Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
In Deuteronomy 8 Moses warned Israel against self-confidence. He reminded them of God’s manna for forty-years. The key benefit of manna was that it kept them alive. The drawback was that it was dull and predictable. So the ancient Israelites asked, why such a dull diet? God answered through Moses. It was “that he might …
Read More Connecting DotsIn his lifetime Richard Sibbes’ (1577-1635) theology changed at some key points. For any who appreciate Sibbes the claim invites some attention. We know he was a lifelong learner and was ready to think for himself. As a pastor and teacher he read widely and explored the Bible both for his teaching and in his …
Read More Our Ultimate EndLet’s play with words for a moment. We speak of feeling sheepish in the embarrassed moments after an obvious mistake. But what if we apply “sheepish” to the quality of human character God finds attractive? God often refers to believers as his sheep but not as his lions, horses, camels, ferrets, or wolves. Is there …
Read More Sheepish thoughtsOur question for the day: how pragmatic can we be as followers of Christ without losing our credibility? Is there, in other words, such a thing as a pragmatic faith? Or are the terms an oxymoron and the stuff of hypocrisy? Faith, we know, is a response of trusting obedience to God and his word. …
Read More Pragmatic FaithA few years ago at an academic conference in San Antonio I sat in on a debate between a scholar who had just offered a paper on the reformer John Calvin and a questioner in the audience. The presenter had argued that Calvin’s ideas were “pre-critical.” The questioner respectfully disagreed; and a productive exchange went …
Read More Comfortably non-CartesianI confess: in days past I’ve used a laser pointer with our family cat. You know the trick. A jiggling laser dot on the floor can entertain us and frustrate a bewildered pet for minutes at a time. It only takes a bit of human perversity and the cat’s preying instincts to have Mitsy pouncing …
Read More Chasing DotsA few years ago I was curious about social networking. How does it work and what does it offer? So I joined Facebook. In the profile page I gave my actual age and social status—I’m an aging single guy. Oh my, was that an awakening! From the start my FB page featured photos of young …
Read More In a RelationshipThe Bible invites readers to thank God always. Even in hard circumstances. But when we’re in those times it’s easier said than done! Challenging times invite a good grumble—not a praise session. Yet this reversal of common sense sets up a pathway to faith-growth. I know I’ve chased this topic before but we can never …
Read More The Eyes of FaithRecently I watched an American Public Broadcasting television show about the mathematical universe. The program featured the universe of numerical relations around us—relations by which we can trace underlying patterns in the universe. Galileo and Newton became stars for having identified key formulae—some of the many patterns that point to the orderly numerical relations of …
Read More Biblical WeatherLet me introduce Fran O’Rourke’s book, Pseudo-Dionysius and the Metaphysics of Aquinas. It’s a solid contribution to the history of Christian thought. O’Rourke, a philosopher, teaches in Dublin and the book came out with E. J. Brill in 1992. It’s now in paperback from Notre Dame. Why mention a book intended for academics? Will it …
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