By many accounts, Adolf Hitler was a nice man. I have read many books about Hitler and watched many documentaries about him, including first-hand accounts of him as a private person. His personal secretaries and servants, his subordinates, people who visited him—many of them talked about what a nice person he was. He was nice to children and animals. He was a good conversationalist. He donated money to people in need. He paid his underlings well. He was, by most... Read more

Lately I have been reviewing some old readings, ones I read and studied years ago: Hegel, Barth, and Robert Jenson. I have mentioned here before how Jenson’s book “God After God: The God of the Past and the Future As Seen In the Work of Karl Barth” (1969) launched my theological career. Probably the single most influential book of theology in my life. I was privileged to know Jenson much later as he and Carl Braaten invited me to participate... Read more

Here I continue discussion of the book Neoliberalism’s Demons: The Political Theology of Late Capital by Adam Kotsko. Now I take up Chapter 3: Neoliberalism’s Demons (title of both the book and the chapter). If you have read the chapter, feel free to comment. If not, feel free to ask a question. Much of this chapter is taken up with discussion of Christian theology which is interesting, of course, but not especially pertinent to the overall thesis of the book... Read more

Why Calvinism Cannot Be True I have written about this before—why Calvinism cannot be true. Here I will attempt to condense my argument for easier consumption and agreement. But, first, what do I mean by “Calvinism” here? I mean belief that God, the God of the Bible, of Jesus Christ, renders all things that happen certain according to an eternally divided plan that is unalterable, and that according to that plan God rendered certain sin and all its consequences, including... Read more

One way in which some well-meaning but misguided persons have attempted to resolve the seemingly intractable differences between divine determinism, including evil as part of God’s plan rendered certain by God, and creaturely free will as power of contrary choice, including evil as not part of God’s plan and not rendered certain by God but the result of creaturely decision and action, is appeal to mystery. An old sermon illustration has it that absolute divine sovereignty, meticulous providence, and free... Read more

Here I continue discussion of theologian Adam Kotsko’s book Neoliberalism’s Demons: On the Political Theology of Late Capital (Stanford University Press, 2018). If you have read the chapter, feel free to comment. If not, only ask a question. This chapter contains a lot of references to other books and articles about neoliberalism but with focus on philosophers who discussed the relationship between politics and economics. Kotsko sides with those who argue that the relationship is not binary and argues that,... Read more

According to a poll conducted by Arizona Christian University and reviewed by  George Barna, only 16% of American Christians believe in the Trinity. Only 11% of Americans, Christian and non-Christian, believe in the Trinity. If true, and I think that depends at least somewhat on how the question was asked, that’s sad news. But it is not surprising to me. Until I explain the doctrine of the Trinity and its biblical basis (e.g., John 14-16) and the alternatives (heresies), many... Read more

Here I begin discussion of theologian Adam Kotsko’s 2018 book Neoliberalism’s Demons: On the Political Theology of Late Capital (Stanford University Press). Earlier I posted some remarks about the Introduction; I’ll skip that here and go to Chapter 1: The Political Theology of Late Capital. If you have read the chapter, feel free to comment on it. If not, only ask a question. In either case, follow my rules (stated below). I often tell my students that when they are... Read more

Another flare up in the controversy over kenotic Christology. Numerous YouTube diatribes against it, linking it with charismatic churches especially (e.g., Bethel Church in Redding, California). I’m not sure exactly what those churches and their pastors have said; they may have misrepresented kenotic Christology. Here I want to set the record straight—about what kenotic Christology really is, what it originally meant, and why it is not a heresy. Kenotic Christology is belief that the Son of God, God the Son,... Read more