A Walk through Paul’s letter to the Romans – Sean Davidson
A Walk through Paul’s Letter to the Romans (I wrote this on my journey to work this morning. It began with an effort to make sense of a difficult passage in the first chapter. It ended with something like a targum or paraphrase of the entire letter.) There is no special identity that can save […]
Does God Do Whatever He Wants Because He is God? Ken Tanner
I frequently run into the argument that God can do whatever he wants because he is God. Partnered with this assertion is often an accusation that human “sensibilities” about what is right and wrong are not the same as God’s—that his ways are higher than our ways—as a defense for God behaving in ways that […]
Does ‘The Shack’ Teach Universalism – Stuart Hazeldine (director of the movie)
QUESTION: “Do you think The Shack book and movie promote universalism, as some of its critics allege? If you don’t believe it does, how does The Shack movie present the ultimate judgment and wrath of God?” Ben McEachen, www.eternitynews.com.au STUART HAZELDINE: Paul Young is on record as saying he is a ‘hopeful Universalist’, for which there is much […]
Are You ‘Saved’? (uh…) by Brad Jersak
A constellation of questions, common to some Christian traditions, increasingly makes me cringe. Are you saved? Is he/she saved? When were you saved? I know what is intended. They are identifying ‘saved’ with the moment I ‘invited Christ into my heart’ through the faith confession involved in ‘the Sinner’s Prayer.’ If that is how and […]
The Evolution of Heavenly Fire
I recently came across the citation from St Athanasius (via creativeorthodox.com) that beautifully compares the resurrection of Christ to a fire that completely consumes death as if it were dry straw. The comparison reminded me of the range and frequent use of fire as imagery associated with the person or acts of God. A brief […]