Quotes & Sayings


We, and creation itself, actualize the possibilities of the God who sustains the world, towards becoming in the world in a fuller, more deeper way. - R.E. Slater

There is urgency in coming to see the world as a web of interrelated processes of which we are integral parts, so that all of our choices and actions have [consequential effects upon] the world around us. - Process Metaphysician Alfred North Whitehead

Kurt Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem says (i) all closed systems are unprovable within themselves and, that (ii) all open systems are rightly understood as incomplete. - R.E. Slater

The most true thing about you is what God has said to you in Christ, "You are My Beloved." - Tripp Fuller

The God among us is the God who refuses to be God without us, so great is God's Love. - Tripp Fuller

According to some Christian outlooks we were made for another world. Perhaps, rather, we were made for this world to recreate, reclaim, redeem, and renew unto God's future aspiration by the power of His Spirit. - R.E. Slater

Our eschatological ethos is to love. To stand with those who are oppressed. To stand against those who are oppressing. It is that simple. Love is our only calling and Christian Hope. - R.E. Slater

Secularization theory has been massively falsified. We don't live in an age of secularity. We live in an age of explosive, pervasive religiosity... an age of religious pluralism. - Peter L. Berger

Exploring the edge of life and faith in a post-everything world. - Todd Littleton

I don't need another reason to believe, your love is all around for me to see. – Anon

Thou art our need; and in giving us more of thyself thou givest us all. - Khalil Gibran, Prayer XXIII

Be careful what you pretend to be. You become what you pretend to be. - Kurt Vonnegut

Religious beliefs, far from being primary, are often shaped and adjusted by our social goals. - Jim Forest

We become who we are by what we believe and can justify. - R.E. Slater

People, even more than things, need to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anyone. – Anon

Certainly, God's love has made fools of us all. - R.E. Slater

An apocalyptic Christian faith doesn't wait for Jesus to come, but for Jesus to become in our midst. - R.E. Slater

Christian belief in God begins with the cross and resurrection of Jesus, not with rational apologetics. - Eberhard Jüngel, Jürgen Moltmann

Our knowledge of God is through the 'I-Thou' encounter, not in finding God at the end of a syllogism or argument. There is a grave danger in any Christian treatment of God as an object. The God of Jesus Christ and Scripture is irreducibly subject and never made as an object, a force, a power, or a principle that can be manipulated. - Emil Brunner

“Ehyeh Asher Ehyeh” means "I will be that who I have yet to become." - God (Ex 3.14) or, conversely, “I AM who I AM Becoming.”

Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy. - Thomas Merton

The church is God's world-changing social experiment of bringing unlikes and differents to the Eucharist/Communion table to share life with one another as a new kind of family. When this happens, we show to the world what love, justice, peace, reconciliation, and life together is designed by God to be. The church is God's show-and-tell for the world to see how God wants us to live as a blended, global, polypluralistic family united with one will, by one Lord, and baptized by one Spirit. – Anon

The cross that is planted at the heart of the history of the world cannot be uprooted. - Jacques Ellul

The Unity in whose loving presence the universe unfolds is inside each person as a call to welcome the stranger, protect animals and the earth, respect the dignity of each person, think new thoughts, and help bring about ecological civilizations. - John Cobb & Farhan A. Shah

If you board the wrong train it is of no use running along the corridors of the train in the other direction. - Dietrich Bonhoeffer

God's justice is restorative rather than punitive; His discipline is merciful rather than punishing; His power is made perfect in weakness; and His grace is sufficient for all. – Anon

Our little [biblical] systems have their day; they have their day and cease to be. They are but broken lights of Thee, and Thou, O God art more than they. - Alfred Lord Tennyson

We can’t control God; God is uncontrollable. God can’t control us; God’s love is uncontrolling! - Thomas Jay Oord

Life in perspective but always in process... as we are relational beings in process to one another, so life events are in process in relation to each event... as God is to Self, is to world, is to us... like Father, like sons and daughters, like events... life in process yet always in perspective. - R.E. Slater

