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On the Mystery: Discerning Divinity in Process
With immediate impact and deep creativity, Catherine Kelleroffers this brief and unconventional introduction to theologicalthinking, especially as recast by process thought. Keller takes uptheology itself as a quest for religious authenticity. Through a marvelous combination of brilliant writing, story,reflection, and unabashed questioning of old shibboleths, Kellerredeems theology from its dry and predictable categories to revealwhat has always been at the heart of the theological personal search for intellectually honest and credible ways ofmaking sense of the loving mystery that encompasses even ourconfounding times.
178 pages, Paperback
First published November 8, 2007
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About the author
Catherine Keller
49 books29 followersCatherine Kelle is a contemporary Christian theologian and Professor of Constructive Theology at Drew University's Graduate Division of Religion. As a constructive theologian, Keller's work is oriented around social and ecological justice, poststructuralist theory, and feminist readings of scripture and theology. Both her early and her late work brings relational thinking into theology, focusing on the relational nature of the concept of the divine, and the forms of ecological interdependence within the framework of relational theology. Her work in process theology draws on the relational ontology of Alfred North Whitehead, fielding it in a postmodern, deconstructive framework.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
May 9, 2014
Keller sets up the existing theological landscape as a choice between between traditional (Christian) theism, which she dubs the "absolute" (patriarchal, eco-disastrous, and ultimately destroyed on contact with theodicy), and a new-atheist or spiritual-not-religious vagueness, which she dubs the "dissolute". Her own tertium quid, which she calls the "resolute", is process eco-feminism.
As an introduction to her worldview and theological stance, this is sharp, accessible, and piquantly written. As an argument, I find it adroit at best and dishonest at worst. Any tertium quid argument will tend to caricature the extremes against which it argues. Here, Keller's true target is the religious right, with which she polemically identifies all traditional theism.
For instance: In her chapter on creation and omnipotence, Keller argues that an account of omnipotence necessarily leads to double predestination, and that liberal Christians who don't accept that conclusion are actually process believers who haven't yet been intellectually honest with themselves. The first claim is so obviously untenable historically that she really has to apply the second, with all its condescending false consciousness. She's hardly the first to use an argument of this form of course. Early Newman would say the Church of England is catholic in spite of some of its explicit formulations; I wouldn't be surprised to find homologous passages in the Cappadocians arguing everyone really believed the homoousion before Nicaea. Those are not, however, the best moments of those theologians, nor is this argument, on which the book hinges, Keller's best work.
I might have some of the same complaints about Face of the Deep, but there the constructive case arguably outweighs the polemic, making for a more creative read. (I rated it lower than this one, looking back, which is probably unfair.) The virtue of this work is its relative plainness of speech, which makes the strengths and weaknesses of her theology more evident. If the weaknesses are more glaring to me personally and theologically, that shouldn't detract too much from the achievement her clarity here represents.
What I like best here is actually her Christology, which she addresses more directly than elsewhere. Not my own, but in its way quite beautiful.
As an introduction to her worldview and theological stance, this is sharp, accessible, and piquantly written. As an argument, I find it adroit at best and dishonest at worst. Any tertium quid argument will tend to caricature the extremes against which it argues. Here, Keller's true target is the religious right, with which she polemically identifies all traditional theism.
For instance: In her chapter on creation and omnipotence, Keller argues that an account of omnipotence necessarily leads to double predestination, and that liberal Christians who don't accept that conclusion are actually process believers who haven't yet been intellectually honest with themselves. The first claim is so obviously untenable historically that she really has to apply the second, with all its condescending false consciousness. She's hardly the first to use an argument of this form of course. Early Newman would say the Church of England is catholic in spite of some of its explicit formulations; I wouldn't be surprised to find homologous passages in the Cappadocians arguing everyone really believed the homoousion before Nicaea. Those are not, however, the best moments of those theologians, nor is this argument, on which the book hinges, Keller's best work.
I might have some of the same complaints about Face of the Deep, but there the constructive case arguably outweighs the polemic, making for a more creative read. (I rated it lower than this one, looking back, which is probably unfair.) The virtue of this work is its relative plainness of speech, which makes the strengths and weaknesses of her theology more evident. If the weaknesses are more glaring to me personally and theologically, that shouldn't detract too much from the achievement her clarity here represents.
What I like best here is actually her Christology, which she addresses more directly than elsewhere. Not my own, but in its way quite beautiful.
September 26, 2008
Catherine Keller continues to amaze me... this book was more immediately understandable and a little less playful with language and just completely like being submerged than Face of the Deep... and while I missed some of the word play and delicious layering, it made it easier to read more quickly. There were lots of parts that made me comment aloud and just sort of... pause to take them in. I've been meaning to get more of a solid footing in process theology, too, and this is good for that. Actually, I recommend this to people who don't usually read theology. It's delightful and challenging, but not dense with terminology or heavy-technical Christology or stuff like that.
Mostly, I love that this book and this woman address the stuff I serious think and care about in thoughtful, imaginative, clear ways. Like... she focuses on the problems with both the absolute of the religious right and the dissolution of nihilistic ways of thinking, and actually offers a third way.
