On the value of the panentheistic analogy: A response to Willem Drees

The author expresses appreciation to Professor Drees for his careful and mostly accurate reading of God and Contemporary Science. The exchange provides che opportunity to step back from the specifics of the debate and clarify what it is that gives rise to the increasing talk of panentheism within religion-science discussions today. What is the central challenge that the natural sciences raise for theistic belief? How far does panentheism go toward answering this challenge, and what work still needs to be done? Locating the book in this way clarifies questions of where the burden of proof lies, especially with regard to the relation of physical, mental, and spiritual qualities.