Speaking as someone who isn't a FlameKeeper (which is why I waited until you'd responded, Shad) but who
is a pantheist and definitely
not panentheist, I don't think they're the same thing, and I'd say that FlameKeeping's take on this is definitely more pantheistic. What distinguishes panentheism is that the Divine not only constitutes the Universe, but exists
beyond it. I don't think "greater than the sum of its parts" necessarily implies anything beyond/outside; just that
being the Universe, a cohesive and interacting whole, makes it greater than it would be if (
very hypothetically) the parts were separate (otherwise, one'd have to parse the description to "the Universe is greater than the Universe" - no, it's Universe All The Way Down
). The "negative spaces", the interactions and connections between the parts, are just as relevant as the parts themselves.
I may be projecting my own theories/beliefs here, but it seems to me that your stance is more, "There is no outside; it's all Universe."
Sunflower
Yes. What she said.
If there IS an outside the Universe (which seems to be likely from current theories in physics) that would be something *else*. Unless the Divine is the multiverse, which is theoretically possible but still self-contained. (honestly, the physics involved with multiverse stuff REALLY makes my head hurt!)
But whatever there is, it's self-contained. There is no extra part outside. Like humans - we're more than the sum of our parts, but we don't have an extra part *over there*!
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