I don’t think that headline will be overly shocking to the readers of this blog. But an interview with R. Kirby Godsey by Timothy Dalrymple here at Patheos has been getting some traction. Godsey has written a new book on how we can talk about God in an increasingly pluralistic world. Here’s a taste:
I’m convinced that we cast our vision of God in terms that are too narrow and limited. Those of us who have grown up in the Christian tradition think it’s rather obvious that God belongs to our tradition. We assume God is one of us. But it’s just as apparent to people who grew up in different religious that God’s Word and God’s ways are not the exclusive property of the Christian tradition. There are people of genuine piety and profound religious conviction who have come to that piety through other avenues. At the very least, they deserve our respect and a listening ear. [READ THE REST]
Great quote. This passage by Thomas Merton has always resonated with me:
There is and can be no question in my mind that every sincere believer in God, no matter what may be his affiliation, if he lives according to his belief will receive mercy and, if needed, further enlightenment. How can one be in contact with the great thinkers and men of prayer of the various religions without recognizing that these men have known God and have loved Him because they reocgnized themselves loved by Him?
Thanks for this Merton quote. My feelings are that organized religion spouting caveats is the reason for most of the problems in the world and the ultimate cause of most of the killing wars. It should be eschewed. Merton remained a Christian Catholic but his overview included all of mankind in his salvation beliefs atheists included. Those who spout invective cannot have anything of the spiritual in their souls. Love is the only valid message of any kind of spirituality.
Merton was my teacher at Gethsemani back in the 50s. You might enjoy my recollections of him at my site: http://mertonocso.wordpress.com/
Hmm. What definition of “Christian” are we using when say that God isn’t one? Some senses seem to make God’s n0n-Christianity trivially true: obviously, God isn’t a disciple of Christ; God is Christ, the Parent of Christ, and the Spirit of Christ, three hypostases in one essence. Other senses seem to make God’s non-Christianity and the truth of Christianity as a religion incommensurate, if a Christian is one who recognizes the truth of Christian doctrine.
I think I’d be more comfortable in saying that God is a Christian (in the latter sense given above) but may possibly be also a Hindu, a Muslim, a Taoist, a Buddhist, a neopagan, an atheist, etc. The Christian God is, I think, certainly a Jew.
Christ being incarnated, he was definitely a Jew. So God is literally a Jew, yes.
All these new thinkers writing about Christianity today need to be more honest. I was reading Rob Bell’s book and his interpretations of Scripture passages to support his argument are horrible. Who cares what conclusion Bell reached, his interpretation is so bad that you can’t trust his what he’s saying, whatever his conclusion may be.
Likewise, Godsey talking about Anders Breivik. His conclusions show that he doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Breivik’s Christianity is only nominal for political and cultural reasons, there is no Christian fundamentalist to Anders, but Godsey ascribes fundamentalism. For crying out loud if you are trying to break the mold of traditions that you disagree with, and point to a new direction, than be honest.
Also Godsey,”Christians will never be able to kill enough Muslims” WTF?!!!!
I am a graduate of Mercer University, where Dr. Godsey served as president for 27 years. I had the pleasure of hearing him speak several times before his retirement in 2006. His thoughts on God and Christianity (along with my freshman Old Testament course) revolutionized my own thoughts and approach to God and Christianity. Also, a previous book of his, “When We talk About God, Let’s Be Honest”, brought challenging theological discussion to my level of understanding (a physicist). I am very grateful for his rational, although controversial, concepts toward faith. I look forward to snatching this next book up!
I wish there was a like button here. If so, I would hit it for Mr Banning.
Can we just cut to the chase, people? All of this prevaricating points to the reality that Christianity is merely yet another ancient, superstitious belief system that is incongruent with a 21st century worldview.
Sorry; there is no magic, no Santa, no angels, no zombie Jesus, and no knowable god. The sooner the willful ignorance of religion is pushed back by the light of Science and Reason, the better off the human race will be.
Jesus and his kin will not be the salvation of this world, but the tools of its ultimate demise.
“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.” — Jesus, the Messiah (the Christ).
@Lock lol you have a lot if chutzpah to accuse *anyone* of dishonestly after having presented your first statement. Do you believe in magic? I’m betting that you’ll say that you don’t, yet you believe in a magical “incarnation”. But I’m sure that you will say that “with god, all things are possible”. Yes, with god, even the most honest, intelligent people will profess the stupidest, untruthful ideas. Yay Jesus!
You put me in my place there, Key.