Faith and Life in the Quantum Age

Canour ancient faith offer the “abundant life” of Jesus in the chaotic, modern world? Today’s Quantum Age rests on beliefs about God, humankind, the natural world, and ethics which are radically different than previous eras. The insights of Process Theology offer a dynamic perspective integrating Quantum Age facts with Biblical truths. Participants will learn new perspectives on God and the world that bring practical helps for loving and living in this complex modern society.

The six sessions include:

We’re Not in Kansas Anymore (Today’s Worldview from Granddad’s Porch)

Surfing with God (Process theology for Our Best Life in the Quantum Age)

A Ghost in the Hospital (God, Mind, and a Mundane World

Hugs and Kisses Forever (God’s Love for Free People)

Living the Good Life (God’s Good in a Bad Place)

God Ain’t Done Yet (Co-Workers for Shalom)

Lesson 1 We’re Not in Kansas Anymore: Today’s Worldview from Granddad’s Porch

I visited my grandparents often during my childhood years. Granddad Payne had a white, two-story house with a porch across the front. He was born in 1891 and raised on a small farm in southwest Missouri. He owned a produce store and raised cattle on the 40 acres behind the house. He raised three successful children in the small town of Neosho. I loved, as a child, going to visit. His world and faith fit together well for a lifetime of family togetherness, work, and community service. It’s important to think about how he viewed the world and how my grandchildren may be seeing it now.

It is a basic truth that our theological beliefs are formed within the culture around us. We don’t have any other world to live in. We absorb our family values from the day we are born. We participate in school, listen to media, attend church, and connect to the community to form a foundation for our own choices. To live with wisdom, it’s vital to be aware of the beliefs around us and within us.

“Faith and Life in the Quantum Age” presents a philosophy and theology that integrates the modern worldview and Biblical teachings. The materials and classes will define aspects of modern thought and how these reshape traditional Christian theology. The sessions will present the basics of Process Theology and how the teachings offer a path toward a robust and vibrant way of faithful living in our society today.

The term “worldview” names our ontology, or what we believe about the nature and working of the world we live in. Psychologist Alison Gray describes it as a “collection of attitudes, values, stories and expectations about the world around us, which inform our every thought and action. Worldview is expressed in ethics, religion, philosophy, scientific beliefs and so on.” [1] The beliefs of our worldview usually operate behind conscious thought, bringing a mental filter to each experience. Each of us has developed our worldview across our lifespan from the impact of many experiences. The thoughts I have about God or about eating fried crickets are deeply influenced by the worldview I’ve built from all I have experienced. Entire societies can also be shaped by a worldview, as when the belief about Aryan Superiority created Nazi Germany.

THE CLASSIC WORLDVIEW

Humankind has always sought knowledge to survive and even thrive. Millenia ago our ancestors made tools, explored new regions, fought one another, innovated technology, and built societies in this quest. Across the planet, societies had great diversity, yet everywhere was a quest to find the ultimate answers. As professor Resa Azlan writes in his book, God: A Human History, “Undeniable is that religious belief is so widespread that it must be considered an elemental part of the human experience. We are homo religious… in our existential striving toward transcendence: toward that which lies beyond the manifest world” (Azlan, God 25).

Historians categorize human society into long periods of common experience, based on societal structure, technology, spirituality, and knowledge. The eras of Prehistory, Antiquity, Medieval, preceded the Modern Era. The underlying beliefs and experiences on this quest did not change century after century. The ideas of Granddad Payne in 1900 were not that much different from my maternal 10th great-grandfather, Dutchman Edward Bogardus, who stepped foot in the colony of New York in 1633, or my English ancestors who may have looked at Stonehenge 5000 years ago.

The life and views of one European man in 1500 illustrate the common worldview shared from Prehistory to the beginning of the Modern Era. His ontology, what he thinks about the nature of existence, shows many traditional ideas.

Edward lived in a Dutch village with his wife and four living children. He worked daily on his small plot of land that his family had farmed for six generations under the same Baron. He had one slave and one ox and a few coins, trading mostly by barter. He thought about feeding his family more than being happy, though he did like to drink and dance. Kings, warlords, and priests made the laws and the doctrines to believe. Security was his to keep with the biggest sword or weapon he could find. He couldn’t read so his knowledge came by oral tradition from the clan and village. John knew his identity from his family and his ruler. He had never traveled beyond the mountains but had heard rumors about other villages. His medicine was herbal and ineffective. He knew the spiritual powers controlled everything, so they needed attention to ensure prosperity and avoid disaster. The stars held the fate of each person if you could decipher the meanings. He knew it was important to preserve the traditions handed to him so his life would be stable and safe for years ahead. More important was what to do know to prepare his soul for judgment after death.

What happened to the world and those like Edward? Historians mark a dramatic change in human knowledge, society, and beliefs which began around 1500 in Europe. The Modern Age slowly brought a new way of understanding and experiencing the world. Historians find many sources converging to change the way people understood the world. In time, facts proven by scientific investigation and experimentation replaced philosophy and traditions as the sources of knowledge. It is clear the matrix of beliefs in the Modern Age, then the Quantum Age worldview, are different than the Classic worldview that shaped the people of all previous history, the Judeo-Christian culture, and the traditional doctrines of the Christian church.

THE QUANTUM WORLDVIEW

All areas of knowledge have changed over the past 525 years. In the last 175 years we can say a further shift has taken place to create the Quantum Age. The developments and impacts on worldview include:

Causality- The concepts about the source of physical events has shifted from divine action and elemental manipulation to materialistic explanations with engineering that alters fundamental structures. Every effect is now understood as having a material cause. The scientific method of Bacon on empirical investigation (1620), Hume (1740) on empiricism, and the work of Peirce on logic (1883) became the foundations for understanding the materialistic cause for all events. Medical research produces health from evidence-based experiments, medicine, and genetic interactions, with pioneers such as Pasteur (1857) on germ theory and Mendel (1866) on genetics. The shift accelerated in the Quantum Age with the discovery of the structure of DNA by Watson and Crick (1953), shaping modern confidence in the biological cause of human health. Science can now create new elements, manipulate them at the atomic level, and alter DNA to build new organisms. The contemporary person may say, “I don’t see God and spirits making a difference in what happens every day.”

Cosmological- The understanding of the universe has shifted from a small, static, earth-centered perspective to the fact we live in an immense universe. The ancients held a three-tiered universe: Sheol, Earth, Heavens, as in Psalm 139:8. Copernicus (1543) proved the Sun was the center of the solar system. Galileo (1610) used the telescope to understand the Solar System. Newton published the mathematics of motion and gravity (1697). In the Quantum Age, Hubble proved the universe was larger than the Milky Way and receding (1929). Lemaitre proposed the Big Bang (1931) origin of the universe and Sandage (1952) proved the age of the universe was many billions of years. The age of the Earth was determined to be billions of years old by Holmes (1921) and Patterson (1956). Scientists now estimate the Universe is 14 billion years old with 200 billion trillion stars. Earth is a microscopically small and younger part of the universe. The Quantum Age woman may say, “Could God be big enough to manage the cosmos yet care about me?”

Physics- The basics of physics and physical science have changed from Newton’s laws of mechanistic regularity in the Modern Era. In the Quantum Age, discoveries about the basic building blocks of the physical universe have expanded knowledge and affected philosophies. Pioneers of this science include Planck (1900) discovering Planck’s Constant, Bohr (1913) on quanta of energy, Einstein with general relativity (1915), then Heisenberg and Schrodinger with wave mechanics (1925), and Fermi with the first nuclear reactor (1942). Classical ideas of matter and time as stable and differentiated were disproved. Quantum theory has changed physics by finding the subatomic world is governed by probabilities, multiple simultaneous states, uncertainty, and entangled interconnections. All matter in the universe is a field of energy in constant flux as it interacts with other energy fields across at least four dimensions. The modern man may think, “What can I hold on to if nothing is stable in the universe?”

Historical- Awareness of historical facts has shifted from oral history of local events to the evolutionary model documenting universal multi-billion-year events. Winckelmann’s study of ancient societies in documented and systematic fashion (1765) brought the field of archaeology to understand human history. Paleontology emerged with the systematic study of fossils by Cuvier (1796) and offering a framework of all creatures in multi-million year eras. The Quantum Age brought a seismic shift in Biology, as Darwin’s book on evolution (1859) revolutionized the paradigms for biological change and contradicted the classic interpretation of mankind’s origins. Homo Sapiens, evolving as only one of several hominoid lines, have existed for 300,000 years, only 1.3% of Earth’s history. The contemporary worker may say, “How can I be significant if I’m just one mammal among billions that has evolved from diverse ancestors?”

Technological- Technological innovations have shifted humankind from small scale productivity to global industries. New machines transformed the way humankind behaves, including the steam engine of Watt (1764), the commercial use of fossil fuels (1700’s), the transistor of Shockley and Brattain (1947), the computer of Zuse (1941), and the invention of synthetic plastics by Baekeland (1907). The Quantum Age in technology could be dated from the launch of Sputnik (1957) which enabled machines and humans to leave the atmosphere of Earth for the first time in 3.8 billion years. The flow of information has evolved from rare, handwritten books to instant digital communication. Gutenberg’s printing press brought the ease of manufacturing books at lower costs, inviting all to read for themselves. Newspapers began in Germany by Carolus (1605) and offered diverse veiwpoints available to everyone. The invention of the telegraph by Morse (1838) made worldwide communication possible. Radio appeared in 1893 with the work of Marconi. The first commercial television station began broadcasting in England in 1936. Digital communications and the internet protocol by Cerf and Kahn (1980) enabled mass communication by computer, linking anyone, anywhere, instantly to trillions of data points across the world—and beyond. Today’s college student may say, “I have more knowledge available than at any time in history but is that wisdom for living?”

Psychological- Models of human thought and behavior have shifted from simple behavior or philosophical models like the Bible’s body, mind, and soul model to complex consciousness built on biology. Freud pioneered discussion of the unconscious and psychological therapy (1895) with theories of the psyche. The neurological sources of mental illness were advanced by Charcot (1881). The behavioral perspective of human actions expanded with Watson’s experiments (1913). Contemporary psychology teaches that emotional well-being is the product of complex physiological and psychological factors. The modern woman may say, “I deserve to have happiness and good emotional health, but it is very complex and difficult to maintain.”

Sociological- The way humans conduct society has shifted from tribes, patriarchy, and caste to nations holding ideals of equality of all people. The work of Comte (1842) and Marx (1844) brought understanding of societal forces that shape history. With Locke (1695) came the rise of liberalism and self-determination in government that paved the way for transformative, democratic governments and the end of divine rights of kings. Spencer (1874) brought empirical study to social structures and movements. Weber (1905) studied economics and society. The humanist movement advocating the equality of all people brought the abolition of slavery in the 19th century in the West and civil rights for women in the early 20th century. The Quantum Age took shape after World War 2 with a larger recognition of human rights that emerged with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). The field of Anthropology has shifted understanding from isolated tribal societies to global multi-pluralism in the work of Boas (1902) and Levi-Straus (1962). Humankind is diverse in manifestations of color, gender, orientation, belief, and culture yet united in fundamental needs and actions. Patriarchy is considered misogynistic today. Nations, not tribes or communities, organize most aspects of life. The contemporary person of color says, “I deserve full equality, opportunity, and justice.”

Economics- Economic systems have shifted from ancient societies based on agrarian, slave labor, barter exchange, and local markets to multi-national capitalism and regulatory governmental oversight. The work of Locke (1689) on private property, Smith (1776) on wealth, and Mill (1848) on supply and demand form the basis of modern capitalism. The work of Berle on corporations (1932) shaped the role of government regulation of large corporations and fostered the Quantum Age of global business. The concepts of work, leisure, and vocation have changed for modern employees. Today’s worker might say, “I’m forced to balance work and leisure in the fight to have economic security.”

Ethical- The ethical systems of the ancient world were varied. Many were formulated as absolute moral laws for all people and that has changed to hold subjective, relative, situational morality. Pioneers of this shift include Nietzsche (1882) on rejecting deistic morality, Kant on the primacy of rational morality (1785), and Kierkegaard on the subjectivity of all truth (1935). The Quantum Age of ethics took shape with the work of Fletcher on Situational Ethics (1966). Every person and culture are now understood as the arbiter of truth in their own context. The young adult today may say, “I can figure out right and wrong on my own terms according to the situation.”

Spiritual- Religion has shifted from traditions that pervasively influence society through institutions to highly individual and private spirituality. Materialism as proposed by Diderot (1751) excluded divine causation. The American Constitution and subsequent law separated religion from direct tax support. The Quantum Age spiritual worldview can be dated from the rise of Communism as an atheistic philosophy with Marx (1845), Engels (1878), and Lenin (1905) to become an international movement. In the 21st century, most nations do not have a state-endorsed religion. Many nations restrict religious liberty. International organizations to promote interfaith and ecumenical dialogue began with the Parliament of World Religions (1893) and the World Council of Churches (1948). Today, a majority of the billions of people in Asia, Australia, Europe, and Canada do not follow any religion. The majority of people in the world do hold a belief in God. The average person today may say, “I believe in God according to my own understanding.”

These ideas are the operating assumptions for much of the modern world. They form the air we breathe without a thought as we speak the words of modern discourse. We can use the phrase, “The Quantum Age,” as shorthand for this underlying belief system of the 21st century world.

About the time my Granddad Payne opened his grocery store in Neosho, Missouri (1932), a young movie star playing a teenage girl named Dorothy looked around a strange land and said to Toto, “I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”[2] Many Christians feel the same in the Quantum Age.

We can consider the worldview of the Quantum Age with the ideas of a modern woman named Lexi.

She lives in a large city just like 60% of the eight billion people in the world today. She is in her fourth significant relationship, three with a man. Her nearest relative is 100 miles away. She buys groceries at the store and works a 40-hour week in a downtown clinic away from her small family. She wants to be happy. She talks with a therapist to understand her complex psychology of unconscious and conscious thoughts. She decides for herself what is right or wrong. She visits the doctor regularly and depends on medicine to keep her well, especially since she has high blood pressure. She controls when she gets pregnant with the Pill. She identifies with various sub-groups that share her viewpoints. She is proud to have a college degree. She owns a good condo. She expects the city government to keep her safe and support her equal rights. She knows instantly what is happening across the world and with friends in the city. She thinks about her small place in a huge, old universe and worries about the future since so many global events are bad. She hopes that different leaders and improved technology that comes every year will make things better. She occasionally thinks about God, sorting out her own belief system that is different from her parents. In her mind, what happens today is much more important than happens after death—who knows that anyway?

