Charles Hartshorne followed Alfred North Whitehead as the leading philosopher and one of the leading theologians of process thought. In 2004 Amazon.com had 51 books written or edited by him or about him, with half written about him by other philosophers and/or theologians.

I chose this book to introduce myself to Hartshorne because it presents his philosophical theology briefly, simply, and vividly. He is considered intellectually on a par with Whitehead, but is much easier to understand. But, unlike Whitehead, Hartshorne is as highly regarded for his devout Christianity as for his simple way of presenting theological ideas and discussing how they came about. Finally, Hartshorne said of this book, “The book is unacademic in so far as I am capable of being that.” The editor said, “Only a master like Hartshorne could present such sophisticated ideas so simply. This book offers an option for religious belief not heretofore available to lay people.” I found both assessments to be correct.

In the preface Hartshorn says “I am not a fundamentalist in religion, and I make this entirely clear. But I definitely believe in God, in divine love as the key to existence, in love for God as (ideally) the all-in-all of our motivation and in love for fellow creatures as valuable and important, judged by the same principle of value-to-God as we should judge ourselves by. In other words, I accept what Jesus said was the Law and the Prophets, that is the gist of religion.” With this foundation, he shows how earlier thinkers – theologians and philosophers – have used their own models of God to form beliefs that Hartshorne feels have distorted the gist of religion. Deep thinkers like Hartshorne have critiqued the classical theology of God and God’s character. His neo-classical theology has been the springboard for many recent Christian philosophers and/or theologians.

Throughout the centuries some of the world’s most brilliant philosophers and theologians have held and perpetuated beliefs that gave the word God a meaning untrue to its import in sacred writings or in active religious devotion. Here Charles Hartshorne thoroughly examines six “mistaken” assumptions: (1) God is absolutely perfect and therefore unchangeable; (2) omnipotence; (3) omniscience; (4) God’s unsympathetic goodness; (5) immortality as a “career after death;” (6) revelation as infallible. These assumptions underlie “classical theism” that, once adopted by religious authorities, were declared to be sacred. Hartshorne explains how such mistakes came from misapplication of key ideas of Greek philosophy (like perfection) or incorrect qualification of ideas (like omniscience). He clarifies (then either corrects or rejects) these mistakes to arrive at a revised theism he calls “neoclassical theism” but many call process theology. I found this brief, simple and vivid book to be a spiritually stimulating and insightful look at process ideas. Charles Hartshorne's sharp critique of classical theism will make some traditionalists see red, but his well-developed neo-classical theism should resonate very well with the views of many of today’s Christians. It may make you rethink hard your idea of God, which is, in part, why I recommend this book very highly.