Comparisons between Processual and Reformed Soteriologies

Comparisons between Processual

and Reformed Soteriologies

How God’s Love Redeems

through Solidarity,

Transformation, and Co-Creation

A Processual Soteriology of the Cross

PART 3

by R.E. Slater and ChatGPT 5

August 9, 2025

Introduction

I.

The past several decades have seen a surge of renewed interest in Reformed theology, especially within the “Young, Restless, and Reformed” movement. Figures like John Piper, Albert Mohler, Matt Chandler, Tim Keller, and Kevin DeYoung shaped a generation with powerful preaching, cultural apologetics, and an unapologetic Calvinist worldview. Reformed soteriology - anchored in:

• Penal Substitutionary Atonement (PSA) - Christ dies to bear the penalty of human sin, satisfying God’s justice so that the elect may be forgiven;

• Monergism - the belief that God is the sole agent in salvation, specifically in the act of spiritual regeneration;

• Divine Sovereignty - otherwise expressed as Divine Rule and Might.

And though these dogmas have provided many Christians with a sense of theological backbone, moral seriousness, and identity, they have also been used to justify oppression, coercion, and cruelty.

And so, for other Christians, the conservative Reformed framework of Calvinism has been alienating, overly deterministic, and framed in a God-image defined primarily by retributive justice.

In comparison, from a process-theological perspective, especially one informed by Alfred North Whitehead’s process philosophy and by its necessary derivative - Open and Relational Process Theology (ORPT) - there is an opportunity to retain the depth and seriousness of Reformed preaching while redirecting its core toward a co-creative relational, transformative, and cosmic vision of salvation without authoritarian control nor it's subsequent history of misuse and abuse.

II.

For a growing number of theologians, pastors, and laypeople, they are drawn to a more relational, transformative vision of the gospel - one which sees God not as the cosmic judge enforcing a legal verdict, but as the co-suffering companion, creatively working with the world toward its healing.

This alternative biblical belief emerges powerfully in Process Theology. One that is rooted in Alfred North Whitehead’s process philosophy and developed by scholars such as John Cobb, Marjorie Suchocki, and Catherine Keller. A philosophic-theology which removes the eclectic philosophic core of evangelic theology and which core vibrates intensely with the worth, value, and integrity of all created things. Thus correlating with Jesus' teachings of a God who loves and teaches us to love one another in return.

Conversely, classical and traditional theologies such as Reformed or evangelical theology bear no such generative cores in their philosophic foundations as process philosophy contains:

• Platonism — Values are anchored in eternal, immutable Forms (the Good being the highest). This is a static valuative core — goodness is absolute and unchanging.

• Aristotelianism — Values are tied to telos (purpose) and virtue ethics; the good life is about fulfilling one’s natural ends. This is dynamic in development but still oriented toward a fixed end-state.

• Scholasticism — Merges Aristotelian teleology with Christian theology; values are grounded in God’s immutable nature and natural law. The core is theocentric and hierarchical resulting in judgment and wrath as much as divine love.

• Modern philosophies — Highly diverse. Rationalism, empiricism, Kantian ethics, utilitarianism — each has its own value center, but often detached from metaphysics (e.g., Kant’s categorical imperative as a moral law).

• Process philosophy — Values are rooted in creativity, relationality, and the ongoing enrichment of experience. The valuative core is dynamic, participatory, and future-oriented, measuring worth by how an act contributes to beauty, harmony, and intensity of experience.

In short: Other philosophies have a valuative core, but they are usually static or fixed. Process philosophy’s core is living and evolving making it idea to rest a Christian theology of love upon.

This is a statement Alfred North Whitehead himself would smile at in the re-framing. Here’s why:

• Living & evolving core — Process philosophy treats value as something emergent in the unfolding of relationships, not pre-packaged in a fixed essence. That makes it inherently open to deepening understandings of love.

• Relational metaphysics — Since all actual entities exist in relation, love becomes not just an ethical add-on but the very structure of reality’s becoming.

