I am participating in Homebrewed Christianity's course discussing Open and Relational Theology over a six week period. It is hosted by Thomas Jay Oord and Tripp Fuller. Those interested may go to their website to join. Below is a small part of our opening discussion from the evangelical theologian Clark Pinnock who began writing in this area in the 1980s. His backstory is that of a fundamentalist become overtaken with a new outlook on the bible from his former days of seminary training and teaching. In many ways Pinnock's story mimics my own as I came to realize there was more to God and the bible than what I had carefully crafted and learned over many years. I've taken the liberty to update Pinnock's thoughts while adding my own language and understanding within its discussion. As such, this is an abridged commentary of Pinnock's discourse.
R.E. Slater
March 12, 2019
revised March 14, 2019
revised March 14, 2019
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Thomas Jay Oord – Creation Made Free: Open Theology Engaging
Science
Chapter 6 – Clark Pinnock – Evangelical Theology after Darwin
Abridged Commentary by R.E. Slater
INTRODUCTION
Accepting evolution does not
require abandoning belief in God. As a scientific theory it is the best
scientific model out there for making sense of observable phenomena from every
direction we turn our minds. Anti-Intellectualism is evolution’s chief
opponent. Historically, evolution is generally accepted by Catholics after the
Galileo debacle of the 17th century yet Protestants are still
debating its plausibility.
Pure Reductive, Scientific
Materialism opposes God-based evolution (theistic evolution). It has problems
with creaturely freedom, an open future with free choices, self-transcendence,
creativity, perception of the aesthetic, moral and religious values, and so forth.
1 THEISTIC EVOLUTION
Any doctrine of God must
immediately account for the general theory of evolution. This is a basic axiom.
If it does not it is incomplete. In the paragraphs which follow some of the
major (doctrinal) themes of the bible will be interwoven into the discussion to
illustrate how this might be done.
Preliminary thoughts regarding
Theistic Evolution state: i) God does not impose a rigid plan on creation’s
development; ii) God does, and will, experiment with different and sundry
possibilities. In fact, it is built into evolution’s DNA; iii) God remains the
source of all creaturely possibilities; iv) There is no coercion (or pre-determined
“plan”) placed upon creation or upon its ultimate destiny (sic, its “telos”) – evolution
is free to create on its own. As example, consider the corollary of raising
children – they may be taught but they will usually create on their own with no
fixed outcome of the parent; v) The process is adaptive. It is, and is becoming,
a reality other than Godself; vi) Lastly, it has no divine constraint on its
process.
Consider Natural Theology which
was formerly focused on divine design (example, the human eye) rather than
being focused on grander outcomes (example, quantum physics) which sees the
universe unfinished, always evolving, always indefinitely in progress/process
without end, and requiring a lot of time to realise its promise. God has seeded
the world of evolution with possibilities; He has given the cosmos, the earth,
and humanity a vast potential for life.
Evolutionary Creation must work
together with both i) invariant lawfulness and contingent happenings along with
ii) randomness with corresponding new possibilities. Each of these spectrums all
held in-tension with one another. It could be said that evolution’s process is composed
of fundamental elements such as lawfulness, contingency, randomness, and possibility
all mixed together in the batch of deep time. This process can be known yet unexplained;
studied yet a mystery; but always held in deep relation to each other’s orbit.
Throughout all of evolution’s unfolding process as the cosmos, the world, and
life unfolds, we may expect to find the mutuality and relationality of the Social
Trinity of the God of love in continual partnership, guidance, and engagement.
In essence, God experiences creation much as we do but in an infinite sense.
2 EVOLUTION & DIVINE PROVIDENCE
Evolution should not lead us to
deism (sic, the absent Creator model) or to a form of Calvinism which regards
God as ever-tinkering with His divine model - or disrupting or adjusting it –
with regards to creation’s initiating process. Rather, God has both a vision
and a hope for what the world may become and does not need a fixed divine “plan”
to sovereignly overrule creation’s unfolding events. Because of this, the Open
and Relational model (OR/ORT) understands evolution as God’s sovereign design of
embedding an open and dynamic ontological character into creation itself
through the process of evolution. This ontological character then bespeaks of
the very nature of God Himself which is embedded in evolution as it morphs and
changes and creates ever new possibilities. In itself evolution has no choice
but to move forward on its own without need for a determinative outcome to
which other theological systems subscribe. It is complete in itself without requiring
divine interventionism or coercion as it began from the heart of the God
wishing to share Himself.
