Post-project reflection

Well, it's been an interesting time.

Firstly, Linden was right. It did take longer than I thought to finish the last stages of my project. But then, I already knew that too, if I'd bothered to really ask myself about it.

Secondly, I'm still constantly doubting my premise. It's just that every time I go back and think it through I'm re-convinced that it's right. The experience of re-doubting so many times is fairly harrowing and soul-winnowing. I think it's actually because I'm quite afraid of being wrong on this. I'm not sure why I'm like this.

Thirdly, I'm excited about getting the idea from my thesis out there, for more people to hear it and believe it. I think that so many of us have somewhat impoverished views on the gospel and, more broadly, salvation history because we've only got one model through which we can view it. Only one lens. But the Bible has so many images, illustrations, metaphors that it seems strange that we try to boil the meta-narrative down to one inadequate model.

Well, strictly speaking, that's not true. I'm actually entirely positive about such attempts. The problem that I have is that we seem to think that one is adequate to give us a big picture of salvation history that is theologically rich and reflects the richness of Scripture. I hope to continually gain more and more angles on the nature of the gospel (and thus interpretive frameworks through which to view salvation history) as I read Scripture and put different pieces of the puzzle together.

Fourthly, because I've blabbed so much about this project to so many people, it feels now like it's actually quite a public thing. As if people are interested in it. As if it's got some sort of public profile. And that's weird. I'm finding it uncomfortable. It probably doesn't really have any public profile, but it's been enough to get me thinking about the idea that it does. I feel strange about the idea of my work being public. But that's the subject for my next post...

Thoughts on process

I'm sure plenty have thought these thoughts before, but I've not, and so I'm going to post a bit about them.

It's interesting that God chose to act within a history. Within time. He didn't simply make heaven in an instant and keep things rigidly that way for eternity, but instead he decided to stretch that creation process out over the course of human history. Not only so, but God's saving action is recorded for us in an unfolding of his character that took place over centuries.

It's also interesting that God is not bound by this process-type-thing of history that we're stuck in. He's all those 'omni-' words. Impassable and all that. Particularly, he's not bound in time as we are.

So why did he stretch things out into time like he did? What are the implications of it? How can he interact in time if he's omni-everything? (Ie, how could he ever 'react' to something we'd do? Or change his mind, or be surprised?)

So, I'm going to have a crack at thinking through a few implications of this reality over the next few posts. You guys all with me? Going to come help out and correct my thinking where it's messed up?

Great! See you soon. :) I'm off to Splendour.