Thanks, AM Wolfe. I read this passage after seeing your post, and I think ANW makes two points. One point (which comes just prior to what you quote) is that John represents the immanence of God and Paul divine transcendence. I think ANW oversimplifies Pauline theology greatly when he implies that Paul’s God is primarily if not exclusively transcendent. This is the guy who linked ancient poetry’s idea with the One in whom we live and move and move and have our being! So, in my view, ANW dropped the ball on this issue.
I’m much more sympathetic to ANW’s use of Paul as a foil in the passage you cite. I DON’T think Paul typically uses fear to motivate readers to believe in God, nor do I think he often envisions God as doing the same. But the particular Thess. passage ANW cites is, on my view, HIGHLY problematic with the rest of scripture. I’ve talked with several NT scholars about this passage, and they also think this passage is uncharacteristic of Paul. So ANW errs, in my view, by making Paul the archetype for the notion that God seeks to scare us instead of love us. But the passage ANW picks is one that rightly makes his overall point.
Finally, let me reiterate that I do not recommend people go to Whitehead for the finer points of Christian theology or biblical exegesis. I do recommend much of Whitehead’s metaphysics, however.
My two cents,
Tom