All Set Free: How God is Revealed in Jesus and Why That is Really Good News, by Matthew J. Distefano
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All Set Free: How God is Revealed in Jesus and Why That is Really Good News, by Matthew J. Distefano
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What is the ending to the human drama? Will all be reconciled to God in the end? Does God demand an altar, a corpse, and blood? Or, rather, is the Christian God set apart from all the other gods throughout history? All Set Free sets out to answer some of the more difficult questions Christians today are faced with. It will challenge the Augustinian understanding of hell and the Calvinist understanding of the atonement; replacing them with a more Christ-centered understanding of both doctrines. This book will also use the work of René Girard in order to reshape how many understand "what it means to be human." Then and only then should we ask: "Who is God?" Come explore what has become Matthew's theological pilgrimage to this point. Come discover the God of peace. "All Set Free . . . is a challenging, provocative study which utilizes the mimetic theory of René Girard to reframe the perspective by which readers read the Bible." --Michael Hardin, Executive Director of Preaching Peace, editor/author of eight books, including The Jesus Driven Life "Distefano contributes an accessible yet accurate synthesis of how post-Evangelicals might integrate the discoveries of mimetic theory into an increasingly clear vision of the non-retributive God." --Bradley Jersak, Author of A More Christlike God "All Set Free . . . gives us a positive message of a nonviolent God whose deep attraction promises to make the rote prayer of 'your kingdom come...on earth' become thrilling human reality. A vital book for twenty-first-century Christianity." --Anthony W. Bartlett, Author, Co-Founder and Contributing Theologian at Theology and Peace "All Set Free is a welcome addition to the growing body of literature that challenges the inherited ideas of a violent God and a God for whom forgiveness and salvation depend on a propitiating death of Jesus." --J. Denny Weaver, Professor Emeritus of Religion, Bluffton University "In All Set Free, Distefano presents a way of reading the scriptures that will be new to many. And therein lies its value. We do not gain new insight by simply affirming what we already believe, we expand our thinking by exposing ourselves to ideas that might contradict our current beliefs. . . . A very timely book indeed." --Andre Rabe, Founder of Always Loved Ministries and Author of Desire Found Me Matthew J. Distefano is a regular contributor for The Raven Foundation. He is an outspoken advocate for global peace and non-violence. Matthew is married with one daughter and enjoys the great outdoors.
All Set Free: How God is Revealed in Jesus and Why That is Really Good News, by Matthew J. Distefano - Amazon Sales Rank: #544956 in eBooks
- Published on: 2015-10-23
- Released on: 2015-10-23
- Format: Kindle eBook
All Set Free: How God is Revealed in Jesus and Why That is Really Good News, by Matthew J. Distefano Review ''All Set Free . . . is a challenging, provocative study which utilizes the mimetic theory of René Girard to reframe the perspective by which readers read the Bible.''--Michael Hardin, Executive Director of Preaching Peace, editor/author of eight books, including The Jesus Driven Life''Distefano contributes an accessible yet accurate synthesis of how post-Evangelicals might integrate the discoveries of mimetic theory into an increasingly clear vision of the non-retributive God.''--Bradley Jersak, Author of A More Christlike God''All Set Free . . . gives us a positive message of a nonviolent God whose deep attraction promises to make the rote prayer of 'your kingdom come...on earth' become thrilling human reality. A vital book for twenty-first-century Christianity.''--Anthony W. Bartlett, Author, Co-Founder and Contributing Theologian at Theology and Peace''All Set Free is a welcome addition to the growing body of literature that challenges the inherited ideas of a violent God and a God for whom forgiveness and salvation depend on a propitiating death of Jesus.''--J. Denny Weaver, Professor Emeritus of Religion, Bluffton University''In All Set Free, Distefano presents a way of reading the scriptures that will be new to many. And therein lies its value. We do not gain new insight by simply affirming what we already believe, we expand our thinking by exposing ourselves to ideas that might contradict our current beliefs. . . . A very timely book indeed.''--Andre Rabe, Founder of Always Loved Ministries and Author of Desire Found Me'In All Set Free, Matthew Distefano articulates what an Evangelical theology might look like when shorn of it's Janus-faced deity. This is a challenging and provocative study which utilizes the mimetic theory of René Girard to reframe the perspective by which readers read the Bible. This will be the book you could put into the hands of any person seeking the post-Christian Abba of Jesus.''