Things Theologians Say But Aren’t Supposed to Mean

On our website we introduce ourselves and what we believe by quoting some of our favorite theologians (http://godslovewins.com/aboutus.htm).  Their quotes capture perfectly our hope in the restoration of all things.  They have made some astounding statements that if we did not know their overall theological mindset we would assume they are teaching the ultimate redemption of the entire created order.

Why are we increasingly encountering theologians, pastors, teachers, and authors saying things they are not supposed to mean?

Here are some additional statements from Scot McKnight of Jesus Creed:

“The gospel makes the claim that life is ultimately a “comedy”, a comedy of grace.  It is the Divine Gospel of Comedy.  The last word in the gospel is not death, but life. The last word is not the Cross, but the resurrection…The gospel is God’s comedy, because in the gospel death is overcome by life, and life restores us to community for the good of the world.”   Embracing Grace, pgs 111, 117

 

“Focusing on human sinfulness goes contrary to the grain of the Bible, which clearly sees humans as “Eikons” [image-bearers] in need of restoration to be sure, but the object of God’s special love.  The Bible, after all, is a “comedy” not a “tragedy”…In the Bible, grace is who God is and what God wants to do for us…  Keith Carpenter says ‘grace is the absolute and unrelenting goodness of God toward humans’.  It is the word ‘unrelenting’ that I like so much.”             Embracing Grace pgs 126-127

 

“Humans will be in union with God and in communion with others, for the good of others and the entire created order.  It is Eden all over again, only better.  Eternity is the unleashing of the cycle of embracing grace.”                                                                                Embracing Grace  pg 56

 

Read that last line again: “Eternity is the unleashing of the cycle of embracing grace”.  I guess you could assume he is referring here to believers in heaven that are unleashing grace upon each other (?) but he just mentioned the entire created order in the immediate context so…

I don’t know about you but those statements above just made my heart skip a few beats. If I did not already believe in the ultimate restoration of all things through Christ I would have to do some serious reigning in of my heart and emotions.  I would have to qualify all those statements and remind myself that, ‘it isn’t the way it sounds, don’t get your hopes up… these are only hyperbolic statements not to be taken literally…he’s just referring to a minority of the population.’

What a travesty that we are being teased with these sweeping visions of restoration, the limitless power of God’s love and grace, and the cosmic scope of the resurrection!

It is quite a strange theological climate where theologians are allowed to say things that we aren’t allowed to believe.