Marginal Christianity

http://lawrencegarcia.org/god-loves-the-animals-a-lent-reflection/ No comments yet Categories: Blogs , Lent 2014 It was never the Triune God’s intention to snatch his elect away from the world of space-time prior to an escalation of violence upon the wicked that would then culminate in total cosmic desolation. This, as is increasingly being recognized, is a tragic misreading of several passages (not least, 1 Thessalonians 4:17) filtered through a dualistic [1] worldview which drives an unnecessary wedge between the material world of space-time and spiritual or metaphysical realities such as “heaven.” Softer forms of this can be detected where Christians speak of “going to heaven when they die” (without the caveat that they will eventually return at the resurrection).   There are, of course, many ways to go about challenging this persistent cosmological dualism so prevalent in the church. Near the top of the list would be better interpretation of the passages in questio...

https://www.facebook.com/lawyatt/posts/634330573287226?notif_t=share_wall_create February 6, 2014 by Lawrence Garcia No comments yet Categories: The Atonement Jesus-on-the-cross-1[1]Now, I am either a self-loathing Calvinist who loves N.T. Wright’s brand of NPP or I am a self-loathing Wrightian who adores T.F. Torrance’s scientific-theological approach to Scripture or both; either way, I have no way of offering a satisfactory account with how to bridge their approaches to Scripture accept to say that it must be dynamically dialogical. On the one hand, we must make some sense of the history, culture, and context of these texts; while on the other hand, they must be read in light of God’s personal self-revelation in the person and work of Christ. And though their works are markedly different in method, occasionally, their work overlaps, and the varying angles by which they approach Scripture shed light upon each other’s conclusions. One in particular, is their understanding of evi...