A Privation of Good

Careless seems the great Avenger; history’s pages but recordOne death-grapple in the darkness ‘twixt old systems and the Word;Truth forever on the scaffold, Wrong forever on the throne,—Yet that scaffold sways the future, and, behind the dim unknown,Standeth God within the shadow, keeping watch above his own. (James Russell Lowell)… Continue reading

Why Eschatology is Important (Part One)

My fellow liberal Christians are puzzled by one aspect of my approach to theology. I have always had an interest in eschatology and believe that it is a vital and indispensable part of our faith. Liberals on the whole see little need to speculate about “the Last Things.” In fact,… Continue reading

The Contemporary Relevance of the Book of Revelation for the Church (Part 2)

*Throughout Revelation there is a cosmic focus. The world in terms of nature and cultural achievements is never forgotten. And the cosmos is understood to be participating in the painful and destructive consequences of sin as well as being promised inclusion in the ultimate redemption and transformation. John is not… Continue reading

The Contemporary Relevance of the Book of Revelation for the Church (Part 1)

(Before reading this blog article I would advise readers to read an earlier article entitled “Some Thoughts about the Book of Revelation.” A knowledge of that earlier blog entry will help in appreciating the two articles I am now ready to present regarding the relevance of Revelation for our time.)… Continue reading

An Introduction to Christian Eschatology

(26 minutes) Go into any “Christian” bookstore and you will find many books on the “end times” and the “last things”—books on the Rapture, heaven and hell, the Second Coming, the Last Judgment, and Armageddon as well as books with charts predicting the order and nature of what will come… Continue reading

John 3:16-17 Series “For God So Loved the World” (Part Two)

(a 14-minute podcast) If God sent God’s Son into this world so that we might have eternal life, then it’s absolutely crucial that we understand what John meant by “eternal life.” Now you might think that the answer is obvious. Perhaps you grew up with the same understanding of eternal… Continue reading