When our faith in God configuration is rigid and brittle, we’re going to have problems. As new ideas surface and gain traction, particularly with respect to the evolutionary natural world informer, an inflexible paradigm will produce fear rather than engagement. Dogmatic formulations of God, self, other, and world are unsustainable and will eventually collapse. Meta-narrative – a totalizing story that explains everything is an illusion. Christians don’t want to embrace illusions, but be open to a real world that may challenge us to revise our views and then to hold them with a spirit of flexibility and exploration.
Thursday, December 12, 2019
From Evolution to Eden
Adam & Eve? Magic trees in a Garden?
Talking serpents? If you’re looking for an
alternative to YEC or other literal interpretations of Genesis 1-3, which takes
the natural world informer seriously, check out our book From Evolution to Eden. Making Sense of Early Genesis.
Wednesday, December 11, 2019
Living Spiritual Rhythms - December 11
To thank God for something that God does not do
might be an important misunderstanding of who God is.
Monday, December 9, 2019
Reflection for the Week - December 9
Dialogue animates and breathes life into ideas, which tend to stagnate into oblivion when reduced to monologue. If we take a dialogical trajectory in our thinking, we will begin to develop formulations that yield a greater credibility. This is so because we are working with a broader sphere of possibilities that combine to offer a surplus of meaning. And reality is like that – breathtaking and overflowing with meaning – which is not entirely captureable, nor however, is it anything we make it out to be.
Thursday, December 5, 2019
Thursday Thoughts - December 5
A major issue for biblical readers is not merely whether the text is read sacramentally, historically, or in tune with some other strategy, but by what authority it states its case and makes it claims.
Wednesday, December 4, 2019
Living Spiritual Rhythms - December 4
Tenacious obscurity sometimes plagues us and we’re unable to see as clearly as we would like. Groping around for illumination saturates our thoughts and feelings, and there are no easy answers to be found. We fear being excluded, alienated, and lost. Yet, living and working through the shadow of time is a continual and viable challenge, as we search for slivers of light and embrace them as we are able.
Monday, December 2, 2019
Reflection for the Week - December 2
Some Evangelical scholars, including the authors of Understanding Scientific Theories of Origins, argue that we have to draw from both God’s books; the Bible and nature, to understand God and the world. This is fair enough, yet I’d wager what often happens is that the Bible ends up as the supreme authority because somehow everything must fit under the template of a doctrine of creation, thus nature can never be primary in anything. In these circles, this means that evolution and science can be accepted, however, it’s clear that neither of these can challenge theological understandings of God and the world, but only affirm them. It’s as if there’s an impenetrable wall built around God and the doctrine of creation that functions as a safeguard from any potential threats. Thus, in my view, their endorsement of evolution and science is sort of a clever ‘sleight of hand’ in the sense that it is not really open enough to these informers, which should, when merited, have significant implications for our interpretations of God and the world.
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