[asa] Re: Endgame

To quote Reagan, "There you go again." My "position toward process theology" is
that I have fundamental problems with it but don't reject everything that process theologians say. Anything more "toward process theology" in what I say is due to a lack of discernment in my readers.

& I agree that there's plenty wrong with Teilhard's theology. For starters, he's certainly not a theologian of the cross. But not everything he said was wrong, &
I think his understanding of the future of evolution in terms of the Pauline idea of the Body of Christ is pretty much on target. If you want to criticize that you should do it on its own ground & not haul in claims about his crypto-Buddhism &c.
In particular, consider whether you're taking Paul's imagery in I Cor.12 & Rom.12 as well as Col.1:15-20 seriously.

Shalom,
George

---- Gregory Arago <gregoryarago@yahoo.ca> wrote:
> Hi George,
>  
> It happens that I'm one who thinks David O.'s concern is legitimate. Do you deny that Pierre Teilhard de Chardin sometimes sounds 'just like Buddhism'? You say in one sentence that he 'distinguishes' himself but you don't say how or when or where. I've been reading Teilhard himself recently. And of course you know the warning about Teilhard's teachings from Rome and his 'exile'.
>  
> Yes, I know that what you say is part and parcel of your position toward 'process theology' and the role that Teilhard de Chardin plays in process theology. I just don't get the impression that your view is settled on this yet. Is yours a settled view, George, or a view in process (of formation)? Is your view 'evolving'?
>  
> You seem to defend Teilhard's provocative paleoanthropology, his process ideas, his excessive evolutionism (though I might be mis-speaking here), his 'threat to the human identity' which was identified by the Vatican, and you seem to be marrying this with your particularly Lutheran theology. Please correct me if I'm wrong. If you haven't found a balance yet in this endeavour it would not be surprising - it is an extremely difficult task! Especially so if one is not a biologist or a sociologist...
>  
> En route to something more mysterious than rational,
>  
> Gregory 
>
>
> --- On Sat, 1/31/09, gmurphy10@neo.rr.com <gmurphy10@neo.rr.com> wrote:
>
> From: gmurphy10@neo.rr.com <gmurphy10@neo.rr.com>
> Subject: Re: Endgame (Was RE: [asa] Jerry Coyne's ...)
> To: "David Opderbeck" <dopderbeck@gmail.com>
> Cc: "asa@calvin.edu" asa@calvin.edu
> Received: Saturday, January 31, 2009, 2:03 AM
>
> Read what Teilhard actually says about it. He makes the point that the type of
> union Paul speaks of in I Cor.12 doesn't wipe out individuality but
> intensifies it. He says that union "differentiates," "personalizes," and "creates." (Sorry I don't have the
> refs here.) Have you ever had the experience of knowing someone who seemed to
> be just a boring nonentity until you had a chance to observe him/her with family
> or friends and see the person really come alive?
>
> & Teilhard distinguishes in several essays between his view of the human
> future & the type of picture one has in Buddhism.
>
> & when all is said and done, what are we to do with the Pauline picture of
> the Body of Christ? Maybe we should take it seriously. It is not just an
> abstract idea of unification but a picture of a corporate entity of which Christ
> is the head - i.e., the source of life.
>
> ---- David Opderbeck <dopderbeck@gmail.com> wrote:
> George -- not sure where you're going with the "corporate entity" idea.
> While there's a corporateness to our eschatological future, it seems
> hard, and dangerous, to suggest that there isn't also an ongoing
> preservation of individual identity. To me, this is where the "omega point"
> starts to sound just like Buddhism.
> >
> > David W. Opderbeck
> > Associate Professor of Law
> > Seton Hall University Law School
> > Gibbons Institute of Law, Science & Technology

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Received on Fri Jan 30 21:47:14 2009