Loving Creation - Rev. Kelly Dignan. February 15, 2015

Theology and CreationHumanism Religious

NaturalismPanentheism Traditional

Theism• Non-theistic• Goodness of

human beings• Seek solely

rational ways of solving human problems

• Not open to sources of grace beyond self

• Religious Humanism

• Pantheism• Process

naturalism

• Transcendental-ism

• Process Theism

• God is supernatural

• God is omnipotent, omniscient, interventionist

Primary Source: Religious Naturalism Today by Jerome Stone

Religious Naturalism• Religious Humanism–God is scientifically obsolete–But there are sources of grace beyond us–We are not the masters of our fate, we

need to recognize the worth of being nurtured by this-worldly grace–Wonder, mystery, and awe are part of and

essential to the religious experience

Religious Naturalism

• Pantheism–The Universe as a whole is divine, and

there is no divinity other than the Universe and nature–The web of life is god–The web nurtures and empowers us

Religious Naturalism

• Process naturalism–God is the integrative, creative process within

the Universe, but god is not separate from the Universe –God doesn’t do things to us; we are co-

creating with it–We experience god in the world and creation,

rather than as an outside source that acts on our behalf

Panentheism

• God is an entity IN and BEYOND creation• God is supreme and compassionate• Not necessarily interventionist or all-powerful• Can be sensed through experience

• Process Theism - God is the integrative process of the Universe but separate from it

• Transcendentalism – God is the Oversoul

Theology and CreationHumanism Religious

NaturalismPanentheism Traditional

Theism• Non-theistic• Goodness of

human beings• Seek solely

rational ways of solving human problems

• Not open to sources of grace beyond self

• Religious Humanism

• Pantheism• Process

naturalism

• Transcendental-ism

• Process Theism

• God is supernatural

• God is omnipotent, omniscient, interventionist

Primary Source: Religious Naturalism Today by Jerome Stone

Love, Adore, and Worship Creation

www.commit2respond.org/act

Theology and CreationHumanism Religious

NaturalismPanentheism Traditional

Theism• Non-theistic• Goodness of

human beings• Seek solely

rational ways of solving human problems

• Not open to sources of grace beyond self

• Religious Humanism

• Pantheism• Process

naturalism

• Transcendental-ism

• Process Theism

• God is supernatural

• God is omnipotent, omniscient, interventionist

Primary Source: Religious Naturalism Today by Jerome Stone