Here’s what I’ve learned since then. The people who scan the heavens and pore over the Bible looking for the return of Jesus aren’t any more faithful, any more Christian, any more privy to the will of God, than the rest of us. Continue reading A Miraculous Intervention…
Let’s open up the new series with a BANG! This question was posed to my Quaker mentor, Philip Gulley, not too long ago. In an article he wrote several years before this recent question, his answer was “yes”. In response … Continue reading Quakerism Re-visited – Part 1: Did God Exist Before Man?
This post is a teaser for a new, or at least updated, special series coming to RJsCorner soon about the Quaker version of Christianity. I must admit that I am pro-life in all regards. The Quaker belief that “There is … Continue reading About War & Other Such Things
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. … Continue reading Philip Gulley – The Examples Of Jesus
The Significance Of Universal Salvation…. 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 … Continue reading Revisit – The Significance Of Universal Salvation…. 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 … 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. … 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. … 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 … Continue reading If God Is Love
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 man’s sinfulness. I, like many others I’m sure, thought that atonement was a foundational issue with Jesus and the early church. In reality it was post-Constantine theologians who gave us the doctrine of original sin and the blood atonement, the belief that Jesus came to earth solely for the purpose of dying for our sins, was a doctrine not fully developed in the church … 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 didn’t consider this for many years. I actually thought my experiences rare. I was one of the chosen. I was special. Now I know the truth. God whispers his love in every ear. He isn’t interested in declaring his love to a select few. He doesn’t limit his presence to Vatican City, to the halls of seminaries, to … Continue reading God Whispers In Every Ear..
The following is part 2 of a series of posts which will subsequently be compiled as an In-Depth report here on RJsCorner came from my other blog RedLetterLiving.net. “How can you believe that God’s grace isn’t sufficient, that many of God’s children will languish in hell forever, that they’ll never be restored to their Father, that evil will claim victory in so many lives? How can you believe that?” Gulley, Philip; Mulholland, James (2009-03-17). If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person Some think the idea of universal salvation is a new thing but in reality it goes … Continue reading God’s Wrath vs. God’s Grace…….
After many years of resistance and finally accepting God’s 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. 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. That is just not the God that I have come to know. I grew up in a very sheltered life in a small midwest town. There were no visible minorities there and there certainly were … 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 author 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 grace—this unconditional love of God—if 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 … Continue reading To Those Who Need It The Most…..
I think for too long we’ve 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, well then, what would change? … We aren’t bringing Jesus into our lives: he’s welcoming us into his life. Years later, I still feel like the only place that makes sense is in his presence, … 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 am spiritual but not currently aligned with any particular religious organization. At the same time I try to be a faithful follower of the teachings of Jesus Christ. That might be a dichotomy to some but not to me. I just believe that religious organizations today are too mired down in their dogma and theology that is simply … Continue reading This Christmas Season…
A theology of love begins with the assumption that all people are God’s cherished children and deserving of love. “We love because he first loved us. Those who say ‘I love God,’ 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 seen” (1 John 4:19–20). Jesus demonstrated his love for the outcasts, those many considered unlovable. Regrettably, many Christians have been unwilling to adopt the ethic of Jesus—a theology of inclusion, acceptance, and love. We’ve been unwilling to love and … 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 person’s ability to quote Scripture. His interest was in a person’s ability to hear God’s voice. He said, “He who belongs to God hears what God says” (John 8:47). To limit the word of God to the written word is to muzzle God. Gulley, Philip; Mulholland, James (2009-03-17). If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person 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 severely that way. I guess the lingering doubt has to do with all the years that it was drilled into my head that Jesus’ sole purpose for coming was to die for me a sinner. … 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, “Are you saved?” 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 another question. The second question varied depending on the person. Many asked, “Have you repented of your sins and accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior?” Some asked, “Do you belong to a Bible-believing church?” Others … Continue reading Are You Saved???
For what good is grace—this unconditional love of God—if 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, so God has not. Rather, in his sovereign freedom, he waits patiently for the day of our redemption. Gulley, Philip; Mulholland, James (2009-03-17). If Grace Is True: Why God Will Save Every Person (Plus) (pp. … Continue reading To Those Who Need It The Most…..
RJ's Corner - Having My Say 