Miscellany

There are some very interesting conversations taking place here and elsewhere, and so I will hold off posting another segment in my series on universalism for another day.

First, Halden Doerge, the author of Inhabitatio Dei, is posting some fascinating thoughts and quotes from Bonhoeffer's Ethics. I heartily recommend reading what he has posted. They are full of sharp theological thinking. The last two posts are especially important. The most recent post is a quote from Bonhoeffer about the nature of the Good—not as what we do in the present, but as the reality of God revealed and accomplished in Jesus Christ. The post before this is about how Bonhoeffer completely gets rid of the separation between social "spheres," or "orders," which divide life between grace and nature, or between church and world. Consequently, Bonhoeffer recasts "orders" as "mandates." Bonhoeffer conceives of a christocentric theology of reality which places all social contexts within the framework of God's encompassing work revealed in Jesus Christ. Great stuff.

Next, I assume people are already familiar with Dr. Ben Myers' blog, Faith and Theology. If not, stop reading this and start reading his blog, especially the favorites posts of the past. His site is excellent. Most recently, I cannot recommend enough the "Ten propositions on preaching" by guest-writer Kim Fabricius. These are simply excellent. Ben honored me for some reason by making my blog his "Blog of the Week," though he made it known that he is not in agreement with me. Check out his post and the ensuing conversation here. There is also a fascinating dialogue about miracles, Ben's own translation of a selection from an essay on Jesus Christ by Eberhard Jüngel, and then perhaps most interesting of all is a conversation about the future of the Christian church in America. Unfortunately, that conversation seems to have died, even though it's deeply important for us to consider in light all that is going on as we speak. Finally, if you have not kept up on the guest posts about theologians that we love, do go back and read the ones you've missed. It's an excellent series. (Shameless plug for my own entry.)

Here at The Fire and the Rose ...

Some interesting dialogues are brewing here on two subjects: homosexuality and the Anabaptist "tradition" — totally unrelated but both important.

And "weekend fisher" has presented some ideas on grace and salvation here, to which I have responded with what I can only call the heart or center of my argument for universalism. I will eventually flesh out some of these ideas further, but I have presented the bedrock for what I have already said and will say later. I welcome more interaction from other voices on this topic.

Comments

Ben Myers said…
Thanks for your generous comments about "Faith and Theology"!