For this revisit Wednesday I give you a post from November 2012 about one of my favorite Christian authors. He is a Quaker and I align very well with most of their belief. I have read a number of Mr. Gulley’s works. He has been very fundamental in realigning my spiritual journey in the last decade. November 20, 2012 Here is a quote by Philip … Continue reading Philip Gulley – The Examples Of Jesus
The Significance Of Universal Salvationā¦. A Wrap-Up This the the final revisit of the 2013 series on “If Grace Is True” Here we are at the end of my study into universal salvation as presented by Philip Gulley in his book āIf Grace Is Trueā. It took a lot longer to get here than I originally thought but this is a very serious subject so … Continue reading Revisit – The Significance Of Universal Salvationā¦. A Wrap-Up
This is the second of three revisits to my initial posts on a book that changed my spiritual view of the world. I do these revisits so that you might better understand where I am going now by showing you where I have come from March 12, 2013. I was certain if I could preach the perfect sermon the altar would fill with people overcome … Continue reading If Grace Is True – Revisit #2
This is the third Sunday post here at RJsCorner where I am re-visiting some posts I wrote over at RedLetterLiving about this book by Philip Gulley. It is one of a handful of books that fundamentally changed my spiritual life. I am visiting these posts again before starting up this blog that has been in hiatus for over six years now. Post 5: August 16, … Continue reading If God Is Love — Finishing It Up.
This is a continuation of my look back on my blog RedLetterLiving blog before I activate it again. This is part two of a series I wrote in June 2011 about the book “If God Is Love” by Philip Gulley. That book changed my mind about so many things. It kept me on the path to Jesus when so many others are destroying that legacy. … Continue reading If God Is Love… Part 2
This is a continuation of my look back on my blog RedLetterLiving before I activate it again. It has pretty much been in hiatus for six years now but I think it is necessary to resurrect it in order to do what I can to counter the current White Evangelical view that is destroying the true messages of Christianity. In my mind they, they have … Continue reading If God Is Love
This particular post has probably stewed in my draft box for longer than any here at RJsCorner in the ten or so years of its existence. It has finally ripened. I believe we are at a point in this world where, if we are to survive, we have to start thinking and acting globally. The tribalism/populism that is happening around the today is the perhaps … Continue reading My Weekly Squawk – Tribal vs Global
One of the current foundations of the Christianity is the atonement. Generally that is thought to be Jesus taking the wrath of God for us with his substitutional crucifixion in order to appease God wrath toward manās sinfulness. Ā I, like many others Iām sure, thought that atonement was a foundational issue with Jesus and the early church. Ā In reality it was post-Constantine theologians who gave … Continue reading About Atonement..
This is the fourth and final post of Philip Gulley’s book entitled If Grace is True. Universal Salvation is not something I intended to find during my extensive study into the words of Jesus but that is where I was led. I didnāt consider this for many years. I actually thought my experiences rare. I was one of the chosen. I was special. Now I … Continue reading God Whispers In Every Ear..
The following is part 2 of a Ā series of posts which will subsequently be compiled as an In-Depth report here on RJsCorner came from my other blog RedLetterLiving.net. āHow can you believe that Godās grace isnāt sufficient, that many of Godās children will languish in hell forever, that theyāll never be restored to their Father, that evil will claim victory in so many lives? How … Continue reading Godās Wrath vs. Godās Graceā¦ā¦.
After many years of resistance and finally accepting Godās love I find it strange to believe that so many believe he is going to damn the vast majority of those he loves to an eternal anguish. Ā We spend less than a century on this earth in one degree of happiness or another and then billions, if not trillions of centuries in total misery and anguish. … Continue reading If Grace Is True
Today I thought I would talk to you about my struggle with the inconsistency of the Bible. Philip Gulley who has written several books on this topic is a well know Christian authorĀ of the Quaker persuasion. He is one of my favorite authors of any genre. Let’s start this topic with a quote from one of his books. For what good is graceāthis unconditional love … Continue reading To Those Who Need It TheĀ Mostā¦..
