Process Theology. Bruce G. Epperly

generation of young Englishmen, including one of his two sons, in World War I, Whitehead began to reconsider his religious agnosticism. While he always recognized the relativity and tentativeness of religious doctrines, Whitehead discovered the need for a vision of God congruent with the evolving understanding of the universe described by physics and biology. For Whitehead, God is the ultimate source of possibility and human creativity. God also insures that no event in the historical process is ever lost. In the divine memory, Whitehead’s son and all those who perished in World War I would live forever and, in so doing, influence the ongoing historical process. During his two decades of teaching at Harvard University, Whitehead set the stage for the emergence of process theology by influencing the philosopher Charles Hartshorne and a generation of theologians, many of whom studied or taught at the University of Chicago - Henry Nelson Weiman, John B. Cobb, Bernard Loomer, and Bernard Meland - and through their impact an ongoing procession of process theologians, including David Griffin, Marjorie Suchocki, Joseph Bracken, Bernard Lee, Norman Pittenger, Clark Williamson, Catherine Keller, Rita Nakashima Brock, Jay McDaniel, and myself. Today, hundreds of pastors and chaplains share the insights of process theology in their pulpits, study groups, and pastoral care. Process theology remains one of the most vibrant forms of theological reflection and has significantly influenced emerging and post-modern Christianity, environmental theology, the interplay of science and religion, feminist and liberation theology, and holistic, earth and body affirming forms of spirituality.

      Essential Concepts of Process Theology. One of the parents of process theology, Bernard Loomer, described this novel and innovative way of thinking of God and the world as “process-relational” theology. These two words capture the heart of process thought, whether we are describing the nature of God, the God-world relationship, human life, the non-human world, ethics and spiritual formation, the relationship of science and religion, or survival after death.

      I believe that theology is best learned through the interplay of 1) affirmations or positive statements about our deepest beliefs, and 2) spiritual practices that enable us to experience the deepest and most pervasive realities that shape our lives and inspire our personal growth and ethical commitments. Briefly put, process theology can be described through the following affirmations:

      1 The world is a dynamic process. Life involves constant change and movement. Time is, as the hymn says, “an ever-flowing stream” in which each moment arises, perishes, and gives birth to successors. God is alive and constantly doing things, bringing forth imaginative possibilities in the human and non-human worlds.

      2 All living things exist in relationship with one another. We live in an interdependent universe in which each moment of experience arises from its environment, whose influence provides both limits and possibilities. Each moment of our lives also contributes to the larger community and the future beyond itself, whether our personal future or the communities of which we are members.

      3 Experience is universal, though variable, and extends beyond humankind. While creatures differ in complexity and impact on the world, every creature has some minimal level of responsiveness to its environment. Process theology affirms that consciousness is the tip of the experiential iceberg. Beneath everyday consciousness, our lives are also shaped through unconscious experiences that emerge primarily through dreams and the mutual influence and continuity of mind and body. More than this, non-humans also experience their worlds, some consciously, others primarily unconsciously. This reality of conscious experience among non-humans is obvious in terms of our companion animals in relation to which we enjoy loving and intimate relationships. But, less obvious and just as real are unconscious experiences and relationships at the cellular and molecular levels. The Psalmist proclaims that the heavens declare the glory of God and everything that breathes can praise God. (See especially Psalm 148 and150.) Jesus affirms God’s love for sparrows and lilies of the field and the Apostle Paul asserts that God’s Spirit groans in the experiences of humans and non-humans alike. Dead and objective matter is an abstraction; concrete actuality is relational and experiential. God, accordingly, can touch every creature from the inside.

      4 The universality of experience leads to the recognition that every creature is inherently valuable and deserves moral consideration. Process theology values all creation, even apart from its impact on human life. Although, we are often at cross-purposes with other humans in times of war or in difficult decisions regarding the termination of a pregnancy or the accessibility of medical and governmental services, nevertheless, other humans have value that we must ethically consider. This also applies to our relationships to non-humans. Species, flora and fauna, are valuable not just because we appreciate their beauty but because they experience some level of joy and sorrow. They matter to God and, accordingly, should enter into our own moral calculations. This has led some process theologians to become vegetarians and others, like myself, to purchase meat and poultry that is free range rather than factory farmed.

      5 Freedom and creativity are essential to reality. We are all artists of our experiences, creating our current experiences from the environment around us, including our own previous experiences and decisions. Even though the past can be the source of limitation, our past experiences do not fully determine our future responses. In fact, the concrete impact of the past is the womb of possibility and creativity. As psychiatrist Viktor Frankl asserted in light of his experiences in a Nazi concentration camp, they can take everything away from a person except her or his ability to choose her or his response to the circumstances of life.

      6 The future is open-ended and we have a role in shaping the future, for good or ill. The processes of human creativity and history are not determined in advance. Although past decisions made by God and humankind condition and may to greater or lesser extent guide the historical process, there is no predetermined goal to human or planetary history. Along with the Creator, we are creating history as we go along.

      7 God is the primary example of the dynamic, process-relational nature of reality. God is embedded in the ever-changing and evolving historical process, shaping and being shaped by the universe with which God constantly interacts. Constantly creating in relationship to the world, God is also constantly receiving the influence of historical events. God can be described as the “most moved mover” or the primary example of what John Cobb and David Griffin describe as “creative-responsive love.” God creates but also receives; God is the ultimate agent and also the ultimate recipient of value.

      Process theology is lively, historical, relational, and creative. It can transform the way you look at God and the world around you.