Wednesday, November 29, 2006
The Limits of God's Grace
I just read the article by Bart Campolo in The Journal of Student Ministries entitled "The Limits of God’s Grace". Wow. I rarely hear people speak so boldly about what they believe. I figure it's because most are too worried about the social concequences - or at least that's what tends to tame my tongue. Bart raises some interesting questions but I'm most fearful of creating God in the image of our desires. Can I really say that I want God to be this way or that way and if he's not then he isn't much of a God? I think that kind of logic is flawed primairly in the sense that it assumes that we (the created beings) know what God ought to be like.
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3 comments:
I came across this article a while ago somewhere.
I think what Bart was trying to say was not that God needed to be created in the image of his desires to be much of a God. Instead, I felt like he was saying that if God was not absolute love, grace, and forgiveness; that he (Bart) wasn't interested in believing in that God.
The distinction in my mind is that Bart isn't blaming God, but rather invoking his right as a, "free agent."
Maybe I'm off base (and I should read it again), but that was my initial impression
Well said regarding the distinction of "free agent". I don't think you are off base. I think my hangup may be with his presupposition that man (as the created being) understands the full definition of divine love and justice. In his rape scenario - For the offended, divine justice would mean punishment for the offender, and for the offender, divine love would mean complete forgiveness. How do we resolve the two? Maybe I am totally missing where he is coming from?
That's a great point. Those two tensions, and the natural ramifications of complete justice and love, can only be resolved by God.
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