Participatory Metaphysics in Contemporary Evangelicalism

Recent interest in the metaphysics of participation (and in Platonism more widely), and burgeoning scholarship on that theme, is a notable feature of current evangelicalism, not least in North America. I will argue that this should be understood as both the fruit ecumenism and a driver for further ecumenism, and that while it is focused on doctrine or systematic theology, it cannot fully be appreciated if seen as isolated from spirituality, mission / apologetics, and the recovery of a historical sensibility. I will argue that this attention to Christian Platonism should not be seen primarily as one turn to philosophy among many – one which happens to be Platonist – but that the character of the particular philosophical vision is central. I will conclude by asking what the interest in participatory metaphysics among evangelicals might offer for conversations with other religious traditions.