I hope lots of people read this... it is very special. :)
Mostly, I love that this book and this woman address the stuff I serious think and care about in thoughtful, imaginative, clear ways. Like... she focuses on the problems with both the absolute of the religious right and the dissolution of nihilistic ways of thinking, and actually offers a third way.
I hope lots of people read this... it is very special. :)
June 24, 2012
I have previously only read excerpts of Catherine Keller books. I picked up this one while at Claremont School of Theology in February, intrigued by its title and table of contents. What a worthy choice.
Keller initially made her mark as a feminist theologian and has in recent years written more from a process theology perspective. Earlier this year I read a volume of feminist process work and was surprised to figure out how many of the leading feminists are/were/or have become process thinkers. It fits because they share in common a trait identified by John Cobb -- "God is not a jerk."
Keller writes beautifully. Even poetically (without getting annoying) at times. She makes powerful connections to current events, pop culture, and literature. And she is deeply biblical. I can't remember the last work of theology I read that did so much biblical hermeneutics. It felt almost like reading some book of baptist theology in that regard (though not in content or interpretations drawn).
Her basic theme is an understanding of truth that is resolute and neither absolute (fundamentalism) nor dissolute (nihilism). What results is not some minimalist liberalism that would provide no comfort or inspiration. Her spirituality is robust. Her God is that we've fallen in love with in scripture. Her church is filled with mission and adventure.
I will definitely be borrowing from this work in my preaching and teaching, but also in my pastoral care and spiritual formation. A delightful discovery.
Keller initially made her mark as a feminist theologian and has in recent years written more from a process theology perspective. Earlier this year I read a volume of feminist process work and was surprised to figure out how many of the leading feminists are/were/or have become process thinkers. It fits because they share in common a trait identified by John Cobb -- "God is not a jerk."
Keller writes beautifully. Even poetically (without getting annoying) at times. She makes powerful connections to current events, pop culture, and literature. And she is deeply biblical. I can't remember the last work of theology I read that did so much biblical hermeneutics. It felt almost like reading some book of baptist theology in that regard (though not in content or interpretations drawn).
Her basic theme is an understanding of truth that is resolute and neither absolute (fundamentalism) nor dissolute (nihilism). What results is not some minimalist liberalism that would provide no comfort or inspiration. Her spirituality is robust. Her God is that we've fallen in love with in scripture. Her church is filled with mission and adventure.
I will definitely be borrowing from this work in my preaching and teaching, but also in my pastoral care and spiritual formation. A delightful discovery.
December 13, 2025
Having grown up and been immersed in evangelical Christianity up until halfway through college, there's a part of me that yearns for that connection again, but never in the same way or in the context of evangelicalism that is currently nurtured in the United States.
Through "deconstruction" of my faith, I've aged out of this idea of being beholden to a theology or any set of rules as to how the universe operates. I guess I'm tired of asking questions, getting them "answered" within the framework of any theology and being A) disappointed, B) having them be contradictory to my personal worldview or ethics or C) feeling like we need to have our questions answered at all.
Process theology is a balm on some of these wounds, but it's just another gameplan that doesn't fit or I don't think will work.
Through "deconstruction" of my faith, I've aged out of this idea of being beholden to a theology or any set of rules as to how the universe operates. I guess I'm tired of asking questions, getting them "answered" within the framework of any theology and being A) disappointed, B) having them be contradictory to my personal worldview or ethics or C) feeling like we need to have our questions answered at all.
Process theology is a balm on some of these wounds, but it's just another gameplan that doesn't fit or I don't think will work.
March 3, 2023
Catherine Keller is now one of my favorite theological and philosophical mentors. This book is more revolutionary than I realized. Highly recommend if you are a Christian or a religiously curious person open to seeing how the life and teachings of Jesus cannot be limited by conventional institutional Evangelical theology. Utilizing Alfred North Whitehead's process theory, she implements an approach to following Jesus that is refreshing and challenging.
November 13, 2022
At the same time as reading this very enjoyable book 'On the Mystery', I was also reading Evelyn Underhill's impressive 1911 magnum opus 'Mysticism', in which she surveys and investigates the characteristics of mystical experience.
She defines two key frameworks, characteristics or modes of reality (and divinity) which the mystics encounter: Being and Becoming. In terms of a perception of or proposition about the divine, these map onto Transcendence and Immanence. That is, the Wholly Other, the over and above all; and the God right up close, involved, inherent, even to the point of in-dwelling and infusing. Traditional Christian orthodoxy holds both these perceptions or propositions as true. The doctrine of the Trinity inhabits this conceptual space. Somehow the paradox holds (becomes?) unity, or ultimate oneness.
(Just by way of a defense of 'mystical knowing' in the religious context, many if not the vast majority of the truths or 'revelations' that Christianity considers to be core doctrine have their genesis in a mystical context. The word 'revelation' is loaded with that idea. That is, an individual or group has received a vision, truth, understanding or impartation from outside the typical day to day framework of perception. Even something as prosaic as a code of law is framed in this way in the Jewish scriptures as Moses coming down from a mountain having had an encounter with God. There was a time when humankind saw the mystical experience as a mark of authenticity, and that theme continues to emerge and re-emerge throughout the on-going history of human spirituality. The value that such knowing is given is what varies.)
