“Sometimes the silence of God is simply Him waiting for us to accept what we already know to know right and true.” GodTruthPrayerSilenceAcceptanceTheology Author:Jamie Arpin-Ricci
“It is a telling contradiction that those who hold a theology that emphasizes the needs of the soul over that of the body also holds to a theology where physical torment is a necessity for eternal punishment.” SoulSpiritualReligionJusticeSinChristianityHellPunishmentTheology Author:Jamie Arpin-Ricci
“Faithfulness looks like stepping forward without certainty and learning to trust that God is already at work, especially in the places we have been taught not to look.” GodFaithJesusTrustTheologyCertaintyFaithfulnessLeast Of These Author:Jamie Arpin-Ricci
“Beware of any theology that emphasizes the needs of the soul over that of the body while also holding to the belief that physical torment is necessary for eternal punishment.” SpiritualSufferingJusticeCompassionChristianityHellTheologyTormentPhysical Author:Jamie Arpin-Ricci
“One of the most common criticisms of my theology is that I have placed compassion ahead of orthodoxy. Aside from the fact that this is a very false assumption, as my stances are based on deeply studied convictions, there seems to be another assumption that compassion and orthodoxy are inherently at odds, with the latter being more more authoritative. God is "compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth". That is no mere sentiment. If your orthodoxy doesn't fully affirm compassion- if it is not, itself, deeply compassionate- then it is no orthodoxy at all.” CompassionTheologyCompromiseBeliefsOrthodoxy Author:Jamie Arpin-Ricci
“If your orthodoxy doesn't fully affirm compassion- if it is not, itself, deeply compassionate- then it is no orthodoxy at all.” TruthCompassionTheologyCompromiseBeliefsOrthodoxy Author:Jamie Arpin-Ricci
“From the very beginnings of our story as followers of Jesus, we have recognized and honoured the fundamental truth that every person is made in the image of God. Yet, while we are quick to celebrate those aspects of the divine image with which we personally relate, we all too quickly reject and denounce those that are different than ourselves as suspect or lesser than or sinful.” TruthJesusSinChristianityDivineTheologyImage Of GodConfirmation BiasNormativity Author:Jamie Arpin-Ricci
“By making God more monstrous than us, we circumvent the need for redemption.” GodTheologyRedemptionRepentanceRetribution Author:Jamie Arpin-Ricci
“From cave paintings depicting hunting grounds to the Babylonian tablets capturing the "whole world" (as they experienced it). Through the advancements of the Middle Ages, especially from Islamic scholars and Chinese cartographers. Massive strides came about with the Renaissance, as exploration and expansion abounded. Then on to the massive leaps to modern surveying and satellite imagery. The journey has been astonishing! I cannot help but think that this mirrors the path of our understanding of God and the world They created. Our sincere, yet limited perspectives began to expand as our experience and understanding grew. The reality of that which we sought to "map out" was (and is) often our best efforts, complicated by ignorance, limitations, bias, and more. We imperfectly stumble towards better, more honest representations. Even then, our growing understanding helps us see the limitations of our own attempts to bring meaning to that which is so much bigger than our capacity to fully understand. Just as we know that the Mercator projection map is deeply problematic and, in many ways, wildly incorrect, so too do so many of our understandings of the Divine often fail to meet our own standards. And in the same way, we also hold on to them because they are familiar and we are so deeply invested in them. And in the end, no matter how good and accurate and true our "maps" are, they will always and only ever be mere representations- pale reflections of a much grander, complex, and ever-changing reality.” GodTruthHumilityDivineTheologyMapsPhilosphyCartographyLimtations Author:Jamie Arpin-Ricci