ABSTRACT
Kevin Hart argues that euteleology departs from perfect being theology in failing to accommodate the orthodox view that God is a free Creator who has no need of creation. He describes that "John Bishop is actively seeking to find an intellectually credible alternative to the doctrine of God in orthodox Christianity, even while looking back towards some of its major creeds". The classical claim is apophatic: God lacks the contingency that characterizes existents and God lacks composition, in particular, the composition of essence and existence. One should be suspicious of any claim to have succeeded in pinning God down with analytical clarity. The place to start in articulating the euteleological view is with the claim that the universe is God's creation. Michael Rea's 'standard' account of God as producer of all things can hardly be straightforward either, as the traditional qualification 'creation ex nihilo' indicates.
