Author: David Ellis

Don: The fundamental questions of humankind are about Creation (Where did we come from?) Revelation (Where are we?) and Salvation (or Re-creation) (Where are we going?). Since the Creation was before our time, and Salvation/re-creation will be after our time, what we can “know” about them can only be through faith. Revelation, however, occurs in…

Don: If god is the god of all mankind, why are there so many different religions? So many different paths, so many different entry ways to the same god? Can they all be true? The religions are diverse in concept, practice, and beliefs. Their differences are often contradictory. Why would a god of all mankind…

Don: I have put on hold my plan to discuss biblical vignettes in which Jesus breaks down the separateness of our social groupings and tries to make vivid the idea that he is the god of all mankind, so that we can discuss points that arose last week. It was suggested that the notion of…

Don: We have discussed the Mystery of Goodness and the Mystery of Evil. Today, we will discuss our third Mystery, that which Paul said had been “hidden since the foundation of the world.” It is the truth that god is the god of all mankind. What does this mean from a theological perspective? What does…

Jason: Last week’s meeting was somewhat spoiled for the Skype participants due to a bad connection, so I will summarize that discussion here: We began by trying to outline the story of pain throughout the bible, starting with the introduction of pain in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:16) where god talks about increasing the…

Don: Evil seems to be actualized by death and, perhaps even more, by pain. Not just physical pain, but emotional, psychological, economic, and conceivably spiritual pain. As a doctor I deal with patients’ pain every day. Diagnosis is based to a large extent on defining their pain—its location, type, severity, and onset. When blood flow…

Don: Nothing challenges faith more than the problem of evil. The argument goes: “If god exists and is all-good and all-powerful, then why did he allow evil into the world to begin with? And since it is here, why does he not eradicate it? Since we do see evil, either god must be not all-good…

Don: In his Sermon on the Mount Jesus said (Matthew 5:20): “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus was alluding to the accepted definition of righteousness (which is essentially synonymous with goodness) as the keeping of the…

Don: We are asking: What is mystery? What can we know about it? Can we develop a theology of mystery? Is it possible to lead a satisfactory spiritual life alongside unexplained mystery? Why is there a human compulsion to have mystery explained—especially, the mystery about god? The need to have mystery explained seems to be…