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Strong Passibility, Trinity, and Theocosmocentrism

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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 […]

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Does God Have Emotions?

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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 […]

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3 Reasons It Matters to Believe God is Relational

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"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 […]

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The Theo-Logic of Love (and why Aquinas and Anselm are wrong)

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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.

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The Jesus Argument for God’s Relationality

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Christians often say what they know best about God comes from the revelation of Jesus Christ. In Jesus, God is specially incarnated (Jn. 14:9). Those of us who think God is relational believe Jesus reveals a relational God. Jesus' Compassion Scripture tells us that Jesus himself had compassion for […]

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What Does “God is Relational” Mean?

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If you read many theology books, you’ve likely come across many theologians who say God is relational. But it’s not always clear what being “relational” means. I believe God is relational, and here's what I mean... In the past, theologians used various words as or near synonyms with “relational.” […]

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God IS Relational!

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It’s obvious to me that God relates with creation. It will come as a surprise to some, however, to hear that many Christians in the past and present DON'T think God relates with creation! By “relate,” I mean God influences creatures and creatures influence God. God is passible, to use the ancient […]

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A New Uncontrolling Love Book!

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A new book featuring 80+ essays on uncontrolling love has just been released. I'm impressed and humbled by this book's publication! I'm impressed with Uncontrolling Love, because the six editors did a great job putting together this collection of writings. Pastors, scholars, students, activists, and […]

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Does the Bible Say God Controls?

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I’ve been in conversation lately with people thinking through my theology of God’s uncontrolling love. Many like my view that God cannot control others. But they think the biblical writers say God sometimes controls. Two examples of God’s alleged control often arise in our conversations. Both are […]

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God Can’t – Making Sense of Things

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I’m on a quest to make some sense of God and life. The journey isn’t easy. I seek help from the sciences, arts, literature, cultures, sages and saints, and wisdom traditions. I also read theological texts and devote time to thinking about God. But I see as if looking through a darkened glass […]

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About

Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. He is the author or editor of more than twenty books and professor at Northwest Nazarene University, Nampa, Idaho.

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