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Date Joined Jun 2001
Total Posts : 516
| Posted 6/27/2001 10:02 AM (GMT -6) |   |
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Burgy
06/15/01 3:30 PM
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Is Open Theism = to Process Theology?
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Three terms puzzle me. Open theism, process theology and natural theology. Could somene expain how (if) these three are related?
Burgy
www.burgy.50megs.com
Posted Originally From: Open Theism Information Site
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trosie
06/15/01 4:52 PM
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RE: Is Open Theism = to Process Theology?
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Perfect! I think it would be great to get these in definition form to make sure that everyone is fully understanding what each term is referring to. (Personally, I am not clear on natural theology.)
Posted Originally From: Christus Victor Ministries
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ModesofThought
06/18/01 10:01 AM
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RE: Is Open Theism = to Process Theology?
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Off the cuff, here's a preliminary attempt:
Open Theism: the biblically motivated conviction that God created this universe in such a way that both God and creation are truly "open" to possibilities. This conviction has implications for many other areas of theology.
process theology: a speculative philosophical system which emphasizes event over substance. What is "really real" at the most fundamental level, are "events" actual occasions, not "things". It sees itself as a badly needed corrective to classical substance ontologies in the tradition of Plato and Aristotle.
natural theology: the belief that God (as Creator) can be known, at least in some respects, by reflecting on creation; much like some think you can know things about an artist by looking at their art. This sort of theology is NOT that sort of theology which looks to Special Revelation (i.e., the Bible, visions, etc.) as its source. Rather, it looks to general observable features of our universe (including arguments based upon "reason", "logic", etc.) for its data. Arguments for the immortality of the soul, the proofs for the existence of God, etc. would be examples of natural theology.
Hope that helps, any one is welcome to correct these, as they see fit.
Posted Originally From: Christus Victor Ministries
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ghost-dog-girl
06/18/01 10:09 AM
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RE: RE: Is Open Theism = to Process Theology?
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Modes, you said that process “sees itself as a badly needed corrective to classical substance ontologies in the tradition of Plato and Aristotle.” But didn’t Whitehead claim that he didn’t get beyond Plato? I’ve been doing a little reading on process, and there seems to be a lot of emanation-and-return-type language. GDG
Posted Originally From: Christus Victor Ministries
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Mephi2K
06/18/01 10:24 AM
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Is Open Theism = to Process Theology? YOU be the judge!
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Burgy,
Sup. Do yourself a favor and get the book "Searching for an Adequate God: A Dialogue between Process and Free Will Theists", edited by John B. Cobb, Jr. and Clark H. Pinnock. In that book, there are some pretty effective summaries of each view, as well as how they are similar and how they differ. Read that and see what YOU think.
Meph.
Posted Originally From: Christus Victor Ministries
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ghost-dog-girl
06/18/01 10:39 AM
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RE: Is Open Theism = to Process Theology? YOU be the judge!
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The biggest areas of difference I saw after reading Searching for an Adequate God were: biblical authority, creatio ex nihilo, and omnipotence. GDG
Posted Originally From: Christus Victor Ministries
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ModesofThought
06/18/01 3:28 PM
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RE: RE: RE: Is Open Theism = to Process Theology?
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Whitehead traces the undercurrents of philosophy which were difficult to work into the system--so they got systematically ignored. The reality of sequence is core to this. He developed what he termed the philosophy of organism to emphasize the dynamic and changing character of reality. He considered the whole of Western thought to be but a footnote to Plato, because, in Plato, all of the basic categories are in place, but various systems can be worked out by emphasizing differing elements of reality. Sustance and relational ontologies being two differing organizing elements. Of course, Plato went with substance in his most constructive work, but he, and many other great philosphers did wrestle with the problems of time and motion. Aristotle made more progress with motion than did Plato. Whitehead just worked out the implications of taking sequence itself as foundational.
Posted Originally From: Christus Victor Ministries
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Burgyone
06/19/01 3:01 PM
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RE: RE: Is Open Theism = to Process Theology?
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Thanks for the definitions. I assume, then, that they represent three entirely different ideas? Is there any system of thought in which two of them are linked together?
Posted Originally From: Open Theism Information Site
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Burgyone
06/19/01 3:05 PM
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RE: Is Open Theism = to Process Theology? YOU be the judge!
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Thanks for the book recommendation. I have access here to a decent theological library (Iliff) so I'll hop on over there in a day or so.
Appreciate it
Posted Originally From: Open Theism Information Site
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ModesofThought
06/19/01 3:27 PM
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RE: RE: RE: Is Open Theism = to Process Theology?
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There seems to be a natural link between process and natural theology in that they both are inherently empirical in their approaches. They both look at "the facts" around us but differ in that process speaks more about how reality works (metaphysics) and natural theology wonders what the empirical data means in our discussions of God. Both are speculative and relatively unpopular in current scholarship.
Openness has pansequentialism in common with process but differs from it in the extreme when it comes to discussions of God proper.
Posted Originally From: Christus Victor Ministries
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