• Future-oriented — Love in process thought is not a static ideal but an ongoing lure toward greater beauty, harmony, and intensity — perfectly aligning with a Christian theology that sees love as the central telos of God’s work.

• Noncoercive divine action — The process God works by persuasion, not compulsion — making divine love consistent with freedom, growth, and co-creation.

In this sense, process philosophy is not only compatible with - but uniquely suited to - undergird a Christian theology of love, especially one that wants to move beyond fear-based or coercive models of penury salvation.

III.

What follows is a side-by-side comparison between the Reformed soteriological backbone and a processual alternative, an expanded biblical and historical grounding for this approach, and practical reimaginings of popular evangelism tools. The goal is to show how the cross can be understood as the decisive revelation of God’s solidarity, transformation, and co-creation — moving salvation from verdict to vocation.

R.E. Slater

August 9, 2025

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1. Understanding the Reformed Soteriological Backbone

The New Reformed Calvinism surge has been driven not just by theology, but by identity formation and cultural posture (cf. 2019 article here). The Key points of the Reformed approach to soteriology are:

• Penal Substitutionary Atonement (PSA) as central: Christ dies to bear the penalty of human sin in our place.

• Total depravity: Humanity is utterly incapable of saving itself.

• Monergistic salvation: God alone acts to save; human cooperation is irrelevant to the moment of salvation.

• Deterministic election: Who is saved is decided by God’s eternal decree.

• Pastoral tone: High seriousness, often “heroic” in endurance; suffering is framed as God’s sovereign will for sanctification.

This produces a fortress faith — emotionally strong for some, alienating for others.

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2. Problems from a Process Perspective

From a Whiteheadian or process-theological lens, several problems emerge:

• God’s coercive violence: PSA presupposes God’s justice as retributive, requiring violence to satisfy wrath.

• Static decree: Reformed theology sees the atonement as a transaction in eternity past, unaffected by actual human history of the temporal past, present, or future.

• One-way causation: God acts on humanity, not with humanity.

• Narrow telos: Salvation is reduced to legal acquittal, not cosmic renewal or relational transformation.

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3. Biblical and Theological Depth

A processual reading engages the breadth of Scripture:

• Hebrew Bible: God as Liberator (Exod. 3), Healer (Isa. 53 read relationally), Restorer of shalom (Mic. 6:8).

• Gospels: Jesus embodies divine solidarity (John 1:14), calls people into the kingdom’s justice and mercy (Matt. 5–7), and confronts systemic evil.

• Paul: Cosmic reconciliation (Col. 1:15–20) and new creation (2 Cor. 5:17–19) - relational, not purely forensic.

• John & Revelation: Mutual indwelling (John 15), making all things new (Rev. 21:5).

Process theology doesn’t discard biblical atonement metaphors - ransom, sacrifice, reconciliation, victory - but reframes them relationally, as movements of healing love rather than legal transactions.

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4. Historical Lineage

While PSA dominates modern Reformed circles, other atonement models in Christian history align more naturally with process thought:

• Irenaeus’ Recapitulation: Christ renews creation by summing up human life in himself.

• Abelard’s Moral Influence: The cross transforms hearts by revealing God’s love.

• Eastern Orthodox Theosis: Salvation as participation in God’s life.

• Christus Victor: God’s love triumphs (Love Wins!) over the powers of death and evil.

Processual soteriology can be seen as a metaphysical maturation of these relational models.

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5. Building a Processual Soteriology

We can keep some of the emotional backbone and seriousness of Reformed preaching but redirect the logic of salvation toward relational transformation and cosmic healing.

Core Features:

1. Atonement as Transformative Solidarity

   • Christ’s crucifixion is God’s full participation in the suffering and brokenness of creation, not a transaction to satisfy wrath.

   • God absorbs, bears, and transforms the worst that evil can do through noncoercive love.

