The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1873 page)

 
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Probabilism
.

A moral theory conceding to the individual the right to act in accordance with a probable opinion about the rectitude of that act, even though there may be a more probable opinion, apparently supported by law, against the action. The theory which insists that the more probable opinion must be followed is probabiliorism
(Lat.,
probabilior
, ‘more probable’).

 
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Procession of the Holy Spirit
.

A disputed issue between E. and W. Churches. See
FILIOQUE
.

 
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Process theology
.

A Christian theological system emphasizing the fluid rather than static nature of the universe, and finding God within the process of becoming, rather than as the transcendent source of being. Process theology owes much to the metaphysical thought of A. N. Whitehead (1861–1947) which culminated in
Process and Reality
(1929). Everything is ‘in God’, but God is more than the sum of the parts (panentheism; see
PANTHEISM
)—just as I am my body, and yet I am more than the sum of the parts of my body. God is not apart from the universe, but is the comprehension of the whole process. This entire cosmic process is God, and God works like an artist attempting to win order and beauty out of opportunity. God is thus ‘the great companion—the fellow-sufferer who understands’. This metaphysic was developed in a theological direction by Charles Hart-shorne (e.g.
Man's Vision of God and the Logic of Theism
, 1941), and in a
Christological
(and applied) direction by John Cobb (e.g.
Christ in a Pluralistic Age
, 1975;
Process Theology as Political Theology
, 1982;
The Liberation of Life
, 1981). Christ is interpreted as the one who embodied the most perfectly obedient response to the ‘lure’ of God. The possible connections with Buddhist thought have not been overlooked: see e.g. J. B. Cobb,
Beyond Dialogue: Towards a Mutual Transformation of Christianity and Buddhism
(1982).

 
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(
c.
410–85)
.
Neoplatonic
philosopher. His many works expound a systematization of the form of Neoplatonism derived from
Plotinus
via Iamblichus and Syrianus. In line with this tradition, he set considerable store by
theurgy
(‘divine action’), a kind of white magic that exploited the sympathy between elements and processes underlying the unity of the cosmos, to further the ascent of the soul to the One.

 
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Progressive Judaism
.

A collective term to refer to non-
Orthodox
movements within Judaism. Although usually applied to
Reform
or Liberal Judaism, it may sometimes be used to include the very different
Conservative
and
Reconstructionist
movements.

 
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