traditional [theological] doctrines need to be reformulated in the light of current science."29 Although a similar approach is not entirely absent from the tradition of classical theism-as one of the most fundamental explications of its identity as faith seeking understanding-its contemporary proponents would be hesitant to make it a principal aspect of their definition of theology of nature.30

Science-Oriented Panentheism

Panentheism is one of the prominent versions of theism rooted in some ancient non-Christian and Christian traditions, suggesting that everything is in God (pan-en-Theos), who at the same time transcends the created and contingent reality. Recommended as forging a middle path between classical theism and pantheism, panentheism gained much popularity in the last century. For the purpose of the present conversation, I will put aside the complexity of the analysis of its historical and contemporary versions, some major difficulties concerning a precise qualification of the key preposition "in" (en) in its definition, the controversy around its suggestion of mitigating omni-attributes of God (such as omnipotence and omniscience), and doubts whether it manages to find a proper balance between divine transcendence and immanence (allegedly making it an attractive alternative to classical theism-accused of exaggerating divine transcendence at the cost of divine immanence).31 What interests me here is the question concerning the notion of teleology in a particular version of panentheism developed by theologians (and scientists) engaged in the science-theology dialogue.

29 Barbour, When Science Meets Religion, 31.30 Michael Dodds notes: "For Aquinas, theology's use of science cannot result in a reformulation of the truth that God has revealed, but may change one's interpretation of it. Accepting the truth of Scripture as the 'given,' theology may turn to human reason, including empirical science, not to critique or modify that truth, but in order to penetrate its depth: 'Sacred doctrine makes use even of human reason, not, indeed, to prove faith ... but to make clear other things that are put forward in this doctrine. . . . Hence sacred doctrine makes use also of the authority of philosophers in those questions in which they were able to know the truth by natural reason' [ST I, q. 1, a. 8, ad 2]. Theology's use of science cannot change revealed truth, but it may help the theologian to understand it more deeply" ("Thomas Aquinas Vis-à-Vis Natural Theology, Theology of Nature, and Religious Naturalism," Theology and Science 15, no. 3 [2017]: 266-75, at 269).31 I discuss all these issues in detail in Mariusz Tabaczek, Divine Action and Emergence: An Alternative to Panentheism (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2021), and "The Image of God in Western (Christian) Panentheism: A Critical Evaluation from the Point of View of Classical Theism," Sophia (forthcoming; published online 2021, doi.org/10.1007/s11841-021-00848-2, awaiting print assignment).

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Teleology in Natural Theology and Theology of Nature: Classical Theism, Science-Oriented Panentheism, and Process Theism

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