I think for too long weāve made Jesus just one character or episode in the Bible. If we want to see God, we look to Jesus. In Hebrews 1:3, the writer says that Jesus is the exact representation of the Father. So I think that if we could recapture that centrality of Christ in our churches through our teaching, our worship, our way of life, … Continue reading Evolving Faith…
I want to spend some time this Christmas season talking about Jesus. After all, as the old saying goes, “Jesus is the reason for the season” at least for us Chrisitans. I have said more than once on this blog that I amĀ spiritual but not currently aligned with any particular religious organization.Ā At the same time I try to be a faithful follower of … Continue reading This Christmas Season…
A theology of love begins with the assumption that all people are Godās cherished children and deserving of love. āWe love because he first loved us. Those who say āI love God,ā and hate their brothers and sisters, are liars, for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seenā (1 John 4:19ā20). … Continue reading The Theology Of Love….
Time and again, those who opposed Jesus would quote Scripture. They would remind him of the Sabbath law, the requirement to fast, the provision for divorce, and the penalty for adultery. Jesus seemed unimpressed with a personās ability to quote Scripture. His interest was in a personās ability to hear Godās voice. He said, āHe who belongs to God hears what God saysā (John 8:47). … Continue reading Muzzling God….
Here we are at the end of my study into universal salvation as presented by Philip Gulley in his book “If Grace Is True”. It took a lot longer to get here than I originally thought but this is a very serious subject so I shouldn’t be surprised. I am still not totally in the camp of universal salvation but I am definitely leaning pretty … Continue reading The Significance Of Universal Salvation…. A Wrap-Up
Occasionally people knock on my door or hand me a tract on a street corner or strike up a conversation with the aim of asking, āAre you saved?ā Even before I believed in the salvation of every person, I always answered with an enthusiastic yes. Often, rather than sharing my elation, my inquisitors would look me up and down with a dubious eye and ask … Continue reading Are You Saved???
For what good is graceāthis unconditional love of Godāif it is not extended to those who deserve it the least but need it the most? God is love. Holiness and justice are not competing commitments. God has not chosen to turn his back on us or to punish us as our sins deserve. God has chosen to redeem us. Nothing requires God to condemn us, … Continue reading To Those Who Need It The Most…..
The primary reason there are 39,000+ Christian denominations is that each are trying to maintain “purity” of beliefs. Here is how that logic usually plays out: ” If we allow differences of opinions among us then we will soon reach a slippery slope where we will slide into heresy. For that reason we must be on the constant watch to exclude anyone among us who … Continue reading Institutional Purity…..
Here is a quote by Philip Gulley in his book entitled The Evolution of Faith – How God is creating a better Christianity that will be used for this discussion. To be sure, if one believes Christianity is primarily about worshipping Jesus, a faith that incorporates other religious traditions will be considered heretical. But if one believes Christianity is primarily about following the example of … Continue reading Following the Examples of Jesus….
I am going to start a series of posts around quotes from some of the many books I have read. One of the favorites is the book āIf God is Loveā by Philip Gulley. Here is the quote for today: The theology of love begins with the assumption that all people are Godās cherished children and deserving of love. āWe love because he first loved … Continue reading If God Is Loveā¦ (Part1)
I am going to use a quote from one of my favorite authors and that is Philip Gulley from his book The Evolution of Faith: How God is Creating a Better Christianity: Some Christians have thus concluded that we are our own worst enemies, that our best option for a viable future lies in our determination to embrace a rigid faith in order to stave … Continue reading Own Worst Enemies…
This post is about some of my sources of info for the study I am presently undertaking on church history and how we got to where we are today. I have read scores of books on church history the last few years and continue reading them for this study. I have mentioned already there is one that influenced me greatly and it is one of … Continue reading About My Sources…
This is the last installment for the review of the book “If God Is Love” that I brought over from my other blog. Ā This book was a major factor in forming my current view of the Church of Christ. <<<<<<< Post from August 16, 2011 >>>>>>>> This is a continuation of my discussions of the book entitled āWhen God Is Loveā by Philip Gulley and … Continue reading If God Is Love – Part 5
This is the third of five posts I made on the bookĀ If God is LoveĀ by Philip Gulley. I have slightly modified it from when it was written over at RedLetterLiving last July. This is a continuation of my expose of the book by Philip Gulley entitledĀ If God Is Love. In this post he talks about Dualistic Theologies. Dualistic theologies reduce the questions of life to … Continue reading If God is Loveā¦ Part 3
Here is an excerpt from a book entitled āIf the Church were Christianā by Philip Gulley. Several years ago I visited a museum and saw the skeleton of a dinosaur. As I read the plaque, I learned only a handful of the bones were original, that the remainder had been fabricated based on a paleontologistās extrapolation from the authentic bones. In many ways, this is … Continue reading Is the Church Christian?
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