Process theology reflection

 Group C – The God of/in Process

What do you find most redemptive and/or liberative about this conception of God, and what is one cultural or contextual example that illustrates this?
Why is this image/understanding of God necessary for the work of social transformation? How is it useful? Provide at least one example of how it touches the ground in this way.

 

I honestly love process theology. The idea that the divine is constantly evolving along with us in this life, is what makes the most sense to me with my own personal theology. I LOVED Coleman's explanation of womanist theology because it welcomed the voices from different traditions, not just Christians, and specifically not just traditional Christianity. I grew up in a community that saw the bible as the sole authority of God's word and that everything in the bible was treated as cold-hard fact (more or less). In this tradition, there was no shying away from contradictions in the bible - it was more of a "we can't understand God, but God is God" kind of deal.  I suppose that has stayed with me, even as I am not a Christian. I experienced some serious resistance when reading Douglas's chapter because of the inconsistence of biblical authority. How can the bible hold the ultimate authority of God but then only parts of the bible are seen as cannon? It goes against everything I had thrown at me as  I grew up - but then again Traditional Christianity is a very rigid dogma. If God is all knowing, all powerful, and all encompassing - how could he be both liberator and endorse the destruction of the indigenous people of Canaan? 

Its something that I still have a hard time wrapping my head around but when put into the perspective of process theology the resistance loosens a bit. A Liberating God may once have been a God that encouraged colonization, and has since changed. This sort of soothes the bit of traditionalism stubbornly engrained in me, because it supports both biblical authority (even though I don't ACTUALLY believe the bible has any authority when it comes to messages from God) and the liberation theology that is so beautiful. I personally believe gods can change and evolve, just like we do.  So, as more and more people sought liberation - the God they prayed to, also began to seek and provide more liberation. We also see a shift in how God is portrayed transitioning from the old testament into the new testament, which is where I think Process theology becomes almost mandatory for the work of social transformation.  

Process theology is exceedingly important because we need a myth that evolves with us. Myth is a foundation of  religion and if it cannot survive, the religion will not last. As we change, our myths must adapt so that it can stay relevant. An example of this, honestly, would be the shift of progressive perspectives in Churches. Shifting from the harsh, judgmental, angry God of the old testament and focusing more on the loving, accepting, and compassionate God of the new testament - as taught through Jesus Christ - reflects the growing acceptance in our own society. More and more people are coming out as queer, more people are getting tattoos, more people are becoming religiously plural. Focusing on the controlling and judgmental aspects of the Christian God would not allow the myth to remain relevant in our modern society. A Progressive God shows how myth adapts, allowing Religion to now support social transformation as opposed to becoming its obstacle.