This then should bring a solace to
the human breast. That God’s love is neither forcible nor coercive in relation
to His creative design within the foundations of evolution. Consequently God’s
sovereignty is at once undergirded by His grace and love which partners and
participates in redemptive engagement with His creation. In contrast, the
determinative model requires forcible divine omnipotence (power) to rule
whereas the Open and Relational model disclaims divine omnipotence in favor of
divine non-coercive love (or, non-omnipotence) to guide, participate, and engage
creation’s processes.
This means then that we and
creation may shape our own future fully and freely within our bounds and
abilities to create. In this sense evolution is biased in the direction of
complexity and consciousness. God allows for experimentation, risk taking, room
for novelty, and flexibility. God may have a purpose but He does not
predetermine the future. It is truly open without determinative outcome. Divine
purpose does not imply divine determination.
Firstly, Divine Providence does
not guarantee orderliness. Rather, disorderliness is very much a central part
of creation’s process. It is good but unfinished. Some creatures adapt, some do
not. A static cosmos is a lifeless/mindless cosmos.
Secondly, what we call
“accidents” in nature are actuality instances of adaptation, novelty, and
freedom to try something different from the present order of things. Novelty
must include and allow for trial-and-error. Ontological chance thus allows for real
randomness with infinite possibilities.
Thirdly, evolution can be orderly
though complexly organized yet allowing for an intensification of consciousness
over the course of its process as its Creator-God guides the cosmos towards a
positive future. This divine direction is most likely imbued within the very
fabric of evolution itself rather than as a moment-by-moment “directive”
feature. As the Spirit of God breathes life into creation it lures the world to
greater and greater complexity and consciousness. God is ever guiding the
emerging universe and is the source of serendipitous creativity everywhere.
Evolution is compatible with the
(essential) kenotic model of providence in which God self-limits Himself for
the sake of love. God does not coerce obedience but participates with creation
while respecting its freedom to be
and to become. Open and Relational
theology understands this idea as the God who is always willing to risk.
3 THE GOD OF EVOLUTION & SIN
The argument of evolution by design,
though popular, is spurious. Creation is as much orderly as it is disorderly.
The role of predation and violence is a necessary part of its becoming. This
process is otherwise known as a necessary and imperfect adaptation within
evolutionary creation which has a long history of wasteful experimentations.
Paradoxically, the present orderly façade of nature masks epochs of suffering
alongside epochs of amazing creativity. Then why does God allow such suffering
and waste in the process of evolution?
Part of the answer lies in the
fact that sin is a part of the freedom God has endowed creation with… Divine
justice (theodicy) allows for sin while adjusting to its presence for optimal
outcome over sin. Thus God’s self-sacrificing love is ultimately bourne through
His redemption of the world in Christ Jesus. His grace becomes His suffering.
It is not done in divine isolation but in full relationship to all of
creation’s being, hope, and promise. In this way does divine imbuement of
creation through divine redemption provide creation with a future of
completeness and fullness with its Creator God. All living and dying things
readily share in the suffering death of our living God as well as the
redemptive hope this death has provided.
The gospel is about a new
creation which will end violence, suffering and death. Not only for man but for
all of creation. We live in an unfinished world with a future full of unrealised
possibilities. Evolution opens the future up as God calls to the cosmos to
reach beyond itself to become a fully new creation without sin in its
substance. As such, the cosmic journey is heading somewhere – it is not a pointless
process. That somewhere is towards a cosmic redemption. Christianity’s mission
is to share this hope for a better world.
4 GOD AND HUMANITY
Evolution is the story of the
emergence of the soul gradually producing creatures more self-conscious, free,
and able to love. God’s Spirit is present in all life proportionate to its
complexity. The emergence of the human soul is not an exception to the
animating process of evolution but an intense example of it. At this point in
evolutionary history humans may be the only species endowed with heightened qualities
more distinct than animals - some of which bear these same qualities in a less
heightened state. But this should not be expected to remain the same as homo
sapiens as a species comes, and goes, and is replaced in the long history of
evolution.
