Q&R: Generational Guilt, Trauma, Repentance & Healing Brad Jersak
Question So much of what you say resonates with me and has some continuity regarding cruciform theology that I first came across through Greg Boyd. The more I have read and listened the more I have been thinking about the connection this has with trauma-informed thinking and practice. My work with trauma is around intergenerational […]
Beyond Sidestep Sorrys & Massaging Guilt – Bradley Jersak
Saying, “I am sorry,” can be very good and necessary. But as my friend, Paul Young, a survivor of childhood serial abuse, says, “Sorry, can and often does go other, unhelpful ways.” I’ve found the approach that 12-step takes to amends to be helpful and I notice how they draw a distinction between offering an […]
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 […]
Q&R : God does not control but does intimately interact: A Contradiction?
Question I am about halfway into A More Christlike God (I preordered 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 […]
“LOOK LOWER”: Grace in Affliction with Weil & Nightbirde – Bradley Jersak
How do we experience God in the midst of affliction? Where is the light during the “dark night of the soul?” Where do we stand (or kneel) as we wait for a dawn that seems so slow to come, if it ever will? Those who experience chronic physical, emotional, or spiritual pain know the temptation […]
Q&R with Brad – 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 […]
Where ‘Divine Impassibility’ Meets My Anxiety – Brad Jersak
What is the doctrine of ‘impassibility’ and how does it help my anxiety? The doctrine of ‘impassibility’ is *not* that God is non-relational, unresponsive, or doesn’t bear our pain. After all, God IS love. It certainly does *not* mean that God is beyond empathy! The Incarnation (especially the Cross) IS the empathy of God, the […]
From Hellfire to Laundromat – Brad Jersak
TURN OR BURN BE WASHED! “Behold, I send My messenger, and he will prepare the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come into His temple, Even the Messenger of the covenant, whom you desire. Behold, he is coming,” says the Lord Almighty. “But who can endure the day of His […]
Healing our image of the Holy Spirit – Bradley Jersak
It’s frustrating when our impression of the Holy Spirit of Beauty and Truth is tainted by previous, spiritually abusive associations. Sects that emphasize the work of the Spirit are as prone to spiritual striving and rigid legalism as any religious movement, despite vociferous claims to “freedom.” Whether it’s the “fire” of Evangelical revivalism, the Pentecostal […]
Preamble from Brad: the B-Lines were a Vancouver-based punk band featuring two of my beloved nephews, Ryan and Bruce Dyck. Question I was listening to the B-Lines fastest song (“Wealthy Barber”) and realized the chorus is a Bible verse: “the branch that bears no fruit is cast into the flames.” They seem to be referencing Matthew 3:10, […]