The thesis of this paper is that certain ideas within theistic personalism, process thought, and humanism are helpful in thinking about God and the role of human beings in the creation, including in a time of crisis. There are certain key ideas they offer which in combination provide grounds for hope not dependent for acceptance upon one's beliefs about scripture or religious doctrines. For those who do not regard scripture as God's revelation, or who have no religion, these ideas may provide an alternative "natural" theological pathway to theism and hope.

Theistic personalist thinkers Bowne and Brightman addressed God's existence and goodness and an afterlife, and Brightman in particular engaged in a rethinking of God's power. Whitehead and subsequent process thinkers including Griffin developed the idea that God works with the creation in process, luring it to good choices. Brightman saw God's power as constrained, and process theologians see God's power as persuasive rather than controlling. This means that human beings can have a significant impact upon our own destiny. We face considerable challenges, particularly climate change. Humanist thinker Steven Pinker provides documentation of past human progress and conveys a hopeful attitude regarding the capacity of human beings to meet our challenges.

Use of some central ideas of these thinkers can serve as a pathway toward a natural theology of hope which, in its theistic conception, seems more credible and hopeful than atheism. A combination of the theistic and humanist ideas offers a less certain basis for hope than is often claimed for the scripture-based narratives of religions, but the result may be more credible, less authoritarian, and more hopeful in today's times.