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a_theist
"Thy will be done."
Date Joined Dec 2002
Total Posts : 286
| Posted 1/9/2003 5:54 PM (GMT -6) |   | I asked you if you had read Omnipotence and Other Theological Mistakes, and you replied that it was a good book, but to be careful because Hartshorne espouses a process view of God (roughly paraphrased). I am currently reading the book (Omnipotence and Other Theological Mistakes), and I must say that I find it highly readable (except for some parts [this scares me from reading his other works for fear that they are a lot more technical and harder to read--what process thought isn't?]) and consistent with the open view, very consistent. You mention in the preface of Trinity and Process that:
"It is our conviction that the fundamental vision of the process world view, especially as espoused by Charles Hartshorne, is correct."
Do you still hold to this view of Process Thought? It has been about 11 years since Trinity and Process was published; has your process world view changed, or do you still respect Hartshorne's theology as much as you did when you wrote the book? I earnestly want to subscribe to a process world view of God, but I am a bit apprehensive that I might be delving into the wrong theology and wasting my time to ultimately have to change my views, thus wasting precious time from books that might be of use. I value your opinion, so hit me with it Doc, is the process world view worth persuing? It seems like it from the book I am reading, but one can never truly know.
Agape,
Paul 
P.S. After Trinity and Process, did Hartshorne ever concede to a trinitarian view of God and abandon his di-polar theism? I would be interested to hear that maybe he changed his metaphysics over the years before he died. Please let me know.
P.P.S. Did Hartshorne ever change his view on "immortality as a career after death?"
"The Creator's power (by which I mean the capacity to influence the world) is made manifest paradoxically in the vulnerable defenselessness of crucified man."
-John F. Haught
Edited by - A_Theist on 01/10/2003 12:55:04 AM
Edited by - A_Theist on 01/10/2003 12:56:14 AM | | Back to Top | | |
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SIM
Registered Member
Date Joined Nov 2002
Total Posts : 90
| Posted 1/11/2003 7:59 AM (GMT -6) | | Yes, Doc, many of us are very curious about your present stance on Hartshorne's theory.
SIM
"Purity of heart is to will one thing." Kierkegaard
Edited by - SIM on 01/11/2003 5:18:03 PM | | Back to Top | | |
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a_theist
"Thy will be done."
Date Joined Dec 2002
Total Posts : 286
| Posted 1/11/2003 10:01 AM (GMT -6) | | me too
"The Creator's power (by which I mean the capacity to influence the world) is made manifest paradoxically in the vulnerable defenselessness of crucified man."
-John F. Haught | | Back to Top | | |
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a_theist
"Thy will be done."
Date Joined Dec 2002
Total Posts : 286
| Posted 1/13/2003 7:16 AM (GMT -6) | | Gotta keep this post alive...gotta let Doc see it.
"The Creator's power (by which I mean the capacity to influence the world) is made manifest paradoxically in the vulnerable defenselessness of crucified man."
-John F. Haught | | Back to Top | | |
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GregBoyd
Registered Member
Date Joined Jul 2001
Total Posts : 1818
| Posted 1/13/2003 5:03 PM (GMT -6) | | Sorry for the delay, A Theist, but I've been ministering in Kensington MI all weekend (had a GREAT time by the way).
I don't know if you know it or not, but the quote you gave from Trinity and Process about the fundamental correctness of "the process view of reality" was the exact one provided by Millard Erickson as a critique of me in The Evangelical Left. It was provided as evidence of Erickson's statement that I am one who openly acknowledges my indebtedness to process thought. However the statment was intended, it served as a catalyst for a long standing (and still persisting) rumor that I am "a closet process theologian."
In point of fact, "the process view of reality" I'm referring to in this quote is NOT process theology or philosophy per se, but the general dynamic process-orientated worldview that has been arising throughout the 20th century, largely because of some contemporary scientific advances (e.g. quantum physics). (The whole section prior to the quote discussed this). I was saying that it is to the credit of process theology and philosophy that it has taken this new dynamic orientation seriously. Yet, in the sentence RIGHT AFTER this quote, I remark that the WAY Process Theology deals with "the process view of reality" is fundamentally unorthodox, for it is rooted in several fundamental misconceptions. The whole point of Trinity and Process is to appropriate the positive aspects of process thought while showing that its unorthodox, non-trinitiarian implications are unnecessary to these positive aspects.
So., in answer to your question, A Theist, I have from the start admired some aspects of process thought, while arguing that other aspects were misguided. This holds true for my estimation of Hartshornre in particular. I find in him one of the most lucid, creative, insightful, bold and humble philosophers in history. I interviewed him in person, and he was a marvel. Yet, as I argue in Trinity and Process, I think he made several wrong turns, and it is THESE wrong turns -- that are really unnecessary to the basic explanatory power of his system -- that result in his di-polar view of God rather than a trinitarian view of God. AS I argue in Trinity and PRocess, if you take out these wrong turns, his whole system actually points toward a trinitarian view of God. (Hence I titled my book, Trinity and Process: A Critical Evaluation and Appropriation of Hartshrone's Di-Polar Theism Toward a Trinitarian Metaphysic
In my estimation, there is a great deal of value in studying process thought. But if accepted in its standard "whiteheadian orthodox" form, it ultimately requires that one deny (or at least RADICALLY redefine) the Trinity, Incarnation, Miracles, Petitionary Prayer, Creation ex nihilo, and the eschaton.
Yet some continue to be brand me "a process theologian." 
Blessings
Greg Boyd
"In Christ...the ONLY THING that matters is faith energized by love." Galatians 5:6 | | Back to Top | | |
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