C. Robert Mesle is professor of philosophy and religion at Graceland College, Lamoni, IA. Mesle speaks in plain and simple English in contrast to the difficult language of Alfred North Whitehead – the founder of process philosophy and process theology. The final chapter is by John B. Cobb, Jr, a coauthor of book 40.

Mesle focuses on the concept of divinity that underlies and motivates process theology. He says process theology “has taught me that there is simply no reason to let our old ideas about divine power force us into a corner where we must persuade ourselves that gross evils are really good.” “The ethical model that process thought shows us can transform our whole way of thinking about religion, life, and values.”

The book has 4 Parts. Here are some excerpts. Part I: A God Worthy of Worship (Ch 1-4). The difference between traditional and process views of God’s love and power is illustrated by two translations of Rom 8:28. KJV: “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God...” This is a guarantee about outcomes – good if you love God. RSV: “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him...” “This is not a guarantee that good will always happen. It is a guarantee about God’s character. God works for the good. Where? In everything.” “Probably you have always believed that God was affected by the world, that God was responsive and active and in relationship with us. Probably, with regard to God’s love, you were a process theologian all along.” “In process thought, I see what always made sense to me: that more grace means more freedom, more human responsibility, more “works”; and more works allow more grace.” Part II: The World and God (Ch 5-7) “God works in the world by being responsive.” Part III: A Liberating Theology (Ch 8-16) “In all honesty, I think questions about how to work for human liberation and the welfare of the planet are more important than questions about the nature of God, and so would many process theologians.” Part IV: Naturalism and Theism (Ch 17 and 18). In Ch 17 Mesle says he is a Process Naturalist who finds a meaningful religious worldview based on process-relational thought but without any divine being: “Process naturalism shares virtually every value and every ethical standard with process theism…” but they “see these values as rooted entirely within the natural processes themselves…” In Ch 18 John B. Cobb, Jr (co-author of book 40) explains at length why he is a Process Theologist and embraces a divine being because of “… a conviction that what happens does matter – it matters to One whose being is not transitory, One who is everlasting.” ... “What God knows and cares about has importance for us too.” ... “God is for me the ground of hope.”