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Silversoul
Rhizome
Registered: 01/01/05
Posts: 23,576
Loc: The Barricades
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Process Theology
#4092714 - 04/24/05 06:54 PM (18 years, 11 months ago) |
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My grandfather is a leading proponent of this belief. It's a theology based on Alfred North Whitehead's process philosophy, and it seems to overcome some of the apparent contradictions in mainstream Christianity. Some of the core elements are:
- God is not omnipotent in the classic sense. People have free will, and therefore affect the future, and God responds to these changes, rather than creating them. He finds the optimal balance between freedom and order.
- Reality consists not of static matter, but rather an ongoing process, influenced by God, known as creative transformation.
- God contains the universe, but is not synonymous with it(a belief known as panentheism).
- There is no subjective afterlife, but rather an eternal oneness with God.
- The essence of Christ is divine wisdom(Sophia), which can be attained through discourse. Even if that discourse leads one towards a different religion, it is still following in the way of Christ by seeking out wisdom.
For more information, check out The Center for Process Studies.
Just thought some people here might be interested.
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Psychoactive1984
PositiveCynicist
Registered: 02/06/05
Posts: 3,546
Loc: California, Monterey Coun...
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Re: Process Theology [Re: Silversoul]
#4092740 - 04/24/05 07:02 PM (18 years, 11 months ago) |
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Can't we just die in peace? I don't want to meet whatever placed me here, nor allows this to happen by virtue of their passive omnipotence.
Does it explain the if all dogs go to heaven and does it contain moral conduct for animals; and animals with higher faculties?
Does it apply to animals who we give a sense of morality through pavlovian-esque training?
Could propose more. Yet seeing as how it relates to Christianity I'll stop at that... (One of Karma's good points in terms of explaining animal heaven)
Edit: I don't expect you to answer these, merely pointing them out.
-------------------- "Their is one overriding question that concerns us all: How can we get out of the fatal groove we are in, the one that is leading towards the brink?" Albert Szent-Gyorgyi "We may not be capable of eradicating the corruption of reason, but we must nevertheless counter it at every instance and with every means." Dan Agin "Politics is the best religion and politicians are the worst followers." -It's ok to trip as long as you don't fall. -Substance over Style. -Common sense is uncommon.
Edited by Psychoactive1984 (04/24/05 07:13 PM)
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MarkostheGnostic
Elder
Registered: 12/09/99
Posts: 14,279
Loc: South Florida
Last seen: 3 years, 2 months
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Re: Process Theology [Re: Silversoul]
#4092972 - 04/24/05 08:13 PM (18 years, 11 months ago) |
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I appreciate the link and post. I read Alfred North Whitehead's 'Process and Reality' as a philosophy major, and Charles Hartshorne's 'A Natural Theology for Our Time' and Cobb's & Griffin's 'Process Theology: An Introductory Exposition' when I went on to a theological seminary. Noting the underlining I did (I pulled the latter two books from their shelf), I resonated with much of Hartshorne's ideas, although I clung tightly to a rather eternally static yet living Deity, and shied away from change in the Divine Life. I read these books in 1977 and it is difficult to determine to what extent they contributed to the intellectual scaffolding of what I simply believe - especially since what I believe is not a done deal and has begun to move again with rapidity after a couple of decades of complacent, static 'belief.'
-------------------- γνῶθι σαὐτόν - Gnothi Seauton - Know Thyself
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