Underhill tells us that, depending on personality, an individual (mystic) will tend to encounter the divine (or being itself) with a particular bias towards (or emphasis on) either Being or Becoming.
The style of theology written about by Keller, known as process theology, places the major emphasis on Becoming and gives it primacy as an extremely important aspect of the big story.
I'm not sure if using Underhill's framework like this is a watertight move, and perhaps it's simplistic, but it's a framework that I find interesting.
It's true that the idea of the transcendent (if not the utterly Transcendent) is still very evident in process theology. For instance, 'the divine mystery' has a transcendent quality to it, which could become personal (in very similar ways to how Underhill describes the coming together of Being and Becoming). Keller: 'The metaphor of streaming love makes it possible for us to relate to the unknowable deep of reality. Its infinite, impersonal mystery gets personal.' (p97)
But even so, in process thought, the idea of Becoming expands out to be the major essense of the divine and of being itself. God in process.
Another way Being and Becoming can be mapped is in terms of the Absolute and the Contingent.
Even here I think process thought leaves some kind of space for the absolute. For example, I feel like Keller would enjoy a quote like this from Underhill (male pronouns notwithstanding), even if she might want to suggest some tweaks and push back on / mitigate a philosophy of absolutes:
'God is pre-eminently the Perfect—Goodness, Truth, and Beauty, Light, Life, and Love—discovered in a moment of lucidity at the very door of the seeking self. Here the symbols under which He is perceived are still the abstractions of philosophy; but in the hands of the mystic these terms cease to be abstract, are stung to life. Such contemplatives preserve the imageless and ineffable character of the Absolute, but are moved by its contemplation to a joyous and personal love.' (loc7446)
And in fact Keller, looping back to the idea of transcendence, explicitly allows for a form of the absolute near the end of the book... 'the meaning of absolute as a radical transcendence... that sense of God as the absolute, the mystery beyond all human beliefs and projections, this project already shares.' (p175)
In terms of epistomology, the Absolute and the Contingent map onto the established definitive and the (as yet) unknown or yet to be realised.
In process theology the humility of the unknown is held as sacred, hence the Mystery of the book's title. This counters epistemological absolutism, which Keller and others hold functionally responsible for militant narrowmindedness, and strife caused by religion in the world. That is, when ideas about the Absolute become absolutism, trouble ensues.
So then, the intention is to hold space. Not, as Keller tells us to surrender to absolutism on the one hand or the dissolution of total relativism on the other, but to inhabit some centre ground, with a belief in the divine and a metanarrative of unfolding that holds the Mystery, the unknown, the process, the flow as core.
Have at it on the potential pitfalls (all systems of thought have them) and ultimate workability, but I think there's much that's attractive about this approach.
For one thing it allows for exploration and activities of intellectual investigation without arrogance. This is no small advantage in this day and age.
But as things relate to the divine, for me, it would take a lot of convincing to remove essential Being from the Being and Becoming paradigm that Underhill posits. For example, perhaps I'm naive and/or idealistic but my hunch (as I've already hinted) is that you can have the Absolute without succumbing to trampling absolutism.
And I love the idea of the flow - it has become central to the way I see the world and the way I want to be - that organic emergence of the way things are. But I hold a reluctance to state that God is the flow, which seems to be where some process thought is headed.
I've never held much truck with the idea of an impassable God (i.e. one that doesn't feel). That was an idea from Greek philosophy that doesn't properly connect with the idea of God found in scripture but yet still ended up in classical orthodox theology. But I'll be honest, I feel a need for the truly transcendent. The absolute. Some kind of unchanging constancy (albeit an unchanging constancy that includes the ability to feel and therefore be moved). Not everything in flux. The still point. Holding the paradox of being and becoming.
Meanwhile, questions about theodicy are extremely fraught and perhaps even unanswerable (I'm yet to see a watertight solution, even in this book). But within the realms of mystery, I have an instinct to hold space for at least the possibility of ultimate omnipotence. And a meaningful possibility at that. In process style, I'll see where that instinct leads and what becomes of it over time.
Keller also dissembles the concept of the Trinity, favouring incarnations over Incarnation (i.e. Jesus as God in particular). But as Underhill pointed out, and as I mentioned earlier, the doctrine of the Trinity has long been a site where the paradox and tension of being and becoming, transcendence and immanence, has been held true. I love the full heft of the Incarnation, with its capital I value and wouldn't want to lose that aspect of the big story. It still sparks my desire.
In the final analysis (despite the not insignificant (unorthodox) statements about the nature of divinity made by some of its founders and adherents), the beauty of process thought is that it's just that: a way of thinking rather than a systematic theology. It allows for inclusion and interweaving, in the unfolding.
I really loved this book. It's excellent. One of my favourites I think. I'm big on mystery, openness and unfolding. It's a very creative space. And I really enjoyed Keller's writing. She has a theopoetic style that uses word-play and craft. In this review I've honed in on the main aspects that I have reservations about. The rest I either love and/or intrigues me.
Let the conversations continue.
