Theology

Brian McLaren: hell’s tour guide? …that just doesn’t sound right!

My friend, teacher, and colleague, Brian McLaren will be posting here on this journal tomorrow, Monday, May 9th.  Brian’s blog tour (including: Tallskinnykiwi, Jordan Cooper, Jen Lemen, Paradoxology, and Pomomusings), will be a conversation regarding his newest, and arguably most

Dwight J. Friesen May 8, 2005January 14, 2021

books for the ‘isle of life’

The other day I was asked the question: “Suppose you were stranded on a deserted island; what three books (other then the Bible) would you want with you?” Stranded on a deserted isle, I’d want, 1) Survival Manual: Finding Food

Dwight J. Friesen April 26, 2005October 4, 2022

perfect liquid

My friend Kyle, passed along an interesting article in USA Today (April 20, 2005): “Picking apart the ‘Big Bang’ brings a big mystery.” “From colliding atoms: Instead of a hot gas of independent particles, top, experiments generated a ‘perfect’ liquid

Dwight J. Friesen April 25, 2005May 7, 2022

mission shaped church

Presenting “emerging theology” at the mission_shaped_church learning party sponsored by Karen Ward and the Church of the Apostles. April 17, 2005 Peace, dwight

Dwight J. Friesen April 17, 2005October 4, 2022

Theory-U & the Cross

Paragraph The reflective and discursive book, Presence: Human Purpose and the Field of the Future by Peter Senge, Otto Scharmer, Joseph Jaworski and Betty Sue Flowers invites readers into the exploration and development of the “U-theory” of learning and change.

Dwight J. Friesen April 15, 2005October 5, 2022

phone conversation with etrek

I have the privilege of interacting Spencer Burke and a group of etrek learners on my work on the Scale-Free Kingdom of God. peace, dwight

Dwight J. Friesen April 1, 2005January 18, 2021

emerging orthodox

Sky posted a few questions and challenges in response to my March 24th entry. Sky asked: “Can you explain how the statement that the Protestant Reformation gave the bible ‘back to the people’ applies to the vast communities in the

Dwight J. Friesen March 26, 2005October 7, 2022

church: body & soul

There have been times throughout Western history when people talked as though the spiritual mattered, and the physical did not. Soul = good; body = bad. The move to holistic viewing of the human person in community seems like a

Dwight J. Friesen March 24, 2005October 10, 2022

thesis statements over creeds

For nearly as long as the church has existed so have Creeds. Creeds are the “I/we believe . . . ” statements of the people of God. As with all text, once it is “written” and made available(whatever the medium)

Dwight J. Friesen February 22, 2005September 14, 2022

Limitations of Cross-Cultural Missions

One of the goals of cross-cultural missions – in some traditions – has to generate a more nearly universal Christian witness, one that has pan-human validity, thus to attain a universally applicable theology and Christian ethic; its primary goal is

Dwight J. Friesen February 13, 2005September 14, 2022

dogma = distrust of God?

Sheryl raised some great questions in her reply to my Dec 28th post. The claim is often made that “truth is truth” with the assumption that such a claim stands on its own. Why should we expect it to? For

Dwight J. Friesen December 31, 2004October 26, 2022

journaling for others to see

I write to discover what I’m in the the process of believing. “When I say ‘I believe,’ I am not merely describing an inward feeling or experience: I am affirming what I believe to be true, and therefore what is

Dwight J. Friesen December 28, 2004September 28, 2022

can’t believe i said this

I’ve been battling a cold for about a week and yesterday afternoon around 3, I lost. A foggy head – where everyone sounds like they’re speaking into a barrel, nasal congestion, that achy feeling, and just a hint stomach-unease. To

Dwight J. Friesen December 10, 2004May 6, 2022

thoughtful engagement

Ryan Pettit wrote a thoughtful response to my “Christianity maybe an antichrist” entry of 12/4/2004. He graciously critiques my post, offering seasoned rationale for his claims. Ryan began his response by offering three definitions of religion, these are useful. He

Dwight J. Friesen December 8, 2004September 14, 2022

Christianity may be an Antichrist

Christ trumps all religious systems. Jesus Christ did not create a religion Jesus appears to have lived meta-religion; no religion could contain Christ. Though Jesus was Jewish, and a Rabbi, he didn’t just teach the Law, he fulfilled it. When

