{"id":2321,"date":"2014-04-29T01:23:02","date_gmt":"2014-04-29T01:23:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jimerwin.wordpress.com\/?p=2321"},"modified":"2018-06-16T14:13:07","modified_gmt":"2018-06-16T19:13:07","slug":"cosmos-reborn-by-john-crowder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2014\/04\/29\/cosmos-reborn-by-john-crowder\/","title":{"rendered":"Cosmos Reborn by John Crowder"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"Cosmos<\/a><\/p>\n

Cosmos Reborn<\/em> by John Crowder<\/h2>\n

Cosmos Reborn<\/em> by John Crowder is a book that will challenge your entire view about God. While Crowder is in the mystic camp of Christian theology, he does present ideas which challenge and probably improve on the standard evangelical position.<\/p>\n

The book\u2019s most important chapter, in my opinion, is Chapter 2 \u201cThe Case for a Loving God: The Lie of Penal Substitution.\u201d He challenges the notion that a loving God could be so cruel in choosing to kill His Son for us to come to Him. He challenges that idea with a wise statement:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bible never says that the death of Christ was to reconcile God to us. The death of Christ was to turn us back to God.\u201d (111)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This chapter alone is worth every Christian\u2019s contemplation. His insights from Psalm 22 (128-130) will help a person understand how God did not turn His back on Christ at His death. God does not hate us, He hates our sin. It is not God\u2019s wrath, it is our wrath which God had to rectify.<\/p>\n

This affects his view of God\u2019s election in Chapter 3 \u201cVicarious Man: Christ as the Last Adam.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cElection is not about God choosing this human over that human. There was no lotto wheel. No random word of choice. In the beginning His Word was \u201cJesus!\u201d Election is all about the Electing God and the Elected Son. Jesus is both Elector and Elected.<\/em><\/strong> He is God\u2019s choice for all of humanity. And all of humanity was vicariously represented in Him. \u201d (193)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The idea that Jesus is both the Elected and the Elector is very insightful. It explains how God can be a loving God and still have to punish sin. It also eliminates the dichotomy between \u201ceveryone should be saved\u201d versus \u201cthe remnant of God\u201d.<\/p>\n

In Chapter 4 \u201cHell Is Sort Of Real\u201d Crowder concurs with C. S. Lewis<\/a> that the door to Hell is \u201clocked by those on the inside.\u201d(240). Hell is there because you want to be there. Heaven\u2019s doors however, are always open. Crowder argues that God\u2019s goodness is what will torture people in hell. His insight includes this thought:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe wrath of the Lamb is nothing more than Him honoring your own chaotic demand to self-destruct. Men demanding to live within the confines of a legal universe \u2013 refusing grace \u2013 demanding to pay accounts that have been settled. You can refuse grace, but you can never nullify it.\u201d (246)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Grace is still powerful enough to change you, but it is your fault, not God\u2019s when you refuse it.<\/p>\n

Crowder reminds us that Jesus is still the only way to Heaven, repentance is still the first fruit of salvation, and that God is not changing His plan to bring people out of hell at a future date. God has already provided a way.<\/p>\n

However, Crowder makes a very interesting point about hell: Hell is not the absence of God. He makes the claim that God\u2019s love will torment those who are in hell.(257) God\u2019s love will produce remorse for people in hell. This serves as their torment. Crowder describes himself as a \u201chopeful Universalist.\u201d (275). The Bible doesn\u2019t teach that everyone goes to Heaven. It would be nice if God\u2019s love was so large that it would make happen. At times, I sympathize with that position.<\/p>\n

The greatest values in reading this book is that you will be challenged toward the goodness of God. In a similar vein as The Pleasures of God<\/em> by John Piper, Crowder will make you revisit and rethink what you have ever thought about God. In the end, you should come away more open to the true nature of God \u2013 a loving, hopeful, and enjoyable God.<\/p>\n

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the author and\/or publisher through the Speakeasy <\/a>blogging book review network. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission\u2019s 16 CFR,Part 255<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cosmos Reborn by John Crowder Cosmos Reborn by John Crowder is a book that will challenge your entire view about God. While Crowder is in the mystic camp of Christian theology, he does present ideas which challenge and probably improve on the standard evangelical position. The book\u2019s most important chapter, in my opinion, is Chapter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2886,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46,100],"tags":[410,1138,1694,1877],"class_list":["post-2321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-review-reviews","category-reviews","tag-book-review","tag-john-crowder","tag-review","tag-speakeasy"],"yoast_head":"\nCosmos Reborn by John Crowder<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Cosmos Reborn by John Crowder is a Christian book review for the Speakeasy book review network of a mystical view of God and His work.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2014\/04\/29\/cosmos-reborn-by-john-crowder\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cosmos Reborn by John Crowder\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cosmos Reborn by John Crowder is a Christian book review for the Speakeasy book review network of a mystical view of God and His work.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2014\/04\/29\/cosmos-reborn-by-john-crowder\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jim Erwin\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/revjimerwin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-04-29T01:23:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-06-16T19:13:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/wp.production.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/files\/2014\/05\/10001908071.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim Erwin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@revjimerwin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim Erwin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2014\/04\/29\/cosmos-reborn-by-john-crowder\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2014\/04\/29\/cosmos-reborn-by-john-crowder\/\",\"name\":\"Cosmos Reborn by John Crowder\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-04-29T01:23:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-06-16T19:13:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/#\/schema\/person\/d60794d59235a0279dec26398d994dcb\"},\"description\":\"Cosmos Reborn by John Crowder is a Christian book review for the Speakeasy book review network of a mystical view of God and His work.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2014\/04\/29\/cosmos-reborn-by-john-crowder\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2014\/04\/29\/cosmos-reborn-by-john-crowder\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/2014\/04\/29\/cosmos-reborn-by-john-crowder\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Cosmos Reborn by John Crowder\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/\",\"name\":\"Jim Erwin\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/#\/schema\/person\/d60794d59235a0279dec26398d994dcb\",\"name\":\"Jim Erwin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jimerwin\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/70772a6e533e4bcbd0ac0e0af2d62ff1?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/70772a6e533e4bcbd0ac0e0af2d62ff1?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jim Erwin\"},\"description\":\"My name is Jim Erwin. 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