Download PDF Panentheism--The Other God of the Philosophers: From Plato to the Present, by John W. Cooper
Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper. Let's read! We will commonly figure out this sentence all over. When still being a childrens, mom used to buy us to consistently read, so did the teacher. Some e-books Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper are totally read in a week as well as we require the responsibility to support reading Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper Just what about now? Do you still love reading? Is reading just for you who have responsibility? Never! We right here supply you a brand-new publication entitled Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper to check out.
Panentheism--The Other God of the Philosophers: From Plato to the Present, by John W. Cooper
Download PDF Panentheism--The Other God of the Philosophers: From Plato to the Present, by John W. Cooper
Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper. Provide us 5 minutes and we will certainly reveal you the most effective book to review today. This is it, the Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper that will certainly be your best selection for better reading book. Your five times will certainly not invest wasted by reading this site. You could take guide as a resource making far better principle. Referring guides Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper that can be situated with your requirements is sometime difficult. However here, this is so easy. You could locate the very best thing of book Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper that you can review.
Why must be book Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper Book is one of the simple sources to seek. By obtaining the author as well as theme to get, you can discover many titles that available their information to get. As this Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper, the impressive book Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper will certainly provide you exactly what you need to cover the task deadline. As well as why should remain in this website? We will certainly ask initially, have you much more times to go with shopping guides and also look for the referred book Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper in book shop? Many people could not have enough time to find it.
Thus, this site provides for you to cover your problem. We reveal you some referred publications Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper in all types as well as motifs. From typical writer to the renowned one, they are all covered to provide in this website. This Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper is you're looked for book; you just need to go to the web link page to receive this internet site and then go with downloading and install. It will not take often times to get one publication Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper It will depend upon your net link. Just purchase and also download the soft documents of this book Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper
It is so very easy, right? Why do not you try it? In this site, you could likewise locate other titles of the Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper book collections that could have the ability to assist you finding the very best remedy of your task. Reading this publication Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper in soft file will additionally reduce you to get the resource easily. You could not bring for those books to someplace you go. Just with the device that always be with your almost everywhere, you could read this book Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper So, it will certainly be so swiftly to finish reading this Panentheism--The Other God Of The Philosophers: From Plato To The Present, By John W. Cooper
Panentheism has gained popularity among contemporary thinkers. This belief system explains that "all is in God"; as a soul is related to a body, so God is related to the world. In Panentheism--The Other God of the Philosophers, philosopher and theologian John Cooper traces the growth and evolution of this intricate theology from Plotinus to Alfred North Whitehead to the present.
This landmark book--the first complete history of panentheism written in English--explores the subject through the lens of various thinkers, such as Plato, Jürgen Moltmann, Paul Tillich, Wolfhart Pannenberg, and Charles Hartshorne, and discusses how panentheism has influenced liberation, feminist, and ecological theologies. Cooper not only sketches the evolution of panentheism but also critiques it; ultimately, he offers a defense of classical theism. This book is for readers who care deeply about theology and think seriously about their faith.
- Sales Rank: #1077663 in eBooks
- Published on: 2006-11-01
- Released on: 2006-11-01
- Format: Kindle eBook
From the Inside Flap
The God of classical theism is often referred to as "the God of the philosophers." Today, however, the contemporary theological landscape has shifted in the direction of "the other god of the philosophers": panentheism. This intricate and complex worldview literally means that "all is in God."
While panentheism is not a new theological system, it has experienced a renaissance, especially among thinkers who study the intersection of science and religion. Philosopher and theologian John Cooper's Panentheism--The Other God of the Philosophers is the first text of its kind written in English. The author traces the development and proliferation of panentheism from Plato to Alfred North Whitehead and beyond. Along the way, Cooper examines the panentheism of several contemporary thinkers such as Jürgen Moltmann, Wolfhart Pannenberg, Philip Clayton, and John Polkinghorne. Furthermore, he discusses how panentheism has influenced liberation, feminist, and ecological theologies. The discussion also examines the so-called open view of God to consider whether this view is panentheistic.
The concluding chapter offers a judicious analysis of panentheism, as Cooper explains his commitment to a modified classical theism over panentheism. He believes that classical theism is more adequate than panentheism for "providing a biblically faithful, philosophically sound articulation of Christian theology, salvation history, and the Christian worldview." While he ultimately sides with classical theism, Cooper's aim throughout is to provide a fair, "accurate, and empathetic overview of panentheism that is helpful for all readers, including panentheists."
