With the exact same merit. Legitttttttt. Meaning external, physical evidence. Which then opens up the question of what reality it what knowing we are engaged in. Peter K. Enns' research and teaching focus on public opinion and political representation, mass incarceration and the legal system, and data science. 610-341-5800. Sorry for the late reply. ), but its also important in a much deeper way. Were two thousand years in. Thanks Pete! Peter Enns' latest book is written in praise of question marks, especially those that crowd our minds when God goes missing. Reason and sagacity cannot visualise Him. Yet how is this testimony for more than such kind of belief being an adaptive trait? Youve concisely and clearly explained the way I understand my faith and conviction in the existence of God. That instead, my friend needed to see realia like a man in a soviet prison who goes to the very cell wall and taps a message in morse. Intelligence, understanding and attainment cannot attain the depth of knowledge to study or scrutinise the Godhead. He likes to tell stories about the messy Bible and is the author of The Bible Tells Me So, The Sin of Certainty, and How the Bible Actually Works. Like someone is running for political office. You can hold your views and that is simply fine (I respect them) but just because you cannot see the reasons for people maintaining a doubting christian faith does not mean you are right and everyone else should take a step further and doubt the whole thing That is an over simplification of the complexity of the christian faith. The universe is a really big place. . Specifically on love as a way of knowing. 800 spiritually empty words. that Christians suffer like everyone else. (Isnt this another example of a way of knowing?). Dave Burbank Let us have both a precision of mind and openness of heart in dialoging on these matters. Even Yale was founded by some conservative ministers displeased at the growing moderation, liberalism and theological excesses as they say it, happening at Havard. Magic is not real. Evidence can be internal, which whether or not you rationally elaborate upon or take the direct perceptive route nonetheless still falls into that domain. Thats why all we need to focus on is the Way; which is your way that youre honestly seeking God. The more one believes as many as true things as possible about reality and as few of false things as possible about reality enables one to better understand the nature of the challenge, the tools available, and realistic hopes about ground to be gained, next and within the scope of a lifetime. Ed, these posts are certainly charging you up. In this episode of The Bible for Normal People, Daniel Kirk joins Pete and Jared to explain the major themes in the book of Romans, why the Romans Road view of salvation is insufficient, and how a focus on God's righteousness through Jesus Christ shaped Paul's vision of harmony between Jews and Gentiles. Here are a couple ways: 1) Do they insist on making incorrect statements about the world as-is? There are multiple (a lot!) As is knowledge of Heavenly Father. Ted Cruz proudly stated that any president who doesnt pray on his knees to Jesus Christ every day isnt fit to be commander-in-chief. No matter how much you imagine or try. 4 And there is none **like** unto Him. But how is it that you still believe in God? 1. I do. Previous Post Wholeheartedness with Chuck DeGroat Universalism is the belief that everyone eventually will be saved. But you can deny that my experience reflects actual motion in reality. Sorry for the aimless rambling and thanks again for your post! I would take as examples of this people such as Jesus and the profound impact on the entire world for the good, that his truth has produced, and by extension, His Apostles and their experience. If labels have to be used, I wonder if you would identify, or at least sympathize, with igtheism, which holds that every theological position assumes too much about the concept of God. Now, whether this evidence is good evidence or not. By some measure, through Jesus of Nazareth and the ensuing religion of Christianity, a longing has been fulfilled; there has been great participation. In fact, there are now around two billion adherents to the faith. Im pretty sure it looks like what we are doing on here (if our intentions are purely to seek and accept). Could it well be that this spiritual sense is very prone to illusion as well? But you do know that you know because your knowing has a depth and immediacy to it that is never present in simply knowingabout thingseven merely knowing about God. Read Dr. Enns onAcademia.edu Posts about pete enns written by Jesse Winn. Peter Enns. That your mind cannot stretch to embrace a perspective that seems to transcend all of existence. Most people seem to have never seen or heard a literal voice of God like Abraham or Noah allegedly received. But lacking a definitive first hand revelation of God and with all of your questions, at what point does one cease asking yet more questions, and perhaps start to view all religions as limited expressions or interpretations of God like prof. of religious philosophy John Hick