The Divine Matrix: Creativity as Link Between East and West

Process Theology is the name for a religious interpretation of reality built on the philosophy of Alfred North Whitehead. He provided a framework for seeing that all things are always in process, and that that process includes a dimension of progress. But this framework did not adquately address the deeper questions our minds can ask -- why is there something rather than nothing? or: can there be a truly ultimate meaning or purpose to all things rather than just an endless sequence of events? Joseph Bracken gives process thought the metaphysical depth it has long needed, finding in "creativity" an Ultimate Reality which can be called the divine matrix of all that happens. Bracken also compares this notion of the Ultimate to analogous ideas in Hindu and Buddhist thought, thereby uncovering an openness to transcendence in traditions of many cultures. This book is clearly for philosophers and theologians; the issues and language are not easy to deal with. But Bracken achieves what both philosophyers and theologians will recognize as a welcome clarity and directness.