God as Emotional Friend
“God experiences emotions.” Open and relational theologians believe this statement is true. But it carries baggage. What do they mean by it? I’m nearly finished writing a book introducing open and relational theology. I write in an accessible way and explain the basic ideas. It should help both newbies and vets to identify the core […]
God’s Love is Relational in Three Forms
The theo-logic of God’s love says divine love is relationally full-orbed rather than one-dimensional. Three forms of love — agape, eros, and philia — demonstrate this theo-logic. And the Bible gives witness to them. AGAPE God expresses the agape form of love by responding to sin with forgiveness and healing. Those are activities that assume God relates with […]
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?”
Agape Theology
I heard several references to the work of Anders Nygren at the recent Oxford University conference I attended, “The Evolution of Morality.” Nygren’s agape theology continues to influence more than seventy years after its publication.