--Michael Hardin, Executive Director of Preaching Peace, editor/author of eight books, including The Jesus Driven Life''All Set Free is a fascinating integration of René Girard's mimetic theory with a biblical grounded Christian universalism. Every Sunday countless Evangelicals sing 'Come, Now is the Time to Worship.' Through a careful exposition of the relevant biblical passages, Distefano demonstrates the good news and literal truth of its chorus: 'One day every tongue will confess/One day every knee will bow. . .'''--Ric Machuga, Professor of Philosophy, Butte College; Author of Three Theological Mistakes: How to Correct Enlightenment Assumptions about God, Miracles, and Free Will''All Set Free is a splendid contribution to an ever-growing theological conversation springing from the work of René Girard, one that is liberating the Christian tradition from its deadly optics of violence in favor of something much more in character with Jesus's forgiving and loving Abba. Distefano makes the case for the reconciliation of all humanity with God, in a fluent, engaging style, rising often to eloquence, presenting multiple arguments to bring out the inconsistency in textual interpretations demanding eternal retributive punishment. Most of all, he gives us a positive message of a nonviolent God whose deep attraction promises to make the rote prayer of 'your kingdom come...on earth' become thrilling human reality. A vital book for twenty-first-century Christianity.''--Anthony W. Bartlett, Co-Founder and Contributing Theologian at Theology and Peace; Author of Virtually Christian: How Christ Changes Human Meaning and Makes Creation New --Wipf and Stock Publishers''In All Set Free, Matthew Distefano offers his readers many gifts. For those asking new and intellectually challenging questions about God, he provides a map of the terrain, including areas which other maps cordon off with 'here there be monsters.' For those whose religious communities have ostracized them for their questions, he offers vulnerability and companionship. This is not a lawyer's brief, defending a position at all costs. Neither is it an exposé, claiming to unmask deficient theologies. Rather, it displays the gift of joy that comes with discovering the God of peace.'' --Gregory A. Clark, Professor of Philosophy, North Park University''All Set Free begins with the assumption that the character of God is revealed in the nonviolent story of Jesus. The result is a merciful and loving God, who would not kill many thousands of people (as is often assumed from the traditional reading of the Old Testament) and who would not condemn millions of people to fiery torture after death for unending billions of years. Instead the book argues for a 'universal reconciliation' in which punishment is not rejected but serves a purifying function so that eventually all are reconciled to God. All Set Free is thus a welcome addition to the growing body of literature that challenges the inherited ideas of a violent God and a God for whom forgiveness and salvation depend on a propitiating death of Jesus. The assumption that drives the book obviously requires rethinking a number of inherited doctrines and also developing a new understanding of biblical interpretation. This book pursues these questions through a lens focused by René Girard. For those who want a Girardian analysis, this is a very interesting book, which concludes with a heart-felt invitation to live peacefully by living in and imitating the peace-loving God who is revealed in Jesus.''--J. Denny Weaver, Professor Emeritus of Religion, Bluffton University''So many of us are finding our way out of the penal atonement theory with all its prohibitions and implicit violence. In All Set Free, Matthew Distefano stands in this tradition and does it convincingly and with conviction. I hope many, sensing something wrong with Christianity, will read this book and be encouraged on their own journey toward a God who actually brings Good News.''--Tom Truby, Member of Theology & Peace; United Methodist pastor in the Oregon-Idaho Annual Conference''In All Set Free, Matthew Distefano presents a way of reading the scriptures that will be new to many. And therein lies its value. We do not gain new insight by simply affirming what we already believe, we expand our thinking by exposing ourselves to ideas that might contradict our current believes. Using René Girard's anthropological insights, Distefano creates a context in which to read the scriptures that exposes the god of violence as human projection, and unveils the Father of Jesus Christ as the inversion to this human projection. A very timely book indeed.''--Andre Rabe, Founder of Always Loved Ministries and Author of Desire Found Me''In All Set Free, Matthew Distefano contributes an accessible yet accurate synthesis of how post-Evangelicals might integrate the discoveries of mimetic theory into an increasingly clear vision of the non-retributive God. The author heeds Michael Hardin's call to hear Jesus say, 'Be not afraid,' to its conclusions in ultimate reconciliation. Distefano shows how such a move brings personal healing to those battered by the unChristlike gods. A helpful synthesis.''--Bradley Jersak, Author of A More Christlike God --Wipf and Stock Publishers
About the Author Matthew J. Distefano is a regular contributor for The Raven Foundation. He is an outspoken advocate for global peace and non-violence. Matthew is married with one daughter and enjoys the great outdoors.
