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Showing posts from June 22, 2008

Prayer Request

Big goings-on in the quest to get Parables of a Prodigal Son published. I mean BIG goings-on. The next few weeks will be critical. Therefore, I covet the prayers of the 4-5 of you who stop by here on a regular basis. I covet those prayers for two reasons: 1. Please pray for God's will to be done vis-a-vis the book. I'm convinced that Parables encapsulates a powerful testimony of the God revealed in Jesus Christ. But mine is a very subjective assessment. 2. Having said that, I find myself more and more tempted by pride as this thing gets closer and closer to its goal. I keep lapsing into the mindset that I have done something special here. I have done nothing special here. God has done something special here. Please pray that I never forget that. Grace and Peace, Raffi

Is N.T. Wright a Panentheist?

Panentheism: (from Greek πᾶν (pân) "all"; ἐν (en) "in"; and θεός (Theós) "God"; "all-in-God") is a belief system which posits that God interpenetrates every part of nature, and timelessly extends beyond as well. Panentheism is distinguished from pantheism , which holds that God is synonymous with the material universe. Anyone who's read and heard N.T. Wright at any length might well wonder whether the good bishop is a closet panentheist. Wright's view of biblical cosmology/eschatology has that ring to it. We should all know well, by now, his cosmological insistence that heaven and earth are the "overlapping and interlocking dimensions of God's creation." But it is his eschatological vision that really seems, at first glance, an affirmation of panentheism. After all, two of his favorite eschatological portraits are the Isaianic image of "the earth being filled with the glory of God as the waters cover the sea," an...

The James Dobson / Barack Obama Controversy: Adventures in Missing the Point

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My apologies to Brian McLaren and Tony Campolo for ripping off the title of their book here, but it struck me as particularly appropriate regarding the great biblical studies debate between renowned theologians Barack Obama and James Dobson . Other heavyweights are throwing their hats in the ring. Here's a round-by-round account of the bloodbath so far. Round 1 : Dobson sucker-punches Obama's theology . Round 2 : Jim Wallis delivers a left hook to Dobson's theology . Round 3 : Will Hall of the Southern Baptist Press steps in to protect Dobson . Round 4 : Obama strikes back at Dobson . Round 5 : Rev. Kirbyjohn Caldwell, an Obama supporter, creates a website called James Dobson Doesn't Speak for Me . Round 6 : Rabbi Brad Hirschfield steps in to separate the combatants , and teach them a lesson in civility, directing his scoldings more toward Dobson , but also to Obama . As Scot McKnight mentioned in his post on the subject , the essence of the debate is tha...

In Memoriam: George F-in' Carlin, 1937-2008

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