Adventures in the Spirit: God, World, Divine Action [Paperback]

Philip Clayton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2008

Many theologians have been reconceiving the God-world relation, challenging the separation that underlay too much of Patristic and Scholastic theology. These panentheists affirm a radical indwelling of God within the world and the world within God. During the same period scientists have begun to abandon the reductionist ideology that characterized much of the modern period. Reductionism is being replaced by a new emphasis on emergence: the study of how new structures and entities arise throughout the evolutionary process and how each requires its own>form of explanation.
Surprisingly few theologians have recognized the paradigm shift represented by the convergence of these two important schools of thought. Clayton's pioneering work develops new models of God and the God-world relation in light of panentheism and emergent complexity and models an open-minded Christian theology that still respects tradition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Philip Clayton is Ingraham Professor of Theology at Claremont School of Theology and Professor of Religion and Philosophy at Claremont Graduate University.

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Fortress Press (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800663187
• ISBN-13: 978-0800663186
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #995,586 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Philip Clayton holds a triple appointment at Claremont: in the department of Religion, the department of Philosophy, and as Ingraham Professor at Claremont School of Theology. His previous teaching posts include Williams College and the California State University; he has also held invited guest professorships at the University of Munich (2 years), the University of Cambridge, and Harvard Divinity School (also two years).

Professor Clayton has published widely across the theological disciplines, as well as in
the philosophy of science, philosophy of mind, history of philosophy, and the philosophy of religion. He has worked extensively on the relationship between science, philosophy, and religion, and he is recognized as one of the leading figures in this field internationally.

Clayton received a joint doctorate in philosophy and religious studies from Yale University. Since that time he has written or edited some 18 books and over a hundred articles in the field.

(1) As a theologian, he has sought to rekindle theological imagination in the churches and to bring academic theologians back in touch with ordinary believers. He heads up a Ford Foundation-sponsored grant to support progressive theologies that have transformative effects in churches and in American society. He is also active in interfaith collaborations aimed at reducing religious violence, supporting just peacemaking, and addressing the global ecological crisis.

(2) Within the natural sciences, Clayton's research has focused on emergent dynamics in biology and on the neural correlates of consciousness in neuroscience. He has co-authored or edited a number of publications with physicists, chemists, and biologists, analyzing emerging natural systems and exploring their significance for the study of religion. He is perhaps best known for his work in exploring the philosophical and religious implications of emergence theory, published as Mind and Emergence: From Quantum to Consciousness (Oxford, 2004). In addition to his own publications, Clayton has been a leading advocate for the internationalization of the science-religion dialogue. As P.I. for the "Science and the Spiritual Quest" program, and more recently as senior advisor and judge for the "Global Perspectives in Science and Spirituality" program, both funded by the Templeton Foundation, he has been at the forefront of efforts to expand scholarship in this field into the non-Western traditions.

His book publications as author or editor include The Problem of God in Modern Thought; God and Contemporary Science; Explanation from Physics to Theology: An Essay in Rationality and Religion; Quantum Mechanics: The Problem of Divine Action; Evolution and Ethics: Human Morality in Biological and Religious Perspective; Science and the Spiritual Quest; The Re-Emergence of Emergence; In Quest of Freedom: The Emergence of Spirit in the Natural World; and Transforming Theology (September 2009).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Transforming Christian theology, indeed!, January 7, 2010

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A. J. Roberts (CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Adventures in the Spirit: God, World, Divine Action (Paperback)

After reading Philip Clayton's most recent book, "Transforming Christian Theology", I turned to this one, his previous book that he says represents perhaps the last of his books aimed at the academy. Right up front, I want to make clear that my area of intellectual competence is not in the natural sciences (which this book discusses extensively). As a religious studies major in college, I of course took basic general education courses in biology and physics, but this book went far beyond what I learned from those introductory courses. I am grateful for my inquisitive mind though, because if it weren't for my extracurricular readings in the religion/science debate, as well as in philosophy and theology, I would have given up on this extremely dense book within the first few chapters. Clayton is clearly blessed with a sharp mind, which is an observation that kept me reading. Anybody who reads the book need not have an advanced understanding of religion, theology, science, and philosophy, but an understanding/expertise in one or more is definitely needed to grasp what is going here.

Even when I felt overwhelmed by the heavy ideas of this book, I was propelled forward by the challenge, by the questions, and by the momentum Clayton infuses this book with. I frequently thought to myself, "This is a book filled with challenging and fresh ideas. Just keep reading." By the last half of the book, I realized my intuition was correct and the pieces started coming together. This book is absolutely stellar for those willing to take the plunge, posing profound challenges to the reductionistic neo-Darwinism of Dawkins, but also to rigid Christian traditionalism entrenched in outworn theologies. By the end of the book, emergent complexity makes a lot of sense about the world as we know it today. Clayton urges the Christian church to step out of their protective walls and REALLY engage the scientific community. Clayton shows that to take science seriously does not eliminate the possibility of Christianity, but perhaps breathes new life into it. This new, integrative Christianity that Clayton is a proponent of takes scripture, tradition, reason, and experience seriously (of course, progressively)....and in the process a faith that is rooted in the past emerges with new and helpful insights from its interaction with the sciences. Be prepared to have your orthodox creeds challenged, but relativists should also brace themselves. Clayton isn't out to offer easy answers, but neither is he out to discuss a squishy relativistic faith. Theologically, Clayton covers a lot of ground: the identity of Jesus, the Trinity, scripture, and especially divine action. Open panentheism, the core theological idea explored in the book upon which everything else hinges, emerges from the most recent developments with science and philosophy, and Clayton makes a pretty convincing case that it can exist within the Christian tradition in a unique and powerful way. Sacrifices are made, true, but he is convinced it is better than the alternative. He may, in fact, be right. On the other hand, the larger theological conversation about divine action that Clayton is contributing to with this book should be considered alongside of these ideas. Theologians such as Keith Ward, John Polkinghorne, Robert John Russell, Denis Edwards, and Ian Barbour have important insights about divine action to consider as well. But surely, Clayton has given us one of the finest examples of progressive theology for the 21st century with "Adventures In the Spirit."

I will be revisiting this book many times in the near future. I have much to consider as I continue to reflect on a more vibrant and relevant form of the Christian faith for a post-modern, globalized world. Academics should definitely read this book, as well as motivated students of philosophy and religion, such as myself. I look forward to a future book by Clayton that would explore these same ideas in a more accessible fashion similar to the most recent "Transforming Christian Theology". These ideas, and Claytons work in general, need to get into the hands of the pastor and layperson.

1 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, October 13, 2010

By 

Book Guy (Rye Brook, NY United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Adventures in the Spirit: God, World, Divine Action (Paperback)

Reading this book, I kept thinking of the conclusion of C.S. Lewis in his great essay "Fernseeds and Elephants" - try being critical of your criticism for a change. Clayton is the type of Christian theologian happy to question the physical resurrection of Jesus. But he seems to have little or no interest in criticizing the pet theories of university academics. The idea that truth should be based on "intersubjective discourse" (i.e., what university professors think) is not only foolish, it is dangerous.