A Lecture on Panentheism | St James Church, London

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In this talk, Rupert Sheldrake explores panentheism—the idea that the divine is not separate from the world but present throughout it, while also transcending it. With the grip of mechanistic materialism loosening, Rupert invites us to reconsider how we see nature, mind, and spirit. Tracing a broad arc from ancient philosophies and Christian mysticism to AI-generated worldviews, panpsychism, and psychedelics, he reflects on how the sacred presence in nature—-long affirmed by spiritual traditions-—is re-emerging through science, experience, and renewed practices of attention.

This talk was recorded at St James Church, Piccadilly, a longstanding hub for open spiritual inquiry and progressive theology in the heart of London.

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Table of Contents
00:00:00 - What Is Panentheism?
00:00:37 - The Dominant Worldview: Mechanistic Materialism
00:01:46 - The Decline of Materialism & Rise of Alternatives
00:02:21 - AI & Worldview Generation: A Symptom of Our Time
00:03:55 - Return to a Living World: Gaia Hypothesis & Distributed Consciousness
00:05:01 - God: Immanent vs. Transcendent (with Cultural Examples)
00:07:27 - Historical Tour: European Intellectual History
00:07:42 - Pre-Christian & Ancient Greek Animism (Aristotle's Souls)
00:09:51 - Medieval Period: Christianization of Greek Thought (Aquinas)
00:11:20 - Early British/Celtic Nature Mysticism
00:12:51 - The Protestant Reformation: De-sacralizing Nature
00:16:00 - The Scientific Revolution & Cartesian Dualism (Nature as Machine)
00:18:05 - From Deism to Atheism
00:20:59 - The "Hard Problem" of Consciousness for Materialism
00:23:28 - Panpsychism: Consciousness as Fundamental (Even in Stars)
00:26:26 - Pantheism (Spinoza) and Idealism (Kastrup) as Alternatives
00:28:55 - Revival of Mystical Sense: Meditation
00:31:00 - Psychedelics and Experiences of Greater Consciousness
00:33:16 - The Experiential Roots of Religion (David Bentley Hart)
00:35:23 - Models of Ultimate Reality: Hindu Perspectives
00:37:35 - Models of Ultimate Reality: The Christian Trinity & Speech Metaphor
00:41:15 - Nature Reflecting Trinitarian Principles
00:43:15 - The Cosmic Christ & Universe as Incarnation (Bede Griffiths)
00:44:57 - Aquinas: Nature Striving for Divine Perfection
00:46:50 - Reconciling Immanence & Transcendence in an Evolving, Creative Universe
00:48:17 - Spiritual Practices for Experiencing Panentheism (Singing, Festivals, Nature Connection)
00:53:46 - End of Lecture / Start of Q&A

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