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Saints in the Arms of a Happy God
Could it be that the angry, moral monster who masquerades as the Abba of Jesus is just a
projection of human angst and fear onto a God who is passionately and eternally in love with the human race? Could it be that He has never been anything but on our side and working for our betterment? Is it possible that He did not need to be convinced, through bloody sacrifice or otherwise, that we were worthy of His attention and fellowship? Is it possible that our sins never truly separated us from Him, but simply caused us to run and separate ourselves from the One Who was only ever running towards us in compassion and love? Could it be that God has far better things to say to humanity then “turn or burn”? Could it be that He is not a God Who includes some while excluding others? Could it be that He loves all equally, and that He does not divide the human race up into categories of “us” and “them”?
Could it be that God actually looks like...Jesus?
In Saints in the Arms of a Happy God Jeff Turner contends for all of this and more. For years we’ve been conditioned to see ourselves as mere sinners in the hands of an angry God, but the truth; the astounding, breathtaking and beautiful truth, is that we are Saints in the Arms of a Happy God! From the atonement, to hell, to the wrath of God, no doctrinal stone is left unturned as the true nature of God, as shown through the person of Jesus Christ, is explored and mined for all of its riches.
So buckle up, check your religious preconceptions at the door, and get ready for a thrilling journey into the heart of a God who is defined, not by His hatred for sin or by an affinity for retributive justice, but by a Love that is far deeper than we’ve dared to dream.
projection of human angst and fear onto a God who is passionately and eternally in love with the human race? Could it be that He has never been anything but on our side and working for our betterment? Is it possible that He did not need to be convinced, through bloody sacrifice or otherwise, that we were worthy of His attention and fellowship? Is it possible that our sins never truly separated us from Him, but simply caused us to run and separate ourselves from the One Who was only ever running towards us in compassion and love? Could it be that God has far better things to say to humanity then “turn or burn”? Could it be that He is not a God Who includes some while excluding others? Could it be that He loves all equally, and that He does not divide the human race up into categories of “us” and “them”?
Could it be that God actually looks like...Jesus?
In Saints in the Arms of a Happy God Jeff Turner contends for all of this and more. For years we’ve been conditioned to see ourselves as mere sinners in the hands of an angry God, but the truth; the astounding, breathtaking and beautiful truth, is that we are Saints in the Arms of a Happy God! From the atonement, to hell, to the wrath of God, no doctrinal stone is left unturned as the true nature of God, as shown through the person of Jesus Christ, is explored and mined for all of its riches.
So buckle up, check your religious preconceptions at the door, and get ready for a thrilling journey into the heart of a God who is defined, not by His hatred for sin or by an affinity for retributive justice, but by a Love that is far deeper than we’ve dared to dream.
437 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 16, 2014
37 people are currently reading
86 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 22, 2016
I would be the first to say that I am very picky with Christian books. Solely because most of them are very cliche and very rehearsed, but this one caught me by surprise! Now I have a understanding about the grace of God and how relevant it is to today. I have read many similar books that talked about the misconceptions about his character. Yet this one was unique in it's own way cause I thought that I could not be challenged anymore but this author proved me wrong. Tackling controversial things such as hell, the crucifixion, the wrath of God, etc. I loved how Jeff tone was firm but yet gentle, he was always open to questions that he may not know.
If there is one thing that I was not behind was how repetitive it sounded on some parts. Some chapters were rehashed from the previous one. Not really a bad thing, but it could have been way better if some things did not seem repeated in the last chapter. I liked how the author used his own vivid examples to show how different God was, contrast to the perception of people have of Him.
Favorite part of this book was the whole chapter about "us first them". It us no such thing when it comes to the Gospel. God loves at everyone the same way objectively, we have been brought near by His atonement.
This book really was a four, but rounded it up due to the nature of the book.
As the author puts it, we are not sinners in the arms of an angry God but saints in the arms of a Happy God!
If there is one thing that I was not behind was how repetitive it sounded on some parts. Some chapters were rehashed from the previous one. Not really a bad thing, but it could have been way better if some things did not seem repeated in the last chapter. I liked how the author used his own vivid examples to show how different God was, contrast to the perception of people have of Him.