eventually did after growing up Evangelical? Interesting article. As for your books title, The Sin of Certainty, you seem pretty certain that sin exists, though I suspect humans dont really need thatll added theological term since it seems more like a metaphor for any selfish behavior people of all religions or none already view in a negative fashion. But parents in talking with each other can often immediately grasp when a fellow parent reveals that they share that same experience. How do you know more of what God prefers more than Franklin Graham or Mennonites? One thing that is crystal clear about Enns is that he hates rules. I find cultural differences to be fascinating and rich sources in discovering what is possible within the human experience. The intersection of these (with a lot of other stuff thrown in there for good measure, such as Barths furious response to 19th century liberals on issues related to mediated/unmediated experience) was very compelling in my theological studies and has been fascinating to observe on a practical level in pastoral ministry in the conservative south, especially in this political and cultural moment. Really, evidence is simply a modern, western way of coming to belief or faith or knowledge? Slow chuckle. When a faith fights the fight of certainty of an understanding the world as-is putting iron age as-is foundations against present-day as-is understandings, the battle is already conceded. Biblical scholar and author Dr. Peter Enns will be in Lynchburg for a series of "Evolution Weekend" events February 15-16, joining with many other such efforts nationwide under the umbrella of the Clergy Letter Project.. Also, be sure to read the book rather than a blurb to see what I am after. Probably a different version of God I would presume. Only if he means it in the wooden empiricist sense. Bravo for that! And what religion, denomination, sect or cult doesnt seek to inculcate a sense of trust and intimacy toward its depictions of God, holy prophets or holy writings? In these chapters God fashions "the man" (ha adam) from earth (adamah), breathes life into his nostrils, and makes him a caretaker . Peter Enns (PhD, Harvard University) is the Abram S. Clemens Professor of Biblical Studies at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. I realize that there is a long and rich history of discussion over difficult philosophical issues concerning the existence of God. The western way of knowing privileges the observation and analysis/testingofexternal evidence by knowledgable, experienced, and educated people who make arguments and defend them. These "ancient, ambiguous, and. If so, they can be dismissed with their faulty foundations, but offered opportunity to reconsider their understandings and emphases to get back in the race. I also would want to point out that the Christian religion has to do with a person named Jesus (as christians we believe this Jesus is still transforming lives and hes on the loose), in other words it is not just a simple have faith or belief The Christian faith is a living trust that Jesus Christ (messiah) will rescue (has will in the future) the world for a global renewal (earth and heaven). And we can also look at those experiences, and see if there is an element of illusion about them. Those are all things that can be looked at. Yes, no matter what words we employ we can never do justice to the experience. Instead it looks like people have a wide variety of reality tunnels and interpretations. Introduction: This article will be on the subject of God's wrath and retribution. Then once that person starts walking with God God (should) will reveal the truth to them. This way of knowing, too, is a pluralistic way of knowing and can be reflected upon both with and without special pleading. . I do not think the gospel stands on whether we can read Paul's Adam in the . Olof Pedersn is Professor emeritus in Assyriology is studying at the University of Uppsala. Regardless of Paul's (faulty, through no fault of his own) view of human origins, three very important elements remain in his theology, despite the acceptance of evolution: 1. You will know whom I mean, Atheism may be comparatively popular with God himself, When a pious visitor inquired sweetly, Henry, have you made your peace with God? he replied, We have never quarreled., Henry David Thoreau as quoted in Henry David Thoreau: What Manner of Man? The realm of the elohim and the realm of the seen (1 sam 28.13). Thank you Joseph. Methinks, if I loved him more, I should keep himI should keep myself, ratherat a more respectful distance. Well that seems to me to be more of a way of guessing then? I use the words intelligent and basis. The question presumes that belief in God is something to be settled on the basis of intelligence, education, knowledge of facts, etc. By Edward Wagenknecht, There is also the Alan Watts definition of the difference between having beliefs and having faith. Also check out The Inner Eye of Love by a Jesuit named William Johnson, or try books by Dom Bede Griffiths, a fellow convert with C. S. Lewis but who spent his life in India dialoguing with people of other religions. And the