To promote societal transition to sustainable ways of living and a global society founded on a shared ethical framework which includes respect and care for the community of life, ecological integrity, universal human rights, respect for diversity, economic justice, democracy, and a culture of peace. - The Earth Charter Mission Statement

Christian humanism is the belief that human freedom, individual conscience, and unencumbered rational inquiry are compatible with the practice of Christianity or even intrinsic in its doctrine. It represents a philosophical union of Christian faith and classical humanist principles. - Scott Postma

It is never wise to have a self-appointed religious institution determine a nation's moral code. The opportunities for moral compromise and failure are high; the moral codes and creeds assuredly racist, discriminatory, or subjectively and religiously defined; and the pronouncement of inhumanitarian political objectives quite predictable. - R.E. Slater

God's love must both center and define the Christian faith and all religious or human faiths seeking human and ecological balance in worlds of subtraction, harm, tragedy, and evil. - R.E. Slater

In Whitehead’s process ontology, we can think of the experiential ground of reality as an eternal pulse whereby what is objectively public in one moment becomes subjectively prehended in the next, and whereby the subject that emerges from its feelings then perishes into public expression as an object (or “superject”) aiming for novelty. There is a rhythm of Being between object and subject, not an ontological division. This rhythm powers the creative growth of the universe from one occasion of experience to the next. This is the Whiteheadian mantra: “The many become one and are increased by one.” - Matthew Segall

Without Love there is no Truth. And True Truth is always Loving. There is no dichotomy between these terms but only seamless integration. This is the premier centering focus of a Processual Theology of Love. - R.E. Slater

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Note: Generally I do not respond to commentary. I may read the comments but wish to reserve my time to write (or write from the comments I read). Instead, I'd like to see our community help one another and in the helping encourage and exhort each of us towards Christian love in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. - re slater

Showing posts with label Indexes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indexes. Show all posts

Sunday, April 26, 2026

Index - Reality & Cosmology Series



Index - Reality & Cosmology Series

A Processual Exploration of the Universe

by R.E. Slater and ChatGPT

This series is not the result of a fixed construction process, but of a personally evolving exploration which has been developing over the past several months. It will continue to unfold as new material is encountered and interwoven into the ongoing question of what reality might be like.

Its direction and organization were neither foreseen nor predetermined at the outset, but has emerged through a series of writing projects offering insight and reflection through the lens of process philosophy and theology into contemporary cultures.

Looking back, a natural pattern began to take shape which has resulted in the the Master Contents outline below which represents an effort to gather and arrange the essays in a way that offers clarity, coherence, and accessibility for the reader - while also honoring the developmental nature of the work itself. As it's opus has grown each sectional "mini-series" is intended to support and expand around the central idea within the greater body of the essays.

As with the subject of reality itself, this present exploration is best approached not as a finished system, but as a living process - one that will continue to be shaped, deepened, expanded, and refined in the months and years ahead. The essays to date are but an evolving imagining of reality’s continuous becoming.

- R.E. Slater



COMPOSITION  OF NARRATIVE

~  The What, How, and Why of Reality  ~
~  What is happening? → What does it mean? → And How shall we live?  ~

Story → Philosophy → Metaphysics → Ontology → Cosmology →
Consciousness → Identity → Meaning → Theology → Ethics


WHAT IS REALITY?

~  One Reality, Understood in Many Ways  ~

Story → What is happening?
Philosophy → What does it mean?
Metaphysics → Why must reality be?
Ontology → What must reality be?
Cosmology → How does reality unfold?
Consciousness → How is reality experienced?
Identity → How does continuity become self?
Meaning → Towards what does reality move?
Theology → How is the whole understood?
Ethics → How shall we live within reality?
Though this series may be read linearly, it may best be understood recursively - using each layer to deepen and reinterpret the essays before it.

