3.5.1 Background of the process theodicy

Question 1

How does the process theodicy generally look at the problem of evil & suffering?

Answer 1

• it takes influence from the inconsistent triad: it believes evil exists & that God is omnibenevolent however makes a point of God not being at all omnipotent
• in this way, God is not all-powerful but still tries to stop evil

Question 2

What is ‘panentheism’?

Answer 2

meaning that ‘God exists in the universe’

Question 3

Explain the history of the process theodicy

Answer 3

1. it was heavily influenced by the ideas of the philosopher & mathematician Alfred Whitehead (1861-1947); these ideas were development at the time of Einstein’s theory of relativity & the beginnings of quantum mechanics (which undermined the Newtonian idea of absolute space & time); this convinced Whitehead that there were no truths about the world, only half-truths
2. Whitehead argued that of metaphysics of ‘process’ in which he rejected the idea of matter as the ‘basic stuff of the universe’
3. events, not matter, are the basis for reality, with each entity being at the centre of its own creative/creating reality: reality is in a constant state of process and becoming

Question 4

What impact has David Griffin had on process theology?

Answer 4

• the 20th century scholar was strongly influenced by ideas from quantum mechanics, particularly the idea that at the sub-atomic level, the universe is in a constant process of change
• this led him to believe that creation being a “one-off” event made no sense

Question 5

Describe the key ideas of process theodicy

Answer 5

1. the universe is all about continuous creativity - new things happen all the time as part of the universal process; & from one thing comes another in a never-ending cycle
2. sometimes, the process produces good & sometimes evil
3. even God is ‘developing and changing’
4. God is partly distinct & partly part of the universe
5. God feels the effects of evil & suffering because He is part of the universe: British philosopher A.N. Whitehead described God as the “…fellow sufferer who understands”
6. God started off the evolutionary process, which, eventually, led to the development of humans
7. God does not have total control & humans are free to ignore him: 20th century scholar David Griffin observes “God does not refrain from controlling the creatures simply because it is better for God to use persuasion, but because it is necessarily the case that God cannot completely control the creatures”

Question 6

What is the hypothesis for God’s role if He didn’t create the universe?

Answer 6

1. Griffin sees God as persuading the universe into a state of order rather than chaos: this attempt has been going on for around 13.8 billion years, & uses the processes of the Big Bang & evolution
2. God has a certain amount of influence over the universe, but because the universe was not created by God: it has the ability to resist his attempts to change it; an example of this would be having the ability to influence your health by eating well & doing exercise, but you can’t simply change your height or control how long you are going to live

Question 7

What is Griffin’s view on Genesis?

Answer 7

• Griffin believes that Genesis 1 has been mistranslated or misinterpreted; he believes the correct translation of the Hebrew text is “the earth being without form and void” - this supports the view that God did not create the universe from nothing - instead, the universe & God have always existed together with the universe being in a chaotic state: God tried to bring order to the chaos, but he did not create it
• therefore the Christian understanding of “creatio ex nihilo” is wrong