Regarding morality, “survival of
the fittest” may be part of a reductive, materialistic theory but it doesn’t
take us very far along the pathway of God as a theistic theory of evolution
does. The rise of cultures and religions represents a new evolutionary stage is
the cosmic story. We may therefore expect it to reduce the power of natural
selection for a time as social institutions, laws, customs and beliefs act to
protect (or not protect) the weak, the unfit, etc. In the area of ethics even
the unfit get the opportunity to survive.
Regarding original sin, we can
recognize the concept without purporting or ascribing to it its biblical legacy
recounted in the story of Genesis. Unlike many other biblical doctrines, sin, as
a concept, is a truth well attested to empirically
throughout the cosmic and human story. Essentially, the doctrine of sin
testifies to the truth that creation - as well as humans - are estranged from
God and need a Savior. That all things everywhere are deeply flawed because of
sin. Only God can save us. Or rather, redeem us. This is the concept of
original sin without requirement for a single human couple, a garden, a
possessed snake, and so forth.
Unlike Reductive Materialism, Theistic
Evolution requires the need for a cosmic Christology, whereas Reductionism or
Materialism does not. Jesus has defeated the powers of darkness and has begun
to set the universe right. God’s power and love are radiating throughout the
whole world revealing the magnitude of His redemptive love. Hence, theistic evolution
should stimulate us to recover the themes of a cosmic Christology. It can be
the occasion for a renewed and expanded Christology. In short, Jesus is the
guarantee that the self-transcendence of creation will come to pass because it
has already come to pass in Christ. Jesus is therefore the start of a new
cosmology. Restated, history is headed towards redemption with-or-without the
human species.
5 EVOLUTION AND THE CHRISTIAN HOPE
Evolution is a very big story.
The universe has been advancing and evolving in the direction of increasingly
organized complexity for a very long time. It has passed through many stages
over many aeons and is now at work guiding human communities towards a
redemptive future. During its course societal consciousness has grown in
proportion to the increase in organized social and physical complexity (such as
a social/spiritual morality, ethics, the human body and mind, etc.).
The end goal of evolution is what
Teilard de Chardin called the Omega Point: Essentially, “things are going
somewhere.” In theistic terms, God is drawing the whole universe to Himself. Historical
time is always moving towards a good and redemptive ends. It began with the physical
geo-sphere, has continued through the biological bio-sphere and is moving
towards the heart of humanity, the soul of man – the noo-sphere. This is the
direction to the story of evolution even though the text will meander in its
long journey.
Creation is becoming newer and
newer in its unstoppable process of becoming whatever it will become both in
the near future and the far future beyond. It is restless. It is pregnant with
hope. We must not expect that God will preserve some state of “status quo” nor
be a deity of coercive rather than persuasive power from which order and
novelty arise. God’s world is a world open to possibility yet ever driving
towards a new creation in Christ. We may then see in evolution an
intensification of God’s consciousness into the cosmos. This is a most salient
point full of possibilities. But within this divine consciousness God has left the
future undetermined. Creation is free to create any future it wishes to move
towards. We live in a truly open future moving towards the redemption God has
provided the cosmos through Christ.
Nor does God force the universe
into a rigid design but calls creation to listen and follow His voice. God has made
a world in which chance and randomness exist alongside order because God values
order and novelty. Even random occurrences play a role in an unfinished and
open universe. The present order is continually moving away from its older
order to make way for a newer order. True, suffering, pain, death, are a part
of this journey but as Christians we trust and believe that the power of God’s
love will prove more influential than coercive, deterministic power. Nature’s
beauty, vitality and creativity are intimations of this new creation and the
promises of God’s love.
Lastly, ours is a world that
gives joy to God while giving joy to creation itself. In giving Himself away
God has added valuable experiences from His life to ours. God’s love is self-giving.
It is also self-realizing. His love grants new kinds of value, freedom, and
community. Certainly such a world adds value to God’s divine experience even as
it does to creation itself or to our experiences. Ours is a world capable of
becoming the Kingdom of God. The purpose of our lives is to carry forward the
values of the divine spark of creation. Sin is the refusal to participate in
this arrangement. We may think of the Omega Point not as a rigid goal but as God’s
vision for the world and what it may become as He calls forth the possibilities
that are inherent in the very fabric of the cosmic order He has created.
Abridged Commentary: Clark Pinnock by R.E. Slater
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