Search results for ex nihilo

Most Christian theologies assume God is essentially timeless. By ‘essentially timeless,’ I mean they assume God does not experience in relationship with others moment by moment. Many assume God ‘sees’ history – beginning to end – from an eternal now, without engaging in giving and receiving relations with creation. Scholars offer various theories for how […]

Few people wake up one morning and say, “Today, I will renounce the idea God created our universe from nothing.” I suspect that most people have not even heard of the idea, which is expressed by the Latin words creatio ex nihilo. And those who have heard of creation from nothing probably have no reason to question […]

In three previous blogs, I explored 9 reasons many Christians affirm the theory that God initially created our universe from absolutely nothing. Although some of the reasons have validity, I found none of them to be ultimately convincing. In this blog, I want to offer my alternative to creation from nothing. The Basic Idea: creatio ex […]

I’m writing a book that offers a new theory of initial creation. It’s a project I’ve wanted to do for some time. To help my thinking, I’m asking friends and readers to comment on the issues. So far, the comments I’ve been sent have been very helpful, and I’m incorporating them in my writing. I […]

This the fourth and final installment in my blog review of Keith Ward’s book, Christ and Cosmos. In the first installment, I noted that Ward thinks the social Trinity is a “bad idea.” I agreed, and I noted the helpfulness of Ward’s general doctrine of God, which comes from an open and relational perspective. In […]

I thank Derek Rishmawy for his Christianity Today review of my new book, The Uncontrolling Love of God.  I offer this response as a way to clarify and note differences between Derek’s views and my own.

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 […]

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 […]

My version of open and relational theology says love is the preeminent attribute in God’s nature. As I read John Sanders’s work, he seems to think sovereignty precedes love in God’s nature.