The Cross as Shock Therapy – Brian Zahnd
"The cross is shock therapy for a world addicted to solving its problems through violence." The cross is shock therapy for a world addicted to solving its problems through violence. The cross shocks us into the devastating realization that...
Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God – Brian Zahnd
Oh! Ephraim is my dear, dear son,My child in whom I take pleasure!Every time I mention his name,My heart bursts with longing for him!Everything in me cries out for him.Softly and tenderly I wait for him.–Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:20) The God that holds you over...
The Prodigal Pirate: Reflections on Kester Brewin’s “Why We Love Pirates” – by Russ Hewett
One of the things I value about the parables of Jesus is that they can be understood in multiple ways, similar to a prism. One beam of white light enters a prism and several streams of different colored light emerge from the other side. Our own...
Rethinking Hell Interview – Graham Ware with Brad Jersak
Editor's note: Graham Ware interviewed Brad Jersak on the Rethinking Hell podcast (listen here). The following is the written correspondence version of the interview (not a transcript) so it includes some questions and answers not covered on the podcast. Graham...
Don’t Reinstate What Has Been Fulfilled – Lazar Puhalo
If one were to carefully study the several ways in which Christ Himself turned much of the Old Testament on its head, one might end up being very surprised. The woman taken in adultery was forgiven, not stoned. The Sabbath was not kept in order to...
The Atonement of God (excerpt) – Jeremy Myers
On the cross, Jesus was victorious over sin, death, and the devil. Some Christians struggle with how Jesus was victorious over death, since we look around us and see death everywhere. We even have a saying that the only two certainties in life are death and taxes. So...
Taking the Bus Back to Hell – Fr. Aidan Kimel
One by one the lost souls step off the Great Divorce bus to enjoy a holiday in Heaven, and one by one they realize they prefer living in that other place. The choice is theirs. They are welcome to stay, but to remain requires the surrender of that which...
Richard Rohr on Divinization – via Rob Grayson
Divinization If we could glimpse the panoramic view of the biblical revelation and the Big Picture that we're a part of, we'd see how God is forever evolving human consciousness, making us ever more ready for God. The Jewish prophets and many Catholic and Sufi...
Review of Ron Dart’s “Thomas Merton & the Counterculture” and “CS Lewis and Bede Griffiths: Chief Companions” – by Brad Jersak
Ron Dart, professor of Religious Studies and Political Science at UFV, adds two books (as editor and author) to his extensive bibliography. Thomas Merton and the Counterculture: A Golden String (St Macrina Press, 2016) is a collection of essays and...
Review of Brian Zahnd’s ‘Water to Wine’ – by Brad Jersak
Vintage Zahnd! For those who are late to the game and wondering who Brian Zahnd is and where he's coming from, Water to Wine is a good place to start. You'll be able to experience his long faith journey in these memoirs of a master storyteller and wordsmith....