Process poesis : a comparison of the concept of God found in Whiteheadian process theology and in the narrative fiction of Nikos Kazantzakis
Our study engages a conversation between literature and theology by using the narrative fiction of Nikos Kazantzakis and Whiteheadian process thought. This 'dialogue' unfolds in five chapters. It begins as we locate an affinity between Kazantzakis and Alfred North Whitehead in their understanding of an evolving deity who relies on our support to progress into the future. Utilizing The Saviours of God: Spiritual Exercises and Process and Reality: An Essay in Cosmology, our objective in this first chapter is to reveal the common philosophy (Bergsonian transformism and evolutionary thought) which shapes both Kazantzakis and Whitehead's understanding of God. In chapter two, we recognize that the exercise of sustaining this interchange becomes, at times, demanding because our conversation partners use dissimilar textual modes and forms of discourse. By further exploring the role of God in Kazantzakis and Whitehead, we hold that literature and theology constantly (de)construct one another. Suggesting that this (de)constructive assignment is one that cannot but be 'in process' itself, we return to it throughout our study. The following chapters are arranged according to the standard order and progression of Christian
Middleton, Darren J. N.
Philosophy
Process poesis : a comparison of the concept of God found in Whiteheadian process theology and in the narrative fiction of Nikos Kazantzakis. Our study engages a conversation between literature and theology by using the narrative fiction of Nikos Kazantzakis and Whiteheadian process thought. This 'dialogue' unfolds in five chapters. It begins as we locate an affinity between Kazantzakis and Alfred North Whitehead in their understanding of an evolving deity who relies on our support to progress into the future. Utilizing The Saviours of God: Spiritual Exercises and Process and Reality: An Essay in Cosmology, our objective in this first chapter is to reveal the common philosophy (Bergsonian transformism and evolutionary thought) which shapes both Kazantzakis and Whitehead's understanding of God. In chapter two, we recognize that the exercise of sustaining this interchange becomes, at times, demanding because our conversation partners use dissimilar textual modes and forms of discourse. By further exploring the role of God in Kazantzakis and Whitehead, we hold that literature and theology constantly (de)construct one another. Suggesting that this (de)constructive assignment is one that cannot but be 'in process' itself, we return to it throughout our study. The following chapters are arranged according to the standard order and progression of Christian
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