THE CHALLENGE FOR FAITH TODAY

Moses, Paul, and Martin Luther would be bewildered if dropped into Lubbock today. This is not to say that the ancients were ignorant. They operated intelligently in the world as they understood it, holding a prescientific, phenomenon-based worldview. Understanding this demands that we do careful work to translate ancient thought to our modern worldview and the truths proven over the past 500 years.

What has been the impact of this revolution on theology? Each of these changes has brought into question some classic theological teachings. For example, demons appear frequently in the Bible, but psychology and medical science explain and treat illness without demonic forces. The creation of Earth and humankind is an act of God in the Bible, yet biology explains the emergence of life, including humankind, as a product of natural quantum actions and evolutionary changes. The Bible presumes patriarchy and the caste system as the divine order while modern ethical teaching supports the equality of all people. The Bible seems to teach a rejection of other faith systems whereas anthropology and ethics show meaningful spirituality in multiple ages and societies. The Bible commands dominion over the Earth and other creatures whereas ecotheology requires stewardship and the value of all species.

Apparently, classical Christian theology as taught in many institutions today has not kept up with the radical changes of the past 550 years. Most people today do not have a system of belief that incorporates the Quantum World into a meaningful mindset. God has become merely an icon of religion that is not necessary for daily life for billions of people. The findings of science and the teachings of faith are considered in conflict, or at least in separate categories.

Bishop John Shelby Spong states the situation boldly. “The primary way that Western human beings have conceptualized God has gradually lost its meaning and has become discredited… rendered nonsensical by the advance of knowledge… A crisis of faith is now afflicting modern men and women… Enormous fear accompanies this transition.”[3]

The great questions of life are still the same as for our stone age ancestors. How do I survive? How do I live with others? What is the best choice now? What can I trust as I learn? What gives me happiness? What happens when I die? It is vital that we adjust our thoughts about our self, others, and God. Beliefs that are based on the worldviews of a previous age cannot sustain abundant life now or for future generations. Even further, more revolutionary ideas are just around the corner!

My Granddad lived through the greatest period of change in human history, the Twentieth Century. By the time of his death in 1981, humankind had taken split the atom, landed on the Moon, embraced greater equality, decoded DNA, and extended the lifespan. Yet, wars brought destruction, injustice oppressed billions, and pollution threatened the environment. Could the faith traditions he held meet the challenges?

Franciscan nun and neuroscientist Ilia DeLio looks to the possibilities of a new perspective. “The mysterious new universe calls for a renewed sense of divine mystery in the cosmos, a new religious myth, a new narrative that draws us into the cosmic [energy] waves that are, in some fundamental way, the source of our lives.”[4]

A theology that brings vital meaning to the Quantum Age person must be shaped by the facts of today. Beliefs that are based on the worldviews of a previous age cannot sustain abundant life now or for future generations. Process theology presents ways of understanding God and the universe that is compatible with many ideas in the Quantum Age. It presents a way forward which respects the universe as we know it today and the truths of the faith as complimentary toward a unified worldview.

[1] Alison Gray, “Worldviews.” International Psychiatry, 2011 Aug; 8(3): 58–60. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6735033/

[2] Russell Walsh, “The Wizard of Oz.” https://www.acmi.net.au/stories-and-ideas/the-wizard-of-oz-have

[3] John Shelby Spong, Unbelievable: Why neither ancient creeds for the Reformation can produce a living faith today. HarperOne, 2018, p 33-34

[4] Ilia Delio, The Hours of the Universe: Reflections on God, Science, and the Human Journey. Orbis, 2021, p 5

Session Two: Surfing with God:

Process theology for Our Best Life in the Quantum Age

I enjoy going to the lakes and oceans of our planet. I’ve stuck my feet in the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean, the Baltic, Lake Tahoe, and the Dead Sea. Snorkeling in the crystal-clear waters of the Riviera Maya was amazing. Of course, there are many ways to relate to the ocean beyond being a tourist. Viewing it as a workplace to fish, an adventure to explore, or a monster that threatens life brings completely different behaviors.

The modern person views self, others, society, ethics, and God in fundamentally different ways than previous generations. Lexi, the Quantum Age woman, holds a worldview shared with millions of others: “I can choose what I want. I am entitled to be happy. I can make my own identity, groups, and work. I can decide right and wrong myself. I depend on science to give me answers in this evolving world. I am one of billions but have equal rights. I believe what I want and think God might help me sometimes.”

A philosophy and theology that brings vital meaning to the Quantum Age person must be shaped by the facts of today. Beliefs that are based on the worldviews of a previous age cannot sustain abundant life now or for future generations.

Process philosophy and theology present ways of understanding God and the universe that are compatible with many ideas in the Quantum Age. The ideas emerged in philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead (1861-1947), a world class mathematician and philosopher who sought to integrate science and faith. He taught at Cambridge, University of London, and Harvard. His major work was published in 1927 and immediately changed philosophy. Theologians began utilizing these insights in the 1940’s. By the 1970’s Process theology, also called Open Theism or Open and Relational Theology, had become a major factor in American theology. Intense debates questioned these new concepts, accusing the leaders of undermining the historic truths of the faith. The 1990’s brought Process teachings into the mainstream. Today, except for the conservative seminaries and colleges, all religious study programs present the concepts as a vital part of contemporary theology.[1] The Center for Process and Relational Theology offers a rich platform of resources available to everyone.[2] A video series explaining Process concepts by Jay McDaniel is an excellent, detailed resource.[3]

KEY CONCEPTS OF PROCESS THOUGHT

The key concepts of Process Thought reflect the reality of the world we experience. The principles are not abstract philosophies but a conceptual framework describing how all the components of the universe, from molecules to the Milky Way, actually work. This comprehensive ontology of reality extends from the Big Bang to the Big Unity, from diamonds to the Divine, embracing all in a unified scheme.

The foundations of Process thought are not difficult to understand. Some key components of process theology include: dynamic process, interdependence of all things, the multidimensions of experience, and creative freedom.[4]

First, the universe is a dynamic field of universal energy, never static, always in process and becoming. From a plankton cell in the ocean, to a toucan in the rainforest, to a woman on an Asian farm, to a megastar in a distant galaxy, every material entity is an aggregate of energy fields composed of successive “occasions of experience.” We know instinctively our world changes constantly. That insight is the center of Process ideas. Every entity is in the process of becoming, not the same as it was a moment ago, or the same as it will be a moment in the future. Humans are “Human Becomings.” Bruce Epperly summarizes, “Process theologians and philosophers believe that the constantly changing and evolving world of experience, joining unity and diversity in each momentary event, constitutes reality.”[5] Every occasion of experience is influenced by many factors of the past and future. Identity for each entity emerges through this continual process of experiencing past influences, future longings, present choices, and enduring influence.[6]

The young lady Lexi is sitting with a friend at a restaurant for lunch. Her body is composed of quadrillions of energy fields combining to make cells, nerves, muscles, bones, and electrical signals. Not a single bodily entity she has now was in existence when she was born, being made and replaced many times in her 33 years. She is unique from every other human in history. Each successive moment energy from her past body cells and mental concepts pass on their influence to carry her identity through time. At this moment, these energy fields are producing a consciousness with cognitive abilities to see the restaurant, balance in the chair, talk to her friend, and think about her goals for the future.

This view contrasts with classic views of nature. Plato taught that each thing has a substantial and unique Form that exists behind the physical entity. Humans could change the shape of wood to make a yoke, but the essential, unique Form of wood wasn’t altered. The non-physical, timeless, universal Form did not change.[7] For people, a universal form of Human was the essence of every person. God was of a different, spiritual substance. This concept laid the foundation for traditional Christian theology for centuries.

Second, every entity is related to the whole. Energy is exchanged between all elements and organisms, connecting everything together in mutual relationship. Every occasion of experience influences the next occasion for multiple entities, contributing to the evolution of the universe. As a single cell is inextricably intertwined with all other cells to create a living organism, so everything and everyone has influence throughout the world. Life is a relational matrix of interdependent entities, organisms, and social connections that shape every experience. Each moment of experience receives input from what has happened in the past with many others in this web of relationships. Denis Edwards asserts, “In their very different ways every creature, whether it be an insect, a tree, or a star, exists only in a network of relationships. We live in a radically interrelated universe.”[8]

Lexi doesn’t exist in isolation. The elements in the molecules of her body are products of billions of years of evolution. She is a woman in the context of all that is modern America, a land of abundant food, cultural norms, and rich socialization. The air that fills her lungs is free of pollutants. The smells of the kitchen entice her olfactory senses. Memories of her past remind her of good meals at the family table. The smile of her friend brings a release of neurochemicals which feel like happiness. She is connected to everything that exists to some degree. All of this is influential as she holds a menu in her hand listing a salad dish and the fried chicken plate.

This view was not found in the classical worldview. Things and people were fundamentally different “substances” that do not mix. Socially, a person lived in a family or community but there was little interaction with the larger world. The local culture seemed to be normative for all other people. Humans were superior to all other forms of life, which were to be used for human benefit.

Third, all entities of the universe have both an internal and an external dimension to their experiences. These dimensions are inseparable and vital, like two sides of a coin. The entity receives input, or “prehension,” from external sources and internal concepts.[9] The external dimension receives input from what has happened from outside through the five senses. The past, even just nanoseconds past, is in each source of data for the next moment. The internal dimension doesn’t come through the five senses but through mental concepts. These concepts are thoughts such as memories, hopes, predictions, or abstract concepts like ethical values. The internal, non-sensory perception is more focused on the future and what possibilities exist. This subjective aim and goal for the future is just as important as the external dimension for influencing the occasion of experience. For example, seeing photons of light through the eye must be interpreted by the internal memories and categories to distinguish between a star and a firefly and make a response, such as pointing to the star or reaching out to catch the firefly. This “dipolar” yet unitive experience of external and internal is inherent in every organism and every experience. [10]

Lexi’s interaction with her environment is dynamic. In nanoseconds her brain processes trillions of electrical signals from her five major senses, triggering emotional and conceptual interpretations based on her past experiences with salad and chicken. She also mentally interacts with non-sensory stimuli to remember the comments her mother made years ago about weight, the probability of catching a man’s eye in her swimsuit at the beach this summer, the mathematics of calorie counting, and her personal values about the food-industrial complex. These many sources must be assessed and combined for the act of freely choosing her food.

Process Thought is distinct from the two major schools of thought which defined reality across the centuries. Dualism separated the dimensions into the categories of mental and physical. Descartes (1641) formulated long-standing ideas into a coherent philosophy which presented the mind and consciousness as distinct from the physical body. In contrast, Materialism as explicated by Hume (1740) held that only the physical is real and denies the non-sensory dimension as having any separate existence apart from physical entities. Materialism is a common philosophy today.

Finally, all entities have some degree of self-determination. Each occasion of experience results in a unification of both dimensions into a free choice that is oriented toward development for greater life. Past experiences and mental concepts are evaluated then crystallized into a choice that brings to satisfaction the experience. The choice creates an actualization in some fashion, such as a thought, emotion, or behavior. This result is then projected into the world to influence the self and other entities. Bruce Epperly puts it well, “We are artists of our own experience… shaping our experience in terms of our conscious and unconscious aims and values… having the freedom to choose how we respond to the data of our own experience.”[11] All sentient entities have some capacity of freedom to make a choice based on the input from external senses and non-sensory sources. This self-determinative freedom underlies the quest for greater life and meaning. The outcome of this universal freedom is an open future, rife with possibilities yet undetermined.

Lexi is considering the menu and the choice of what to eat for lunch. The waiter holds his pencil to record her choice. She has processed the non-sensory memories, personal values, hopes of what she wants to look like, and the signals from outside through her senses. With her capacity for self-determination shared by every entity in the universe, she decides. “I’ll take the green salad with dressing on the side, please.” Her action instantly becomes data that influences neurochemicals for a sense of well-being, her digestive system, and eventually the kitchen staff, the restaurant’s financial well-being, the farmer workers in California, and chickens across the country.

In contrast to the self-determination central to Process thought, Behaviorism is a theory popular today. It holds that all actions are determined by the previous physical processes, reflexes, learning, and environment of a creature. Skinner (1945) applied this to all emotional states. Self-determination or free will is largely a fiction. Some Christian theologies follow a deterministic model which says God has determined the future of the universe and controls the actions of every creature to follow the divine will, thereby cancelling the freedom of any entity to make a meaningful self-determination.

A possible illustration of universal process might be visualizing the restless ocean. Countless quadrillions of H2O molecules synchronize to form oceans. The fluid operates according to internal input of the physical principles of fluid dynamics. External input comes from variation of temperature to create a solid, liquid, or gas. Waves are events caused by wind and physical disturbances. The ocean synthesizes all inputs, creating behavior that influences all the planet and creatures of the world. Metamorphically, the external dimension is represented by the variable wind, while the non-sensory, internal dimension is represented by the H20 following its chemical structure in the context of fluid dynamics. Every wave has some influence on the next one and all other creatures in the ocean.

Process philosophy can be applied to all areas of science. The perspective enriches our understanding of how entities behave, how identity is maintained through fluctuating experiences, how organisms collaborate for survival and success, and how creatures make choices based on internal and external precedents.

BASIC IDEAS OF PROCESS THEOLOGY

Turning to theology, the key points connect to God as the chief exemplification of these fundamental truths. The following chapters will add more detail for each foundational principle.

God is the ultimate exemplification of process Reality, the most dynamic and ever-changing entity within the universe. God, like all entities, has both the non-sensory and the sensory dimensions. God exists as pure, timeless possibilities for each material moment. From comprehensive awareness of the universe, God holds awareness of the past and present for all entities across the universe.
God’s essential nature of love is unchanging. This attribute is evident in nature and the central themes of the Bible and other sacred writings. In expression of this nature, God’s actions change constantly to influence and respond to actions in the universe, giving and receiving love, acting and responding, adapting and developing, and drawing all toward the highest possible choices.
God influences the world through the internal, non-sensory dimension, cohabitating each experience of all physical entities. The universe needs God and God needs the universe in the synergetic, evolving journey of abundant life.
God knows what is most productive among all the possibilities of each moment and offers an aim or goal which may influence entities in their free choices toward the goals of love, beauty, and shalom.
The influence of God is non-coercive. Every entity in the universe possesses some degree of self-determination. God’s influence can vary in intensity with each occasion to fit the possibilities that promote the best outcomes.
Once choices are made, God incorporates the new reality into the divine life in real time, learning and changing in response to the universe. The dynamic flow of reality is received by God as the basis for the next interdependent experiences. The identity and experiences of every entity are held forever in the life of God.

