying the "good" in sometimes-opposing characteristics, and therefore cannot be understood to embody only one set of characteristics....
, is the idea that God has both a changing aspect (God's existence as a Living God) and an unchanging aspect (God's eternal essence).
Relationship to liberation theology
C. Robert Mesle, in his book Process Theology, outlines three aspects of a process theology of liberationLiberation theology
Liberation theology is a Christian movement in political theology which interprets the teachings of Jesus Christ in terms of a liberation from unjust economic, political, or social conditions...
:
- There is a relational character to the divine which allows God to experience both the joy and suffering of humanity. God suffers just as those who experience oppression and God seeks to actualize all positive and beautiful potentials. God must, therefore, be in solidarity with the oppressed and must also work for their liberation.
- God is not omnipotent in the classical sense and so God does not provide support for the status quo, but rather seeks the actualization of greater good.
- God exercises relational power and not unilateral control. In this way God cannot instantly end evil and oppression in the world. God works in relational ways to help guide persons to liberation.
Relationship to pluralism
Process theology affirms that God is working in all persons to actualize potentialities. In that sense each religious manifestation is the Divine working in a unique way to bring out the beautiful and the good. Additionally, scripture and religion represent human interpretations of the divine. In this sense pluralismReligious pluralism
Religious pluralism is a loosely defined expression concerning acceptance of various religions, and is used in a number of related ways:* As the name of the worldview according to which one's religion is not the sole and exclusive source of truth, and thus that at least some truths and true values...
is the expression of the diversity of cultural backgrounds and assumptions that people use to approach the Divine.
Relationship to the doctrine of the incarnation
The ChristChrist
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
of process theology does not represent a hypostasis of divine and human persona. Rather God is incarnate in the lives of all humans when they act according to a call from God. Jesus fully and in every way responded to the call of God and so the person of Jesus is theologically understood to be “the divine Word in human form.” Jesus was not God-man in essence, but fully identified with God at all moments of life.
Process theologians
- Bradley Shavit ArtsonBradley Shavit ArtsonBradley Shavit Artson is an American rabbi, author, speaker, and the occupant of the Abner and Roslyn Goldstine Dean's Chair of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles, California, where he is Vice-President...
- Charles BirchCharles BirchLouis Charles Birch FAA was an Australian geneticist specialising in population ecology and was also well known as a theologian, writing widely on the topic of science and religion, winning the Templeton Prize in 1990...
- Joseph A. Bracken
- Philip ClaytonPhilip Clayton (theologian)Philip Clayton is a contemporary American theologian and philosopher who currently holds the Ingraham Chair of Theology at Claremont School of Theology. He received dual PhDs from Yale in philosophy and theology, working with Louis Dupre...
- John B. CobbJohn B. CobbJohn B. Cobb, Jr. is an American United Methodist theologian who played a crucial role in the development of process theology. He integrated Alfred North Whitehead's metaphysics into Christianity, and applied it to issues of social justice.-Biography:John Cobb was born in Kobe, Japan in 1925 to...
- Bruce G. EpperlyBruce G. EpperlyBruce Gordon Epperly is a theologian, minister, and author. He is one of the leading process theologians in the United States, having studied with John B. Cobb at Claremont Graduate University. Dr. Epperly currently serves as Professor of Practical Theology and Director of Continuing Education at...
- Paul S. Fiddes
- Stephen T. FranklinStephen T. FranklinStephen T. Franklin is a Christian theologian and philosopher, and president emeritus of Tokyo Christian University. Franklin is one of the few evangelicals who is also a scholar of process theology; known for his research in the interaction of evangelical theology and process thought...
- Roland Faber
- Terence E. FretheimTerence E. FretheimTerence E. Fretheim is an Old Testament scholar and the Elva B. Lovell professor of Old Testament at Luther Seminary. His writings have played a major part in the development of process theology and open theism.- Biographical Information :...
- David Ray GriffinDavid Ray GriffinDavid Ray Griffin is a retired American professor of philosophy of religion and theology. Along with John B. Cobb, Jr., he founded the Center for Process Studies in 1973, a research center of Claremont School of Theology which seeks to promote the common good by means of the relational approach...
- Charles HartshorneCharles HartshorneCharles Hartshorne was a prominent American philosopher who concentrated primarily on the philosophy of religion and metaphysics. He developed the neoclassical idea of God and produced a modal proof of the existence of God that was a development of St. Anselm's Ontological Argument...
