538 results for tag: Brad Jersak

Religiosity is Adapting – Brad Jersak

In our long-term quest to pursue Christianity Without the Religion, we’ve noticed that Christless religion can adjust itself to shifts in popular culture. In other words, religiosity is quite capable of adapting to new forms and expressions, while continuing to wander far from the Jesus Way.

What is Holiness, Uncleanness? – Brad Jersak

Luke 7:11-17 (NRSV) Jesus Raises the Widow’s Son at Nain 11 Soon afterwards he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went with him. 12 As he approached the gate of the town, a man who had died was being carried out. He was his mother’s only son, and she was a widow; and with her was a large crowd from the town. 13 When the Lord saw her, he had compassion for her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!” 15 The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus ...

“All Scripture is God-breathed…so that…” Brad Jersak

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training, so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work. —2 Timothy 3:16-17 Perhaps the question we should be asking isn't, "Am I getting the Bible right?" but "What kind of life is our reading of the Bible producing." —Jared Byas, Love Matters More The first phrase of 2 Timothy 3:16, "All Scripture is God-breathed" or "inspired" is a wonderful truth. Unfortunately, Paul's assertion has primarily been used as a "gotcha verse" in debates about the nature of Scripture. But the question is NOT ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – Sin

Question: I have just finished reading "Out of the Embers," and you know, I never once thought about sin (at least "sin" as understood in my evangelical context). Does sin (moral or ethical infraction) mean anything to you anymore?  To God? Response: Great question! In our modern and post-modern context, the word "sin" often carries a lot of baggage and not nearly enough depth. For example, in the tradition I was formed in, "sin" generally referred to: 1. The "sin condition" I was born with, inherited from Adam's guilt... we called this "the sin nature" and were taught that when we came to Christ, we would receive a "new nature" or "new ...

February 2023

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Greg Albrecht: How Sorry Are We? – pg. 2 Ed Dunn: Our Choice of Words – pg. 5 Brad Jersak: Zaccheus Makes Amends – pg. 6

Q&R with Brad Jersak: Is Isaiah’s “suffering servant” Jesus or the Jewish people?

Isaiah 49:7 Question: I was researching Isaiah 49:7 due to the Rabbinical claim that the Suffering Servant is not Jesus, but is actually the Jewish people throughout their history of persecutions. This has always been a nagging doubt to me. It doesn't help that Isaiah 49:7 in some translations says "abhorred by the nations" which sounds like the nation of Israel is the servant, but other translations say "abhorred by the nation" which sounds like Jesus inside of Israel. I was wondering if you could point me towards more info on this topic, because it has re-assured my faith a bit. Response: I sure wouldn't make my faith at all ...

Encounter, Communion & Union: Layers of Relationship – Brad Jersak

Our Relationship with God I have been pondering the various words we use to describe our relationship with God. "Relationship" itself is an intriguing term as it invites us to consider how we relate to God, to ourselves, to others and to our world. But it also suggests that they relate to us. Healthy relationships are a two-way street... not so much transactional as reciprocal. As John says in his first epistle, we love God because he first loved us. But relationships are also complex. Three words come to mind that describe our relationship with God: encounter, communion and union.  Encounter We often use the word encounter to describe ...

Q&R “Is the Spiritual Realm more Real than the Natural Realm?” with Brad Jersak

Question: How would you respond to the statement, "The spiritual realm is more real than the natural realm"? My home church has been influenced a lot by that theme through certain charismatic ministries. They emphasize spirit over nature and parse out spirit, soul and body in a hierarchy of functioning. It all feels a little too much like Hogwarts. Response: I know exactly what you mean. Similarly, the Catholic priest, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, once said, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience." Both these statements affirm something important but invariably over-steer into a ...

More than a metaphor: Why the resurrection matters – Dr. Cherith Fee Nordling

Dr. Cherith Fee Nordling pushes back at the notion that the resurrection (both Christ’s and ours) is merely metaphorical. The Christian faith is founded on the reality of Christ’s bodily resurrection.(Part 2 in a 6-part conversation with Dr. Bradley Jersak). https://vimeo.com/783453286

Three Charges – The Cross, Hell, and the Word of God – Brad Jersak

Three Charges – The Cross, Hell, and the Word of God: It seems as much as we at PTM and I specifically have addressed the issues of the Cross, Hell and the Word of God, we continue to be asked where we stand on these issues.  Those of good faith are truly interested in diving deep into the truth on each of these issues, and for good reason! How we respond to these issues speaks loudly of how we see God, humanity, and the world we live in. They deserve all the attention they’ve received.  Others seem to ask the questions in the edgy tones of an interrogation or accusation, as if we’re being summoned to a heresy trial, ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – “How does ‘All Jesus, All the Time’ relate to the Trinity?”

