Another modern way to reconcile evolution and divine creation is through Process Theology. Envisioned by philosopher Alfred North Whitehead and then refined by theologians like John Cobb and David Griffin, Process Theology posits a dual nature to God. In God's "Primordial Nature," the divine being is an eternal, transcendent, perfect Love who lures the creation to evolve into ever-greater complexity and self-consciousness. Complementing this is God's "Consequent Nature," that aspect of God that indwells the evolutionary process and the various new forms of consciousness that develop with each creature that evolves, thus enriching the divine life with novel adventures and experiences. Thus, God remains both transcendent to and immanent within the evolutionary process.
Whitehead puts it this way: “The concept of an Adventure [occurs] in the Universe as One. This is simply a way of describing God . . . The point is that God’s own life is an adventure, for the novel enjoyments that are promoted among the creatures are then the experiences providing the material for God’s own enjoyment . . . And God’s life is also an adventure in the sense of being a risk, since God will feel discord as well as the beautiful experiences involved in the finite actualizations: the Adventure of the Universe starts with the dream and reaps tragic Beauty.”
Photo: Coyote tracks in the snow, with the Lumpy Ridge glowing in the background; Rocky Mountain National Park, CO; January 7, 2013
Whitehead puts it this way: “The concept of an Adventure [occurs] in the Universe as One. This is simply a way of describing God . . . The point is that God’s own life is an adventure, for the novel enjoyments that are promoted among the creatures are then the experiences providing the material for God’s own enjoyment . . . And God’s life is also an adventure in the sense of being a risk, since God will feel discord as well as the beautiful experiences involved in the finite actualizations: the Adventure of the Universe starts with the dream and reaps tragic Beauty.”
Photo: Coyote tracks in the snow, with the Lumpy Ridge glowing in the background; Rocky Mountain National Park, CO; January 7, 2013
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