Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
What about the Spirit? What should we make of his place in the Trinity, and in our lives? Our response to that question, whatever it is, will say much about how we live out our faith. With that in mind let me mention, very briefly, some common points of view, then offer my own. And …
Read More Enjoying the SpiritGod opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble—James 4:6. The context for James’ words were affective, located in God’s jealous longing for the spirit he made to dwell in us. Humility, James was saying, is at the heart of a proper relationship with God and it opens the door to a much deeper …
Read More HumilityToo many Christians, I’m afraid, have the disaffected God of the Greek philosophers in mind when they pray or when they plan their day. The Greek versions of God are all about power—about having control over everything—rather than about his forming and sustaining relationships with a treasured creation. The full post has been published in the …
Read More A Passionate GodLewis Ayres in Nicaea and its Legacy offers a helpful summary of the “pro-Nicene” theology of fourth century church leaders. The Council of Nicaea (in 325) set out an acceptable manner for speaking of God’s oneness while still affirming his eternal distinctions as Father, Son, and Spirit. Yet the debate over how best to speak …
Read More Speaking of the TrinityMost people have never heard of Joachim of Fiore (c. 1135-1202). Yet his voice was notable in a Christian tradition that still has echoes today. He was a mystic and monk who claimed that God intended to work in human history in three stages. The first stage was the age of the Father, that is, the Old …
Read More Joachim’s NotionsLater this week I’ll speak to a group with the task of comparing a “Trinitarian” to a “non-Trinitarian” understanding of God. It’s an important topic; and I probably should have launched the Spreading Goodness site with this question since it stands behind much of what we’ve offered here since beginning. On the other hand it’s …
Read More The Trinity and TrinitarianismThis weekend was full: I was asked to be the Sunday speaker at a church missions conference. My assigned text? Matthew 22:37-39, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all …
Read More The Divine MissionWho is God? And what is he like? A primary answer to this question is that God exists in communion. That is, the bedrock reality of God is his triune existence: he is One who exists eternally as the Father, Son, and Spirit. The Father is distinctly and only the Father; the Son is distinctly …
Read More Who is God?Allen Bloom wrote The Closing of the American Mind in the 1980’s as a criticism of the growing relativism in the modern academy and in society at large. That relativism has two axioms: first that everyone should be free to hold their own opinion without having others criticize them; and, second, that every viewpoint is …
Read More The Closing of the Human HeartI was asked to speak about encouragement. Given the topic I guessed that at least some of the retreat participants already knew about its negative alternatives, of discouragement and its lurking big brother, depression. The assignment turned out to be more challenging than I expected. I first considered what the option of simple volition might …
Read More Gaining Courage