2. Kenotic Love, Not Retributive Justice

   • God does not demand blood to forgive; rather, divine love is self-emptying (Phil. 2:5–11) to the uttermost.

   • The cross shows the lengths God will go to be in redemptive relationship.

3. Co-Creative Redemption

   • Salvation is not a static verdict but a dynamic, ongoing transformation of persons and communities.

   • God and creation work together toward a healed, reconciled cosmos.

4. Universal Scope of the Cross

   • The atonement is not limited to “the elect” but embraces all creation (Col. 1:20).

   • Salvation is God’s persuasive lure toward wholeness, offered universally.

5. Open-Ended Future

   • The effects of the crucifixion are not locked in as a finished decree but unfold in history as free agents respond.

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6. Processual Reading of Key Biblical Motifs

• Ransom → Liberation from systems of oppression (including the church), not payment to Satan or God.

• Sacrifice → Self-giving, Self-emptying, sacrificial, love that models the way of the kingdom.

• Reconciliation → Restoration of broken relationships across all spectrums of alienated creation.

• Victory (Christus Victor) → Triumph over the powers of death, sin, and systemic evil through persistent love.

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7. How This Adjusts Reformed Soteriology

• Keeps moral seriousness but removes divine coercion.

• Keeps Christ-centered focus but sees Christ as the relational lure toward life, not the object of divine wrath.

• Keeps missional energy but opens mission to be restorative and justice-oriented, not conversion-and-doctrine enforcement.

• Shifts worldview language from dominion to relational equality and integration with all creation.

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8. The Processual Mechanism

In Whiteheadian metaphysics:

• God’s Initial Aim: In every moment, God offers the best possibility for beauty, harmony, and intensity.

• Christ Event: In Jesus, God’s aims are made historically concrete — a decisive disclosure of divine character.

• The Cross: A world-shaping event that redefines what futures are possible; evil is met with noncoercive love.

• The Resurrection: The ontological vindication that love is more powerful than death, grounding hope for ultimate renewal.

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9. Processual Reading of Biblical Motifs

Traditional Term	Processual Reading
Ransom	Liberation from systems of oppression
Sacrifice	Self-giving love that models kingdom life
Reconciliation	Restoration of relational harmony
Victory	Triumph of love over the powers of death

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10. Pastoral & Missional Implications

A processual soteriology:

• Preaching: Moves from “escape from hell” to “join God’s healing work.”

• Counseling: Frames God as present in trauma - not a producer of trauma - thus luring toward wholeness, healing, and divine co-suffering.

• Mission: Extends salvation beyond the church to ecological care, sociological justice, and institutional peacemaking. Heaven is not the goal, but working out one's salvation in this life is the purpose for living.

• Discipleship: Life-long transformation, not one-time salvific decision that are argued whether lost or kept in fruitless debates. Transformation! Transformation! Transformation!

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11. Reimagining Methods of Evangelism and Church Planting

Example One: The Romans Road → Processual Path to Life

It begins with creation’s goodness, reframes sin as relational rupture, moves to the cross as God's own healing solidarity with the world, and ends with resurrection as becoming a new creation wherein salvation is entered into as a lifelong journey. (And in the Nones and Dones cases, usually without the church as co-companion when found to have failed in its shepherding duties to its congregant).

The Romans Road is a popular evangelical method of explaining the Christian gospel using a sequence of verses from the book of Romans in the New Testament.

It’s essentially a “step-by-step” theological outline that moves from human sinfulness to God’s provision of salvation in Christ to a call for personal response.

Typical Romans Road Steps

(Verse order and selection can vary slightly, but the core logic is consistent)

1. All Have Sinned — Romans 3:23

   “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
   Establishes universal human guilt before God.

2. The Consequence of Sin is Death — Romans 6:23a

   “For the wages of sin is death…”
   Shows that sin leads to spiritual separation from God.

3. God’s Gift is Eternal Life Through Jesus — Romans 6:23b

   “…but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
   Introduces God’s grace as the solution.

