- Activist Feedback
- Essay: What is God’s Essence?
- This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and
Mary Hoffman
1. Activist Feedback
Regarding recent leafleting at Winter Jam in Kansas City,
super-activist Rick Hershey writes:
I
leafleted 1250 booklets to this large young crowd at the Sprint Center
in Kansas City this evening and enjoyed pleasant weather.
Upcoming Outreach
Opportunities
3/8-9
NC Charlotte Benny Hinn Miracle
Crusade
3/9
CA San Diego The Rock and Worship
Road Show
3/9-10 IN Muncie
Acquire The Fire Youth Conference
3/10 FL Tampa
TABLE Bark in the Park
3/10 CA
Sacramento The Rock and Worship Road
Show
3/10
WI Milwaukee Women of Faith Dream
On For Teen Girls!
3/10 KY
Lexington Winter Jam Christian
Rock Fest
3/11
TN Nashville Winter Jam Christian
Rock Fest
3/11
CA Fresno
The Rock and Worship Road Show
6/23 VA
Richmond
TABLE Richmond Vegetarian Festival
3/15-17 NC Winston-Salem
Joyce Meyers Ministries Conference
3/15 VA
Norfolk
Winter Jam Christian Rock Fest
3/16-17 SC Greenville
Extraordinary Women Conference
3/16-17 OK Tulsa
Acquire The Fire Youth Conference
3/16 TN
Knoxville Winter Jam Christian
Rock Fest
3/17
OH Cincinnati Winter Jam Christian Rock
Fest
3/17
FL Miami
Women of Faith One Day
3/17 PA
Pittsburgh Women Of Faith Dream On For
Teen Girls!
3/18 IL Peoria
Winter Jam Christian Rock Fest
3/23 TX
Houston
Winter Jam Christian Rock Fest
3/23-24 NC Greensboro
Acquire the Fire Youth Conference
3/23-24 CA San Diego
Acquire the Fire Youth Conference
3/24 IN
Indianapolis Women Of
Faith Dream On For Teen Girls
3/24 NV Las
Vegas Women Of Faith One Day
Conference
3/30-31 MO Cape Girardeau Extraordinary Women Conference
3/31 TX Austin
Women Of Faith Dream on For Teen Girls
3/31 KS
Wichita
Women Of Faith One Day
3/31 MD
Baltimore Women Of Faith One Day
3/31 TX Austin
TABLE Texas Veg Fest
4/22 CA San
Diego TABLE EarthWorks' EarthFair
2012
4/22
MO St. Louis TABLE Earth Day
Festival
4/28-29 CT Hartford
TABLE Connecticut Vegetarian & Healthy
Living
Festival
5/20
CA Van Nuys TABLE WorldFest
2012
2. Essay: What is God’s Essence?
Last week, I discussed the importance of a monotheistic faith
that attributes one essence to God. I think that essence is love.
Though the Hebrew Scriptures often describe God as wrathful, a
recurrent theme is God’s love and concern for both the chosen Hebrew
people and the rest of creation. The New Testament more clearly
depicts God’s loving nature. John asserted, “He who does not love does
not know God; for God is love” (1 John 4:8). How is God equivalent to
love? This question continues to challenge Christian theologians. I
think “God is love” means that God is about compassion, caring, and
mercy. Christian faith also teaches that God still makes judgments
about right and wrong, and we disappoint God when we fall short of our
potential. However, I do not believe that a loving God, knowing our
frailties, condemns or hates sinners. John wrote, “God is light and in
him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). God is light, but there is
darkness in the world, in part because we no longer experience life as
resembling a Garden of Eden in which all creatures coexist
harmoniously. Humans have allowed their own acquisitive desires to
supersede God’s loving desire for all creation, and humans have
attributed their own violence and scapegoating to the divine.
Although the Bible points to God being about love, Christians have
widely disparate images of God. A likely reason is that people tend to
see God in ways that provide comfort and reassurance. Consequently,
people often think that God’s desires align with their own
preferences, which helps people believe that they are morally upright
and justified in God’s eyes.
Those eager to wield
power, such as dominating husbands, authoritarian parents, or tyrants,
often envision God as a ruler who governs sternly and sometimes
brutally over his subjects. Alternatively, those who seek to live
peacefully and cooperatively tend to regard God as kind, loving, and
compassionate. I find the latter image of God far more appealing and
better supported by Scripture. However, I do not think it is possible
to reconcile “God is love” with a God who endorses abusing humans or
animals. Indeed, only a dark, callous God would countenance cruelty to
animals, and it is hard to imagine such a God leading humanity, much
less all creation, to reconciliation and peace. I would expect that
worshipping such a dark God would harden people’s hearts and reduce
their ability to resist the temptation to scapegoat humans and
animals.
Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.
3. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and
Mary Hoffman
Learning to Look Like Jesus