Q&R: What does “prepared for destruction” mean? (Romans 9:22) – Brad Jersak
Question: Romans 9:22 “What if God, although willing to demonstrate His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction?” What is the tone/intent of the phrase “prepared for destruction”? Response: I don’t believe we can understand this phrase in isolation from the pastoral concern, rhetorical question […]
Does God “use” Us? Bradley Jersak
In his first non-fiction book, Lies We Believe About God, Wm. Paul Young challenges a host of commonly accepted Christian assumptions that he feels need to be second-guessed, given the track record of harm they do in the real world. In chapter six, he addresses the expression, “I just want God to use me.” At […]
Lies We Believe About God – Paul Young & Brian Zahnd
The Kingdom of the Heavens & Stuff
THE KINGDOM OF THE HEAVENS & STUFF (*Lamest sermon title ever. #ScottPilgrim) Gospel text: Matthew 13 The Parables of the Mustard Seed and Yeast 31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, […]
Is Jesus Too Religious for You? Bradley Jersak
Belief in What Jesus Did As a young Evangelical of the Baptist persuasion, my spiritual tribe taught me a lot of beautiful things about what Christ has done for us. Our preachers sermonized week after week about salvation by grace through faith in Christ crucified and risen, almost always from Paul’s epistles (or so my […]
Q&R “Should ‘the woman caught in adultery’ be in John’s Gospel?
Question In my Bible (NIV), the story of the woman caught in adultery is in italics with a footnote that says, “The earliest manuscripts and many other ancient witnesses do not have John 7:53—8:11. A few manuscripts include these verses, wholly or in part, after John 7:36, John 21:25, Luke 21:38 or Luke 24:53.” If […]
“We Are All Revenants” – Bradley Jersak
Out of chaos, Good News today: the great gift of the Jesus Way is not so much the Church’s ability to survive its own self-inflicted death. Rather, we marvel at how it can continually die and rise again. In the midst of the storm, Hope today: even in the great darkness of the Church’s imperial […]
Unwrathing God: Nonviolent Atonement, Eschatology & Practice – Bradley Jersak
Q&R – What is your take on ‘Original Sin’? Brad Jersak
Question: Good morning, brother. We sure appreciate you and all your hard work! Do you have a talk on “Original Sin”? This is what has messed up Evangelicals like me for 50 years! Response: “Original sin” is a doctrine rooted in Augustine’s misinterpretation of Romans 5:12. The text actually says, “…” Augustine famously interpreted this […]
“If I had been God…” Bradley Jersak
“If I had been God, … I believe I would have done a better job.” -Roger Waters, “Déjà Vu” “I like the song God wrote better. The one that says, ‘If I was a human, I’d do a better job.’ And he did.” -Jason Upton Full disclosure: Pink Floyd fan here. They’re often playing throughout […]