Latest Blog Entries

1 Comments

Mar

15

Reclaiming the Past / Imagining a Future: Revisionary Postmodernism

The final postmodern tradition of the four I identify as most prominent may prove most helpful for Christians in our emerging world.  It revisions reality by drawing from a wide spectrum of resources.

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41 Comments

Mar

9

Emergent and the Church of the Nazarene

The emergent church movement has its fans and critics.  My own denomination has been engaged in discussions about the helpfulness of ideas and theology with the "emergent" label. Recently, denominational leadership released a statement on their own views of the emergent church.

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16 Comments

Mar

8

Beyond Wynkoop’s Love Language

Mildred Bangs Wynkoop’s magnum opus, A Theology of Love, presents a powerful argument for love as the Christian's theological priority.  But her work would have been more powerful had she been consistent in her language of love.

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17 Comments

Mar

2

What does it mean to be Wesleyan?

For some time, Christians in the various arms of the Wesleyan tradition have pondered what they share in common.  The Wesleyan theological tradition is diverse, but it offers a distinctive vision of the gospel. And that vision differs from other Christian visions.

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37 Comments

Feb

24

God Can’t!—and the Bible Says So

I sometimes hear the argument that we should not speculate about the attributes of God’s nature. Overall, I don’t find this argument convincing.

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26 Comments

Feb

19

Open Theology and the Church of the Nazarene

Open theology has gained wide attention since the 1990s. It enjoys growing influence in the Church of the Nazarene. 

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20 Comments

Feb

16

Christian and Scientific Fundamentalism

I spend a great deal of time engaging fundamentalists. And I’ve learned a few lessons over the years.

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10 Comments

Feb

12

Breaking Free: Liberationist Postmodernism

For many on planet earth, life sucks. Liberationist postmodern theology offers hope.

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22 Comments

Feb

10

The Nature of Love - Excerpt

I sent the final proofs for one of my new books, The Nature of Love: A Theology, to Chalice Press. I’m very excited for this to come out in June!

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12 Comments

Feb

2

Characteristics of Evangelical Open and Relational Theology

In a previous blog entry, I noted many of the theological beliefs that open and relational theologians affirm. I now identify three characteristics of Evangelically-oriented open and relational thinkers.

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8 Comments

Jan

29

Perfect Like God

To “be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect” means to be like God. Too many Christians have thought God to be an impersonal force field. Believing God is personal and living helps us imagine what we should do to fulfill Jesus’ command to be perfect.

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6 Comments

Jan

26

Inspiration and Perspiration - God and the Creative Process

Thomas Alva Edison once said that invention is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. I’ve been thinking about what this quote might mean for theology.

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19 Comments

Jan

22

The Well-Being of Love

We use “love” in our everyday speech to mean many things. I think love is best understood and defined in terms of promoting well-being.

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13 Comments

Jan

21

Creatio ex Creatione a Natura Amoris: A new doctrine of creation

I previously identified some problems inherent in creatio ex nihilo. I believe a new doctrine of creation, God’s creating out of creation with a nature of love (creatio ex creation a natura amoris), is more adequate for Christians.

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21 Comments

Jan

19

Creatio Ex Nihilo: The Problem

I believe God created the heavens, the earth, and every living thing. But I think Christians should reject the idea that God created the universe from absolutely nothing.

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25 Comments

Jan

14

Is Love an Irrational Mystery?

The typical Christian seeks to honor God with his or her mind. Unfortunately, some consider love and reason hostile or at least incompatible. Such Christians think love is a mystery.

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15 Comments

Jan

13

A Theologian Evaluates Intelligent Design: Part 3 of 3

In my past two installments, I noted five things I like about Intelligent Design and five things I don’t. I conclude with my final (and apparently unique) criticism of ID.

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6 Comments

Jan

10

A Theologian Evaluates Intelligent Design: Part 2 of 3

Having pointed out five things I like about Intelligent Design, I turn now to five things I don’t like. 

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12 Comments

Jan

8

A Theologian Evaluates Intelligent Design: Part 1 of 3

I’ve been thinking and reading about the Intelligent Design (ID) movement and its ideas for some time.  I’m ready to put my evaluation in writing.

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4 Comments

Jan

6

Praise for Defining Love

I ventured to the Brazos Press website to see how promotion of my forthcoming book, Defining Love, was developing. I was tickled pink (a phrase my Father liked) to find kind words from the book's reviewers.

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