Author Archives: davetcourt

So much division in the church seems to come down to disagreements on the atonement- what it is, how it works, what it says about God, humanity and creation. Which is ironic given that at the heart of atonement is the healing of divisions, the at one withness (or mentness) of God’s work in theContinue reading “The Divided Body, the Unified Christ- Finding the Language of At-one-ment”

Philippians 4:4-74 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcendsContinue reading “Happy Thanksgiving: Exploring Phillipians and Art of Gratitude”

“In the ancient world, to say Jesus is Lord is to say that Ceasar is not… make no mistake, this was a revolution. Exchanging the love of power for the power of Christ’s love,” Wright supplemts this with an additional question: who or what is Caesar.In one sense Caesar is the idea of the PowersContinue reading “Jesus and Ceasar: What Does It Mean To Say Jesus is Lord”

I just finished reading this book (The Journey of Humanity: The Origins of Wealth and Inequality by Oded Galor). Lots of interesting ideas in it to ponder. One interesting idea that it raises has to do with the tendency to look at the journey of humanity as a progression from less prosperity to more prosperity.Continue reading “Inequality, Prosperity and the Christian: The Problem and Solution of Diversity”

An artiicle on the dangers of ideology and learning to think well. “We live in an age of ideology. The world is complex and hard to understand, so we look for a theory that can help make sense of things. This is understandable. Throughout history, people made sense of the world through cultural and religiousContinue reading “Thinking Well in an Ideological Age”

On our very first phone call Jen and I bonded over Philipp Yanceys “What’s So Amazing About Grace”. When she asked me who else I liked to read I mentioned this book that I was currently devouring. She went and bought a copy so that we could read it together and so that she couldContinue reading “Remembering Frederick Buechner”

I’ve been asked a few times in groups I’m a part of and in person and elsewhere what my theological association/disposition is. My answer is often a mesh of Traditions. However, one leading answer I often give is that I adhere to a form of covenant theology. Just not the sort of covenant theology youContinue reading “The Power of Narrative Theology”

I always love the Office of Rabbi Sacks, but every once in a while an episode hits extra hard. This is one case. The episode (which is also available in text form in the link) is talking about the Law within Judaism, and more specifically this verse: Be very vigilant to keep the commandments ofContinue reading “The Law as Love and the Law as Rule: Making Sense of the Particular Through the Universal”

A few quotes snapshoted below from a book I just finished called When We Cease to Understand the World by Benjamin Labatut I thought it offered some compelling thoughts regarding the sort of dualism that crept into the scientific revolution, the tension that exists in keeping the material and the immaterial together as we observeContinue reading “Ceasing to Understand the World: Making Sense of the World as That Which is Defined By Potential”

Rethinking salvation with Matthew Bates. A couple quotes I thought were worthwhile: “The movement from outward to inward rapidly accelerated with Saint Augustine (354–430). Augustine’s infinitely influential views on faith informed the medieval Catholic synthesis, as well as the Protestant Reformers. Faith became more introspective, psychological, emotive, and passive (or receptive) than is encouraged byContinue reading “Rethinking Salvation With Matthew Bates”