Does God HAVE to Love Us?
In my newly published book, A Systematic Theology of Love, I put love at the center of my theology. I argue that God is the ultimate lover. And I emphasize the Johannine claim, “God is Love” (1 John 4:8, 16). But how should we understand, “God is love?” God IS Love The biblical text is open to a variety of interpretations. But after exploring this variety, I’ve come to think that “God is love” means that love is an […]
I Need a Love Framework
My number one goal is to live a life of love. That goal gives purpose to my life. It’s my primary intention. Because love is central, I seek a framework to make sense of love and the world. In my new book, I argue that Open and Relational Theology provides the best overall framework to answer my […]
What Does God’s Love Do?
If God’s love is uncontrolling, what does it actually do? Is God involved in our lives? Or is God like an object that inspires without directly affecting us? Something else? In a recent International Journal of Systematic Theology article, Kevin Vanhoozer offers a dialogue between John Webster’s […]
The Preeminence of Love in God
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.
The Import of Defining Love
For the past decade or more, I have been thinking about the love, science, and theology interface. The questions about how these three major domains relate to one another are complex. And they require complex but understandable answers.
Love in Relational Theology
For some Christians, issues of love are of utmost importance. Accounting for the importance of love is just one reason many are turning to relational theology to make some sense of God and the world in which we live.