Individual will, reason, compassion, and character are not strong enough to consistently defeat selfishness, pride, greed, and self-deception. Everybody needs redemptive assistance from the outside--from family, friends, ancestors, rules, traditions, institutions,...
Reflecting...has led me to think that hope and disappointment are part of the same faith perspective. Without hope rooted in a vision of possibility, there would not be the experience of disappointment. As the saying goes, “Expect little, and you will be much less...
With the mistaken view of God as a Punisher-in-Chief that most Christians seem to hold, we think our own violence is necessary and even good. But there is no such thing as redemptive violence. Violence doesn’t save; it only destroys all parties in both the short and...
Redemptive suffering is ghastly theology. Seldom is suffering redemptive and if it were, surely humanity would be redeemed by now.
We do not preach for any reason except that God has called us and seeks to use our voices for the liberation of humanity. So when we preach God's redemptive word, guess what? Our voices, our piping, little sin-struck, frightened, underpaid, hesitant voices just happen...
Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, "Love your enemies." It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. That's why Jesus says, "Love Your enemies." Because if you hate your...
The Spirit is loose in the world, and the Word of God through which and by which the cosmos was created is now moving in the world to transform the world. This is profoundly good news. The Spirit of Christ precedes us into the world. This Spirit is already at work in...
We can define the Kingdom of God as the redemptive presence of God. The redemptive presence of God can be found in everyday personal experiences. Whenever people love one another, bear one another’s burdens, work to build up a just and peaceful community—wherever...
My hope is to interpret the life and example of Jesus in a redemptive and relevant way. Each generation must do this with Jesus, lest it be forced into stale beliefs that strain credibility and diminish life. For the joy of Christian faith is not to be found in the...
There is no such thing as redemptive violence. Violence doesn’t save; it only destroys—in both short and long term. Jesus replaced the myth of redemptive violence with the truth of redemptive suffering. He showed us on the cross how to hold the pain and let it...