Moreover, this index will continue to evolve as the work itself continues to evolve.
Lastly, based on the subject matter's evolving nature the present essay numbering now reflects their place within the greater conceptual structure of the series thus circumventing the original order of publication date as companion and bridge pieces became fitted and structured within the overall order of the series itself. 
One Composition in Three Movements
Inquiry, Structure, Expression
When exploring reality we might move from "question, to structure, to lived expression." Or, from "questioning reality, to describing its structure, to living within its unfolding."  - R.E. Slater
  • Movement I – Inquiry: "What Is Reality?"
    • Introduction & Orientation (Section 1)
    • Metaphysics of Reality: Its Grounding & Nature (Section 2)
  • Movement II – Structure: "What is the Ontology of Reality?"
    • The Operative Outworking of Reality + Emergence of EPR (Section 3)
    • The Ontological Layers of Reality I-V (Sections 4-8)
  • Movement III – Expression: "How is Reality Lived and Interpreted?"
    • Cosmology - What Kind of Universe Do We Live In? (Section 9)
    • Theology - Reading the Universe through Theology (Section 10)
    • Ethics - The Lived Consequences of EPR (Section 11)

I. Orientation - Asking the Question of Reality

Below are several gateway essays introducing the question of reality...

The Last Cartographer (1)
Orientation I – Mapping the Edge of Reality

A Conversation Before Leaving (2)
Orientation II – Questioning "the Real"

Stories of Survival and Contact (3)
(The Martian, Project Hail Mary, and Arrival)
Orientation III – Process, Intelligence, and Relational Knowing

👉 Use of narrative, imagination, and existential framing as introduction to reality series.
II. The Metaphysical Question - What Is Reality?

Let us begin by developing a grammar for reality by asking,
"Why might reality be processual as a philosophical necessity?"

What Is Meant by "Processual Reality" (4)
Metaphysics I – An Introduction to Process

What Is Reality? Theories and Their Limits (5)
Metaphysics II – Contemporary Theories and Their Limits

Why Process is Metaphysically Necessary (6)
Metaphysics III – Toward a Processual Ground of the Real

👉 These essays establish a philosophical ground floor.
III. What Kind of Reality Do We Live In?

We redirect our philosophical inquiry into reality towards a contemporized
Whiteheadian process newly described as "Embodied Process Realism" (EPR).

Man in Process (7)
EPR I – The Human Journey Toward Embodied Realism

God in Process (8)
EPR II – Toward a Relational and Lived Theology

Scripture in Process (9)
EPR III – Scripture as Lived Encounter within an Unfolding Reality

👉 EPR is introduced as a lived, interpretive framework without being fully formalized.
In the next section IV we describe its ontological structure.
IV. Ontology I - The Ontological Structure of Reality

To construct an ontological framework for Processual Reality moves from:
Relation → Coherence → Integration → Embodiment → Persistence

Result: The emergence of Embodied Process Realism

The Ontology of Reality as Relation (10)
Ontology I – The Foundations of Embodied Process Realism

The Inner Life of Reality (11)
Ontology II – Interiority and the Emergence of Experience

Persistence and Continuity of Becoming (12)
Ontology III – Coherence across Time

Toward an Ontology of Reality (13)
Ontology IV – The Emergence of Embodied Process Realism

👉 These crucial essays provide the conceptual core of the entire ontological series.

V. Ontology II - Cosmology and the Physical Universe

As a Processual Philosophy of Reality, it can be demonstrated at the cosmic scale...

Gravity, Coherence, and the Real (14)
Cosmology I – The Relational Structure of the Real

The Rise of Relational Physics (15)
Cosmology II – From Particles to Processes

From Cosmic Energy to Cosmic Meaning (16)
Cosmology III – A Processual Timeline of the Universe

👉 Here, gravity, quantum physics, and the cosmic timeline are all
re-interpreted using the ontology of embodied process reality (epr).
VI. Ontology III - Consciousness and Experience

To move from ontologic structure to ontologic experience requires testing all non-processual frameworks against lived experience showing how each system is insufficient, and thereby opening the way towards a processual reconstruction of consciousness and experience.

Theories of Consciousness: Dualism, Monism, and Beyond (17)
Consciousness I - Classical Frameworks and Their Limits

Consciousness II - Process Consciousness and the Failure of Structural Realism

Consciousness III – Rethinking Mind Through EPR Structure: From Physicalism to Processual Realism

Consciousness IV - The Contemporary Case for Mind Beyond Reduction

Consciousness V - Updating Whiteheadian Classicism to Embodied Process Realism

Consciousness VI – Clarifying the Metaphysical from the Ontological

Consciousness VII – Expanding the Horizon of Consciousness Studies

👉 An important distinction must be made between consciousness and the philosophy of mind studies:

Ontology → the coherence of consciousness within the structure of reality
Metaphysics → panpsychism (mind) within the grounding and nature of reality

Each requires the other, while each operates under distinct conditions of description.
VII. Ontology IV - Life, Evolution, and Meaning

Integrating biology, emergence, and teleological direction into EPR...

Evolutionary Process Biology and a Relational Ontology (24)
Evolution I – Biology Beyond Mechanism

Responding to Fine-Tuning & Intelligent Arguments (25)
Evolution II – Rethinking Intelligence, Life, and Emergence

Intelligent Design and Its Failure of Philosophical Coherence (26)
Evolution III - The Illusion of Explanation in Intelligent Design

👉 These essays bridges science and teleology to philosophy.
VIII. Ontology V - Identity, Value, and Directionality

How does reality become someone or something that is meaningful,
bearing value, purpose and directionality?

Identity I – The Emergence of Self, Creation, and God
Establishes identity as pattern - The emergence of coherent form within relational becoming.

Identity II – Identity as Patterned Continuity
Shows that identity persists through coherence, maintaining continuity across change.

Identity III – Coherence Without Edge and the Emergence of Value
Reframes cosmological “edges” as transitions in coherence, showing how value emerges from relational integration. rather than external imposition.

Identity IV – Meaning as Relational Achievement
Demonstrates how meaning arises through relation - not as a given, but as an achieved condition of coherence.

Identity V - Strandbeests and Embodied Process Realism in Motion
A Comparative Study on Reflexivity, Embodiment, and Directionality

Open Teleology in a Relational Universe (32)
Identity VI – Directionality Without Determinism
Articulates direction without fixed endpoints, where trajectories emerge without necessity.

Testing Reality (33)
Identity VII – Constraints, Coherence, and Falsifiability
Asks whether Embodied Process Realism (EPR) can sustain ontological rigor under critical examination.

EPR Placement in Wikipedia (34)

A Parallel Narrative Track
Theme: Descent and Transformation - A Jonah Companion Series

The essays that follow proceed along two interwoven paths: one conceptual (essays 27-32), articulating the structure of reality; the other narrative (essays 33-37) exploring these same dynamics through the ancient pattern of "descent and return." Each clarifies the other. Neither are complete alone.

Descent 1 - Jonah (33)
The Pattern of Descent - reveals that identity is never fixed, but always capable of transformation through disruption.

Descent 2 - Jonah (34)
Interruption and Becoming - Demonstrates that continuity alone is insufficient - that rupture and interruption are often necessary for transformation.

Descent 3 - Jonah (35)
Presents Jonah as an EPR Case Study - the narrative illustrates a lived instance of processual transformation, showing how meaning emerges through forced relational realignment.

Descent 4 - Jonah (36)
Identity Across Interruption - shows trajectory shift without identity loss, where continuity is preserved through reconfiguration.

Descent 5 - Jonah (37)
Showcases divine mercy as divine structure - offers a culminating test case: "Does reality collapse inward toward exclusion, or expand outward toward relational coherence?"
In Jonah, divine mercy appears not as exception - but as structural expression.

👉 These final ontology essays provide a forward trajectory
to the conclusion of the reality series.
IX. A Process Cosmology - What Kind of Universe Do We Live In?

How to read the cosmic universe through Embodied Process Realism...

An Awakening Universe - Cosmology and Consciousness (32)
Cosmology IV – Entering a Living Reality

A Cosmic Metaphysic - Of Origins and Futures (33)
Cosmology V – Teleology and the Shape of Becoming

A Universe of Value (34)
Cosmology VI - A Universe of Life, Character and Value

The Universe as Divine Process (35)
Cosmology VII - From a Universe of Value to Its Theology

👉 This is where ontology becomes a cosmological vision.

