Latest Blog Entries

My friend, Howard Snyder, has written a review of my new book, The Uncontrolling Love of God. I thought it might be helpful if I responded. I have great respect for Howard and his work. Although we disagree on several theological issues, I count him as an important voice in Wesleyan Theology. Howard’s review is […]

We all want to make sense of life. But tragedies and evils – whether caused by free creatures, microorganisms, or random events – make it difficult to do so.

The Revenant is in my opinion and the opinions of many, this year’s best picture. Revenge, a common plotline of action movies, drives the main character. But The Revenant’s storylines and conclusion raise questions about who properly takes revenge. The movie is based on the true struggle for survival of trapper-hunter Hugh Glass (played by […]

I’ve been reading what great and not so great theologians say about evil. The vast majority believe an almighty God could stop evil. But they don’t know why a loving God doesn’t do so. It’s a mystery, they say. I’ve recently published a book that solves the problem of evil. The Uncontrolling Love of God offers […]

Keith Ward’s new book, Christ and the Cosmos: A Reformulation of Trinitarian Doctrine, inspires me. It offers ideas whose basic form I’ve been pondering for some time. But Ward puts those ideas in explicit language and encourages me to think more creatively than I have previously! I’ve been asked to write a full-length review/evaluative article […]

Good books change our perspective on God, the world, or ourselves. Good books have changed my perspective in 2015.

“Be it unto me,” says Mary, the mother of Jesus. She speaks in response to the Spirit’s plans for a special incarnation. And in her consent, Mary becomes a powerful example of what it means to cooperate with God’s uncontrolling love. Biblical Support for Essential Kenosis Many people are saying they find attractive the vision […]

The new movie, Spotlight, tells the ugly story of clergy sexual abuse of children. But what the movie says about institutional complicity reveals the ugly side of church leadership.

Amos Yong’s new book, Renewing Christian Theology: Systematic for a Global Christianity, is simply excellent! Yong is among the leading Pentecostal theologians at work today, if not the leading Pentecostal theologian. The breadth and depth of his theological work is, as far as I know, unparalleled. In this book, Yong uses a broader moniker, however, […]

“We are children of an all-powerful God,” Marco Rubio told an Iowa audience recently. “Everything that happens is a part of His plan.” I think Rubio is wrong. In his campaign speech, Rubio said he has been asked about God in light of terrorism. People wonder, “Where was God on 9/11? Where was God in […]