Editing Monism (section)

==== Christianity ====
{{See also|Christian anthropology}}

===== Creator–creature distinction =====
Christians maintain that God created the universe ''[[ex nihilo]]'' and not from his own substance, so that the creator is not to be confused with creation, but rather [[transcendence (religion)|transcends]] it. There is a movement of "[[Panentheism#Christianity|Christian Panentheism]]".<ref>{{Cite book |title=In whom we live and move and have our being : panentheistic reflections on God's presence in a scientific world |last1=Clayton |first1=Philip |last2=Peacocke |first2=A. R. |date=2004 |publisher=William B. Eerdmans Pub |isbn=0-8028-0978-2 |oclc=53880197}}</ref>

===== Rejection of radical dualism =====
In ''[[On Free Choice of the Will]]'', [[Augustine]] argued, in the context of [[the problem of evil]], that evil is not the opposite of good, but rather merely the absence of good, something that does not have existence in itself. Likewise, [[C. S. Lewis]] described evil as a "parasite" in ''[[Mere Christianity]]'', as he viewed evil as something that cannot exist without good to provide it with existence. Lewis went on to argue against dualism from the basis of [[moral absolutism]], and rejected the dualistic notion that God and [[Satan]] are opposites, arguing instead that God has no equal, hence no opposite. Lewis rather viewed Satan as the opposite of [[Michael the archangel]]. Due to this, Lewis instead argued for a more limited type of dualism.<ref>Lewis, C. S. 1970, "God and Evil" in ''God in the Dock: Essays in Theology and Ethics'', ed. W. Hooper, Grand Rapids, [[Michigan|MI]]: Eerdsman, pp. 21–24</ref> Other theologians, such as [[Greg Boyd (theologian)|Greg Boyd]], have argued in more depth that the Biblical authors held a "limited dualism", meaning that God and Satan do engage in real battle, but only due to free will given by God, for the duration that God allows.<ref>Boyd, Gregory. A 1971, ''God at War'', Downers Grove, [[Illinois|IL]]: InterVarsity Press, p. 185</ref>

===== Mormonism =====
{{religious text primary|date=December 2022}}
{{Main|Materialism#Christianity|Materialism and Christianity}}
[[Mormonism|Latter Day Saint]] theology also expresses a form of [[Dual aspect theory|dual-aspect]] monism via [[materialism]] and [[Eternity of the world|eternalism]], claiming that creation was ex materia (as opposed to ex nihilo in conventional Christianity), as expressed by [[Parley Pratt]] and echoed in view by the movement's founder [[Joseph Smith]], making no distinction between the spiritual and the material, these being not just similarly eternal, but ultimately two manifestations of the same reality or substance.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Wrestling the angel : the foundations of Mormon thought: cosmos, God, humanity |last=Terryl |first=Givens |isbn=978-0-19-979492-8 |location=Oxford |oclc=869757526 |year=2015}}</ref>

Parley Pratt implies a [[vitalism]] paired with evolutionary adaptation noting, "these eternal, self-existing elements possess in themselves certain inherent properties or attributes, in a greater or less degree; or, in other words, they possess intelligence, adapted to their several spheres."<ref>{{Cite book |title=Key to the Science of Theology. |last=Pratt |first=Parley |location=Liverpool |year=1855}}</ref>

Parley Pratt's view is also similar to Gottfried Leibniz's [[monadology]], which holds that "reality consists of mind atoms that are living centers of force."<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Theological Foundations of the Mormon Religion. |last=McMurrin |first=Sterling |location=Salt Lake City |year=1965}}</ref>

[[Brigham Young]] anticipates a proto-mentality of elementary particles with his vitalist view, "there is life in all matter, throughout the vast extent of all the eternities; it is in the rock, the sand, the dust, in water, air, the gases, and in short, in every description and organization of matter; whether it be solid, liquid, or gaseous, particle operating with particle."<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Complete Discourses of Brigham Young. |last=Van Wagoner |first=Richard S. |location=Salt Lake City |year=2009}}</ref>

The LDS conception of matter is "essentially dynamic rather than static, if indeed it is not a kind of living energy, and that it is subject at least to the rule of intelligence."<ref>{{Cite book |title=Process Theology: What It Is and Is Not. In Mormonism in Dialogue with Contemporary Christian Theologies. |last=Griffin |first=David Ray |location=Macon, GA |year=2007}}</ref>

[[John A. Widstoe]] held a similar, more vitalist view, that "Life is nothing more than matter in motion; that, therefore, all matter possess a kind of life... Matter... [is] intelligence... hence everything in the universe is alive." However, Widstoe resisted outright affirming a belief in [[panpsychism]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=Joseph Smith as Scientist. |last=Widstoe |first=John A. |location=Salt Lake City |year=1908}}</ref>