Stricken by God?: Nonviolent Identification and the Victory of Christ [Paperback]

Brad Jersak (Editor), Michael Hardin (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2007

Did God really pour out his wrath against sin on his Son to satisfy his own need for justice? Or did God-in-Christ forgive the world even as it unleashed its wrath against him? Was Christs sacrifice the ultimate fulfillment of Gods demand for redemptive bloodshed? Or was the cross Gods great No to that whole system? This distinctively panoramic volume offers fresh perspectives on these and other difficult questions reemerging throughout the church today. Contributors: James Alison, Kharalambos Anstall, Mark D. Baker, Sharon Baker, Anthony Bartlett, Marcus Borg, Ronald S. Dart, E. Robert Ekblad, Andrew P. Klager, Brita Miko, C. F. D. Moule, Wayne Northey, Nathan Rieger, Richard Rohr, Miroslav Volf, J. Denny Weaver, Rowan Williams, N. T. Wright

Product Details

• Paperback: 527 pages
• Publisher: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (December 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 080286287X
• ISBN-13: 978-0802862877
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #751,726 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hornets? Plagues?, February 27, 2008

By 

Mary McKinney "Mary on the Prairie" (DeKalb, Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stricken by God?: Nonviolent Identification and the Victory of Christ (Paperback)

I've found this book to be helpful in addressing the tectonic shift occurring between atonement theories such as penal substitution and its cousins and siblings and what is emerging due to a closer look at the text. In reading other reviews it is clear that the book stirs a hornets' nest. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised at the ferocity with which proponents of decaying atonement theories hang on in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

Several reviewers urge us to read this book or that in lieu of a compendium such as this. Such counsel might be appropriate for members of the academy. As pastor of a congregation, this book employs my reading time efficiently and creatively. I am not bothered that some of the essays do not appear here for the first time.

For anyone struggling under the burden of a distorted image of who the God of the Bible is, I suggest this book with its many references to scripture. Denny Weaver's summary in light of the parable of the prodigal son is worth the price of admission!

Anyone ensconced in 19th and 20th century categories of liberal/conservative, modernist/fundamentalist may find these categories outmoded when using this text. One need not quote Shakespeare's "A Plague on both your houses." These houses are rickety at best and are falling w/out a plague. Jesus invites us, Come unto me all ye who labor and are heavy laden." The book is a pathway to that joy.

30 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Has the church caricatured God?, February 27, 2008

By 

John K. Stoner (Akron, Pennsylvania, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stricken by God?: Nonviolent Identification and the Victory of Christ (Paperback)

Brad Jersak, co-editor of this book, writes some of the reasons why the church must review its prevailing theology of atonement. They include:

This theology says sin must be paid back by punishment--the torment of the sinner satisfies God's need for wrath. The justice he requires is specifically retributive.

It paints God as retributive--the picture of God derived from penal substitution looks vindictive and untrustworthy, repulsed by sinners and rather different than the the Father's heart as portrayed perfectly by Jesus.

It creates atheists--authors like Steve Chalke see in penal substitution a caricature of God who would be guilty of "cosmic child abuse." An Orthodox Archbishop says: "A god who demands the child-sacrifice of his own son to satiate his own wrath? That is not Jehovah; that is Molech. God was not punishing Christ on the Cross; he was IN Christ, reconciling the world to Himself."

Devout and wise thinkers address these and other questions in the book. Don't fail to read the essays by Miroslav Volf, Brita Miko and Sharon Baker. They will give you inspired thoughts on how to deal with enemies. I'll let Sharon Baker's words conclude this short review:

"I dare to dream of a world dis-armed by the reconciling repetition of God's forgiving justice re-enacted in the lives of Christ's followers throughout the world. Such extravagant forgiveness, reconciliation, and love serve justice and truly satisfy God. In other words, to serve justice through forgiveness satisfies God--God is satisfied through forgiveness by which justice and mercy redeem creation and fulfill God's promise of restoration for all."

5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important Book for Christians, November 9, 2009

By 

Lloyd L. Wilson "llw" (Woodland, NC, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Stricken by God?: Nonviolent Identification and the Victory of Christ (Paperback)

Excellent collection of essays by a range of theologians concerned with envisioning an atonement free of divinely-sanctioned violence.