Dwight J. Friesen December 4, 2004September 14, 2022

theology-less knowledge of God

Yesterday I was talking with my brother Dallas. And began talking about evil and the Garden of Eden. We began to imagine and wonder whether evil might have been a movement away from tacit knowledge of God. Basically, evil as

Dwight J. Friesen November 17, 2004May 6, 2022

why “and”

A couple of days ago I was asked why I’ve named my on-line journal and. I desire to bridge between. Where there is an ‘us’ and ‘them’ I want to be the and. Where there is black and white, male

Dwight J. Friesen November 11, 2004May 6, 2022

Confessing Christ in a World of Violence

A new confession of Christ. I wholeheartedly endorse this statement. Thanks to Jim Wallis and the thoughtful people over at Sojourners. Peace, dwight 1. Jesus Christ, as attested in Holy Scripture, knows no national boundaries. Those who confess his name

Dwight J. Friesen November 6, 2004September 28, 2022

Ecclesial Being-Unto-Death

Like most people 😉 my mind occasionally drifts to happy thoughts of Heidegger’s notion of Dasein as being-unto-death.  Marty (can I call him Marty?) reminds us that when people becomes aware of their inevitable death; really aware, like after a

Dwight J. Friesen October 26, 2004September 28, 2022

Orthoparadox

As I’ve continued reflecting on Orthobalance and aided greatly by those who posted comments, and a conversation I had with Bryan Burton. I’m beginning to lean a bit more to the term Orthoparadox (in part due to Mike O’s comment

Dwight J. Friesen October 16, 2004October 25, 2022

orthobalance

In yesterday’s entry I coined a term that I want to play with a bit more… At least I think I coined a term; who knows maybe the word is used in neurology or something. Orthobalance = the “right balance”

Dwight J. Friesen October 14, 2004May 6, 2022

to reverse evil is to live

The Beloved Disciple records many of Christ’s statements of self and mission like his “I am…” and “I have come…” declarations. One of these is recorded in the tenth chapter of the John’s Gospel. It is here we witness Christ

Dwight J. Friesen October 9, 2004May 6, 2022

toward the fulfillment of evil in Christ

In last night’s in Thinking Theologically class a we were looking at God as Creator. And side-tracked into an excellent conversation about the origin of evil, and whether or not God creates evil. Did spoken language exist prior to God’s

Dwight J. Friesen October 8, 2004May 6, 2022

Commodification

Recently I heard Ken Myers interview Vincent Miller regarding his new book Consuming Religion: Christian Faith and Practice in a Consumer Culture. The interview was outstanding. And dealt with, how the commodification of everything affects our sense of religious faith

Dwight J. Friesen October 3, 2004January 14, 2021

“God, forgive me for my thoughts of you”

“Theology is the study of God and [God’s] ways.  For all we know, dung beetles may study us and our ways and call it humanology.  If so, we would probably be more touched and amused than irritated.  One hopes that

Dwight J. Friesen August 31, 2004May 6, 2022

meta-religion

I’ve been reading a bunch of Biblical Theology this summer. Something that I am beginning to question is what Paul, Mark, Matthew, John, et al thought they were inviting people to when inviting people to follow Christ. I’m pretty sure

Dwight J. Friesen August 29, 2004December 13, 2020

shame & hiding

I’ve continued sitting with the idea of being “created for not knowing.”  Which has going back to scripture’s creation accounts, to look afresh at what immediately follows the introduction of the knowledge of good and evil.  Shame rushes in as an accuser; and

Dwight J. Friesen August 27, 2004May 6, 2022

Created Not to Know?

My friend Jacob popped by for a few minutes today – I really love it when friends drop by especially unannounced – always a nice surprise. And he tells me about a conversation he was having while mountain climbing with

Dwight J. Friesen August 26, 2004January 15, 2021

Theological Conversation

So I’m thinking of participating in the theological conversation sponsored by emergent featuring Walter Brueggemann. I’ve deeply appreciated Dr. Brueggemann’s and his ongoing contribution to biblical scholarship. It would be great to interact with other emergent theologians in an intimate

Dwight J. Friesen August 17, 2004November 25, 2022

Sobornost

Special thanks to Amber for recently directing my attention to “Sobornost.” Sobornost is a Russian Orthodox social church theory. It is a communal unity by free association in Christ finding expression in gathered church where harmony is attained by free

Dwight J. Friesen July 8, 2004November 28, 2022