Vi tror på Gud Fader allsmäktig. En studie av Charles Hartshornes processteologi i jämförelse med luthersk teologi

Abstract

Charles Hartshorne (1897-2000) was a religious philosopher. He adopted and developed the cosmologic thinking and concept of God from the philosopher Alfred North Whitehead, he was also influenced by Heidegger, Spinoza and other philosophers. According to Whiteheads religious philosophy Hartshorne claimed that there is a dualistic transcendence within the Godhead. A dualistic transcendence where one unity/transcendence of God is abstract, outside the creation and time and therefore is eternal. The other unity (or transcendence) is inside time and creation and closely in process to it . This is called dualistic transcendence. Two separated parts but very closely connected, one God with dualistic transcendence. The creation is builded with free entities who are inferior to God, the superior power. The entities are free and partly self creating. Hartshorne agreed with Anselm of Canterburys ontological godproof. Who means that the reason why humans think of God is because God must exist. This because God is Being itself, and thinking is a part of being. Non existence is a contradiction. Hartshorne agreed with Anselm so far but also mean that God as the highest being must also be the being who has the most emphatic and most social attributes. He means that the scholastics with Anselm of Canterbury and others were wrong who said that God is eternal, far from the created human beings and therefore also unchangeable, non contingent. He means God is contingent and close to the creation and the most social good and emphatic existence. Therefore God can not be omnipotent because omnipotence, according to Hartshorne, means that God should see and know everything before it actually happens. He suggests that God see into the future longer then humans are able to do but not unlimited. God is able to see as far as it is appropriate. God also let the humans create and decide for themselves. The creation is created/builded with free entities who are able to create, but inferior to Gods creative power. Therefore evil is possible when entities comes to far from Gods altruistic love. God, according to Hartshorne, within Gods social existence tries to influence humans with good alternatives and ideas to work out for the best solutions. He says that this is a powerful way of God because the good ideas is always attractive. The free will of human beings is necessary. Otherwise God would be a tyrant. Therefore Hartshorne means that God is not omnipotent. The protestant reformator Martin Luther does with Hartshorne disagree with the scholastics. But Luther disagrees from a exegetic biblical point of view. He says that the scholastics were unable to describe a merciful God. He also agrees, as far as it appears in the sources for this composition, with Hartshorne that one unity of God is beyond creation. He calls this unity the majesty of God. Another unity of God is active in the creation and act closely with the humans. In this point he agrees with Hartshorne that God does not rule everything that happens but he never puts in question the omnipotence of God. Probably simply because that Hartshorne puts another meaning in the term omnipotence. Luther proceeds from the apostolic creeds in all his thinking and biblical interpretation and therefore never puts in question omnipotence as it appears in the apostolic creeds.