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The Thomas Jay Oord Sampler
Thomas Jay Oord is changing the landscape of theology and spirituality.
In popular and academic books, Oord addresses the biggest questions we ask. Using philosophy, science, scripture, experience, and more, he offers plausible answers. Sometimes what he writes shocks readers; new ideas can have that effect. But many people are finding Oord's ideas make better sense of God and life than alternatives.
SacraSage Press offers this collection of sample chapters from Oord's best-selling books. These include God Can't, Open and Relational Theology, The Uncontrolling Love of God, Pluriform Love, and Questions and Answers for God Can't.
Read statements like...
“God can’t prevent evil singlehandedly.”
“Love is the central theme of scripture, although some passages oppose love.”
“Creatio ex nihilo is not biblically justified and makes solving the problem of evil impossible.”
“God can’t control anyone or anything, because God loves everyone and everything.”
“Prayer makes a difference, but it doesn’t enable God to control.”
“We can’t worship a wholly mysterious God, because we’d never know who the Devil he may be.”
“The God who causes or allows evil is unworthy of worship.”
“Jesus' uncontrolling love reveals God’s love as uncontrolling.”
“When it comes to God, we can’t be certain, but we aren’t clueless.”
“Love’s meaning is uniform, but its expressions are pluriform.”
“If God foreknows everything, creaturely freedom, love, and randomness are myths.”
“God is neither omnipotent nor impotent but amipotent.”
“God’s relentless love sends no one to hell but invites everyone to loving relationship.”
Taste what makes Thomas Jay Oord's ideas delectable.
Get a copy now!
In popular and academic books, Oord addresses the biggest questions we ask. Using philosophy, science, scripture, experience, and more, he offers plausible answers. Sometimes what he writes shocks readers; new ideas can have that effect. But many people are finding Oord's ideas make better sense of God and life than alternatives.
SacraSage Press offers this collection of sample chapters from Oord's best-selling books. These include God Can't, Open and Relational Theology, The Uncontrolling Love of God, Pluriform Love, and Questions and Answers for God Can't.
Read statements like...
“God can’t prevent evil singlehandedly.”
“Love is the central theme of scripture, although some passages oppose love.”
“Creatio ex nihilo is not biblically justified and makes solving the problem of evil impossible.”
“God can’t control anyone or anything, because God loves everyone and everything.”
“Prayer makes a difference, but it doesn’t enable God to control.”
“We can’t worship a wholly mysterious God, because we’d never know who the Devil he may be.”
“The God who causes or allows evil is unworthy of worship.”
“Jesus' uncontrolling love reveals God’s love as uncontrolling.”
“When it comes to God, we can’t be certain, but we aren’t clueless.”
“Love’s meaning is uniform, but its expressions are pluriform.”
“If God foreknows everything, creaturely freedom, love, and randomness are myths.”
“God is neither omnipotent nor impotent but amipotent.”
“God’s relentless love sends no one to hell but invites everyone to loving relationship.”
Taste what makes Thomas Jay Oord's ideas delectable.
Get a copy now!
228 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 19, 2022
11 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
September 29, 2023
This is a sampling of theology books written by Oord that includes five publications. I'm not sure to give my rating based on the theology or on the writing. I suppose it's a combination.
Oord gives some thoughtful prevention of some really great questions, especially in regard to the problem if evil and suffering. (If God is good and he is all-powerful, why does evil exist.)
He does give some interesting ideas that do a good job at confronting careless conventional Christian theology. He talks about how a loving God by nature does not control, how they are contradicting concepts. I thought that was well done. He also talks about Open and Relational theology which isn't a deal breaker for all Christians, but some would throw a flag from the start.
Ultimately, he gets a little too far for my liking when he begins to explain how truly limited God is. To me, it felt like a person who is truly wrestling with the problem to evil and are approaching it from a logical point of view alone. The problem is, for the majority of Jesus followers, it just doesn't track. For people who have authentically experienced God's presence and intervention (miracles, answers to prayer, personal revelation) the concept lands flat. And from Oords writing, it sounds like that's his missing ingredient .
Also, from a writing point of view, Oord writes about this theology by using phrasing like "My theology" which strongly implies a couple things: First, that it's not a theology that's true in its own right, but that it's unique to Oord, and second that his thoughts are origional in the 21st century. Certainly, theologians have argued these principles throughout antiquity. If he wants to assign names to these principles that's fine, but they are not revolutionary.
I appricated being confronted with what I belive about God's nature and I believe I'm better having read these writings. I won't endorse them however because I believe that if followed truly, it will lead a person further from the God that came to save us.
Oord gives some thoughtful prevention of some really great questions, especially in regard to the problem if evil and suffering. (If God is good and he is all-powerful, why does evil exist.)
He does give some interesting ideas that do a good job at confronting careless conventional Christian theology. He talks about how a loving God by nature does not control, how they are contradicting concepts. I thought that was well done. He also talks about Open and Relational theology which isn't a deal breaker for all Christians, but some would throw a flag from the start.
Ultimately, he gets a little too far for my liking when he begins to explain how truly limited God is. To me, it felt like a person who is truly wrestling with the problem to evil and are approaching it from a logical point of view alone. The problem is, for the majority of Jesus followers, it just doesn't track. For people who have authentically experienced God's presence and intervention (miracles, answers to prayer, personal revelation) the concept lands flat. And from Oords writing, it sounds like that's his missing ingredient .
Also, from a writing point of view, Oord writes about this theology by using phrasing like "My theology" which strongly implies a couple things: First, that it's not a theology that's true in its own right, but that it's unique to Oord, and second that his thoughts are origional in the 21st century. Certainly, theologians have argued these principles throughout antiquity. If he wants to assign names to these principles that's fine, but they are not revolutionary.
I appricated being confronted with what I belive about God's nature and I believe I'm better having read these writings. I won't endorse them however because I believe that if followed truly, it will lead a person further from the God that came to save us.
Displaying 1 of 1 review