17 Comments

Is God Essentially Holy?

Our campus recently hosted Paul Young, author of the international best seller, The Shack. Young made a comment about God’s holiness that has me thinking…

Read More

13 Comments

Process and Wesleyan Theologies

Process theology is a way of thinking about God and the world that continues to attract Christians. Those who appreciate John Wesley’s theology are often especially attracted to process thinking.

Read More

8 Comments

Love in Relational Theology

For some Christians, issues of love are of utmost importance. Accounting for the importance of love is just one reason many are turning to relational theology to make some sense of God and the world in which we live.

Read More

9 Comments

Adjustment Bureau Theology

The classic questions of God’s plans and human free will take center stage in The Adjustment Bureau, a movie now in theaters starring Matt Damon. The conclusion leans heavily toward an open theist view of how God and creatures interact in light of a yet-to-be-settled future.

Read More

22 Comments

What is Relational Theology?

Many Christians find the ideas and language of relational theology helpful. But many also appreciate relational theology without really being clear about what it is. Misunderstandings emerge.

Read More

29 Comments

Options in Divine Action

A recurring interest of mine is pondering how God acts. It's an immensely complex subject. I've come to think eight main options present themselves to Christians wanting a general framework for considering divine action.

Read More

30 Comments

Thanksgiving Theologies

The Thanksgiving holiday is a terrific time to talk theology. But some theologies make more sense when offering thanks to our loving Lord.

Read More

12 Comments

Augustine’s Love Problems

I’ve come to believe that Augustine’s theology fails on the central issue of Christian faith: love.

Read More

50 Comments

Clark Pinnock Passes on to Glory

One of the more influential and controversial Evangelical theologians in recent decades passed away Sunday afternoon, August 15, 2010.

Read More

14 Comments

Predestination, Hell, and Eternal Life

My recent book, The Nature of Love, concludes with comments about what theologians call “eschatology.” The eschatology I offer coheres with my Essential Kenosis theology, which I propose in the book’s last chapter.

Read More

37 Comments

Imitate God—Take Risks!

Mission is risky business. It means taking chances and being susceptible to failure. But God seems the biggest risk-taker of all!

Read More

16 Comments

Open Theology’s Problem with the Problem of Evil

Open theology offers an impressive theological framework. But Open theology has a problem with the problem of evil.

Read More

58 Comments

Pinnock, Alzheimer’s, and Open Theology

I received sad news in an email recently: Clark Pinnock is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

Read More

82 Comments

God Can’t!—and the Bible Says So

I sometimes hear the argument that we should not speculate about the attributes of God’s nature. Overall, I don’t find this argument convincing.

Read More

15 Comments

Characteristics of Evangelical Open and Relational Theology

In a previous blog entry, I noted many of the theological beliefs that open and relational theologians affirm. I now identify three characteristics of Evangelically-oriented open and relational thinkers.

Read More

89 Comments

God Can’t Help But Love Us

Many Christians believe God does not necessarily relate to creatures. God at one time (or before time) existed alone – albeit as Trinity. Yet these same Christians believe they can count on God to love them. I don’t think there are good grounds to believe both ideas.

Read More

23 Comments

The Emergence of Open Theology

In 1994, a quintet of Evangelical scholars – David Basinger, William Hasker, Clark Pinnock, Richard Rice, and John Sanders – published The Openness of God: A Biblical Challenge to the Traditional Understanding of God. This work has caused – and continues to cause – an uproar within Evangelical circles.

Read More

About this website

You’ve reached the online home of Thomas Jay Oord, a professor, author, and theologian from the Pacific Northwest. Read more