Panentheism: Interrelational Perspectives on God, Part II

Due to a minor accident, I’ve been out of commission for awhile. Now, I continue my ongoing series on panentheistic views as presented in the book In Whom We Live and Move and Have Our Being.

Interrelational Perspectives on God, Part II
In the last post, Interrelational Perspectives on God, Part I, I began presenting interrelational views on panentheism. The present post focuses on the perspective of theologian Keith Ward as conveyed in his essay “The World as the Body of God: A Panentheistic Metaphor.”

Keith Ward argues that the world as God’s body metaphor as proposed by Process theologians (such as David Griffin) is problematic for Christians who maintain that God is perfect and independent of the world. Key objections include:

• God does not emerge from matter, nor does the world contribute to God’s perfection.
• God transcends good and evil. God’s perfection is unimpaired by the struggling, suffering, and competition of the world.(1)
• Evil may happen, it may even be necessary as part of expressing God’s will, but God must have ultimate causal priority, which Process theology does not allow (69-70).

Ward suggests a “communion of persons” model in which Christ serves as the metaphor for God’s body. As Ward explains, God creates free, distinct persons, who through loving, personal relationships help to realize God’s divine perfection. God changes “by relation to persons,” but God’s perfection is unaffected by evil.

The church as body of Christ must carry the divine love into the world through their free, creative actions, with the hope that one day, all will be united in an “integrated and organic communion” with God (an “eschatological panentheism” [71-72]).

Notes
1. In fairness to David Griffin, he understands evil as being part of God’s experience but as having no effect on God’s essence. God has no evil intentions and always “aims for the greatest good.” See David Ray Griffin, “Panentheism: A Postmodern Revelation” in In Whom We Live and Move and Have Our Being (46).

Works cited:
In Whom We Live and Move and Have Our Being: Panentheistic Reflections on God’s Presence in a Scientific World. Philip Clayton and Arthur Peacocke, eds. William B. Eerdsman Publishing Company (Grand Rapids: 2004).

Painting: “When Healing Comes” by Pamela Yates, copyright Pamela Yates, www.pamelayates.com