549 results for tag: Brad Jersak

Q&R with Brad: “What was ‘this cup’ Christ drank?”

The Agony in the Garden, 1590-1600, El Greco Question: I'm curious if you have written anything or have any references concerning the cup Jesus asked be passed from him in the garden of Gethsemane. Some say it is "the cup of God's wrath" whereas I recall learning it was the cup of human suffering. Would you kindly share with me a few words on this topic? Grace and peace. Response: A very good and important question. Let's begin by reviewing the text in Matthew 26 (NKJV): 36 Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to the disciples, “Sit here while I go and pray over there.” 37 And He took with Him ...

Q for Brad: “How did you defend penal substitutionary atonement?”

Question: You are on the record as having written an MA thesis under the title “The Nature of Christ’s Suffering and Substitution” in the 1980s. You changed your mind over the years and your books have been very clear about that. Would you still have a copy of that thesis? I would dearly like to see what you thought back in the 1980s and how you argued the case. Response: Today, all that remains is my hard copy and probably the one in our college archives. The digital version was on 128k floppy drives that eventually suffered from digital drift and became a mush of characters. However, I can summarize the thesis ...

Q&R with Brad – How do we pray regarding natural disasters, like these fires?

Question How do you pray these days regarding natural disasters, like the fires we're seeing in the Northwest and in Turkey?  Is God in control? Is God controlling?  As you mentioned in A More Christlike God, God set the parameters for natural law to take place. So is there any point asking God to intervene and stop the fires? Does God do that?  Response First, let's remember that God doesn't DO control. BUT God's love is mediated into this world through willing human partners who invite God's participation. WE mediate God's goodness as image-bearers in this world. God enters our world by invitation, and our prayers ...

Q&R with Brad – “Is sex before marriage a sin?”

Question: I have a question. Is sex before marriage a sin? It seems it is best to wait considering the risks. But, the Bible isn't clear on this. The word fornication comes from the Greek word, porneia which means whoredom, harlotry, idolatry, and selling off sexual purity, or marital unfaithfulness (adultery). However, what about in committed relationships where people are not married? Response: This is such a poignant question in this sex-positive, post-"purity culture" era. It seems like a risky question to address ... almost a lose-lose as we straddle 21st-century reality and yet hope to stay anchored to some sort of sex ethic that ...

Q&R with Brad – “But God is holy…”

Poem by Franki (@frankiwritespoetry on Instagram) When yourperception of thelove and acceptance of Godis less than what ahuman beingwould offer a stranger, it'sprobablywrong. Reader's question: But he's God. He's holy and I can't get past how that makes me view him as a judge of my behavior. He doesn't accept sin. And I "was born in sin". I don't want to see myself as sinful needing a savior from my evilness, but I feel the Bible tells me this story. If he accepts me, why do I need to do anything at all? Response: This is such an important line of inquiry that it bears answering in stages. "But he's God." I don't see that "but" ...

Q & R: Why the Prophetic Directives to Destroy? — Brad Jersak

  Question:  I just finished reading your new book A More Christlike God and I loved it! I have a question and want to see if you know of any resources that might be helpful.Specifically, my question relates to certain stories in the OT where God seems to give clear prophetic directives about killing every man, woman, child and animal in the city such as in the story of Joshua and Jericho. I understand that sometimes people heard God through their own "lens" and may have attributed actions/words to God that were really a reflection of their own image of God. However, what do you do with passages where there seems to be a clear ...

Q&R with Brad: Why did God put us on earth in the first place?

WHY?LIFE is precious QUESTION: If God's final word for humanity is mercy rather than eternal conscious torment, then that sits better with me. This question remains for me: why would God even put us on earth in the first place, if we are just going to freely choose him anyway? We didn't consent to be put through all of this suffering. God doesn't need more glory. I was always taught that free will was just because God wanted someone to freely choose to love Him, which is a cool idea, but at what cost to us? RESPONSE: I wonder if it’s the same reason we keep having babies. Because despite the suffering humanity both causes ...

Video by Brad Jersak – A More Christlike Word

Watch a short video by Bradley Jersak on his new book "A More Christlike Word - Reading Scripture the Emmaus Way". https://vimeo.com/575083816 To Purchase "A More Christlike Word"

August 2021

CLICK HERE to read now (PDF Format) Greg Albrecht: God Is Not Fair– pg. 2 Irene Frances: My Desire to Be Like Jesus– pg. 5 Richard Rohr: God's Creatures Great and Small– pg. 5 Brad Jersak: Was Jesus a Racist? – pg. 7

On the Grill: An Inquisition of the Sincere – Brad Jersak

    On the Grill: An Inquisition of the Sincere.   Questions. Interviews, investigations, inquisitions. Grilling.   I’ve been on the grill a fair bit over the decades. Questions, so many questions. And I love questions. There is no greater favor you can do a vocational teacher than ask him or her a question.   These include the happy experiences of Q & A sessions where I really knew my material. Others were designed to be positive, yet felt stressful because the stakes involved were high: job interviews, candidacy committees or the closing viva (oral exams) for my post-graduate degree. Some ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – On Abraham’s Attempt to Sacrifice Isaac

"Woah there, big fella!" QUESTION: My husband and I were missionary children, and have been impacted by the perceived “child sacrifice” practices/ideology (boarding school, prioritization of ministry and the unevangelized, etc.) of the mission organization our parents worked with at the time. As adults, we find the story of God asking/demanding Abraham to sacrifice Isaac to prove his loyalty extremely troubling. Your teaching about the love of God being the nature and character of God resonates with me. I thought you might have a way to approach this story. Response: This is certainly an important question, probably best handled ...

