New Release Books by Brad Jersak

What is God like? Toxic images abound: God the punishing judge, the deadbeat dad, the genie in a bottle-false gods that need to be challenged.But what if, instead, God truly is completely Christlike? What if His love is more generous, his Cross more powerful, and his gospel more beautiful than we've dared to imagine? What if our clearest image of God is the self-giving, radically forgiving, co-suffering Love revealed on the Cross? What if we had 'A More Christlike God'?Endorsements:"This excellent and much-needed book confrontswith both open heart and very goodmind the major obstacles we have createdfor people in their journey toward God! Somany of us are asking, "Why didn't peopleteach us this many years ago?" I am sograteful that Brad Jersak is re-opening thedoor that Jesus had already opened 2000years ago. It is so terribly sad that it wasever closed."- Fr. RICHARD ROHRCenter for Action and Contemplation"With theological integrity and open-heartedcompassion, Brad Jersak creates a beautifulspace for Jesus to challenge our views ofGod. A breath of clean and clarifying air."- WILLIAM PAUL YOUNGAuthor of The Shack"Brad Jersak has given us a gift of greatestvalue: a fresh vision of God, Christ, theCross, Scripture and ourselves. He displaysthe rare ability to take deep theologicalissues and make them understandableto everyone. Jersak represents a new generationof Christian theologians whose workis both desperately needed and wonderfullyliberating."- BRIAN D. McLARENAuthor of We Make the Road by Walking"Brad Jersak has immersed himself in thecompany of the poor, the addicted, theoutsiders. He is determined to recover theessence of the "beautiful" gospel for allof us. The conspicuous mark that characterizesevery page of this winsomewitness is that it is a "lived theology." Hehas given attentive detail to what is in thetheological libraries, but is not contentwith that. He has worked it out on thestreets and in the lives of those withwhom he has chosen to share his life andChristlike God witness, a convincinglybeautiful Gospel."- EUGENE H. PETERSONTranslator of The Message"'Good souls many will one day be horrifiedat the things they now believe ofGod.' George MacDonald's prophecyhas found its fulfillment in Brad Jersak'sjourney from the 'volatile moral monster'to the face of Jesus' Father. Here theancient song of light sings us new eyes:Behold the Lamb, just like his Father.A priceless treasure, worthy of seriousreflection."- BAXTER KRUGERAuthor of The Shack Revisited and Patmos

The God you think you know is nothing compared to the Father revealed by Jesus.

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? Reacting to presumptions in like manner, others write off the fiery images of final judgment altogether. If there is a God who loves us, then surely all are welcome into the heavenly kingdom, regardless of their beliefs or behaviors in this life. Yet, given the sheer volume of threat rhetoric in the Scriptures and the wickedness manifest in human history, the pop-universalism of our day sounds more like denial than hope. Mercy triumphs over judgment; it does not skirt it. Her Gates Will Never Be Shut endeavors to reconsider what the Bible and the Church have actually said about hell and hope, noting a breadth of real possibilities that undermines every presumption. The polyphony of perspectives on hell and hope offered by the prophets, apostles, and Jesus humble our obsessive need to harmonize every text into a neat theological system. But they open the door to the eternal hope found in Revelation 21-22: the City whose gates will never be shut; where the Spirit and Bride perpetually invite the thirsty who are outside the city to "Come, drink of the waters of life."

This collection of essays by George Grant scholars, Ron Dart and Brad Jersak, explores issues of political philosophy, including comparisons with Manning, Strauss, Voegelin and Weil.Part 1 Essays by Ron S. Dart1. Reversing the Reversal / 72. Review of Lament for a Nation / 153. George Grant and Ernest Manning: Who is the RealConservative? / 274. Biblical Judaism, Western Christianity andLiberalism / 375. Matrix of Liberalism: a Seven Act Drama / 45Part 2 Essays by Brad Jersak6. Grant, Weil and Nietzsche:The Darkness of Modernity / 737. Grant, Strauss and Voegelin: Modernist Embodiments / 107

Jesus once counseled us to "buy medicine for your eyes from me so you can see, really see" (Rev. 3: 18 MSG). Kissing the Leper is about getting our eyes repaired from religious and cultural prejudice so that we can see Jesus in others, especially those that our world discards as "the least." The author has compiled the voices and testimonies of historical and contemporary practitioners to develop a devotional theology of encounter. Specifically, he challenges us to meet and welcome Christ in human form from the society's margins to the banqueting table of God.

