CONTENTS Foreword 11 Acknowledgments 17 Introduction 19 1. Engaging with God 23 A God unlike us 24 Amnesia 28 Reconnecting the dots 31 You have mail 36 Mirror, mirror, on the wall 44 Helping one another 48 Meditation: humility 53 part 1: the simple god 2. Simply perfection 57 Simplicity is mysterious but coherent 61 Simplicity is a biblical doctrine 65 Simplicity accords with threeness 73 Simplicity is perfectly personal 75 Simplicity guards God's 'Godness' 79 Meditation: wonder 81 3. Back to the future 82 Struggling with time 82 The eternal God 83 Alternatives to eternity 89 Eternal omniscience 95 Benefits for time-bound creatures 98 Meditation: living in time 102 4. All powerful and all good 103 The problem of suffering 103 Biblical affirmations of omnipotence and goodness 104 Imperfect systems 111 The classical God and Felix Culpa 116 Pastoral value 118 Meditation: God is good 121 5. The Immortal dies 122 God is love 123 Without suffering or change 128 Open to change? 136 One of us 139 Meditation: love for me 143 part 2: the relational god 6. God's love and threeness in Scripture 147 The Father's loving plan 148 The Son's loving service 151 The Spirit's loving intimacy 156 Development in salvation history 160 Meditation: love 166 7. God's love and threeness in church history 167 Augustine 171 Richard of St Victor 175 Jonathan Edwards 180 Excessive and abundant love 187 Meditation: Father, Son and Spirit 188 8. Swopping places? A doctrinal debate 190 The accusation of swopping 191 Distinct persons 193 Simplicity and relationality 197 Simplicity and atonement 199 Meditation: knowing God 201 9. Engaging with the world 203 Entertainment 204 Work and ministry 208 Religious freedoms 213 Mission 218 Church 222 Meditation: God's power 226 Conclusion 227 Bibliography 229 Index of Scripture references 239