Q&R with Brad Jersak – “What will become of the ungodly?”

Question: How do you understand 1 Peter 4:17-18, which reads: 17 The time has come, you see, for judgment to begin at God’s own household. And if it begins with us, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel? 18 And "if the righteous person is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear? I'm especially wondering about what "the judgment" that begins with the church means, but also what verse 18 could mean for "where will ... the sinner appear." Response: Excellent question! The best way to respond begins with the bigger picture of Peter's purpose for writing this community and what they ...

A More Christlike Word by Bradley Jersak

The third book in the “More Christlike” series by Brad Jersak A More Christlike Word - Reading Scripture the Emmaus Way The Scriptures are an essential aspect of the Christian faith. But we have often equated them with the living Word Himself, even elevating them above the One to whom they point. In doing so, we have distorted their central message—and our view of God. Tragically, this has caused multitudes of people unnecessary doubt, confusion, and pain in their encounters with the Scriptures. Many people understand God as being truly loving and good. Yet, they struggle with depictions of God in Scripture as wrathful, violent, ...

Q&R with Brad: How does God interact with the universe? Control vs. Love

Question: I am about halfway into A More Christlike God (I ordered A More Christlike Word a few months ago as well!). Your work is refreshing to my soul. In fact, I conduct research among secular, Gen Z college students, and some of your insights address precisely their struggles with the Christian faith, most notably the wrath of God and Christ pitted against the Father. Anyway, as I have been reading A More Christlike God, I’m struggling with what seems to be a contradiction of sorts, and I would greatly value your insight. In Chapter 7 (pp. 129-32 in my copy) you discuss “secondary causes.” Here, you discuss natural ...

Q&R Dealing with Doubts – Brad Jersak

Question I get caught up in my 5 senses. I want to move past these things and accept God and Jesus and the afterlife and in my good moments, I do. But I have these sad downturns where I question everything. How is your faith so strong? Do you ever have moments of doubt? How do you move past them or how can I build my faith up so I no longer doubt? Response I'd probably be a bit worried if you never had doubts. Doubts are often an invitation to bring our hard questions to God and it's exactly at those moments (or seasons) that our wrestling turns into deeper convictions. For example, those who experience suffering may have deep questions that ...

Zacheus Makes Amends – Brad Jersak

Luke 19  Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 And behold, a man called by the name of Zaccheus; he was a chief tax collector and he was rich. 3 Zaccheus was trying to see who Jesus was, and he was unable due to the crowd, because he was short in stature. 4 So he ran on ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree in order to see Him, because He was about to pass through that way. 5 And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him,“Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” 6 And he hurried and came down, and received ...

Q&R with Brad – What is the difference between the kingdom of God, eternal life & salvation?

Question: I am trying to understand the difference between the “Kingdom of God”/“Kingdom of Heaven” and “salvation”.  Do you have any thoughts on this?   Response: Great question.  "Kingdom of God/heaven" is the dominant gospel of Jesus in the language of the synoptic gospels. It's a complex phrase in Jesus' teaching, as he sometimes uses it to describe his work in the world of here and now, the transformative work inside of people, and the life of the age to come. Simply put, the kingdom on earth as it is in heaven, the kingdom within you, and the kingdom yet to come.  In John's gospel, ...

Q & R: Christ in a Violent World – Brad Jersak

At CWR/PTM, we've received some excellent feedback re: our response to violence. We really do appreciate this kind of input and our readers' thoughtful questions, especially as we see our readers as partners in our ministry and its mission.  The following are some direct responses to the concerns from one of our readers, as well as a formal response.   The reader (in bold) began: The issue of CWRm left me with some negative feelings about our response with violence based on Jesus' teaching, and your claim that Christendom is on the violent, wrong, side of the Cross. Not very surprising, especially since it's very difficult for believ...

Thoughts in the Night on God’s Grace and Our Response – by Brad Jersak

Jet-lag woke me up again last night, but happily, instead of assaulting me with half-asleep worries or false epiphanies, the night-owl left me with a few follow-up thoughts to my article on Free Will, the Nous and Divine Judgment. For me, at least, they felt like clarifications on ye olde grace vs free will double-bind. Briefly, classic Calvinism creates a double-bind re: the will. If grace is a unilaterally gift given by the will of God to the elect (Calvin's irresistible grace), then human response can seem either pre-determined or unnecessary. This seems wrong to me, since clearly, the Gospel is an authentic invitation calling for a ...

Q&R: Eternal Life – now or later? Brad Jersak

Question The more I experience this beautiful gospel, the more I feel that it’s all about NOW, the present. And trying to know the Father (eternal life) more and more and experience His love for me more and more as well as living out this Love so that others around me could get to know Him and His love for them.​ What are your thoughts on this? Response This is ESPECIALLY true in the Gospel of John where both 'perishing' and 'eternal life' are NOT treated as afterlife concerns (heaven and hell). In John's Gospel, Jesus comes to a world that is already perishing now. Christ comes because his children are in a downward ...