Lexi experiences lunch with a friend with both internal and external dimensions. God interacts with her as a vital component of the non-sensory dimension. God has known her from conception, influencing every molecule, cell, concept, and personal choice throughout her life. God’s providential lure toward abundant life has brought the world, America, culture, and friend to this moment. Many of the past choices by these entities have not followed the divine aims, yet God renews the work with each succeeding experience to offer new possibilities that will bring the best outcomes. In the nanoseconds of Lexi’s experience, God brings influence for the highest value to her mind, concepts that promote her best and all others in her sphere of life. This influence is non-coercive, leaving Lexi free to weigh all data, from the external senses to the mental concepts, to make her own response. Metaphorically, we can imagine God is whispering guidance for her best choice, “Go for the salad, girl!”

METAPHORS FOR UNDERSTANDING PROCESS THEOLOGY

Varied images, metaphors, and imaginations about God help us frame our theology. All are imperfect and unable to convey the full scope of theology. But the broad ideas offer a path toward understanding through familiar concepts.

Continuing the ocean metaphor, the ocean is the universal field of energy across the planet, existing in all organisms and holding all organisms within it. God, like the energy of the sun, stimulates and energizes the life-giving properties of the ocean. The ocean allows each creature the freedom for self-determination that each independent organism requires to thrive with life. Each wave motion and current connects to all others as input for future reactions. The sun and the ocean give purpose for the well-being of the planet, a mother who brings forth and sustains the best life for all.

One image of God comes from the music of an orchestra. Music is the universal field of Reality. The musical score is the influence of the past. The conductor is God who presents the future of what the music should sound like yet doesn’t control the players. Instrumentalists are the entities which receive the past and the future goals then determine their own interpretive actions. Each note played influences all the other notes in the future. The music produced creates an experience that lures listeners toward beautiful harmony with others.

Other images of God and the Process have been suggested by theologian Jay McDaniel.[12]

“God is the consciousness of the universe, the mind, or sentience behind all existence. All entities in the universe are interconnected, like the neurons in a brain, contributing to a grand consciousness that is the universe. God, in this view, is the consciousness—an eternal presence that permeates all things and beings, allowing for interaction, growth, and evolution.”

“God is the weaver for the intricate tapestry of the universe. Every thread symbolizing a living being or an aspect of existence, God is crafting and interweaving threads to form a cosmic masterpiece with its own beauty.”

“God is the womb of the universe, the nurturing space within which the universe unfolds. The universe is a continually evolving entity, growing within the divine embrace, with God as the creative source nourishing galaxies, stars, and life itself.”

Varied metaphors can help us understand the key ideas of Process Theology. Each of us can consider which image of God fosters the best connect with God and our own faith.

LIVING TODAY WITH PROCESS THOUGHT

What does this process view of reality and God offer to help us live better today?

We experience every event of life within the Universe, an ever-evolving field of energy.
We receive Reality through two inseparable dimensions, internal and external. We cannot escape the influence of our past, our external environment, and our reception of God’s aim for the moment. Developing awareness of these twin dimensions can bring more positive outcomes in our decisions.
We are connected to everything and everyone. Our body and mind are profoundly intertwined with the world around us. There are no “others” who are radically different. The welfare I desire is built upon the welfare of every creature and biological system.
We can choose to construct our life in many ways. Without doubt, the past is a heavy determinate. Accepting this influence is emotionally healthy. But we have freedom to choose much about our lives. We can visualize a desired future and create plans to achieve it. No matter our circumstances, we have the capacity to choose our emotional state and deepest beliefs. There is no preprogrammed path that controls our life.
We are essentially partnered with God for abundant life. God is always moving toward us in love. Each moment we can collaborate with God for our well-being and the well-being of the community. God’s management of the universe isn’t complete without us.

[1] Richard Rice, The Future of Open Theism. Intervarsity Adademic, 2020, p 51-78.

[2] Center for Process and Relational Theology. https://c4ort.org

[3] Jay McDaniel, “What is Process Thought?” https://www.youtube.com/@jesusjazzbuddhism

[4] Bruce Epperly, Process Theology: A Guide for the Perplexed. T&T Clark, 2011, p 18-30.

[5] Epperly, p 21.

[6] David Ray Griffin, Reenchantment without Supernaturalism. Cornell University, 2001. p 115.

[7] “Theory of Forms.” Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_forms

[8] Denis Edwards, “A Relational and Evolving Universe,” in In Whom We Live and Move and Have Our Being. Wm B. Eerdman’s Publishing, 2004, p 205

[9] Jay McDaniel explains, “Prehensions are feelings of things. The things that are felt are the data of the prehensions; they are what is felt. The prehensions are the feelings 'of' them. The feelings cannot exist without the data, but the feelings are not the same as the data. When you feel the presence of a leaf, or another person, or your own body, or a distant star, the leaf or person or bodily sensation or star are one thing, and your feeling of it, with its own emotional response, another. This is true for you and also for all other actualities in the universe.,, What we call energy at a physical level is feeling in its primal form. There is feeling everywhere. Prehensions are how the universe is held together: Every actual entity, every moment of experience, consists of many acts of experiencing or prehending many realities which "become one" in the act of experiencing them. Prehensions are the most fundamental element in actual entities, the means by which the universe is held together and things are present in one another. They are acts of taking something into account from subjective point of view.” McDaniel in “Eight Key Ideas,” https://www.openhorizons.org/prehension-john-cobb-and-jay-mcdaniel

[10] Griffin, Ibid. p 59

[11] Epperly, Ibid, p 27

[12] Jay McDaniel, “Panentheism: Twelve Metaphors.” https://www.openhorizons.org/panentheism-twelve-metaphors.html

A Ghost in the Hospital:

God, Mind, and the Mundane

When I worked as Director of Spiritual Care at BSA Hospital an unusual request came from the Surgery Department. Over a period of weeks several people had died during surgeries performed in Rm 12. Some of the nurses were upset at the sudden and tragic events. The request surprised me. “Would you come and anoint this room to get rid of any bad spirits?” In 40 years of Baptist ministry, I had never been asked to do that. They explained the Catholic priests had done that several times over the years. Well, I couldn’t let the Catholics have all the fun or the Chief Medical Officer start an investigation. So, I gathered the nurses–and a couple of doctors–and a vial of oil. We marched into Room 12, where I went to each corner of the room with the oil, then formed a circle to pray. A couple of weeks later the senior nurse said the problem had been solved and patients were coming through successfully. She concluded Faith had won the victory over the spirits of bad surgery outcomes.

THE CLASSIC VIEW OF “SPIRIT”

The ancients believed the universe was filled with spirits both good and bad. The non-material, or spiritual, beings were active in all affairs of Earth. Harvests, human behavior both good and bad, illness or healing, and the fate of nations were the result of supernatural powers. These spiritual entities controlled the universe in a greater degree than any natural laws or patterns. This view prevails in the pages of the Bible, from Jacob wrestling with an angel during a long, terrible night or demons driving a herd of hogs to a watery death.

“God is spirit,” said Jesus to the inquisitive Samaritan woman.[1] His teaching, as narrated by the Johannine editors, conveys a common view of the ancient world describing God’s existence with a different “substance” than the physical world. The word for “spirit” was used by Greeks for centuries before the time of Jesus. “Pneuma” was a basic substance of the world described by the Stoics.[2] God and spiritual creatures were made of an intangible, invisible, yet powerful element completely different than the physical universe. A similar meaning is found in 1 Corinthians 15:44, as Paul differentiates the spiritual body of the afterlife from a physical one. The ancient worldview of all Near Eastern societies held that God, angels, demons, and the resurrected Jesus exist in a different form and realm from all other creatures who are “flesh and blood.”

The view of the ancient world which believed spirits ruled earthly affairs has been rejected in the Quantum age. Science has supplied sufficient physical causes for events in the universe. There is no place for any spiritual substance or being which cannot be measured by scientific instruments. Autopsies reveal the natural causes for surgical deaths and animals can be stampeded by lightning. How can the ancient worldview of a spiritual world connect to the worldview of the Quantum Age?

PROCESS THEOLOGY AS A SINGLE REALITY

Process theology posits an integration of the “spiritual” and the “physical.” As explained in detail in previous sessions, the core understanding recognizes God and all entities in the universe share a single reality of existence that may be viewed from two directions. Every entity in the universe has the capacity to experience events with two inseparable facets: an internal, non-sensory one and an external sensory one. All entities experience life in these twin dimensions as a sequence of occasions which continues moment-by-moment.

Process theologians teach that God is intimately related to every entity in this dipolar universe, sharing in both dimensions in every experience across the universe. Humans sense the work of God within the mind and call it “spiritual.” That is true, yet not the entire story of Reality. Every experience has an internal, “spiritual,” dimension which is intertwined with the brain and body. In Bruce Epperley’s words, “God’s relationship to the world is intimate and continuous rather than distant and discontinuous. God is not the ‘wholly other,’ but rather the ‘wholly present one,” whose existence cannot be fully contained by the world.”[3]

God’s communication with all entities occurs in the internal, non-sensory dimension, invisible to the senses yet profoundly real. Arising within preconscious thought, the energy from God activates neuroelectrical brain signals which are interpreted by the mind. This activation, known as “prehension,” is “a feeling of that which is other than the self… the connectedness that exists between one subject and another is the transition of what was felt “there,” and what is “here.”[4] The prehension of God may be interpreted in our mind as an emotion of awe, a pang of conscience, a sudden intuition, a vivid dream, the plans we should make for tomorrow, or even a vision. Such thoughts offer an “initial aim” from God, or ideas oriented to the best possibilities that exist for the entity to choose to gain the best outcome in that context of life. Choosing this “aim” infused the process of life with the creativity, order, and quest for shalom that echoes the essential nature of God.

The words of Jesus helped the Samaritan woman to understand that God was not only in Jerusalem or the temple in Samaria but intertwined with every place and every person. With this unified understanding encompassing every experience, we can say worms live in a spiritual reality, dolphins live in a spiritual reality, humans live in a spiritual reality, and God is the ultimate Spiritual Reality, presenting input to every experience in the universe. “God is spirit” expresses the truth that all the universe and God are united in dynamic relationship which is both a sensory and non-sensory Reality.

Process Theology corrects the dualistic view that God exists in an immaterial dimension removed from the physical things in the universe. To confine God to a non-material, ghostly dimension is to eliminate the divine from all experience beyond an occasional “intervention.” With Process theology, there is no “intervention” because God is not and has never been separated from the material universe. No “natural laws” are ever broken with God present to every experience in the physical world. If God is separate and distinct from the dynamic, evolving physical universe, forced to “leave” the “spiritual” world and “invade” the “natural” world to affect the universe, then God would be detectable by scientific measurements. This is not the case.

Process Theology also corrects the materialism prevalent in the Quantum Age, which believes that the all events in the universe are caused by pure physical sources, for example, wine is produced by fermentation and not a divine intervention. Process Theology teaches that experiences occur (in entities possessing a higher order of consciousness) that are separate from sensory input, bringing new ideas, memories, feelings, and reasonings to conscious thought. Process Theology believes that God is always present with every entity in the internal dimension to bring possibilities for each experience that promote beneficial outcomes.

According to the legends of the Hebrew Testament, the prophet Elijah found God in the cave of Horeb in an unusual manner. “After the fire, a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then there came a voice to him…”[5] There was no sound in the isolated cave, yet he heard a “voice.” The experience of the ancient prophet describes the interior quality of non-sensory prehensions. Theologian Thomas Jay Oord writes, “We cannot perceive an invisible God with our five senses. We may infer the Spirit’s activities, however, from what we observe in the world. And we can directly detect the Spriit’s activity through non-sensory perception.”[6]

Lexi tried to help her grandmother when the older woman collapsed. They were in Grandma’s kitchen after a good day of shopping and games when Lexi heard her gasp, grab her head, and fall. Lexi frantically called 9-1-1 and tried to do something like chest compressions. The emergency team rushed the stricken woman to the ER but the massive stroke had done too much damage. Lexi left the hospital in shock. For weeks following, the trauma and grief haunted her. Two months later, as she sat in a quiet park, alone and sad, a bluebird fluttered to the ground a few feet from the blanket. The bird stared at her. The beautiful colors of the feathers matched perfectly her Grandma’s favorite scarf, laid so carefully in the casket the day of the funeral. Lexi held her breath in wonder as she returned the bird’s long glance.

GOD’S UNCHANGING CHANGES

Process Theology holds the essential nature of God is unchanging. The Bible makes clear that God is unwavering in love, faithfulness, and purpose. This “primordial nature” is the foundation for all that God communicates with the entities of the universe. All that God does expresses profound and vital love. “God’s love is self-generated in God’s own self-definition… God is the resource of love… in process terms, the primordial nature of God--God’s own valuation of all things in a togetherness that is beauty and well-being—provides the great resource… the love of God is such that God desires our well-being.”[7] The character and work of Jesus offers the clearest example of God’s nature, exemplifying love, justice, and hope. The writer of Hebrews rightly proclaims the everlasting, essential nature of God, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”[8]

At the same time, Process Theology includes God in the process of responding to others. God prehends every experience of every entity, developing with every nanosecond of universal experience, adjusting to the actions of all entities. God evolves with the universe as the future unfolds. God’s “consequent nature” is God’s knowledge and response to every occasion. “Every actuality that comes into existence, human or otherwise, is felt by God in its entirety.”[9] God is not static and unchanging in some spiritual realm that is separated from the universe but continuously creating possibilities in dynamic interaction with the universe. Bruce Epperly suggests, “New things happen to God; God has new experiences… God persists as the source of possibility and order through all changes, God also is shaped by all changes… God does not fully know what the outcome of any event or encounter will be in its entirety until it occurs, but God has the resources… to creatively and loving respond to each contingency in the ongoing universe.”[10]

Historically across the universe, such progressive changes as the emergence of order after the Big Bang, lifeforms growing, consciousness surfacing, creatures who learn and choose actions, and social structures being organized are indications of God’s initial aim played out across trillions of experiences. Arthur Peacocke wrote, “God is creating at every moment of the world’s existence through perpetually giving creativity to the very stuff of the world.”[11]

The view of God as ever creative and evolving is different than traditional theology. Ancient and Medieval theologians followed Greek concepts about the perfection of God. God inhabited the purely spiritual, “pneuma,” realm, removed from the material and timely world. God existed in perfection of all attributes, meaning any change would make God less than perfect. “Traditional Christian theology has typically identified perfection with changelessness and change with inferiority… the belief that God has unchanging knowledge of the universe, past, present, and future. Before the emergence of the universe, God had full awareness of all that would occur. Beyond time and space, God experiences the world at a single glance, viewing the entire expanse of creaturely experience in a timeless, unchanging eternal, now.”[12] This perspective rules out God experiencing emotion. All the references to God’s emotions are only metaphorical and poetic. “The biblical references to divine, love, mercy, and wrath refer only to God’s works and not to any emotions or any change in God’s relationship to us and certainly not to any change in God’s substance.”[13] Most modern theologians believe this view, presented by many classic thinkers including Plato, Aristotle, Origin, Augustine and Calvin, cannot be reconciled with free will, the work of prayer, divine emotions, the humanity of Jesus, or the culpability of God for evil.[14] The next sessions will explore these topics in detail. Process Theology teaches that God truly does love the universe and respond to all experiences with real, timely emotions.

