Reflections on the loving kindness of the Triune God
Lately I’ve pushed things aside, including Spreading Goodness posts, to write a syllabus for a course on “Affective Theology.” It’s offered very soon—next month—at Multnomah Biblical Seminary (June 12-16). Four hours each day, with no online option. I mention it in case any SG readers might be interested and available at the last minute. The …
Read More Next MonthIn Jonathan Edwards’ Religious Affections we find his list of “Twelve Distinguishing Signs” of God’s authentic work in transforming souls. Every Edwards biography will supply context for this work—as in George Marsden’s, Jonathan Edwards: A Life, chapter 17. Our aim here is simply to review Edwards’ call to an affective and effective Christian spirituality. This post takes up …
Read More Edwards’ Twelve Signs – the FirstWhat do I mean by Christian “affections” in the heart-based theology of this website? A big influence has been Jonathan Edwards (1703-58). His writings on Religious Affections were collected as a single volume (v. 2) in The Works of Jonathan Edwards (Yale, 1959). In the weeks to come I plan to survey some of his …
Read More Edwards’ Religious AffectionsIn a recent sermon on Proverbs 3:5-6 I probed the contrasting features of verse 5 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.” How does understanding differ from the heart here? Do our hearts compete with our understandings at times? Is this a call for us to trust feelings …
Read More On Proverbs 3:5-6Recently I received a notice from Amazon, the owners of WordPress (my Spreading Goodness platform). They plan to drop “Feedburner” – the subscription system many use to receive my blogs – and haven’t offered a replacement. Shucks! And I don’t have my own replacement, or a website engineer who knows how to chase options for …
Read More A noticeThis is the first of seven Spreading Goodness reflections on Affective—“heart-based”—theology. We start with God’s heart—his relational disposition. The seventeenth century English Puritan Richard Sibbes took up this key theme as he wrote, “If God had not a communicative, spreading goodness, he would never have created the world. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost were happy in …
Read More God’s Heart – 1 of 7When a voice in the crowd asked Jesus about his greatest priority he answered with a defining call from the Torah: “Love God.” And, as its direct corollary, “Love your neighbor.” His answer still alerts us to God’s overflowing Triune love. And we get to respond to him with our own love. The apostle John …
Read More Jesus was rightAntwuan Malone is black. He’s a pastor. He loves Jesus. And in an online interview this Friday he asked listeners an important question. Why has the church been so passive—so silent—during the national upheaval of recent days? I shared the question so his voice was encouraging and stirring. In the welter of angry speeches and …
Read More Finding VoiceJesus aligned himself with the truth as the personified pathway to life in John 14:6—“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” He elevated his invincible life even in the face of crucifixion. Jesus clearly meant to reassure disciples both then and now. Yet there are different approaches to truth—even among believers. One …
Read More Loving the TruthTime measures things. An ordinary conversation, for instance, is usually trivial. A brief exchange with a friend may fade in minutes. After 500 minutes it’s at best a faint recall. And it’s certainly gone after 500 days. Unless, of course, it’s something like a marriage proposal or a new job offer. But a request to …
Read More Luther’s 500th