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The Great Dance: The Christian Vision Revisited |
Author: C., Baxter Kruger
Published: 2005-06-07 |
List price: $12.95
Our price: $10.36
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As of: January 08th, 2009 01:03:13 PM
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Customer comments on this selection.
 A great book
This book gives a great perspective on our relationship with God and each other. God is less interested in doctrine and theology than relationships and ultimately, our personal relationship with him.
Learning to DANCE
The theology in this book is beautiul to say the least. Knowing that Jesus has re-created humanity in His life, death, resurrection, and ascension is life changing. Learning that the New Testament has been proclaiming to us all along that humanity is bound up in Jesus and secure in him is comforting and liberating. To know that Jesus is present in our everyday lives helped me see that my ideas of God being stuffy and only concerned with what I do when I go to church are all wrong. In fact they are pagan. I was "like a drunk man who knows he has a house but cannot find his way home" page 33. I now know that the Trinity has drawn me into their circle of shared life and are indeed sharing life with me and my family and the cosmos. The Great Dance gets 5 stars from me.
 Unconditional Good News for All
I was introduced to the thought of C. Baxter Kruger through his book God Is For Us, which was recommended by a theology student's Amazon list as an orthodox alternative to the Calvinistic doctrine of unconditional divine election unto salvation of only some. Also, the two-star Amazon review of Kruger's The Great Dance by R. Pennoyer and the responses by "John Doe", which I strongly connected with, resulted in my purchase of it. I deeply enjoyed the book and share the vision, but certain doctrines were assumed without extensive defense which will result in some readers, who thrive on theological details and scriptural debate, saying "Yes, but..." On pages 17 - 18 in the 1st chapter, Kruger states: "My aim here is not argument. My aim is to pierce the veil so that we can see the sheer beauty of God, and in such light see what this God has planned for us and accomplished in Jesus Christ. All of this is in the hope that we may see ourselves in an astonishing light, that we may discover our true identity - who we really are - and thus understand what is happening in our lives and how to move forward toward joy." The "great dance" is the glory and joy and beauty and love of the Triune God which is extended through creation and Christ's incarnation to US - not us Believers or Christians based on some choice WE made but us Humans based solely on GOD's choice to create and adopt us, to include us in the Great Dance. "The gospel is not an invitation. The gospel is a declaration of the truth" (page 50), a truth that we either believe or don't believe when confronted with it.
For those familiar with the various theological positions on divine election, Kruger's view will seem to have much in common with Karl Barth's view of Universal Election in Christ, and Barth's Church Dogmatics - with relevant sections noted - is included in the "Suggestions for Further Reading" section at the back of the book. Also included within this section is Gustaf Aulen's Christus Victor which has ties to Kruger's section called "Inside the Domain of Evil: Jesus Is Victor" within Chapter 2, The Dance Extended.
Many associate universal election with the position of Universalism, the view that all will eventually be saved and none permanently damned. The views of Thomas B. Talbott may come to mind. See, for example, his view of "Universal Reconciliation and the Inclusive Nature of Election" within the book Perspectives on Election: Five Views, edited by Chad Owen Brand. See also Jan Bonda's The One Purpose of God: An Answer to the Doctrine of Eternal Punishment. However, there is a way to embrace a universal view of election without also embracing Universalism, but it requires a lucid doctrine of sin and moral freedom that I don't see sufficiently expounded on within Kruger's book, although what he says is certainly relevant. Also, it appears that some doctrine of forfeiture of election and/or salvation would be required, certainly not a popular doctrine in some quarters. Keep in mind that many, if not all, of those who believe in Hell as a place of conscious, punitive torment, also believe that they themselves are NOT going there. It is easy to believe that one is exempt by God's grace, but others are not, and do so without clarity on the precise methodology of damnation that applies to one's self as well as others. A sensitive subject, no doubt, but one of paramount importance for Christians, especially in this post-modern age.
Having read Calvinist Neal Punt's three books (Unconditional Good News, What's Good About the Good News, and So Also In Christ) which promote an inclusive view of salvation and election, but still fail to logically avoid an unconditional bad news for some, Kruger's books were a refreshing alternative. I recommend them for consideration.
The Great Dance by C. Baxter Kruger
This is a short and easy to read book packed with a lot of clear to understand messages. The wisdom is not an unatainable odysses of works but is the healing balm for the heart.Spiritual theology
 In the end, the negatives may outweigh the positives
On the positive side, in this work Kruger provides the very best description that I have EVER read of salvation via Jesus' incarnation and his "lived life" - that is, how those aspects of his ministry might contribute to the salvation of humanity. He writes with vigor and interest throughout. This is not boring theology!
On the negative side, Kruger artificially and unnecessarily pits this view against the predominant theme of the New Testament that declares Jesus' saving work as primarily located in his suffering, death, and resurrection. In other words, instead of being content to add a valuable insight to our understanding of the broader saving ministry of Jesus, Kruger attempts to have this insight swallow up all the New Testament teachings relating to things like human guilt, the cross as atoning sacrifice, and even the gospel as a call to repent and believe. Indeed, Kruger's "gospel" hardly calls for a decision on the part of its hearers at all, but is essentially the message, "You belong to God now and the only real error (sin?) is not to know it." By logical extension Kruger ends up flirting with the idea of universal salvation. Throughout his argument Kruger cites many authors who, if read carefully, would not really support his conclusions.
The real problem is that the author's theology seems to be controlled less by the New Testament text and more by personal experiences and preferences. He rightly believes that we are called to a life of joy and fellowship with the Triune God, but for some reason believes that such joy is incompatible with a vigorous theology of the cross. Why should this be, really? The Apostle Paul confesses with joy, "I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (that is, gave himself on the cross - see context in Galatians). And who can forget the joyful scene in John Bunyan's classic work in which Pilgrim loses his burden at the foot of the cross!
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