Q&R: 2 Chronicles 7 – When is God the Cause?

Question: It's that time again when everyone brandishes 2 Chronicles 7:12-14! In Bible Study, a questioner honestly admitted NOT quite seeing how God would prevent rain, command locusts to devour the land or send pestilence among the people: "Why is God so mean and controlling, etc?" I know you have shared this (maybe A More Christlike God?), but I would love to give her a succinct, Christological answer! Response: First, the text in question: “When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command locusts to devour the land or send a plague among my people, if my people, who are called by my name, will humble ...

December 2023

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Greg Albrecht: Not What Religion Expects – pg. 2 Kenneth Tanner: One-Sided God – pg. 6 Brad Jersak God in Our Image – pg. 7

Q&R with Brad Jersak – “Bring them here & kill them in front of me” (Luke 19:27)

Question: I was thinking of WWJD? (What would Jesus do?) the other day in the context of world events, especially the wars that are raging right now. I've run into some strange reactions. Some said, "Jesus would side with ______," and others said, "No, Jesus would join ______." As a militant? Not Jesus, surely! But then a friend posted Luke 19:27: "But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me." I'm stumped. It's in the New Testament. How do you read this? Response: Let's start with the question of God taking "sides." While I can find all kinds of biblical ...

Q & R: Baptism and the fate of the ‘unprepared’ – Brad Jersak

Question: If I found myself numb with pain, injured and bleeding in the cold on a cloudy day, having never been baptized for whatever reason(s), and therefore not "OFFICIALLY" in the Body of Christ as I died. Being lifelong mostly homeless, reality itself seemed to communicate to me "authoritatively" that my death and eternal punishment were now imminent? Would I have reason to quiver convulsively in deep and dreadful fear? To add a little humor, if I were dying in those circumstances, could I say a few words then spit on myself and confidently count it baptism? Thus, I'm in! But what if I were unconscious? I know these "unprepared ...

CWR Video – “Christ: The Lion and the Lamb” – by Brad Jersak

Short video by Brad Jersak - The Lion and The Lamb

Audio Books Available

Books by Brad Jersak - also available as Audio Books: A More Christlike God A More Christlike Way From Audible/Amazon and iTunes!

Q&R: Longing, Striving, Struggling & Surrender? Brad Jersak

QUESTION: I see folks around me working really hard to "press into" doing good works for God, having more time with God, etc, etc. "If I only did A, B or C more, it would all be better." Their longing drifted towards striving. My question as a faith leader is how to address this. I love people who long for more. But how best might I shepherd and steward that longing? In other traditions, I see people asking for "mercy gifts." Instead of striving, they actively do something with their longing. They pray for a gift of faith, or boldness, or whatever. Or they even pray to receive a certain longing they are lacking. RESPONSE: This is such an ...

THE BEATITUDES: CHRIST FORMED IN YOU – Brad Jersak

My little children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you.(Galatians 4:19) There came a moment when Leo Tolstoy balked. And so did Gandhi.And so did Dietrich Bonhoeffer.And so did Howard Thurman.And so did Martin Luther King Jr. They all balked at an idea that became dominant 400 years earlier—their own gospel fact-checking challenged the notion that the Sermon on the Mount cannot be practiced and that even trying to practice Christ’s teaching denied the grace of God in favor of salvation by works. As if trust in and obedience to the “law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2) is but a failed attempt to earn ...

Q & R: Are God’s hands tied until we “return” to God?

Question: Have you done any writing, or know of someone that has...around the biblical theme of "returning" to God? In contemplative prayer, "returning" has been a beautiful invitation, but many biblical references describe the "return" as being the precursor or condition to God's favor, compassion and/or forgiveness. Undoubtedly this has contributed to the toxic idea that when we turn away, God is also turned away, and until WE do the work of returning, God can't do anything. Obviously, I know you've written and talked a lot about this in the context of the "Gospel in Chairs" ...but I'm just wondering about broader writing on the ...

Progressive Revelation and the Unveiling of God – Brad Jersak

Question from a reader: I have been reading a lot about progressive revelation, specifically in my readings of John Howard Yoder and Guy F. Hershberger. This sounds like some of the things I may be reading from Michael Hardin (anthropological revelation). This idea of God incrementally slipping revelations into humanity's cognitive compartments, filling them gradually through different epochs is what I am referring to. Also, the study of later texts (prophetic texts) critiquing earlier (royal dynasty of Israel/kingship texts) makes for a more complete understanding of the Bible. I was curious if you have come across this and if ...

Q & R – The Ethics of the Trinity – Brad Jersak

Question: I've been reading your A More Christlike God. On page 102 you discuss "Trinitarian love". I've always taken the Trinity as a "given," and never really looked into its implications. But as I've read Jason Pratt's Sword to the Heart, I've come to see that the Trinity has significant ethical implications; God Self-Begetting (the Father) and God Self-Begotten (the Son) always treat One another lovingly. If a Person of God were to rebel against another Person of God, all existence would cease. This gets around the "Euthyphro dilemma" in a way that I do not think unitarian faiths can. What are your thoughts? &nb...

November 2023

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Articles: 60 Years Later... If JFK Could Talk – pg. 1 The Love of Thanksgiving – pg. 2 Should We Fear God? – pg. 5 A Sickness Unto Death – pg. 7 Quotes & Connections – pg. 8

Q & R: God’s Mighty Sovereignty & Protection – Brad Jersak

QUESTION: I am enjoying reading A More Christlike God, but the chapter(s) on the God of will versus God of love have brought on some anxiety too. When we jettison the wrathful and angry images of a Calvinist God, do we also abandon his mighty sovereignty--his ability to watch over us and protect us? RESPONSE: What an important question! And such a mystery! For those who've not yet read A More Christlike God, our reader's question needs a little background. In the book, I lay out two ancient, ongoing and competing visions of God: The God of pure will: That image of God causes all things and governs every event, including ...

Q&R: “Do not resist an evil person” – Brad Jersak

Question: I was thinking about the passage where Jesus says not to resist someone who's trying to rob you and I was wondering what that meant. Suppose a delivery I was expecting doesn't come in, does that mean I shouldn't ask for a refund? My common sense says no but the passage seems on the surface to have a pretty straightforward interpretation to me. Response: Such a good question! And I think your common sense instincts are right. It's generally important to begin with Christ in his immediate context, which will then help us transpose his principles to our lives more easily. First, here's the text in Matthew 5 (NIV): 38&...

1st Human Head Transplant! – Brad Jersak

First Successful Human Head Transplant! A first successful human head transplant?! Who?! When?! I don't think it was Dr. Sergio Canavero. He was the Italian surgeon who claimed to be the first to perform the surgery successfully. But I don't buy it, for the simple fact that his subject was already deceased... and stayed that way. Cadavres don't count. I know it wasn't Valery Spiridonov. He is a Russian man who suffers from Werdnig-Hoffmann disease, an irreversible muscle-wasting condition. Valery volunteered to be the first subject of a full human head transplant. Reports vary on why he 'bowed out' but he claimed to have found love and ...

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469 results for tag: Brad Jersak