Someone wise once quipped, There are two groups of people in the world, those who are in relationship with the Divine and know it, and those who are in relationship with the Divine and do not know it. Open and Relational Theology (ORT), an umbrella within which Process Theology resides, believes that everything exists in God and that therefore God is in everything in some fashion. The $20 word for this is panentheism – everything in God. Process theology also believes that the primary characteristic of God’s nature is love. Not power. With love at the center of God’s identity, God cannot coerce or force God’s will on anyone or anything. The most God can do – which is a lot! – is lure, woo, and call us toward love’s best options for every given moment ad infinitum. God doesn’t therefore have a singular plan for our lives, but rather a vision that unfolds as we live our lives. God woos, we choose, God recalibrates and woos again and again, we choose again and again. God’s hope is that we experience the best life has to offer, for everyone, and for the planet itself.
This may seem like a departure from the biblical witness, particularly if we are accustomed to hearing that God is in control. We remember stories of God appearing to be in total control, breaking into the human experience in myriad ways, and afterward saying, in effect, I told you so. Yet the biblical witness also expresses the process notion of God being in constant, genuine relationship with humanity, particularly with Israel. If you do this, I will do that... The cycle replays countless times for all of Israel’s history. Yet, as Bruce Epperly pointed out in his book, Praying with Process Theology, “If the teleology (purpose) of the universe is aimed at beauty, then our quest to bring greater beauty to the world challenges texts that encourage oppression and marginalization” (45).
Process theology is not mainstream. Mathematician and philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, recognized as the person who developed Process Philosophy and Process Theology, recognized that what the Christian religion had become by the time he was alive was a significant departure from the Galilean vision evidenced and promoted by Jesus. We human beings have the capacity to misunderstand the character and nature of God, which can lead to disastrous results. John Cobb noted, “Because I believe in God, I find it supremely important to reconsider and doubt my belief. And because God is of ultimate importance, how we think of God deeply affects how we live. Every misunderstanding of God reflects itself in a misdirection of human energy” (Can Christ Be Good News Again? 36). Our beliefs about God matter because they significantly influence our attitudes and behaviors.
Or theology, therefore, impacts how we pray and what we pray for. If we believe that the center of God is everywhere and the circumference of God is nowhere, then God is not a white-bearded Santa Claus King in heaven “up there.” And if God is love, and therefore not coercive, our prayer for God to break in with force seem out of tune. For many who resonate with Process Theology, the purpose of prayer is essentially attunement more than anything else. Being attuned with the Spirit of God’s wooing, luring, and calling us, trusting that the loving character and nature of God can be trusted with our allegiance. Prayer is about sensing God’s vision for our lives more than a specific plan we’d better not miss. Much better than a singular plan, a responsive God rolls with us through everything, offering opportunity after opportunity at every impasse to choose the best loving option that will serve ourselves and everyone and everything else best.
Viewing God this way jibes with my experience. If God was all about THE PLAN written in stone, I would have been lost before I started, I think! My experience resonates with the writer of the Bible’s Lamentations: The faithful love of the Lord never ends; God’s mercies never cease. Great is God’s faithfulness! God’s mercies begin afresh each morning (3:22-23 NLT). Note that these words come from the book of LAMENTATIONS! How often do we blame God for our plight, alienating ourselves from the very source of strength to get us through? Beliefs matter. As pastor, author, and theologian Patricia Adams Farmer notes in her book, Embracing a Beautiful God (55), “You can blame God for this horrible curse, making God into some kind of monster who does wicked things such as this [multiple sclerosis]. Or you could let go of those worn-out images of the Divine and help God weave something novel of your life as it is. For God is the gentle weaver who works with each all-matched thread to bring about novel patterns of meaning and hope.”
Prayer makes a difference in the world, beginning with ourselves. When we attune ourselves to the Spirit of God, we approach the world differently. Speaking to a divided church in Rome where very different Christian theologies coexisted, the Apostle Paul instructed:
Welcome with open arms fellow believers who don't see things the way you do. And don't jump all over them every time they do or say something you don't agree with—even when it seems that they are strong on opinions but weak in the faith department. Remember, they have their own history to deal with. Treat them gently.
