Love is God
The following essay is two-fold. Firstly, I will briefly summarize The Openness of God, by Pinnock and others. Secondly, and more importantly, I will discuss and analyze the quote, "God is love is as close as the Bible comes to giving us a definition of his divine reality" (taken from Richard Rice in chapter one of the book). The authors believe that by understanding God as love, we have the best avenue to know the reality and revelation of God. The writers carefully articulate why this idea is to central to engaging in theology. They also tell us why this concept is necessary in achieving the clearest picture of who God actually is. Most importantly, they believe that God's love is essential in understanding the give-and-take relationship God experiences with his creatures, also known as the open view of God. Rice argues that love is the essence of God and is our best representation of God's character and divine reality. After briefly summarizing the Openness of God, I will engage in his argument about love and unravel the truths behind Richard Rice's bold and powerful statement of belief. Brief Summary of Book's Content Firstly, lets pave some of the groundwork and summarize the book from which the quote
In fact, God's ability to empathize and sympathize with his created is necessary for him in order to develop personal relationships with his people. His love is his divine reality to man. So for the purpose of this essay, I will focus specifically on Rice's quote that says, "God is love is the best definition the Bible gives us of God's divine reality. God chooses to love us because he is loving. This means that the life of Christ is the best insight we have into the nature of God. The authors would argue that a relationship with God thus becomes very personal and wonderful. We are his most cherished jewels, the recipients of His love. As we see in John 15:13, Jesus says, "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends". They are only there so we may better understand God's instructions more clearly, in human terms. These verses are wonderful and give us great hope but are not to be taken lightly. He has not predetermined the exact course of every individual's life. Can love exist outside of God; can non-believes love? By definition, would have to answer no these questions. This is not intended to take away from God's many other awesome divine characteristics. In a worldly sense, there is no way this idea of love can compare with the kind of qualities it demands by definition. " Here we recognize that God is love and that He conveyed love to us by sending his son to earth to live among His people.
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Acceptance Essays
