As we speak of God’s love what comes to mind for us? Is it a dose of sugar, syrup and all things sweet? Or is it rough, tough and as strong as steel? I hope the question and the comparison seems absurd! Love, and God’s love in particular, is a relational reality that invites more | Read More…
We’ve all seen occasional comics of a robed and bearded street preacher with a placard sign that reads, “Repent, the end is near!” Usually there’s a punchline of some sort that makes the prophet of doom seem silly. Yet, as with most caricatures, there’s a kernel of truth in the mix. And, I suspect, there’s | Read More…
Too many Christians, I’m afraid, have the disaffected God of the Greek philosophers in mind when they pray or plan their day. The Greek versions of God are mainly about power—about having control over everything—rather than about his forming and sustaining relationships with a treasured creation. But let’s be clear from the outset that I don’t know many Christians who | Read More…
I read a troubling newspaper article on the internet today. It was one of the “most read” items and it spoke of a Christian writer who recently announced her departure from the church. The report included a summary of what disturbed her and what, for many of us, is tragically obvious: “But judging by the | Read More…
Lewis 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…
Michael Allen Gillespie in The Theological Origins of Modernity explored the contribution of Francesco Petrarch—a monumental 14th century figure—in The Solitary Life: “At the heart of this [Petrarch’s] claim [that a public life is incompatible with virtue] is his conviction that social life is dominated by the opinions and values of the multitude, who are | Read More…
(The Cor Deo blog is going live, and we want to make sure there is some content ready to interact with already on the site . . . here is a post from earlier this year on SpreadingGoodness.org . . .) What is the role of the heart in directing our conduct? This question invites ongoing reflection. | Read More…
Who 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…
