The Surprising God

How should Christians approach the ongoing creation vs. evolution debate, which involves the place of biblical revelation and scientific investigation in informing one's understanding of the origin and development of the cosmos, including the human race. The post below by Dr. Gary Deddo of GCI provides helpful perspective on this controversial topic. This post is a modified version of a comment to the cover letter of the 2/26/2014 issue  of GCI Weekly Update. Gary Deddo While it is certainly legitimate for Christians to probe questions regarding the definition of evolution and the related understanding of micro and macro evolution, these are, strictly speaking, scientific questions and not theological ones. The point here is that the church is equipped to authoritatively answer theological questions and we seek to do so on the basis of biblical revelation. We are not authorized on the basis of biblical revelation to answer strictly scientific questions. One such question wou...

This post continues a series examining key points of Andrew Purves' book  Reconstructing Pastoral Theology: A Christological Foundation . For other posts in the series, click a number: 1 , 3 ,  4 .  5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8 ,  9 ,  10 ,  11 . For Purves, a truly incarnational, Trinitarian understanding of Christian ministry is grounded in two great theological precepts: The dual mediation of Christ: Jesus is both God's Word and act addressing humanity, and humanity's word and act addressing God. Athanasius was an early champion of this truth. Union with Christ: by the Spirit we are joined to Christ and thus to his mission from and to the Father. Calvin emphasized this truth in the Protestant reformation. Hand in Hand by Greg Olsen (used with artist's permission) Given these foundational truths, Purves makes several key assertions: The ministry of God in, through, and as Jesus Christ is the proper foundation for the under...

This post begins a series examining key points of Andrew Purves' book Reconstructing Pastoral Theology: A Christological Foundation . For other posts in this series, click a number: 2 , 3 ,  4 .  5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8 ,  9 ,  10 ,  11 . A concern of many Surprising God readers is how incarnational Trinitarian theology relates to the everyday challenges of pastoral ministry. It is to this concern that theologian Andrew Purves addresses himself in his insightful book, Reconstructing  Pastoral Theology. He offers a fully incarnational and Trinitarian perspective on pastoral theology (or what some term practical theology ). Theologian Ray Anderson (now deceased) endorsed the book, commending Purves for grounding "pastoral care in Christ's continuing ministry of revelation and reconciliation in the world on behalf of God the Father through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit" (back cover---and click here  for an earlier Surprising G...

This post concludes a review of key points in Ron Highfield's book, God, Freedom & Human Dignity: Embracing a God-Centered Identity in a Me-Centered Culture . For other posts in the series, click a number: 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 . Forgiven  by Greg Olsen (used with artist's permission) Highfield begins his concluding chapter asking, "Does the Christian way of viewing God and humanity overcome the idea that God is a threat to our genuine freedom and dignity?" (p. 207). As we have seen throughout the book, his answer is "yes" and the reason is not fundamentally about a how,  but about a  who--- about Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God. It is in and through Jesus that we see the definitive truth (reality) concerning both God and humanity. The reality of the God-man Jesus The biblical, Nicene faith  declares that Jesus is fully God and fully human---two natures in one person . Moreover, it declares that in and throu...

This post continues a review of key points in Ron Highfield's book,  God, Freedom & Human Dignity: Embracing a God-Centered Identity in a Me-Centered Culture . For other posts in the series, click a number:  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 ,  7 ,  8 ,  9 ,  10 , 11 , 13 . Rembrandt: Return of the Prodigal Son (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) In our me-centered world, people ground their sense of worth (and thus their dignity) in all sorts of things. But according to Ron Highfield our true worth as humans is found in one place only ---the love the triune God has for us all . But doesn't reliance on something external to ourselves compromise our dignity? Highfield comments: [Human] dignity in its most basic form is a relation of being loved by another. And God is the only "Other" whose love can establish our dignity beyond dispute... The relationship of being loved and favored by God is the... fundamental basis of human d...

