A pdf of his book The Meaning of God in Modern Jewish Thinking is in his directory in DropBox.
From ChatGPT on 8/22/2025.
Here are the original contexts and sources for Mordecai Kaplan’s quotes regarding his conception of God as an impersonal, naturalistic, or process-oriented reality:
1. “God is the sum of all the animating, organizing forces and relationships which are forever making a cosmos out of chaos.”
- Found in Kaplan’s writings on theology, this phrase appears in several secondary sources as a direct quote. The Jewish Virtual Library presents it within the discussion that Kaplan equated God with natural law and not a supernatural being (Jewish Virtual Library).
- My Jewish Learning likewise quotes it and notes Kaplan’s related statement: “To believe in God is to reckon with life’s creative forces, tendencies and potentialities as forming an organic unity…” (My Jewish Learning).
- A scholarly article religion-online.org traces the quote to Kaplan’s work, identifying it as:
MG 76, which likely refers to The Meaning of God in Modern Jewish Religion (1937), page 76. The context emphasizes Kaplan’s characterization of God as the “creative life of the universe” (Religion Online).
2. “To believe in God is to reckon with life’s creative forces, tendencies, and potentialities as forming an organic unity, and as giving meaning to life by virtue of that unity.”
- This phrase appears in My Jewish Learning, quoted directly, though they do not specify the exact source (My Jewish Learning).
- Another academic source similarly presents the quote and confirms its Kaplanian origin in theological context (Academia).
- religion-online.org quotes a similar formulation (with slight variation) again connecting it to Meaning of God in Modern Jewish Religion, page 76 (Religion Online).
Other Related Concepts and Quotes
While you’ve asked specifically to trace those two quotes, it’s helpful to see how they fit in Kaplan’s broader theology:
- “God is the Power that makes for salvation…”
According to My Jewish Learning, Kaplan frequently used this phrase and often followed it with the longer “sum of the animating, organizing forces…” expression (My Jewish Learning). - “To believe in God means to take for granted that it is man’s destiny to rise above the brute and to eliminate all forms of violence and exploitation…”
This quote is found in Kaplan’s Wikipedia entry summarizing his theology. It frames belief in God as embracing ethical evolution and human progress—oriented power in the cosmos (Wikipedia).
Summary Table
| Quote | Original Context / Work |
|---|---|
| “God is the sum of all the animating, organizing forces…” | Meaning of God in Modern Jewish Religion (1937), p. 76 (per secondary source identifications) (Religion Online, Jewish Virtual Library, My Jewish Learning) |
| “To believe in God is to reckon with life’s creative forces…” | Same work—Meaning of God in Modern Jewish Religion (Religion Online, My Jewish Learning, Academia) |
| “God is the power that makes for salvation…” | Often used by Kaplan alongside the above; summary in My Jewish Learning (My Jewish Learning) |
| “To believe in God means to take for granted that it is man’s destiny…” | Kaplan summary in Wikipedia for theological overview (Wikipedia) |
Conclusion & Next Steps
- Both key quotes you’re asking about appear to originate from The Meaning of God in Modern Jewish Religion (1937), likely on or around page 76.
- Kaplan is consistently presenting God not as a supernatural or personal being, but as an integrated, dynamic force embedded in nature and human flourishing.
- If you’d like, I can help locate a digital copy or PDF of the actual chapter for more precise context—and perhaps pull the exact wording around those pages. Just say the word.
Key Kaplan Quotes on God as Process or Naturalistic Force
- “God is the sum of all the animating, organizing forces and relationships which are forever making a cosmos out of chaos.”
This quote crisply expresses Kaplan’s vision of God not as a personal being but as the dynamic processes that bring order and meaning. My Jewish Learningwww.slideshare.net - “To believe in God is to reckon with life’s creative forces, tendencies and potentialities as forming an organic unity, and as giving meaning to life by virtue of that unity.”
A further elaboration of God as an organizing unity that underpins creative (rather than supernatural) aspects of existence. My Jewish Learning - “The reality of God henceforth will have to be experienced through the functioning of conscience in the conduct of men and nations.”
Here, Kaplan makes clear that the experience of God is found through ethical action and moral consciousness—not through supernatural intervention. Wikipedia - “Reconstructionist Judaism … defines God as the sum of all natural processes that allow people to become self-fulfilled.”
A succinct summary of the core theological posture in Reconstructionism, directly quoting Kaplan’s vision for a non-personal, naturalistic God. Wikipedia - “To believe in God means to take for granted that it is man’s destiny to rise above the brute and to eliminate all forms of violence and exploitation from human society.”
This further grounds Kaplan’s notion of God in human moral evolution and societal betterment, rather than any mystical or supernatural causes. Wikipedia
Interpretive Commentary
Kaplan’s theology consistently reframes “God” away from the classical theistic framework of a supernatural, anthropomorphic being. Instead, his God is:
- Naturalistic and impersonal—a force or process inherent in life and the cosmos.
- Ethically and culturally instantiated—God is experienced through conscience, moral striving, and communal evolution.
- Anti-supernatural—he rejects miracles as requiring suspension of natural law Through the Needle’s EyeMy Jewish Learning.
These conceptions readily lend themselves to modern philosophical parallels like Taoism, where the Tao is an impersonal, underlying principle or flow—not a personality—but Kaplan never used that comparison himself. The metaphor fits well, though Kaplan’s language stays anchored in Judaism and modern naturalist thought.
Summary Table
| Quote | Meaning |
|---|---|
| “Sum of all the animating, organizing forces…” | God as cosmic, creative process (Kaplan) |
| “Creative forces… forming an organic unity” | God conceptualized through dynamic unity |
| “Experienced through [conscience]…” | God manifested in ethical human behavior |
| “Sum of all natural processes…” | Reconstructionist naturalist theology |
| “Man’s destiny to rise above… eliminate violence…” | God as moral and societal progress |