4. Christ Died for Sinners — Romans 5:8

   “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
   Centers the gospel in the cross.

5. Confession & Belief Lead to Salvation — Romans 10:9–10

   “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved…”
   Presents the response of faith.

6. Assurance of Salvation — Romans 10:13

   “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
   Emphasizes the inclusivity of the invitation.

Purpose

• Clarity: Offers a linear, easy-to-remember evangelism outline.

• Authority: Uses only Scripture, appealing to Bible-centered audiences.

• Decision-oriented: Aimed at leading a person to a moment of personal commitment.

Critique

From a process or broader theological perspective, the Romans Road:

• Assumes penal substitutionary atonement as the underlying logic.

• Frames salvation as transactional and individualistic rather than relational and cosmic.

• Focuses on a one-time decision rather than lifelong transformation.

• Uses a courtroom metaphor more than a relational or healing one.

A Processual Alternative: The Processual Path to Life

Step 1: Creation’s Goodness & God’s Relational Love — Genesis 1:31; Acts 17:28

Step 2: The Fracture of Harmony — Romans 1:21–23; Isaiah 59:2

Step 3: God’s Persistent Call — Jeremiah 31:3; Hosea 11:4

Step 4: Jesus as the Full Revelation of God’s Love — John 1:14; Colossians 1:19–20

Step 5: The Cross as Transformative Atonement — 2 Corinthians 5:19; 1 Peter 2:24

Step 6: Resurrection as the New Creation — 1 Corinthians 15:20–22; Revelation 21:5

Step 7: Joining the Journey of Love — Micah 6:8; Matthew 22:37–40

Key Shifts: From sin to creation’s goodness; from guilt to relational rupture; from substitutionary payment to transformative healing; from individual decision to lifelong transformation; from God as judge to God as co-creating love.

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Example Two. Kennedy's Evangelism Explosion (EE) Method 

This is method is a diagnostic question made famous by Dr. D. James Kennedy of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (James Kennedy is not John Kennedy, the U.S. president).

The Two Diagnostic Questions (Kennedy Method)

Dr. Kennedy trained Christians to begin gospel conversations by asking two key questions:

1. Question 1 — The Heaven Assurance Question

   "If you were to die tonight, do you know for sure that you would go to heaven?"
   This is meant to uncover a person’s spiritual assurance (or lack thereof).

2. Question 2 — The Reason for Entry Question

   "If God were to ask you, 'Why should I let you into my heaven?' what would you say?"
   This is designed to reveal what the person is depending on for salvation — good works, moral life, faith in Christ, etc.

Purpose of the Method

• It creates a sense of urgency about eternal destiny.

• It exposes misunderstandings about salvation.

• It opens the door to present the gospel (usually in a Reformed, penal-substitution framework).

Critiques & Concerns

From a process theology or relational gospel perspective:

• It treats salvation as primarily about going to heaven, not about participating in God’s redemptive work here and now.

• It’s rooted in fear-based motivation rather than love-based invitation.

• It assumes a fixed afterlife binary rather than emphasizing God’s ongoing relationship with creation.

• It is transactional (correct answer → heaven) rather  than transformational (lifelong relational journey).

Process-based evangelism shifts from afterlife anxiety to present companionship; from gatekeeping to co-creative reflection.

Processual Reframe: The Processual Invitation Method

Let's reframe Kennedy's “two questions” method into a Processual Invitation Method that keeps the conversational engagement but shifts the theology and tone toward relational, love-centered process thought.

• Q1 Reframe: “If life were to change forever tonight, do you know the One who walks with you into every tomorrow?”

• Q2 Reframe: “If God were to ask you, ‘What have we made together with the life I’ve given you?’ how would you answer?”

Why It Works: Moves from afterlife to present relationship, from judgment to co-creation, from fear to invitation.

