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    Process theologians (Whitehead, Hartshorne) argue that a ... — Carmelics
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    Challenges→God must be immutable (harboring no unrealized potentialities).

    Process theologians (Whitehead, Hartshorne) argue that a God capable of genuine responsiveness to the world is greater than one who is not, invoking a revised perfect-being theology.

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    1 reason for
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    Reasons For

    1 perspective
    Reason for
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    • 1.Genuine responsiveness requires being affected by external events; a God unmoved by creation seems indifferent to it.
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    • 2.Greater power includes the ability to voluntarily limit oneself; omnipotence without self-limitation is paradoxically constrained.
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    • 3.A God who learns from creation exhibits richer relational capacities than one with static omniscience.
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    Reasons Against

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    Reason against
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    • 1.Susceptibility to external influence entails dependence on others; perfect being theology traditionally requires complete self-sufficiency.
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    • 2.If God genuinely responds to unforeseen events, divine omniscience is compromised, undermining classical perfection attributes.
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    • 3.Redefining perfection to include responsiveness abandons the concept rather than revising it, obscuring rather than resolving tensions.
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    Key Terms

    Genuine responsiveness(the key quality these theologians believe makes God greater)
    The ability to truly react to and be affected by what happens around you, rather than just ignoring or being unaffected by external events.
    Hartshorne(philosopher reference)
    Charles Hartshorne (1897-2000), an American philosopher who expanded on Whitehead's ideas and argued that God is affected by what happens in the world, not completely removed from it.
    Perfect-being theology(as a theological framework)
    The religious belief that God is all-powerful, all-knowing, and completely good—possessing every positive quality without limitation.
    Process theology(the main philosophical movement discussed in the statement)
    A modern approach to thinking about God that says God changes and responds to what happens in the world, rather than being completely unchanging and all-controlling.
    Whitehead
    A Whitehead is most commonly **Alfred North Whitehead** (1861-1947), a British mathematician and philosopher who fundamentally shaped modern thought. He's famous for developing process philosophy, the idea that reality is made up of constantly changing events and relationships rather than static objects, and for co-writing an influential mathematics textbook called *Principia Mathematica*. His work bridges mathematics, logic, and philosophy, making him important for understanding how we think about everything from physics to metaphysics.

    Connections

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    Divine Attributes1 linked

    Related

    A God who learns from creation exhibits richer relational capacities than one wi...Genuine responsiveness requires being affected by external events; a God unmoved...God must be immutable (harboring no unrealized potentialities).Greater power includes the ability to voluntarily limit oneself; omnipotence wit...

    Details

    Type
    claim
    Perspectives
    2 (1 for, 1 against)
    Edits
    1 edit
    +3 moreShow less
    If God genuinely responds to unforeseen events, divine omniscience is compromise...Redefining perfection to include responsiveness abandons the concept rather than...Susceptibility to external influence entails dependence on others; perfect being...