Process theology is a philosophy that believes God is influenced by temporal processes, is changeable, and has limited knowledge. God and humans work together as partners in creation, and absolute knowledge of God is unattainable. Process theology is often associated with Christianity, but it is not limited to a specific religion. Christ is only considered the figurative son of God and not the savior of all mankind.
Process theology, or process theism, is a philosophy first developed by Alfred North Whitehead in the early 20th century and later by Charles Hartshorne. A fundamental belief of these men is that the divine being is influenced by temporal processes. According to this theory, God is changeable and therefore our knowledge of God must also change. Also, God’s knowledge is limited and only estimates what will happen in the future.
Time processes are actions that take time to complete. For example, growing a flower from a seed is considered a temporal process. In process theology these temporal processes affect the divine being. Furthermore, God is not omniscient and will not know whether the flower will bloom or the plant will survive the time of planting.
As each time process occurs, God learns from it. Therefore, it is always changing. Many Jews and traditional Christians disagree with process theologians because of Bible verses such as Malachi 3:6 and Hebrews 13:8, which state that God does not change.
According to process theology, God and man both draw from the same source of creativity. God works with humans as partners in creation. For example, God creates the seeds for beautiful flowers and people plant them. The plant could not have been created without the creativity of men and God; thus, God is not the source of everything, in process theology. God also used a power outside himself to create the world. Most Christians believe in creation ex nihilo, creation out of nothing. On the other hand, process theologians believe that God created the world by bringing order out of chaos, not out of nothing.
In process theology, absolute knowledge of God is unattainable. Since God is always changing, today is not the same as yesterday and will not be the same tomorrow. Therefore, constant study of the divine is necessary. Also, since God has changed since the Bible was written, much of it may no longer apply.
This is not limited to a specific religion, although process theology is more often identified with Christianity. The historical Jesus is an important figure for the process theologian, even if he is not considered God. According to this philosophy, Christ is only the figurative son of God and not the savior of all mankind. Since Christ is not considered the son of God or the savior, it is implied that mankind has no need for a savior at all.
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