I have a confession. Until recently, I had not read C. S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity. I know, hard to believe, right? Especially for a kid from an evangelical background, but the truth is, I found the constant analogies annoying. I would get a chapter or two into it and my […]
Theodicy
14 posts
My friend Tim Seiger hosted a discussion with Tom Oord and myself on the topics of Open Theology, theodicy, and hermeneutics. A bit wide-ranging and I failed to notice the chat section on YouTube live until the very end, but an interesting discussion! I am grateful to both for this […]
History does provide distance, but it does not erase the reality of what happened. Nor can changes in ideology or a desire for it to have been different. Yes, it is the nature of humans to harm one another, to be self-centered, and this leads to everything from petty grasping […]
This is my most recent idea for the title of a work coming out of my recent writings and talks on suffering. (See the page A Biblical Theology of Suffering for those links.) The quote comes from Frederick Buechner and is oft cited. I have used it for years in […]
Concluding the text of the talk I presented at Cornell on 11 April 2015, “My God, my God, Why Have You Forsaken Me? A Biblical Response to Loss and Catastrophe.” I did not touch much upon NT texts for reasons stated (they related to a difference context than the one most of us […]
Continuing the text of the talk I presented at Cornell on 11 April 2015, “My God, my God, Why Have You Forsaken Me? A Biblical Response to Loss and Catastrophe.” There [Lamentations] we have what would seem to be a clear-cut argument: we sin and we suffer as God punishes us. […]
The last two portions of my Cornell lecture will be coming soon. But this past week I received an email from one of those in attendance asking for some clarification of my use of the terms “God’s will” and “God’s plan.” It seems appropriate to post my response now. Chris, Might be helpful to define […]
This is a continuation of my lecture given at the Cornell Graduate Christian Fellowship and Chesterton House in early April. My title was “My God, my God, Why Have You Forsaken Me? A Biblical Response to Loss and Catastrophe.” I have a recording of the lecture that I may make available if any are […]
My wife asked my yesterday why I kept thinking and talking Job. It is because it is the locus classicus of human suffering and the demand for divine explanation. Today I wondered, “Are we cursed like Job?” Then I wondered, was he cursed or just human, experiencing life with all its loss and […]
This past week my close friend and mentor recommended to me Charles Williams’ War in Heaven. Williams is the member of the “Inklings” that most of us forget about, but whom many consider to be the best theologian of the bunch. (I am on record as attributing that crown to […]