Quote

"Western inclusivism is really covert exclusivism." (Tim Keller)

I don't believe in the power of prayer

I believe in God, attentive to his creation, present in history.

I do not subscribe to the belief that belief itself is credible. It is not. Faith is only as reliable as its object.

"Credulity is no virtue."

Prayer itself has no power.

If there is no hearer...
If there is a hearer who is not interested in responding...
If there is a hearer who has no capacity to respond...
then prayer is a pep talk at best, willful self-deceit at worst.

I think we should not pray for the sake of praying.

I think we should pray as the consequence of the belief (no matter how tenuous) that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob - the God of Jesus - is attentive to His Creation and present in our human affairs.

And so I do not agree whatsoever with the statement, "I believe in the power of prayer." For I do not believe in prayer; I believe in God.

"Word of God" ?

I was asked this question this morning..

"Does it bother you when people refer to that book as the 'word of God'?"

My response was perfectly vague and noncommittal. And I do not think that my response should've been vague and noncommittal. I think it is important that I start to develop an articulation and defense for what I believe. And I think it needs to begin very soon (possibly waiting until the semester and its papers are finished).

So, turning the question back to you...

Does it bother you when people refer to the Bible as the "word of God"?

Thoughts to come, hopefully....

Thoughts on solitude and community.

Suspicion as the enemy of community.

Is the value of an individual within a given community contingent upon that individual's potential/real contribution to that community? What about within the redeemed community? How does it affect our interpretation of Scripture? How does it affect our understanding of sin - original and personal?

Love, unity, division, marginalization, peace, Friday's message in chapel, humility, preaching.

Unity?!

Unity - what is it?

Is it possible? How?

Oh, the thoughts that have run their course through my mind as of late... modernity, postmodernity, truth, God, Christ, Christianity, priorities, surrender, society, politics, word-deed disconnect, God as a social construct vs. God as Himself, the Church, pain and brokenness, orientation, misplaced focus, existence, HIV/AIDS and a properly Christian approach, love, justice, interpretation of Scripture, do we trying to follow ourselves even though we pretend to be following God?

Maybe I'll unpack some of these here. Maybe.

Peace. Soli Deo Gloria.