All Set Free - Page 4 of 17 - None Are Free Unless All Are Free

5 Reasons People Aren’t Drawn to Christ

April 5, 2018 By Matthew Distefano

The other day, I made a phallic joke on my Facebook page. It was generally well received. However, a few people didn’t like it. One person even went so far as to offer the following comment: “Wow. Is this all you guys could come up with to talk about? It’s honestly no wonder people aren’t drawn to Christ when this is the type of crap you choose to focus on. It’s insulting and completely anti-Christ.” Now, I will admit that… Read more

The Consequences of a Fear-Based Worldview

April 2, 2018 By Matthew Distefano

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I used to live in fear. Fear of God. Fear of a Rapture that I may or may not be included in. Fear that my friends and family would one day be tormented for all eternity. Fear that I may be tortured as well. Fear. My fear was so palpable, even, that it drove me absolutely insane. I can, to this day, still recall the horrific nightmares that so often plagued my young and impressionable mind. I can recall being… Read more

Introducing “Heretic!” Out April 1

March 28, 2018 By Matthew Distefano

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I wanted to take a moment to introduce my forthcoming book Heretic! An LGBTQ-Affirming, Divine-Violence Denying Christian Universalist’s Responses to Some of Evangelical Christianity’s Most Pressing Concerns. It comes out April 1 on Quoir Publishing (not an April fool’s joke), and can be purchased from Amazon and any other online retailers. It is a book that I’m really excited about, not only because I wrote it (duh!), but because throughout all of April, my royalties will be donated to… Read more

The Power of Palm Sunday

March 23, 2018 By Matthew Distefano

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We all love power. We long for it, desire it, even covet it. Power gives us a sense of control, a sense of stability and permanence. It makes us feel like heroic conquerors, that we can stand over and against situations and people we don’t like, with our hands raised high like the champion boxers we think we are. And even when we ourselves cannot exert this power, we tend to turn toward those who can do it for us…. Read more

3 Questions for Annihilationists

March 21, 2018 By Matthew Distefano

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As filmmaker Kevin Miller so poignantly points out in his documentary “Hellbound?” there are basically 3 positions Christians can take when it comes to eschatological matters: Infernalism, Annihilationism/Conditional Immortality, and Universalism. The reason for this is that the Bible, on the surface at least, includes passages that argue for all 3. In other words, there are passages that seem to suggest some humans will be tortured for time-everlasting (Infernalism), that some will perish entirely (Conditional Immortality), and that all will… Read more

The Myth of a Violent Jesus: Part 3, The Return

March 17, 2018 By Matthew Distefano

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This will be the final installment of “The Myth of a Violent Jesus” series. Parts 1 and 2 can be found by clicking these links: Part 1: The Temple Incident Part 2: Swords In this final entry, we are going to discuss the mother of them all: The Return of Christ. We’ll conclude with a discussion about Jesus’ return because, well, a large number of Christians believe that if Jesus is violent at all, it will be on its fullest… Read more

The Myth of a Violent Jesus: Part 2, Swords

March 12, 2018 By Matthew Distefano

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In Part 1, we briefly covered the so-called “cleansing of the Temple,” arguing for an interpretation that removes violence from Jesus. We’ll do something similar in this piece. Only we’ll be discussing those passages that, on the surface at least, seem to imply that Jesus not only condones violence, but commands it. The first passage comes from Matthew 10:34–36, and reads: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring… Read more

The Myth of a Violent Jesus: Part 1, The Temple Incident

March 8, 2018 By Matthew Distefano

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It’s fascinating how many Christians argue for a violent Jesus. In spite of the fact that all throughout his ministry, Jesus told his listeners to do things like love their enemies, bless those who persecute them, turn the other cheek, and so on, some Jesus-followers still insist that Jesus was, in so many ways, okay with violence. One place they generally turn to as proof is the so-called “cleansing of the Temple” (cf. Mark 11:15–19, 27–33; Matt 21:12–17, 23–27; Luke… Read more

Holy Scriptures and Faith-Based Violence: A Quiz

March 2, 2018 By Matthew Distefano

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I’ve noticed an odd phenomenon among some Christians when it comes to violence and the Scriptures. On the one hand, they will vehemently denounce both the violence that some Muslims do in the name of Allah, as well as the violence espoused in the Qur’an, but on the other, they will refuse to acknowledge that Christians have a storied history of engaging in just as much violence—all justified by Scripture. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this, but I have,… Read more

In the World, Not of the World: Some Initial Reflections After Yet Another Shooting

February 21, 2018 By Matthew Distefano

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I apologize for it taking me so long to comment on the most recent school shooting. Frankly, I didn’t even know what the hell to say. But, after some reflection, what became clear to me was, instead of just talking about the shooting directly, I needed to first say something about what it means to be a follower of Jesus, what it means to be “in the world, not of the world.” Hopefully by the end of this piece, it… Read more