Author: David Ellis

We often say, among ourselves, that this is a wicked world (except, of course, for the perfectly pious bit we occupy and have control over!) But is it true? I am going to assume a debating stance, arguing both for and against the motion that this is a wicked world, and then invite you all…

As most of you know, Dr. Weaver, Kiran, Michael and I are putting together a book on grace based largely on Dr. Weaver’s talks in class, but also informed by your contributions in our class discussions.  Inevitably, the book has a Christian theological bent. It is based largely on the Bible, because this is after…

The Bible is a complex and multifaceted text, reflecting the diverse socio-historical contexts and times in which its various books were written. In studying it, many have found a tension between, on the one hand, a seemingly judgmental God who operates on the principle of cause and rational effect—rewarding obedience and punishing disobedience; and, on…

Many Christians seem troubled by the idea of “falling from grace.” It is a fairly common phrase; at any rate, I seem to have heard it a lot. Funnily enough, though, I was able to find it in only two Bible verses, both from Paul:  “You who are trying to be justified by the law…

There is a profound aspect of God’s grace that transcends boundaries and speaks to the heart of our faith. In the New Testament, Jesus speaks of having other sheep that are not of this fold, and in the Book of Revelation, we see a vision of people from all nations and tongues standing before God….

Last week, we explored the Christian concept of grace as part of the New Covenant, applicable to all people. Today, we’ll examine how non-Christians might be aware of God’s grace and how it manifests in various cultures and religions. We’ve discussed the concept of grace often here in this class, and we have often noted…

Dr. Weaver has commented that despite the limits of human understanding of grace, the concept itself seems to have been known throughout the ages by all religions and cultures. He asked me to look into that, so I took Claude AI’s help to find out what the Bible and other world faiths and beliefs have…

Last week, I presented a conversation I’d had with ChatGPT on the subject of Grace and Salvation. Jason commented on the importance of carefully crafting the questions or “prompts” you give to ChatGPT and similar AI “models”. The quality of the response you get is directly related to the quality of your prompt. Remember the…

In Dr. Weaver’s long recovery from illness, I’ve found myself talking from the class podium rather more than I might like (and, I would bet, far more often than you might like!), and I’ve been using AI to help me in that task. I have never hidden that from you, but since I’m about to…