Showing results by author "Bradley Jersak" in All Categories

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.

What is God like? A punishing judge? A doting grandfather? A deadbeat dad? A vengeful warrior? 'Believers' and atheists alike typically carry and finally reject the toxic images of God in their own hearts and minds. Even the Christian gospel has repeatedly lapsed into a vision of God where the wrathful King must be appeased by his victim Son. How do such 'good cop/bad cop' distortions of the divine arise and come to dominate churches and cultures?

Crisis! An explosive public meltdown. A violent incident in the psychiatric ward. Now the Pastor stares into the abyss of his own secret shame. Before he can be free, he must confront his demons and find grace. But will he let go? Will he allow himself to be healed?

In Out of the Embers, Bradley Jersak explores the necessity, perils, and possibilities of the Great Deconstruction—how it has the potential to either sabotage our communion with God or infuse it with the breath of life, the light and life of Christ himself.

The question I address in this brief work is how Christ-followers might hold the tension of these two abiding and complementary truths: 1. Christ’s one-of-a-kind revelation 2. Abba’s all-inclusive love. I believe that Sacred Scripture and Christ himself affirm both these doctrines in a mind-blowing fullness. And yet those who enthusiastically profess either one of these two truths frequently do so at the expense of their complement.

Everlasting hell and divine judgment, a lake of fire and brimstone—these mainstays of evangelical tradition have come under fire once again in recent decades. Would the God of love revealed by Jesus really consign the vast majority of humankind to a destiny of eternal, conscious torment? Is divine mercy bound by the demands of justice? How can anyone presume to know who is saved from the flames and who is not?

In his previous work, A More Christlike God, Brad Jersak looked to the incarnation of Jesus Christ to reveal the true nature of God as self-giving, radically forgiving, compassionate love. In this follow-up audiobook, after deconstructing four counterfeit ways, Jersak explores seven facets of the Jesus Way. Christ's radical revelation of true humanity beckons us, "Would you be human? Take up your cross and follow me."

After an insightful introduction on Tolstoy and his writing, Part 1 begins with Bradley Jersak's essay on Tolstoy's Confessions, a nonfiction memoir of Tolstoy's faith journey. Jersak (author of Out of the Embers: Faith After the Great Deconstruction, 2022) presents what he describes as an "Anatomy of a Great Deconstruction." He offers a description of each bend on the Tolstoy's spiritual path, along with some reflection questions that ask listeners to ponder their own spiritual progress or regress.

"Pude seguir adelante, "dejar todo en manos de Dios", como dicen. Y cuando lo hice, las ventanas y las puertas se abrieron de par en par. La luz entró a raudales, una luz que ahuyentó al miedo y eliminó la ira. Lo solté, en verdad lo solté, y fui libre [...] la elección fue mía. Podía elegir perdonar o no. Perdoné porque me habían perdonado. Y cuando perdoné llegó la liberación". -"La señal".