About the Need of Theological Reconception and Renewal

Mirosław Patalon

The purpose of this address is to present the major elements of A.N. Whitehead’s philosophy (the oneness of reality as well as its dynamism and variability, the integration of apparent antagonisms and contradictions into a single whole, etc.) and the chief tenets of process theology (pragmatism, panexperimentalism, the relationality of God and other beings and their correspondence to the nature of the world, the atomistic concept of time) as the background for two examples of Polish theologians: Wacław Hryniewicz and Stanisław Obirek. Both of them deal with change issues in the context of Polish Catholicism still being one of the most important factors of socialization processes and at the same time characterized by a strong tendency to abide within the boundaries of ecclesiastical correctness. In the process perspective religious education is based on the idea of intertwining perspectives and maximally broad spectrum of worldviews since theology is construed socially. The examples of Hryniewicz and Obirek – although not connected directly with whiteheadian philosophy – display a number of points of convergence with this approach; the first one in his theological writings and the other in the practical dimension.