On Pantheism

Compiled by Daryl E. Witmer WHAT IS PANTHEISM? God = All and All = God "Pantheism \Pan' theism\, n. [Pan- + theism.] Any doctrine, philosophy, or religious practice that holds the universe [cosmos], taken or conceived of as the totality of forces and/or matter, is synonymous with the theological principle of God." -Universal Pantheist Society web site "Pantheists are persons who derive their fundamental religious experience through their personal relation-ship with the Universe." -The Universal Pantheist Society ISN'T PANTHEISM OLD AND OBSOLETE? "The ancient faith of Pantheism is experiencing a modern resurrection. Pantheism, never a dogmatically defined philosophy, has evolved into a meaningful path for modern life. Its tenets are simple: the Universe is divine, the Earth is sacred." -The Universal Pantheist Society "Do you believe that humans should be a part of Nature, rather than set above it? Are you skeptical about a God separate from, and outside, the universe? If you can answer yes to all of these questions, then you have pantheistic leanings." -World Pantheist Movement "I went to an array of different denomination churches as a child and a teen but felt no connection with their beliefs. Right from being very small I remember feeling a strong spiritual connection to nature. My own personal belief is that God and Nature are one, but I never expressed it openly, fearing ridicule. Now I know my feelings are shared." -Sharon Y. in South Carolina WHAT DOES PANTHEISM TEACH? "All is God. And because all is God, there is no God..." -Benjamin Creme in The Reappearance of the Christ and the Masters of Wisdom, ©1980 Tara Press "Its central tenet is that the universe is the ultimate reality, the ultimate object of reverence, while nature is a sacred part of the totality. Scientific pantheism is some-times called Sci-Pan." -World Pantheist Movement "We must relate to the universe with humility, awe, reverence, celebration and the search for deeper under-standing - in other words, in many of the ways that believers relate to their God." -World Pantheist Movement IS THERE A PROBLEM WITH PANTHEISM? "Pantheism is built around a contradiction... The primary contradiction of pantheism is that the two descriptions 'world' (finite) and 'God' (infinite) are irreconcilably mutually exclusive." -Winfried Corduan in No Doubt About It, ©1997 Broadman & Holman "Pantheism is a creed...hopelessly behind the times. Once, before creation, it would have been true to say that everything was God. But [then] God created: He caused all things to be other than Himself." -C.S. Lewis in The Problem of Pain "God is also portrayed in the Bible as a living God (Daniel 6:26; I Timothy 3:15; I Timothy 4:10; Hebrews 10:31) and is personally distinct from other minds. He is capable of having interpersonal relationships (Exodus 2:24; Leviticus 19:1; Hebrews 4:13), is omniscient (I John 3:20), judges (Psalm 50:6), loves (Proverbs 3:12; Jeremiah 31:3), and has a will (I John 2:17). In sharp contrast to the pantheistic deity connected with the New Age Movement, we see through Scripture that God is an intelligent, compassionate, and personal being." -Richard Albanes, in Defending the Faith, ©1997 Baker Books: "Pantheism, which claims no distinctions within nature...devalues life by deifying nature." -David McDowell in West of Eden, ©1993 Read Acts 17:23-28; Psalm 33:13-14; Isaiah 37:16; 40:22; 42:5; 44:24 Whale manure and rotten eggs are part of the universe - does this make them God? Are we therefore going to worship whale manure and rotten eggs? How could the impersonal create matter or even the idea of matter? How could personality arise from the impersonal? "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." -Genesis 1:1; "For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." -Romans 1:25 "Pantheists believe that there is one absolute, unchanging reality (God). They also believe that we can come to realize that we are God. However, if I come to realize something, then I have changed. But God cannot change. Therefore, anyone who 'comes to realize that he is God' isn't! The unchanging God always knew that He is God." -Geisler & Brooks in When Skeptics Ask, ©1990 Victor