Greg Boyd
The Future of Open Theism: From Antecedents to Opportunities (book review)
Category: Essays, General
Tags: Book Reviews, Books
Topics: Open Theism
a book review by Greg Boyd While there were many precursors to the movement, Open Theism first exploded on the scene as a controversial issue among Evangelicals in the wake of the 1994 publication of…
Can you have an Anabaptist Mega-Church?
Category: General
Tags: Anabaptists, Community, House Churches, Kingdom Living, Mega-Churches, The Meeting House, Woodland Hills Church
Topics: The Church
Several times over the last few years I’ve heard statements like this: “Boyd may embrace an Anabaptist theology, but his church (Woodland Hills) cannot be, by definition, an Anabaptist church because an Anabaptist church can’t be…
What is the significance of Esther 4:14?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism
Verse: Esther 4
The wise Mordecai encourages Esther to bravely risk her life by pleading the case of the Jews before King Xerxes, saying, “…if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will…
The Worst Heresy That Never Got Anyone Burned at the Stake
Category: General
Tags: Calvinism, Enemy Love, Heresy, Love Your Enemies, Self-Sacrificial Love, Torture
Topics: Following Jesus
According to John’s Gospel, on the evening of his crucifixion Jesus clearly articulated the single-most important quality by which his followers would be recognized: “By this all men will know that you are my disciples,…
Jesus Said, “Buy a sword.” What did he mean?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Mennonerds, Non-Violence, Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
Yesterday, I challenged the common assumption that Jesus was violent when he drove out the animals and turned over tables in the Temple courts. (See post.) Today I want to look at the second episode…
A Very Brief History of Open Theism
Category: General
Tags: History, Open Theism, Theology
Topics: Defending the Open View
While the open view of the future has always been a very minor perspective, it has had its defenders throughout Church history and it has never been called “heresy” (until in mid 1990s when some…
God’s Ways Are Higher Than Ours
Category: General
Tags: Blessing, Kingdom of God, Love, Racial, Unity
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
A frequently quoted passage from the Old Testament comes from Isaiah 55. It reads: …my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways… As the heavens are higher than the earth, so…
Why Did God Require Animal Sacrifice in the Old Testament?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Animal Sacrifice, Atonement, Christus Victor, Forgiveness, God, God's Wrath, Satan
Topics: Christus Victor view of Atonement, Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
Question: I have a question about the atonement. Why did YHWH in the OT demand that people sacrifice animals? And if these sacrifices anticipated the ultimate sacrifice of the Messiah, as the author of Hebrews…
Why Did Jesus Die on the Cross?
Category: General
Tags: Atonement, Christus Victor, Crucifixion, Jesus, Penal Substitution View of Atonement, Satan, Warfare Worldview
Topics: Christus Victor view of Atonement
If asked why Jesus had to die on the cross, most Christians today would immediately answer, “To pay for my sins.” Jesus certainly paid the price for our sins, but it might surprise some reader…
Do All Roads Lead to God?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Apologetics, Christianity, Debate, God, Jesus, Reasoning, Theology
Topics: Christology, Death and Salvation
First, if it’s really true that Jesus is the way to Father and that no one comes to the Father except through him, (Jn 14:6) then it seems that no other religious leader or religious…
Satan and the Corruption of Nature: Seven Arguments
Category: Essays
Tags: Apologetics, Essay, Problem of Evil, Spiritual Warfare
Topics: Creation Care, Spiritual Warfare, Cosmic Conflict, The Problem of Evil
Man…trusted God was love indeed And love Creation’s final law – Tho’ Nature, red in tooth and claw With ravine, shrek’d against his creed” —Tennyson, In Memoriam Tennyson nailed it. We trust that God is…
5 Ways the Bible Supports Open Theism
Category: General
Tags: Arminianism, Bible, Calvinism, Free Will, Open Theism
Topics: Defending the Open View
Open Theism refers to the belief that God created a world in which possibilities are real. It contrasts with Classical Theism which holds that all the facts of world history are eternally settled, either by God willing…
“Christ is Lord”: What Does it Mean?
Category: General
Tags: Christian Life, Confession, Salvation, Shalom
Topics: Following Jesus
We enter the domain of God’s reign when we enthrone Christ as Lord of our life. This seems simple enough. But actually, I think there’s a lot of misunderstanding of what this means. The Bible…
That Weird Episode with the Pigs
Category: General
Tags: Demons, God's Character, Jesus, Non-Violence, Spiritual Warfare, Warfare Worldview
Topics: Creation Care, Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
In my opinion, the single strangest episode recounted in the Gospels is the account of Jesus’ encounter with a demonized man that ended with two thousand pigs drowning themselves in the Sea of Galilee (Mk…
How Reliable were the Early Church’s Oral Traditions?
Category: Essays
Tags: Apologetics, Essay, New Testament
Topics: Biblical Reliability
How reliable were the early church’s oral traditions? In terms of assessing the reliability of the Gospels, this is an extremely important question. First century Jewish culture was what scholars today would call an “orally…
Process Theology & Open Theism: What’s the Difference?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Open Theism, Process Theology, Q&A
Topics: Open Theism What it is and is not
Question: When ReKnew talks about Open Theism is it a mistake for people to equate it with Process theology, and if so what are the defining differences? I guess I am starting to lean toward…
God’s Dream for the World
Category: General
Tags: Jesus, Love, Trinity, Triune Love, Unity
Topics: Following Jesus
The future doesn’t yet exist—which is why it’s future instead of the present or past—this doesn’t mean I’m claiming the future is wide open. To the contrary, it’s very clear from Scripture that God has…
The Case For Believer’s Baptism
Category: Essays
Tags: Discipleship, Essay, Kingdom Living
Topics: The Church
In this essay I briefly present my reasons for believing that baptism is intended only for people who are old enough to responsibly choose to become disciples of Jesus. I will first offer several biblical…
If salvation depends on our free choice, how are we saved totally by grace?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Free Will, Grace, Predestination, Q&A, Salvation, The Holy Spirit
Topics: Death and Salvation, Providence, Predestination and Free Will, Trinity
Question: I’m an Arminian-turned-Calvinist, and the thing that turned me was the realization that if salvation hinges on whether individuals choose to be saved or not, as Arminians and Open Theists believe, then we can’t…
What is the biblical basis for “free will”?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Free Will, Q&A
Topics: Free Will and the Future
Question: Much of your theology depends on a supposed ability humans have to thwart God’s will by our free choices. But what is the biblical basis for your conclusion that people have “freedom”—at least “freedom”…