Lexi returned to the park the next weekend. The peaceful environment helped distract from her sadness. When she reached for her phone, a flash of blue caught her eye. In the branches just above sat the bluebird. The hair on Lexi’s neck tingled as the bird offered its song of life to all who might hear. She couldn’t remember ever hearing a bird sing so beautifully, entrancing her with a wave of vibrancy.

GOD IN ALL AND ALL IN GOD

In Process Theology, every experience and every entity connects to God. The theological term for this unity of reality is “panentheism,” or God-in-all-and-all-in-God. The idea is found in Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill, approvingly quoting the Greek philosopher Epimenides, “For ‘In [God] we live and move and have our being.’”[15] This is further developed in Colossians as Paul describes the influence of the Christ across the universe, “In [Christ] all things hold together.”[16] Michael Brierley explains panentheism as holding several elements, including the interdependency of God and the universe, the interaction of God and all entities as relational, the intrinsic value of the physical world, and the universe as the place where God is chiefly manifest.[17] This divine presence links you and me with all other things in this universe. When we find awe in the depth of the forest, peace in the stillness of a lake at dawn, or joy in the smell of the flower bed after a rain, we are connecting with holy energy. Theologian Ilia Delio recalls St. Francis of Assisi, “For Francis, the whole universe became the place to find God… he saw the dazzling presence of God in a rabbit, a bird, a bunch of flowers… We do not go to church to find God; we find God by going into the world… The earth is the one glorious moving mass of interconnected energy fields in space. Religion is the awareness that this incredible planet has infinite purpose and meaning.”[18]

Understanding God as Present to all at all times also expands the idea of Incarnation. The Prologue of John says, “He was in the world, and the world came into being through him…”[19] In a panentheistic view, we can expand this truth to consider multiple incarnations which reveal God in the universe. The First Incarnation is the divine interaction with the internal dimension of all entities in the evolving, expanding universe. The Second Incarnation was the emergence of consciousness when simple creatures followed the lure of God to act with agency and a degree of self-determination, leading to the explosion of life forms on Earth (and maybe beyond). The Third Incarnation was enfleshed in Jesus of Nazareth, whose life brought a new dimension of incarnation, uniting his collaborative volition completely with the work of God. The Fourth Incarnation was Pentecost, where the energy of God infused the disciples with a dynamic new meaning for life. Each of them sensed they were connecting with God at their deepest being, surrendering to a divine presence within. The supposed restriction of God’s presence to the Temple’s Holy of Holies was shattered by this universal “pneuma” that would be replicated in billions of human lives. The Fifth Incarnation will be the New Earth, where ultimately the divine energy that pervades the universe will lure every creature and entity to the maximum wholeness and unity possible.[20]

The spiritual nature of reality expands the concept of a “sacrament.” The basic meaning of “sacrament” describes an event that is sacred, especially endued with divine meaning and presence. Theologians have debated—and warred—over the precise meaning of God’s presence in the elements of Communion or the rituals of the faith. Catholics hold “transubstantiation,” meaning the bread and wine are transformed into the body and blood of Christ. Protestants don’t believe in this exchange. Process theology holds that every event is fundamentally a sacrament. “The whole cosmos… is sacramental, for it is something under, in, and through which God comes; and the specific sacraments of the church are simply particular intensifications of the sacramental principle…”[21] This truth revolutionizes our awareness of the Divine in all aspects of our world. A walk in the woods, a kiss, a skyscraper, or a painting are as sacred as the wine of Communion.

On her third visit to the park, Lexi returned to the same spot under the massive oak tree. She unloaded her backpack, one she hadn’t used since that terrible last visit to Grandma’s house. Stretching across the blanket with her eyes closed, she replayed the past few weeks of heartache. Minutes later, she sighed and opened her eyes to see the bluebird perched on the backpack. Lexi froze with wonder as the bird hopped across the backpack and pecked at a zipper. A moment later, her beautiful wings fluttered, and she soared away. Where her feet had rested, an envelope peeked from the pack. The outside said “Lexi,” written in a handwriting the granddaughter had seen a thousand times—at Grandma’s house. Her hands trembled as she opened the note to read a short message of Grandma’s love, dated the very day of her death. Lexi realized the note had laid hidden in the unused backpack all these weeks. But how did the persistent bluebird know… and become a messenger from…. God?

GOD THE SPIRIT IN OUR MUNDANE WORLD

What does this larger idea of God’s nature and connection with the everyday world mean for our practices of faith today?

We embrace the reality that we are experiencing God in the normal course of events. God’s energy provokes subjective responses during every experience in our world. There is no division of “sacred and profane” or “spiritual and secular.” Reality is entirely imbued with God. In a world of toxic secularism and cultural conflict, the discovery of a real and active, yet non-coercive God, brings a fresh wind to the mundane.

We are invited to real communion with God that may become intense. David Ray Griffin reminds us, “Religious experience… involves a direct apprehension of God… being in the presence of a Holy Reality… of Unconditional Love.”[22] Mystics have walked a path of transformative encounter. Members of religious orders orient daily life towards multiple opportunities of devotion. All Christian groups seek to provoke a personal interaction with God, utilizing education, music, art, prayer, silence, or ecstatic utterances. Some may interpret this communion as an encounter with angels, demons, or the dead. These “beings” are not materially present but an interpretation of divine input in ways meaningful in the context of the individual worldview. The words of Jesus are more than a pep talk in saying, “You will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you… those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.”[23]

Beyond this, nature invites transcendent encounters on mountaintops and ocean beaches. Psychologists have discovered emotional benefits from these experiences. The modern field of ecopsychology explores this connection between nature and mental well-being. Research has shown many emotional benefits of experiencing the natural world. We can find lower heart rates and muscle tension. We can experience the release of endorphins to elevate mood. We can find stimulus for greater creativity.[24]

We are energized for the “abundant life” promised by Jesus.[25] With the living presence of God we do not face life in our own mere strength. The divine Spirit animates our faith, brings endowments for service, and unites us with every other living creature. The Spirit’s work is shown anywhere there is love, justice, mercy, and hope. Each of us can exhibit the “fruit of the Spirit”[26] to thrive in loving relationships.

CONCLUSION

“God is spirit.” God brings an active, intimate, universal dimension of reality for all entities. This divine connection has animated the evolving universe and continues today. We can hear this truth as the Matthean writers placed a word of promise in the final scene of the Gospel. The first century was a time of great religious and political conflict, often stained with bloody warfare. Christians were being excluded from the synagogues and facing demands to submit to the imperial cult. Believers needed the assurance that God was with them whatever troubles they faced. Jesus said, “Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”[27] Twenty centuries later, the real energy of God in every experience is still a gift which fosters transformation.

[1] John 4:24

[2] Colin Brown, Ed., Dictionary of the New Testament, Vol 3. Zondervan, 1978.

[3] Epperley, Guide, p 28

[4] Majorie Hewitt Suchocki, God, Christ, Church: A practical guide to Process Theology. Crossroads Publishing, 1989, p 203.

[5] 1 Kings 19:12-13

[6] Thomas Jay Oord, The Death of Omnipotence and the Birth of Amipotence. Sacrasage Press, 2023, p 137

[7] Suchocki, Ibid, p 117-8

[8] Hebrews 13:7

[9] Suchocki, Ibit, p 67

[10] Epperly, Ibid., p 50

[11] Arthur Peacocke, “Articulating God’s Presence in and to the World unveiled by the Sciences,” in In Whom We Live and Move and Have our Being. Wm B. Eerdman’s Publishing, 2004, p 144.

[12] Epperley, Ibid., p 34

[13] Pinnock, Ibid, p 83

[14] A detailed discussion highlighting the differences is found in Clark Pinnock, et al, The Openness of God, p 59-100

[15] Acts 17:28 (NRSVUE)

[16] Colossians 1:17

[17] Michael Brierley, “Naming a Quiet Revolution,” in In Whom We Live and Move and Have our Being, Philip Clayton and Arthur Peacocke, editors. Wm B. Eerdmans, 2004, p 9

[18] DeLio, Ibid., Ch 29

[19] John 1:10

[20] For a full discussion, see my Podcast episode, “The Endless Incarnation.” https://tracksforthejourney.buzzsprout.com

[21] David Ray Griffin, “Panentheism: A Postmodern Revelation,” in In Whom, ibid, p 44

[22] Griffin, Reenchantment, p 199-200

[23] John 14:20-21

[24] Kirsten Weir, “Nurtured by Nature.” American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/monitor/2020/04/nurtured-nature

[25] John 10:10

[26] Galatians 5:22

[27] Matthew 28:20

Session Four Hugs and Kisses Forever:

God’s Love for Free People

On June 25, 1967 500 million people watched the first live international satellite television broadcast in history. The broadcast was called, Our World, designed to celebrate global culture. Segments were broadcast from 19 countries using state-of-the-art technology. In a world torn between the Cold War, Vietnam and counter-culture revolution it had the goal of bringing diverse people together. The climatic segment was a live performance of a new Beatles song titled “Love is All You Need.” The group was joined by mega-artists Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton among others. The simple lyrics of John Lennon became the anthem of the worldwide peace movement known as the “Summer of Love.” More than 55 years later the song reverberates still. “Love is all you need..”[1]

In the decades since the broadcast, the need for love in human affairs has grown. Religion-inspired hate poisons many nations. Polarization fragments communities by demonizing those who hold different values. Finding the true source of love is the only path to changing this bitter equation. Process Theology is a path that anchors the love of God in the center of divine action.

THE QUANTUM AGE SHIFT

It is an understatement that the world has undergone a radical shift in knowledge in the past 500 years. Every person living today is shaped by the worldview which emerges from these changes. “The Quantum Age” describes the complex of beliefs around us. As introduced in the first session, the shifts from the knowledge and cultures of 1500 to the current Quantum Age can be summarized in nine areas of human understanding and experience.

CASUALITY- Belief about the source of physical events has shifted from divine action to explanations based solely on physical causes.

COSMOLOGICAL- Today’s student knows the universe is not a small, static, three-tiered world as the ancients thought but a 13.8B years-old universe with 200 Septillion stars.

PHYSICS- Modern science has grown beyond Newton’s laws of mechanistic regularity to a subatomic Quantum world governed by probabilities, multiple simultaneous states, uncertainty, and entangled interconnections across at least 4 dimensions.

HISTORICAL- Awareness of past events has enlarged from tribal, oral history of local events to the evolutionary model documenting universal multi-billion-year events and 300,000 years of human evolution.

TECHNOLOGICAL- Innovation has lifted resources from handmade tools, fabrics, and books to electric vehicles, nanoengineering, robots, digital worldwide communication, space travel, and AI-driven resources.

PSYCHOLOGICAL- Perspectives on mental and emotional processes have shifted from simple behavioral observation or philosophical models like body, mind, and soul to complex consciousness built on neurobiology and evidence-based behavioral research.

SOCIOLOGICAL- The structure of society in which we live is no longer from local tribes, patriarchy, and caste to global multi -pluralism, ideals of equality, and the dominance of nation-states to regulate communities.

ECONOMICS- Business endeavors have moved from an agrarian-centered, slave labor, barter exchange, and local markets to a consumer-driven model, multi-national capitalism and regulatory governmental oversight.

ETHICAL- Ancients made decisions influenced by a perspective of absolute moral laws for all people instead of today’s subjective, relative, situational morality.

SPIRITUAL- Classic religion was shaped by long-held traditions and institutions guiding faith whereas the modern view holds highly individual and private spirituality.

Classical Christian theology, as taught in many institutions and churches today, has not kept up with the radical changes of the past 550 years. Most Christians today do not have a system of belief that incorporates the Quantum World into a meaningful mindset. God has become merely an icon of religion that is not necessary for daily life for billions of people. A philosophy and theology that brings vital meaning to the Quantum Age person must be shaped by the facts of today. Beliefs that are based on the worldviews of a previous age cannot sustain abundant life now or for future generations. Process Philosophy and Theology present ways of understanding God and the universe that are compatible with many ideas in the Quantum Age.

THE ESSENTIAL RELATIONALITY OF GOD

Process Philosophy and Theology is fundamentally relational. No entity exists in solitary isolation from the universe. Every entity is a collection of innumerable physical energy fields. The energetic connection does not stop at the skin of a creature or the surface of a material. Humans are affected by the electromagnetic energy of an X-ray and the rudeness of the technician in the exam room. The assertion of Process thought is that this relationship is true of God as well, whose existence is inseparably linked to the universe in continuous and comprehensive relations.

The relational nature of reality begins with the nature of God. God is expressed in Christian formulations as a Trinity of three “persons:” Father, Son, and Spirit. Jesus speaks often of God as “Father,” even using the Aramaic “Abba” to express the intimacy of the connection. These anthropomorphic descriptions express the Inexpressible. We recognize them as inadequate, of course. But the concept expresses the relational core of God. “God is the ultimate in community, mutuality, and sharing.”[2] The Church Fathers used a Greek word, “perichoresis,” meaning “rotating,” to describe the integrated, intimate, dance of the distinct identities in the Trinity. God in the fullness of being is “lively, moving, interdependent, and intimate both within [God’s Self] and within the world.”[3]

From this relational pattern revealed in the Godhead, God relates with every entity and creature in each experience of life, a companion on our unique journey. God experiences with every creature every occasion of life. God’s experience changes constantly in dynamic relationship to the universe. God is not immutable, the “unmoved Mover,” but instead the “most moved Mover,” changing with each moment of the universal experience. Every experience becomes part of God’s learning experience and prompts God to respond for the next occasion.

Lexi often brought up the pain of her past relationships in her counseling. Her father did not keep in contact after her parents divorced. Lane, the first significant partner, couldn’t stay sober. Living with Violet was a one-year rollercoaster in contending with those borderline moods. D’Lux offered so much charm until he turned angry and threatening, hurting her. She was so glad that was over. She felt like a three-time loser at love, she told the therapist. She knew she needed real love. But who can give that in a messed up world?

