Affirming God as Panentheistic and Embodied

UNCP Author/Contributor (non-UNCP co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Dr. David H. Nikkel, Professor of Religion & Department Chair (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Pembroke (UNCP )
Web Site: http://www.uncp.edu/academics/library

Abstract: In an anthology on panentheism, Keith Ward assesses the appropriateness ofthe metaphor of embodiment for God, as well as the viability of the concept ofpanentheism itself, as he considers the theologies of Ramanuja, Hegel, and processthought. Ward frames polar problems with respect to the analogy of self-body/Godworld and to the concept of panentheism. (1) Ramanuja and Hegel’s theologiesultimately deny the freedom and compromise the independence and otherness of thecreatures. (2) Process theology compromises divine sovereignty and perfection, makingGod too passible to the world’s evils. This article attempts to transcend such one-sidedapproaches as it develops a balanced concept of panentheism and a metaphor of divineembodiment that provide for mutual influence between God and the world, whereinboth the suffering and happiness of the world affect God, while maintaining sole divinecausal ultimacy with respect to the world.

Additional Information

Publication
SOPHIA
Language: English
Date: 2015
Keywords
Panentheism, Embodiment, Pantheism, Indeterminism, Transcendence , Immanence, Ultimacy, Process theology, Ramanuja, Hegel, Whitehead, Hartshorne, Charles, Ward, Keith, Gregersen, Niels Henrik, Tillich, Paul

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