Creative Transformation

A quarterly journal of process-themed essays, liturgies, and reflections.

Creative Transformation takes its name from the belief of process theologians that God's work is always creative and always transformative, and that wherever creative transformation is occurring, God is there. This means that instead of clinging to past formulations of faith and the ways of action that used to work, we are striving to be co-workers with God by seeking new formulation and more effective ways of action. ~John B. Cobb, Jr.

In 1975, John B. Cobb, Jr., published Christ in a Pluralistic Age, which argues that “creative transformation” describes God’s dynamic interaction with the world. What Christians call “Christ,” he wrote, can be understood as the “principle of creative transformation.” Cobb’s proposal almost immediately begs the question: what, then, does creative transformation look like in other faiths? It also raises a caution: can we presuppose this principle in other religions? This issue reflects on the God-world relationship from the perspective of several faith traditions. It also offers liturgical resources for the season.

In this issue: Christ in a Pluralistic Age by John B. Cobb, Jr. Driven by Dreams by P. David Wilkinson Clay in the Potter's Hands by Bradley Shavit Artson God and the World: A Dynamic Relationship in the Qur'an by Mustafa Ruzgar The Role of the Avatar in the Process of Cosmic Transformation by Jeffery D. Long Quanyin Talks about Creative Transformation by Gene Reeves Advent Resources Calls to Worship by Jessica Petersen Opening Prayers by Timothy Murphy A Candle Liturgy by Jeanyne B. Slettom Pastoral Prayers by Sarah Bloesch Book review of Paul Sponheim's Love's Availing Power: Imagining God, Imaging World by Nelda Kerr