In our first installment, we established the radical metaphysical premise of Process Philosophy: pretty much everyone assumes the world is made up of enduring objects, and that these objects are fundamentally real. However, in the system developed by Alfred North Whitehead, objects are not the final real things. Instead, it is the momentary, perishing units called Actual Occasions that possess ultimate reality. Everything we commonly think of as being a stable object—from a mountain to a human mind—is viewed as a Society of these actual occasions. This fundamental shift from a static world of substances to a dynamic world of events and becoming has profound implications, nowhere more so than in theology, where the nature of God must be reimagined from the ground up.
The first point of divergence is the most shocking: Process Theology fundamentally rejects the traditional, static conception of God, especially as held in much of Evangelical and classical theology. The traditional God is defined by immutability (He cannot change) and omnipotence (He has absolute, total power over every event). But if the universe is truly dynamic, then God cannot be an exception. This is because Process Philosophy entails a form of panexperientialism: every fundamental unit of reality, the Actual Occasion, is a momentary drop of experience, and all objects are Societies of these experiencing occasions. This means a human is a complex, hierarchical organization—a multitude of societies (atoms, cells, molecules) all coordinating under a Dominant Nexus (the mind). If reality itself is made of experience, then the ultimate Actual Entity, God, must also be a being who changes, experiences, and participates in the world. This means the Process God is not a fixed King ruling from outside of time, but a relational companion who literally feels the joy and suffering of every moment in the universe.
To fully grasp this revolution, it helps to understand the theologian behind it. Alfred North Whitehead was deeply rooted in the Christian tradition. His father was an Anglican pastor, and while Whitehead’s own faith evolved dramatically throughout his life, he consistently identified as a Christian who took religious belief seriously. However, as one of the great mathematicians and philosophers of science of his era (co-authoring Principia Mathematica with Bertrand Russell), he concluded that the traditional Christian concept of God—derived from Aristotle’s Unmoved Mover and formalized as the unchanging, transcendent Substance—was metaphysically incoherent and entirely incompatible with modern physics. The universe, as described by Quantum Mechanics and relativity, is fundamentally a domain of uncertainty, relationality, and dynamic change—not static, predictable objects. For Whitehead, Process Theology was not an effort to dismantle faith, but to rescue it by providing a concept of God that was rationally defensible and fully engaged with the dynamic, scientific universe.
To resolve the apparent contradiction of a God who must be both stable (the source of order) and dynamic (the experiencer of the world), Process Theology asserts that God is a single, complex Actual Entity possessing a dual nature. First is God’s Primordial Nature. This is God’s unchanging mental pole: it is the realm of eternal possibilities and logical consistency. The Primordial Nature is the source of all novel ideas and ideal forms, luring every actual occasion toward its “best possible next step” through gentle persuasion, never coercion. Second is God’s Consequent Nature. This is God’s changing physical pole, which is constantly growing and evolving because it literally prehends (takes account of) every single actual occasion that perishes in the universe. This ensures that God is not merely static potential, but the perfect, ever-expanding memory of the entire cosmic process—a fellow-sufferer who truly understands the joy, pain, and history of the world.
If the human being is ultimately a Society of Actual Occasions—a persistent pattern of fleeting experiences—then the notion of a single, non-material Substance Soul that detaches from the body at death is metaphysically incoherent in the Process system. The traditional idea of a static, eternal heaven is also rendered impossible, as existence itself is fundamentally dynamic change. So, where does human value and immortality reside? Process Theology answers that our genuine immortality lies not in a separate soul, but in God’s Consequent Nature. Every experience, feeling, and decision made by every actual occasion in the universe is objectively immortalized as part of God’s perfect, ever-expanding memory. Our influence and value are not lost; they are eternally preserved in the divine life, ensuring that nothing meaningful ever truly perishes.
Beyond its structural coherence, Process Theology offers compelling answers to deep spiritual and ethical problems that often trouble traditional Christianity. It is crucial to note that these satisfying answers were not Whitehead’s deliberate goal; his primary aim was to replace the scientifically obsolete Aristotelian metaphysics. However, by successfully creating a dynamic metaphysics, Process Theology naturally resolves major issues. The most critical is the Problem of Evil: God is not omnipotent in the coercive sense and cannot force every Actual Occasion to choose good. Evil is a necessary byproduct of creation’s freedom when it resists God’s persuasive Lure toward greater harmony. This framework also allows believers to critique ethically ambiguous biblical passages. For instance, the Old Testament regulated practices like slavery (Exodus 21:2–7) because God had to work within the “hardness of heart” of human culture. This idea is explicitly affirmed by Jesus when discussing marriage and divorce, stating that the Mosaic Law permitted divorce “because of your hardness of heart” (Matthew 19:8)—implying that the Law was a cultural compromise, not God’s perfect, eternal will. The Lure in action is revealed when Jesus consistently and radically affirms the personhood of women and the marginalized. In an era when women and enslaved people were often treated as property, Jesus engaged them as theological discussion partners and moral agents, modeling the true ideal of relational equality. By affirming their dignity and personhood, Jesus embodied God’s gentle persuasion toward a higher ethical reality, showing that genuine revelation is always a developmental process that respects human freedom while constantly urging us toward justice.
Ultimately, taking Process Theology seriously transforms one’s entire religious and moral life. This is where the concept of the Lure comes into play: God’s influence is never a command or a coercive force, but a gentle, ceaseless pull—an ever-present persuasion originating from the Primordial Nature that guides every actual occasion toward its most valuable and creative outcome. This is where originality and creativity become central to morality. Since every Actual Occasion makes a genuine choice about how to integrate its past experiences, the possibility for novelty is baked into the structure of reality. God does not demand obedience; He lures creation toward novel goodness. To live a life based on Process Theology is to recognize that we are co-creators with God in every moment. We are morally responsible for how we respond to that Lure, knowing that our actions are not lost but are eternally woven into the very being of God’s Consequent Nature. By choosing creative novelty, beauty, and justice, we are literally enriching the divine life, partnering with the fellow-sufferer who understands, and giving meaning to the fleeting nature of our own existence.
📚 Recommended Reading on Process Theology
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links below are Amazon Associate links, and I will earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through these links. This commission comes at no extra cost to you. I recommend these books because I believe they are truly helpful and valuable, not because of the small commissions I may receive. Your support helps keep this site running.
If the ideas of a relational God and co-creation resonate with you, the following texts are highly recommended for delving deeper into this philosophical system:
- Whitehead, Alfred North. Process and Reality (1929). This is the foundational, though highly dense, work of Process Philosophy. It lays out the entire metaphysical system of Actual Occasions, Prehensions, and the dual nature of God.
- Cobb, John B., Jr. and Griffin, David Ray. Process Theology: An Introductory Exposition (1976). This is the essential entry point. It takes Whitehead’s complex philosophy and clearly applies it to traditional theological problems like the Problem of Evil, making it the most accessible text for beginners.
- Hartshorne, Charles. Man’s Vision of God and the Logic of Theism (1941). Hartshorne was the premier theological interpreter of Whitehead, and this work systematically lays out the concept of dipolar theism (God’s dual nature) and defends it logically.
- Griffin, David Ray. God, Power, and Evil: A Process Theodicy (1976). If you are primarily interested in the Problem of Evil, this book is the definitive Process answer, arguing that God’s power is persuasive, not coercive.