Question: Full disclosure: PTM's Question & Response feature addresses actual questions from real readers. But (Brad Jersak) created this question for myself because I think the answers might be interesting and relevant to others who overhear my self-talk. The question relates to a tagline we frequently use at Plain Truth Ministries: "All Jesus, All the Time." Does that seem an odd claim for a ministry that believes in the Triune God of Father, Son and Holy Spirit? I believe it's worth pondering together from a few angles. Response: 1. First, let's clarify what we don't mean. We don't align or identify with "Oneness" movements ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – “What are the limits to God’s mercy?”

Question: A friend of mine insisted, "God is merciful, but even his mercy has limits." And I remembered a talk that you gave. You: and his Mercy lasts how long? Crowd: forever You: how long? Crowd: FOREVER You: How long? YOU AND CROWD: FOREVER!! No response necessary, but I wanted you to know that many of us have that voice of mercy in the back of our heads when we hear some "wonk." Thank you. Response: Thank you! And while you didn't require a response, I'll just add a few beautiful texts to that antiphonal chorus. Of course, I was leading the crowd to join me in proclaiming the refrain of Psalm 136 in the NKJV, which proclaims "His mercy ...

Our Ultimate Caregiver – Brad Jersak

CAREGIVERS For a decade of what feels like another lifetime (1998-2008), I led a faith community of which one-third of our attendees were people with mental or physical disabilities in full-time care. Their struggles included Down Syndrome, autism, brain injuries, and a host of neurological conditions and disorders that confined these dear friends to wheelchairs. Their appearance, their sounds, their smells were so attention-grabbing that one might overlook the constant, active presence of their ‘caregivers.’ These caregivers were responsible for 24-7 assistance in every area of their ‘client’s’ lives, including clothing ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – “Eternal Punishment”? Oh, those goats

Question:  How does Matthew 25:31-46 not contradict the grace and mercy of God and God's desire that all shall be saved?  41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.... 46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.” Response:  Thanks for this important and well-stated question. In response, I think it best to start with how they DO, in fact, contradict a number of key New Testament passages, including from the lips of Jesus, IF we follow translations that use ...

December 2022

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Brad Jersak: Our Ultimate Caregiver – pg. 2 Greg Albrecht: Incomparable & Boundless – pg. 5 Richard Rohr: Christmas: Only One Message – pg. 7

Q&R with Brad: Matthew 26:28 / Hebrews 9:22 – Is “shedding blood” necessary for forgiveness?

Question: I have a question about Matthew 26:28 and "the remission of sins" being based on the shed blood of Jesus. It seems to tie into the Hebrews 9:22 passage but as it's out of the mouth of Jesus, I would like more clarity. Response: Matthew 26:28 "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Hebrews 9:22 "And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission." I don't actually see Jesus' words in Matthew's Gospel as problematic UNLESS we're wearing the old atonement lenses of "appeasing God's wrath" through the ...

CWR Video – The Problem of Hell – by Brad Jersak

https://vimeo.com/100964782

Turn or Burn? Elder Brother Evangelism – Brad Jersak

"Turn or Burn!" How did the good-news invitation of God's love, revealed in the life message of Jesus, become a bad-news ultimatum, distilled crassly by "Turn or Burn" evangelists? Sure, the hellfire evangelists love to prooftext Jesus' own words from Luke 13:5, “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” I'm not at all interested in casting aside Jesus' warnings about humanity's self-destructive trajectories, but somehow they've been twisted as if they are the gospel he preached. That's a gross misrepresentation, and I think I'm beginning to see how that error expanded into an entire pseudo-evangelistic system. A ...

Q&R with Brad: What does “the one who sins is the one who will die” mean in Ezekiel 18?

Question: Thank you for your Christianity Without the Religion resources. I haven’t been able to find others who will discuss ideas and questions with me as I study the Bible. Would it be too much trouble for someone to give me their perspective on Ezekiel 18? Namely, that "the righteous will live and the wicked will die." All I’ve been able to find in commentaries so far are references to eternal life and eternal death. Response: Thanks for your intriguing question about Ezekiel 18. I'd like to offer a few thoughts that I think will help us understand that text in both its immediate and broader context.  First, if we just ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak: Was Paul wrong about Esau & Pharaoh?

...the "what if" exclusivist scenario of Romans 9 is a distorted construct of God (which stumbled Augustine and his Calvinist progeny). But in context, Paul thoroughly cuts off that error. After all, Christ revealed God as our "loving heavenly Father" rather than an arbitrary tyrant.