468 - God and the Processes of Reality: Foundations of a Credible Theism

God and the Processes of Reality: Foundations of a Credible Theism
By David A. Pailin
London and New York, Routledge, 1989. 235 pp. $39.95.

David Pailin believes that the fundamental problem for Christian thought, including liberation theologies, is that the credibility of theistic understanding is questioned. His proposal is a metaphysical inquiry by which the notion of God can be related to the processes of reality as known more generally. The dipolar character of all reality lends credibility to a panentheistic view of God. The power and knowledge of God are understood in relation to the reality of that which is not God, following a Whiteheadian view that Pailin believes is closer to actual theistic faith than most traditional theologies. The book closes by laying claim to the "consequent nature of God" to argue, in rather traditional sounding language, that human worth is secured by the love of God for (even) a handicapped child "just because he exists."

Pailin's adaptation of process thought is notable for denying that

469 - God and the Processes of Reality: Foundations of a Credible Theism

God has a specific aim for every event. In this, he seems overly worried about impinging on the freedom of that which is not God. Readers of this journal may find it instructive to relate his discussion of "subjective immortality" to Marjorie Suchocki's End of Evil, reviewed in the April, 1989 issue. But discussion of such "advanced" topics is given a coherent foundation in Pailin's lucid description of the divine attributes.

Paul R. Sponheim
Luther Northwestern Theological Seminary
St. Paul, Minn.