Panentheism (Greek language words: ''pan''=all, ''en''=in and ''Theos''=God; "God-in-all") is the view that God is immanent within all Creation (theology) or that God is the animating force behind the universe. Unlike pantheism, panentheism does not mean that the universe is all God or that God contains the universe inside himself. In panentheism, God maintains a transcendent character, and is viewed as both the creator and the original source of universal morality. The term is closely associated with the Logos of Hellenistic philosophy in the works of Herakleitos, which pervades the cosmos and whereby all things were made. == Panentheism in Christianity == The Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy#Oriental Orthodox Communion Churches have a doctrine called panentheism to describe the relationship between the Uncreated (God, who is omnipotent, eternal, and constant) and His creation that bears surface similarities with the panentheism described above but maintains a critical distinction. Most specifically, these Churches teach that God is not the "watchmaker God" of the Western European Enlightenment. Likewise, they teach that God is not the "stage magician God" who only shows up when performing miracles. Instead, the teaching of both these Churches is that God is not merely necessary to have created the universe, but that His active presence is necessary in some way for every bit of creation, from smallest to greatest, to continue to exist ''at all''. That is, God's Energies of God maintain all things and all beings, even if those beings have explicitly rejected Him. His love of creation is such that he will not withdraw His presence, which would be the ultimate form of slaughter, not merely imposing death but ending existence, altogether. By this token, the entirety of creation is sanctified, and thus no part of creation can be considered innately evil except as a result, direct or indirect, of the Fall of man or similar active rebellion against God. This Orthodox panentheism is distinct from the "hardcore" panentheism described above in that it maintains an ontological gulf between the created and the Uncreated. Creation is not "part of" God, and God is still distinct from creation; however, God is "within" all creation, thus the Orthodox parsing of the word is "pan-entheism" (God indwells in all things) and not "panen-theism" (All things are within/part of God but God is more than the sum of all things). Process theology and Creation Spirituality, two minority Christian views, also encorporate a panentheistic worldview. == Panentheism in Judaism == When Hasidic Judaism Orthodox Jews first developed as a movement and a theology, their theology was somewhat panentheistic, even though they themselves did not use this word. More strictly, since this doctrine states that the universe is God yet God is more than the universe, it is a type of pantheism. Non-Hasidic Orthodox Jews viewed this theology as heretical. However, after the schism between Hasidic and non-Hasidic Orthodox Jews closed in the mid 1800s, panentheism became an accepted way of thinking in Orthodox Jewish theology. While not the mainstream point of view, panentheism has become more popular in the non-Orthodox Jewish denominations like Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism through the writings of rabbis like Abraham Joshua Heschel, Arthur Green, Wayne Dosick and Lawrence Kushner. == Opposing views == Some branches of Gnosticism hold the inverse idea of panentheism: they regard matter as evil and ultimately flawed, and thus not a part of God. This rigid dualism is seen most clearly in the teachings of Manichaeism. Gnosticism claims that matter came about through emanationism of the supreme being, and to some this event is held to be more of an accident than of being on purpose. To other Gnostics, the emanations are akin to the Sephirah of the Kabbalists - description of the manifestation of God through a complex system of reality. ==See also== *Creation Spirituality *Pandeism *Process Theology ==External link== *[http://ceh.kitoba.com/topics/panentheism.html Panentheism and Christian Existential Humanism] Eastern Orthodoxy Judaism Oriental Orthodoxy Panentheism
Questions for someone knowledgable to answer about panentheism - Who 'invented' it? When? Where? Why? How did it spread? : This way of thinkjing about God has been around for many centuries, if not milennia. I know that it has existed in the Kabbalah (esoteric Jewish mysticism) for nearly a milennia. However, I believe that the formal name for this view of God wasn't invented by someone until the early 1800s. user:RK > Is it a common/popular belief today? : Many Chasidic Orthodox Jews, and many Conservative and Reform Jews, have views of God that are basically panentheistic, even if they themselves don't use this formal philosophical term. This view of God is mainstream among those who adhere to process theology and process philosophy. user:RK Was it common/popular at any other stage in history? If possible - are there any specific fact/figures/dates that should go with this entry? :Panentheism is the classical Christian view over Supernatural Theism. Supernatural Theism is a commonly used way of viewing God as a commander living "out there". Borg discusses Supernatural Theism as something he was taught as a young boy in Sunday school which later turned him into an atheist. He later discovered Panentheism which "made sense" and he regained his relationship with God. Yes, it goes back to at least the Ancient Aryans of Northern India, long before the Kabbalah, within their sacred Sanskrit writings of the Vedas, Upanishads, and within the B. Gita. See cosmotheism which term goes back to at least Ancient Egyptian-Greek times, and which idea may have also been transmitted from Ancient Aryan India. ---- Just a note: I moved the contrast/link to Pantheism up to the top because the definition here read like a response to something else which was left unspecified until the very end of the article, which left me a bit confused. --User:Brion VIBBER 22:11 Aug 18, 2002 (PDT) ---- I have greatly expanded the "Panentheism in Christianity" section, outlining the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox doctrine of panentheism. Evidently, it looks like a single term manages to describe two very different things.User:Dogface 18:35, 12 May 2004 (UTC) ---- Should the pandeism section removed be added back??? User:Falphin 02:41, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Monotheism
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Words begining with Panentheism:
Panentheism
Panentheism
Panentheism
Panentheism
