Why Systematic Theologians Don’t Prioritize Love
In my recently published A Systematic Theology of Love, I say that, to my knowledge, this book is the first with that precise title. And few systematic theologians afford love preeminence in their work. Why is love not given prominence? I’ve not conducted an official survey to answer this question. But here are my guesses […]
Augustine’s View of God & Time
Augustine’s beliefs about God and time have been highly influential in Western civilization, especially among Christians. Scholars often cite his beliefs about divine immutability and impassibility. But Augustine’s belief in a timeless God and waffling about the reality of time powerfully shaped the history of theology. The Confessions may be the most influential book from […]
Love is More than Desire or Devotion
In various publications and recently in Pluriform Love, I define love. My definition says love acts intentionally, in relational response to God and others, to promote overall well-being. Perhaps the most common alternative to my definition says love is desire. We find theologians and philosophers from the past and present defining love as desire. In […]
Love and the Timeless God
Philosophy always plays a role in Christian theology. This isn’t a bad thing; philosophy isn’t inherently evil. We’re all philosophers, in the general sense of thinking about things, and all theologies have philosophical assumptions. In fact, every statement about love – scholarly or not – incorporates philosophy, at least in the broad sense. Some philosophies […]
Augustine’s God Doesn’t Love Us
I’m writing a book I’m tentatively calling, “Pluriform Love.” Part of the task involves looking at major theologies of love in Christian history. I’m looking at Augustine’s thoughts and criticizing them harshly. Here’s an excerpt… Use or Enjoy A subsection of Augustine’s classic book, Teaching Christianity, is titled, “God Does Not Enjoy Us, But Makes […]
Explaining Love to an Alien
Suppose an alien from Planet X leaned over the counter at Starbucks and asked, “What is this ‘love’ I hear spoken of on your planet?”
Augustine’s Love Problems
I’ve come to believe that Augustine’s theology fails on the central issue of Christian faith: love.
Open Theology and the Church of the Nazarene
Open theology has gained wide attention since the 1990s. It enjoys growing influence in the Church of the Nazarene.
A Story to Orient Our Lives: Narrative
If language is too slippery and we have no certain foundation upon which to build a worldview, are Christians lost? Is there any way to find meaning in a postmodern world?