'Certain rare mystics,' says Underhill in a passage that invites so much possibility, 'seem able to describe to us a Beatific Vision experienced here and now: a knowledge by contact of the flaming heart of Reality, which includes in one great whole the planes of Being and Becoming, the Simultaneous and the Successive, the Eternal Father [/Mother], and [God's] manifestation in the "energetic Word."' (loc7398)
'the alpha of beginnings is always now, the omega of our ends is always just before us...' says Keller. 'Possibility dances like flame along the edges of our finitude... We unfold into that which enfolds us.' (p176)
These things are the hankering. And the invitation.
She defines two key frameworks, characteristics or modes of reality (and divinity) which the mystics encounter: Being and Becoming. In terms of a perception of or proposition about the divine, these map onto Transcendence and Immanence. That is, the Wholly Other, the over and above all; and the God right up close, involved, inherent, even to the point of in-dwelling and infusing. Traditional Christian orthodoxy holds both these perceptions or propositions as true. The doctrine of the Trinity inhabits this conceptual space. Somehow the paradox holds (becomes?) unity, or ultimate oneness.
(Just by way of a defense of 'mystical knowing' in the religious context, many if not the vast majority of the truths or 'revelations' that Christianity considers to be core doctrine have their genesis in a mystical context. The word 'revelation' is loaded with that idea. That is, an individual or group has received a vision, truth, understanding or impartation from outside the typical day to day framework of perception. Even something as prosaic as a code of law is framed in this way in the Jewish scriptures as Moses coming down from a mountain having had an encounter with God. There was a time when humankind saw the mystical experience as a mark of authenticity, and that theme continues to emerge and re-emerge throughout the on-going history of human spirituality. The value that such knowing is given is what varies.)
Underhill tells us that, depending on personality, an individual (mystic) will tend to encounter the divine (or being itself) with a particular bias towards (or emphasis on) either Being or Becoming.
The style of theology written about by Keller, known as process theology, places the major emphasis on Becoming and gives it primacy as an extremely important aspect of the big story.
I'm not sure if using Underhill's framework like this is a watertight move, and perhaps it's simplistic, but it's a framework that I find interesting.
It's true that the idea of the transcendent (if not the utterly Transcendent) is still very evident in process theology. For instance, 'the divine mystery' has a transcendent quality to it, which could become personal (in very similar ways to how Underhill describes the coming together of Being and Becoming). Keller: 'The metaphor of streaming love makes it possible for us to relate to the unknowable deep of reality. Its infinite, impersonal mystery gets personal.' (p97)
But even so, in process thought, the idea of Becoming expands out to be the major essense of the divine and of being itself. God in process.
Another way Being and Becoming can be mapped is in terms of the Absolute and the Contingent.
Even here I think process thought leaves some kind of space for the absolute. For example, I feel like Keller would enjoy a quote like this from Underhill (male pronouns notwithstanding), even if she might want to suggest some tweaks and push back on / mitigate a philosophy of absolutes:
'God is pre-eminently the Perfect—Goodness, Truth, and Beauty, Light, Life, and Love—discovered in a moment of lucidity at the very door of the seeking self. Here the symbols under which He is perceived are still the abstractions of philosophy; but in the hands of the mystic these terms cease to be abstract, are stung to life. Such contemplatives preserve the imageless and ineffable character of the Absolute, but are moved by its contemplation to a joyous and personal love.' (loc7446)
And in fact Keller, looping back to the idea of transcendence, explicitly allows for a form of the absolute near the end of the book... 'the meaning of absolute as a radical transcendence... that sense of God as the absolute, the mystery beyond all human beliefs and projections, this project already shares.' (p175)
In terms of epistomology, the Absolute and the Contingent map onto the established definitive and the (as yet) unknown or yet to be realised.
In process theology the humility of the unknown is held as sacred, hence the Mystery of the book's title. This counters epistemological absolutism, which Keller and others hold functionally responsible for militant narrowmindedness, and strife caused by religion in the world. That is, when ideas about the Absolute become absolutism, trouble ensues.
So then, the intention is to hold space. Not, as Keller tells us to surrender to absolutism on the one hand or the dissolution of total relativism on the other, but to inhabit some centre ground, with a belief in the divine and a metanarrative of unfolding that holds the Mystery, the unknown, the process, the flow as core.
Have at it on the potential pitfalls (all systems of thought have them) and ultimate workability, but I think there's much that's attractive about this approach.
For one thing it allows for exploration and activities of intellectual investigation without arrogance. This is no small advantage in this day and age.
But as things relate to the divine, for me, it would take a lot of convincing to remove essential Being from the Being and Becoming paradigm that Underhill posits. For example, perhaps I'm naive and/or idealistic but my hunch (as I've already hinted) is that you can have the Absolute without succumbing to trampling absolutism.
And I love the idea of the flow - it has become central to the way I see the world and the way I want to be - that organic emergence of the way things are. But I hold a reluctance to state that God is the flow, which seems to be where some process thought is headed.
