Douglas Lee

“In this introduction, we see motifs and ideas that are classic elements of an apocalyptic worldview: a human who receives a divine vision (in this case, Enoch); this vision is a mystery of heavenly wisdom that has not been revealed before; and the seer who receives the vision recounts it to others on earth so that they might understand the true nature of things.”
― Ben C. Blackwell, Reading Mark in Context: Jesus and Second Temple Judaism

“The Atonement as the Whole Story If you ask anyone from that 74 percent of Americans who say they have made a commitment to Jesus Christ what the Christian gospel is, you will probably be told that Jesus died to pay for our sins, and that if we will only believe he did this, we will go to heaven when we die. In this way what is only one theory of the “atonement” is made out to be the whole of the essential message of Jesus. To continue with theological language for the moment, justification has taken the place of regeneration, or new life.8 Being let off the divine hook replaces possession of a divine life “from above.” For all of the talk about the “new birth” among conservative Christians, there is an almost total lack of understanding of what that new birth is in practical terms and of how it relates to forgiveness and imputed or transmitted righteousness.”
― Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy: A Study of Spiritual Reality in Christian Thought

“We’ve camped in wilderness areas near an active volcano, attempted to cross a swift river on foot, hiked a dozen trails, and lit fires nearly every evening. None of these were our greatest risk. The worst danger was ourselves. Maintaining cheerfulness and kindness in the midst of constant change can be an enormous challenge. Liminality exposes all our rough edges.”
― Carmen Joy Imes, Bearing God's Name: Why Sinai Still Matters

“The damage done to our practical faith in Christ and in his government-at-hand by confusing heaven with a place in distant or outer space, or even beyond space, is incalculable. Of course God is there too. But instead of heaven and God also being always present with us, as Jesus shows them to be, we invariably take them to be located far away and, most likely, at a much later time—not here and not now. And we should then be surprised to feel ourselves alone?”
― Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy: A Study of Spiritual Reality in Christian Thought