From the Back Cover
An Indispensable Resource for Christian Intellectuals Today
"Here, finally, is a major evangelical response to panentheism, perhaps the most significant movement in twentieth-century theology. John Cooper brings impressive scholarship, masterful summaries, and measured judgments to his topic. One need not agree with his overall evaluation to find this volume an indispensable resource for Christian intellectuals today."--Philip Clayton, Ingraham Professor of Theology, Claremont School of Theology
"This is a groundbreaking attempt to demonstrate the philosophical background of much modern Christian theology, to identify its 'natural religion.' Written with the utmost clarity and with quiet passion, it greatly helps to sharpen the differences between classical Christian theism and other views. Though dissenting from panentheism and from the theologies it fosters, John Cooper nevertheless writes with courtesy and good sense, letting the record speak for itself. The book is a model of lucidity and fairmindedness."--Paul Helm, Regent College
"Panentheism is a major movement in theology today. Students, pastors, and teachers will find this book by John Cooper to be a fine historical overview of panentheism. While no one will assent to all of its interpretations, the overall work is both broad and illuminating. The author includes theologians and philosophers who are influenced by panentheism and/or develop some of its themes. The critical chapter at the end of the book should not be overlooked."--Alan G. Padgett, professor of systematic theology, Luther Seminary, and coauthor of Christianity and Western Thought
"An increasing number of Christian philosophers and theologians are expressing a renewed interest in panentheism, and Cooper's book provides an accessible overview of several key historical developments in this 'other' philosophical approach to the God-world relation. Even those who disagree with Cooper's interpretation of particular figures, or with his generally negative assessment of panentheism, will surely appreciate the humility and civility with which he approaches a conversation that is too often characterized by harsh rhetoric rather than careful attention to the nuances of various positions."--LeRon Shults, professor of theology, Agder University, Norway
About the Author
John W. Cooper (PhD, University of Toronto) is professor of philosophical theology at Calvin Theological Seminary. He has written Body, Soul, and Life Everlasting: Anthropology and the Monism-Dualism Debate and Our Father in Heaven: Christian Faith and Inclusive Language for God.
Most helpful customer reviews
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful.
Copmprehensive Survey of Panentheism
By Sabian
Critique rating: 5 stars ***
This book provides a comprehensive, historical survey of panentheism ("all-in-God-ism"). Panentheism is compared with pantheism. In addition, emanationism, dialectical theology, process theology, dipolar theism and trinitarianism are covered. Special attention is given to Teilhard DeChardin's Christocentric panentheism, Tillich's existentialist panentheism, Moltmann's perichoretic panentheism and Pannenberg's panentheistic force field theology. In the final chapter, Cooper explains why he believes classical theism is superior to panentheism.
I recommend this book to anyone who is wishing to gain an introduction to panentheism and how it actually differs from classical theism. I would definitely choose this one over Charles Hartshorne's "Philosophers Speak of God."
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
Informative and respectful, but a bit of a slog to read
By Gregory J. Casteel
I have long considered myself a panentheist, though I don't personally subscribe to any particular "school" of panentheistic thought (such as Neoplatonism or process theology). In my view, panentheism provides the only conception of God that actually makes sense in light of what modern science tells us about the nature of the cosmos, and what rational reflection tells us about the essential qualities that a "God" would have to possess in order to merit the title (or at least the capitalization). All other conceptions of God ring hollow to me for reasons that are far too complex to go into here. Although I am certainly open minded enough entertain other viewpoints, and am always willing to revise my beliefs in light of new evidence, my panentheistic conception of God is the end result of decades of serious reflection on the "God question" -- in which I've carefully weighed the merits of everything from traditional theism to Deism to atheism, and everything in between -- so it would take quite a lot to persuade me to abandon panentheism for some other theological position. I'm more than happy to listen to anyone who is able to present a well-reasoned, respectful argument on the subject; but I don't want to waste my time listening to the sort of simpleminded "Bible thumping" that I've come to expect from evangelical Christians, or the equally simpleminded "Bible bashing" that I've come to expect from atheists. So I have to admit that I was a bit hesitant to read a book about the history of panentheistic thought written by a Calvinist theologian who openly rejects panentheism in favor of a traditional view of the nature of God, based on a literal reading of Scripture and the work of early Christian theologians. While I welcomed the opportunity to revisit a point of view that I had long since rejected, I was worried that this book might present a grossly distorted picture of panentheism, its history, and its advocates in an attempt to unfairly discredit this controversial theological position. I'm glad to say that my fears were totally unfounded. While the author was completely upfront about his own theological position and his rejection of panentheism, he made every effort to be historically accurate and to treat panentheism and its supporters respectfully. If you want to learn about the history of panentheism, don't hesitate to get this book simply because the author is a critic rather than a proponent of panentheism. His criticism of panentheism is confined largely to the first and final chapters of the book. The chapters in between, which cover the history of panentheistic thought from the ancient Greeks to the present day, betray scarcely a hint of the author's personal biases against panentheism. And even in the last chapter, where the author makes his case against panentheism, he does so with respect and humility. While I was not personally swayed by the author's argument, I admired its civility.
