What Does an Uncontrolling God Do?
Most readers of my book God Can’t can answer the question in this title. Well, they can partially answer it. They’d say God acts but cannot control. And that’s right. But there’s more to be said. And I often field further questions on God’s action. In my follow-up book, Questions and Answers for God Can’t, […]
Does God Love Everyone and Everything?
Does God love rapists and arms dealers? How about cancer and the coronavirus? And the devil? Does God really love all creation? In my best-selling book, God Can’t: How to Believe in God and Love after Tragedy, Abuse, and Other Evils, I offered five answers to evil. Taken together, they explain why a God of […]
Can an Uncontrolling God Do Miracles?
Readers of my book God Can’t appreciate that an uncontrolling God neither causes nor allows evil. But many assume this God cannot do miracles. Not so fast! In my book, Questions and Answers for God Can’t, I devote a chapter to answering the question: “If God is uncontrolling, how do we explain miracles?” This blog […]
Why Petition a God Who Can’t Control?
Most readers of my book God Can’t appreciate the idea God neither causes nor allows evil. An uncontrolling God of love is not blameworthy. But many wonder what a “God Can’t” view means for understanding petitionary prayer. In my followup book, Questions and Answers for God Can’t, I offer an answer. In fact, I devote […]
God is One Cause Among Others
Did God create you? Or your parents? I’ve just completed a new book called, Questions and Answers for God Can’t. As the title suggests, it answers questions many readers had after reading my best-selling book, God Can’t. The new book offers whole chapters devoted to eight questions. Topics include prayer, miracles, eschatology, creation, love, Jesus, […]
Open and Relational Leadership
Leadership studies have blossomed in recent decades. Researchers and writers take recent developments in science, economics, medicine, or politics as their guide when advancing theories in leadership. Others seek insights from great leaders of yesteryear, presidents and prime ministers, coaches, or titans of industry. Leadership books from faith perspectives are also available. Many pick a […]
We Can Lament and Explain
I disagree with NT Wright. And I don’t often do that. In a recent Time article titled, “Christianity Offers No Answers About the Coronavirus. It’s Not Supposed To,” Wright makes some statements with which I can agree. But I don’t agree with his main point. I Agree… Wright begins his little essay by referring to […]
God’s Will and the Coronavirus
I’m not surprised some people are blaming God. Maybe “crediting” God is more accurate. I’m reading social media posts saying the Coronavirus (Covid 19) is God’s will. Our current suffering is part of some predetermined divine plan. One post put it this way: “Sorry to break up the big panic, but the Coronavirus will not […]
Models of God’s Action
A few podcast hosts have asked me to “locate” my theology in relation to other views of God. This is natural, and I like to compare views of God. Comparisons help me explain my Uncontrolling Love of God theology, which I also call Essential Kenosis. In my book The Uncontrolling Love of God, I explore […]
A TimeFull God Creates & Acts with an End in Mind
Many people think a timeless God created the universe and is its eschatological hope. By contrast, I think we make better sense of creation and eschatology if we think God is timefull rather than timeless. In a previous essay, I identified four dimensions of an open and relational — “God-in-process” — view of providence. Here’s […]