God Is Simple

I’ve just posted at Out of the Ordinary on the simplicity of God. The piece starts like this:

A woman I know once told me God would never condemn anyone to eternal hell because God is love. If God had wrath, and she wasn’t sure he did, it was only temporary. God’s final attitude toward everyone would be love, because God is love. She kept repeating these three words, emphasizing the “is” each time as if it settled everything. If God is love, she thought, love must be his most important attribute—the one attribute to rule all the others.

Understanding God’s simplicity should protect us from this error—and a few others, too. Do you want to know more about how this doctrine helps guards against distorted images of God? If so, read the rest. 

Susanna Used Her Noggin, and So Should You

Yes, I actually posted at Out of the Ordinary today. 

In his book The Deep Things of God: How the Trinity Changes Everything, Fred Sanders gives a few glimpses into the personal devotional journal of Susanna Wesley (mother of John and Charles Wesley and seventeen more children, nine of whom died as infants) who, at the time she wrote the quote that follows, was “a full-time homeschooling mother.” In the journal entry the quote comes from, Susanna is engaging the thought of none other than the philosopher Aristotle, who taught that “the world eternally existed along with God.”

Read the rest.

The Things That Are Revealed Belong to Our Children, Too

Since it’s never too soon to start telling our children about God and his ways, I posted a short list of picture books teaching sound theology at Out of the Ordinary.

Do you know of more? I’d be pleased if you added your recommendations in the comments of the post.