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Loving God
June 1, 2023
Sitting at the gate, I see the power of love in ever-expanding ways. The centrality of love has been further confirmed as I read the three Bibles. [1] The sciences are adding almost daily to my understanding of love in relation to the cosmos. [2] Non-violent resistance principles and practices are shaping me in the power of love as the force required for much-needed social change—the overcoming of evil with good. [3]
Now, thanks to Thomas Oord, I am furthering my understanding of and appreciation for the power of love in God. Last April, on my Facebook page, I recommended his new book, "The Death of Omnipotence and Birth of Amipotence." [4] He told me about the book as he was writing it, and I knew it was one I would have to “drop everything” and read when it was available. I have done that, and I want to use it as the reference point for this post. Amipotence is the window through which I look in order to see what Martin Luther King Jr. called “the strength to love.” [5]
I begin with the fact that long before I knew Tom was going to write his book, I had developed problems with the idea of omnipotence. Lacking the philosophical/theological horsepower that he has, I have kept the struggle largely to myself, only occasionally saying to students, “God cannot make a square circle.” It was my simple way of putting some boundaries around omnipotence.
My struggle with omnipotence is far from theoretical. It exists in relation to the abuse of power by imperialists, many of whom claim to have a saving relationship with God. The disconnect between God’s power and theirs is shameful, dangerous, and harmful. Their actions “in Jesus’ name” have put a false face on God. Tom Oord recognizes that in his book, offering amipotence as a new starting point for recovering our understanding of who God really is.
Amipotence
Cover of "The Death of Omnipotence and the Birth of Amipotence" by Thomas Jay Oord. (UM Insight Screengrab)
With acumen and conviction—and courage—Oord shows that omnipotence is not a biblical concept of God (chapter 1), but rather a human construct that actually dies under the weight of a thousand contradictions (chapter 2). In the end, omnipotence is ended by the unresolved problem of evil (chapter 3), which either rules it out or leaves us with a view of a god no one wants to have anything to do with, a view which eclipses the revelation of God in Scripture. The first three chapters open the way for the birth of a new language to describe God—a language summed up in the word amipotence. As a Wesleyan scholar, Oord helps me see John Wesley’s admonitions to “do no harm” and to “do good,” arising from amipotence.
Near the end of his book, Oord notes that amipotence is a view of God that people in faith traditions other than Christian can affirm and activate. Amipotence becomes the energy for interfaith action and social movements which resist evil. Amipotence is the theology of God that advances the New Awakening.
[1] See “At the Gate” (April 2023) where I write about each of the three Bibles, and their influence upon me.
[2] Ilia Delio, ‘The Primacy of Love’ (Fortress Press, 2022).
[3] John Dear, ‘The Nonviolent Life’ (Pace e Bene Press, 2013). There are 291 references to love in the book. James Lawson’s book, ‘Revolutionary Nonviolence’ (University of California Press, 2022) likewise puts love at the heart of nonviolent resistance. He references love over 400 times.
[4] Thomas Jay Oord, ‘The Death of Omnipotence and Birth of Amipotence (SacraSage, 2023).
[5] Martin Luther King Jr., ‘Strength to Love’ (Harper & Row, 1963).