I've never held much truck with the idea of an impassable God (i.e. one that doesn't feel). That was an idea from Greek philosophy that doesn't properly connect with the idea of God found in scripture but yet still ended up in classical orthodox theology. But I'll be honest, I feel a need for the truly transcendent. The absolute. Some kind of unchanging constancy (albeit an unchanging constancy that includes the ability to feel and therefore be moved). Not everything in flux. The still point. Holding the paradox of being and becoming.
Meanwhile, questions about theodicy are extremely fraught and perhaps even unanswerable (I'm yet to see a watertight solution, even in this book). But within the realms of mystery, I have an instinct to hold space for at least the possibility of ultimate omnipotence. And a meaningful possibility at that. In process style, I'll see where that instinct leads and what becomes of it over time.
Keller also dissembles the concept of the Trinity, favouring incarnations over Incarnation (i.e. Jesus as God in particular). But as Underhill pointed out, and as I mentioned earlier, the doctrine of the Trinity has long been a site where the paradox and tension of being and becoming, transcendence and immanence, has been held true. I love the full heft of the Incarnation, with its capital I value and wouldn't want to lose that aspect of the big story. It still sparks my desire.
In the final analysis (despite the not insignificant (unorthodox) statements about the nature of divinity made by some of its founders and adherents), the beauty of process thought is that it's just that: a way of thinking rather than a systematic theology. It allows for inclusion and interweaving, in the unfolding.
I really loved this book. It's excellent. One of my favourites I think. I'm big on mystery, openness and unfolding. It's a very creative space. And I really enjoyed Keller's writing. She has a theopoetic style that uses word-play and craft. In this review I've honed in on the main aspects that I have reservations about. The rest I either love and/or intrigues me.
Let the conversations continue.
'Certain rare mystics,' says Underhill in a passage that invites so much possibility, 'seem able to describe to us a Beatific Vision experienced here and now: a knowledge by contact of the flaming heart of Reality, which includes in one great whole the planes of Being and Becoming, the Simultaneous and the Successive, the Eternal Father [/Mother], and [God's] manifestation in the "energetic Word."' (loc7398)
'the alpha of beginnings is always now, the omega of our ends is always just before us...' says Keller. 'Possibility dances like flame along the edges of our finitude... We unfold into that which enfolds us.' (p176)
These things are the hankering. And the invitation.
December 1, 2021
Warm. Compassionate. Curious.
What has struck me most about the process theology texts I've read in 2021 is how caring and thoughtful they all are. They aren't interested in picking fights, pointing out fallacies, or projecting faults. They prefer to engage in honest, realistic conversation with people about the ways people talk about God, specifically Christians.
This sensibility finds its zenith in the writing of Catherine Keller. Structured as an eight-part discussion about God, creation, and humanity through the lens of process theology, Keller strikes an especially conversational tone that is imminently relatable. She takes great pain to break down theological and philosophical concepts into everyday language, but she does so without pandering or talking down to people.
The crux of this book lies in her investigation of mystery, process, and becoming as a potential "third way" to think about God that is neither the absolutism of fundamentalists or the dissolution of nihilists. She focuses on the importance of authenticity and relationship instead of absolutes and relativism. She accomplishes this by walking dexterously through several crucial texts and stories in both the Hebrew Bible and Christian New Testament, including Genesis, Job, the Gospels, and Revelations.
What emerges is an image of God and way of talking about the things of God that is deeply relational and evocative. By countering the shibboleths of fundamentalists and atheists with loving questions about what it means to be human, Keller welcomes you to consider faith, belief, salvation, and knowledge as works in perpetual process. Mystery truly is the name of the game because while we don't know what's going to happen next, what matters is that we keep moving forward. And one of the chief ways to pursue that goal and achieve the best for humanity and the planet is to be responsible for the the ills, hurts, and problems of the past so that we can do better in the future.
I found this book to be both affirming and hopeful as I continually deconstruct the events, actions, and beliefs of my past so that I can construct a better future for myself, my family, my friends, my community, and my world.
What has struck me most about the process theology texts I've read in 2021 is how caring and thoughtful they all are. They aren't interested in picking fights, pointing out fallacies, or projecting faults. They prefer to engage in honest, realistic conversation with people about the ways people talk about God, specifically Christians.
This sensibility finds its zenith in the writing of Catherine Keller. Structured as an eight-part discussion about God, creation, and humanity through the lens of process theology, Keller strikes an especially conversational tone that is imminently relatable. She takes great pain to break down theological and philosophical concepts into everyday language, but she does so without pandering or talking down to people.
The crux of this book lies in her investigation of mystery, process, and becoming as a potential "third way" to think about God that is neither the absolutism of fundamentalists or the dissolution of nihilists. She focuses on the importance of authenticity and relationship instead of absolutes and relativism. She accomplishes this by walking dexterously through several crucial texts and stories in both the Hebrew Bible and Christian New Testament, including Genesis, Job, the Gospels, and Revelations.
What emerges is an image of God and way of talking about the things of God that is deeply relational and evocative. By countering the shibboleths of fundamentalists and atheists with loving questions about what it means to be human, Keller welcomes you to consider faith, belief, salvation, and knowledge as works in perpetual process. Mystery truly is the name of the game because while we don't know what's going to happen next, what matters is that we keep moving forward. And one of the chief ways to pursue that goal and achieve the best for humanity and the planet is to be responsible for the the ills, hurts, and problems of the past so that we can do better in the future.
