Posts
Why We Can’t Know Why Bad Things Happen
Category: General
Tags: Chaos Theory, Is God to Blame?, Problem of Evil, Suffering, The Butterfly Effect, Variables
Topics: The Problem of Evil
Science has demonstrated that the slightest variation in a sufficiently complex process at one point may cause remarkable variations in that process at another point. It’s called chaos theory. The flap of a butterfly wing…
Is Suffering Part of God’s Secret Plan?
Category: Q&A
Tags: Calvinism, Compassion, Faith, Is God to Blame?, Problem of Evil, Spiritual Warfare, Suffering, Theodicy, Warfare Worldview
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will, The Problem of Evil
In the Christian tradition since Augustine, the most common explanation for the apparent arbitrariness of life and God’s interaction with humanity has been God’s mysterious will—his “secret plan,” as Calvin says. Whether or not a…
Sermon Clip: Mystery of the Miraculous
Category: Sermons and Video Clips
Tags: Greg Boyd, Sermons, Spiritual Warfare, Woodland Hills Church
In this week’s sermon clip, Greg Boyd discusses the supernatural gifts of faith, healing, and miracles Christians receive from the Holy Spirit. He describes what each of these gifts are, as well as how we…
War in the Heavens!
Category: General
Tags: David D. Flowers, God, Quantum Physics, Satan, Satan and the Problem of Evil, Warfare Worldview
What does spiritual warfare look like from the perspective of the physical world? Our friend David D. Flowers speculated on that question in a post he entitled Dark Matter vs Dark Energy: War in the Heavens. Referencing Greg’s…
Reasons God Does Not Control Everything
Category: General
Tags: Change, God, Open Theism, time
First, the belief that God is all-powerful does not mean that God exercises all power. It only means that God is the ultimate source of all power. Fallen people may value the ability to control…
Lighten Up: Looking a Gift Miracle in the Mouth
Category: General, Lighten Up
Tags: Lighten Up, Miracles
Doing the Kingdom, Not Voting It In
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Love, Myth of a Christian Nation, Unsurpassable Worth
Our central job is not to solve the world’s problems. Our job is to draw our entire life from Christ and manifest that life to others. Nothing could be simpler—and nothing could be more challenging….
Close Encounters of the Third (Kingdom) Kind: A Reflection on the Missio Alliance Conference
Category: General
Tags: Anabaptists, Fellowship, Jesus, Kingdom, Mennonerds, Missio Alliance, Viva la Revolution!
What an incredible gathering we had last week! It was invigorating, informative and fun! What stands out most to me was the family-feel of the conference. Like most of you, I have usually felt a…
Sermon Clip: Extravagant Forgiveness, Extravagant Love
Category: Sermons and Video Clips
Tags: Greg Boyd, Jesus, Kingdom Living, Love, Sermons
Greg Boyd had the wonderful opportunity to guest speak at a great church in Carlisle, PA called Carlisle BIC. He spoke on the topic of forgiveness and love. In this short clip, Greg describes how…
Becoming Like the Accuser
Category: General
Tags: Judgment, Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, Violence
Topics: Following Jesus
When the Adam and Eve yielded to Satan and surrendered their God-given authority over the earth and animal kingdom (Gen 3), Satan became “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4), the “ruler of the…
How Judging Blocks Love
Category: General
Tags: Judgment, Kingdom Living, Love, Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
Topics: Following Jesus
What keeps us from fulfilling the law of love that is exemplified by Jesus and laid out in the Scriptures (Matt. 22:39-40; Rom 13:8,10 Gal 5:14)? In a word, we like to pass verdicts. To…
What Kind of Sinners Feel Welcomed by Your Church?
Category: General
Tags: Church, Homosexuality, Judgment, Kingdom Living, Repenting of Religion, Sin, Sinners
Perhaps the greatest indictment on evangelical churches today is that they are not generally known as refuge houses for sinners—places where hurting, wounded, sinful people can run and find love that does not question, an…
The Cross Above All Else
Category: General
Tags: Benefit of the Doubt, Communion, Cruciform Theology, Faith, Jesus
The way to know what a person or people group really believes is not to ask them but to watch them. Christians frequently say, “It’s all about Jesus,” but our actions betray us. Judging by…
Making God in Our Own Image
Category: Sermons and Video Clips
Tags: God, Interview, Jesus, The Work of the People, Travis Reed
In this video, Greg introduces the idea of how we make God into our own image instead of allowing God to define himself through the revelation of Jesus. In an interview performed by Travis Reed…
The Distinctive Mark of Jesus Followers
Category: General
Tags: Enemy Love, Jesus, Kingdom Living, Love, Love Your Enemies, Myth of a Christian Religion, Non-Violence
Topics: Following Jesus
Jesus’ teaching to love our enemies was understandably shocking to his original audience—just as it is to us today. Jesus expected much, which is why, after telling his audience to love their enemies he added…
Be the Change Now
Category: General
Tags: Justice, Kingdom Living, Non-Violence, Racial Reconciliation
Topics: Following Jesus
Ghandi once said, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” It’s a profoundly Kingdom teaching. It seems to me, however, that few people adopt Ghandi’s philosophy. It’s far easier to focus our…
The Cruciform Way of the Lamb
Category: Sermons and Video Clips
Tags: Bible, Cruciform Theology, Jesus, Lamb of God, Non-Violence, The Work of the People
In this video, Greg offers insight into how to read the Bible with the cross at the center of the revelation of God, thereby reframing how we interpret the violent and nationalistic passages of the…
Sermon Clip: Spiritual Bodybuilding
Category: Sermons and Video Clips
Tags: Bible, Christian Life, Greg Boyd, Sermons
In this sermon clip, Greg Boyd introduces the idea of charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit, or those gifts often referred to as the supernatural gifts. In the full sermon he discusses each gift individually,…