Thursday, March 19, 2009

Let's Get Started

So where do we begin? There are soooo many complex issues and details intertwined with theology that it feels somewhat strange to simply start a discussion on this vast topic. After all, there are books and scholars on nearly every teeny tiny topic and then even more scholars who devote their lives to some of the teeny tiny topics within those. Truly, theology is no easy matter. Well, let's try something; before we reach into too many gruesome details within the beliefs we share, we all have some sort of developed concept of God. Who he is, what he is, his nature, his existence, his number, his power, his knowledge, his intimacy, his wrath, his love, his exclusivity, his universality, his mercy, his judgment, etc. are all taken in to account in our individual concepts of God. With that in mind, i challenge you all to consider what your own personal beliefs are and i ask that you will also share those ideas with us on this blog. I'm sure that some may be very similar and some will be quite different, but don't be afraid, instead be vulnerable and open up your ideas to the thoughts and ideas of others.

Here's mine:
To me, God is so much that it really is so difficult to describe him. I believe that there is only one true God; YHWH (Hebrew for i am for those of you who don't know). I believe that he is an all powerful and loving being who has created the existence we see and experience everyday. In fact, I believe that God's greatest demonstration of his power is the creation of free will; that is, the ability for mankind to go against (or for) the will of God. This gift that we have been granted is, to those of you wondering, what allows for both the immense amounts of love and evil to occur in our world (we can deal with this deeper in another post if you want). I believe that God is a God who desires a deep an intimate realtionship with all of his creation. And above all, I believe God is a God who loves all of his creation completely, wholly, and unconditionally. There is nothing you could ever do to earn God's love and nothing you could ever do to make it go away. He loves you for and despite every good and bad thing you do.

Well, there you have it. That covers my concept of God pretty well, I'm excited to see how the rest of you share your own concept and asess my own. Good luck and don't be afraid to be vulnerable! ;-)

2 comments:

  1. The few times that I preached I would always say that the greatest gift was "Free Will" and I enjoyed your concept of God. The one thing that I struggle with, is that, we're suppose to believe that "God is good" and I believe that to a certain extent. Why is it that God changed His mind, when Abraham pleaded to Him about Sodom and Gomorrah? (spelling?) If all things/thoughts are suppose to be "Good" from God's perspective...why can His mind be changed? does that make His orginal idea of demolishing S and G (which he did anyway) "not good" because He got talked out of it by sparing those who believed? I just have a hard time of saying God Is Good period and believing that with my heart. I hope this makes sense in someway, I'm not a complete heretic I do believe God is good I just feel like not in the same way as most christians do I guess...

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  2. How about reading "The Openness of God" by Grudem I reckon.

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