The God Who Never Turns Away: Bradley Jersak on Love, Wrath, and the Gospel in Chairs

Welcome to The Evolutionary Revolutionary: Opti-Mystic Ways That Work where mystics meet misfits and inner transformation collides with radical action. I'm Michael Morrell, and today I'm sitting down with Dr. Bradley Jersak, Principal and Dean of Theology and Culture at St. Stephen's University, whose theological courage has helped countless people reimagine the God revealed in Jesus Christ. In this conversation, Bradley shares the stunning moment when—while praying about something else entirely—he heard a voice say: "Stop telling people I was punishing my son. That's not what was happening." That arresting thought sent him back to Scripture with new eyes, eventually leading to a confrontation with his Orthodox Archbishop who looked at him and said: "You thought God couldn't forgive without appeasing his wrath by punishing his firstborn son? I see your problem. You believe in Molech." • The Gospel in Chairs: Bradley's viral presentation contrasting two visions of salvation: one where God turns away from us until Christ's punishment satisfies divine wrath, and another where God never turns away at all, always toward us, always for us. • Redefining Divine Wrath: What if wrath isn't God's retributive punishment but the intrinsic consequences of refusing to live in God's mercies? Brad walks us through how early Church fathers read violent Old Testament passages and why literalism betrays the text. • The Cross as Identification, Not Substitution: Hear the pastoral story of a woman struggling with addiction who, in prayer, saw Jesus fill a syringe and inject himself with her drugs. It's a haunting image of Christ's radical identification with our suffering—and his power to exchange our poverty for his abundance. • Universal Reconciliation: Brad makes his case: "I'm not 'leaning toward' universalism—I'm fully convinced Jesus was right when he said if he's lifted up, he will draw all people to himself." We wrestle with human freedom, divine love, and what happens when perfect love encounters us beyond death. • Navigating Empire as Peacemakers: With ICE raids, climate rollbacks, and the criminalization of compassion, how do we resist without mirroring the evil we oppose? Brad offers hard-won wisdom on inner transformation, prophetic minorities, and why megachurches won't save us but small communities of love might. Resources featured for this episode: • St. Stephen's University MA Programs: ssu.ca/programs/peace-justice • Books by Bradley Jersak: https://bradjersak.com/books • SSU's Summer School is here! Take a summer course for credit or simpy for enrichment: https://www.ssu.ca/summerschool (Study with Bradley Jersak, Lisa Sharon Harper, Shane Claiborne, Randy Woodley, Joash Thomas and more) The Evolutionary Resvolutioary exists at the intersection of esoteric depth, mesoteric healing, and exoteric action—exploring contemplative practice, relational transformation, and community organizing with artists and musicians, preachers and prophets, theologians and troublemakers. Subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts, and join our newsletter community at https://mikemorrell.org/bonuschapter for weekly explorations of opti-mystic ways that actually work. We were made for these times. Let's discover together what emerges at the intersection of anticipation, imagination, and radical acceptance!