The Manyness of God

A Tribute to James Nash

Abstract

James Nash shows that Christianity is an evolving religious tradition capable of growing into a more mature, scientifically informed, and ecologically sensitive outlook on life. Christian theologians can help advance this evolution by critiquing problematic aspects of the biblical heritage and by exploring new ways of understanding the heart of Christian doctrine: namely the idea that God is love. Process theology offers a way of understanding divine love which can help Christians and others appreciate its relevance to biodiversity and the creativity of evolution. It proposes that divine love is not an act of manipulating events in the world, but rather of receiving and appreciating manifold forms of life, each of which have intrinsic value and each of which contribute to the greater whole of divine beauty. This perspective enables Christians – and others influenced by Whitehead – to recognize that a healthy life is biophilic in nature: welcoming not hiding from diversity, both ecological and divine.