Examining the Interplay of 'God, the World, and Divine Power' in Process Theology and Its Critique Based on Ṣadra’I Wisdom

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Department of Islamic Studies, Faculty of Theology, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

2 Department of Islamic Studies, Faculty of Theology, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

This study undertakes a critical examination of the central concepts of process theology from the perspective of Mullā Ṣadrā's Transcendent Theosophy (Al-ḥikma al-mutaʿāliya), focusing on two fundamental issues: "the relationship between God and the world" and "divine power," thereby elucidating the distinguishing features of these two intellectual systems. Process theology, centered on concepts such as process and temporality, regards God as an entity affected by the world and in a state of evolution, whose power is not coercive but rather based on value-based persuasion. This perspective, by dividing the divine essence into "primordial nature" and "consequent nature," advocates for a dipolar theism and panentheism. In contrast, Ṣadrā considers God as pure existence, simple, immutable, and free from any intrinsic change. According to him, process and transformation occur only within the realm of divine manifestations (the world of contingents) through the perpetual effusion of existence. The critique based on Ṣadrian philosophy demonstrates that the division of the divine essence in process theology entails composition and deficiency in the Necessary Being, and attributing becoming and temporality to God, even in the form of a consequent nature, is logically contradictory to His eternity and absolute self-sufficiency. While Sadrā maintains the concept of absolute power (in the sense of the ability to perform all non-contradictory possible actions) as identical to God's essence, process theology, by rejecting "coercive power," reduces divine power merely to "persuasive power."

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References

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History

  • Receive Date: 07 August 2025
  • Revise Date: 12 January 2026
  • Accept Date: 19 January 2026

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