The Many Faces, and Causes, of Unbelief - Apologetics Press

There are different varieties of pantheism, to be sure. In
his book, Christian Apologetics, Norman Geisler devoted an
entire chapter to a discussion of these variants (1976, pp. 173­
192). But perhaps one of the most important threads running
through each is the identification of God with the world. Winfried
Corduan addressed this topic when he observed:
In this worldview, God and the world are identical,
not just in the sense of identical twins, who merely resemble
each other strongly, but in the sense of being
one and the same thing. The words “world” and “God”
are then used as two different expressions for one thing
(1993, p. 92).
Think about the implications of such a view. If pantheism
is correct, then there no longer is a need for we humans to
“look beyond ourselves” for solutions to whatever problems
it is that plague us. Instead, we simply may “look within.” We,
being God, are our own source of truth. We, being God, can
decide what is right and what is wrong. All the power that we
need to cope with life and its vagaries lies within the untapped
reservoir of human potential we call “self.”
Sounds good—at first glance. But carry this kind of thinking
to its logical end. First, if we are God, sin and its associated
concept of redemption become unnecessary. Second, because
God is not beyond the world but in it, there can be no miracles
(as we normally would employ that term—i.e., supernatural
events). While there may be supernormal events (e.g.,
channelings, healings, the ability to resist pain while walking
on a bed of hot coals, etc.), since these things are not accomplished
by any power outside the Universe, but instead are
the result of people realizing and employing their divine potential,
then “miracles” do not and cannot occur. Third, in
pantheism there is neither need of, nor allowance for, divine
providence. The consensus of pantheism is that, since God is
all and all is God, and since God is good, then anything evil
must not, and cannot, really exist. After all, if it existed, it
would be God. As the pantheists themselves put it:
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