|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries: |
Research categories | Follow us on Twitter |
Research categories
View all topics in the newsView all reference sources at Encyclopedia.com |
|||
Process theology
Process theology. A Christian theological system emphasizing the fluid rather than static nature of the universe, and finding God within the process of becoming, rather than as the transcendent source of being. Process theology owes much to the metaphysical thought of A. N. Whitehead (1861–1947) which culminated in Process and Reality (1929). Everything is ‘in God’, but God is more than the sum of the parts (panentheism; see PANTHEISM)—just as I am my body, and yet I am more than the sum of the parts of my body. God is not apart from the universe, but is the comprehension of the whole process. This entire cosmic process is God, and God works like an artist attempting to win order and beauty out of opportunity. God is thus ‘the great companion—the fellow-sufferer who understands’. This metaphysic was developed in a theological direction by Charles Hart-shorne (e.g. Man's Vision of God and the Logic of Theism, 1941), and in a Christological (and applied) direction by John Cobb (e.g. Christ in a Pluralistic Age, 1975; Process Theology as Political Theology, 1982; The Liberation of Life, 1981). Christ is interpreted as the one who embodied the most perfectly obedient response to the ‘lure’ of God. The possible connections with Buddhist thought have not been overlooked: see e.g. J. B. Cobb, Beyond Dialogue: Towards a Mutual Transformation of Christianity and Buddhism (1982).
|
|
|
Cite this article
JOHN BOWKER. "Process theology." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN BOWKER. "Process theology." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Processtheology.html JOHN BOWKER. "Process theology." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. 1997. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O101-Processtheology.html |
|
Process Theology
Process Theology. A modern theological movement which emphasizes the processive or evolutionary nature of man and the world, and holds that God Himself is in process of development through His intercourse with the changing world. It originated in the USA, especially in the University of Chicago during the 1920s and 1930s. Its concept of God stresses His relationships with creation, His capacity to ‘surpass’ Himself (but in respect of other entities to remain ‘unsurpassable’), His ‘bi-polar’ nature, and His root attribute as love rather than uncreatedness.
|
|
|
Cite this article
E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Process Theology." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Process Theology." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-ProcessTheology.html E. A. LIVINGSTONE. "Process Theology." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. 2000. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O95-ProcessTheology.html |
|
Search over 100 encyclopedias and dictionaries:
HighBeam™ Research, Inc. © Copyright 2012. All rights reserved.
The Encyclopedia.com advertising network includes:
