Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was born on May 1st, 1881 to Emmanuel and Berthe-Adele Teilhard de Chardin. While both of his parental lineages were distinguished, it is noteworthy that his mother was the great grandniece of Francois-Marie Arouet, more popularly known as Voltaire. He was the fourth of the couple's eleven children and was born at the family estate of Sarcenat near the twin cities of Clermont-Ferrand in the ancient province of Auvergne. The long extinct volcanic peaks of Auvergne and the forested preserves of this southern province left an indelible mark on Teilhard.
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"Evolution's God: Teilhard de Chardin and the Varieties of Process Theology"

On November 11, 2020, Donald Wayne Viney, University Professor from Pittsburg State University (Kansas), presented a lecture entitled, “Evolution’s God? Teilhard and the other Process Theologians.” Although Viney believes that Teilhard’s thought bears striking similarities to the process theism of his contemporaries, Alfred North Whitehead and Charles Hartshorne, the differences can also be striking. All three are rightly classified as promoting versions of process theology, but they show by their divergences that process thought—especially process theism—is far from yielding a monolithic viewpoint on the theistic question. About 150 people joined on Zoom to hear Don’s lecture which was followed by time in virtual breakout rooms to share conversation about the lecture. We ended the session with a Q&A and then with a song written and sung by Don called “Teilhard’s Fire.” The song is based on the well-known quotation: “The day will come when, after harnessing . . . the winds, the tides, gravitation, we shall harness for God the energies of Love. And, on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, we will have discovered fire.” The recording of Don’s talk, his PowerPoint, and his song are available.