Q&R: “One True Church?”
Question Since your conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy, has that changed the way you now view the salvation/deification of your Protestant brothers and sisters? I ask this because the theology of the Roman Catholic church scares me and the proclamation of the Eastern Orthodox to be the true church (RC´s as well proclaim this) concerns me. Response Before […]
Is John 17:9 exclusive? – “I’m praying for them, not for the world.”
Question In John chapter 17:9, in his prayer to the Father, Jesus says, “I am praying for them; I am not praying for the world but for those whom thou hast given me, for they are thine…” It’s hard not to interpret this verse as “some are in, some are out.” I know I’m cherry-picking […]
Communion vs Alienation – Brad Jersak with David Goa
Communion vs Alienation Brad Jersak with David Goa Whenever I speak with our friends in the Evangelical faith or from that background, there seems to be a much stronger (even compulsive) emphasis on afterlife affairs—heaven, hell, and who goes there—than is emphasized in the biblical and apostolic tradition. The question of knowing who is ‘in’ […]
Isaiah 53 Across the New Testament
QUESTION In Acts 8:26-35, the Ethiopian eunuch or Luke omits “for the transgression of my people he was punished” (NIV) which is the last part of Isaiah 53:8. Either Luke or the eunuch omits the end of the sentence and stops mid-sentence. …do you have any insight into this? I find it interesting that the […]
Passion Sunday: Redemptive Violence is Only Expunged at the Cross
Passion Sunday: Redemptive Violence is Only Expunged at the Cross Bradley Jersak In the Christian West, lectionaries call today either the Triumphal Entry OR Passion Sunday. Today (March 28, 2021), I’m choosing to focus on Passion Sunday, because I’m impossibly weary of the pseudo-triumph of spectrum ideologies and their Christless slander of love and peace […]
Every Eye Shall See Him: Zechariah 12:10 through John’s Eyes
I am frequently asked on what biblical basis I have become convinced of the ultimate redemption of all people. My answer has been distilled to this: because the New Testament repeatedly foresees it. I need to adjust my response to the Scriptures repeatedly foresee it. It should be enough that Jesus Christ declared in John 12:32-33, “And […]
A More Christlike WORD – now available for pre-order
A MORE CHRISTLIKE WORD: Reading Scripture the Emmaus Way CLICK HERE to Pre-Order! Endorsements “A brilliant and compelling journey into reading Scripture as expounded by Christ himself on the Road to Emmaus, gently exposing and correcting the weaknesses of many modern presuppositions and opening us up to the more wonderful mystery of a loving God. […]
αἰώνιος, Eternal, Jonah & Jesus – Bradley Jersak
We were so still, Eskimo-footed arctic marksmen in the muffling silence of the eternal snows—eternal, ever since Wednesday—that we never heard Mrs. Prothero’s first cry from her igloo at the bottom of the garden. Or, if we heard it at all, it was, to us, like the far-off challenge of our enemy and prey, the […]
Q&R: Does God have feelings?
Question Is God emotional? As in, do we cause God to suffer and/or does God suffer on our behalf? Response It is complex for a few reasons: First and foremost, God is LOVE, and God responds to human suffering with compassion. We would however say that God’s love surpasses […]
Which “Gates of Hell will Not Prevail”? Bradley Jersak
I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:18). Among the variety of images and meanings associated with the N.T. Greek words gehenna and hades, a significant aspect that gets eclipsed by eschatology is the […]