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Hartshorne, Charles (b. 1897)
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North American process theologian. A teacher of philosophy at Chicago, Emery and Texas, he developed the metaphysical and philosophical thought of A.N. Whitehead into a full P rocess theology , focusing especially on God's nature and activity. In The Divine Relativity of 1948, he argues that a belief that the divine existence is both defined by and dependent on human reality is not incompatible with a belief in divine perfection. In Anselm's Discovery: A Re-examination of the Ontological Proof for God's Existence of 1965 and The Logic of Perfection of 1962 he argues for the a priori truth of the existence of God. For him, God's nature is not immutable, rather endlessly adaptable and changeable. His omniscience does not imply foreknowledge of events, for the future consists not of fixed actualities but of possibilities. Even the laws of nature are not fixed, but dependent on divine decisions. Change, not permanence, is the underlying principle of reality. ‘God’ is not necessarily a single entity, but a series of actual ‘occasions’ in which the divine takes concrete existence. 1978 : Becoming and Being: The Doctrine of God in Charles Hartshorne and Karl Barth . Oxford and New York . 1967 : The Concrete God: A New Beginning for Theology: The Thought of Charles Hartshorne . Indianapolis . 1985 : Charles Hartshorne and the Existence of God . Albany , NY . ... log in or subscribe to read full text
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