George P. Grant (1918-88) was one of Canada's premier political philosophers and stands as the benchmark for the Red Tory Tradition. He can also be credited with introducing the thought of Nietzsche, Heidegger and Simone Weil to Canada, critically analyzing their work seriously for the first time. Grant's Red Toryism has been revived and modified in the UK, but for a look at the essential thought of its chief architect, this book is a must read. Included in this work are essays in political theology, along with previously unpublished letters and classnotes that are critical to an understanding of Grant's 'primacy of the Good' vis-a-vis the 'primacy of freedom-as-mastery.' Especially important is the analysis of his theological relationship to Simone Weil and an appropriation of his work to rise above the culture wars of left and right. Table of Contents Preface / 1 Part 1 - CONVERSION 1. George Grant's Conversion Accounts / 5 2. Simone Weil's Encounter with Christ in Marseilles / 13 3. Grant's McMaster Sermon / 17 Part 2 - THE RISE OF MODERNITY 4. Sprouts of Modernity in Medieval Theology / 23 5. Blooms of Modernity in the Reformation and Calvinist Puritanism / 37 6. The Autonomous Subject: Knowing as Willing in Descartes, Bacon and Kant / 49 Part 3 - MYSTICAL EPISTEMOLOGY 7. Etymology of Nous / 65 8. Heidegger's Eckart / 81 9. Weil's Mystical Ascent / 85 Part 4 - GRANTEAN THEOLOGY 10. God the All-Powerful, All-Powerless / 111 11. Consent as Coercion / 123 Part 5 - GRANTEAN JUSTICE 12. Grant's Rhetorical Method / 131 13. Christ at the Checkpoint / 141 Part 6 - PRIMARY SOURCES 14. Previously Unpublished Letters and Journal Entries / 151 15. Reading Simone Weil: Unpublished Excerpt / 199 16. Dalhousie Classnotes on Plato / 201 17. Robin Mathews: The Wave of the Future / 211 18. Grant's References to Martin Luther's Thesis 21 / 213 APPENDICES 19. Grant's Readings in Weil: French and English / 219 20. Beyond Dualism: Correspondence with Radical Orthodoxy / 221 Abbreviations / 227 Bibliography of Sources Consulted / 231

Brad Jersak, a biblical scholar, discovered a big gap between what he found in the Bible and his own experience. As he wrestled with how to hear God more clearly, he discovered how to listen more deeply-and what halted his spiritual growth. This profound but accessible book is full of illuminating testimonies. God desires to transform your prayers into intimate conversations, real meetings with a living Friend.

Simone Weil and George P. Grant were among the 20th century's top political theologians. Weil, a philosopher-activist-mystic from France, was the Christian mystic who refused to join the Church but nevertheless, influenced the Vatican II popes with her radical openness. George Grant, one of Canada's top three thinkers, once said that next to the four Gospels, Weil was his highest authority. This book is a series of essays in political theology, exploring some of their key themes and how their work inter-relates. This book explores in depth, for the first time, how their 'theology of consent' informs their political philosophy and a public ethic of the Cross. Table of Contents Preface / 1 Part 1 - SIMONE WEIL: RED VIRGIN 1. Simone Weil: George Grant's Diotima / 5 2. Stages of Weil's Mystical Ascent / 19 3. Competing Conceptions of God in Biblical Religion / 49 Part 2 - GEORGE GRANT: RED TORY 4. Grant and the Matrix: Complex of Ideologies / 71 5. Grant and the Matrix: Dialogue Partners / 75 6. Finding His Voice: Conversion to Lament / 83 Part 3 - DIVINE CONSENT 7. Wrath and Love as Divine Consent / 109 Abbreviations / 123 Bibliography of Sources Consulted / 127

Ages 9 to 12 years. God loves children and longs to meet with them through prayer. He reveals Himself freely to children, speaking to them as a very best Friend. This book illustrates in full-colour how God opens the eyes and ears of each child's heart so that they become aware of His constant love and friendship. Speaking in the first person, God assures the reader that He is available to them wherever they go and through every experience. Following the children's story, the author has included a chapter for parents, suggesting a variety of spiritual exercises that will nurture child-like faith.

God loves children and longs to meet with them through prayer. He reveals Himself to children, speaking to them as a best Friend. This book illustrates how God opens the eyes and ears of each child's heart so that they become aware of His love and friendship. It includes a chapter for parents suggesting exercises that nurture child-like faith.

A weary fundamentalist pastor is stuck in a psychiatric ward, staring 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? The Pastor explores the perilous human journey from self-will and striving through defeat and despair to hope and the redemption found only through surrender.

If Brad Jersak's 'Can You Hear Me? primed your heart for listening prayer, this forty-day spiritual exercise will help make it a lifestyle. Walk with Eden and Brad Jersak as you present God with 40 life-changing questions and receive God's answers. These encounters will lead you to new depths of hearing God's voice and seeing God's face.'Rivers from Eden' is designed to help readers make 'listening prayer' a lifestyle. It models an approach to prayer in which your time spent with God becomes an intimate, interactive meeting.The premise, laid out in detail in 'Can You Hear Me?', is that all of God's children can learn to hear his voice (Job. 33:14, John 10:27) and see his face (Heb. 12:2, 2 Cor. 4:6).When the eyes and ears of your heart are opened, prayer becomes a real meeting with a living friend.