Faith in God is like flying a kite in the wind. It’s tethered, but soars and dives at any given moment depending on the direction of the currents of life.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Friday Musings- October 30
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Thursday Thoughts – October 29
Humans not only struggle to survive. They long for “recognition.” Self-recognition, other recognition, and being recognized, goes beyond vital subsistence mechanics and puts us on the path to mutuality. And it is in this surpassing convergence that we find the essence of life in love, which bears all, feels all, and hopes all.\
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Living Spiritual Rhythms – October 28
Control freaks tend to surmise that they must choose one of these false options – to not be in control or to be in control. The former is seen as dangerous and the latter as bliss, yet control is still at the core of both. Irony is, neither of these is a valid position to embrace, as they each promote self-deception in placing ourselves at the center of our lives. Being self-deceived is not a virtue, but a problem for oneself, the other, the world, and God. Letting go of control issues that perpetuate vicious circles of domination and defeat begins to open up a receptivity to redemption, which frees us to move in the direction of another perspective. This salvifically shaped outlook, a major feature of God’s rescue mission, allows us to challenge self-deception, and eventually to see its power diminish, as transformation shines its piercing light onto our fears of relinquishing that which is false and misleading.
Monday, October 26, 2015
Reflection for the Week–October 26
God's way of reconciliation is configured in the death of the Crucified One, which results in not reckoning people's sins against them. God has done everything that there is to be done from his side in order for us to be reconciled. This "logos" of reconciliation has been downloaded into new covenant, which through God's initiation, is written on human hearts and not tablets of stone. But the absolutely massive context for all this is God’s reconciling the world to himself in Christ. This is a big story – a mega-narrative going far beyond personal individualistic salvation, culminating in a new heaven and earth. And if God is reconciling the world to himself in Christ, we are to be ambassadors of this reconciliation, as those through whom God makes his appeal to others.
Sunday, October 25, 2015
Conflict? Warfare? Harmony? Where are we?
This book was written especially for readers wrestling with Science & Theology issues: What kind of text is Genesis 1-3 and how is it to be interpreted today? 
If you want to explore the significance of the scientific informer, narrative, symbol, time, and possible worlds for understanding the creation stories, check out From Evolution to Eden.
http://www.bookdepository.com/From-Evolution-Eden-George-Diepstra/9781938367199
Friday, October 23, 2015
Friday Musings – October 23
Many Christians unthinkingly assume that the biblical text is all they need for their point of view. But theology, like philosophy, science or art can’t go it alone. There is an obligation nowadays, for the sake of integrity, to consider a dialogue between a multiplicity of informers before drawing conclusions.
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Thursday Thoughts–October 22
Tragedy blows through us, disorients our gaze, and leaves us suffering. Groping becomes our sphere of momentary orientation, as we sink into a sense of desperation and 
helplessness. Aiming to think correctly and practically in this realm is shattered and even space offers us no escape from ourselves and the deeply frustrating experience of loss. Yet, as genuine a dilemma as this is, we are not allowed to dwell in resignation and passivity. Life itself, as configured by the Creator, forces us into and towards a re-orientation mode, where we start to grapple in the darkness with the response of tragic wisdom, as most fully expressed in the Crucified and Risen One. While a configured life and tragic wisdom will not resolve all our conflicts, they offer a fragile, but true conviction and experience that directs us on into the future with hope.
Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Living Spiritual Rhythms–October 21
Discordant time in life is somehow being caught somewhere between past, present, and future – retro, initio, and prospecto. What, how, when, all flow into the larger question of “who.” Who am I? 
And why does time play such a complex role in trying to understand my identity? Not sure how to respond, but there’s this. Searching the vast caverns of memory, facing the overwhelming decisions of the moment, and contemplating the incalculable possibilities for the future places me in the concordance of a narrative time and thus gives me a narrative identity. That helps. Stories and self emerge, merge, and surge in an intriguing manner so that within the drama I’m living there is a dynamically dense and reflective equilibrium. Holy Phew!
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Adam & Eve, A Garden, and The Fall?
Who were Adam & Eve? Was the Garden of Eden an ‘actual’ garden? Did someone really “fall” from somewhere? How are we to interpret the early Genesis stories with what we now know about nature? 
Our new book From Evolution to Eden addresses these questions and attempts to provide a credible way forward for further discussion.
http://www.bookdepository.com/From-Evolution-Eden-George-Diepstra/9781938367199
Monday, October 19, 2015
Reflection for the Week - October 19
We are, at the very least, a complex centre of agency entangled in recognition of responsibility. Any self-designation of being virtuous is thus connected to a practical, not a speculative end. That is, the purposeful result of actions should lead one in the direction of real-ly being and becoming good. In this regard, the human capacity of attestation; “I can” is to be recognized and embraced. And this configuration is appropriate since the dialogue partner for attestation is not doubt, but suspicion, which is the necessary critical ingredient for assessing the actions of “I can,” who not only has a capacity to testify/accomplish, but also to recognize/receive what is given. Don’t surrender “I can,” though aim to perceive it within recognition of “I am.”
