General
The Holy Spirit Behind the Scenes
Category: General
Tags: Love, The Holy Spirit, Trinity
In John 17 we read Jesus’ prayer to be one with each another in Christ. Jesus prayed that his disciples … may be one. As you, Father are in me and I am in you,…
Final Thoughts on Copan’s Critique of Crucifixion of the Warrior God
Category: General
Tags: Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Cruciform Theology, Paul Copan
Topics: Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
I want to sincerely thank Paul Copan for his well-researched critique of Crucifixion of the Warrior God (CWG) that I’ve been responding to over the last several weeks. He exposed areas in my work that…
Did God Give Violent Laws? A Response to Paul Copan (#13)
Category: General
Tags: Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Cruciform Theology, Law, Old Testament, Paul Copan
Topics: Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
In his critique of Crucifixion of the Warrior God (CWG) at the Evangelical Theological Society annual meeting in November, Paul Copan takes issue with my contention that the violent dimension of OT laws reflects God…
Does the Author of Hebrews Condone Capital Punishment? A Response to Paul Copan (#12)
Category: General
Tags: Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Cruciform Theology, Non-Violence, Paul Copan
Topics: Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
Verse: Hebrews 10: 26-29
In his critique of Crucifixion of the Warrior God (CWG), Paul Copan argues that several New Testament authors condone capital punishment as directly willed by God. The most challenging for my thesis, in my estimation,…
Was the Early Church Pacifistic? A Response to Paul Copan (#11)
Category: General
Tags: Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Cruciform Theology, Non-Violence, Pacifism, Paul Copan
Topics: Enemy-Loving Non-Violence
In Crucifixion of the Warrior God (CWG) I argue that Jesus and Paul instruct Christians to love and bless their enemies and to unconditionally refrain from violence (e.g. Matt 5:39-45; Rom 12:14-21). Moreover, I argue…
Jesus and the “Eye for an Eye” Command: A Response to Paul Copan (#10)
Category: General
Tags: Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Cruciform Theology, Enemy Love, Non-Violence, Paul Copan
Topics: Attributes and Character, Biblical Interpretation
Verse: Matthew 5
As I noted in my 9th response to Paul Copan’s critique of Crucifixion of the Warrior God (CWG), Copan argues that Jesus merely repudiated wrong applications of OT laws in his sermon on the mount,…
Jesus Repudiates OT Commands on Oath-Taking: A Response to Paul Copan (#9)
Category: General
Tags: Cruciform Theology, Jesus, New Testament, Old Testament
Topics: Biblical Interpretation
In his critique of Crucifixion of the Warrior God (CWG), Paul Copan argues that “Boyd pushes too hard to make Jesus’ teaching appear more revolutionary than it really is” [italics original]. Whereas I argue that…
The Violent Vineyard Owner: A Response to Paul Copan (#8)
Category: General
Tags: Cruciform Theology, Judgment, Non-Violence, Parables, Paul Copan, Violence
Topics: Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
Verse: Luke 20, Matthew 21
In my previous post I addressed two of the three parables that Paul Copan argues present God in violent ways. Today I will address the third, which is the parable of a vineyard owner with…
What About Jesus’ Violent Parables? A Response to Paul Copan (#7)
Category: General
Tags: Non-Violence, Parables, Paul Copan
Topics: Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
Copan’s Argument. In Crucifixion of the Warrior God (CWG) and Cross Vision (CV) I argue that the violent depictions of God in the OT are incompatible with the non-violent, self-sacrificial, enemy-embracing God who is fully…
Who Killed Ananias and Sapphira? A Response to Paul Copan (#6)
Category: General
Tags: Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Cruciform Theology, Non-Violence, Paul Copan, Power
Topics: Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
Verse: Acts 5
In his critique of Crucifixion of the Warrior God (CWG), Paul Copan makes a concerted effort to argue that the God revealed in Jesus Christ and witnessed to throughout the NT is not altogether non-violent….
When Jesus Referred to Canaanites as “Dogs”
Category: General
Tags: Bible Interpretation, Cruciform Theology, Paul Copan
Last week I discussed Paul’s harsh language regarding his opponents, the worst example being his reference to certain opponents as “dogs” (Phil 3:2). I suggested that such language simply reflects the fact that Paul wasn’t…
Paul’s Blinding of Elymas: A Response to Paul Copan (#5)
Category: General
Tags: Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Non-Violence, Paul Copan
In the first four posts in this “Response to Copan” series, I attempted to refute Copan’s claim that my non-violent understanding of love, as advocated in Crucifixion of the Warrior God (CWG) and Cross Vision…
What About the Harsh Words of Paul? A Response to Paul Copan (#4)
Category: General
Tags: Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Love, Non-Violence, Paul Copan
Topics: Attributes and Character
This post is my fourth response to a talk given by Paul Copan at the Evangelical Theological Society in November in which he raised a number of objections to Crucifixion of the Warrior God. A…
Is Longing for Justice Inconsistent with Love? A Response to Paul Copan (#3)
Category: General
Tags: Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Justice, Love, Paul Copan
Topics: Attributes and Character
In a paper delivered at the Evangelical Theological Society in November, Paul Copan spent a good amount of time arguing that aspects of the NT conflict with the understanding of love that I espouse in…
Does Hebrews 11 Praise Violence? A Response to Paul Copan (#2)
Category: General
Tags: Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Non-Violence, Paul Copan
Topics: Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
Once or twice a week, as time allows, I will be responding to criticisms of Crucifixion of the Warrior God (CWG) that were raised by Paul Copan in a recent paper that he delivered at…
Does Paul Condone Vindictive Psalms? A Response to Paul Copan (#1)
Category: General
Tags: Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Cruciform Theology, Paul Copan
Topics: Interpreting Violent Pictures and Troubling Behaviors
In a recent paper delivered at the Evangelical Theological Society, Paul Copan raised a number of objections against my book, Crucifixion of the Warrior of God. This is the first of several blogs in which…
A Metaphysical Defense of Free Will
Category: General
Tags: Determinism, Free Will, Metaphysics
Topics: Free Will and the Future
Warning: As the title of this post may have already suggested, this post is a bit heady – and a bit long. I’m going to get into some rather tall metaphysical grass as I go…
With Gratitude
Category: General
Tags: Gratitude, Thanksgiving
On this Thanksgiving, I would like express my profound gratitude toward all of you. I am blessed by all who frequent this site to read our posts, listen to our podcasts, and take advantage of…
What We’re Up Against
Category: General
Tags: Evil, Kingdom of God, Kingdom of this World, Satan, Warfare Worldview
Topics: Spiritual Warfare, Cosmic Conflict
Though Jesus dealt a final blow to Satan’s kingdom through the cross and resurrection, the New Testament makes it clear that Satan is still viewed as the “god of this world” (2 Cor 4:4), “the…