THE ESSENTIAL LOVE OF GOD FOR ALL ENTITIES

What is the source of love, harmony, and growth in the universe? Process Theology believes love is the essential, primary attribute of God and the source of love for all entities. This truth is based on the pervasive witness of Scripture. The loving work of God is first described in the narratives of the Hebrew Testament. The fundamental word for love, human and divine, is “ahavah.” The ancient narratives teach that God’s love was the source of the God’s work to deliver the people from slavery, “Because He loved your ancestors, He chose their descendants after them. He brought you out of Egypt with his own presence, by his great power.”[4] Jeremiah preached about the divine love as well, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.”[5] Another Hebrew word. “hesed,” is used more frequently. This is the covenants given to Israel, a steadfast, faithful love of God that offers a contractual gift to the nation. “’Hesed’ is often linked with God’s covenants… [having] connotations of mercy and obligation, compassion and commitment.”[6] No wonder the faith of the Jews celebrated this unearned grace, repeating 26 times in the wonderful praise song, “His love endures forever!”[7]

The paragon of love is Jesus. Jesus expressed the love of God to the least, the lowly, and the lost. The Greek word “agape” describes the highest love possible, from God toward humankind, or the reverse.[8] “God proves his love for us in the while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”[9] The emotion of Jesus for the wealthy man can be expanded to include all of humanity, “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” The theological narrative of the Gospel of John make love central to the ministry of Jesus, as in the author puts on the lips of Jesus, “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” [10] One of the last books composed, 1 John, recognizes love as not just an act of God but as the essential character of God, “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”[11]

All varieties of Christian theology include love as an attribute of God. But Thomas Jay Oord says there’s a problem: most theological systems teach that love is one of several equal attributes of God. The Divine is also all-powerful, just, good, all-knowing, and so forth, balancing the various attributes to achieve eternal purposes. God may choose to love, or act in other ways, according to the situation. In the common view, God is the all-powerful ruler of the universe who chose to limit that power to create our universe and creatures who are free.

For Process theology however, love is the foundation, an unchanging and eternal attribute of God's nature. Love is preeminent over all other attributes. To say with the Bible that “God is love” means that love is the necessary expression of God's timeless nature. In Oord’s blunt language, “God must love. God cannot not love. Because God must act like God… It is impossible for God to be unloving… being so would require God to be other than divine.”[12] In my words, God is not free to choose whether to love because God's nature is love. God’s total power is founded in Love. God’s total knowledge is hemmed in by Love. God’s unfailing justice is filtered with Love.

Defining love is important because the word has lost its clarity today. Oord writes that the statement, “God is love” is an assertion that “rests closer to literally true than perhaps any other biblical statement… I define love this way: ‘To love is to act intentionally, in relational response to God and others, to promote overall well-being.’”[13] His definition has many strengths, such as showing love is inherently relational, aims for good, and takes action in many different ways.

A realistic view of modern life looks beneath the headlines of disasters, crimes, and suffering to find a deep reservoir of love—if the full breadth of love is understood. Beyond “agape,” love can cover a wide range of human feelings. The modern world quickly identifies passion and lust, the Greek word “eros,” as the most important. Certainly, no one would want a life without romance and vitality! But other expressions are just as vital. Companionship and friendship connections, “philia” in the language of the New Testament, are essential. Social connections with neighbors in the tribe or network support, guide, and enrich life, giving an essential formation of identity. A third word for the classic types of love, “stergo,” describes the fond identification with a spouse, child, nation, or even a product (as in “I love chocolate ice cream.”)[14]

God is the source of this multifaceted energy. Because God relates to all entities, love in many fashions is possible. We are grateful that, “God promotes overall well-being through full-orbed love… Divine love is tailor-made for each creature in each instant.”[15] God’s love with all entities has a focus on the realization of the highest good in the context. We can say that a granite rock fulfills the highest possibilities by continuing to be a stable rock for millions of years, an eagle by producing more stronger and skilled eagles, and a human by extending support to a traumatized soldier.

Lexi met Raphael when he helped load her into the ambulance—after his kickboxing move broke her tibia during a practice sparring match. He was so apologetic and insisted on staying with her as she entered the ER. He carried her things to the hospital room late that night and returned the next morning to check on her. His compassion, positivity, and acts of caring made a huge difference for her. Three weeks later, she felt okay about agreeing to go to a community play. Raphael helped her with her crutches to take a seat at the theater. A friendship seemed to be growing in her messed up world.

LOVE IS NON-COERCIVE OR “AMIPOTENT”

Process theology asserts a corollary of love in relationships: love is non-coercive. Love gives the object of love the right of self-determination. God does not force anyone to return divine love. Because God is love, the design of God’s universe grants all conscious creatures some degree of freedom of choice in each occasion of experience. We know from human experience that a person who seeks to control the actions of another is not acting in love. For example, if a man wanted to have a woman’s love, he might promise her a million dollars for her love or enlisted 100 friends to bombard her with messages demanding she love him or lock her in a house until she chooses to love him. Would her love be sincere and true? That’s absurd, isn’t it? Real love is a gift freely given, uncoercive, uncontrolling and directed toward their mutual goals. Could the love of God be any different?

Classical theology has misunderstood the power of God as meaning the capacity of total, unilateral control. The term “omnipotent,” has meant God possesses all power in the universe. This is taught as the primary, central quality of God. Does the Bible generally hold this view of God’s power? Oord argues that the traditional meaning is not supported by Scripture:

“The meaning of omnipotence is not in scripture. If the word means, ‘exerts all power,’ the Bible repeatedly describes creatures exerting power, often in opposition to what God wants. If omnipotence means, ‘able to do anything,’ numerous biblical passages and stories describe activities God cannot do. If omnipotence means, ‘controls creatures or creation,’ no biblical passage explicitly claims God unilaterally controls. No passage says God brings about results singlehandedly, such that no creaturely actors, factors, or forces were involved. As described in the Bible, God is strong and weak. God sometimes does mighty acts and other times fails. Omnipotence is not born of scripture.”[16]

Process theology, with love as the essential attribute, uses a different word to explain the connection of divine love and power, “amipotence.” Amipotence blends the Latin word for love “ami,” and the word for power, “potens,” to say that, “divine love comes logically and conceptually prior to divine power...Love comes first… Amipotence is maximal divine power in the service of love.”[17] Amipotence is the way God relates to the material universe and all creatures.

Jesus exemplified the love of God. He lived the love of God as a human in perfect harmony with Godself. A central teaching of Paul about Jesus is found in the Jesus Hymn of Philippians. He uses the Greek word, “kenosis,” to describe the action of Jesus, “who, though he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied himself, [‘ekenosen’= kenosis], taking the form of a slave, assuming human likeness. And being found in appearance as a human, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross.”[18] The nature of God’s “agape” love was revealed in Jesus as “kenosis,” bringing the choices to serve other, live with humility, and surrender to martyrdom. Again, Oord summarizes, “God’s power is essentially persuasive and vulnerable, not overpowering and aloof. We especially see God’s noncoercive power revealed in the cross of Christ… ‘kenosis’ translated as ‘self-giving, others-empowering love’ corresponds well with passages found throughout Scripture.”[19]

Raphael had emerged from a privileged background with something unusual: empathy for people in need. He never seemed to stop caring for friends. Lexi learned that his acts to help weren’t the products of a guilty kickboxer but the expressions of an attitude of life. Weekly dates became daily calls. The busy social events of fun stretched into hours together. Thoughts about possibilities of the future came easily to her mind. When she moved in with him there was a totality of love outward and inward that she had not known before.

THE FUTURE IS OPEN

The uncontrolling, other-empowering love of God brings a dynamic perspective to the future of the universe. The future is open, not predetermined.

In Process thought, God presents the best possibilities in each moment but does not control the creaturely choice. God aims for shalom for all creatures as they are capable, but their choices may not follow the aim God has. All entities are invited to cooperate with God. In this way, non-coercive love brings openness to each experience and the unfolding of the future. The date of a person’s death or the winner of the 2050 Superbowl has not predetermined by God. God continuously and eternally interacts in love with all humans to lure them toward love, beauty, and shalom. Once the choice is made, God absorbs the new reality and works again within the new reality for new aims. Humans are active as co-creators of the future. “The dynamic, sometimes chaotic and partially random universe with its various systems and processes emerges from God’s necessarily creative and kenotic love. The free process of life is an essential expression of divine grace.”[20]

Since God is not outside of time in another, spiritual, timeless dimension, we understand God experiences time just as all entities. God receives experiences as they happen within the universe. God has known all possibilities, yet sentient creatures make choices which bring change to the universe. “Time is real for God,”[21] in a universe that is constantly changing on its own, chronological unfolding, path.

This openness of the future contrasts with the doctrine that God is a ruler, or sovereign, who has determined every event of the past, the present, and the future. Some Christians have taught that God unilaterally controls the universe in every detail. This would include natural disasters or human violence that bring suffering to animals and humans. For example, with a cancer patient, this would mean that God choose to mutate the cells to become cancer. Even further, the corollary of this doctrine must mean that God deliberately chooses to plot the path of the tornado that kills dozens of people or stirs up the malice of a hate-filled terrorist who bombs a synagogue. A variation of the teaching is that God just allows these things to happen, choosing to not intervene to change the impending event. Process thought, in contrast, understands the love of God is primary over the power of God, offering noncoercive love to all creatures.

GOD AND EVIL

The theology of God exercising power to pre-determine every event of the universe has problems. Classic theology has struggled with the contradiction of God being all-powerful and all-good, yet evil exists and causes immense suffering. Skeptics ask, “Why doesn’t an omnipotent and good God stop evil events?” The inestimable suffering of the 20th century, with two world wars, famines, civil wars in Asia and Africa, pandemics, and genocides, causing more than 100 million deaths, only added to the quandary of classic theology.

The doctrines of classic theology are indeed problematic. In essence, they present God as the source of evil, commissioning the events or omitting actions that an omnipotent deity could do to save the lives of innocents. What would we think of someone who saw a child crossing the street in front of a car but chose to do nothing to save her life? That is a moral outrage and evidence of a stone-cold heart. Surely, that cannot be true of the God of love and good described in the Bible. If God could intervene and refused to do so, God would be culpable for evil. The same is true of an undersea earthquake creating a tsunami that sweeps thousands of people to death. Is God truly good if nature could be controlled to prevent the horrific result?

The non-coercive nature of Love also indicates that moral evil results from human choices that stray from God’s good aims in each occasion. The nature of Love cannot prevent human choices even if evil is the result. God in love gives freedom to every entity in every occasion. That means humans can make choices to do evil. David Griffin writes, “Divine power cannot create the good without the risk of the evil.”[22] The Bible offers clearly assigns freedom of choice to humankind, even to do evil. David raped and murdered and suffered terrible consequences. Judas betrayed Jesus, an act that Jesus could see coming from three years of daily interaction. Christian history is often a sad tale of professed believers who tortured heretics, enslaved Africans, and waged wars in the “name of God.”

Process Theology presents a compelling theodicy in reconsidering the nature of God. With love as the essential attribute, divine power cannot be controlling. God has no contradictions or conflicts in the primordial nature or consequent actions. If God imposed God’s will on a creature, it would violate God’s core reality. God cannot be God and overrule the entities of the universe. In scholarly terms, “Because of God’s immutable nature of self-giving, others-empowering love, God cannot prevent genuine evil… An uncontrolling God is not culpable when creatures oppose what this loving God desires. Creatures are blameworthy…. [Concerning natural events] God’s love orders the world. And because God’s nature is love, God cannot override the order that emerges.”[23]

Lexi had trouble sleeping after six months with Raphael. It wasn’t a problem with him but with her resentment of her hardships. He grew up comfortable, at ease, connected, healthy. At night she thought about the frightening fights of her parents, the lost loves of other men, and the pain from the leg injury that persisted. Why was he so lucky and she had drawn the deuce? It was just unfair to suffer like she had endured. Raphel made it better in love and laughter, of course. Yet the pain in her leg wouldn’t go away. She had heard that God loved everyone but she had been on the short end too many times.

OUR CHOICES CONNECT TO OTHERS AND GOD

Process Theology teaches that every occasion impacts other entities. This is clearly evident in what happens when the choice or response produces a thought, word, or action. The internal non-sensory thought determines the next experience within that entity, of course. When words or actions occur, other entities in the context are affected. The outcome of one entity becomes input for others to consider in their next experience. In Process terms, this is the “superjection,” where each occasion has an effect beyond itself. No entity is ever separated from this dynamic web of relationships.

God urges every person to choose acts with love towards others to positively affect the web of reality. Jesus quotes the Hebrew Testament in the Great Commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[24] The Apostles taught this love takes concrete form to demonstrate, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”[25] Love is the visible proof of God’s energy, wherever it appears, “everyone who loves is born of God and knows God… those who abide in love abide in God, and God abides in them.”[26]

Science has confirmed that kindness and cooperation are engines of personal happiness and evolutionary development. Psychologist Laurie Santos recounts the studies which detail animal cooperation and human response in times of crisis. “We assume that the laws of nature dictate that we are naturally competitive and need to fight each other to survive. But the real story is more complicated and beautiful. Human nature isn’t built for survival of the meanest and most competitive. In some times, especially tough times, the kind survive and thrive. We can build our social worlds that emphasize cooperation over competition… to create a better, kinder world.”[27] Each person who acts with love is collaborating with the essential nature of God to advance the ultimate shalom of the universe.

The superjection or output of each entity by thought, word, or action has an effect on God. As previous lessons have discussed, God experiences every occasion of every entity. God learns, grows, foresees new possibilities, and responds to this input with emotion and action to continue the movement in harmony with the divine nature of love for the entities in the universe.

The witness of Scripture reveals God suffers with us as we experience the pains of our life. God said to Moses, “I have observed the misery of my people… heard their cry… know their sufferings.”[28] Jesus wept in grief at the grave of Lazarus and felt the desperation of the woman whose bleeding made her unclean for years. The empathetic heart of Jesus turned the life of a cheating tax collector toward integrity, lifted a woman sex-worker to a new direction, and gave a thief hope for eternity. God weeps with those who are suffering today. The Spirit is a companion in the valley of the shadow, soothing emotions in our darkness.

The theological insight that God suffers with us brings greater resilience. Clinical studies have shown that having hope for the future is a key factor in promoting resilience, or the capacity of coping with adversity. Hope and optimism come from varied sources. For many, hope Is built on a faith in God. A study of Army Special Forces troops found those who viewed spirituality as a vital part of life had hormone levels that contributed to lower stress and greater adaptability to negative events.[29]

Today, the Spirit of God offers that power of resilience and hope to those who are struggling with the traumas of life.

