You're Right Pleabus. Who Knows??

AK47 Pleabus in my Adidas,

I appreciate your insights, and I must say, for the most part, I agree with you; God IS love, and He is much greater than we can ever understand. But that’s exactly my point.

I’m not claiming to understand God. I’m not claiming to establish a concrete set of beliefs on some seemingly obscure topic that doesn’t have anything to do with the concept of Christianity.

What I am ultimately saying is that I DON’T understand it all. By relinquishing all of my knowledge and intuition and acknowledging that God has all the power, I essentially say that I know nothing. I know nothing of anything, except for the fact that God is everything; he is far beyond my understanding. So for anyone to say that they determine their own future and decide their own destiny is a bold, and quite honestly, arrogant statement to me. They are saying “God. . .You know everything. . .except when I decide.” Then I say. . .What’s the point of there ever being a God if you are controlling your own future?!?!?!?!?

I don’t want this to sound like an intellectual competition, really. I could care less about Boyd’s credentials and his intellectual hierarchy. I could care less about my formal thinking abilities. That’s not my agenda.

The reason I make such a big deal about this is because it IS a big deal. I think everyone who says that my argument with Boyd is senseless is really missing the main point of Christianity. If it wasn’t so important, I wouldn’t be making such a fuss about it.

My problem is that Boyd DRAWS LINES. He takes a supernatural, omnipotent presence, and he boxes it up. He says, “God does this, but He doesn’t do that.” Well Boyd, how would you know? That’s no longer a God then. It’s a man-made concept. And why would I want to believe in Greg Boyd’s concepts??? They’re his own, synthetic products . . .much of which are covered with holes and don’t make the slightest bit of sense anyways!

What I’m saying is. . .If we start at square one, in that God is the Divine Creator, we mutually agree that He is everything. He has power over everything. He made everything. He prevails over all, even the devil. That’s all that needs to be said. Everything else is explained by God, not us. That is an incredible weight off my shoulders, but I can see why it’s such a shock for the power-hungry folks like Boyd.

Deny yourself. That’s what Christ did. And He’s our God.

Deny what you think you know.

Stop philosophizing and creating concepts.

God knows.
That’s all that needs to be said.

~Grandpa


I will end by quoting a few excerpts from a couple emails sent from a friend of mine when she read a piece by Greg Boyd.

“On 'Repenting of religion: turning to judgment to the love of God' - by greg boyd

Dietrich Bonhoeffer inspired the book- who says love and judgment oppose each other

'The knowledge of good and evil seems to be the aim of all ethical reflection. The first task of christian ethics is to invalidate this knowledge.' ~bonhoeffer

So here is boyd... using his (ahem) JUDGMENT to pick and choose what he agrees with, what he doesn't, and what he changes about bonhoeffer's ideas. That is the introduction to the book.

The first chapter begins of Boyd telling of a time where he was people-watching at a mall and realized how he was sitting there judging everyone that walked by. So he decided to change his mindset and start looking at everyone in a more kind light. He discovered, AMAZINGLY, that when he told his mind to start thinking nice thoughts about others, that he found nice things about them and seemed to feel more love toward them. When he looked for good things in other people, he found some. Amazing.

So...'Don't judge...just love'.

I feel like I should stop showering, get out my rainbow sunglasses and my pot smoking conversion van with wall to wall shag.... and walk around with a confused look saying 'just love man.... peace is the answer'. 'Mmm I love brownies. And... hey lets go get something to eat.'

Noble idea... 'love'... but not exactly a theme the bible does much to support when it’s completely removed from its context, repainted, and thrown around like confetti....like 'love' truly ever has been FREE. I would have to say that the bible does a lot more speaking of the hardships and suffering and dying and COST than it does of just LOVE love love.... like anybody actually has a clue about what that means anyway. The pure fact that english has one word and other languages have several to define the different 'loves' should be a flippin clue.
Sheesh.


If you don't put a name on the suffering... you do a much greater disservice to non-believers than not saying anything at all. Speaking from experience...if you can do nothing to explain the hurt of this life, you won't resonate with those who are most open and ripe to hear the gospel of a God who traded himself in order to make it right for us
all in a million different ways. Is all you do is speak of purest
happiness and nothing more... and only instruct the world that 'love is the answer'... you will merely alienate those who needed you most.
Anyone who has loved and lost knows the kind of hopelessness in such empty advice.

That is where the exclusion of christianity truly seems to me... where the 'chosen' ignore the unchosen and look either down on them or simply away.... in their 'joy' fantasyland.”