Tag Archives: divine transcendence

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

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

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The Christian Distinction: God + World ≠ 2

“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

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

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

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

“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

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Open Theism, Eternity, and the Biblical God

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

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

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

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