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Example Three: The Processual Invitation Method

The Processual Path to Life: A Relational Gospel Flow

1. Creation’s Goodness & God’s Relational Love — Genesis 1:31; Acts 17:28

   “God saw all that he had made, and it was very good… In him we live and move and have our being.”
   

   God’s intent has always been life, beauty, and flourishing in relationship.

2. The Fracture of Harmony — Romans 1:21–23; Isaiah 59:2

   “They did not honor him as God… their hearts were darkened… Your iniquities have separated you from your God.”
   

   Humanity often chooses self-interest over love, breaking the harmony of relationships with God, each other, and creation.

3. God’s Persistent Call — Jeremiah 31:3; Hosea 11:4

   “I have loved you with an everlasting love… I led them with cords of human kindness.”
   

   God never stops luring creation toward wholeness, even amid human failure.

4. Jesus as the Full Revelation of God’s Love — John 1:14; Colossians 1:19–20

   “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us… God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things… through the blood of his cross.”
   

   In Jesus, God’s character is revealed as self-giving, healing love that confronts evil and restores relationships.

5. The Cross as Transformative Atonement — 2 Corinthians 5:19; 1 Peter 2:24

   “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself… By his wounds you have been healed.”
   

   The crucifixion is not God punishing Jesus in our place, but God-with-us in suffering, absorbing evil’s worst, and opening the path to new life.

6. Resurrection as the New Creation — 1 Corinthians 15:20–22; Revelation 21:5

   “Christ has been raised… in Christ all will be made alive… Behold, I am making all things new.”
   

   The resurrection is God’s pledge that love’s life-giving power will ultimately prevail.

7. Joining the Journey of Love — Micah 6:8; Matthew 22:37–40

   “Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God… Love God… and love your neighbor as yourself.”
   

   Salvation is an ongoing, co-creative relationship — responding to God’s lure by living love in every sphere of life.

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Original EE Question 1

"If you were to die tonight, do you know for sure that you would go to heaven?"

Processual Reframe:

"If life were to change forever tonight, do you know the One who walks with you into every tomorrow?"

Why this works:

• Moves focus from afterlife location to present relationship.

• Opens discussion on God’s ongoing companionship in both joy and suffering.

• Avoids fear-mongering while still prompting deep reflection on meaning and hope.

Original EE Question 2

"If God were to ask you, 'Why should I let you into my heaven?' what would you say?"

Processual Reframe:

"If God were to ask you, 'What have we made together with the life I’ve given you?' how would you answer?"

Why this works:

• Shifts from transactional gatekeeping to co-creative partnership.

• Invites reflection on how God’s love has shaped your life and how you’ve joined in God’s work.

• Embeds the process idea that salvation is an unfolding journey of relationship, not a one-time pass/fail judgment.

Follow-up Conversation Flow:

Instead of pivoting into a fixed Reformed “Romans Road” presentation, you might:

1. Listen deeply to their reflections — affirm what is good, explore what is missing.

2. Share your own journey of how you’ve experienced God as a loving, persuasive presence who never forces but always invites.

3. Invite them into that same ongoing relationship — a partnership with God that transforms life now and carries forward into God’s future.

Core Processual Soteriology Principles Embedded Here

• God’s power is persuasive love, not coercion.

• Salvation is about flourishing with God in the present and into eternity.

• Eternal life begins now, in each moment we respond to God’s lure toward love, justice, and beauty.

• The focus is relational transformation rather than transactional escape.

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Conclusion

Processual soteriology does not dilute the seriousness of sin or the centrality of Christ. Instead, it reframes them in the light of a God whose power is persuasive, whose justice is restorative, and whose aim is the flourishing of all creation.

The cross is not the end of a divine legal proceeding, but the pivot point in a cosmic story of love - a love that enters our suffering, transforms our wounds, and calls us into the vocation of co-creating God’s new world.

This is the shift from verdict to vocation:

• From a static decree about our eternal fate,
• to an ongoing partnership in God’s mission of reconciliation,
• here, now, and forever.