# Panentheism_First published Thu Dec 4, 2008; substantive revision Mon Apr 24, 2023_“Panentheism” is a constructed word composed of the English equivalents of the Greek terms “pan”, meaning all, “en”, meaning in, and “theism”, derived from the Greek ‘ _theos_ ’ meaning God. Panentheism considers God and the world to be inter-related with the world being in God and God being in the world. While panentheism offers an increasingly popular alternative to classical theism, both panentheism and classical theistic systems affirm divine transcendence and immanence. But, classical theistic systems by prioritizing the difference between God and the world reject any influence by the world upon God while panentheism affirms the world’s influence upon God. On the other hand, while pantheism emphasizes God’s identity with the world, panentheism maintains the identity and significance of the non-divine. Anticipations of panentheistic understandings of God have occurred in both philosophical and theological writings throughout history (Hartshorne and Reese 1953; J. Cooper, 2006). However, a rich diversity of panentheistic understandings has developed in the past two centuries primarily in Christian traditions responding to scientific thought (Clayton and Peacocke 2004). Although panentheism affirms God’s presence in the world without losing the distinct identity of either God or the world, specific forms of panentheism, drawing from different sources, explain the nature of the relationship of God to the world in a variety of ways and come to different conclusions about the nature of the significance of the world for the identity of God. Panentheists have responded to two primary criticisms: (1) the panentheistic God is a limited God, and (2) panentheism cannot be distinguished from other forms of theism such as classical theism or pantheism.* * *## 1. TerminologyBecause modern “panentheism” developed under the influence of German Idealism, Whiteheadian process philosophy, and current scientific thought, panentheists employ a variety of terms with meanings that have specialized content.Theological terms as understood by panentheists: 1. Classical Theism Classical theism as a specific form of theism understands God as transcendent, immutable, impassible, timeless (Mullins 2020, 393). Ultimate reality is a reality which is distinct from the world (J. Cooper, 2008, 11; Stenmark, 2019, 30). This distinction at times develops into an ontological separation between God and the world that makes any interaction between God and the world problematic. Classical Christian theism bases God’s immanence and presence in the world on God’s transcendence. This priority of transcendence implies that God’s presence is always partial. God’s difference from the world is crucial. Even if God’s relationship to the world is dynamic rather than static, developing rather than fixed, divine transcendence does not allow the world to affect God.