Lexi, Raphael and her mother felt a bit out-of-place at the Christmas Eve service with the unfamiliar music and readings. Yet a deep warmth spread across her when the candles started to glow. Raphael’s eyes were wet as the room they held a candle together. Some hours later her heart beat a bit faster as she opened the small package from under the Christmas tree. Raphael and her mother looked on with expectancy. Lifting the lid, a regal blue sapphire gleamed in the light. Her thoughts whirled to her grandma, her hopes, and to the man next to her. “The color seemed just like you,” he said, adding a kiss on the cheek.

ESSENTIAL LOVE TODAY

How does the essential, non-coercive love of God affect us today?

We have intrinsic significance in an immense universe. Some believe our smallness in the universe means we have minimal significance. The love energy of God has a different message. The foundational meaning of life comes because we have significance to the greatest being, that is, to God. In this two-dimensional reality God’s essential attribute of love has granted us a sacred and significant value. God has paid attention to Earth, each creature, and each of the 110 billion who have lived. All have been under God’s loving care with a capacity to commune with the Divine. Though there has never been a person just like you, nor will one ever exist, God gives you eternal significance. We are so significant that God opens the fullness of Godself to even suffer with us. The Divine invests loving energy to bring us toward love, meaning and good even beyond our brief earthly lifespan. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “I am convinced that nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39)

We have relationships with all people and creatures. Humankind is unique but interconnected with all entities in the universe. We are one of millions of creatures on the planet, with each one significant to God. This should lead to a vital ecotheology that protects the natural environment for the good of all creatures. Modern science has confirmed that many creatures have the capacity of language, using tools, and building a society, lending impetus to our shared responsibility.

We do not blame God for natural disasters or immoral behaviors, but instead find the work of God to build resilience for recovery. We accept that random events do occur. Birth defects are possible, volcanos bury cities, and meteors destroy entire species. Creaturely choices bring pandemics, school massacres, and terrorist attacks. God seeks to lure sentient creatures towards good yet cannot control the outcome of the choices made. We should be diligent to guard our own choices as well as seeking to influence others for love.

CONCLUSION

The foundational truth that “God is love” has shaped the world for millennia. Process Theology provides an ontological basis for the truth. The continual activity of God with all entities of the universe are based on love. Freedom is a gift of love. The future is not determined but open for many possibilities. Humans have been given special opportunities to collaborate with God to bring love to society. When evil is experienced, God is not to blame. In the most profound sense, we are loved.

[1] “Our World,” History of the BBC. https://www.bbc.com/historyofthebbc/anniversaries/june/our-world

[2] Pinnock, Openness, p 108

[3] Epperley, Perplexed, p 81

[4] Deuteronomy 4:7

[5] Jeremiah 31:3

[6] Thomas Jay Oord, Pluriform Love: An open and relational theology of well-being. Sacrasage 2011, p 176

[7] Psalm 136.

[8] “Love,” Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol 2. Colin Brown, Ed., Zondervan 1971

[9] Romans 5:8

[10] John 13:1

[11] 1 John 4:16

[12] Oord, Uncontrolling Love, p 161

[13] Oord, Pluriform, p 2, 28

[14] “Love,” Dictionary, p 538

[15] Oord, Ibid, p 166

[16] Oord, Amipotence, p 40

[17] Ibid, p 120, 123

[18] Philippians 2:6-8

[19] Oord, Uncontrolling, p 155-159

[20] Oord, Uncontrolling, p 173

[21] Rice, Future, p 149

[22] Griffin, In Whom, p 45

[23] Oord, Uncontrolling, p 171, 174

[24] Matthew 22:39

[25] 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

[26] 1 John 4:7, 16

[27] “Survival of the Fittest… or the Kindest?” The Happiness Lab podcast with Dr. Laurie Santos and Dr. Jamil Zaki. https://www.pushkin.fm/podcasts/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos

[28] Exodus 3:7

[29] Anne Nolty and others, “Spirituality: A Facet of Resilience.” Fuller Magazine, Issue 12. https://fullerstudio.fuller.edu/spirituality-a-facet-of-resilience/

Faith and Life in the Quantum Age

Session 5

Living the Good Life: God’s Good in a Bad Place

My mother helped change America, at least in a small way. She entered college in 1934, following the footsteps of her older sister. They were part of an explosion of women pursuing higher education in the early 20th century, as by that time 40% of all graduates were women, more than double the number a decade earlier. Julie Magill was a proud graduate of William Woods College in Missouri, class of 1936. She and millions of other women were demanding equal rights and opportunity.

Mom benefitted from a decades-long struggle for equal rights. On July 19, 1848, more than 300 men and women assembled in the Wesleyan Chapel at Seneca Falls, New York, for the first formal convention to discuss "the social, civil and religious condition and the rights of women." At the end of the 1848 meeting in New York, 82 women and 32 men signed a Declaration of Sentiment. They boldly said to the nation,

“We hold these truths to be self-evident; that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…. The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her…because women do feel themselves aggrieved, oppressed, and fraudulently deprived of their most sacred rights, we insist that they have immediate admission to all the rights and privileges which belong to them as citizens of these United States.”.

The Declaration precipitated a struggle marked by scorn, rebuke, arrests, slander, and political resistance. Many Christian ministers assailed the assertion of women as equal, citing Scripture as proof of male privilege. Others found different answers in the actions of Jesus and common-sense ethics. Lead by Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth, Frances Willard, Ida B. Wells, and others, the cause gained momentum. A breakthrough came in 1890 when Wyoming approved the right to vote. By 1918 twenty states had done the same. After thousands of women participated in public marches, demonstrations, and protests, President Woodrow Wilson advocated the cause. They believed the core teachings of the New Testament gave women an equal place and voice in society. The cause was strengthened with England granted full suffrage in 1918. On June 4, 1918, Congress approved the Amendment and sent it to the states for ratification. This was quickly done by 35 states. The southern states refused, locked in the narrow interpretations of the Bible and a patriarchal culture. Passage came down to the vote of one man in the Tennessee legislature, Harry Burn. He was swayed by his own mother to support the bill. With this vote, the Amendment was ratified, becoming the 19th Amendment to the Constitution on August 26, 1920.[1]

A GOOD GOD

Process Theology believes God was at work in this struggle for women’s rights across the ages, luring millions of people to choose a good and just society. The idea of God’s goodness is the background of justice, peace, and moral virtue in all human relationships.

The Biblical witness offers many voices proclaiming the theme, “God is good.” The worship songs of the Psalms celebrate, “O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.”[2] One of the last books of the New Testament contains the encouragement to, “taste the goodness of God.”[3] The writers held that God’s goodness was an ethical attribute, signaling God always expresses the highest values of relationships.

The Bible ascribes moral goodness to God, who is called “holy” in many passages. This is especially prominent in the narratives of the Priestly source, whose central theme is the work of the cult and the narratives concerning Israel’s religious formation.[4] The words given to God for the temple rituals make it clear that moral demands are required, “I am the Lord your God; sanctify yourselves, therefore, and be holy, for I am holy.”[5] The moral goodness of God appears as a common theme in Egyptian and the religions of the ancient Near East as well. Before the Hebrew nation was formed, the gods of the Nile wanted moral order, “maat,” which included virtues such as reciprocity, justice, truth, and moderation. Worshippers were to follow this moral order to please the gods and obtain eternal life.[6] The Hebrew and Christian faiths followed this common tradition. The evidence shows that a moral component is essential for holiness. A scholar summarizes, “’Holy’ defines the character of biblical ethics.”[7]

Classic theology placed holiness and goodness in connection with God’s existence in a separate dimension removed from the sinful world. A holy God, untouched by the evil in the world, is de facto a morally good God. An “aspect of God’s holiness is his absolute purity or goodness. This means that he is untouched and unstained by the evil in the world. He does not in any sense participate in it.”[8]

Process Theology rejects belief in the division of God and the universe. God is interdependent and continually involved in process with all entities in the universe. How can God be holy within this framework? The holiness of God is not a state of perfection but a work of pervasive, continual love to provoke transformation toward the highest values of shalom. The mercies of our good God are “new every morning.”[9] Holiness and goodness express the love of God that drives the divine work of calling all entities to love, harmony, and beauty. “The aims from God push us toward care for the world. This push toward well-being stems from the character of God; it must therefore be an unfailing component of every Christly initial aim… Insofar as the church lives from its identity in Christ, it becomes a holy community.”[10]

God's aim, from the beginning of the universe through the billions of years of evolution, has been to bring greater value in higher attainments of consciousness, order, harmony and beauty. These qualities reflect the essential, primordial nature of God being woven into every entity, past, present, and future. God knows how all things might move toward the highest and draws toward that reality through the initial aim communicated for each occasion. The poet of Genesis placed the refrain, “It was good,” upon each day of the Earth’s creation. Though scarred by humankind, this essential blessing is still in place, a work in progress toward the unimaginable fulfillment desired by God. The goodness of God brings the Logos to all people in all ages and cultures, “In Him was life, and the life was the light of all people.” (John 1:4). All humanoids of all time have been influenced by God’s initial aims to prompt acts of goodness.

A GOOD GOD AND GOOD HUMANS

In classical theology, humankind is separated from God, not only by living in the material universe, but by inescapable sin. A “sin nature” proceeded from Adam throughout history to bring guilt to every person. “The Bible… maintains that because of Adam’s sin all persons receive a corrupted nature and are guilty in God’s sight as well… We were all present in undifferentiated form in the person of Adam, who along with Eve was the entire human race… We were all involved… and are responsible for the sin.”[11] This classic doctrine brings an inherent evil to every human being throughout time. “Sin is not merely wrong acts and thoughts, but sinfulness as well, an inherent inner disposition inclining us to wrong acts and thoughts. Thus, it is not simply that we are sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners.”[12] This sin nature leads to an inescapable conclusion: the human race is “hopelessly separated from God because of their sin. They are unable to do anything to extricate themselves from this condition, and in fact, being quite blind to their condition, have no desire to do so.”[13] The result of this doctrine taught across the centuries has produced a plague of “misguided notions: a world always in competition with itself; a mechanical and magical understanding of baptism; fiery notions of hell; systems of rewards and punishments; shaming and exclusion of all wounded individuals; beliefs in the superiority of skin color, ethnicity, or nation.”[14]

Process Theology believes humankind is not and has never been separated from God. Due to God’s relentless love and ever-creative work, humankind is gifted with “original goodness.” Rohr recalls a deeper stream of theology which presents three essential virtues as given freely by God to all humans. “From the very beginning, faith, hope, and love are planted deeply within our nature—indeed they are our very nature.”[15] Scripture offers the insight, “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!”[16]

Multiple lines of evidence support this God-gifted goodness for all humans. First, no scientific evidence supports the notion that all of humankind descended from one person. We are products of millennia of evolutionary development and varied lines of subspecies. It’s impossible to identify one ancestor as the progenitor or even the representative of everyone else. Adam and Eve are figures in a poetic narrative, not literal residents in an actual garden who birthed the human race, let alone passed to all a “sin gene” in our DNA.

Second, we know millions of people around the globe have lived with love, compassion, wisdom, and beauty in the context of many faith traditions. This is evidence humans are not dead to moral realities and depraved with inherent wickedness but alive and capable of striving toward the good as active moral agents. Persons of every nation and religion exhibit extraordinary love and altruism, both of which are hallmarks of the connection with God.

Third, considering human nature, Quantum Age truth understands each person as a complex unity of Self, built of genetic, cultural, and existential influences that are in dynamic interaction. There is no separate entity of the Soul locked into evil but a unified person with a mix of moral, immoral, wise, foolish, loving, and angry experiences. Soren Kierkegaard presents this idea in writing that the human Anxiety with freedom is the true meaning of the Garden story.[17] The cruel gang member might choose to die for a friend, and the holy priest may abuse an altar boy. We are in flux from birth to death in crafting and recrafting the Self we claim to be. This flux exposes us to sin and negative actions that we choose for ourselves. We don’t have a soul corrupted by original sin, but we do have a Self influenced by original choice. Theologian Karen Strand Winslow writes that biblical stories show the condition “necessary for ethical behavior—the ability to choose based on based on an ability to anticipate consequences, make value judgements, and determine alternative courses of action…emphasize original choice not original sin.” She makes the point that Romans 5:12, often quoted to impute the sin nature from Adam, needs careful interpretation. “Romans 5.12 is used to ground the notion that humans have a propensity to sin because of the ﬁrst sinners. However, there we ﬁnd the claim that Adam was the ﬁrst to sin; his death was the result, and the death of others eventually followed, because they sinned. This passage does not say that all humans sin because Adam sinned.”[18] Each of us makes bad choices and are responsible for the consequences. Having these capacities is vital but also afflicts us with the burden of choosing bad or good as a constant in our daily life.

Our choices outside of God’s initial aims damage ourselves and our cultural context but do not separate God from us. The poetry of Genesis 3 describes God caring and providing for the first couple no matter what choices were made. We may feel estranged, but God is not. We are not “fallen” but we are “wandering East of Eden.” Like Paul, we struggle with the inner conflict, “When I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand.” Roman 7:21. Within this normal human experience we make our choices.

Sitting next to a warm fire on a cold February night, Lexi finally told Raphael about the abuse she had suffered from D’Lux. The tears came slowly at first but as the shame grasped her heart the tears became a torrent. The evil of his actions had scarred her deeply. Finding a different and supportive care brought a cleansing. “I’m here and you’re safe,” Raphael whispered.

GOODNESS SEEKS JUSTICE

Justice emerges from the goodness of God. The struggle for justice in human history found expression in obtaining women’s rights in the modern era and throughout the centuries of the Judeo-Christian story. Throughout the Bible God is turned to justice for all people. “For the LORD is a God of justice.”[19] The Hebrew “tsedaqah” means delivering or community restoring justice. Another word, “mishpat” means judgment according to rights, especially for the powerless. Considering Jesus, David Gushee declares, “Justice is one of the central virtues in Jesus’ teaching…it is one of the basic convictions in Christian ethics… It is at the heart of God’s will. It is crucial for relating love and Christlikeness to a public ethic that can reflect the sovereignty of God and the lordship of Christ over all of life.”[20] Gushee documents 37 times Jesus confronted injustice expressed in economic oppression, political power, violence, and exclusion. He concludes, “We cannot help but think that if he was that committed to justice in his context, we are required to be just as concerned about justice in our own.”[21]

A primary demonstration of justice in the ministry of Jesus concerns the move against patriarchy. Jesus welcomed women to follow him and learn from him. He touched women in public and allowed a woman to anoint his feet. “There is no evidence that Jesus ever treated women with anything other than full dignity and respect—an extraordinary practice in his context and in ours. Why did Jesus take this approach toward women? We believe it was because Jesus was concerned above all with the reign of God.”[22] At Pentecost the Spirit came equally upon men and women, leading women to serve in leadership roles. Paul boldly proclaimed 2000 years ago, “There is neither male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”[23] Unfortunately, a male-dominated society would not heed that message for 1800 years. The focus shifted back to the patriarchal passages of the Bible as the divine, unchanging, pattern for society rather than recognizing those views emerged in the cultures of those ancient societies. Misogyny continues today with global inequities fostering violence against women, restricting economic opportunities, tolerating sex trafficking, and denying legal rights. To follow Jesus and the work of God for the highest good, these attitudes must be confronted and changed.

