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This is the title of Rob Bell’s second tour film (the first being ‘Everything is Spiritual’) recorded live at one of the presentations. He speaks for 90 minutes, entirely without notes (there was no evidence of an autocue), and presents a message which is revolutionary, but without any appeals for salvation, healing, or much of the paraphernalia associated with some kinds of religious meeting. Very refreshing. I enjoyed it very much, and wanted to provide some sort of synopsis/review for the OST site. Especially as I have been encouraged to revisit Bell’s first book (‘Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith’) through mention of it in a recent review of a chapter in The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World by Mark Driscoll (pastor of a different Mars Hill church).

continue reading "The Gods Arent Angry"

Duncan’s post on the narrative of Revelation has sparked an interesting dispute about the relationship between an emerging theology and preterism. Since the conversation isn’t directly relevant to the post, I wonder if we might explore its implications separately. It’s an opportunity to think a bit about what we mean by an emerging theology and how we might negotiate the boundaries between different dogmatic traditions as well as between modern and postmodern ways of thinking.

continue reading "What can an emerging theology learn from preterism?"

The Christian Associates Thinkings group will be getting together in the Hague in October to explore the question of what it means to proclaim Christ as Lord in a post-Christendom, post-modern and religiously pluralist Europe. With that in mind I recently got hold of a copy of a smallish book called The Supremacy of Christ in a Postmodern World, edited by John Piper and Justin Taylor, knowing full well that it was not going to be especially sympathetic to an emerging perspective. The chapter on ‘The Church and the Supremacy of Christ’ by Mark Driscoll caught my eye for a particular reason that I will come to later.

continue reading "Mark Driscoll, the church and the supremacy of Christ"

There has been a constant tension in post axial religions between the attainment of earthly and transcendental goods. Pre axial religions were much more straightforward in seeing the satisfaction of their desires for wealth, health, offspring, land and honour as the main purpose of worship (for example the Mosaic covenant). 

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Greg Boyd has posted a short review of my book Re: Mission on his blog. He is very generous in his (not unqualified) recommendation of it, but there are a couple of points that I would like to reply to - the question of the ‘preterist’ label and the assumption that New Testament eschatology has to do mostly with AD 70. My response can be found here.

continue reading "Greg Boyds review of Re: Mission"

N.T. Wright offers the conclusion in What Saint Paul Really Said: Was Paul of Tarsus the Real Founder of Christianity? that because justification by faith has to do with believers having the privilege and calling to sit at same table with each other, regardless of race or gender, the many debates that take place between denominations often serve as self-defeating.

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Greg Boyd is known for his work on spiritual warfare. Although I have always been rather wary of this whole subject, I enjoyed his talk this week on this aspect of the beautiful kingdom that revolts against the ugliness of the world (see also ‘Greg Boyd, revolting beauty, and the imitation of Jesus’). There is one point, however, that I would like to pick up on. He argued that in the apocalyptic literature that emerged after the Old Testament period we see a greatly increased awareness of the spiritual realm, of cosmic forces – the world is caught in a battle between God and satan, between the good angels and the bad angels, between the holy people of God and the forces of darkness. In other words, a warfare worldview develops that becomes the background for the New Testament and remains relevant for our theology today.

continue reading "Greg Boyd and the politics of spiritual warfare"