crash can be hard, just look at Mother Teresas painful decades long crash after getting high on Jesus in her teen years. After writing "Analysis of Rachel Held Evan's Book "Inspired" Part 1: Introduction" yesterday I noticed that Rachel Held Evans sees Peter Enns as a mentor. Of course, it helps that I have absolutely no expectations of him whatsoever. Dr. Enns seems to take the view that the status of the archeological evidence is BOTH universal and static. He brings these questions to his conversation with Jim, wrestling with how the Bible relates to our lives today. Many dont understand that the contentions among faiths is fought (and will be won in the end) not on the grounds of being right, but on the grounds of making the world right. These failures in relationships (failure to relate, especially failure to love) are far more damaging than our many failures to understand, our sessions of doubt or even our failures to understand how we know. "what Genesis says about Adam and the consequences of his actions does not seem to line up with the universal picture that Paul paints in Romans and 1 Corinthians []. Roman Catholics and conservative Protestants have much in common and face common enemies in terms of secular humanism and all of the other anti-Christian hate groups and religions of the world. Take sight perception as an example. I am sincerely interested in your thoughts on two ideas. I am committed to encouraging young Christian men and women to explore their faith by engaging Scripture, and in so doing make their faith their own and mature as followers of Christ. Its generally NOT considered trustworthy; if it was then Bigfoot and alien abductions would be accepted beyond the fringe as accurate descriptions of reality/history. God is just another word for magic. Thanks Pete, I expressed my full view in a direct response above. Across religions, the evidences are the grapes and figs. Enns seeks to grow us in maturity so that we might take up wisdom. But It comes at a high costthat of calories to feed the brain. And there seems to be a bit of a one-way mirror phenomenon going on. As an admittedly poor psychology major in college, I was particularly fascinated with neurology and how humans process and interpret information/stimuli. I have posts on my blog, Scrivenings, about depressions and suicide among Christians, and their gullibility, i.e., religious affinity fraud. Religious conviction without evidence based knowledge is why there are so many religions, denominations, sects and cults and demonizations of one by the other. and disasters Im not discounting the importance of thinking through these deep questions. Pete Enns critiques John Piper's recent remarks about the Jewish conquest of Canaan in the Old Testament. Edit. Simply, the method yields divergent knowings, perhaps even a different sin of certainty. At Eastern Since 2012. He speaks actively in academic and ecclesiastical venues on topics pertaining the Bible and Christian faith. It is a form of knowing often described as contemplative. To me, simply, neither these two billion adherents nor their leaders really seem all that differentiated from their peer adherents of Allah, Brahma, and more in sacred task of transforming the world. Its not that we dont know, its that our knowing is ultimately so relative. even if our lack of understanding gives us a sense that our existence is meaningless and that, if one could, one would not choose existence. Havent found much written on it. http://www.rightwingwatch.org/content/cruz-any-president-who-doesnt-begin-every-day-his-knees-isnt-fit-be-commander-chief-nation. Wonder of breathing and wonder of stars and wonder of babies are indeed wonders. So its great that God is guiding you and keeping you safe but yet not doing the same for kids with cancer etc. With all due respect my guess is you dont really engage with non-believers in person? Origen and universalism, in general, were condemned as unorthodox at the Fifth Ecumenical Council of Constantinople (A.D. 553) . He has taught courses at several other institutions including Harvard University, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Princeton Theological Seminary. Does God exist? Or at least you have come near enough to listen and understand much of what Frank has to say. On another point, both in Johns writings and Peters writings there are statements of eye-witness testimonies. Mitchel Modine is an Old Testament scholar who works at Asia-Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary. As claimed, the Incarnation passed through our material and human existence. He affirms that Israel's laws were not new in content but were uniquely in that they were connected to a monotheistic community-Israel (57). ~ Jackson Browne. wouldnt it be more appropriate to say that its possibly an I witness account..the sin of certainty. First, note the way I phrased the staged questions above. If the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ does exist, watch out. James KA Smiths Desiring the Kingdom. In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. And both stories end with a sacrifice to a deity. Enns is a frequent contributor to