How many times has somebody's “BUT” gotten in the way of God’s love? "God loves us BUT”…He is also Just. But we can’t affirm that behavior. But we can't just accept that sinner. What if...God's love is "BUT"-less? Kelly talks with author/teacher Bradley Jersak about a love that is not the opposite of mercy, a love that is not retributive, a love that frees rather than enforces. We discuss how projecting conditions onto God’s love affects our theology and culture, including the belief that God will desert most of us in the Rapture, the view that if our kind of Christians were in control our nation would do God’s will, and the heresy that empathy and embodying the values of the Sermon on the Mount here on earth are ungodly. When we are asked to love our neighbor and share the Good News, is there a more effective way to do it? Yes, we think there is. Bradley Jersak is an author and teacher based in Abbotsford, BC, Canada. He the author of several books, including A More Christlike God and Out of the Embers: Faith After the Great Deconstruction. Bradley also serves as the Principal and as a professor of St. Stephen’s University (SSU.ca) in New Brunswick, Canada. Bradley's focus is on sharing the good news that God is Love, perfectly revealed in Jesus' all-embracing gospel. Find more of his work at https://bradjersak.com and subscribe to his Substack at https://substack.com/@bradleyjersak124315.

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still laugh while doing it.
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Who or what is God? When one says “Oh, my God” in awe, or mutters “Jesus…” in a moment of trouble, what power are they invoking? Is it a curse, a prayer, an invitation to co-create with the divine? This week, Mark and Kelly examine what we are talking about when we talk about God. Is God close or distant? Powerful or codependent? Intelligent or intuitive? Ineffable or quite effable? The embodiment of love or a demanding judge of righteousness? Separate or part of all of us (or part of everything)? Is our faith enough to allow us to approach the divine, or do we need to be cleansed, perfected, saved? Listen as we finally, for once and for all, get to the bottom of who God is, what God wants, and how difficult it is to pin those concepts down with certainty without idolatry. ALSO FEATURING: A revelatory Bible Moment with scholar Amanda Pence.

*****
Special thanks to our sponsors at Quoir, publishers of The Quollective.
The Quollective isn’t just another media platform. It’s a grassroots,
justice-fueled toolbox for people who want to change the world—and
still laugh while doing it.
----
Use promo code radicallove for 10% off a yearly subscription—that’s a
savings of 20% off the monthly price. Go to thequollective.com and
let’s build a post-fascist future together.

What is “Grace,” and can we humans offer it to one another in a divided, cutthroat world? Can we love those of whose behavior we do not agree or approve? Can we love without agreement or approval? Mark and Kelly delve into the multifaceted concept of grace, exploring its definitions, implications in personal growth, and its role in navigating social and political divides. We share our personal experiences with grace, particularly in the context of how it has saved our relationships with others and ourselves, and discuss the challenges of extending grace in spaces where we are the ideological minority. And listen as Bible Scholar Amanda Pence frames this conversation with Scripture in her “Bible Moment”!

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Photo by Fallon Michael on Unsplash

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*****
Special thanks to our sponsors at Quoir, publishers of The Quollective.
The Quollective isn’t just another media platform. It’s a grassroots,
justice-fueled toolbox for people who want to change the world—and
still laugh while doing it.
----
Use promo code radicallove for 10% off a yearly subscription—that’s a
savings of 20% off the monthly price. Go to thequollective.com and
let’s build a post-fascist future together.