Categotry Archives: theological questions

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Is Salvation a Done Deal?

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Categories: theological questions

A quick caveat to start this post: it’s about theology. If you prefer not to go there, you can skip this post and wait for the next.

This post was inspired by my blogger friend Linda, who recently posted about the differences in theology between the Orthodox and Protestant views of atonement (or as she puts it, the eastern and western views). I began to leave this as a comment on her blog, but realized it was sort of a tangent on a different point she was making, which was that today’s evangelical view tends to overemphasize our alienation from God, rather than His plan of reconciliation (which overall I agree with). I also thought the tangent itself might warrant its own discussion–so I decided to create a post about it here.

This is a preview of Is Salvation a Done Deal?. Read the full post (1416 words, estimated 5:40 mins reading time)

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A Flexible, Anchored Framework (excerpt)

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Categories: theological questions

Excerpt from my post earlier today on Communitas Collective…

It seems like the past few months have been “earthquake season” for this planet. First there was the horrific devastation from Haiti’s quake in January; about six weeks later, Chile suffered a quake nearly 1000 times as intense as Haiti’s. And just yesterday, Mexico registered a 7.2 quake that was felt in California.

If you’ve never been in an earthquake, it’s hard to describe the sense of helplessness and of time standing still. It really does shake you, in more ways than one. Growing up in California, I’ve felt quakes as strong as 6.2; I don’t ever care to feel one stronger.

This is a preview of A Flexible, Anchored Framework (excerpt). Read the full post (210 words, 1 image, estimated 50 secs reading time)

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The Significance of the Son of God

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Categories: food for thought, theological questions, Things I Should Probably Not Be Telling You

As a disclaimer/hat-tip, the thoughts I’m about to process began from some things I’m reading in Brian McClaren’s A Generous Orthodoxy. In one of the early chapters, he reflects on some of the issues and controversies raised by Jesus being referred to as the “Son of God”–including some of the concerns it raises in our culture about the presumed “male-“ness of God, or reinforcing the male-dominant theme many have taken from the Scripture–all of which could be debated and discussed into the ground as to what it actually means.

This is a preview of The Significance of the Son of God. Read the full post (1133 words, 1 image, estimated 4:32 mins reading time)

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On Heaven and Hell, and Possibly Asking the Wrong Questions

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Categories: Meanderings (look it up), theological questions

On Sunday I listened to my friend Eugene talk to a gathering of believers about the question: “What happens when we die?” He talked about how he believes in a heaven and a hell, but admitted that there really isn’t very much detailed in Scripture about either. Nor does God seem to be big on giving us a lot of details in the Bible about what death looks like or feels like. It’s kind of like, you have to be there–to experience it–to know what it is. (Of course, once we cross that threshold, most of us don’t come back.)

Interestingly, when Jesus was about to die, He was pretty vague with His disciples about what to expect on the other side, as well. They wanted specifics, details, and He basically said, “Trust Me.” Here’s a snippet of the conversation in John 14:

This is a preview of On Heaven and Hell, and Possibly Asking the Wrong Questions. Read the full post (1154 words, 2 images, estimated 4:37 mins reading time)

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Re-thinking the Foundations of Faith (part 2)

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Categories: changing mindsets, food for thought, theological questions

In my previous post I began looking at the huge amount of importance we believers tend to put on our theological views–our beliefs about God–to the point that we treat them as foundational to our faith. And I said that I was re-thinking this concept, that I was pondering a faith that was deeper than “correct” belief, based more on relationship than on specific beliefs or a theological creed.

I’m not saying theology isn’t important; rather, it’s a matter of prioritizing. I’m just saying our theology is maybe not as critical to our faith as we’ve made it out to be, and perhaps other things are more important. Consider the following points:

This is a preview of Re-thinking the Foundations of Faith (part 2). Read the full post (1001 words, 1 image, estimated 4:00 mins reading time)

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Re-thinking the Foundations of Faith (part 1)

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Categories: changing mindsets, food for thought, theological questions

I have a feeling that this post title is going to rattle the religious.

Good. 🙂

What I’m about to say, I’ve been pondering for awhile. This past nearly two years interacting in the blogosphere has been the first time in ages that I’ve had contact with people who think differently than I do, on a lot of different issues. I come from a culture that pretty much insists that you hang with those who believe the way you do, because anyone outside that framework can potentially corrupt you. It’s a fear thing, really.

This is a preview of Re-thinking the Foundations of Faith (part 1). Read the full post (758 words, 1 image, estimated 3:02 mins reading time)

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So Enough About Me and What I Think (For the Moment)…

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Categories: fun, theological questions

…I’d be interested in knowing where you are at on your journey. So this is the interactive part of the blog experience…

In the comments, feel free to answer any or all of the following questions:

  1. Are you a Christ-follower, agnostic, atheist, pagan, or something else? How would you identify yourself? Alright, don’t be a wise guy: if you’re “something else”, say WHAT you are. Don’t leave us guessing. 🙂

  2. If you consider yourself a Christ-follower, what does “church” look like for you? Are you in an institutional setting, living room, meeting at a coffee shop, or somewhere in between?

This is a preview of So Enough About Me and What I Think (For the Moment)…. Read the full post (170 words, 2 images, estimated 41 secs reading time)

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Book Review: "A Lover’s Quarrel with the Evangelical Church" by Warren Cole Smith

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Categories: books, current issues, theological questions, TheOOZE

I have to say, I had a pretty complex reaction to this book. I selected to review the book because its title and description suggested to me that it was an unflinching look at some of the issues of the modern church. (And for the most part, it was.)

I thought the book would give an honest assessment of the lasting fruit of the evangelical movement, and tackle issues like greed and corruption. (And for the most part, it did.)

This is a preview of Book Review: "A Lover’s Quarrel with the Evangelical Church" by Warren Cole Smith. Read the full post (762 words, 2 images, estimated 3:03 mins reading time)

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God Is In the Darkness (part 5: If I Descend into Sheol)

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Categories: food for thought, Meanderings (look it up), theological questions

Where can I go from Your spirit? And where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. –Psalm 139:7-8, NASB

A lot of my ponderings about God in the darkness have come from this verse. And as I finish up my ramblings about this before moving on to something else…it might be wise of me to remind you of the disclaimer I made in Part 1, i.e., that these are reflections, questions and ponderings, not a statement of doctrine or belief. Take it for what it is… 🙂

This is a preview of God Is In the Darkness (part 5: If I Descend into Sheol). Read the full post (1414 words, 1 image, estimated 5:39 mins reading time)
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