“Go back where you came from, you damn immigrant!” The man in the parking lot screamed at Raphael and Lexi. Raphael turned slowly to face him. “My ancestor, Juan Seguin, fought with Stephen Austin and at the Battle of San Jacinto, then was mayor of San Antonio in the Texas Republic of 1840. When exactly did your family come to Texas, friend?” The red-faced man sputtered a few cusswords and retreated. Lexi drew close to her dark-haired fiancé. “God, that was scary.” “Just another rightwing hater,” Raphael said. “Let’s go inside.”

LIVING IN GOD’S GOODNESS TODAY

What does this Goodness mean for us in our difficult and dark world?

Worship is a response to the goodness of God. The singers of Israel expressed it, “One generation shall extol your work to another and shall declare your mighty acts… They will celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness… The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all and his compassion is over all that he has made.”[24] With the relentless love and pervasive relationship God offers, we should respond by joining in this praise. “Process theology presents a prayerful and mystical vision of life in which God is always present, providing us with creative and life-supportive visions at every moment of life… We live in a God-filled universe.”[25] Joining in solitary and corporate expressions of worship can expand our love of God and collaboration with God’s energy of love.

Our conscience can be attuned to the lifestyle of Jesus. God works to lead us to the best choices for our life and others. However, all humans fall short of these highest possibilities. It is vital to turn towards God as we become aware of these transgressions. Confession for repentance, restitution, and restoring relationships aligns us with the always active mercy of God. “If we confess out sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive out sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”[26]

We should actively embrace solidarity with all people. The message of Jesus is universally recognized as revolutionary. His ministry and the apostles who followed broke the barriers of ethnic bigotry, sexism, and class stratification. Jesus commanded people—not just suggested or encouraged us—to “Love one another as you love yourself.” That leaves no room for bigoty, discrimination, racial slurs, profiling by police, unjust laws, inequitable wages, voter suppression or any of the modern methods of oppression. We cannot now ignore the legacy of racial injustice that has darkened American history for hundreds of years. Black lives do matter, to God, and to America. The phrase is a cry for centuries of injustice to be acknowledged and remedied. This extends to all who have suffered injustice. We must name and end all the ways that women, native Americans, Asians, Hispanics and the gay/transgendered community have been treated. Religious bigotry toward Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and various sects of Christianity has painted dark colors in our history and cannot be tolerated in living under the goodness of God.

CONCLUSION

As children we sang, “God is so good, God is so good, he’s so good to me.” Process theology grounds this goodness in the reality of God’s inseparable connection with each person. Mercy, grace, justice, and more flow from the essential, primordial nature of God to all creatures of the universe. The childhood song needs correction: “God’s so good to all so I will be too!”

[1] An expanded discussion of women’s rights and theology can be found in my podcast, “Gals, Guys, and God.” https://www.buzzsprout.com/907723

[2] Psalm 107:1

[3] 1 Peter 2:3

[4] Victor Hurowitz, “P- Understanding the Priestly Tradition.” Biblical Archaeology Society Library. https://library.biblicalarchaeology.org/article/p-understanding-the-priestly-source/

[5] Leviticus 11:44

[6] “Ancient Egyptian Religion.” Brittanica.com. https://www.britannica.com/topic/ancient-Egyptian-religion

[7] J. E. Hartley, “Holy and Holiness,” Dictionary, p 420

[8] Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology. Baker Book House, 1985, p 245

[9] Lamentations 3:22-23

[10] Suchocki, p 144-146

[11] Erickson, p 638

[12] Erickson, p 578

[13] Erickson, p 925

[14] Richard Rohr, The Universal Christ. Center for Action and Contemplation, Inc, 2019. P 62

[15] Rohr, Ibid. p 65

[16] 1 John 3:1

[17] Soren Kierkegaard, The Concept of Anxiety, 1844

[18] Karen Strand Winslow, “Original Choice, not Original Sin.” https://www.academia.edu/23778135/Original_Choice_not_Original_Sin)

[19] Isaiah 30:18

[20] David Gushee and Glen Stassen, Kingdom Ethics: Following Jesus in Contemporary Context. Intervarsity Press, 2003 p 128

[21] Ibid, p 147

[22] Ibid, p 238

[23] Galatians 3:28

[24] Psalm 145

[25] Bruce Epperley, Praying with Process Theology River Land Press, 2017

[26] 1 John 1:9

Faith and Life in the Quantum Age

Session 6 God Ain’t Done Yet:

Co-Workers for Shalom

Have you ever wondered what Jesus thought about time? Each person in the Quantum Age is more aware of time than at any time in history. We have alarms to wake us up, calendars to remind us of appointments, and TV programs that have set times to be shown. Scientists measure time to the billionth of a second to keep the digital age in sync. But Jesus lived a different life. He never heard the ticking of a clock or read a sundial. When Jesus lived, time was measured by the sun, moon, and seasons. In spite of this, he knew much about time and how to live it. Jesus taught that every second of our life is full of meaning.

As the gospel of John narrates the encounter, Jesus was in trouble with the religious leaders. He had done a great miracle at Jerusalem’s Pool of Bethesda, healing a man who had been disabled 38 years. The authorities condemned the action because it was done on the wrong day of the week, the sacred Sabbath. Jesus seized the moment to teach about time in the redemptive work of God. He said, “My Father is still working, and I also am working.”

This teaching declares a revolutionary truth about God. The religious leaders confined God’s work to the past, during the time of Israel’s lawgivers and prophets. The blind, the lame, the paralyzed lay all around them, hurting and in need, but there was nothing to be done about them. Jesus blows a new wind through the dusty museums of their faith to say, “My Father is always at work to this very day!”

GOD AT WORK ACROSS THE UNIVERSE

Process theology provides an exciting view of God’s work in the Quantum Age that parallels what Jesus taught.

God’s work has spanned the entire 13.8 billion years of the universe. Every yoctosecond God has influenced every atom and creature to provide an initial aim for good, growth, and love. Natural processes of gravity, electromagnetic energy, genetic alterations, the formation of stars, and evolution are a few of the physical expressions of God’s work. God does not “intervene” to break natural laws but exists within the causal realities of the quantum world. God offers the initial aim that is the best in each moment, yet never determines the outcome. All entities of the universe collaborate to some extent with God to create the present and future. The divine communication to living creatures is through non-sensory or mental experience. Humans perceive this divine influence in memories, conscience, hopes, intuitions, concepts, and beliefs. The future is open for many possibilities developing from physical randomness and the choices of creatures in trillions of experiences.

Process philosophy and theology believe science, art, sacred writings, research, and culture can be channels of divine communication. Inspired truth can be found in all areas of life. All constructive advances in human knowledge and endeavor flow from the generative work of God. The Hebrew narrative describing the construction of the Tabernacle notes the work of God in the construction, “I have filled Bezalel with a divine spirit, with ability, intelligence, and knowledge, and every kind of skill, to devise artistic designs, work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every kind of craft.”[1] The extensive list in Session One of persons who brought transformative changes to society is a roster of those who heeded the divine promptings in their respective fields. To this list must be added the artists, artisans, musicians, philosophers, mystics, and writers who followed the Muse of creativity to shift the consciousness of the human race. The inspirational insights of rabbis, priests, imams, nuns, monks, healers, and pastors from all faith traditions drink from the same stream of God’s lure toward shalom.

As noted in a previous session, God experiences time just as all entities. God receives experiences as they happen within the space-time universe. God is not outside of time in another, spiritual, timeless dimension. “Time is real for God,”[2] in a universe that is constantly changing on its own, chronologically unfolding path. God worked in the encounter of Jesus and the blind man, interacting with every experience and everyone concerned. God provided the aim of possibility for Jesus, for the religious leaders, within the spectators, and in the mind and body of the man. The outcome was open and undetermined, yet ultimately miraculous. The Father was working indeed—and still is now!

On a visit to her Grandmother’s house as a child, Lexi had seen a few candles burning on a low table. Grandma explained they were prayer candles that helped her feel closer to God. When Raphael was on a trip, Lexi found herself drawn to the idea. The thoughts of shame from the painful relationship of her past had come back strong when she was alone. The flame of Grandmother’s old candle danced brightly as she sat on the floor near the table. She didn’t know how to pray. Yet, as she stayed in the moment of silence by the candle, a light seemed to grow from the flame until it filled her mind. It seemed to whisper, “You have the light of love and wholeness.”

GOD WORKS IN JESUS TO SAVE HUMANS AND BEYOND

The work of God connecting humans to divine purpose and love reached a new depth in Jesus. Process Theology follows the narrative of Luke that Jesus “increased in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favor,”[3] a journey like every human. A profound difference emerged, however. Jesus listened to the initial aims of God with a willing obedience that was unique. Bruce Epperley offers, “Jesus’ experience of God’s guidance grew in response to his own intellectual and spiritual growth… [he] responded feely from his own selfhood to God’s call to reveal and embody God’s mission and love in the world. Jesus’ connection with God was fully conscious and guided his decision-making throughout his life.”[4] The servant hymn of Philippians describes his choices as a continual “Kenosis,” or emptying of self. His maturity brought an intimacy with God as no other person in history had known. Jesus was fully human and fully possessed by God. Tripp Fuller shares, “It was through the faithfulness of Jesus to Abba that a unique and particular bond between God and Jesus, Abba and Son, came to life in and through the Spirit… Jesus’ own fidelity enables the emergence of a qualitatively new relationship with God… Through the Spirit-filled fidelity of Jesus, God’s will is born into the world in his person.”[5] In dynamic and intimate connection to the responsiveness of Jesus, God responded with more profound non-sensory prehensions.

Classic theology struggled for centuries to understand the “nature” of Jesus based on the ancient worldview which differentiated between divine and human natures. Four hundred years of debate brought an expression in the Council of Chalcedon in 451 CE. Under political pressure from the Roman Emperor Marcion, who wanted to overcome intense church divisions, the 521 leaders finalized a creedal statement that is still in use. In the language of Greek philosophy, it asserted a confusing union of Jesus as divine and human.

“Jesus Christ, at once complete in Godhead and complete in manhood, truly God and truly man, consisting also of a reasonable soul and body; of one substance with the Father as regards his Godhead, and at the same time of one substance with us as regards his manhood… recognized in two natures, without confusion, without change, without division, without separation; the distinction of natures being in no way annulled by the union, but rather the characteristics of each nature being preserved and coming together to form one person and subsistence, not as parted or separated into two persons, but one and the same Son and Only-begotten God.”[6]

The goals of the Council to address real heresies of that age were noble. As the centuries passed, however, the understanding of human nature and the connection of God to the universe changed. In the Quantum Age, the idea of a “substance” forming the nature of God and humans has been left behind. Bishop Spong is blunt, “It is clearly not a biblical concept. It reflects rather the fourth-century dualistic Greek mindset in which it was born. It asserts that the external, theistic, supernatural God has taken on the form and flesh of a human life… These ideas made no rational sense…”[7]

Process Theology offers a Quantum Age insight for the unique experience of Jesus of Nazareth. This Jewish man collaborated with the God who is relentlessly in connection with all creatures of the universe in a transformative way. Jesus’ awareness of God pervaded every facet of his experience. His complex psychology, the same as all humans, brought a unity of life with the God as understood in the Jewish community of the first century. “When Scripture recounts Jesus’ affirmation, ‘I and the Father are one.’ Process theologians believe this points to an experiential and volitional unity with God, and not a metaphysical oneness that diminishes Jesus’ humanity… [seeing] Jesus as the full revelation of human possibilities and divine presence… the superlative manifestation of God’s ‘natural’ revelation among us.”[8]

The death of Jesus brought this union of love to a crescendo. His ministry of self-emptying love and powerful teaching caught him in a political-religious machine that could not tolerate dissent. The sins of Roman oppression, fearful Jewish authorities, and Messianic fervor collided in a horrific death by crucifixion. The disciples came to believe something greater took place, however, through a series of visionary, paradigm-shifting experiences. The unparalleled volitional unity of Jesus with God connected with divine energy at his death, precipitating the unrestrained energy of God to engage with the body of Jesus in a unique way that accelerated post-mortem decay and profound union with God.[9] The resurrected Jesus become a different entity, a “new creation” of God that perfectly balanced all dimensions of reality. The Christ (resurrected Jesus) opened a new epoch of divine interaction with humanity which expanded Jesus’ work of a new community that encountered God in a life-transforming way.

Systematizing apostolic insights from various sources we can phrase this miracle: the volitional Oneness of Jesus (“I and the Father are One”[10]) brought complete trust and engagement with God even in death (“Into your hands I commend my spirit”[11]). The result was the unparalleled transformation of the physical and mental dimensions of Jesus’ existence (“became a life-giving spirit… the image of the one in heaven… imperishable… immortal”[12]) that appeared on Easter. Believers subsequently encountered the resurrected Jesus as the Christ (“God has made him both Lord and Messiah”[13]). The obedience of Jesus thus created a new epoch of interdependency with God and humankind that expanded the impact of divine love energy operative in all people who seek God (“the new self, created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness”[14]). Flowing from this continual interconnection, the Christ energy unites each person with God (“Christ in you the hope of glory”).[15] God promises this Oneness will carry beyond the scope of earthly life to dimensions of experience beyond our imagination (“we will be like him”[16]).

