Norman Pittenger died in 1997. He was a prominent Anglican minister, teacher, and theologian, recognized for his contributions to process theology. Born in New Jersey, he taught at the General Theological Seminary in New York for over three decades before moving to King’s College, Cambridge.
Pittenger was a prolific writer, authoring nearly ninety books that aimed to make Christian faith accessible to a broader audience. He was a leading proponent of process theology, which views God not as a static, coercive ruler, but as a dynamic, persuasive force intimately involved in the world’s ongoing evolution. His Christology, as explored in works like “The Word Incarnate,” emphasized Jesus as the focal point of God’s pervasive activity, understanding Jesus’s divinity as a difference in degree rather than kind from other humans.
Notably, Pittenger was also one of the first Christian theologians to openly advocate for the acceptance of homosexual relationships within Christianity, a courageous stance reflected in his influential book, “Time for Consent: A Christian’s Approach to Homosexuality.”
