I've been thinking a lot lately about Teddy Roosevelt's famous quote about "the man in the arena," which has been repopularized over the past decade by Brene Brown's use of it in Daring Greatly. It goes: "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or … Continue reading The Arena
The most recent post in this series on knowing God explored the first-person perspective of God, which is an experience of God within us so intimate that everything else — our ego, desires, thoughts, feelings — falls away. It also demonstrated that despite the discomfort many contemporary Christians have with the language of first-person encounter … Continue reading “The Father and I are One”: Jesus and the First-Person Knowledge of God
Last week's posts explored the knowledge of God through through a personal, relational lens. This was easy enough, since this is Western religion's home turf. But, while it may be where most Christians feel most comfortable, the relational lens is only one of three perspectives we can take to knowing God, and if we want … Continue reading God Within: Knowing God in First-Person
I don't know about you, but this week has been a struggle for me. All of the disappointments and frustrations of this COVIDtide season have been rubbing up against all my baggage, neuroses, internal narratives, and automatic negative thoughts in all of the most unhelpful ways. (It's a great testament to human narcissism how a … Continue reading On the Road
The other day, we looked the knowledge and experience of God as a relationship. Today, we're going to see how this plays out in the life of Jesus. It should come as no surprise that the second-person — relational or personal — perspective of God is the primary way knowing God is expressed in the … Continue reading My God and Your God: Jesus and the Second-Person Perspective of God
Matthew Root 