Category Archives: God

An Illustration of Why Latin Can Be Useful

Posted on July 27, 2022 by Richard Heyduck

Christian theology has often affirmed Si comprehendis, non est Deus. In English one might translate it as “If you understand it, it’s not God.” This statement gets at the basic idea of apophaticism: God is beyond us, not just quantitatively … Continue reading →

Posted in God, Language, Theology, Uncategorized | Leave a comment

The “Angry, Offended” God

Posted on August 21, 2018 by Richard Heyduck

I ran across this quotation on Twitter the other day: “God, apart from Christ, is an angry, offended Sovereign. Unless we behold God in and through Christ, the only Mediator–the terrors of His Majesty would overwhelm us. Because of our … Continue reading →

Posted in Atonement, God, Sin, Theology, United Methodism | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Heaven’s Flames & Hell’s Gates

Posted on July 18, 2017 by Richard Heyduck

For several years now, I’ve seen churches hosting a dramatic presentation called Heaven’s Gates and Hell’s Flames. The one I went to focused on the horrors of hell, the uncertainty of life – we could die any moment, and the … Continue reading →

Posted in God, Jesus, Salvation, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Wrath of God

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Richard Heyduck

We modern believers often feel a need to take care of God – or at least God’s reputation. We have our ideals, and God had better live up to them. One of our ideals is that anger (or, in its … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events, God, Jesus | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Holiness: Individual & Communal

Posted on June 17, 2013 by Richard Heyduck

One of the books I’m currently reviewing is Discipleship that Transforms: An Introduction to Christian Education from a Wesleyan Holiness Perspective. As I work on the review, I’ll make some peripheral comments here that might be of wider interest. In … Continue reading →

Posted in Discipleship, Ecclesiology, Education, God, Holiness, John Wesley | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Why me?

Posted on March 6, 2011 by Richard Heyduck

In Isaiah 38-39 we see the story of Hezekiah’s sickness. Just when he thinks things can’t get any worse, they do. First, Judah’s cities are defeated by the Assyrian king Sennacherib and his mighty army. When the forces move on … Continue reading →

Posted in Bible, God | 2 Comments

Henotheism for Christians?

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Richard Heyduck

I ask the henotheism question, guessing most Christians would reject polytheism without much thought. The Christian tradition has, in its development of the doctrine of the Trinity, sought to safeguard the monotheistic convictions so clearly proclaimed in the Old Testament. … Continue reading →

Posted in Current events, Friedrich Nietzsche, God, Nihilism, Violence | 1 Comment

How God Knows

Posted on September 12, 2008 by Richard Heyduck

I’m sympathetic with some of the Open Theism literature I’ve read, so I find Greg Boyd’s comments on a confused theory of knowledge inherited from the ancients interesting. His conclusion seems reasonable. Once we abandon the ancient view of seeing … Continue reading →

Posted in Epistemology, God, Greg Boyd | Leave a comment