Hermann Cremer, The Christian Doctrine of the Divine Attributes, 3: First Series: Divine Attributes Disclosed in Revelation, 2: The Righteousness of God, pp. 43-47 Here I continue discussing Cremer’s treatments of the attributes of God with the second part of “The Righteousness of God.” If you have read these pages (43-47) you may comment. If not, you may ask a question. In about a week I will discuss 3 “The Wisdom of God.” In these pages Cremer does not really... Read more

Why “Panentheism” Is False What’s Wrong with Panentheism? Panentheism is a relatively recent term, if not concept, in Christian theology and philosophy of religion. Scholars agree that it was coined by German philosophical theologian Karl Friedrich Krause (1781-1832) who invented the German word Allingottlehre which literally means “the doctrine that all is in God.” Of course, Krause was not the first person to promote the idea. (See John W. Cooper, Panentheism: The Other God of the Philosophers [Baker, 2006], 121-122.)... Read more

Cremer, The Christian Doctrine of the Attributes of God: 2. The Righteousness of God, pp. 29-43 This is an invitation to comment for those who have read this portion of the book. Others may ask. In about one week I will comment on the second half of this portion—pp. 43-47. I am going slowly now so you can re-read as needed. I usually re-read before commenting. This section is about The Righteousness of God. As before, with the holiness of... Read more

A Mysterious Topic: “Mystery,” “Paradox,” and “Contradiction” in Theology (Part 2) If you have not read Part 1 (posted November 7), please do so first. This may not make sense otherwise. 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... Read more

A Mysterious Topic: “Mystery,” “Paradox,” and “Contradiction” in Theology (Part 1) The average Christian, I suspect, thinks “mystery” is something beyond all comprehension; it’s what you’re supposed to believe but cannot be explained or even expressed except in ways that require sacrifice of the intellect. The classical examples most people would give are the Trinity and the deity and humanity of Jesus Christ (what theologians call the “hypostatic union”). And, when first introduced to the orthodox versions of those doctrines,... Read more

Reflections on Hermann Cremer, The Christian Doctrine of the Divine Attributes, First Series, Divine Attributes Disclosed in Revelation, 1. The Holiness of God This is an invitation to discuss this chapter if you have read it. If you have not read it, you may ask questions. In about one week I will post reflections on and an invitation to discuss Part 2, The Righteousness of God, pp. 29-43 (the first half). If you read this chapter, you cannot help but... Read more

What If Satan Offered…? To all my friends (and others) who are Christians, believe in Satan, and plan to vote for Trump on November 5, 2024. A thought experiment… Imagine Satan, appearing as an angel of light (Lucifer), came to you and you knew it was him. He says to you, “Vote for me and if I am elected I will abolish abortion, gay marriage, and spend my four years in office favoring evangelical Christians. I will lead within constitutional... Read more

The Scapegoating Phenomenon Rene Girard, influential French philosopher, is best known for his examination of a universal human tendency called “scapegoating.” According to Girard, every human group must at last occasionally have someone(s) they scapegoat. Scapegoating is based on the Hebrew practice, related in the Pentateuch, of symbolically placing the people’s sins on an animal (usually but not always a goat) and sending it out of the people’s living space and into a wilderness to die alone. According to Girard,... Read more

The Christian Doctrine of the Divine Attributes 2 For those of you reading this book with me, I will next, in about a week, take up Chapter 3 “First Series: Divine Attributes Disclosed in Revelation,” Part 1 “The Holiness of God.” (Part 2 is very long, so I want to take it up by itself after Part 1.) I am again astounded at how much Cremer’s view of God parallels, foreshadows, Karl Barth’s and Emil Brunner’s. I simply have to... Read more

What Is a “Form of Life?” Can an Outsider Understand One? Some years ago two of my colleagues came to me asking if I could explain what “pleading the blood of Jesus” meant. I was stumped. I knew very well what it means to Pentecostal (and perhaps other) Christians because I grew up with it. I knew and explained when and why it was done, why and when my parents, for example, “pled the blood of Jesus.” But I had... Read more