God is not an idea. Christian faith is not a set of propositions you either believe or reject. According to a proper Trinitarian understanding, God is essentially relationship, a relationship of sheer, active, ecstatic, self-giving love. If we truly are encountered by this magnificent love of the Trinity, then faith becomes a living and active daily practice. Just like a healthy marriage or a close and loyal friendship, it becomes something you choose every day. This "51% Christian" moniker is a ridiculous label with a deadly serious point. You now have permission to doubt, to question, to get angry at God. But, in the end, it's not about you. Faith is about relationship: a living, daily relationship, based on trust, and active in concrete, daily practices. With this sort of freedom ingrace, Stenberg takes a fresh new look at theology, thirteen topics that, one by one, examine the best of what the Bible and the history of Christian practitioners have to say. Looking through this grace-based, radically relational lens, the author offers a lively and engaging discussion of topics such as creation, violence, love, death, heaven, and hell. You might not always agree.
Mark Stenberg is a founding pastor of two innovative, emerging churches: House of Mercy Church in St. Paul, Minnesota and Mercy Seat Lutheran Church in Northeast Minneapolis. He holds a PhD from Northwestern University and regularly teaches preaching practicums at Luther Seminary.
Introduction: Better Than Heroin: The Sheer Hedonistic Pleasure of Theology. 1. Dumping Our Bad Boyfriend: How the Cheatin' Heart of Modernity Double-Crossed the Doctrine of Revelation; 2. Death to the Conceptual Trinity! An Antimonotheistic Manifesto; 3. De-Greekifying the Divine, or How to Quit Thinking About God; 4. Jesus Christ: More Than a Good Cuss Word; 5. (Jesus Bonus Chapter) Dear God: Why Couldn't Jesus Have Been a Girl?; 6. Why Your Theory of the Atonement Sucks; 7. Holy Spirit Revival Featuring Live Snake Handling; 8. God and Creation: How Annie Dillard Got Me over My Pantheist Envy; 9. Backwards Bible the Read to How; 10. The Seven Deadly Myths about Sin, or How to Sin Like a Christian; 11. (The Hell Chapter) Heaven, Hell, and the Last Judgment: The Second Voyage of St. Brendan; 12. Toward an Ethics of Butt-Kickin' Grace; 13. The Church: Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Sects but Were Afraid to Ask; 14. Doing Theology on Your Death Bed: Is There Anything to Hold onto When You Have to Let Go of Everything?
