Living in Maine means that at least once every winter I get to shovel a foot of snow off my deck. This winter has outdone itself in snowfall, so yesterday, after the storm when the sun came out, we strapped on our wooden snowshoes and slogged through the snowy woods. My husband courageously broke trail, but even so I had to be careful to pick up my feet and make allowances for the shifting and often slippery conditions.
The bracing cold, the blinding sun reflecting off acres of white, the irregular footing, and the heavy depth of the snow made for an exhilarating experience. I might have been more comfortable sitting beside the woodstove and writing an essay or a poem about snowshoeing, but it’s far better to write from breathless contact with the cold and snow.
People who write about God can sometimes come across as if they’re writing from beside the woodstove. Theologians who extol the greatness of God without ever pressing into the mystery are selling him short. God is honored when we read scripture as an invitation to search out his unsearchable judgments as we humbly ponder his inscrutable ways.
God is honored when we read scripture as an invitation to search out his unsearchable judgments as we humbly ponder his inscrutable ways.
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In Light Unapproachable, Ronni Kurtz steps away from the woodstove and takes on a two-fold task. First, he looks at God’s incomprehensibility through the lens of scripture and the written record of historical theology. Then, he considers the massive implications this attribute holds for the believer—particularly for the serious student of God’s Word. After all, if God truly “dwells in light unapproachable” (1 Timothy 6:16), are all our efforts to draw near simply a chasing after the wind?
Perhaps Kurtz’s greatest gift to his readers is the transparency of his thought process in his organization of the book. While the text is clear, he still pauses periodically to summarize the material in table form. Concept is always built upon concept, and he never takes a step forward without reviewing how we arrived there.
Hopefully, it’s not a spoiler to reveal that the key to embracing the sheer otherness of God turns on the doctrine of divine accommodation. “While God is incomprehensible and dwells in unapproachable light, he nevertheless reveals himself in a way that creatures might be said to have meaningful knowledge of him.” In an act of grace, he condescends to cross the unbridgeable gap between the creature and the uncreated.
My favorite part of the book (and the section I’ll be thinking about for a long time!) introduced me to the concept of “doing theology in the second person rather than the third.” Instead of using what we know about God to talk about God, it changes everything when we do theology with God by talking to God. This subtle adjustment in perspective shifts my focus away from data points and toward relationship—which is the whole point of our wrestling with the truth. Like Moses, we stand in the cleft of the rock that scripture provides and lean into the paradox of our invitation to “be still and know” the unknowable God.
What Other Reviewers Are Saying
“This is a lovely book―rooted in and expressive of love for God, love for Jesus Christ, love for Scripture, and love for all who thirst to know the God who reveals himself in Christ and through the biblical Word. Kurtz has managed to unite faith, scholarship, profundity, and readability on a crucial topic. We need more books like this one!” — Matthew Levering, James N. Jr. and Mary D. Perry Chair of Theology at Mundelein Seminary
“Kurtz’s Light Unapproachable starts out with solid Christian common sense about how God accommodates revelation to us, then elaborates it with biblical analysis, fortifies it with historical witnesses, and applies it to a project in theological method with great promise for a wide range of readers.” — Fred Sanders, systematic theologian and professor at the Torrey Honors College at Biola University
Holding You in the Light,
In #LightUnapproachable, @RonniKurtz looks at God’s incomprehensibility through the lens of scripture and the record of historical theology. Then, he considers the massive implications this attribute holds for the believer. @ivpress
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Beautifully written! Thanks for stopping over and commenting on my barn door post!
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That’s so encouraging! Thank you!
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AMEN to: “Instead of using what we know about God to talk about God, it changes everything when we do theology with God by talking to God. This subtle adjustment in perspective shifts my focus away from data points and toward relationship—which is the whole point of our wrestling with the truth.” Such worthwhile advice, Michele, as relationship-building with God impacts every facet of our lives. This has to be our choice; God doesn’t force himself upon us.
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And may we faithfully, daily make the choice to show up in his presence!
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Wow how enlightening! What a great resource.
Thank you so much for sharing with Sweet Tea & Friends this month dear friend.
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I learned so much from this great read!
Always a gift to hear from you, Paula.
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[…] recently bumped into the concept of doing theology in the second person instead of the third person. Instead of using what we know about God to talk about God, […]
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