Is Panentheism the Best Way to Think About God? Part 1
Among the many ideas about God and the relation of the divine to the natural world, three standout within Western thinking: classical theism, pantheism, and panentheism. What is the difference and does panentheism best describe a Creator who is also active within the world? This is the first in a series exploring panentheism and my own thoughts on the doctrine of God based on an understanding of science.
Throughout most of my seventy plus years in this world I have considered myself a classical theist. God, in this view, is the transcendent Creator standing outside of time and space, putting all things into being, action and relations. But He is also immanent in that he acts within the natural world and even within history. In classical theism His action is like an engineer/mechanic who builds a machine, continually adds more to it and maintains it through active involvement. Or like an artist who paints a beautiful work that is never truly finished.
But, in the course of the past few years and largely because of the study and engagement that comes with writing on faith and science on Medium, I believe I may have transitioned to being a panentheist. The change to me is fairly significant in coming to what I consider a richer, deeper concept of all our relations with each other and all of creation. We are connected. In a sense…
