
Contents
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Why Bother Thinking About God and Time? Why Bother Thinking About God and Time?
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The Need for Doctrinal Clarity: An Eschatological Case Study The Need for Doctrinal Clarity: An Eschatological Case Study
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Deep Problems in the Current State of Theology on God and Time Deep Problems in the Current State of Theology on God and Time
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Theological Confusion #1: God is Temporal and Timeless, or Something in Between Theological Confusion #1: God is Temporal and Timeless, or Something in Between
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Theological Confusion #2: The Barthian Blunder Theological Confusion #2: The Barthian Blunder
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Theological Confusion #3: The Trinity Entails a Particular Understanding of Eternality Theological Confusion #3: The Trinity Entails a Particular Understanding of Eternality
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Theological Confusion #4: Placing God in the Future Theological Confusion #4: Placing God in the Future
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The Aim of this Book The Aim of this Book
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Preface: Why Bother Thinking About God and Time?
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Published:January 2016
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Extract
In English class, junior year of high school, we were asked to read C. S. Lewis’ classic Mere Christianity. It was a rather exciting time for me as I was beginning to understand some of the basics of Christian thought. I had grown up in the church, but Sunday morning messages consisted of a dozen or so ways of saying that Christ died for our sins. There was rarely a mention of the resurrection, the Trinity, or any of the divine attributes. Finally hearing these great doctrines explained by someone as eloquent as Lewis opened my eyes to how amazing God is.
What changed everything for me was the chapter in Mere Christianity where Lewis discusses God’s relation to time. It had never occurred to me that God might exist outside of time, as Lewis claimed. I can recall the class discussion on this chapter. The teacher, Mrs Fields, explained the concept of God existing outside of time to us. It was quite obvious that none of the students had really understood the idea—that is assuming they had read the chapter. As she talked we stared at her dimly. Recognizing the lackluster look in our eyes she boldly proclaimed, “If this isn’t blowing your mind, you have not truly understood what is meant by God existing outside of time!” There was silence in the classroom. No one knew what to say. Then the most amazing thing happened, the kind of thing that teachers long for. It was almost as if little light bulbs went off above every student’s head. As I looked around the room I could see the expressions on the faces of my fellow classmates change. For some, their jaws slowly dropped as the idea of eternity started to sink in. For others, their eyes light up with amazement. For a few, a faint grin started to appear. One by one the majority of the class caught a glimpse of God’s eternal nature. For me, it was one of the first moments in my life where I felt moved to worship God.
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