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Rarely does a new theological position emerge to account well for life in the world, including not only goodness and beauty but also tragedy and randomness. Drawing from Scripture, science, philosophy and various theological traditions, Thomas Jay Oord offers a novel theology of providence—essential kenosis—that emphasizes God's inherently noncoercive love in relation to creation.
How might a distinctively Pentecostal and charismatic theological perspective inform and enrich the discourse of academic practical theology? In order to address that question, Mark Cartledge in this book probes the relationship between Scripture, experience, and the Holy Spirit by means of the concept of mediation -- that is, how the divine is experienced in the world. An expert in both Pentecostal theology and practical theology, Cartledge offers a unique intervention into practical theology through the lens of the Holy Spirit. He presents an original reading of Pentecost and the Spirit-reception texts in the book of Acts and engages with current literature in both Pentecostal studies and practical theology. Further, Cartledge places his whole discussion within a broader Protestant theological framework, and he interrogates an existing congregational study to provide a real-life example of theological intervention.
What if God is not in control? And what if, instead, God always expresses uncontrolling love? Eighty leading thinkers explore the implications of a new way to think about God, the world, and our everyday lives. Their conclusions are radical, whether their writing is in story form or more academic. Essayists take ideas in Thomas Jay Oord's award-winning book, The Uncontrolling Love of God: An Open and Relational Account of Providence (IVP Academic). Each contributor explores how we might think and live in light of uncontrolling love.
Hurting people ask heart-felt questions about God and suffering. Some "answers" they receive appeal to mystery: “God’s ways are not our ways”. Some answers say God allows evil for a greater purpose. Some say evil is God's punishment. The usual answers fail. They don't support the truth that God loves everyone all the time. God Can't gives a believable answer to why a good and powerful God doesn't prevent evil. Author Thomas Jay Oord says God’s love is inherently uncontrolling. God loves everyone and everything, so God can't control anyone or anything. This means God cannot prevent evil singlehandedly. God can’t stop evildoers, whether human, animal, organism, or inanimate objects a...
This volume offers Christian spiritual instructors a language for the soul uncovered from the storehouses of Christianity’s ancient living spiritual tradition. That language describes the deep soul movements that unfold in the interior life of believers in response to the Divine invitation. It presents an accessible language of the soul for use in today’s professional, educational, ministerial, and everyday life situations. The end product is an experiential dictionary comprised of sixty word-concepts, which name and explore the inward human reactions to the whispering of God’s Spirit. Those reactions result from inward desires that lead to the embrace of faith, the quest for consecrat...
David O. Brown demonstrates how it is possible to embrace deism, without that leading to those problems deism presents to the Christian, namely, the denial of providence, and rejection of the incarnation.
The Covid-19 pandemic provoked many questions. It is human nature to want to know how and why things happen. The sovereign God has created a beautiful, intricate world in which multiple factors interact to cause an event. We are called to properly understand creation, but often fail because we tend to be lazy, fearful, and self-serving. We make judgments based on (often incorrect) assumptions about cause-and-effect relations, and we seek reassuring explanations for both trivial and serious events. Christians have the added complication of figuring out God's role in making things happen. All Things Wise and Wonderful examines what the Bible and Christian theology say about cause and effect, how science views causation in the world, and how human mind-brains judge causation. Using illustrations from everyday life, it offers guidance for Christians to think and act wisely with respect to how and why things happen in creation.
We live in a world of oppositional relationships and increasing in-group/out-group divisions. Christian sociologist Matthew Vos explains how the problem of the stranger lies at the root of many problems humanity faces, such as racism, sexism, and nationalism. He applies classic sociological theory on "the stranger" to matters of faith and social justice, showing that an identity in Christ frees us to love strangers as neighbors and friends. The book also includes two guest chapters, one on intersex persons and the church and one on stranger-making in the "correctional" system.
As the epicenter of Christianity has shifted towards Africa in recent decades, Pentecostalism has emerged as a particularly vibrant presence on the continent. This collection of essays offers a groundbreaking study of the complex links between politics and African Pentecostalism. Situated at the intersection between the political, the postcolonial, and global neoliberal capitalism, contributors examine the roots of the Pentecostal movement’s extraordinary growth; how Pentecostalism intervenes in key social and political issues, such as citizenship, party politics, development challenges, and identity; and conversely, how politics in Africa modulate the Pentecostal movement. Pentecostalism and Politics in Africa offers a wide-ranging picture of a central dimension of postcolonial African life, opening up new directions for future research.