panenteismissä

Panenteism is a philosophical and theological concept that attempts to reconcile the concept of a supreme being with the existence of a universe that exhibits a multitude of entities and forces.

In the opposition to traditional theism, which posits God as a separate entity from the world, panenteism proposes that God is both the immanent and transcendent source of the universe. This perspective is often characterized as a non-dualism, in which God is essentially identical with the universe, or in a more nuanced view, God is the ultimate ground and content of the universe, with the latter being only an incomplete, partial, or implicit manifestation of the former.

The term "panentheism" (from Greek words "pan" - all, "en" - in, and "theos" - God) was first coined by the German philosopher Charles Hartshorne to describe this theological position. Panentheism often emphasizes the idea that God's being is not confined within the bounds of the universe, but it is also not entirely separated from it. The universe, in this view, is no longer seen as a creation of God, but rather as an expression or modality of the divine.

A key aspect of panentheism is its rejection of the idea of an isolated, independent non-divine world governed entirely by rational or deterministic laws. Instead, it suggests that the universe is, at core, a manifestation of divinity, characterized by a unity of purposes and holy wisdom. This metaphysics pushes some panentheists to make various innovative theological assessments, such as conceiving divinity as deeply, intimately present, within each universe system throughout all existence.