163 results for tag: Q & R

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 ...

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

Narrow Road ... and Few Find It 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 ...

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?  Re...

Q&R follow-up with Greg Albrecht – Would Jesus Attend a Gay Wedding?

This Q & A is a response to Greg Albrecht's "Pastoral Perspective" column in the October edition of CWRm. To view the original Q & A, entitled, "Should I attend my gay daughter's wedding?" CLICK HERE and go to page 14. A CWRm read wrote in with this follow-up question and Greg responds.   QUESTION I read your Pastoral Perspective in the October 2017, CWRm and what I get from your answer is, “It's your decision there is no right or wrong answer.” You even claim Jesus attended “sinful and spiritually toxic places.” I would like you to elaborate on that, because I don't know what your are referring to. I'm sure if he ...

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 enter that suffering with us, enduring ...

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 ...

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 you could help ...