News Article

Rev. Tim Clancy, S.J., Gonzaga University associate professor of philosophy, will discuss panentheism in the first Gonzaga Socratic Club meeting of spring semester at 4 p.m., Monday, Jan. 29 in Room 101 of the Administration Building.

Rev. Clancy will explain panentheism, the belief that God is immanent or inherent within the universe, but also transcends it. Rev. Clancy also will discuss why he finds panentheism a compelling alternative to standard accounts of God’s relationship to the world. Richard McClelland, associate professor of philosophy at Gonzaga, will respond.

GU philosophy Associate Professor David Calhoun, an organizer of the event, explains that one of the perennial puzzles of theism is how one ought to think about God’s relationship to the world. “In traditional Christianity, God is the creator and source of all things, and so is distinct from creation — ‘transcendent,’ to use the traditional term,” Calhoun said. “At the same time, God is involved with creation in a way distinct from the Deist conception of a divine clockmaker who winds up the universe and then leaves it to run on its own. Some modern theists have found the notion of panentheism — the idea that God is wholly present in creation without being reducible to creation — a fruitful way to think about God’s relationship with the world, especially as a way to capture the vulnerability and intimacy of God’s love for creation.”

The Gonzaga Socratic Club’s mission is to promote open intellectual discussion of the Christian worldview. Like Socrates, the Club aims to “follow the argument wherever it leads,” concerning both Christian doctrine and practice. The club takes inspiration from the renowned Oxford Socratic Club, which was founded at Oxford University in 1941 and was presided over by C.S. Lewis until he left Oxford.

For more information about the Gonzaga Socratic Club, contact David Calhoun, associate professor of philosophy, at (509) 323-6743 or by e-mail at Calhoun@gem.gonzaga.edu.