Michael,
> Very seriously, is there another approach which does justice to God as
> Creator? Having looked ,studied, felt and considered other positions I have
> found that creation ex nihilo as summed up in these questions to be the only
> reasonable alternative . All others end up with a God who is not God and a
> creator who is not creator. That is not an inherent conservatism as for half
> the last 30 years I was not in the evangelical fold!
>
> An panentheist god is no god and I can hear lots of good Sci and Religion
> types wanting to jump down my throat or at least first preen their feathers
Since I do not consider myself an expert on panentheism, I can easily resist
the temptation to preen my feathers.
Your statement, "All others end up with a God who is not God and a creator
who is not creator" reminds me of how difficult it is to change the meanings
of familiar and highly valued terms. Yes, the name "God" has come to stand
for one particular portrait of the One "in whom we live and move and have
our being." Panentheism uses the same name for different portraits of that
One.
So, you are correct: Panentheism's "God" is not the same as traditional
theism's "God." Likewise, Panentheism's "Creator" is not the same as
traditional theism's "Creator." Does panentheism "do justice" to the
concepts "God" and "Creator"? Or, is there another nontraditional theology
that does? I presume we all make our own judgments on that. Even within
traditional Christianity there are numerous and significantly differing
portraits of the One associated with names like "God" and "Creator." We make
choices there also. Choosing God-portraits is not new.
Howard
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu May 02 2002 - 15:38:00 EDT