- Nancy R. HowellNancy R. HowellNancy R. Howell is an American educator. She is Professor of Theology and Philosophy of Religion at Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Missouri....
- William E. KaufmanWilliam E. KaufmanWilliam E. Kaufman is a Conservative Jewish rabbi, theologian and author. His 1991 book, The Case for God, was the first on Jewish process theology.-Education:...
- Catherine KellerCatherine Keller (theologian)Catherine Keller is a Process Theologian and is currently a professor of Constructive Theology at New Jersey's Drew University. Like most major voices in Process theology, she studied directly with John B...
- Harold KushnerHarold KushnerRabbi Harold Samuel Kushner is a prominent American rabbi aligned with the progressive wing of Conservative Judaism, and a popular author.- Education :...
- Monica A. Coleman
- Michael LernerMichael LernerMichael Lerner may refer to:*Michael Lerner *Michael Lerner , inventor of the Baby on Board signs*Michael Lerner *Michael Lerner , social activist...
- C. Robert MesleC. Robert MesleC. Robert Mesle is a Process Theologian and is currently a professor of Philosophy and Religion at Graceland University in Iowa. After earning a B.A. in Religion at Graceland University , an M.A. in Christian Theology at University of Chicago Divinity School , Bob received a Ph.D...
- Thomas Jay OordThomas Jay OordThomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. He is the author or editor of about twenty books and professor at Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa, Idaho...
- Blake OstlerBlake OstlerBlake Thomas Ostler is an American theologian and writer on the topic of Mormon theology, philosophy and thought.- Background :Ostler was born in 1957 in Murray, Utah. Ostler received his B.A. in philosophy and B.S. in psychobiology in 1981 from Brigham Young University . He received his J.D. as...
- Norman PittengerNorman PittengerWilliam Norman Pittenger was an Anglican theologian. He played an important role as promoter of process theology and he became one of the first acknowledged Christian defenders for the open acceptance of homosexual relations among Christians...
- Marjorie Hewitt SuchockiMarjorie Hewitt SuchockiMarjorie Hewitt Suchocki is an author and United Methodist professor emerita of theology at Claremont School of Theology. She is also co-director of the at Claremont....
- Alfred North WhiteheadAlfred North WhiteheadAlfred North Whitehead, OM FRS was an English mathematician who became a philosopher. He wrote on algebra, logic, foundations of mathematics, philosophy of science, physics, metaphysics, and education...
- Daniel Day WilliamsDaniel Day WilliamsDaniel Day Williams was a process theologian, professor, and author. He served on the joint faculty of the University of Chicago and the Chicago Theological Seminary, and later at Union Theological Seminary in New York City...
Further reading
- Bruce G. Epperly Process Theology: A Guide for the Perplexed (NY: T&T Clark, 2011, ISBN 978-0-567-59669-7) This is "perhaps the best in-depth introduction to process theology available for non-specialists."
- Marjorie Hewitt SuchockiMarjorie Hewitt SuchockiMarjorie Hewitt Suchocki is an author and United Methodist professor emerita of theology at Claremont School of Theology. She is also co-director of the at Claremont....
's God Christ Church: A Practical Guide to Process Theology, new rev. ed. (New York: Crossroad, 1989, ISBN 0-8245-0970-6) demonstrates the practical integration of process philosophy with Christianity. - C. Robert Mesle's Process Theology: A Basic Introduction (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1993, ISBN 0-8272-2945-3) is an introduction to process theology written for the layperson.
- Jewish introductions to classical theismClassical theismClassical theism refers to the a form of Theism in distinction to modern ideas about God such as Theistic Personalism, Open Theism and Process Theism. Classical Theism began with the works of the Greek philosophers, especially Platonists and Neoplatonists and was developed into Christian Theology...
, limited theism and process theology can be found in A Question of Faith: An Atheist and a RabbiRabbiIn Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Debate the Existence of God (Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson, 1994, ISBN 1-56821-089-2) and The Case for God (St. Louis: Chalice Press, 1991, ISBN 0-8272-0458-2), both written by Rabbi William E. Kaufman. Jewish variations of process theology are also presented in Harold Kushner's When Bad Things Happen to Good PeopleWhen Bad Things Happen to Good PeopleWhen Bad Things Happen to Good People is a 1981 book by Harold Kushner, a Conservative rabbi. Kushner addresses in the book one of the principal problems of theodicy, the conundrum of why, if the universe was created and is governed by a God who is of a good and loving nature, there is...