Friday, October 16, 2015
Friday Musings – October 16
We can be grateful that memory, as fantastic a marvel that it is, is generally not the sole referent for remembering.
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Heretics? Really?
Some argue, “to question this is to question it all.” They maintain that our new book conclusively shows that we’ve stepped over the line and are officially heretics. We wrote From Evolution to Eden: Making Sense of Early Genesis 
in order to contribute fresh perspectives to the interpretation of Gen 1-3, without losing sight of evolutionary history. If that’s heretical, so be it. Check it out!
http://www.bookdepository.com/From-Evolution-Eden-George-Diepstra/9781938367199
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Living Spiritual Rhythms–October 14
A constant meme in some Christian circles is that without belief in God you’re not fully human. Not only is this arrogant, it’s also degrading. Perhaps, such a view is what tends to give license to Christians to treat others so poorly. We can be grateful, however, that images of God are images of God and therefore fully human, regardless of what they believe. This radical perspective calls us to “recognize” the other in due respect, worth, and dignity, and should have a profound influence on how we relate to God, ourselves, and humanity.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Reflection for the Week–October 12
True story: I was discussing Divine action with someone the other day. 
I mentioned that in light of what science is telling us it seems unlikely that God acts to clear traffic jams or provide parking places on my behalf. “Oh, yes,” he stated, “that makes sense.” After some further dialogue and time together, just before leaving, he said, “By the way, I have a mysterious car problem. Would you pray that God will break through and help the mechanic can find out what it is. Thanks.” Well, new views of Divine action are challenging. If we dare delve into them we may start to understand that our theologies will have to be modified accordingly. God is not some great actor in the sky who reaches into a closed system and then tweaks it to suit my needs and desires. Where this “not” will take us I’m not sure, but hopefully towards developing a truer and more realistic relationality with the One who is.
Sunday, October 11, 2015
Science & Theology in Dialogue
If you haven’t already, take up the challenge and explore 
the potential significance of evolution for understanding Genesis 1-3. To those who do, we’d wager there’ll be some perspectives that will change and for Christian credibility that’s essential. Interested to find out which ones? Read our new book: From Evolution to Eden.
http://www.bookdepository.com/From-Evolution-Eden-George-Diepstra/9781938367199
Friday, October 9, 2015
Friday Musings–October 9
Jesus leaves his disciples with a new commandment: his followers are to love one another as he has loved them. The Promised One here powerfully illuminates the pathway to life—Christians are to treat themselves and each other the way they have been treated by Jesus. This includes washing feet, releasing, compassion, and patience—a picture of risky, yet real love.
Quite a different scenario than our consumer-driven, self-centered, superficial church - culture offers.
Thursday, October 8, 2015
Thursday Thoughts–October 8
Hopefully, this is both alarmingly simple and riddled with complexity.
Subjects objectify objects (self, other, world), but this does not make objects objective, since they already have that superabundant essence to begin with.
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Living Spiritual Rhythms–October 7
It makes me want to puke when churches or Christian organizations appeal to God’s faithfulness to explain their longevity and ministry. It goes something like, “we have existed for x amount of years and accomplished this or that due to God being faithful to us. Others are not as fortunate, have ceased to exist, and failed.”
This appears to be the height of self-indulgence and hollow piety. How presumptuous – excuse me – puke again. Now, I’m not putting God’s faithfulness into question, but I’d like to see it re-examined or at least re-measured. In the midst of bombed out hospitals, gunned down innocents, and millions pouring out of war torn countries, which also makes me want to puke, let’s question traditional understandings of God’s faithfulness and in doing so hopefully come up with something that has across the board credibility and is far less Me/Us focused.
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
From Evolution to Eden
These guys lost the way. Duped by evolution. Given up on Scripture. Thrown out history. We’ve been accused of all of these, but plead not guilty. In our new book, From 
Evolution to Eden, we delve into the complexity of Genesis 1-3 aiming to credibly understand the text when both theological and scientific informers are in play. Get a copy and make up your own mind.
http://www.bookdepository.com/From-Evolution-to-Eden/9781938367199
Monday, October 5, 2015
Reflection for the Week–October 5
I don’t know about you, but the conflict register of an internal dialogue swirls around within me. I’m not sure which voices to listen to. Reason, sense observation, experience, emotion, imagination, and intuition clamor for authority. I find myself searching for a coherent balance for living (acting and suffering) on this planet. When forced, as I am, to take an external dialogue (self, other, world, God) seriously, this helps me begin to find my bearings and to start to align internal and external, which in turn, temporarily at least, allows me go forward into the privilege of unknowing.
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