I found this book to be both affirming and hopeful as I continually deconstruct the events, actions, and beliefs of my past so that I can construct a better future for myself, my family, my friends, my community, and my world.
July 16, 2016
Beautifully poetic consideration of process theology.
July 31, 2018
2.5 stars
I read most of this book, but eventually didn’t feel compelled to finish it. On the Mystery can be categorized as an introduction to a postmodern process theology, which is a theological system that contains a number of elements I commend, but that ultimately falls flat for me. Keller’s language is often cumbersome and incredibly verbose, which was a real barrier to my enjoyment of the book. Many would call it poetic - and I did find some passages poignant and beautiful - but I think she was simply trying to do too much most of the time.
When it comes to the process theology being espoused, its panentheistic conception of deity is basically in stark contradiction to the biblical picture of the Trinity - as a result, Keller has to do theological gymnastics in an attempt to ground her theism in a Christian framework. What I find most problematic though, is that process theology makes the Christian God so powerless as to essentially be inconsequential to one’s daily life, or at the very least terribly uninteresting.
I truly do value process philosophy’s emphasis on love, change, dynamism, relationality, connectedness, and freedom. It definitely opens the door for a healthy praxis - I just don’t think it has much going for it in terms of redeeming or transforming orthodox theological doctrines. It muddles the waters and makes matters more confusing than they need to be.
I read most of this book, but eventually didn’t feel compelled to finish it. On the Mystery can be categorized as an introduction to a postmodern process theology, which is a theological system that contains a number of elements I commend, but that ultimately falls flat for me. Keller’s language is often cumbersome and incredibly verbose, which was a real barrier to my enjoyment of the book. Many would call it poetic - and I did find some passages poignant and beautiful - but I think she was simply trying to do too much most of the time.
When it comes to the process theology being espoused, its panentheistic conception of deity is basically in stark contradiction to the biblical picture of the Trinity - as a result, Keller has to do theological gymnastics in an attempt to ground her theism in a Christian framework. What I find most problematic though, is that process theology makes the Christian God so powerless as to essentially be inconsequential to one’s daily life, or at the very least terribly uninteresting.
I truly do value process philosophy’s emphasis on love, change, dynamism, relationality, connectedness, and freedom. It definitely opens the door for a healthy praxis - I just don’t think it has much going for it in terms of redeeming or transforming orthodox theological doctrines. It muddles the waters and makes matters more confusing than they need to be.
July 28, 2021
A stunning work of theopoetics and theology.
Keller charts a third way between the absolution of fundamentalist, rigid Christianity and the dissolution of post-modern secularism. It is a theology and a new life in process - "of ourselves enmeshed with other selves, our societies enmeshed with other societies, our spiritual traditions enmeshed with other spiritual traditions, our species enmeshed with other species." (174) The first three pars of her journey look at the nature of reality, truth, and creation as relationality, testimony, and becoming. She then helps us examine power, love, and justice in terms of amipotence (not omnipotence), God's lure to adventure, and com/passion. The final two chapters of the book are a brilliant and inspiring examination of Jesus as parable and an invitation to life in the Spirit as an ongoing process of apocalyptic becoming.
Keller charts a third way between the absolution of fundamentalist, rigid Christianity and the dissolution of post-modern secularism. It is a theology and a new life in process - "of ourselves enmeshed with other selves, our societies enmeshed with other societies, our spiritual traditions enmeshed with other spiritual traditions, our species enmeshed with other species." (174) The first three pars of her journey look at the nature of reality, truth, and creation as relationality, testimony, and becoming. She then helps us examine power, love, and justice in terms of amipotence (not omnipotence), God's lure to adventure, and com/passion. The final two chapters of the book are a brilliant and inspiring examination of Jesus as parable and an invitation to life in the Spirit as an ongoing process of apocalyptic becoming.
January 3, 2020
I don't normally write reviews, but this work seems to beg for one, however limited it may be from me, just beginning to learn more about process theology.
Keller does a great job of organizing a whole host of theological ideas alternative to the "absolute and the dissolute", which most notably are represented by (admittedly) sharp stereotypes of the conservative religious right claiming absolute truth and the complete moral secularism that claims truth is not real and everything is subjective. Though this book was a bit dense for me personally, Keller is extremely knowledgeable and her 'alternative theology' does not at all seem to reject the bible, Christianity, science, human experience, or modern philosophy, but instead aims(and I believe succeeds) in offering a Way that need not fall to either the absolute nor the dissolute. She writes humbly but pointedly, not afraid to expose logical fallacies where they lie in the binaries she opposes, but at the same time giving grace and looking for the positives in the ideas she herself is destroying- or refining, I should say. Really enjoyed this.
