A reader of my blog sent me a really good question the other day. It’s more than a question, though. He’s processing through some heavy theological questions. I’ve asked him if I could use his question as the basis for a blog post. He agreed (but prefers to stay anonymous). I’ll post the question below, and then respond: So I wanted to write to you to see if you could give me some advice, because I still consider myself Christian.... Read more
“How Modern Metaphysics Killed God.” That’s the topic of today’s video conference discussion with eminent process theologian, John Cobb at 1 PM Pacific time (3 PM Central). You can join the conversation for free, just follow this link to register: This is the fifth of eight video conference calls leading up to a Enfolding Theology, a unique conference on God, hosted by the Hatchery LA in Redondo Beach (May 3-5). To register for that conference, and to receive my affiliate... Read more
Looking for a provocative and insightful way of putting an important question about God and our conceptualizing of God? You can find one in Neil Gillman’s excellent book, The Death of Death: Resurrection and Immortality in Jewish Thought. I’ll interact more with Gillman’s work in a subsequent post, but for now I leave you with this: [Abraham] Heschel’s view that Torah is midrash [human interpretation] is designed not to demean Torah, but to preserve God’s transcendence. What is demeaning is... Read more
Some encouraging news came out from Wheaton College today, with a Time news report that yesterday evening Wheaton’s faculty council unanimously recommended the immediate reinstatement of political science Professor Larycia Hawkins. Dr. Hawkins (or “Doc Hawk,” as she is affectionately referred to by her students) was put on administrative leave after a Facebook post, in which she said that Muslims and Christians “worship the same God.” The Time piece summarizes, The Faculty Council of Wheaton College has recommended that the... Read more
One of the greatest living Christian theologians, Jürgen Moltmann, has this to say about the “end of the world” as portrayed in the apocalyptic literature of the Bible: ‘The end of the world’ is one side of the dawn of a new world from God, the side that is turned towards us and which we experience. Israel’s apocalypses, and Christianity’s too, expect that the world will end with terrors that are as yet inconceivable. But they look through these coming... Read more
As Liberty University readies itself for Donald Trump’s chapel appearance today–yes, today, on the day that the nation honors Martin Luther King, Jr.–many people are still scratching their heads. Trump was supposed to be a flash-in-the-pan, a momentary cultural quirk. But he’s still here and he’s still leading the Republican field, by and large. In what’s been one of the more odd revelations of this race, he draws a whole lot of Evangelical voters–though he’s now fiercely battling Ted Cruz... Read more
In his book, The Coming of God, written thirty years after the groundbreaking Theology of Hope, Moltmann has an interesting little statement (in the preface) on his approach to theology: Theology is a community affair. Consequently theological truth takes the form of dialogue, and does so essentially, not just for the purposes of entertainment. There are theological systems which are not only designed to be non-contradictory in themselves, but aim to remain undisputed from outside too. They are like fortresses... Read more
Does Jesus really expect us to “turn the other cheek”? Here’s the full text: You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.Give... Read more
Andrew Sung Park is a theologian you don’t want to miss. I’ve used his excellent primer on atonement theology, Triune Atonement: Christ’s Healing for Sinners, Victims, and the Whole Creation, as required reading for theology classes. He has published several other books from the perspective of an Asian and liberation theology of sin and atonement. See The Wounded Heart of God: The Asian Concept of God and the Christian Doctrine of Sin as well as a co-authored book with Jame... Read more
Ernest Becker, toward the end of his influential book, The Birth and Death of Meaning, offers up a bold suggestion regarding what he perceives to be the “great tragedy of our lives” in modernity: The great tragedy of our lives is that the major question of our existence is never put by us–it is put by personal and social impulsions for us. Especially is this true in today’s materialist, objectifying, authoritarian society, which couldn’t care less about a person answering for himself the main question of... Read more
Unsystematic Theology
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