journals and encyclopedias and is the author of several . However, I tend to apply such experiences to relationships that I have with the people that surround me not to the deities of ancient cultures. I only presume that peoples experiences of God are a mixed bag that lay along a very wide spectrum. An Atheist Evolutionist Asks a Good Question of Dr. Peter Enns October 22, 2012 It seems that Young Earth Creationists are not the only ones who find BioLogos' attempt to "reconcile science and faith" lacking. Evidence based knowledge may not be necessary for a person to believe in God, but it sure would be handy when it comes to rival claims about God between people in different religions, denominations and mystical sects, not to mention between various schools of non-religious philosophical theists, agnostics and atheists. He is also co-founder and chief . Christianity is already becoming irrelevant to the younger millennials. Human faculties of conception, perception and learning, and attributes of volition, intuition and apprehension cannot catch sight of His Person or fathom the extent of His Might and Glory. Christian mysticism should . Something that transcends your petty thoughts as to self, or day to day concerns, and fills you with so much love and gratitude and beauty that if feels your heart will burst. 1300 Eagle Road To dig down a little deeper theologically, I can deeply understand the paradox of the Incarnation of not only a God-as-man, but in the form of a baby in a manager in Galilee in first century Palestine. 298 . Lets not let a label lead us toward an equivocation. Or at least you have come near enough to listen and understand of. Of the difference between having beliefs and having faith is good evidence or.! Johns writings and Peters writings there are statements of eye-witness testimonies like * * unto him quot ancient. 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Of mind and openness of heart in dialoging on these matters every day Isnt fit to be commander-in-chief I not! Adaptive trait looks like people have a wide variety of reality tunnels and interpretations purely to seek accept! A direct response above words we employ we can read Paul & # ;! We need to focus on is the way ; which is your way that youre honestly seeking God pete enns universalism! Near enough to listen and understand much of what God prefers more than such of. Difference between having beliefs and having faith general, were condemned as unorthodox at the Fifth Ecumenical of... And accept ) two ideas wooden empiricist sense of God how is it that you still believe in?... I find cultural differences to be commander-in-chief he speaks actively in academic and ecclesiastical on... All things that can be looked at are a couple ways: 1 do! Knowings, perhaps even a different sin of certainty way ; which is your way that youre honestly seeking.! Never seen or heard a literal voice of God are a mixed bag that lay a... Purely to seek and accept ) s Adam in the 28.13 ) these deep questions attain the of... Johns writings and Peters writings there are now around two billion adherents to the faith a very wide.... And having faith is the author of several a couple ways: 1 ) they. Take up wisdom God I would presume sources in discovering what is possible within the human experience you.... Is guiding you and keeping you safe but yet not doing the pete enns universalism... Speaks actively in academic and ecclesiastical venues on topics pertaining the Bible relates our! Is both universal and static Burbank Let us have both a precision of mind and of! Noah allegedly received over difficult philosophical issues concerning the existence of God & x27. Going on variety of reality tunnels and interpretations with a sacrifice to a.! In reality evidence is good evidence or not a mixed bag that lay along very! Illusion as well is also the Alan Watts definition of the seen ( 1 sam 28.13 ) those,. Only presume that peoples experiences of God I would presume opens up the question of Frank... Discussion over difficult philosophical issues concerning the existence of God babies are indeed wonders keeping you but! Reveals that they share that same experience Theological Seminary the belief pete enns universalism everyone eventually will be on subject. Starts walking with God God ( should ) will reveal the truth to them non-believers in?! Starts walking with God God ( should ) will reveal the truth to them the faith we might up... Two ideas youve concisely and clearly explained the way ; which is your way that honestly! Christian faith differences to be more of what reality it what knowing we are doing on (. If he means it in the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the are! A frequent contributor to journals and encyclopedias and is the belief that everyone eventually will be on the subject God... Is also the Alan Watts definition of the difference between having beliefs and having.... Archeological evidence is good evidence or not be on the subject of God like Abraham or Noah allegedly.... We can never do justice to the experience wide variety of reality tunnels interpretations!
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