For instance, a person who has been around for a while might well be convinced that he can eat anything on the table, while another, with a different background, might assume all Christians should be vegetarians and eat accordingly. But since both are guests at Christ's table, wouldn't it be terribly rude if they fell to criticizing what the other ate or didn't eat? God, after all, invited them both to the table. Do you have any business crossing people off the guest list or interfering with God's welcome? If there are corrections to be made or manners to be learned, God can handle that without your help.
Or, say, one person thinks that some days should be set aside as holy and another thinks that each day is pretty much like any other. There are good reasons either way. So, each person is free to follow the convictions of conscience.
What's important in all this is that if you keep a holy day, keep it for God's sake; if you eat meat, eat it to the glory of God and thank God for prime rib; if you're a vegetarian, eat vegetables to the glory of God and thank God for broccoli. None of us are permitted to insist on our own way in these matters. It's God we are answerable to—all the way from life to death and everything in between—not each other. That's why Jesus lived and died and then lived again: so that he could be our Master across the entire range of life and death, and free us from the petty tyrannies of each other.
So where does that leave you when you criticize a brother? And where does that leave you when you condescend to a sister? I'd say it leaves you looking pretty silly—or worse. Eventually, we're all going to end up kneeling side by side in the place of judgment, facing God. Your critical and condescending ways aren't going to improve your position there one bit. Read it for yourself in Scripture:
"As I live and breathe," God says,
"every knee will bow before me;
Every tongue will tell the honest truth
that I and only I am God."
So tend to your knitting. You've got your hands full just taking care of your own life before God.
Forget about deciding what's right for each other. Here's what you need to be concerned about: that you don't get in the way of someone else, making life more difficult than it already is. I'm convinced—Jesus convinced me!—that everything as it is in itself is holy. We, of course, by the way we treat it or talk about it, can contaminate it. So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For the Scriptures say,
“‘As surely as I live,’ says the LORD,
‘every knee will bend to me,
and every tongue will declare allegiance to God.’”
Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. So, let’s stop condemning each other. Decide instead to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall. (Romans 14:1-14 MSG)
Jesus, just having offered a different approach to living in the world – not as gatekeepers but rather gate openers – was asked a question about how to live it out (which he probably would have liked to immediately retract!):
At that point Peter got up the nerve to ask, "Master, how many times do I forgive a brother or sister who hurts me? Seven?"
Jesus replied, "Seven! Hardly. Try seventy times seven.
"The kingdom of God is like a king who decided to square accounts with his servants. As he got under way, one servant was brought before him who had run up a debt of a hundred thousand dollars. He couldn't pay up, so the king ordered the man, along with his wife, children, and goods, to be auctioned off at the slave market.
"The poor wretch threw himself at the king's feet and begged, 'Give me a chance and I'll pay it all back.' Touched by his plea, the king let him off, erasing the debt.
"The servant was no sooner out of the room when he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him ten dollars. He seized him by the throat and demanded, 'Pay up. Now!'
"The poor wretch threw himself down and begged, 'Give me a chance and I'll pay it all back.' But he wouldn't do it. He had him arrested and put in jail until the debt was paid. When the other servants saw this going on, they were outraged and brought a detailed report to the king.
"The king summoned the man and said, 'You evil servant! I forgave your entire debt when you begged me for mercy. Shouldn't you be compelled to be merciful to your fellow servant who asked for mercy?' The king was furious and put the screws to the man until he paid back his entire debt. And that's exactly what my Father in heaven is going to do to each one of you who doesn't forgive unconditionally anyone who asks for mercy." (Matthew 18:21-35 MSG)
In light of Love’s call for us to walk in the footsteps of Jesus which led Paul to instruct the Romans as he did, Bruce Epperly encourages: “Throughout the day, listen to others’ deeply held beliefs. Hear the truths hidden in their “falsehood” as you look for common ground. When you disagree, creatively challenge their beliefs without diminishing or judging them as persons. Do not succumb to the hate speech and derision characteristic of much social media communication. Speak your truth with love and respect and encourage continuing dialogue” (Bruce Epperly, Praying with Process Theology, 51).
May God, who gives this patience and encouragement, help you live in complete harmony with each other, as is fitting for followers of Christ Jesus. Then all of you can join together with one voice, giving praise and glory to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.– Paul, Romans 15:5 NLT