Category: Theology
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do Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
Last year ended with a flurry of essays and blog posts that chided Wheaton College for questioning whether Christians and Muslims pray to the same God. This is an intriguing question that forces us to reflect on our theory of language, general revelation, and natural theology. Both Muslims and Christians say God is one, but…
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why rewards?
Here is a devotional for Our Daily Journey that I’ll submit on Monday. Much obliged if anyone spots any errors before then. When my children were young my wife and I gave them money to buy Christmas presents for us. It seemed rather silly from our perspective. Why not eliminate the middleman and buy the…
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ETS 2015
The Evangelical Theological Society’s annual meeting is different for everyone, as we attend different sessions and meet or miss (sorry, Jim!) different people. Here are a few highlights for me. On Tuesday I attended Ligon Duncan’s session on “Recent Aspects of the Complementarian-Egalitarian Discussion.” Ligon noted that our present cultural moment has changed the dynamics…
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built on blood
It’s been awhile since I posted an Our Daily Journey entry for feedback. Here is one that means a lot to me. I won’t submit it for a couple of weeks, so if you see something, say something. The meat section of my grocery store is clean and pleasant. Festive music plays as I select…
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The mystery of the gospel
Here is another quote from Karl Barth that will preach anywhere. “The gospel is not the mystery of incomprehensible darkness (as it has often been for the orthodox) but the mystery of incomprehensible light. It is not that we see so little of what God has done that we are puzzled, but that in the…
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Interview, Part Two
Here is the second part of the pastor’s interview that began yesterday. 5. Some Christians, I can only imagine, will be inclined to push back on your book, arguing that the church is already too worldly and doesn’t need encouragement to “enjoy life”. How would you respond to such criticisms? One friend asked if most…
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Interview
I spent the last couple of hours responding to perceptive questions from a pastor who wants to share Becoming Worldly Saints with his congregation. I thought that the answers might interest some of you and encourage your faith. I’ll post the first half now and the second half tomorrow. 1. The question driving your book…
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love theologically
I learned today that a prominent evangelical pastor warned in a sermon that we must not let our theology get in the way of our love. I didn’t hear the message myself, as I rarely listen to podcasts besides “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” and “Planet Money.” But I trust my friend who told me,…
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God’s face
The comments from yesterday’s post on seeing God pushed me to ponder this question a bit more. Here are a few thoughts. When Moses asked God to draw him closer, “Now show me your glory” (Ex. 33:18), God declared “You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live” (Ex. 33:20). Then…
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will we see God?
Recently I heard an evangelical leader say that glorified human beings are the only creatures that are able to see God. He said that while angels must hide their faces in God’s presence, yet humans, because we bear God’s image, will one day be made fit to gaze directly upon God. He based this on…
Mike Wittmer 