The Coherence of Naturalistic Personal Pantheism

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24204/ejpr.v12i1.2886

Keywords:

pantheism, naturalism, personhood, God

Abstract

This paper examines the coherence of naturalistic personal pantheism (NPP) in an attempt to reconcile pantheism, naturalism, and a personal concept of God. NPP proposes that i) God is identical with the universe, ii) the universe is entirely natural, and iii) God is personal. Several critics of accounts of a God such as this have voiced concerns about a natural — as opposed to a supernatural — God, since a natural God cannot be worship-worthy. In response, I propose a controversial premise — physical primacy — to justify the worship-worthiness of a natural God. Physical primacy maintains that physical existence is a great-making property, therefore a God that exists naturally is greater than a God that exists supernaturally. I maintain that NPP is an attractive alternative to other theisms because it bypasses the pairing problem, presents a worship-worthy concept of God, and boasts ontological simplicity.

Author Biography

Asha Lancaster-Thomas, University of Birmingham

Asha Lancaster-Thomas is a PhD student at the University of Birmingham.

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Published

2020-03-25

How to Cite

Lancaster-Thomas, Asha. 2020. “The Coherence of Naturalistic Personal Pantheism”. European Journal for Philosophy of Religion 12 (1):75-89. https://doi.org/10.24204/ejpr.v12i1.2886.