My Statements of Faith

The paragraph under Good News in a Few Words is my communication of the gospel in as few words as possible. The piece ends in an ellipsis, indicating the richness of the good news always inspires more words, more thought, more contemplation, for it is the story and revelation of God to humanity. Of course belief in Jesus Christ as Lord is acceptance of God’s work of love and truly coming before God in prayer (entering the presence of God) results in a sincere repentance born of an awareness brought about from one’s life being engulfed in the light of God. In simpler terms, we have all sinned and our shame is exposed in God’s presence, not to harm us but to help us receive God’s mercy and healing. However, one’s belief in hell (whatever it may be) is not part of the Good News, it is a warning of self-destructive realities. God is always more than and his salvation is completed when God is all in all (1st Cor. 15:28).

Good News in a Few Words

“God was so enamored, so omnipotently in love with humanity that he joined the creation, irrevocably became a human being, made part of what it means to be God is to be human - allowed humanity to murder him and did so in a way that is revelatory of transcendent love and power - calling us all to recognize the sacredness of a human being. The only thing sacred to God is human life. This one fact, this reality, this truth, directs us toward a world without violence or greed; toward a Kingdom sealed by a revelation, by a man, by God, by a revelation that makes death (although painfully present) to be bereft of finality. Our unlimited imagination and all its powers are now directed by the Spirit toward being human in a way that fulfills the royal laws of loving God and neighbor (even our enemy) so that Christianity can be the most potent reality in a crooked world, a power that heals and straightens. Hope for the present is as important as hope for the resurrection! Like Jesus, we are to all be agents of change”. “Thy Kingdom come ....

Scripture 

Scripture is a word above every word written or spoken because it contains the story and revelation of God culminating in the coming of God in Christ Jesus the Lord.

The canonical writings provide us with a treasure of language, culture, history, and revelation that is to be valued above any other resource that might enlighten our way. Those who value scripture engage in rigorous study of the entire corpus from Genesis to Revelation. Of course, scripture is only as good as the person reading it; we bring our self to the text. A pure heart guided by a moral conscience and a studious mind are essential for interpreting scripture. This being said, there is value in learning comparative literature, biblical languages, philosophy of language, history, anthropology, psychology, literary design etc. However, within the text of the book we call the Bible, the skilled interpreter can affirm more about God and humanity than from any other resource.

My personal study has garnered a sense of scripture as self-authenticating. That is, the canonical books have impacted my understanding of God and world through the dynamic power of story and insight in such a way that no other writings are capable.; this is so because scripture is the story of God’s self-revelation amidst history.

The Gospel and Resurrection are Inseparable

The resurrection of Christ is the gospel’s defining event that establishes the claim of Christ’s incarnation and affirms the love of God’s instructive refusal to use violence or power to escape the cross. Any religious expression of Christianity that denies the resurrection as part of the gospel, as part of God’s revelation story, results in a religion that devolves into humanism. It is to miss the voice of the Spirit’s testimony in the present. Jesus’ testimony in the gospels is that his resurrection was a certainty, he never waivers in this assertion. Death entered the world in a garden. Jesus left us an empty tomb. Death is certain, but God never loses us, no not one of us.

There is no Violence in God

I believe God to be nonviolent and that all biblical passages that would lead some to conclude that God is violent are being misread.

I demonstrate this truth in my books, particularly in Theological Adventures.

God Wins

Isn’t it wonderful a soul passes and we send them straight to heaven. Hell isn’t suitable for those we love and everyone is loved by someone.

An eternal torture chamber of unimaginable infinite magnitude. Is this the work of your god?

Surely love empties such a wretched evil.

All good protestants prefer a purgatory of the perpetrator’s own creation.

A purgatory with an exit sign that reads, “Come unto me all ye…”

1 Corinthians 15:22 … for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ.