520 results for tag: Brad Jersak

Are You “Christian”? Brad Jersak

Are You “Christian”? Having firmly identified as an “Ex-vangelical,” a friend of mine was asked whether she would still call herself a Christian. Her answer was necessarily complex since the question involves defining “Christian,” who gets to define it and whether we should preserve the word or put it to rest. Frankly, identifying as “Christian” has always been a bit risky, whether because it incited persecution or was co-opted for domination. So, are you a Christian? How do you feel about that word? What if we were to come at the question from a different angle? The following is a thought experiment that may prove productive: What ...

Walking the Jericho Road – by Brad Jersak

  Epistle Reading: Ephesians 4  - Walk as Children of Light:   8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of those things that are done by them in secret. 13 But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. 14 Therefore, He says: “Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And ...

“Sin”? Missing What Mark? Brad Jersak

Periodically, I hear sin defined as “missing the mark,” as if this grand discovery will repair our misunderstandings about sin, the gospel or God himself. The imagery of a bulls-eye is recycled with each telling. And fair enough. But truly, nearly everyone accepts this definition, from Southern Baptists to Christian Orthodox, or divergent theologies ranging from the “hyper-grace” camp to hellfire fundamentalists. Some crucial clarifications are in order if “missing the mark” is to serve a Christ-centered perspective on sin. The first question can’t be, “What is sin?” but rather, “What is the mark?” Christians generally ...

Q&R: If God is non-violent, why is nature violent?

QUESTION:   "If God is non-violent ... then why is there evidence of violence in nature, i.e. between animals and also in weather, such as hurricanes/typhoons, volcanic eruptions, etc.?"   RESPONSE:   At the most basic level, I often boil things down to these ideas, which most folks can understand if we provide examples:   1. God created the conditions for life and love, which are the laws of nature and human freedom. This is very good. 2. But nature and humans also cause a lot of suffering. Nature and people can become violent of their own accord. 3. But in his great love for us, God became human to ...

Q & R: “Narrow Way, Narrow Gate” Brad Jersak

Q: If Christ has made possible the salvation of all, why does he say "the gate is narrow and few will find it?" R: Context is so important! Take a moment to ask yourself in which context you first heard this message. Whenever I have heard these words, composed by Jesus Christ himself, almost without exception, they were embedded in the context of an evangelistic sermon describing the way of salvation that leads to eternal life. In contrast, the way of destruction was identified as the road to hell.  In that context, Jesus' warning sounds unequivocal: 1. Only Christians go to heaven; 2. very few will become Christians; 3. therefore, only a ...

Q&R: Does God literally send blessings & curses? – Brad Jersak

QUESTION: I am currently on my fourth read of A More Christlike God and each time I read it, I am getting to know God more and more. Regarding your notion that wrath is a metaphor for God's consent, I wonder how to interpret God's blessings and curses, which God seemed to bring about directly. Can this be reconciled? RESPONSE:  Re: God's blessings and curses, I think a good way to approach that question would be to take a walk through the Bible as follows: 1. OLD COVENANT PROMISES: First, notice how the old covenant (Deut. 28 for example) seems to say that IF you are good, God will directly bless your crops with sun and rain, but if you disobey ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak “Is faith a requirement?”

Question: I’ve been on a journey today trying to process. Faith in Christ still requires me. There is something wrong with this wording or something wrong with my understanding. It can’t be dependent on me. How can it be that God has covered our side of the covenant, yet it is our faith that somehow magically leverages God into some action? “Your faith has healed you.” Then I have to ask, “Who is God, us or him if our faith is the working component? I get the need for participation. But what is the secret sauce to the inherent conflict of surrender and participation? How does one reconcile the two? Response: B...

Calvary: Crucifixion as Torture, Cross as Hope – Brad Jersak

Trite or true, we're each and all on a journey, not quite sure whether any given year, week or moment is really ascent or descent -- the calm before a storm or the dark before dawn. I see this tension in the biblical story of Calvary, at once a crucifixion and a Cross, the intersection of goodness and affliction, of torture and hope. At Calvary, we see the violence of religious fanaticism married to national security ... and we see the humility, forgiveness and self-giving love of God. I hear this tension in Augustine, who is quoted in the movie, Calvary, as saying, "Do not despair; one of the thieves was saved. Do not presume; one of the thieves ...

Free Will, the Nous and Divine Judgment: A Critical Analysis of Three Visions of Universalism — by Brad Jersak

  I’ll say it again at the outset. I’m not a universalist.But some of my friends are … some of my evangelical friends, some of my Orthodox friends. So I ask them questions about that. This is not flirting (as Lewis and Barth were accused of), but simply being fair. In the name of ‘discernment,’ I’ve encountered a LOT of name-calling, dismissiveness, intentional misrepresentation and caricaturing. “Earth to Matilda!” – that’s not discernment. We can and must do better than that. Surely we could at least build bridges (from both ends of the chasm!) long enough so that listening could displace lobbing.  &n...

I’ve Not Been Forgotten – Brad Jersak

THE EXPERIENCE OF ALONENESS: It is inevitable. At some point, grief or loss knocks on our door. Life happens, tragedies strike, death overtakes us or sometimes worse, those we love most. When the ache of emptiness does invade our lives, even the most faithful Jesus-followers may experience the "felt absence" of God. Even if by faith we can cling to the promise, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" (Heb. 13:5), the feeling of suffocating aloneness can leave us crying out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!?" (Psalm 22:1). This can be truly troubling. Where is God when it hurts? Has God really left? If not, why can't I feel God's ...

“To the Merciful, You Show Yourself Merciful” – Brad Jersak

  Jeff Turner is a blogger who leads 'Sound of Awakening Ministries' and the author of Saints in the Arms of a Happy God. His provocative zingers are also really quotable. When I saw the above summary online, it triggered further thoughts for meditation.   My first reaction to the above quote was, I suppose to the red faced, angry preacher, God shows himself (or more technically, allows himself to be seen) as a red face, angry preacher. I was reminded of these lines from Psalm 18.   Psalm 18 (AKJV) 25 With the merciful you will show yourself merciful; with an upright man you will show yourself ...

The Color of Truth – Brad Jersak (with Eric Allaby)

On my first visit to Grand Manan Island, I met a new friend. Eric Allaby is a kind and fascinating soul who was born on this lobster paradise off the coast of New Brunswick. In the early 1960s, he was among the first to introduce scuba diving to the herring fishery (cf. weir fishing) and to personally survey the dozens of shipwrecks around the island. Eric went on to survey, map and salvage materials from Bay of Fundy shipwrecks. Mr. Allaby, while continuing diving, would go on to become a map-maker, museum curator, herring fisherman and MLA in the New Brunswick provincial legislature, where he served for 19 productive years. As I said, ...

August 2023

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Greg Albrecht: 60 years: He Had a Dream – pg. 2 Brad Jersak: BIPOC Faith 60 Years On – pg. 4 Richard Rohr: Envisioning a New World – pg. 7 Greg Albrecht A More Christlike Justice – pg. 8

Forgiveness is Scandalous Again – Brad Jersak

The Scandal...  Over several years, I have been tracking the results of a rolling survey by a Christian teacher, Dan White Jr. Although we've never met, I would call him an online friend. As Dan visits faith communities across America, he invites Christians to follow Jesus. But wait, isn't following Jesus the very definition of a Christian? You would hope so, but Dan's survey explores that question. Throughout his journeys, he presents active claimants of the "Christian" label with passages from Jesus' own "Sermon on the Mount" (from Matthew 5-7). Then Dan surveys the reaction of Christians to the very words of Jesus Christ, ...

Jesus on “What-About-ism” – Brad Jersak

"What is that to you?" - Jesus' final words from his final conversation, recorded in the final Gospel (John 21:23) were gentle rebuke to the apostle Peter. "What is that to you?" is the interrogative form of "None of your business!"  The same reply rings through the centuries to our current era, when our society has a knee-jerk reflex that some call "what-about-ism." "What-about-ism" is a typical form of deflection when we feel the discomfort of our complicity in some wrong. It is a defensive strategy where we are tempted to react, "What about them?" "What about them?" "What-about-ism" tries to redirect attention elsewhere, especially when our ...

Mental Health Care: A Christian Response – Brad Jersak

My dear friend is a good man and faithful Jesus-follower. Truly. Kind and uplifting—effusive in his encouragement—completely love-able. A generous human being and effective communicator of the good news. My friend is also in recovery from a very serious mental health crisis. It has been terrifying for him and his wife, for his children and his friends. His situation required urgent medical intervention. Hospitalization. Rigorous testing. Medication. One and the same man—a beautiful spirit tormented by a physiological meltdown that assaulted his mind and emotions. How is that possible? Aren’t people of good faith who love the Lord ...

“Follow Me”: Footprints in the Snow – Brad Jersak

Matthew 4:18-22 -- 18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him. 21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. "Follow Me" When Jesus called the core of his band of ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – “Leave your gift at the altar” (Matthew 5:24)

Question: In Matthew 5:24, Jesus says, "Leave your gift at the altar." What does that mean in context? Does it mean we need to go and apologize to those we've hurt, or God won’t talk to us? Response: Let's begin with the context, as you suggested. This is a section of Jesus' Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) where he is citing the Law of Moses and explains how the spirit of the law goes deeper than external conformity to obvious rules against murder or adultery (for example). God's intent is to transform our hearts so that in following Jesus Christ, grace will weed out the roots of murder and adultery while they are still inward hatred or ...

Q&R with Brad – “Can God feel anger even if he’s not an ‘Angry God'”?

Question: I listened to a recent podcast on your thoughts, breaking down the "angry God" worldview. You couched it in the language of "worshiping Molech," which was a sharp wake-up call to me, even though I have been moving away from the "Angry God" view for some time. It got me wondering about something and I am hoping that you might be able to provide some context for it. Even though God is not the "Angry God" of modern Evangelicalism ... is it still possible for God to have the emotion of anger? Case in point ... the cleansing of the temple. What do Jesus' actions in the temple reveal to us about the nature of the Father? ...

July 2023

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: Mental Health Care: A Christian Response – pg. 1 Show Your Cards, Not Your Trophies – pg. 2 Two Ships that Pass in the Night – pg. 5 Elevator Dogmatics – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8