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The Spirit as Personal and Diversely Active

The final piece in my brief argument for God’s causal role in the world builds upon my previous proposals. It emphasizes that God is personal and acts in various ways in the world.

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The Spirit as Nonintervening and Noncoercive

The question of God’s intervention in the world persists in the science-and-religion conversation. An adequate theology of the Spirit active in creation must handle this issue with care.

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Resolving God of the Gaps

I’ve been thinking about how God, as spirit, acts in the world. One often overlooked or underemphasized notion derives from God’s omnipresence. And thinking carefully about omnipresence helps resolve facets of the God of the gaps problem.

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Two Problems for Identifying God’s Causation

Identifying the Spirit’s causal activity is difficult for many reasons. I want to note two and then show that these problems may actually be opportunities for Christians.

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Philosophy of Science and the Spirit Active in the World

Research in science and theology is chock full of philosophical presuppositions. We need to look at a few as we think about how best to talk about the Spirit’s activity in the world.

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God as Spirit in a World of Science

I’ve recently concluded that an important place to begin thinking about how God acts in our world is to think carefully about what it means to say with Jesus, “God is spirit.”

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Phony Environmental Theology

Presidential candidate, Rick Santorum, criticized the theology of Barack Obama recently, calling it “phony.” I’ve been thinking about what a legit theology might look like today.

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Obstacles for Pentecostals Engaging Science

In a previous blog, I offered five reasons I think the Pentecostal tradition is one of the most exciting voices in the science and theology dialogue. Now I want to explore three obstacles still to be overcome by Pentecostals who want to deepen and extend the dialogue.

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The Pentecostal and Science Promise

The Pentecostal tradition offers one of, if not the, most exciting conversation partners in the science-and-religion dialogue. Pentecostalism brings several assets to the conversation table.

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Christians Care about Science and Theology

For some Christians, the science-and-theology dialogue is peripheral to their faith. The heat from disagreement, conflict, and unresolved questions repels them. By contrast, I think Christians should care deeply about science. And they should intentionally engage the theology-and-science dialogue.

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God in an Open Universe

A new book, God in an Open Universe: Science, Metaphysics, and Open Theism, has just been released. The book offers essays on the interconnections between Open theism and the natural sciences.

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The Consequences of Love

The upcoming morality of evolution/evolution of morality conference at Oxford I’m attending has me thinking more about science and love.

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The Language of Science and Faith

Can Christians affirm the general theory of evolution and believe God is Creator? A new book from Karl Giberson and Francis Collins answers this question with a resounding YES!

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Evangelicals Accept Evolution

I chose my blog title to acknowledge that a growing number of Evangelicals accept evolution as compatible with Christianity. I also chose my title to argue that Evangelicals should accept evolution as compatible with faith.

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Biology and the freedom to love

In recent decades, biology has moved to the fore of love research.  The role of evolution, the function of genes, selection pressures, and group interaction play a prominent role in contemporary biological discussions of the possibility and nature of love. 

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What Would Jesus’ Brain Look Like?      Love, Exemplars, and Brain Structures III

Jesus’ brain must have made a difference in who he was and how he loved. Recent neuroscience offers research and theories that prompt us to think anew about Jesus of Nazareth.

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Love, Exemplars, and Brain Structure II

Exemplars are unique and they don’t become exemplars overnight. They are proof of the old saying, practice makes perfect.

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Love, Exemplars, and Brain Structure

Love is primary for any adequate ethic. But can the human brain – especially the brains of those who love often and well – tell us anything about love?

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Polkinghorne’s Twin Concerns

A vegetarian butcher. That’s the combination some people think analogous to being both a scientist and theologian.

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35 Comments

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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About this website

You’ve reached the online home of Thomas Jay Oord, a professor, author, and theologian from the Pacific Northwest. Read more