Debating Creation with Coleman & Clayton (video)

Two CST professors of theology, Monica Coleman and Philip Clayton, recently participated in a debate about the doctrine of creatio ex nihilo (creation out of nothing) at last week’s American Academy of Religion conference in San Francisco.  They were joined by theologians Catherine Keller, Michael Lodahl, Marit Trelstad, and Richard Rice.

Both CST theologians identify themselves as process-relational theologians, but they come to quite different conclusions about how creation should be understood: ‘out of nothing’ (Clayton) or ‘out of chaos’ (Coleman).

The debate was excellent, many seeing it as a highlight of this year’s AAR. Fortunately, the Center for Process Studies has provided edited videos of each presentation.  The videos linked below are relatively short, each running a little more than five minutes, but they reveal some of the essential agreements and disagreements between these two perspectives on creation.

• Watch Philip Clayton’s presentation
• Watch Monica Coleman’s presentation
• Other presenters

If you are interested in reading more about Dr. Coleman’s approach to theology, see her book “Making a Way Out of No Way.”

For more on Dr. Clayton’s work, see his recent release with Steven Knapp, “The Predicament of Belief.”