Keller does a great job of organizing a whole host of theological ideas alternative to the "absolute and the dissolute", which most notably are represented by (admittedly) sharp stereotypes of the conservative religious right claiming absolute truth and the complete moral secularism that claims truth is not real and everything is subjective. Though this book was a bit dense for me personally, Keller is extremely knowledgeable and her 'alternative theology' does not at all seem to reject the bible, Christianity, science, human experience, or modern philosophy, but instead aims(and I believe succeeds) in offering a Way that need not fall to either the absolute nor the dissolute. She writes humbly but pointedly, not afraid to expose logical fallacies where they lie in the binaries she opposes, but at the same time giving grace and looking for the positives in the ideas she herself is destroying- or refining, I should say. Really enjoyed this.
May 17, 2017
I don't think I have a handle on what process theology is and how it differs from Openness theology. I know I like a lot of what Catherine Keller says here, but there is a certain vagueness to it and mostly she is critiquing classical theism. I think the way Greek Neo Platonic thought worked its way into the Tradition is worth critiquing and she does point out that one of the blind spots of the creed is Jesus actual life (beyond birth and death). My impression of Process theology based on this book alone, is that it means keeping things open ended.
December 18, 2022
I liked this book. It was a bit dense for me (someone not currently in seminary with no formal
theological training). I did enjoy it, I think it was well organized and raised a lot of interesting points. I would like to read it again, but I would like to read this book with someone else so that I could have someone to process the information with. You can see from the read dates, that this book took me a while to get through on my own.
theological training). I did enjoy it, I think it was well organized and raised a lot of interesting points. I would like to read it again, but I would like to read this book with someone else so that I could have someone to process the information with. You can see from the read dates, that this book took me a while to get through on my own.
January 2, 2024
There are things to like here and some ideas that can nudge us in helpful directions, but ultimately you’d be better suited to find them elsewhere. A note must also be said on Keller’s writing style. You can tell that she’s always trying to turn a phrase and make a cute phrase. It is distracting and harms the overall package, but I worry this desire also drives much of her thinking.
April 30, 2025
Profound, scattered, precise and frustratingly vague all at once. I will revisit, but I recommend to others that they take time to get acquainted with "classic" and process theology before jumping into this one.
I'm not a Theological amateur, but this far more than the casual primer suggested in the author's reading notes.
I'm not a Theological amateur, but this far more than the casual primer suggested in the author's reading notes.
March 5, 2020
Keller is one of my fav theologians. Read this for a class. Third time through. Still great!
January 27, 2023
I think process theology has a reputation for being a bit heady and opaque, but I found Keller's writing to be very approachable and grounded in real life.
December 24, 2018
I had high expectations for this book, and ultimately I would say that they were not only met but far surpassed. I can begin by acknowledging that it would have flown way above my head had I read it even a year earlier, and I relied heavily upon my past readings of Theology of Hope and especially The Female Face of God in Auschwitz to help me navigate the dense complexity of Keller's ideas. Even with that said, and to address what I enjoyed least off the bat, I do not feel entirely confident of my grasp on her arguments laid out in the chapters surrounding creation and Christ in process, and may even disagree with certain points if I had a deeper sense of what she was implying. I also found the final chapter on the apocalypse to be somewhat underwhelming, and while this is partly due to my choice to read 3 chapters back to back and thus simply feeling over-indulged by the time I began this final one, it also seemed like a somewhat out of place opportunity to tease her already-developed ideas from Apocalypse Now and Then: A Feminist Guide to the End of the World. And to reiterate, these complaints are admittedly off-base given that I can't really slight Keller for my own failure to fully grasp critical layers to her arguments. And now, onto the good stuff, which I found to be impeccably good.
My true draw towards Keller and process theology as a whole was the nuanced and seemingly authentic way it responded to the problem of theodicy and the otherwise damning implications of omnipotence in the face of extreme suffering. And with that being my primary concern, I can say that in spite of failing to understand completely the aforementioned chapters, her interlocking chapters on power, passion, and justice (which address the interlocking process theology response to theodicy by deconstructing omnipotence and providing a demonstration of both the creative and responsive elements of God's loving involvement in reality) were far beyond what I came seeking. The way that these three chapters build, compliment, and play off of each other is some of the most masterful, creative, and complex theology I have had the pleasure of reading (which may very well discredit me for some wider-read readers...so be it), and I experienced a unique sense of enjoyment and delight while reading such compelling, stimulating, innovative, and resonant work.
Keller's gorgeously poetic and playful voice was an added bonus that definitely elevated the work as a whole. Although it at times frustrated me, impeding what could likely be a more straightforward explanation of a concept already challenging to grasp, as a whole it breathed a fresh vitality into the work and kept it from ever reading dry or clinical (which, of course, runs parallel to her actual argument and offers a nice "walk the walk" of that talk). I also appreciated -and was admittedly a bit surprised by- the continual efforts she made to remain rooted in Scripture. Given the inherently subversive and deconstructive nature of Process Theology, and after hearing some "warn me" against it, I wasn't expecting this and while it wasn't nearly enough to satisfy the typical evangelical, it was more prevalent than I've seen from many other scholars from less "heretical" streams of thought. Furthermore, this actually protected any engagement from coming across as an inconsequential proof-text, and instead we got engaging, thoughtful, and creative explorations of Scripture through this new lens that almost always held up.
