Panentheism

Not to be confused with Pandeism or Pantheism.

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Panentheism (/pæˈnɛnθiɪzəm/;[1] "all in God", from the Greek πᾶν, pân, 'all', ἐν, en, 'in' and Θεός, Theós, 'God')[2] is the belief that the divine intersects every part of the universe and also extends beyond space and time. The term was coined by the German philosopher Karl Krause in 1828 (after reviewing Hindu scripture) to distinguish the ideas of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) and Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling (1775–1854) about the relation of God and the universe from the supposed pantheism of Baruch Spinoza.[2] Unlike pantheism, which holds that the divine and the universe are identical,[3] panentheism maintains an ontological distinction between the divine and the non-divine and the significance of both.

In panentheism, the universal spirit is present everywhere, which at the same time "transcends" all things created. While pantheism asserts that "all is God", panentheism claims that God is greater than the universe. Some versions of panentheism suggest that the universe is nothing more than the manifestation of God. In addition, some forms indicate that the universe is contained within God,[3] like in the Kabbalah concept of tzimtzum. Much of Hindu thought is highly characterized by panentheism and pantheism.[4][5]

  1. ^ "panentheism". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  2. ^ a b John Culp (2013): "Panentheism", in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved 18 March 2014.
  3. ^ a b Erwin Fahlbusch; Geoffrey William Bromiley; David B. Barrett (2005). The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Vol. 4. William B. Eerdmans. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-8028-2416-5.
  4. ^ "Pantheism and Panentheism in non-Western cultures", in: Britannica.
  5. ^ Whiting, Robert. Religions for Today. Stanley Thomes, London 1991, p. viii. ISBN 0-7487-0586-4.