I've Been Wondering

by Steele, Richard B.

• ISBN13: 9781932805680
• ISBN10: 1932805680
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2007-01-30
• Publisher: Authentic Media

Summary

Good questions. In focusing on what his theology and undergraduate students are actually asking him, as opposed to what they ought to ask, Richard B. Steele gives us some very thought provoking answers to some very difficult questions. I've Been Wondering contains a selection of email correspondence exchanged between the author and his undergraduate theology students on matters pertaining to Christian faith and ethics. Most of the exchanges were triggered by questions that occurred to the students while taking one of the author's undergraduate courses in theology, ethics, or church history. These letters are anything but "academic" exercises, and are intensely personal to reveal what is going on in the depths of the student soul. An exciting adventure of the human spirit as well as a stimulating challenge to the critical intellect is waiting as you find yourself wondering similar things. Book jacket.

Author Biography

Richard B. Steele is Professor of Moral and Historical Theology and Associate Dean of the School of Theology at Seattle Pacific University, Seattle, WA

Table of Contents

Preface	p. xi
Acknowledgments	p. xix
Stalking the Cat: An Introduction to the Craft of Theology	p. 1
"Now That I Am an Adult..."	p. 11
Subject: Hurt and frustration with the church	p. 13
Subject: Is life really a "test"?	p. 17
Subject: Do we "progress" toward God?	p. 20
Subject: Leaving my home church	p. 23
Subject: No longer content with Sunday school answers	p. 26
Reading Scripture with New Eyes	p. 35
Subject: The Bible and Christian doctrine	p. 38
Subject: Scrambled	p. 45
Subject: Faith: personal or communal?	p. 49
Subject: Does the Bible have errors?	p. 52
Who Do We Say that Christ Is?	p. 57
Subject: Is Christianity the "cult of Jesus"?	p. 59
Subject: Christ, the "fully human one"	p. 62
Subject: Why did Jesus have to die?	p. 64
Subject: Condescending Christians	p. 67
Free Choice, Moral Responsibility, and Divine Sovereignty	p. 73
Subject: Divine Election	p. 77
Subject: Free will	p. 80
Subject: Predestination	p. 82
Subject: Can the saved lose their salvation?	p. 86
Subject: God's justice eclipsed by his love	p. 89
Subject: Is there an upper limit to "perfection"?	p. 92
Faith and Fossils	p. 97
Subject: Noah and Dinosaurs	p. 102
Subject: Concerning Adam and Eve	p. 104
Subject: Does the theory of evolution contradict the Bible?	p. 109
Keeping the Faith in a Postmodern World	p. 113
Subject: Postmodernism in the Church	p. 118
Subject: Drowning in Relativism	p. 121
Subject: Relativism and the loss of faith	p. 123
Encountering God in Worship	p. 129
Subject: The arts in worship	p. 133
Subject: Sacramental grace	p. 136
Subject: The presence of Christ in communion	p. 138
Subject: Sacraments	p. 141
Faith in Practice	p. 147
Subject: Natural law	p. 150
Subject: "Bigger" and "smaller" sins	p. 153
Subject: Faith and weath	p. 161
Subject: Ministry to individuals vs. social witness	p. 166
Gender and Sexuality on a Christian Campus	p. 169
Subject: Women in the Church	p. 172
Subject: Masturbation	p. 176
Subject: Premarital sex	p. 180
Subject: Lust	p. 182
Subject: Late bloomer	p. 185
Subject: Homosexuality	p. 188
The "Problem" of Human Suffering	p. 195
Subject: "Why did God let my baby die?"	p. 201
Subject: Ministering to a suffering youth	p. 204
Subject: Questions about healing	p. 208
The Gospel and Religious Pluralism	p. 213
Subject: Catholics vs. Christians	p. 216
Subject: Can non-Christians be saved?	p. 219
Subject: Is Christianity the only way to God?	p. 221
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