Jesus’ work expressed the love of God that has always operated in the universe. The cross-resurrection-Pentecost process gave a new dimension to humanity’s connection to God. “In Christ God was reconciling the world to himself.”[17] How? The interpretation that death of Jesus was not as a substitute for sinful people, killed to appease the wrathful judgment of God about human sin, emerged with Anselm in the 11th century. Many across the centuries since have decried this idea as a distortion of the biblical witness. Other ideas, firmly rooted in the varied images from the New Testament, provide a better perspective.[18] The 12th century philosopher Abelard emphasized the love of God expressed in Jesus, as did the 13th century Scottish theologian, John Duns Scotus. “The cross was a freely chosen revelation of Total Love on God’s part… The cross, instead of being a transaction, was seen as a dramatic demonstration of God’s outpouring love, meant to shock the heart and turn it back toward trust and love of the Creator.”[19]

Process Theology finds in the cross of Jesus the pinnacle of God’s connection with the universe. God the Father was not a distant spectator who turned his back on the dying Jesus, as some classic doctrines teach. The cross instead is the deepest experience of suffering for God. Because God is connected to all creatures, and was especially active with the obedient Jesus, God suffered as Jesus suffered: vulnerable, reviled, and condemned. “In Christ, we see that God is a cross-bearing God and not a cross-building one.”[20] Such a vision of God rewrites the misconceptions of God as impassible and without emotions in unmoved perfection. “The cross is a divine experience as well as a divine action. Humanity and divinity were united in the suffering of Calvary… the cross is nothing less that the suffering of God himself.”[21]

Salvation becomes real as a person responds to the love of God that has always been present, a discovery that becomes transformative. Salvation is not transactional, dependent upon saying certain words, doing certain ritual acts, or assenting to certain doctrines. Salvation is a dynamic relationship in which we choose to collaborate with God in each moment. Paul explained that salvation is “revealed from faith for faith… the righteous will live by faith.”[22] The interpretation by Dale Moody is helpful, “The right relation to God is one of continuous trust rather than a once-for-all legal transaction… the right relation to God is faithfulness.”[23] Salvation, like all of life throughout history, is a process of change, growth, and relationship. The way of Jesus is a path for us to choose and live. “The Christian life is simply a matter of becoming who we already are. But we have to awaken, allow, and advance this core identity by saying a conscious yest to it and drawing upon it as a reliable and Absolute Source.”[24]

The concept of “theosis,” taught by Greek Orthodox theologians for centuries, describes this process and the ultimate goal. “Orthodoxy believes that each Christian is involved in a movement toward God which is known as theosis or deification. Theosis describes the spiritual pilgrimage in which each person becomes ever more perfect, ever more holy, ever more united with God… Theosis is a movement of love toward God which begins for each Christian with the rites of Baptism and which continues throughout this life, as well as the life which is to come… This rich vision of Christian life was expressed well by Saint Peter when he wrote in the early pages of his second Epistle that we are called ‘to become partakers of the Divine nature.’[25]”

God’s relentless love continues for every creature after bodily death. The reality of death, the heartache of grief, and the mystery of the afterlife have puzzled humankind since the species began. Scientists believe the oldest art known depicts such questions. Across the world ancient caves contain art that is around 40,000 years old, the oldest human art known. Many of these depict a hybrid human-animal creature who seems to hold the power of life and death. The Hebrew Bible, composed between 1000 and 400 BCE, describes belief in Sheol, the world of shadows, where all the dead exist, neither rewarded or punished, held in an undead state of separation from God and life.[26] How oppressive must have been the day-by-day burden of death in a world with an average life expectancy of less than 35 years.

Jesus taught the reality of a vital spiritual existence after death, even promising to the thief hanging beside him, “Today you will be with me in Paradise.[27] Paradise described a new Garden of Eden, recreated in the heavens for the righteous. The Apostle Paul preached that a believer who died was “present with the Lord.”[28] In another writing Paul acknowledged this spiritual truth should make a great impact on the grief experience, “we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.”[29] The Apostle offers comfort to those who believe by asserting that the afterlife will be blessed through the resurrected savior, Jesus. Christian theology across the centuries has used these foundational beliefs to give millions the courage to face death with peace and hope.

Process Theology believes that God knows and responds to every occasion of experience. This means the comprehensive interaction between God and each creature is held in the everlasting mind of God. After physical death our identity is taken to greater depth within God. “God’s consciousness holds with it the consciousness of each resurrected subject as coexperienced by God… they have entered a double identity—themselves and God.”[30] Life and salvation will be ongoing past our physical death. God keeps on working after our earthly death to refine and grow us to “be like him.”

Because of this unification of God’s energy and each subject after death, Process Theology does not support the traditional doctrine of Hell as a place of eternal, conscious torment. God’s love will not be ultimately denied. Jesus’ vision, “I will draw all men to myself,”[31] will be entirely fulfilled. Paul expressed the same universal outcome, “Every knee should bow… and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.”[32] This vision is true to the noncoercive love of God that is true in every occasion. Oord writes, “A loving God doesn’t suddenly take up coercion in the afterlife… or force everyone to experience heavenly bliss. The God of relentless love never gives up… makes it possible for everyone to experience everlasting bliss.”[33] All creatures will be transformed. A perfect balance of shalom will be real. We will be in Oneness with God.

Lexi and Raphael felt deeply they needed to do something that would help others. Holding hands, they entered the refugee center with excitement. They saw families sitting, the food line moving, and counselors discussing the needs. Raphael’s law degree would be of great help. “If these refugees are struggling then I need to help,” he said to the director. Lexi chimed in, “My clinic training can help, too. We can be a little part of God’s work.”

THE BIBLE AS SACRED WORK

The Bible holds a unique place in divine work. The Bible is a collection of many spiritual experiences within an ancient worldview. It presents diverse teachings. The Bible is a book of wisdom, not a rulebook or constitution. Jesus and Apostles followed the wisdom tradition to reinterpret Jewish teachings of the Second Temple period for a deeper and universal faith. Pete Enns explains, “The Bible was never intended to work as a step-by-step instructional manual. Rather, it presents us with an invitation to explore… to join an ancient, well-traveled, and sacred quest to know God, the world we live in, and our place in it.”[34]

The ancient culture that was the setting of the Bible is not to be received as sacred. The ancients held worldviews that are wrong in the Quantum Age. Inconsistencies, contradictions, and misinterpreted events are present, as well as diverse doctrines between the books. However, it is valuable for the Quantum Age believer to seek the foundational truths that span all ages. The authority of this centuries-spanning witness is found through the encounter God that it provides. Tying the text to ideas such as “inerrant” or “infallible” promotes misunderstanding. Authority emerges in the personal, God-enhanced encounter, not from the nature of a book or pronouncements of an institution. “Scripture is the witness that the community of faith has given about revelation. God is the content of the revelation, and Scripture tells us about that revelation.”[35] For Baptists, a cornerstone of spiritual truth is the “priesthood of the believer,” granting to every person the privilege and responsibility of seeking the meaning of spiritual truth for their own life.

GOD’S WORK AND OURS IN THE QUANTUM AGE

The continuing work of God is real today. God is ever-creating and the future is greater than past or present. Every moment brings the work of God generating possibilities for the next experience. Arthur Peacocke writes, “God is creating at every moment of the world’s existence through perpetually giving creativity to the very stuff of the world… God is the immanent creator creating through the processes of the natural order.”[36] Life is evolving. Faith is changing toward higher truths and actions. God is inspiring people with innovations that apply the deep truths of the Bible to the society. As Brian McLaren wrote, “I see [Christianity]as a religion still in its earliest infancy… we… actually have the opportunity to become the evolutionary descendants of Jesus who are called to carry on his radically progressive vision in our brief time on the earth.”[37] We must celebrate with the promise, “It is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”[38]

What does the Work of God mean for us today?

We listen for the guidance of God in our context of life. Jesus called and equipped many disciples to join the work of God. This calling continues today as God interacts with us in every occasion. Following as close as possible to the initial aims of God, we become co-laborers with God, as Paul declares, “We work together with him.”[39] With each choice we can enact the plans of God as his collaborators, “created in Christ Jesus for good works.”[40]

We join God in the work of transformative life. The Sermon on the Mount (or Plain, as narrated by Luke) provides more than a set of ideals or moral platitudes. Theologian and activist Mark Scandrette opens a deeper understanding, saying the Beatitudes, “represent nine shifts we are invited to make in order to live in greater coherence with reality… a higher state of kingdom consciousness… invite us to a new way of life.”[41] He calls us to express our collaboration with God through pragmatic living of the nine Beatitudes Jesus gave:

Trust in God’s presence
Lament in honesty with our pain
Humility with all others
Justice in active solidarity
Compassion extended in mercy and grace
Authenticity in honest encounters
Peacemaking to hold others as our family
Resiliency in nonviolence and acts of reconciliation
Love radically and courageously for good

We join God in the co-creative work of prayer. Process theology embraces the basic truth that the universe is dynamic, evolving, changing, and interconnected. God is within this dynamic universe, influencing all things, even as all things in turn affect God and others. This makes prayer critically important. In our petitionary prayer, God inspires our empathy and gives vision to the impact our energy can create. We are co-creators in prayer. The words of theologian Bruce Epperly help us. “When we pray, we align ourselves with God’s vision for us and experience greater divine energy. Our prayers, in an interdependent universe, create a field of force that enables God to be more active in our lives and the lives of those for whom we pray. Our prayers create new possibilities for divine and human activities and may influence the nonhuman world in amazing ways.” [42] You, God, and many other factors are linked in a matrix of interaction. This makes prayer vital. Every prayer is a thrilling collaboration with God to actualize a better world.

We join God in stewardship of creation. Process theology reclaims Biblical teaching that the earth and all creatures are connected. In this era of climate crisis that threatens extinctions and societal stability it is imperative we practice a positive Ecotheology. Psalm 24 says, “The earth is the Lord’s,” while the Genesis story grants humankind a steward role, like a gardener. The Great Commandment calls us to “love our neighbor,” with the application that our neighbor is a global, ecological community that requires ecological care and sustainability that stretches far into the future. Ethicist David Gushee writes, “The texts say that God has graciously entrusted creation to our care… it also says that we are responsible to offer creation back to God through our careful service.”[43]

In 2022 Pope Francis of the Roman Catholic church, Patriarch Barthlomew of the Eastern Orthodox church, and the Anglican Archbishop Welby issued a joint declaration, the first time in history for such a shared statement. They wrote, “These crises present us with a choice. We are in a unique position either to address them with shortsightedness and profiteering or seize this as an opportunity for conversion and transformation… Caring for God’s creation is a spiritual commission requiring a response of commitment. This is a critical moment. Our children’s future and the future of our common home depend on it.”[44]

We join God in the Now, where life must be lived. Jesus never heard the ticking of a clock. But I have a beautiful mantle clock, laminated in black and gold, purchased by my Granddad in 1918, the year my Dad was born. For years it sat in the dining room at Granddad’s place in Neosho, Missouri. Who can imagine what it witnessed since that moment? Time has indeed passed since my grandfather brought that clock home in a Model T, each second ticking by, calling for life to be lived Now. It is too easy to live in the dusty museum of the past, or the rosy dreams of tomorrow. It is important to reflect on what happened yesterday to see if we can do better. It’s vital to have goals and dreams of all that can happen tomorrow. Like the Roman goddess Janus, there are times when we should look both ways at the parade of time. But when we kick ourselves with regret or fret away the hours in anxiety for what might happen, we are distracted from the Now-moment and the sacred possibilities. The reality is simple: the past can’t be changed, and the future is not defined. My life and God’s work intersect in only one place- Now. We find in the ticking of a clock an invitation to focus on the one place where we can join God—the eternally fresh work of Now.

CONCLUSION

Jesus proclaimed God was working to show the world a new way of life. Every yoctosecond of universal experience since has known that reality. In Process Theology God’s work is not unilateral but interdependent and collaborative with every entity and occasion of experience. For the Quantum Age believer, this is a lure to join God in a multi-faceted way of life and faith. In doing so, may we come to:

“Be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit and that Christ my dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love… to comprehend with all the saints, what is the breath and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”[45]

[1] Exodus 31:3-5

[2] Rice, Future, p 149

[3] Luke 2:52

[4] Epperley, Perplexed, p 68

[5] Tripp Fuller, Divine Self-Investment: An open and relational constructive of Christology Sacrasage Press, 2020, p 162

[6] “The Chaldedonian Creed,” translated in The Westminster Standard. https://thewestminsterstandard.org/the-chalcedonian-creed/

[7] Spong, Unbelievable, p 77

[8] Epperley, Perplexed, p 68-9

[9] “Jesus’ mind/spirit/soul (depending on which word you prefer) and bodily members played a role in his resurrection. Jesus cooperated… mind and body. It’s not hard to imagine Jesus’ mind/spirit/soul cooperating with God’s desire to resurrect. Those who affirm continued subjective experiences beyond bodily death — what most call “life after death” — will think Jesus continued having subjective experiences after his body died.

Someone so in tune with God — “I and my father are one” (Jn. 10:30) — would naturally cooperate with God’s resurrecting activity. Jesus’ continually existing self would have strong reasons to cooperate with God’s resurrecting activity.” Thomas Oord, “Did God resurrect Jesus Singlehandedly?” https://thomasjayoord.com/index.php/blog/archives/did-god-resurrect-jesus-singlehandedly

[10] John 10:30

[11] Luke 23:46

[12] 1 Corinthians 15:45, 50, 54

[13] Acts 2:36)

[14] Ephesians 4:24)

[15] Colossians 1:27

[16] 1 John 3:2

[17] 2 Corinthians 5:19

[18] James Leo Garrett offers a lengthy summary of more than 20 explanations of the atonement. Systematic Theology, Vol. 2 Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1982, p 1-103

[19] Scotus, quoted by Rohr, Ibid, p 144

[20] Fuller, Divine Self-Investment, p 124

[21] Pinnock, Openness, p 45-6

[22] Romans 1:17

[23] Dale Moody, The Word of Truth, Wm B. Eerdman’s Publishing, 1981. P 327

[24] Rohr, Ibid. p 65

[25] “The Meaning of Theosis as the Goal of the Christian Life.” Transfiguration Greek Orthodox Church. https://www.tgoc.ut.goarch.org/spirituality

[26] P.S. Johnston, “Afterlife.” Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry and Writings. Intervarsity Academic, 2008

[27] Luke 23:43

[28] 2 Corinthians 5:8

[29] (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14).

[30] Suchocki, Ibid, p 208

[31] John 12:32

[32] Philippian 2:11

[33] Oord, Pluriform, p 221

[34] Pete Enns, How the Bible Actually Works. HarperOne, 2019. P 10-11

[35] Dennis Bratcher, “Thinking about the Bible Theologically.” Rethinking the Bible, Richard Thompson and Thomas Oord, editors. Sacrasage Press, 2018. p 155

[36] Arthur Peacocke, In Whom, p 144

[37] Brian D. McLaren, Do I Stay Christian? St. Martin’s Essentials, 2022, p 109

[38] Philippians 2:13

[39] 2 Corinthians 6:1

[40] Ephesians 2:10

[41] Mark Scandrette, The Ninefold Path of Jesus. Intervarsity Press, 2021, p. 9

[42] Bruce Epperly, Praying with Process Theology. RiverLake Press, 2017. P. 7.

[43] Gushee, Introducing, p 161

[44] https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2021/09/07/0543/01167.html)

[45] Ephesians 3:16-19