Pantheism
The term pantheism comes from two Greek words meaning “all (pan) is God (theos).” Pantheism is the view that everything is part of an all-encompassing God. All forms of reality are seen as either parts of that Being, or like it. Thus, God is everything and everyone and everyone and everything is God.
There is no difference between deity and reality. For example, man is God, a plant is God, a hill is God and the universe is God. A pantheist belief does not view a distinct personal God, but holds a wide range of doctrines with varying forms of relationships between reality and divinity.
The term pantheism was coined by mathematician Joseph Raphson in 1697 and has since been used to describe the beliefs of a different systems of faith. Pantheism exists in the South and East Asian religions: Sikhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, Christian Science, and Scientology.
Kinds of Pantheism
1-Absolute pantheism teaches that only one being exists in the world – God. Everything else that appears to exist, in reality, does not. This concept was introduced by the Greek philosopher Parmenides in the 5th century B.C.
2-Emanational pantheism teaches that all life springs from God. This concept was introduced by the philosopher Plotinus in the 3ed century.
3-Modal pantheism teaches that only one absolute substance exists in which all finite things are simply moments. This concept was introduced by the rationalist Spinoza in the 17th century.
4-Developmental pantheism teaches that God is self-unfolding in the material world by the Perfect Spirit. This concept was introduced by the German philosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel in the 19th century.
5-Multilevel pantheism teaches that God is revealed in levels with the highest being Absolute One, and lower levels showing God in an ever increasing multiplicity. This concept was introduced by the philosopher Radhakrishnan in the 20th century.
6-Permeational pantheism teaches that God goes through all things. This concept was introduced in Zen Buddhism.
Is Pantheism Biblical?
No. The Bible teachings oppose pantheism as seen in the following points:
1-The Bible teaches that God is the Creator of all (Genesis 1:1, Colossians 1:16; Nehemiah 9:6) not that He is everything or that everything is God as taught by this philosophy.
2-The Bible teaches that God is omnipresent, that is, He exists everywhere (Jeremiah 23:24; Proverbs 15: 3; 1 Kings 8:27). But the concept of pantheism is not equal to the concept of omnipresence of God. There is a clear difference between saying that God is present everywhere in everything and saying that God is everything.
3-Pantheism teaches that the universe was created “ex deo” or “out of God.” But the Bible teaches that the universe was created by God “ex nihilo,” or “out of nothing” (2 Chronicles 2:12; Nehemiah 9:6).
4-Pantheism teaches that humans are God. But the Bible teaches that God alone is the Creator of all. He is infinite while humans are finite (Isaiah 45:5).
5-Pantheism teaches that miracles are impossible because all is God and God is all. But the Bible teaches that God does miracles and supernatural acts for His created beings (Hebrews 2:4; Mark 16:20; Acts 19:11).
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
