The Evangelical Universalist Forum

Healing the Gospel by Derek Flood

Thanks for this well written review Andrew. I discovered Derek’s blog The Rebel God a couple months ago and I really appreciate his contribution and insights. It resonates with my understanding of the gospel and it comes as a breathe of fresh air to me. I definitely intend to read The Healing of the Gospel.

Dave

Good review, Rev! :smiley:

Thanks for the review Andrew!

I wanted to mention that, in case folks were interested, I have a new webpage for the book now with sample chapters, a Q&A, and other goodies from the book:

therebelgod.com/healingthegospel.htm

cheers,
Derek

Wow, Andrew – your review is so well-written that I want to read a book written by YOU. :wink:

Since you say it’s short, maybe I’ll get it. I have a load of books on the atonement that aren’t short, and so I still haven’t finished more than a couple of them. They tend to get, well, kind of dry and sawdusty, some of them, and though I’m interested, I don’t really ENJOY reading with a dictionary in one hand and the book in the other – especially in the bathtub! And of course some words aren’t IN the dictionary (because I don’t want to carry the BIG one into the bathtub with me :laughing: and then I have to look them up on the internet . . . .

BUT . . . you speak of helpful charts . . . my default choice is to get a book on kindle, but I don’t like kindle for books with any significant illustrations. What do you think?

Thanks for your great review!

Love, Cindy

Andrew, you were the one that put me onto Derek’s site awhile back. I just poured over his articles, loved them! They were so instrumental in helping me move away from a P.S.A view. I’m excited to see he has a new book out that can help me define better this shift in understanding so I can share it with others. I, too, love your review.

Cindy, of all things, don’t take your Kindle into the bathtub. :laughing:

Cindy you are too funny! I might possibly have a book in me - don’t they say everyone has? Billie and I are knocking some ideas around, the problem is finding time to write.
Amy - that’s good advice, about the kindle I mean :slight_smile:

Or print books either, come to think of it. :wink:

Alex has started a Q&A session with Derek Flood here on the forum in this other thread, for anyone who’s interested. :slight_smile:

Oh no, I just looked up Derek’s book on Amazon and realized it’s also written by Brian McClaren?! I wish it didn’t have his name on the book. I guess for some circles this is a positive thing, but the people I’d want to read it are very polorized and wouldn’t read anything with McClarens name on it. :confused:

Cindy, I don’t have a kindle machine as such but I do have the kindle application on my android tablet. The tables display pretty well on that, although I have to use left and right arrow keys to read all the content. They are easier to read in the paper copy.

Amy, Brian McLaren only wrote the foreword; the book is all Derek’s work. I think the kind of people you are talking about would probably toss Derek’s book away after the first few pages of chapter 1 anyway - even if the foreword was by Don Carson or JI Packer (as if!) :laughing:

Sounds like a good book :slight_smile: I’ll have to check this one out sometime :slight_smile:

Hi Andrew

Thanks for your excellent review, and for bringing Derek, his blog and his book to our attention. Have just posted on the other thread to thank Derek himself - his writings have been a huge inspiration to me over the years.

As Cindy says, you write superbly. Why *not *write a book, my friend?! I’ve done it. Twice. Both works of fiction that I feel quite sure would one day be looked back on in the way we now look back on, say, *The Catcher in the Rye *or *The Pickwick Papers *- stupendous first novels that have had a seminal impact on the world. Or at least they would have been, had the ignoramuses who run the British publishing industry not had the blindly stupid temerity to send them both back with ‘rejected’ stamped across them in large red letters! :laughing:

Actually, Andrew, writing a book is bloody hard work. And I should imagine writing a *good *one is even harder! :laughing:

And I’m with you on the typos thing. I have to go back and re-edit my posts if I find I’ve put a comma in the wrong place. Must be some literary version of OCD! :laughing:

Peace and love to you sir

Johnny

Obsessive Comma Disorder?

:laughing:

I just ordered a copy last night :slight_smile:

When I get around to reading it, I’ll post a review here, if the mood strikes me :wink:

I have already read several of Derek Flood’s articles on the atonement. This is precisely my view, and I when I read those articles, I shouted Hallelujah! It seems that few people comprehend the purpose of Christ’s death.

Thanks for pointing us to this book, Rev. Tweedy. I purchased a copy for Kindle, and 3 physical copies to share with others.

What a wonderful discovery! That there are other people who share with me the Biblical view of the gospel.

Yes, the “gospel” which proclaims Jesus as appeasing by His death a wrathful, punishing God in order to save us from hell — the grossly distorted view of penal substitution— needs healing indeed! Or maybe it can’t be healed. Perhaps it needs replacement by the true gospel.

Check out my signature statement below. George MacDonald understood the true gospel also.

George MacDonald also believed pretty strongly in punishment of sinners for sin by God (in various modes and to various degrees including extreme degrees, pre and post-mortem).

Which Derek doesn’t seem to believe is true at all. But he’s gamely engaging in a Q&A session with forum members that, regardless of our disagreements, I can definitely recommend to members here. So if anyone wants to read more from him on that topic, or even ask him questions on it, proceed! :slight_smile: :sunglasses:

I’ll second that Andrew. Take the time! Just do it!

Also, I just purchased the Kindle version and am looking forward to reading it.

I cannot thank you enough Andrew for introducing me to Derek Flood’s "Penal Substitution vs Christus Victor when it was on the internet as a draft before being published. This was September 2010 while you were her as Chaplain at St George’s in Barcewlona. I printed the whole four parts and every day I lunched by myself totally absorbed and enthralled in reading Derk Flood’s work. It was a veritable awakening for me answering many questions and doubts about my journey of faith. I was bowled over totally and astonished to discover myself born again as if I had been led to take a huge jump forward. So Praise the Lord, thank you again, and thanks to Derek Flood, and above thanks to the Bon Dieu!!