A Theology Of Fear
Are we creating a theology of fear? I’d like some feedback on this. The embedded video is from Advance 09. The panel is discussing issues related to church and missions. But at 17.20 the moderator asks: Q: What ways do you council a young pastor to overcome their fear of man? Piper: Grow like crazy in your fear of God. …
Buddhism’s Commitment To Reality
What do you do when the story you’ve been told no longer jibes with your understanding of reality? One of the central tensions I ran into while writing Discovering The God Imagination, was the confrontation with the traditional stories that informed my understanding of the Gospel. I had reached a point where I could no long live with the “traditional” …
The Role Of Belief
What is the role of belief in the life of a follower of Jesus? One of the central ideas I present in Discovering The God Imagination is the idea that we can’t change reality. In the creation of the world, God establishes what is true. It’s remarkably simple and brief. Everything rests on God’s original judgment of all reality as …
Jumping To Conclusions
We like to jump to conclusions, don’t we? As I begin to share the contents of my book, Discovering The God Imagination: Reconstructing A Whole New Christianity, I’ve had several people comment on the Facebook page and a blog post I wrote for Emergent Village. The first was from a gentleman who said: “Here is another way to look at …
Straight From The Horses Mouth
“This is one of the problems with—and I don’t mean the actual theory—but how it is popularly taken. It presents God as someone who never [really] forgives. If you get off the hook, it’s because somebody paid for it.” Dallas Willard on Penal Substitutionary Atonement Theory
A Fearless Belonging
Perhaps no element of my faith has changed more over the last ten years than my understanding of belonging. Tony Jones recently highlighted a post by Jeff McSwain, who was fired by Young Life over what he describes as “theological differences.” “In November of 2007, I was dismissed by Young Life for what was termed “theological differences.” Since 2001, I …
Theological Issues For The Next Decade
Note: I’m making some changes to this blog in the coming year. I’m going to be expanding my focus. I hope to have a blog redesign very soon. But in the meantime… ———————————————————— What are the theological questions that need to be explored in the coming decade? Here is my list. 1. What is the problem? Much of the conversation …
Radical Uncertainty
Two videos hit me this week dealing with the same principle of radical uncertainty. The first is a comedic interview between Stephen Colbert and Andy Schlafly, who is creating Conservapedia. Andy is a hoot to watch but Stephen throws out a line that captured my attention. He said, “Who are these people who are the experts because I want to …
A Word For A Wounded Heart
I heard a new word today. And I like it. Recently I’ve been exploring some of the theories behind atonement. And a friend recommended a book called Triune Atonement by Andrew Sung Park. I haven’t read it yet, but it looks intriguing. After doing some looking around Park seems to be known for highlighting a specific word in the Asian …
The Nature of Sin
What is the real nature of sin? And if grace is true, how far does it truly extend? I’m not a huge fan of Mr Diety. It essentially plays on the worst hypocrisies and stereotypes of faith and Christianity, although its irreverence has made me laugh from time to time. But this video got me really thinking. (ht) Real life …