Panentheism (Greek language words: ''pan''=all, ''en''=in and ''Theos''=God; "God-in-all") is the view that God is immanent within all Creation (theology) or that God is the animating force behind the universe. Unlike pantheism, panentheism does not mean that the universe is all God or that God contains the universe inside himself. In panentheism, God maintains a transcendent character, and is viewed as both the creator and the original source of universal morality. The term is closely associated with the Logos of Hellenistic philosophy in the works of Herakleitos, which pervades the cosmos and whereby all things were made. == Panentheism in Christianity == The Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy#Oriental Orthodox Communion Churches have a doctrine called panentheism to describe the relationship between the Uncreated (God, who is omnipotent, eternal, and constant) and His creation that bears surface similarities with the panentheism described above but maintains a critical distinction. Most specifically, these Churches teach that God is not the "watchmaker God" of the Western European Enlightenment. Likewise, they teach that God is not the "stage magician God" who only shows up when performing miracles. Instead, the teaching of both these Churches is that God is not merely necessary to have created the universe, but that His active presence is necessary in some way for every bit of creation, from smallest to greatest, to continue to exist ''at all''. That is, God's Energies of God maintain all things and all beings, even if those beings have explicitly rejected Him. His love of creation is such that he will not withdraw His presence, which would be the ultimate form of slaughter, not merely imposing death but ending existence, altogether. By this token, the entirety of creation is sanctified, and thus no part of creation can be considered innately evil except as a result, direct or indirect, of the Fall of man or similar active rebellion against God. This Orthodox panentheism is distinct from the "hardcore" panentheism described above in that it maintains an ontological gulf between the created and the Uncreated. Creation is not "part of" God, and God is still distinct from creation; however, God is "within" all creation, thus the Orthodox parsing of the word is "pan-entheism" (God indwells in all things) and not "panen-theism" (All things are within/part of God but God is more than the sum of all things). Process theology and Creation Spirituality, two minority Christian views, also encorporate a panentheistic worldview. == Panentheism in Judaism == When Hasidic Judaism Orthodox Jews first developed as a movement and a theology, their theology was somewhat panentheistic, even though they themselves did not use this word. More strictly, since this doctrine states that the universe is God yet God is more than the universe, it is a type of pantheism. Non-Hasidic Orthodox Jews viewed this theology as heretical. However, after the schism between Hasidic and non-Hasidic Orthodox Jews closed in the mid 1800s, panentheism became an accepted way of thinking in Orthodox Jewish theology. While not the mainstream point of view, panentheism has become more popular in the non-Orthodox Jewish denominations like Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism through the writings of rabbis like Abraham Joshua Heschel, Arthur Green, Wayne Dosick and Lawrence Kushner. == Opposing views == Some branches of Gnosticism hold the inverse idea of panentheism: they regard matter as evil and ultimately flawed, and thus not a part of God. This rigid dualism is seen most clearly in the teachings of Manichaeism. Gnosticism claims that matter came about through emanationism of the supreme being, and to some this event is held to be more of an accident than of being on purpose. To other Gnostics, the emanations are akin to the Sephirah of the Kabbalists - description of the manifestation of God through a complex system of reality. ==See also== *Creation Spirituality *Pandeism *Process Theology ==External link== *[http://ceh.kitoba.com/topics/panentheism.html Panentheism and Christian Existential Humanism] Eastern Orthodoxy Judaism Oriental Orthodoxy Panentheism
Panentheism
Questions for someone knowledgable to answer about panentheism - Who 'invented' it? When? Where? Why? How did it spread? : This way of thinkjing about God has been around for many centuries, if not milennia. I know that it has existed in the Kabbalah (esoteric Jewish mysticism) for nearly a milennia. However, I believe that the formal name for this view of God wasn't invented by someone until the early 1800s. user:RK > Is it a common/popular belief today? : Many Chasidic Orthodox Jews, and many Conservative and Reform Jews, have views of God that are basically panentheistic, even if they themselves don't use this formal philosophical term. This view of God is mainstream among those who adhere to process theology and process philosophy. user:RK Was it common/popular at any other stage in history? If possible - are there any specific fact/figures/dates that should go with this entry? :Panentheism is the classical Christian view over Supernatural Theism. Supernatural Theism is a commonly used way of viewing God as a commander living "out there". Borg discusses Supernatural Theism as something he was taught as a young boy in Sunday school which later turned him into an atheist. He later discovered Panentheism which "made sense" and he regained his relationship with God. Yes, it goes back to at least the Ancient Aryans of Northern India, long before the Kabbalah, within their sacred Sanskrit writings of the Vedas, Upanishads, and within the B. Gita. See cosmotheism which term goes back to at least Ancient Egyptian-Greek times, and which idea may have also been transmitted from Ancient Aryan India. ---- Just a note: I moved the contrast/link to Pantheism up to the top because the definition here read like a response to something else which was left unspecified until the very end of the article, which left me a bit confused. --User:Brion VIBBER 22:11 Aug 18, 2002 (PDT) ---- I have greatly expanded the "Panentheism in Christianity" section, outlining the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox doctrine of panentheism. Evidently, it looks like a single term manages to describe two very different things.User:Dogface 18:35, 12 May 2004 (UTC) ---- Should the pandeism section removed be added back??? User:Falphin 02:41, 2 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Panentheism
Monotheism
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PA | PB | PC | PD | PE | PF | PG | PH | PI | PJ | PK | PL | PM | PN | PO | PR | PS | PT | PU | PW | PX | PY | PZ |Words begining with Panentheism:
Panentheism
Panentheism
Panentheism
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