Posts
Thankful for the Passion of God
Category: General
Tags: Attributes of God, Character of God, Classical Theism, God, Jesus, Thanksgiving
The classical view of God has held that God is impassible, meaning he is above pathos (passion or emotions). The main reason the church came to this view was that, following the Hellenistic philosophical tradition, they associated…
Thankful that God Outsmarted Satan
Category: General
Tags: Salvation, Satan, Thanksgiving, Warfare Worldview
Concerning the cross, Paul wrote that God’s intent was “that through the church the wisdom of God in its rich variety might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places…
Free Will in the Bible
Category: General
Tags: Determinism, Free Will, Open Theism
Topics: Providence, Predestination and Free Will
Scripture portrays humans as having minds and wills of their own. They are, in a real (though limited) sense, creators of their own behavior and determiners of their own destinies—whether this behavior and destiny is…
Lighten Up: The Jesus Eraser
Category: Lighten Up
Tags: Jesus, Peacemaking
“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility…” Ephesians 2:14 Image by David Hayward @ www.nakedpastor.com.
The (Spiritual) War on Terror
Category: General
Tags: Open Theism, Prayer, Warfare Worldview
Jesus’ ministry was a ministry not of resignation but of revolt. He was about revolting against the cruel tyranny of a world ruler (Satan) that was oppressing God’s people. He was about seeking to give…
Theology That Accounts for Terrorism
Category: General
Tags: Augustine, Evil, Satan, War, Warfare Worldview
The general assumption of both the Old and the New Testaments is that the earth is virtually engulfed by cosmic forces of destruction, and that evil and suffering are ultimately due to this diabolical siege….
Anabaptist Response to the Attacks in Paris and Beirut
Category: Essays
Tags: Anabaptism, Bruxy Cavey, Non-Violence, Peace, Violence
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
https://youtube.com/watch?v=paUtIl-oRpM&feature=youtu.be Our friend Bruxy Cavey, the pastor at The Meeting House in Toronto shares some thoughts on how to respond to the violence that is going on in the world. He writes: The Meeting House…
So Much Evil. Why?
Category: General
Tags: Evil, Free Will, Open Theism, Warfare Worldview
In light of the profound evil being experienced by the people of Paris and countless other locations around the world, we thought we would raise again the question that many ask when things like this…
Lighten Up: Head and Heart
Category: Lighten Up
Tags: David Hayward, Lighten Up, Love, Naked Pastor, Thinking
How Calvinism Misses the Point About Salvation
Category: General
Tags: Calvinism, Election, Open Theism, Predestination
Topics: Defending the Open View
Calvinists sometimes argue that various passages in John teach that the Father chooses and then “draws” certain people to Christ. Those who are “drawn” certainly come to Christ (John 6:37) while all who are not…
Hungry Hearts
Category: General
Tags: C.S. Lewis, Love, Spiritual Hunger
Every human being with normal mental and emotional faculties longs for more. People typically associate their longing for more with a desire to somehow improve their lot in life—to get a better job, a nicer…
Support for Open Theism from Science and Experience
Category: General
Tags: Determinism, Einstein, Open Theism, Polkinghorne, Science
Topics: Defending the Open View
I have discussed the scriptural support that depicts the future as partially open and that God knows it as such. I do this in God of the Possible. If a position is true, every avenue of…
Prayer When You’re Anxious
Category: General
Tags: Practicing the Presence of God, Prayer, Present Perfect
The following is adapted from a prayer exercise that Greg wrote for his book, Present Perfect. If you’re feeling anxious today (or even if you’re not anxious at all) we encourage you to spend a little time…
What is the Gospel?
Category: General
Tags: Arminianism, Calvinism, Open Theism, Roger Olson
Our friend Roger Olson raised this question in response to accusations by Calvinists that those who espouse Arminianism do not “preach the gospel.” The same argument has been made about Open Theists. Olson writes: The complete gospel…
The Earth is a Spiritual Battlefield
Category: General
Tags: Church Fathers, Evil, Free Will, Satan, Spiritual Warfare
Topics: Spiritual Warfare, Cosmic Conflict
The early Church Fathers uniformly believed that angels, like humans, were created free and given a sphere of influence and responsibility over creation. As with humans, angels could use this influence for good, as God…
God Became What He is Not To Reveal What He Is
Category: General
Tags: Cruciform Theology, God, Salvation
Topics: Attributes and Character
We are saved because Jesus became the curse of the law for us (Gal. 3:13). So too, the way Christ freed us from the condemnation of sin and enabled us to “become the righteousness of…
The Heresy of “Just War”
Category: General
Tags: Cross, Faith, Just War, Law, Non-Violence, Old Testament
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
Since the time when the Jesus-looking kingdom movement was transformed into the Caesar-looking “militant and triumphant” Church, there has been a tradition of Christians by-passing the enemy-loving, non-violent teachings of the NT and instead appealing…
What’s the Purpose of the Old Testament Law?
Category: General
Tags: Cruciform Theology, Law, Old Testament
Topics: Biblical Interpretation
Whereas the old covenant was rooted in the law, the new covenant is rooted in simple faith, such as Abraham had. Whereas the old covenant was forged with one particular nation, the new covenant is…