Tag Archives: divine transcendence

The Christian Distinction: God + World ≠ 2

Posted on 31 July 2020 by

“God” permeates our conversation. Each year hundreds of books are published about God. I did a search on Amazon.com and found that there are 692,970 works with “God” in the title. There is no escaping the term, even if it … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophical Theology | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Creatio ex Nihilo: The World Plus God is Not More Than God Alone

Posted on 10 February 2020 by

Diogenes Allen begins his book Philosophy for Understanding Theology (1st ed.) with a chapter on the Christian doctrine of creation. One might initially think this an odd decision. When I ponder the theological use of philosophical conceptuality, I immediately think of … Continue reading →

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Dionysian Ponderings: Divine Knowledge, Creation, and Modal Collapse

Posted on 26 August 2018 by

How does the infinite Creator know the contingent realities he has brought into existence without compromising his metaphysical simpleness? Or as St Dionysius the Areopagite asks: How is God to comprehend something among the intelligibles since he does not have … Continue reading →

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Trinity, Creation, and the Christian Distinction

Posted on 8 August 2017 by

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all” (2 Cor 13:14). The triadic benediction does not surprise us. We have heard it countless times from … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Holy Trinity | Tagged , , , , , | 31 Comments

Open Theism, Eternity, and the Biblical God

Posted on 14 November 2016 by

Twenty some years ago I read the ground­breaking book The Openness of God—a collection of essays by evangelical theologians and philosophers who argue that the “biblical” God who does not foreknow the future. This understanding has since become known as “open theism.” … Continue reading →

Posted in Herbert McCabe & Friends, Philosophical Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 63 Comments

God Differs Differently: How Divine Transcendence Makes Possible the God-Man

Posted on 7 June 2016 by

Docetism, Sabellianism, Subordinationism, Arianism, Nestorianism, Monophysitism—we know the names of the famous heresies that plagued the Church during the first millennium. Perhaps we can even describe them and explain why they were rejected. But what may not be clear in … Continue reading →

Posted in Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Perfect Being Theology, Theistic Personalism, and the Eclipse of the Apophatic

Posted on 30 May 2016 by

Readers of this blog will by now be well-acquainated with the term “theistic personalism.” It was coined by Brian Davies to describe what he believes to be a problematic understanding of divinity, commonly advanced by analytic philosophers. He specifically names … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophical Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 117 Comments

Crucifying Transcendence and the Retreat into Pre-Christian Divinity

Posted on 29 October 2015 by

Dr Greg Boyd has been writing a fair amount on divine transcendence over at his blog ReKnew: “Rethinking Transcendence,” “Crucifying Transcendence,” and “The Starting Point for ‘Knowing God.’”  Following Harnack and Moltmann, Boyd posits conflict between Hellenistic and Hebraic conceptions … Continue reading →

Posted in Philosophical Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 41 Comments