X. The Sacred Cosmos - A Theology of Reality

How to read the cosmic universe through process theology

The Sacred Cosmos - How God Became God (36)
Theology I – The Evolution of God and Religion

The Sacred Cosmos - The World of Many Gods (37) - unfinished
Theology II – Ancient Cosmologies and Divine Multiplicity

👉 Places theology inside cosmology - not above it.
XI. Ethics & Culture - A Lived Reality

How to live out processual reality as it is in itself...

Truth as Horizon - Responding to Truth Cultures (38)
Ethics I – On Faith, Scripture, and the Refusal of Certainty

A Processual View of Cultures in Process (39)
Ethics II – Cohesion in a Fragmenting Age

A Processual View of Regenerative Civilizations (40)
Ethics III – Toward Sustainable Futures

A Processual View of a Relational Horizon (41)
Ethics IV – Living Within Processual Reality

👉 This is the lived consequence of EPR and concludes
our exploration in developing a grammar for reality...

Illustrated Diagrams

Illustration by R.E. Slater and ChatGPT

Illustration by R.E. Slater and ChatGPT

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Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Index - A List of Essays: Apr - Jun 2026



Index - A List of Essays:
Apr - Jun 2026

listed by date, chronologically, from newest to oldest








* * * * * * * * * *


List of Essays: Apr - Jun 2026
~  listed chronologically by date ~

x
















Between Tomb and Morning (An Easter Prayer)







R.E. Slater - The Last Cartographer (Prequel)


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Friday, March 20, 2026

Index - A Process Cosmology


Index - A Process Cosmology

If reality itself is processual, then religion must be understood
as emerging from within that same process.
- R.E. Slater

Statement
The Metaphysics of a Relational Cosmology (Essays 1-2) requires an Ontology of Being (Essay 3) and Axiology of Value (Essay 3) that is Anchored in a Theology of the Divine (Essay 4). This is what is meant when developing a (Whiteheadian) Process Philosophy and Theology as the necessary completion of a processual cosmogeny when examining what reality is from a processual perspective.
Restatement
We live in an Awakening Universe (Panrelational and Panexperiential Origins). One with a Cosmic Consciousness (Panpsychism) whose relational character is seen in its reflective fields of Value (Ethics) - all of which is composed in the Lure of the Divine (Panentheism). This is what is meant by a process-based universe set within a process-based reality as it works itself out in the Life of the Divine.

The Metaphysics of Reality and Cosmology
  • What is reality?
  • What kind of universe do we live in?
  • Is the cosmos static or evolving?
  • How do consciousness, matter, and time interact?
A Processual Exploration of the Universe
To investigate the nature of reality through the lenses of science, philosophy, and theology, and thereby provide a philosophical foundation to the theology of the universe.
  • process metaphysics
  • quantum fields and cosmic harmonics
  • consciousness and relational existence
  • divine participation in an evolving universe
  • panpsychism and panentheism
  • cosmological emergence and creative novelty

Reality and Cosmology Series
A Processual Exploration of the Universe

Complete Index Listings:

I. Orientation - Asking the Question of Reality
II. The Metaphysical Question - What Is Reality?
III. What Kind of Reality Do We Live In?
IV. Ontology I - The Ontological Structure of Reality
V. Ontology II - Cosmology and the Physical Universe
VI. Ontology III - Consciousness and Experience
VII. Ontology IV - Life, Evolution, and Meaning
VIII. Ontology V - Identity, Value, and Directionality
  • The Ontology of Identity in a Relational Universe (27)
  • Identity Across Becoming in a Relational Universe (28) (forthcoming)
  • The Emergence of Value in a Relational Universe (29) (forthcoming)
  • Open Teleology in a Relational Universe (30) (forthcoming)
  • Testing Reality (31) (planned)
IX. A Process Cosmology - What Kind of Universe Do We Live In?
X. The Sacred Cosmos - A Theology of Reality
XI. Ethics & Culture - A Lived Reality


Essays on Process Ontology and Theology
Essays on Process Teleology

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