Tony Jones posted a question on his blog about the uniqueness of the process god.
As you may know, I responded to Roger Olson earlier this week and I have been talking about how much appreciate ‘al‘s –
- relation-al
- incarnation-al
- mission-al
- practic-al
- radic-al
I would add pentecost-al
So as someone who is newly converasation-al with process thought, here is my response to Tony’s question.
I would love your feedback – or, if you feel like it, go over and post on Tony’s blog. He is going to respond Friday and Tripp and I are recording the Process/Olsen TNT podcast response.
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I am continually surprised that this misunderstanding seems to be the sticking point for those who are theologically educated!
For the person in the pew the contentious issue is the nature of God’s power. For the theologian, it is God’s uniqueness.
Let me just say un-categorically that the answer to this question is “Yes. God is unique.”
Process affirms that, both ontologically and in the incarnated revelation of Jesus. God is unique and Jesus is a unique expression that.
Here is how process gets there:
- God is not an exception to the way the world works but it’s highest exemplification.
- God both affects and is affected by the world.
- While the world (and all that exists) is contained within God, God is not completely contained or explained by it. The relationship is not symmetrical.
So in just those three simple points it is clear that God is unique! Also, God unlike other actual entities does not expire. This fourth point is perhaps the greatest distinction of uniqueness.
I really don’t know how it could be any clearer that the process God is both unique and distinct! There is no reason that this should be a sticking point for Christian theologians.
I confess that I am baffled as to why this continues to be a last-ditch objection to adopt a process thought as a conversation partner in the theological endeavor. from the very first moment God is unique–the Alpha and the Omega–it is just that the Omega is different from the Alpha in that the experiences of the world have impacted the real and living God.
Someone is going to have to explain to me how this picture of God is NOT unique.