What Does an Uncontrolling God Do?
Most readers of my book God Can’t can answer the question in this title. Well, they can partially answer it. They’d say God acts but cannot control. And that’s right. But there’s more to be said. And I often field further questions on God’s action. In my follow-up book, Questions and Answers for God Can’t, […]
Does God Love Everyone and Everything?
Does God love rapists and arms dealers? How about cancer and the coronavirus? And the devil? Does God really love all creation? In my best-selling book, God Can’t: How to Believe in God and Love after Tragedy, Abuse, and Other Evils, I offered five answers to evil. Taken together, they explain why a God of […]
Can an Uncontrolling God Do Miracles?
Readers of my book God Can’t appreciate that an uncontrolling God neither causes nor allows evil. But many assume this God cannot do miracles. Not so fast! In my book, Questions and Answers for God Can’t, I devote a chapter to answering the question: “If God is uncontrolling, how do we explain miracles?” This blog […]
Why Petition a God Who Can’t Control?
Most readers of my book God Can’t appreciate the idea God neither causes nor allows evil. An uncontrolling God of love is not blameworthy. But many wonder what a “God Can’t” view means for understanding petitionary prayer. In my followup book, Questions and Answers for God Can’t, I offer an answer. In fact, I devote […]
Models of God’s Action
A few podcast hosts have asked me to “locate” my theology in relation to other views of God. This is natural, and I like to compare views of God. Comparisons help me explain my Uncontrolling Love of God theology, which I also call Essential Kenosis. In my book The Uncontrolling Love of God, I explore […]
Five Questions of My Theology of Love
An academic book of essays on love was recently published. My friend Kevin Vanhoozer wrote the first essay, and the second is my response. Kevin criticizes my theology of love in various ways, preferring instead John Webster’s theology. I address his criticisms in my full essay, but I thought I’d excerpt a portion here. For […]
The Finally Impenitent
“The finally impenitent are hopelessly and eternally lost.” The Manual of the Church of the Nazarene includes these ominous words. The phrase “the finally impenitent” was in use prior to the denomination’s beginning. And other Christian groups currently include these words in their belief statements. “Impenitent” refers to those who do not repent from sin […]
John Wesley Says God Can’t
My recent book, God Can’t, makes the claim God can’t do some activities. Although this strikes some as unprecedented, John Wesley said it before I did. God Can’t in the Bible Biblical writers said “God can’t” before John Wesley and me. In various books and blogs, I’ve listed biblical passages that explicitly say God can’t […]
25th Anniversary of The Openness of God
This year marks the 25th anniversary of a book that continues to influence many: The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge to the Traditional Understanding of God (IVP). By “openness of God,” the authors mean God experiences the ongoing flow of time. Like us, God faces an open and not yet settled future. No one, […]
An Experiencing God Knows All that’s Knowable
Open and relational theologies say God enjoys moment-by-moment experiences in relationship with others. This important idea affects how these theologies think about God’s knowledge. Open and relational theologies take seriously the reality of time’s forward flow. Not only is existence fundamentally in process, but God also experiences the process of time. God is timefull not […]