Brief presentation
of some authors and the main quotations
Paolo Cugini
Panentheism is the theological
position that holds that the universe is contained within God, but that God
simultaneously transcends and surpasses the universe itself. From the Greek
words pân (all), en (in), and theós (God), this view is clearly distinct from
both classical theism, which sharply separates the Creator from creation, and
pantheism, which dissolves the divine essence by making it coincide entirely
with material reality. In contemporary theology, panentheism has assumed a
central role in overcoming the notion of a God as a "static" and
impassive monarch, offering a dynamic model capable of engaging with modern
science, ecology, and the tragedies of contemporary history.
1. Jürgen Moltmann: The
ecological Trinity and the suffering of God
One of the leading exponents
of contemporary panentheism is the German Reformed theologian Jürgen Moltmann.
In his masterpiece, The Crucified God, Moltmann undermines the apathy of
classical theism by integrating the suffering of history directly into divine
life. Subsequently, in God in Creation, he formalizes an explicitly
panentheistic ecological doctrine of creation, founded on the idea of Zimzum
(God's withdrawal to make room for the other) and on the presence of the Holy
Spirit as divine immanence in the cosmos. The pivotal work: The Crucified God
(Queriniana, 1973). The key quote: On page 261, Moltmann writes that Christ's
suffering on the cross is not extraneous to God, but rather " suffering
in God ." This pain redefines the divine nature in a relational
sense.
The ecological formalization:
In God in Creation (Queriniana, 1986), on page 112, defines his approach as a
«Trinitarian panentheism», stating that: « God creates the world not
outside himself, but in his own infinity... The world is in God, and God is in
the world through his Spirit .»
2. Charles Hartshorne and
process theology
If Moltmann arrived at
panentheism through theology and Trinitarianism, Charles Hartshorne (founder of
process theology along with Alfred North Whitehead) approached it through
philosophy and metaphysics. Hartshorne introduced the concept of a "dipolar
God": God possesses an abstract and eternal pole (his potential essence)
and a concrete and temporal pole (his interaction with history and the becoming
of the cosmos). The key work: The Divine Relativity: A Social Conception
of God (Yale University Press, 1948). The key quote: On page 89,
Hartshorne explains that panentheism resolves the paradoxes of classical theism
by admitting that God includes the reality of change without losing his
original identity:
« Panentheism accepts
the radical claim that the universe is part of God's being, but maintains that
God's individuality exceeds the sum of the cosmo-temporal parts . »
The Mind-Body Analogy: On page
94, he formalizes the famous analogy: the relationship between God and the
world is analogous to the relationship between the human mind and the cells of
its body.
3. Wolfhart Pannenberg: God as
the Future of the World
Lutheran theologian Wolfhart
Pannenberg adopts an original panentheistic perspective linked to the dimension
of eschatology and temporality. For Pannenberg, God is not a cause pushing the
world from the past, but an attractive force operating from the future,
understood as the " source of all possibility ." His
key work: Systematic Theology (Vol. 2, Queriniana, 1994). Key quote: In the
second volume of his Systematic Theology, on page 115, Pannenberg examines the
spatial and spiritual relationship between Creator and creature:
« Creatures exist in
the space opened up by the immensity of God... This being-in-God of creatures
does not cancel their distinction from Him, but guarantees their autonomy with
respect to pure material contingency.»
4. Arthur Peacocke and Philip
Clayton: The Dialogue with the Natural Sciences
In contemporary science and
religion, panentheism has become the dominant interpretive model. Authors such
as biochemist and theologian Arthur Peacocke and philosopher Philip Clayton
employ the concept of emergence: just as the mind emerges from the brain while
not being reduced to it, so the world emerges from the essence of God,
remaining biologically real yet spiritually enclosed within the Divine.
The cornerstone work: In Whom
We Live and Move and Have Our Being: Panentheistic Reflections on God's
Presence in a Scientific World (ed. P. Clayton and A. Peacocke, Eerdmans,
2004).
Peacocke's quote: In the
introductory essay, on page 12, Peacocke introduces the notion of sacramental
panentheism: the cosmos physically manifests the continuous creative processes
(creatio continua) of a God who permeates it intimately.
Clayton's quote: On page 82,
Clayton summarizes the scientific effectiveness of the thesis:
« Panentheism offers
the only coherent framework for theology in the scientific age, since it
recognizes the natural laws discovered by the sciences, but sees them as
operating within divine infinity.»
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