Louisville Process Theology Network

Substance and Process

Aug 25, 2008

The August issue of The Friends Journal includes an interesting article which asks the provocative question ?“Are You Amish??” Into the body of the piece, Max L. Carter also asks ?“Are we Baptist? Are we Unitarian??” See www.friendsjournal.org.

In other words, who and what are we? The Society of Friends is moving in variety of directions nowadays. Some are traditional evangelicals. Others liberal. Some Christian. Others universalist. The substance or substantive beliefs of Quakerism are getting spread out far and wide. It?’s getting hard to define it in so many words. Some would say the Unitarian Universalists have much the same problem.

On the other hand, the Amish appear to be very certain of the substance of their religion and they put it one display for all to see everyday. Too much substance, perhaps? Does the Society of Friends have too little? At least, we?’d probably agree that religion needs substance as much as it needs process.

Meanwhile, process theologians are seeking a better understanding our substantive reality in their efforts to reconcile religion with science. They apply both the reasoning of scientific method and the discernment of faith because they recognize that ?“perfect knowledge?’?’ does not exist. Maybe it?’s not supposed to exist.

Many of the decisions we face in our lives are based more on faith in our values than scientific facts. What we need is a ?“religious faith that has legs.?”