Christian Faith in Our Time

Jersild responds to a fundamental issue in the theology of the church: what is the nature of our language in addressing the mysteries of our faith such as speaking of God or of the incarnation? Advocating a modest theology in facing the mystery of God and acknowledging the impact of postmodern sensibilities he lifts up the metaphorical language of Jesus as the key to a responsible theology. Jersild makes his case for a faith-based imagination centering on the life death and resurrection of Jesus as Gods man who brings a divine redemptive love to the human story. Theology does not give us a line in the sand that divides the saved from the lost nor is it the truth that makes all other religions false. This is a book for seekers as well as many church members who harbor questions and doubts about the churchs theology. Christian Faith in Our Time is one of those rare wide-ranging bold and provocative books that one immediately wants to read again. Paul Jersild is a theological adventurer taking on all key aspects of the faith challenging us to think again to see Christianity as a broad evolving and complex set of ideas that can shape even transform a life. Its a work of deep scholarship that reflects a lifetime of reading and thinking yet it remains wonderfully accessible to general readers. --Jay Parini D. E. Axinn Professor of English and Creative Writing Middlebury College; author of Jesus: The Human Face of God It is a privilege to read this book. Jersilds work is scholarly but readable radical and inspiring. He strikes me as a modern-day Luther grounded in the churchs tradition but not afraid to level an honest critique. Many objections raised against the churchs theology are effectively met and secular humanists receive an interpretation of the faith that is sorely needed today. --Arthur Diers Psychotherapist; recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Social Workers Toward the end of his distinguished theological career Paul Jersild could have written a two-volume study addressing the challenges of faith in this our postmodern world. Instead he has given us this short tightly argued but lucid testament of faith--and we can see all the more. Both seekers and experienced students of the Christian faith will benefit from an encounter with Jersilds deeply probing but consistently accessible explorations. --H. Paul Santmire author of Before Nature: A Christian Spirituality Paul Jersild is Professor Emeritus of Theology and Ethics at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia South Carolina. Among his published works are Spirit Ethics: Scripture and the Moral Life (2000) and The Nature of Our Humanity (2010).