General
The Reality of Satan and the Spiritual Realm
Category: General
Tags: Blueprint Worldview, Evil, Satan, Satan and the Problem of Evil, Spiritual Warfare, Warfare Worldview
Topics: Spiritual Warfare, Cosmic Conflict, The Problem of Evil
A theme that underlies Jesus’ entire ministry is the apocalyptic assumption that creation has been seized by a cosmic force and that God is now battling this force to rescue it. Jesus understood himself to…
What We Long For
Category: General
Tags: Benefit of the Doubt, Desires, Doubt, Longing, Love of God, Trinity, Triune Love
Augustine once prayed, “You have made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you.” We all have an unquenchable yearning in our hearts, a yearning for nothing less…
Greg on Politics
Category: General
Tags: Greg Boyd, Interview, Kingdom, Kingdom of this World, Politics, Voting
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
I recently agreed to a written interview with a delightful Christian student of politics. Given the nature of her questions, I’m not sure my responses were quite what she expected. I thought some of you…
Lighten Up: Unexpected Generosity
Category: General, Lighten Up
Tags: Generosity, Inspiration, Kindness, Soul Pancake
When have you experienced unexpected generosity? And another good question is: when have you extended unexpected generosity to someone else? Let’s surprise someone with some of that today.
Does God Intervene?
Category: General
Tags: God's Character, Life, Open Theism, Prayer, Warfare Worldview
Topics: Open Theism
The Open View of the future recognizes the vast influence of all the angelic and human wills God created, which, in turn, influences the various outcomes and circumstances in life. Therefore life is arbitrary because…
Does Nonviolence Work?
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Myth of a Christian Religion
Topics: Following Jesus
The teaching of Jesus on nonviolence strikes many as ludicrous, impractical, unpatriotic, irresponsible, and possibly even immoral. “Surely Jesus expects us to take up arms against Muslim extremists to protect our country and families!” If…
When Jesus Questioned the Father
Category: General
Tags: Doubt, Faith, Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus
Topics: Faith & Doubt
Though the sinless Son of God had perfect faith, we find him asking God the Father to alter the plan to redeem the world through his sacrifice—if it is “possible” (Matt. 26:42). As the nightmare…
Should We Condemn Unbelievers For Their Own Good?
Category: General
Tags: Grace, Judgment, Repenting of Religion, Unconditional Love
We are to have faith that what God says about himself in Christ is true, what God says about us in Christ is true, and what God says about others in Christ is true….
Eye for Eye: That Time Jesus Refuted An Old Testament Teaching
Category: General
Tags: Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Cruciform Theology, Jesus, Non-Violence
Topics: Christology, Following Jesus
One of the most surprising aspects of Jesus’ teaching is that, while he clearly shared his contemporaries’ view of the Old Testament as inspired by God, he was nevertheless not afraid of repudiating it when…
Our Insatiable Hunger
Category: General
Tags: Kingdom Living, Life, Longing, Present Perfect
The only kind of life animals care about is biological. If their basic physical needs for food and shelter are met, they’re satisfied. Humans also want their basic physical needs met, of course, but that…
Trusting God for the Wrong Things
Category: General
Tags: Benefit of the Doubt, Doubt, Faith, The Book of Job, Trust
Topics: Apologetics, The Problem of Evil
Chloe was a smart, personable, and devoted Christian student from South America whom I had the pleasure of teaching in several theology classes. In one meeting, Chloe confessed that, despite the confident appearance that she…
Why? The Question That Cannot Be Answered
Category: General
Tags: Complexity, Mystery, Problem of Evil, Theodicy
Topics: The Problem of Evil
Yesterday Greg sent out the following flurry of tweets: To provide some background to these tweets, the following illustration will prove helpful: They mystery of evil and an eight-second interval Let’s assume that there is…
The Most Subtle of Idolatries
Category: General
Tags: Religious Idolatry, Repenting of Religion
In our fallen state, separated from our true source center, we live from the knowledge of good and evil regardless of the particular idols from which we try to get life. [see yesterday’s post] Some…
What Went Wrong in the Garden of Eden?
Category: General
Tags: Garden of Eden, Idolatry, Judgment, Repenting of Religion, Sin, Temptation
Topics: Creation Care
When Adam and Eve ate from the tree, they imposed their will into the center of Paradise, and this was the act that destroyed Paradise. They invaded the proper domain of God. Instead of recognizing…
Is America Uniquely “Under God”?
Category: General
Tags: America, Myth of a Christian Nation, National Idolatry, Nationalism, Theocracy
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
As a rallying slogan for our civil religion, the proclamation that we are “one nation under God” arguably serves a useful social function, for it gives many Americans a sense of shared values and vision….
Lighten Up: Wanna Party?
Category: General, Lighten Up
Tags: Greg Boyd, Haiti, Kòt a Kòt, Lighten Up, NDY, Not Dead Yet, Rock and Roll
Tonight at 8:30pm Greg’s band NDY (Not Dead Yet) will be playing at O’Gara’s party room “The Shanty” in St. Paul. The gig will benefit Kòt a Kòt, a non-profit that helps at-risk young women in Haiti,…
Absolute Truth and Violence
Category: General
Tags: Enemy Love, Holy War, Love, Self-Sacrificial Love, Service, Truth, Violence
Topics: Ethical, Cultural and Political Issues
A common argument today against Christianity is that believing that Jesus (or any other religious figure or religion) is the only way to God (See yesterday’s post) is “dangerous.” This claim actually has some justification, for…
On Dying and Compassion
Category: General
Tags: Brittany Maynard, Compassion, Death, Jessica Kelley
Last week many of us were talking about end of life issues after we viewed Brittany Maynard’s heartbreaking video sharing her decision to take her own life in the face of her terminal illness and the prospect of…