What about evil?

I have been reading your book The Story We find oursleves in. It is a very interesting book, one I am still processing. However I was wondering if you could explain to me what Neo's view of inspiration would be? Is it simply inspiration in the way one would be inspired to write a poem or more than that?

I read both of your books (New Kind and Story we... ) and enjoyed them thoroughly. I don't agree on every point, but I think you are going in the right direction. But a major question arose for me: What about evil? What about unkind spiritual forces in the world? What about Satan? The Powers?

In your books you made it seem like any spiritual influence or progress was good. I disagree and I am sure that you as a pastor have found spiritual progression in a negative direction. To me, in fact, this was the major missing element from your books. Was this intentional or will it be addressed in your upcoming volume?

In short, How do you conceive of spiritual evil when thinking postmodernly? In a related question, what do you think of the the Powers as conceived by Berkhof, in 'Christ and the Powers' or of Wink's Powers trilogy? I ask because i think that Berkhof provides a wonderful framework for postmoderist theological thinking.

I’m very interested in pursuing a doctorate in order to be better prepared to contribute to the emerging church movement. My goal is to be in position to train young people in colleges so that they understand and can make the changes in churches needed to make a difference in the 21st Century. I have my M.Div. from a highly regarded evangelical seminary, so I was thinking of going with a Sociology doctorate, in order to study postmodernism more deeply as well as how churches in North America are trying to change in order to have a voice in the emerging culture. What advice would you have for those of us who would want to pursue higher education so that we can make a difference in academia? What other routes would you like to see people take in academia?

Please forgive this brief answer to your questions. First, on inspiration, I think you’ll find an answer elsewhere on this website. In short, I am confident to affirm what the Scriptures say about themselves. For example, with Paul in 1 Timothy 3, I am glad to affirm that Scripture is God-breathed, and is profitable to teach, rebuke, correct, and train in just living people of God. Its purpose is to equip them to do good works. My new book “A Generous Orthodoxy” has a chapter on this subject.

Second, on Satan and evil, I very much like the work of Walter Wink and others who have continued his explorations. Most recently, I read Marva Dawn’s “Principalities, Powers, and the Tabernacling of God,” and enjoyed it very much. My book “The Last Word and the Word After That” should be out next Spring, and what I say there about the subject of hell will also apply largely to the subject of Satan. The question is this: to what degree are the Biblical writers speaking in the language and imagery of their times, and to what degree are they affirming a cosmology of cosmic warfare between angels and demons, etc? The cosmology seems to come not from the Bible itself, but from Babylonian and Zoroastrian religion, which influenced the Jews greatly during the Exile. (A surprising amount of Greek mythological language also finds its way into the New Testament, by the way. Does this mean the Bible endorses a Platonic ontology?) I think we make a mistake when we either a) call everything rubbish and superstition which doesn’t fit with our modern sensibilities, or b) privilege ancient sensibilities without question. (Doing the latter made Christians reject the idea that the earth revolves around the sun.)

Third, on Christians in higher education and scholarship, we desperately need people to do what you’re suggesting. I think we should reflect long and deep on the lives of Joseph and Daniel – people of God who used their learning and spirituality as part of their dominant culture, and were catalysts for God’s work in their worlds. May God guide and use you in your ongoing studies!