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<\/strong><\/h3>\nI\u2019ve noticed two trends among theologians. Both trends include theologians who, unlike me, are not <\/em>on a quest to make some sense of God and life.<\/p>\n The first group of theologians believes they already have the right answers. They\u2019re certain their view of God is correct. They typically claim this assurance by appealing to an inerrant sacred text or particular tradition. They are not on a quest of discovery, because they have God and life figured out.<\/p>\n Other theologians have given up the quest to make sense of God and life. Many of them have abandoned the quest in reaction to those who think they\u2019ve got God and life already figured out. These theologian rightly see the problems that come with certainty. They respond by appealing to mystery and give up on constructive theology.<\/p>\n In my quest to make some sense of God and life, I\u2019m steering a middle way between certainty and mystery. On this adventure, humility is paramount. I haven\u2019t got God and life figured out. But I also seek constructive proposals that seem to come closer to truth than alternatives.<\/p>\n My quest has prompted me to believe some of our fundamental beliefs about God need changing. I don\u2019t know this with certainty, of course. But I can make better sense of God and life if some long-standing theological beliefs are replaced by better ones.<\/p>\n In the following, I ask you to consider the possibility that God can\u2019t <\/em>do some things. In fact, I\u2019m going to argue that God can\u2019t <\/em>control creation. Thinking about God\u2019s power in this new way has helped me make better sense of God and life.<\/p>\n\t\t The theologians who appeal to mystery are wary of any talk about God\u2019s nature. They sometimes claim we can only talk about God\u2019s actions. Of course, knowing what counts as an act of God requires some prior belief about who God is and how God acts. This belief comes from some implicit or explicit assumption about God\u2019s nature.<\/p>\n I think we should humbly propose claims about what God\u2019s nature may be like. My primary argument for why we are justified in speculating about God\u2019s nature comes from the Bible.\u00a0 Biblical authors OFTEN make statements about God\u2019s nature or attributes. They don\u2019t just describe God\u2019s actions.\u00a0 Here are a few:<\/p>\n \u201cGod is love\u201d (I Jn 4:16).\u00a0 \u201cGod is spirit\u2026” (Jn. 4:24). \u201cThe Lord our God is holy\u201d (Ps. 99:9). “The Lord is one” (Deut. 6:4). \u201cGod \u2026 knows everything\u201d (1 Jn. 3:20). \u201cGod is just\u201d (2 Thess. 1:6).\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cGod is not unjust\u201d (Heb. 6:10). In God\u2019s nature \u201cthere is no change or shadow of alteration\u201d (James 1:17). \u201cGod is not a God of disorder but of peace\u201d (1 Cor. 14:33).<\/p>\n I could list so many more.<\/p>\n I join with most Christians who think Jesus Christ reveals important information about God\u2019s nature. Of course, we have to make judgments about what aspects of Jesus pertain solely to his humanness and which reveal something about God.<\/p>\n For instance, Jesus was located in one place. But like most Christians, I think God is omnipresent. Jesus seemed not to be omniscient. But like most Christians, I think God knows everything that can be known.<\/p>\n The passage of scripture many theologians today look to for how Jesus reveals God\u2019s nature is Paul\u2019s letter to believers in Philippi. In this text, Paul says that Jesus\u2019 kenosis <\/em>tells us something about God. Here\u2019s the pertinent passage:<\/p>\n “Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself (kenosis), taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross (Phil. 2:3-8).<\/em><\/p>\n All Scripture requires interpretation. Theologians interpret this passage in various ways and apply it to various issues.<\/p>\n A number of theologians are comfortable saying this kenosis passage tells us that God voluntarily chooses not to act in certain ways.\u00a0 God voluntarily self-limits, creates space for creation, and gives creatures freedom, say theologians as influential as J\u00fcrgen Moltmann and John Polkinghorne. This limitation is based on God\u2019s free decision.<\/p>\n\t\t The typical interpretation of Jesus\u2019 kenosis <\/em>says that God voluntarily self-limits and therefore won\u2019t <\/em>control creatures (at least most of the time). I\u2019ve come to think it\u2019s better to believe God can\u2019t <\/em>control creatures, ever.<\/p>\n The distinction between \u201cGod can\u2019t\u201d and \u201cGod won\u2019t\u201d is important for accounting for God\u2019s action or inaction to prevent genuine evil. If God won\u2019t prevent evil even though God could, we\u2019re left with the usual questions about evil. We\u2019ll wonder why a God who voluntarily self-limits doesn\u2019t become un-self-limited, in the name of love, to prevent genuine evil.<\/p>\n But if God can\u2019t<\/em> prevent evil, a completely new way of thinking emerges. In my quest to make some sense of God and life, I think we should say God can\u2019t <\/em>prevent evil by acting alone.<\/p>\n\t\t Some people think saying God can\u2019t <\/em>do some things is blasphemous.\u00a0They belief God can do anything, and they (wrongly) think the Bible clearly says so.<\/p>\n A few biblical passages do say God can do anything. The best known is probably \u201cwith God all things are possible\u201d (Mt. 19:26 and elsewhere).\u00a0 In this passage (and the other gospels reporting the same conversation), Jesus seems to be saying that offering salvation is always possible for God. That would be different that saying literally nothing is impossible for God to do.<\/p>\n There are passages in the Bible that specifically say God can\u2019t<\/em> do some things. They aren\u2019t saying God voluntarily chooses not to do some things. They say God simply cannot do them.\u00a0 Here are a few:<\/p>\n “It is impossible for God to lie” (Heb. 6:18).\u00a0 See also Titus 1:2.<\/p>\n \u201cGod cannot be tempted by evil” (Js. 1:12).<\/p>\n “If we are faithless, [God] remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself\u201d (2 Tim. 2:13).<\/p>\n The statement, in my view, covers the others.\u00a0 When Paul says God \u201ccannot deny himself,\u201d he seems to be saying that God\u2019s own nature places limits on what God can do. God must be God, and God cannot be otherwise.<\/p>\n Christians like me who privilege the Bible on theological matters can\u2019t ignore statements that seem to tell us something about God\u2019s nature and inherent limitations.<\/p>\n If we think about it, limitations based on God\u2019s nature aren\u2019t that big a deal. They shouldn\u2019t shock us, even if we haven\u2019t yet thought much about it.<\/p>\n Does it diminish our view of God, for instance, to admit that God can\u2019t lie?\u00a0 I doubt it.\u00a0 And I doubt our view of God is diminished if we consider the alternatives to other divine attributes.<\/p>\n For instance, I doubt many of us worry God can\u2019t voluntarily decide to be 671 instead of triune. Most Christians assume that trinity is part of what it means to be God. I\u2019ve never heard anyone say, \u201cA triune God is unworthy of my worship. But I could worship a God who is 671!\u201d<\/p>\n We probably don\u2019t think it\u2019s a significant limitation that God must be omnipresent. We probably don\u2019t think it\u2019s a shame God must be righteous instead of sinful.<\/p>\n Upon reflection, the fact that God can\u2019t do or be some things doesn\u2019t seem so bad after all. In fact, we may come to think a God worthy of our worship must <\/em>be limited in some ways if our worship is to make any sense. That\u2019s how I see it, at least.<\/p>\n\t\t One of the most important biblical statements about God\u2019s nature is that God\u2019s eternal and unchanging nature includes steadfast love.\u00a0 God always loves. God cannot not love, to use the double negative.<\/p>\n If God\u2019s nature is love of a certain type, this can help us solve the problem of evil. It might helps us make sense of God and life. Here\u2019s what I mean:<\/p>\n Perhaps God\u2019s love is necessarily self-giving, other-empowering, and therefore uncontrolling. Perhaps because God\u2019s nature is love, God can\u2019t <\/em>control others. To put it positively, God\u2019s love always involves giving freedom and\/or agency to creatures. Because God’s nature is love, God cannot do otherwise.<\/p>\n Drawing from the kenosis <\/em>passage we looked at earlier, I\u2019ve come to call this idea \u201cessential kenosis.\u201d My view says God necessarily gives freedom, agency, self-organization, existence, and law-like regularities to creatures. Consequently, God cannot <\/em>fail to provide, override, or withdraw this gift. Theses moment-by-moment gifts are, to use Paul\u2019s word, \u201cirrevocable\u201d (Rm. 11:29).<\/p>\n\t\t If you\u2019ve followed my arguments this far, your mind is probably whirling!<\/p>\n You\u2019re wondering, \u201cIf essential kenosis is true, how do I understand God\u2019s creating, miracles, resurrection, eschatology, etc.?\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019ve asked these questions myself and proposed some answers in various publications, including my recent book, The Uncontrolling Love of God<\/em>. I won\u2019t rehearse them here.<\/p>\n Looking at God\u2019s power through the lens of God\u2019s love and not total control will be a new to some people. \u00a0But I know of nothing in the Bible to suggest that thinking this way does injustice to the overall biblical witness.\u00a0 After all, most folk think God always acts lovingly \u2013 even when biblical writers report God being angry with sinners.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t have it all figured out. I see through a glass darkly. And I admit there are a few biblical passages that aren’t easily explained by the idea that God always acts loving. They are the exceptions to the overall drift of scripture.<\/p>\n But I do think essential kenosis is a biblically supported view of God\u2019s nature. And I know it has already helped many people make sense of why God doesn\u2019t prevent genuine evil.<\/p>\n Essential kenosis builds upon the biblical claims about God\u2019s inability to do some things, because God \u201ccannot deny himself\u201d (2 Tim. 2:13).<\/p>\n\t\tSpeculating about God\u2019s Nature<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Jesus Reveals God
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<\/strong><\/h3>\nGod Can\u2019t vs. God Won\u2019t<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Scripture says God Can\u2019t
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<\/strong><\/h3>\nA Limited God is Worthy of Worship <\/strong><\/h3>\n
God must love: God cannot not love<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The Powerful God of Uncontrolling Love
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