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 […]

“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 […]

Dear Roger, Thanks for taking the time to review and critique my new book, The Uncontrolling Love of God. I have long been a fan of your work, and I read your blog on occasion. I often find your writing commendable and frequently recommend it to my students and friends.   I consider myself a […]

The story of Goldilocks and the three bears can help us think well about God’s power. Some theologians in Christian history have thought divine power means that God controls everything. They often use the phrase, “God is sovereign.” Paul Kjoss Helseth, a contemporary advocate of the view, calls the view “divine omnicausality,” because God alone […]

Christians have many ways to think about how God acts in creation (providence). Each way has implications for making sense of life in light of God’s love, power, and other attributes. But some ways are better than others. In my forthcoming book, The Uncontrolling Love of God, I identify seven models of providence. Among them […]

I’ve been thinking about the various paths Christians take to embracing open and relational theology. John Polkinghorne is among those for whom science led to open and relational themes. For Polkinghorne and many other science and religion scholars, it makes sense to say an open and relational God creates an open and relational universe. My […]

Open and process theologies have much in common. But differences also exist. The future of open theology, in my view, will be largely shaped by ongoing conversations between the two theological perspectives. But I expect them to draw closer and their boundaries to blur. In a previous blog essay, I talked about the future of […]

Open theology has matured in many ways since the ground-breading publication of The Openness of God book twenty years ago. I’ve been thinking about what the next twenty years might be for open theology.

In my current book, I offer a model of providence I call “Essential Kenosis.” One of my main arguments is that this model gives a plausible reason why a loving and powerful God fails to prevent genuine evil. One aspect of my argument, however, addresses what we might call God's "constitution." I find this aspect neglected more than any other by those who address the problem of evil.