Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Donald MacLeod on God's Aseity and Pastoral Care

"This [the aseity of God], of course, is simply a Latinate and inelegant expression for "self-existence," and at first sight it seems to offer little by way of pastoral application.  But it does remind us of the self-sufficiency and inexhaustibleness of God.  The bush burns and burns and is not consumed.  Age after age God keeps on being and keeps on giving and keeps on loving.  Care does not exhaust him, nor do the passing years render him irrelevant.  For all other existences, there is a law of entropy - but not for God."
("The Doctrine of God and Pastoral Care," in Engaging the Doctrine of God, ed. Bruce McCormack [Grand Rapids: Baker; Edinburgh: Rutherford House, 2008], 253)

Theology continues to show itself eminently practical, though not practical in the sense of always meeting felt needs without requiring much thought as to how it shapes life.  Perhaps we need a better understanding of "practical."

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