(New York: Anchor Books, 2004, ISBN 1-4000-3472-8) and Sandra B. Lubarsky and David Ray Griffin, eds., Jewish Theology and Process Thought (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995, ISBN 0-7914-2810-9). - Christian introductions may be found in Schubert M. Ogden's The Reality of God and Other Essays (Dallas: Southern Methodist University Press, 1992, ISBN 0-87074-318-X); John B. Cobb, Doubting Thomas: ChristologyChristologyChristology is the field of study within Christian theology which is primarily concerned with the nature and person of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament. Primary considerations include the relationship of Jesus' nature and person with the nature...
in Story Form (New York: Crossroad, 1990, ISBN 0-8245-1033-X); and Charles Hartshorne, Omnipotence and Other Theological Mistakes (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1984, ISBN 0-87395-771-7). In French, the best introduction may be André Gounelle, Le Dynamisme Créateur de Dieu: Essai sur la Théologie du Process, édition revue, modifiée et augmentee (Paris: Van Dieren, 2000, ISBN 2911087267). - For essays exploring the relation of process thought to Wesleyan theology, see Bryan P. Stone and Thomas Jay Oord, Thy Nature and Thy Name is Love: Wesleyan and Process Theologies in Dialogue (Nashville: Kingswood, 2001, ISBN 0-687-05220-3).
- The most important work by Paul S. Fiddes is The Creative Suffering of God (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992); see also his short overview "Process Theology," in A. E. McGrath, ed., The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Modern Christian Thought (Oxford: Blackwell, 1993), 472–76.
- Norman PittengerNorman PittengerWilliam Norman Pittenger was an Anglican theologian. He played an important role as promoter of process theology and he became one of the first acknowledged Christian defenders for the open acceptance of homosexual relations among Christians...
's thought is exemplified in his God in Process (London: SCM Press, 1967), Process-Thought and Christian Faith (New York: Macmillan Company, 1968), and Becoming and Belonging (Wilton, CT: Morehouse Publications, 1989, ISBN 0819214809). - Constance Wise's Hidden Circles in the Web: Feminist Wicca, Occult Knowledge, and Process Thought (Lanham, Md.: AltaMira Press, 2008, ISBN 978-0-7591-1006-9) applies process theology to one variety of contemporary PaganismPaganismPaganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
.
See also
- Conceptions of GodConceptions of GodThe God of monotheism, pantheism or panentheism, or the supreme deity of henotheistic religions, may be conceived of in various degrees of abstraction:...
- Existence of GodExistence of GodArguments for and against the existence of God have been proposed by philosophers, theologians, scientists, and others. In philosophical terms, arguments for and against the existence of God involve primarily the sub-disciplines of epistemology and ontology , but also of the theory of value, since...
- Names of GodNames of GodNames of God, or Holy Names, describe a form of addressing God present in liturgy or prayer of various world religions. Prayer involving the Holy Name or the Name of God has become established as common spiritual practice in both Western and Eastern spiritual practices...
- New Thought Movement
- Open theismOpen theismOpen theism is a recent theological movement that has developed within evangelical and post-evangelical Protestant Christianity as a response to certain ideas that are related to the synthesis of Greek philosophy and Christian theology...
- Postmodern ChristianityPostmodern ChristianityPostmodern Christianity is an outlook of Christianity that is closely associated with the body of writings known as postmodern philosophy. Although it is a relatively recent development in the Christian religion, some Christian postmodernists assert that their style of thought has an affinity with...
- TheopoeticsTheopoeticsTheopoetics is an emerging field of interdisciplinary study, combining elements of poetic analysis, process theology, narrative theology, and postmodern philosophy....
- TheodicyTheodicyTheodicy is a theological and philosophical study which attempts to prove God's intrinsic or foundational nature of omnibenevolence , omniscience , and omnipotence . Theodicy is usually concerned with the God of the Abrahamic religions Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, due to the relevant...
- Process PhilosophyProcess philosophyProcess philosophy identifies metaphysical reality with change and dynamism. Since the time of Plato and Aristotle, philosophers have posited true reality as "timeless", based on permanent substances, whilst processes are denied or subordinated to timeless substances...
External links
Reference works
- Donald Viney, "Process Theism," Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyStanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyThe Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is a freely-accessible online encyclopedia of philosophy maintained by Stanford University. Each entry is written and maintained by an expert in the field, including professors from over 65 academic institutions worldwide...
- John B. Cobb, Jr., "Process Theology," Religion-Online
- An encyclopedic-type article