Latest Blog Entries

It seems that most Christians believe God is relational. I agree. Theologians call this “divine passibility.” But some Christians think God chooses to be relational, while others think God is relational by nature. Does it matter whether we believe God is relational by choice or by nature? Five Reasons to Affirm God is Essentially Relational […]

An increasing number of Christians believe God is relational. To be “relational” is, in the classical language, to be “passible.” It means that God is affected by others. I’ve written an essay for a new book on im/passibility, and I defend what the editors call “strong passibility.” In my language, I call this God’s essential […]

Some Christians believe God has no emotions. They believe this, in part, because they think only embodied beings have the capacity to express emotions. I think God can experience and express emotion. In a series of previous blog essays, I’ve argued that God is relational. By that I mean God gives and receives from creatures. […]

What should we do with the email folders of our deceased friends? I’ve been thinking about this question for more than a decade! And I’ve come to an All Saints Day answer. It somehow felt wrong to delete immediately the email folders of friends and acquaintances who have died. But as the years have passed, the […]

Christians around the world are celebrating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation. Not just Protestants, even many Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christians are celebrating! Five hundred years ago, Martin Luther nailed 95 theses on Castle church door in Wittenberg, Germany. Most Christians today who read the document Luther posted would find his theses bewildering. […]

We often consider the lone theologian our standard of theological excellence. In some ways, that’s understandable. In other ways, our standard should be different. Often overlooked are the collaborators, cooperators, and team players. Instead of standing alone, they form communities and together address issues, solve problems, and confront negativity. There’s something powerful about collaboration for […]

“It doesn’t matter whether we think God is relational,” a friend recently quipped. “God is just God.” Well… I disagree! In recent blog essay’s I’ve explored what it means to say God is relational. In this post, I want to briefly note 3 reasons why it matters to believe God is relational. A Relational God […]

The theo-logic of God’s love says divine love is relationally full-orbed rather than one-dimensional. Three forms of love — agape, eros, and philia — demonstrate this theo-logic. And the Bible gives witness to them. AGAPE God expresses the agape form of love by responding to sin with forgiveness and healing. Those are activities that assume God relates with […]

Social media is changing contemporary culture. And its changing scholarship in religion and philosophy. Some of the leading voices in these fields are using social media and technology in interesting ways. I recently asked more than 90 theologians, philosophers, biblical scholars, and religious leaders to write essays on social media. The result is a 460-page […]

In contrast to Aquinas and Anselm, I think God’s love involves more than outgoing benevolence. God’s love also involves incoming empathy, receiving, and sometimes suffering.