Posted in Christianity, God, Modern theology, Religion, Scriptures, tagged Ascension, Atonment, Buddha, cross, Don Cupitt, filioque, God, Jesus Christ, Jonathan Sacks, Marcus J Borg, modern theology, Pentecost, Resurrection, Richard Holloway, Salvation, Shantideva, St Paul, substitutionary atonement on 13/09/2017| Leave a Comment »
If we understand God to be, not a Thing but rather a dimension of our humanness, the ultimate meaning, a dynamic of the universe, a force revealed in various ways, we need not be afraid to reimagine the givens of our faith, test the truths and structures of our beliefs and invigorate the familiar tropes and practices of our religious life. (more…)
Posted in God, Modern theology, Scriptures, tagged allegory, atonement, Auschwitz, Christ, crucifixion, Elie Wiesel, George MacLeod, God, Jesus, Richard Holloway, St Paul, Suffering Servant on 07/04/2017| Leave a Comment »
If, like all scripture, the New Testament is soaked in allegory and metaphor, we are entitled to question a number of propositions, including the atonement theory, and their dependence on an anthropomorphic view of “God”. (more…)
Posted in Christianity, Modern theology, tagged Arminianism, atonement, Calvinism, Don Cupitt, Richard Holloway on 06/04/2016| Leave a Comment »
More Christian reticence: it is only after writing my previous post on this site that I came across the following remarks which to my mind parallel, albeit in clearer language, what I am trying to say:
“On the other hand it cannot be said that the Church concerns itself very much to emphasise the radical character of Jesus’s ethical teachings.” Humphrey Carpenter. Jesus. Oxford, 1980. p93
“What now passes for belief in God is a very reduced version of what it once was.” Don Cupitt. After God: the future of religion. London, 1998. p82
“Most of Christian theology has already been lost, as we soon discover if we ask people to explain, for example, just how Christ’s death has made atonement for our sins, or the difference between Calvinism and Arminianism, or the doctrine of the Trinity.” Cupitt, ibid p81
Somewhere in his many admirable books, Richard Holloway draws a distinction between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ belief; perhaps that is what is needed to be referenced here.
Posted in Modern theology, tagged Karen Armstrong, Marcus Borg, modern theology, Richard Harries, Richard Holloway on 28/03/2016| Leave a Comment »
“Modern theology is not always easy reading. It would be helpful if theologians tried to present it in an atttractive, accesible way to enable congregants to keep up with the latest discussions and the new insights of biblical scholarship, which rarely reaches [sic] the pews.” Karen Armstrong. The case for God. London, 2009 p295.
My point exactly; though it is striking that her book does not even mention Marcus Borg, Richard Holloway or Richard Harries, to speak of but three.
Posted in Anglicanism, Catholicism, Christianity, God, Islam, Judaism, Religion, tagged Anglican Communion, Christianity, cultural diversity, ecumentalism, Extra Ecclesiam, Gore Vidal, internet, jihadism, Richard Holloway, Roman Catholic Church, Sura 2, Thomas Friedman, William Temple on 02/02/2016| Leave a Comment »
Thirty or forty years ago, I recall, there was much anguished talk in the Church of England about Christian unity – or lack of it – and the perceived need for determined ecumenicalism to tackle the problem with ‘solutions’; much more so than nowadays. Thank God. (more…)
Posted in Christianity, God, Humanism, tagged Adrian B Smith, atonement, Christianity, Christmas, Death of God, Easter, God, Holy Week, human predicament, Jack Miles, Jesus Christ, John Hick, John Shelby Spong, Judaism, Marcus J Borg, original sin, Richard Holloway, satya, St John on 12/02/2014| Leave a Comment »
Religion explains. That is its function. All the great belief systems have their own responses – explanations for the perplexed – to humanity’s great eternal questions, developed and embellished over centuries of exposition. (more…)
Posted in God, Modern theology, tagged atheism, Christian humanism, evengelicalism, God, Richard Dawkins, Richard Holloway, Terry Eagleton on 05/02/2013| Leave a Comment »
When two or three are having an argument, it helps if all of the participants at least agree on what they are talking about. Alas and alack, this is not always possible; in marital rows, for example. In debates about religion, the mismatch between the parties is well-nigh catastrophic. (more…)
Rimbovalia