This book was written specifically for theology students in order to provide them with a firm grounding in the basic tenets of panentheistic thought as it has developed over time (mainly so they would be well prepared to argue effectively against panentheism, and to defend traditional Christian theology against "process theology" and other panentheistic visions of God). Because it was written for theology students, it might not be well suited for lay readers, unless they have a pretty solid background in philosophy and/or theology. Though it is well written, it can get pretty dense in places; and, if you're not accustomed to the sort of arcane language used in theology and metaphysics, you might find it hard to follow. Given the inherent difficulty of the subject matter, and the need to cite the work of philosophers and theologians whose writings can be rather obscure, I seriously doubt that the author could have made the material all that much clearer even if he were writing for a general audience. But be warned that this is not light reading.
The only substantive complaint I have about this book -- apart from its difficulty -- is that the author's attempts to distinguish panentheism from pantheism often felt rather strained. Now, I'll have to admit that this is a subject that not only invites, but practically demands, hair splitting; and I guess I just prefer to split the hair in a slightly different place than the author does. (Perhaps, for the benefit of those who may not be familiar with these terms, I should point out that "pan-theism" is the belief that "all is God" -- i.e. that God and the cosmos [i.e. the natural world, the material universe, Creation] are actually one and the same: the distinction between the two is semantic rather than ontological -- whereas "pan-en-theism" is the belief that "all is IN God" -- i.e. that the cosmos somehow exists within God, but that God is greater than the cosmos: the two can be thought of as ontologically distinct, but not ontologically separate. This is to be contrasted with traditional theism, which holds that the cosmos exists outside of God: the two are both ontologically distinct and ontologically separate. There's still a lot of debate about the precise nature of the God-cosmos relationship in both pantheism and panentheism, and just how these two views of God differ; so the hair tends to get split in a variety of different ways.) The author labels some thinkers as pantheists who I would regard as panentheists. But, given the vagueness of what many of these thinkers wrote about the nature of God, and given the subtleties of the distinction between pantheism and panentheism, this sort of thing is to be expected. I just found the author's rationale for characterizing one thinker as a panentheist and another as a pantheist to be rather unpersuasive. The criteria he uses for distinguishing panentheism from pantheism seemed somewhat contrived to me. (I won't go into the specifics of how my views on the pantheism/panentheism distinction differ from those of the author, since doing so would involve a lengthy and tedious discussion of semantics.) I'm just not convinced that the author's implicit definition of panentheism is inclusive enough. I'm not even sure that I would meet his criteria for inclusion in the panentheistic camp -- I suspect that he would probably label me a pantheist, even though I firmly reject that label. But this is my only real complaint about the author's treatment of panentheism in his historical survey.
An Amazon book review is not really the most appropriate forum for a lengthy discussion of theology; so, as tempting as it might be, I will refrain from offering my own critique of the various theological viewpoints discussed in this book, except to note that I found just about all of them to be irredeemably flawed in some crucial way -- and that includes the traditional theism defended by the author, as well as the various forms of pantheism and panentheism that he discusses. I'm a panentheist; but that doesn't mean that I agree with the specifics of how various panentheistic philosophers and theologians have worked out their conceptions of God. In fact, the only perspective on the nature of God discussed in this book that I can endorse at all is that of the ancient Greek and Roman Stoics, who the author regards as pantheists rather than panentheists. (I personally have to disagree with the author on this point; but I will concede that ancient Stoic writings about God could be interpreted either way.) I'm not suggesting that Stoicism offers the one-and-only correct perspective on the nature of God; but I personally find the Stoic conception of God to be more reasonable than any other theological position discussed in this book. I'm tempted to say much more about why I found the other theological perspectives so unsatisfactory (in fact, I initially wrote a very lengthy paragraph trying to outline my criticisms in brief, but deleted it when I realized that what I had written was anything but brief); but I think I ought to resist that particular temptation, and wrap up my review.