My true draw towards Keller and process theology as a whole was the nuanced and seemingly authentic way it responded to the problem of theodicy and the otherwise damning implications of omnipotence in the face of extreme suffering. And with that being my primary concern, I can say that in spite of failing to understand completely the aforementioned chapters, her interlocking chapters on power, passion, and justice (which address the interlocking process theology response to theodicy by deconstructing omnipotence and providing a demonstration of both the creative and responsive elements of God's loving involvement in reality) were far beyond what I came seeking. The way that these three chapters build, compliment, and play off of each other is some of the most masterful, creative, and complex theology I have had the pleasure of reading (which may very well discredit me for some wider-read readers...so be it), and I experienced a unique sense of enjoyment and delight while reading such compelling, stimulating, innovative, and resonant work.
Keller's gorgeously poetic and playful voice was an added bonus that definitely elevated the work as a whole. Although it at times frustrated me, impeding what could likely be a more straightforward explanation of a concept already challenging to grasp, as a whole it breathed a fresh vitality into the work and kept it from ever reading dry or clinical (which, of course, runs parallel to her actual argument and offers a nice "walk the walk" of that talk). I also appreciated -and was admittedly a bit surprised by- the continual efforts she made to remain rooted in Scripture. Given the inherently subversive and deconstructive nature of Process Theology, and after hearing some "warn me" against it, I wasn't expecting this and while it wasn't nearly enough to satisfy the typical evangelical, it was more prevalent than I've seen from many other scholars from less "heretical" streams of thought. Furthermore, this actually protected any engagement from coming across as an inconsequential proof-text, and instead we got engaging, thoughtful, and creative explorations of Scripture through this new lens that almost always held up.
August 26, 2016
I wish I could give it a three-and-a-half. This book, for all of its keen insights, wonderful word play, and "third-way" thinking (read it to figure it out) is also irritatingly obscurantist. I somethings think the author intends this. Word-play (in the popular-in-some-circles postmodern way) with slashes (ie com/passion), evocative ideas rather than argued ideas, a real lack of systematic structure (though spirals, not of the hermeneutic type, are popular) just drive me nuts. I know--that old systematic, confessional, black/white, literalistic, moralistic theology eventually drove me nuts too. But for someone in search of alternative perspectives, it would really help if there were some writers out there in this vane who were not trying to be so clever! I admire Keller's facility with words, her sometimes near poetic rants, her use of metaphors and imagery to get at her guesses. But after awhile it's just too much. I found a lot to reflect on in this book. Some very good exegetical insights, some big picture ideas about how process theology works. Still (though this might be a non sequitur) after lots of Cobb and Keller and Caputo and and Rollins and Griffin I'd really love a linear introduction to process theology and its cousins. Process draws me, but I can't easily redraw it.
January 30, 2013
An excellent book on process theology from a more intuitive perspective. I so enjoyed it that I am currently re reading it to more fully absorb the spiritual undertones of the book. I found the first half more readable - especially the chapter on creation. I liked the continual reference to that point somewhere between absolute and dissolute allowing for divine discoveries that are neither clinically dogmatic nor vacuous. My thirst for God and the excitement of it as been refuelled through the reading of this book.
August 23, 2016
A wandersome exploration of a notable school of thought. For as frequently as Keller repeats herself here, I still didn't feel like I came away with a particularly firm understanding of the concepts. The fault is likely more mine than hers: I should have sought a philosophy of religion text, not theopoetics. That said, though, the book didn't click with me, so I can't honestly award a top-tier rating.
March 13, 2009
An introduction to theology from a process/feminist perspective. Includes an insightful discussion of what "omnipotence" means, though I have problems with here defense of "creation from chaos" (contrasted with the more traditional creation ex nihilo). Her language veers from engagingly conversational to frustratingly opaque.
Read
March 20, 2015"Theology, a densely wordy, propositional process, is slowly learning to support the activism of truth." (p. 43) I'm intrigued by process theology, but apparently not enough to get past the process that is theology.
May 30, 2013
I did enjoy this, but didn't end up finishing it. It simply wasn't as sharp and incisive as _Apocalypse Now and Then_, and since I was reading it instead of studying it, I didn't have the energy to go on.
May 15, 2013
Great introduction to process theology, as a relational method of existence.
"...relationality saves pluralism from relativism." (pg. 21)
"A robust and living faith does not feel threatened by dissolution in the face of multiple possibilities.." (pg. 22)
"...relationality saves pluralism from relativism." (pg. 21)
"A robust and living faith does not feel threatened by dissolution in the face of multiple possibilities.." (pg. 22)
July 4, 2015
I enjoyed and learned from this book. This pithy quote: "we do not exist outside of our relationships. We become who we are only in relation: we are network creatures" particularly struck me as meaningful and true. I'm looking forward to reading some more of her books.
July 30, 2008
Some of this is post-modern language is tough to wade through, but it also has some great stuff (especially for post-Christians and UUs!).
Read
September 11, 2016So accessible and thought-provoking. Catherine Keller, I will always love you.
May 10, 2011
Understandable idea of process theology that I could kind of relate to, which is impressive given my tendencies away from religion
August 29, 2011
Wonderful introduction to process thought. Profound thoughts on God's Creative nature.
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