Torturing people without end, with no redemptive purpose in mind- out right cruelty without end, is the picture of God that Jesusu painted? This is Abba Father? Explain it to me please. Justice you say? How is eternal, infinite hell a just recompense for finite temporal sins? Explain that too. Continue reading ‘Abba Father?’
Monthly Archive for September, 2007
I really contemplated where I should post this commentary and none of the many that I write seemed appropriate. What I’m about to write though seems lost in the “otherness” of life or somewhere in that hallway called “liminal space“: a place where were’ totally lost, but found by God, so it’s here that I have landed. Continue reading ‘Talking To Trees’
September 28, 2007 - If only we knew how involved in our life God is. He didn’t create us to leave us alone to fend for ourselves. He’s ever waiting, but actively so, for us to return to home to our maker, creator, and lover where we not only find peace and safety, but abundant joy!
Actively Waiting [32:34m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (79) Testimonies from John Josserand and Angelika Schoenfelder [11:55m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (52)In the midst of a battle for whose Dad can beat up whose Dad, the world of fantasy often comes into play. Usually the playground boasts are made by kids who have never seen the other kid’s dad. So it is with religion. One doesn’t have to know anything about another so-called diety because we just automatically know that our god can trash your god! In a heart beat! Is there any wonder-doubt that Christians would want the “power” of a virgin birth when so many religions before Jesus had so proclaimed. CLICK HERE, for just a few. Continue reading ‘# 2- Virgin Birth Myth’
We are transformed, we are energized, and we are saved NOT by any proper name, not even by the English names Jesus and Christ! Put ‘em together, separate ‘em, or put a comma between them and it’s all the same. We are in fact saved by the SPIRIT of Jesus, the Christ. God, the Father, the Spirit was IN Christ reconciling Himself to the world. Continue reading ‘# 44- Not By Proper Names!’
God IS LOVE and He loves ALL !
Blaise Pascal (1623 – 1662 a French mathematician, physicist, and religious philosopher was a child prodigy, educated by his father) has my attention as I write this commentary beginning with this quote from him, “What a chimaera is man! What a novelty, what a monster, what a chaos, what a subject of contradiction, what a prodigy! Judge of all things and imbecile earthworm; depository of truth and sink of error and uncertainty; glory and scum of the universe.” A coat of many colors indeed. Continue reading ‘Live The LOVE Of God!’
Before I begin this multi-part series around the virgin birth, let me advise those readers who may not already know that I do not belief in the “literal virgin birth” of Jesus. I simply do not NEED a virgin birth to validate the fact that God was in Jesus reconciling Himself to the world, nor that a virgin birth is necessary for any incarnational stance. Even before the Age of Enlightenment, well before the Newton, Galileo, and the more recent scientific innovations, the virgin birth was looked upon more as a MYTH. Myths are good, necessary, and critical to all societies. Let me explain. Continue reading ‘# 1- Virgin Birth Myth’
Today, I begin a series on BEYOND THEISM on the virgin birth myth. You can go there for a definition of myth which I’ll not repeat here. But let me add that myths are critical for all societies. They are the stories and the glue that hold together the fabric of the consciousness of the people (in this case of the Christian community). Let me use by illustration, in this commentary, the nativity story. Continue reading ‘The Necessity Of Myths’
I loved the 1996 movie by Mel Gibson entitled Ransom, but I’m talking about a far greater in scope ransom. A ranson is the practice of holding a prisoner to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved. But I’m talking about the price that Jesus paid on the cross for ALL mankind! Continue reading ‘Ransom Paid In Full!’
“Pestering The Diety”
William Ralph Inge (1860 - 1954) was an English author, Anglican prelate, and professor of divinity at Cambridge. And it is to him that the lead line is attributed. Luke 18:2-5 has become the theological mode and practice of prayer for way too many. You’d think that after months and years of praying the SAME petition over and over and over again, one would get the message. God isn’t answering this prayer! Give it up. In fact, God doesn’t GIVE anything- neither does He WITHHOLD anything. God just IS and while He IS actively involved in our lives: in more in ways than we know. Continue reading ‘“Pestering The Diety”’