Incarnational Trinitarian theology is sometimes referred to as "the Nicene faith" because it is grounded in the precepts of the faith of the Christian church set forth by the patristic fathers in the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed (commonly called the Nicene Creed ). For a post that looks at Thomas F. Torrance's Trinitarian perspective on the Nicene Creed, click here . A helpful resource for discussing the Nicene Creed in small groups is the I Believe video series , produced by the If: Gathering organization (for an article about them, click here ). Because these videos are generally (though not in every detail) aligned with Torrance's Trinitarian theology, they would make helpful discussion starters for fellowship (small) groups and Bible study classes that wish to study the Creed. Those groups could then refer to the Surprising God blog post noted above for additional information ( click here  to download a copy in Word format). Here is the introductory vi...

This post continues a review of key points in Ron Highfield's book,  God, Freedom & Human Dignity: Embracing a God-Centered Identity in a Me-Centered Culture . For other posts in the series, click a number:  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 12 ,  13 . Joyous freedom (public domain via Wikimedia Commons) In previous posts we've noted that true human freedom is found in the identity that is ours in  union with Christ --a union that makes us, by the grace of adoption , God's dearly beloved children. This time we'll look further at that freedom as Highfield, referencing 2 Corinthians 5:14-15; Galatians 2:20 and Philippians 1:21, states this about our identity as God's children and the freedom that goes with it: We are dearly loved children, created in the image of God to reflect God's character by loving. This is our true self, our deepest identity, our ultimate destiny. Hence we can act freely only when we exercise the p...

In our continuing series in Ron Highfield's book,  God Freedom and Human Dignity, we've noted that true human identity, freedom and dignity are found in the vicarious, glorified humanity of the God-man Jesus Christ (the Great I Am). Singer and song-writer Rachel Barrentine (pictured at right), in her song, Says I Am (watch the music video below), puts it this way: I am who The GREAT I AM says I am. To read Rachel's story and listen to more of her music, go to  http://rachelbarrentine.com/ . . On YouTube at  https://youtu.be/6TFwwhd4S_0

This post continues a review of key points in Ron Highfield's book,  God, Freedom & Human Dignity: Embracing a God-Centered Identity in a Me-Centered Culture . For other posts in the series, click a number:  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 11 ,  12 ,  13 . Last time  we saw how, in Christ, we have been made God's dearly beloved children by the grace of adoption. Our identity and thus our true freedom come from our sharing, by the Spirit, in Jesus' own relationship with the Father. In this post we'll look at what Highfield says about how this perspective defines true human freedom. Freedom and the self  In His Light by Greg Olsen (used with artist's permission) As Highfield notes, "Every theory of freedom includes an understanding of self" (p. 171) and that understanding then shapes one's behavior. As we have seen in this series, the modern sense of self is fundamentally "me-centered"---self-sufficient, self...

This post continues a review of key points in Ron Highfield's book,  God, Freedom & Human Dignity: Embracing a God-Centered Identity in a Me-Centered Culture . For other posts in the series, click a number:  1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  4 ,  5 ,  6 , 7 , 8 , 10 ,  11 ,  12 ,  13 . For All Mankind by Liz Lemon Swindle (used with permission) Last time  in this series, we saw that our true humanity and human identity are found in the perfected humanity of Jesus , the incarnate Son of God. This time we'll examine that identity from the perspective of the Bible's teaching that by the grace of adoption , all humans are God's dearly-loved, forgiven and accepted children. In Christ, all are included in the family of God. What that means in the experience of individuals will be noted as we proceed. The fatherhood of God revealed by Jesus We begin by noting that the Gospels (Matthew in particular) emphasize the fatherhood of God . In the ...

This post reproduces (with minor modifications) an  article by former GCI president Joseph Tkach, offering an incarnational Trinitarian perspective on Easter (and the related topic of time and eternity). John McKenna (former professor at Grace Communion Seminary) has famously stated that the resurrection and ascension of Jesus changed all time.  In this post we'll unpack that mind-boggling statement, looking at Easter from a cosmic perspective. What is time? Newton The question What is time? has perplexed theologians, philosophers and scientists for millennia as they wondered what kind of “thing” time actually is. Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1726) thought of it as an independent thing flowing forward without relationship to any eternal thing. According to his view, time has no beginning or end, and in that way is absolute, like God (who is thought of as existing eternally along with space and time, and perhaps even contained within space and time). Leibnitz Gottfried...