I'm glad I read this book. It was educational and thought provoking. And, perhaps more importantly, its treatment of the history of panentheism was fair. But I just can't bring myself to give this book a five-star rating. A five-star rating implies a wholehearted recommendation. It's usually reserved for books you genuinely love. Well, I liked this book; but, to be honest, I didn't love it. It might be ideal for advanced theology students; but it's just too abstruse for the casual reader. If you don't already have a pretty strong background in philosophy and/or theology, I can't recommend it at all -- you'll have a hard time making sense of some of the ideas being discussed. I don't mind admitting that my eyes glazed over more than once while reading this book. Is it informative? Yes it is. Is it a pleasure to read? No it is not. Sorry.
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful.
The other God of the philosophers
By Ashtar Command
John W. Cooper's "Panentheism" is intended as a textbook for theology students. The general reader would be put to sleep by it! Personally, I found it quite interesting. But then, I've been a student of comparative religion.
Panentheism is the idea that the world is, in some sense, part of God. In contrast to pantheism, which sees God and the world as virtually identical, panentheism claims that God is nevertheless greater than the world. Theologically, panentheism could therefore be seen as middle position between pantheism and traditional theism. This is most obvious in the versions of panentheism which looks upon God as personal. Such theologians might claim that panentheism is the most reasonable explanation for the vexing idea that God is both transcendent (above the world) and ever present within the world, without ever becoming identical with it. Traditional theists, too, affirm this but the notion is difficult to conceptualize philosophically unless panentheism is postulated.
Or so panentheists would say. Cooper, a traditional theist Calvinist, begs to differ. However, most of his book isn't a polemic against panentheism, but rather a description of various panentheists throughout history, from Plato to Pannenberg. The author makes a distinction between personal and impersonal panentheism, which makes it possible for him to classify Plotinus, Hegel and Bergson as panentheists. Others might perhaps want to classify them as pantheists, since they lacked a personal conception of God. Another important distinction is between panentheists with a basically "static" conception of the divine, and those with a more "evolutionary" conception. Hegel, Schelling, Whitehead and the process theologians clearly belong to the latter category. Another crucial distinction is between those who believe that humans can influence a God-in-evolution, and those who deny this.
The most polemical chapters are 11 and 14. In chapter 11, Cooper argues that Wolfhart Pannenberg is a panentheist, something Pannenberg himself apparently denies. The self-explanatory title of chapter 14 is "Why I am not a panentheist".
I haven't read the entire book - yet. It feels like a encyclopaedia of real or perceived panentheists throughout the ages, from Plato's dialogue "Timaeus" to modern liberation theology. Whitehead is fascinating. Perhaps Cooper could be criticized for casting the net too wide, since his category of panentheism includes such disparate personages as Plotinus, Nicolaus Cusanus, Böhme, Schelling, Hegel, Bergson, Theilhard de Chardin and Pannenberg. A curious oversight is that Franz von Baader isn't mentioned. However, Paul Davies makes a brief guest appearence! (Yes, *that* Paul Davies.)
On the other hand, it's precisely the encyclopedic character of "Panentheism" which makes it a handy reference for students interested in this particular aspect of theology or philosophy.
Incidentally, I'm broadly sympathetic to the other God of the philosophers... ;-)
Panentheism--The Other God of the Philosophers: From Plato to the Present, by John W. Cooper PDF
Panentheism--The Other God of the Philosophers: From Plato to the Present, by John W. Cooper EPub
Panentheism--The Other God of the Philosophers: From Plato to the Present, by John W. Cooper Doc
Panentheism--The Other God of the Philosophers: From Plato to the Present, by John W. Cooper iBooks
Panentheism--The Other God of the Philosophers: From Plato to the Present, by John W. Cooper rtf
Panentheism--The Other God of the Philosophers: From Plato to the Present, by John W. Cooper Mobipocket
Panentheism--The Other God of the Philosophers: From Plato to the Present, by John W. Cooper Kindle
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar