Obstacles to Putting Love First
Many biblical scholars and theologians fail to affirm the priority of love. In this essay, I focus on the final of five reasons why many fail to make love a priority. I’ll simply list the first four before addressing the fifth. Get a copy of Pluriform Love to read the explanations I give to the […]
God’s Pluriform Love for Us
Most Christian theologies restrict divine love. According to many, God only expresses agape. According to others, God only expresses eros. Some theologies may say God expresses hesed but cannot affirm divine ahavah. Other theologians mix and match love, depending on their philosophical and theological assumptions. In my new book, Pluriform Love, I argue that God […]
The Story Behind Pluriform Love
I’ve written a book that ties together many of my primary thoughts about God and love. It’s called Pluriform Love: An Open and Relational Theology of Well-Being. The preface of Pluriform Love gives the background story to its writing. And it provides a taste of some of the book’s primary ideas. I thought I’d share […]
The Primacy of Love
I’m excited about my book, Pluriform Love, which is coming out in February! It’s an academic book. I think of it as a follow-up to my book, The Uncontrolling Love of God. Here’s an excerpt from the first chapter… The Primacy of Love It’s not hard to make a scriptural case for the primacy of […]
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 […]
The Theo-Logic of Love (and why Aquinas and Anselm are wrong)
In contrast to Aquinas and Anselm, I think God’s love involves more than outgoing benevolence. God’s love also involves incoming empathy, receiving, and sometimes suffering.
What is Love? Baby, Don’t Confuse Me… No More!
I think about love nearly every day. As a love scholar and professor, I talk about love so much some students call me “Dr. Love.” But when Valentine’s Day arrives each year, I can get annoyed. The language of love I hear can be confusing! Sex and Romance I hear the word “love” used in […]
Love Research Needs a Definition
Research in science and religion captivates me. Adding the dimension of love to this research motivates me in powerful ways. Making sense of life requires exploring science and religion with help from philosophy. In fact, I can’t imagine answering well the big questions of life while ignoring any of the three. We wonder, “Why is […]
Free EBook: The Science of Love (Templeton Press)
Madonna, Perry Como, and the Powerpuff Girls sing songs titled, “Love Makes the World Go ‘Round.” The phrase represents wishful thinking, starry-eyed romance, and sappiness. To some, it conjures visions of Don Quixote chasing windmills. But that phrase means something else to me. A few theologians suggest that the phrase might tell us something about […]
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.