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Most helpful customer reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful. A hopeful introduction to mimetic theory and universal restoration By Rob Grayson I'm delighted to have had the opportunity to read an advance copy of All Set Free and offer some brief comments.All Set Free is ambitious in its scope, all the more so for a first book. Matthew's ostensible goal is to make a case for "universal restoration" – the hope that ultimately, none will be lost and all will come to the reconciling knowledge and experience of God's all-encompassing love. He makes his case enthusiastically and winsomely, quoting liberally from scripture and other sources as well as drawing on his own experience. But along the way he also tackles a number of other key topics, among them what it means to read scripture in a Jesus-centred way and how to understand the atonement in view of God's non-violence revealed in Jesus. He also provides a broad introduction to René Girard's groundbreaking work on the origins of human culture and sacrifice and helps us see how our sacrificial origins have so often – and so damagingly – shaped our theology and our practice of community.This is, above all, a hopeful book that should open up new vistas of hopeful possibility to those who have too long felt stuck in a prison of religious certainty whose news often seems anything but good, and to those who have rejected the version of Christianity offered to them on the basis that the God portrayed to them appears to be at best hard to please and at worst downright dangerous. Matthew joins the growing chorus of voices calling for a more Christlike re-appraisal of the God of love and light. My hope is that reading his book will leave you with questions like "Can God really be that good?!" and whet your appetite for further study.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. Setting God Free By Punt Mucker I'm an unabashed Girardian (RIP, M. Girard) so Matthew Distefano's book contained few, if any, surprises. "All Set Free" is a lucid and sometimes "chatty" read: it never pretends to be an obfuscatory theological tome. And that's a Darn Good Thing.This is not to say that this slim volume lacks any power, precision or weight. Distefano tackles tough questions which have exercised thinking minds for centuries: Is God violent? Did God demand "satisfaction" or retribution by sending Jesus to the cross? Is "salvation" universal or only for the lucky minority? (Distefano doesn't use the word "lucky" but his deconstruction of Calvinistic election expertly lights up serious flaws in Neo-Fundamentalist arguments.)The position of "All Set Free" is present in the title: Distefano has no doubt - nor do I - that the living God is non-violent, peace-loving and -seeking and the active practitioner of reconciliation and restorative justice, not the monstrous creation of human minds who traffic in blood, violence and retribution, subsequently projecting our horror onto the Creator.My only quibble is with Distefano's treatment of God's justice, which seems to defy the assertion that God is non-violent. However, in the context of proposing an alternative but equally-valid view of Mediaeval (but non-scriptural) notions of hell, Distefano rehearses the arguments against annihilation and, specifically, eternal conscious torment with great aplomb and insight.In short, Distefano knows his stuff and does an excellent job of distilling it into a clear and readable form. Nor should the book's slimness cause anyone to think that it is "slight": it is much harder to achieve such disciplined modulation than to fling wide the theological dictionary and pour out thousands upon thousands of words. Both kinds of writing have their place. "All Set Free" is an excellent place to begin, which is not "damning with faint praise"!Many will in any case find the book challenging. My hope is that those who are beginning truly to love the living God with all their mind will find in Matthew Distefano's work exactly the hope that I believe Jesus came to offer humankind.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. From Fear to Freedom By Lindsey Fear is a terrible prison. Navigating the dark corridors of confusion and anxiety, searching for clarity and understanding and relief only to run into walls of self-doubt and torturous demons haunting your consciousness with the most terrifying “what ifs,” living in fear can be paralyzing, isolating, and self-diminishing. When the cause of such fear is anxiety about the nature or existence of God, it can be overwhelming, because the consequences it threatens are eternal. For one who struggles to believe in a God who is described by many to be both the very source of love and the author of the most excruciating eternal torments, admitting such fear is in itself a source of anxiety. In apprehension of isolating yourself by expressing worries no one else seems to acknowledge, in trepidation of essentially sealing a dreaded fate by admitting aloud that you just don’t know – when the horrors of hell for disbelieving somehow seem more palpable than the God whose blend of love and torture is impossible to comprehend – wrestling with such doubt, like Jacob in the Jabbok, can feel like drowning.Although I come from a very different background within the Christian tradition than author Matthew Distefano, he has articulately expressed the fear that once held me captive – fear of my own unbelief, fear of hell, fear of God. But much more, he has succinctly and eloquently shone a light on his journey to the perfect Love that casts out such fear. The revelation of God’s universal healing and reconciling love in Jesus is undoubtedly a gift of grace, but Matthew has also put much effort into the metanoia – the transformation through the renewal of mind -- that was begun in him by Christ. His assurance that God’s love enfolds everyone has come through careful study of theology, anthropology, hermeneutics, and the historical context of Jesus’s life and ministry. I saw parallels to my own journey while reading this book, and find that it both enhances my understanding of God’s love and helps me to communicate to others the amazing process of moving from anxiety to adoration and distress to discipleship. Should you be haunted by frightening interpretations of scripture or perplexed by the violence of God, reading this book with an open heart and mind (and an open Bible!) will not only illumine Matthew’s journey from fear to freedom, but may well propel you on a journey of your own! I know it is Matthew’s hope, and mine as well, that all will one day be "All Set Free."
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