I function in the world as a concerned person for all aspects of the world trying to live as freely and unselfishly as possible doing all the good i can, doing little harm, and being in love with God. I try to live practical by understanding the role I have been given by being a living creature with full responsibility of the world around me. My interactions with the non-human world are foundationally based on the fact that I have responsibility to care for the world around me. I place humans at the very most important responsibility. I have developed this ecological attitude from my understanding of the relationship I have with God. I have developed a large degree of my attitude with the help of John Wesley's writing and his understand of grace and grace theology. John Wesley said "Do no harm, Do all the good you can, and stay in love with God" Wesley’s words have helped to shape my understanding of ecology. The last part "stay in love with God" is foundational for me to understand ecology. Staying in love with God means many things but one thing it means is putting value in everything.
I think Jay McDaniel's proposed ethic is more similar to mine than it is different. I think a similar idea is that we both place value in all things. I think we differ in that I place the ultimate value in humans were Jay may not. I am not sure if Jay would say that all of our ethic should arise from striving to stay in love with God and that idea and that relationship with God being foundational to our ecological position.
I don't know? I would continue but iam running out of time!
Monday, October 26, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Predestination with regards to Process Theology
Predestination:
Predestination is a religious concept, which involves the relationship between God and his creation. The religious character of predestination distinguishes it from other ideas about determinism and free will. Those who believe in predestination, such as John Calvin, believe that before the creation God determined the fate of the universe throughout all of time and space. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination
The Doctrine of Predestination has been a conversation among people for a long time. It has been widely debated and is still debated today.
I think Process Theology address’s the Doctrine of Predestination unique compared to many other theologies and thoughts.
Calvinism is a major contributor to predestination. Calvinism has enriched the thoughts about predestination widely. Calvinism holds this doctrine to be a biblical truth and a biblical understanding of God. Calvinism runs into problems when it comes down to the nature of God. People against the doctrine of predestination says that it does not describe a God of Love. It may describe a sovereign God but not a God of Love.
The early rebuttal to Calvinism was Arminianism, which is theological understanding of free-will. Free-will is the idea that men are not predestined rather have some control over there lives (human responsibility). This idea has caused many problems about the nature of God. Free-will does not co inside with Gods sovereignty. Arminianism also runs in to other problems, like remaining biblically truthful and limiting Gods Power.
So we have these two sides Calvinism and Arminiansm. Calvinism is in support of Predestination and Arminianism not in support.
This is where I believe Process Theology comes into the conversation.
Process Theology I think is an attempt to find a new way between the two sides. I think Process Theology tries to hold that God is sovereign yet is a God of Love. Uniting God's sovereignty and God's love is hard to do and be biblical, so in this attempt biblical truths are lost and the Nature of God is changed. Process Theology is uniting religious thoughts about God and Philosophical thoughts about God.
Process theology destroys the Doctrine of Predestination. Process theology says that there is no way a God of Love or a God worthy of worship can create human beings for the purpose of burning in Hell. Process thinkers rather believe that God is a much more relational God. A God that created humans to be in relation with Himself, which gives humans the ultimate free-will but makes God a God of true love for humans. What about Gods Power? Is this Ultimate free-will conflicting with Gods power? If we have free-will and our responsible for our own destinations then does this not conflict with Gods power of knowing the future? Process thinkers would say no it does not, because God is still all knowing because in Process thought there is no future to know. There for God knows all because there is no future to know. Thus getting around the problem of Gods power and the concept of free-will.
Process theology's thoughts about predestination bring so good insight on the doctrine of predestination, but also run into some problems biblical. Process thinkers, I think would say yes that they run into problems biblically, but would say that an understand of a God as a Loving God comes before the Bible as all truth. In other words understanding God as a God of Love comes before anything even the Bible.
Predestination is a religious concept, which involves the relationship between God and his creation. The religious character of predestination distinguishes it from other ideas about determinism and free will. Those who believe in predestination, such as John Calvin, believe that before the creation God determined the fate of the universe throughout all of time and space. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Predestination
The Doctrine of Predestination has been a conversation among people for a long time. It has been widely debated and is still debated today.
I think Process Theology address’s the Doctrine of Predestination unique compared to many other theologies and thoughts.
Calvinism is a major contributor to predestination. Calvinism has enriched the thoughts about predestination widely. Calvinism holds this doctrine to be a biblical truth and a biblical understanding of God. Calvinism runs into problems when it comes down to the nature of God. People against the doctrine of predestination says that it does not describe a God of Love. It may describe a sovereign God but not a God of Love.
The early rebuttal to Calvinism was Arminianism, which is theological understanding of free-will. Free-will is the idea that men are not predestined rather have some control over there lives (human responsibility). This idea has caused many problems about the nature of God. Free-will does not co inside with Gods sovereignty. Arminianism also runs in to other problems, like remaining biblically truthful and limiting Gods Power.
So we have these two sides Calvinism and Arminiansm. Calvinism is in support of Predestination and Arminianism not in support.
This is where I believe Process Theology comes into the conversation.
Process Theology I think is an attempt to find a new way between the two sides. I think Process Theology tries to hold that God is sovereign yet is a God of Love. Uniting God's sovereignty and God's love is hard to do and be biblical, so in this attempt biblical truths are lost and the Nature of God is changed. Process Theology is uniting religious thoughts about God and Philosophical thoughts about God.
Process theology destroys the Doctrine of Predestination. Process theology says that there is no way a God of Love or a God worthy of worship can create human beings for the purpose of burning in Hell. Process thinkers rather believe that God is a much more relational God. A God that created humans to be in relation with Himself, which gives humans the ultimate free-will but makes God a God of true love for humans. What about Gods Power? Is this Ultimate free-will conflicting with Gods power? If we have free-will and our responsible for our own destinations then does this not conflict with Gods power of knowing the future? Process thinkers would say no it does not, because God is still all knowing because in Process thought there is no future to know. There for God knows all because there is no future to know. Thus getting around the problem of Gods power and the concept of free-will.
Process theology's thoughts about predestination bring so good insight on the doctrine of predestination, but also run into some problems biblical. Process thinkers, I think would say yes that they run into problems biblically, but would say that an understand of a God as a Loving God comes before the Bible as all truth. In other words understanding God as a God of Love comes before anything even the Bible.
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