In Whom We Live and Move and Have Our Being: Panentheistic Reflections on God's Presence in a Scientific World

by Philip Clayton

Foreword by Mary Ann Meyers Recent years have seen an explosion of interest in the doctrine of panentheism - the belief that the world is contained within the Divine, although God is also more than the world. Here for the first time leading scientists and theologians meet to debate the merits of this compelling new understanding of the God-world relation. Atheist and theist, Eastern and Western, conservative and liberal, modern and postmodern, physicist and biologist, Orthodox and Protestant - the authors explore the tensions between traditional views of God and contemporary science and ask whether panentheism provides a more credible account of divine action for our age. Their responses, which vary from deeply appreciative to sharply critical, are preceded by an overview of the history and key tenets of panentheism and followed by a concluding evaluation and synthesis. Joseph A. Bracken Michael W. Brierley Philip Clayton Paul Davies Celia E. Deane-Drummond Denis Edwards Niels Henrik Gregersen David Ray Griffin Robert L. Herrmann Christopher C. Knight Andrew Louth Harold J. Morowitz Alexei V. Nesteruk Ruth Page Arthur Peacocke Russell Stannard Keith Ward Kallistos Ware

Genres: Theology, Philosophy, Spirituality

Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

About the author

Philip Clayton is the Dean of Claremont School of Theology and Provost of Claremont Lincoln University.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best book I've read this year. Excellent intro to panentheism.

[Derek DeMars · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to take my time with this one since a lot of the initial chapters were somewhat over my head, but I'm very glad I stuck with it. This collection of essays from various philosophers, scientists, and theologians explores the complex notion of "panentheism" -- the idea that the universe in some way exists "in" God (as opposed to being entirely separate like in classical theism), yet God is still more than the universe and in some way transcends it (as opposed to pantheism, where the universe = God).

Explanations vary as to how exactly all this is defined and worked out, so this book was an excellent starting point for getting to know the varieties of panentheistic approaches to the problem of how God relates to and works in the world. Among the common themes which make panentheism an attractive theory are 1) It recovers a needed emphasis on the immanence of God within his creation, an emphasis long maintained in the East but frequently diminished in the West. 2) It could be said to cohere well with modern, scientific models of creation via evolutionary processes, where fields of ever more complex relations emerge naturally within the sphere of God's being without requiring dramatic and repeated divine intervention. 3) It can encourage a sacramental understanding of the universe, where the separation between physical matter and the divine is not so pronounced, leading to interesting ethical (and especially ecological) implications pertinent to our historical moment. And 4) It considers God's relationship to his creation to be genuinely reciprocal, such that the creation affects God and he truly reacts to and suffers with it, since it exists within him. Several essays, such as that by David Ray Griffin, also offer constructive arguments for why this particular sort of theism is preferable to a purely materialistic worldview.

At the same time, many of these panentheistic theories share a few potential weaknesses in common. Scientific arguments for panentheism depend on the assumption that current theories of evolutionary emergence are correct, and also run the risk of being overly optimistic and anthropocentric in their evaluations of the cosmos' history. They also are far from uniform in their views regarding divine involvement in history, ranging from purely naturalistic (no divine intervention) to completely eschatological (the universe will only be "in God" in the future, as a result of divine intervention). The questions of whether, how, and how much God may be said to intervene within creation remain just as thorny as ever -- a fact that all the essays here are refreshingly up-front about. In fact, one of the great strengths of this book was the candor and humility of its contributors, even where they disagreed with each other.

Speaking of, the authors of this volume are all incredibly knowledgeable on the subject. Each one had something unique and helpful to contribute, and their essays were organized in a very natural progression. The editors are to be commended. Also, I was glad the section on theology included voices from Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism all chiming in with their respective opinions and nuances to the conversation. The footnotes and bibliography provide an incredible resource for further research as well, making this a useful (if quite heady) read for anyone seriously interested in the intersection of contemporary theology, philosophy, and science.

[Cory Wetterlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative account of panentheism

[Sooho Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great selection of articles to the vast world of Panentheism.