You can get more details on the Google+ event, and you can watch either through that link, or using the viewer below.
I apologize for posting this so late. I will post the YouTube and some comments tomorrow. Dr. Weiss is the author of the book I’m using for this study, Meditations on According to John.
… at Fish and Cans. Lots of interesting stuff.
Tonight I’m giving myself permission to ramble in my presentation. “How will that be different?” you ask. I would imagine largely in that I won’t feel guilty while I ramble! There are few areas that demonstrate differences in views of biblical inspiration and interpretation than eschatology, whether we mean end-time events or our own end-of-life…
My friend and Energion author Allan Bevere posted this morning on this topic, and I want to call attention to it for several reasons. First, this is a topic I find very interesting. Second, I think it’s appropriate to discuss the problems of violence and suffering together at some points. Third, I don’t think that…
One of the many things that annoys me about sports broadcasters is their tendency to create a trend out of every slight turn of the game. My stepson is a professional pitcher, and if he throws a strike the announcer is sure to start talking about the strong performance and how if he just keeps…
Typically we talk about salvation around Good Friday and easter. We are saved by his death and his return to life. And there is certainly something to be said for that. But this constant focus on the sacrifice of Jesus being largely in his death sometimes obscures other meanings that the Jesus’ life, death, and…
So says Ann Coulter, paraphrasing an accusation made against Brit Hume when he suggested that Tiger Woods should become a Christian: With Christianity, your sins are forgiven, the slate is wiped clean and your eternal life is guaranteed through nothing you did yourself, even though you don’t deserve it. It’s the best deal in the…
My ears pricked up at the mention of panentheism. Can I suggest that although Dr. Weiss is entirely correct that the term “panentheism” didn’t exist until the 20th century, neither did the term (for instance) “quasar”. That doesn’t mean that there wasn’t a real thing described by panentheism, any more than it means that there wasn’t a real thing described by quasar (noting that all the quasars we see are being seen at a point in time before we coined the term…).
I think F.C. Happold does a good job in “Mysticism” in demonstrating that panentheism is a reasonable term to apply to aspects of the reported experience of a range of people he identifies (rightly, in my eyes) as mystics, including SS. Paul and John…
I think it’s interesting to compare Dr. Weiss’s definition of panentheism with Dr. Epperly’s. Herold is a biblical scholar while Bruce is a theologian and pastor. Note that Herold’s definition deals entirely with function, i.e., how God works in the universe. Bruce’s involves more of a theological affirmation and then how it interacts. Epperly also considers it biblical, while I’m pretty sure Herold would be extremely slow to call anything “biblical” or “unbiblical” in a broader perspective.
I suspect the same thing goes into how they would reply to the question of whether you could call the expression in Colossians, or in various mystics, relates to different things. For Herold, it’s about relating a term/concept from the 20th century to other terms. For Bruce it’s about looking at how similar in feel they are. In both cases there’s a certain amount of occupational hazard involved, and for us there is great value in hearing both perspectives, in my opinion. I don’t see much actual theological distance; just a difference of expression and perspective.
This was a highly anticipated interview and met expectations. It was fun enjoying Professor Weiss enjoying the process. I hope Henry brings him back at the conclusion of this series.
I am in agreement with Chris Eyre’s observation on panentheism. I wonder if we shouldn’t include Jesus in the list of mystics?