Favorite part of this book was the whole chapter about "us first them". It us no such thing when it comes to the Gospel. God loves at everyone the same way objectively, we have been brought near by His atonement.
This book really was a four, but rounded it up due to the nature of the book.
As the author puts it, we are not sinners in the arms of an angry God but saints in the arms of a Happy God!
September 12, 2014
Jeff Turner lays out a narrative to the nature of God, and the atonement of Jesus Christ that has been misunderstood by many in the Christian community. It was a refreshing retelling of the Gospel Narrative, that challenges some of our violent expectations of God.
February 27, 2022
This book covered a lot of my journey from being raised to serve an asshole god who sought to punish/control me. Now, I serve the God: Love; and Love is on my side. It works much better. Towards the middle of the book, it got repetitive, and Jeff goes over a lot of the same material, perhaps to counter arguments I don't know about. Good stuff. Particularly for people raised on fire and brimstone, hearing that God loves them and supports them can be life changing.
January 22, 2018
God Loves to Relate to you
Get this book. Let it mess with your view of God. Let it open your spirit to the truth that God is not angry with you not had he ever been. So deep and timely for the church.
Get this book. Let it mess with your view of God. Let it open your spirit to the truth that God is not angry with you not had he ever been. So deep and timely for the church.
September 24, 2014
"When we take the words of Christ regarding a 2,000-year old judgment and attempt to fit them into our modern presentation of the Gospel, we end up presenting something that is absolutely irrelevant to our time. When we seek to make Christ's words mean something other than what they originally meant, we end up transmitting to our generation, a false and frightening view of God that, far from causing them to run to Him, actually causes them to run as fast as they can in the opposite direction."
Though this book introduced concepts that I've learned from other books, I appreciated the fact that it expanded on those concepts and introduced new ideas. Through this book, I was able to learn that, though some of today's ministers preach fire and brimstone, there is no fire and brimstone in The Bible, and very little is said of Hell. This book explains that The Bible mentions three words synonymous with Hell, but none of them are the types of hell that evoke visions of fire and brimstone. The first is Sheol to which Jesus descended, following his death, and offered those there eternal life. The second is Hades, which only appeared in The Bible, due to the Greek mythological influences of the times. The final reference to any sort of hell was Gehenna. Gehenna was an actual place outside the city of Jerusalem. It was basically a landfill -- a huge pit that, due to the garbage, oils, chemicals, etc., blazed day and night. Turner explains that this was used for the deposit of garbage, dead animals, and occasionally dead people. When the Romans invaded Jerusalem, there were so many bodies that they, too, were deposited in Gehenna.
Turner also uses Biblical verses to explain how the Godhead (The Trinity) came into existence. This book answered a question that I've asked several ministers, who were unable to provide an answer. If Adam and Eve had three sons, how was the earth populated, unless they had sex with their mother, Eve? Turner provides evidence in this book that Adam and Eve had other children. I was amazed at how he is able to use the Bible to put things back into perspective. He would make an excellent detective.
Though this book introduced concepts that I've learned from other books, I appreciated the fact that it expanded on those concepts and introduced new ideas. Through this book, I was able to learn that, though some of today's ministers preach fire and brimstone, there is no fire and brimstone in The Bible, and very little is said of Hell. This book explains that The Bible mentions three words synonymous with Hell, but none of them are the types of hell that evoke visions of fire and brimstone. The first is Sheol to which Jesus descended, following his death, and offered those there eternal life. The second is Hades, which only appeared in The Bible, due to the Greek mythological influences of the times. The final reference to any sort of hell was Gehenna. Gehenna was an actual place outside the city of Jerusalem. It was basically a landfill -- a huge pit that, due to the garbage, oils, chemicals, etc., blazed day and night. Turner explains that this was used for the deposit of garbage, dead animals, and occasionally dead people. When the Romans invaded Jerusalem, there were so many bodies that they, too, were deposited in Gehenna.
Turner also uses Biblical verses to explain how the Godhead (The Trinity) came into existence. This book answered a question that I've asked several ministers, who were unable to provide an answer. If Adam and Eve had three sons, how was the earth populated, unless they had sex with their mother, Eve? Turner provides evidence in this book that Adam and Eve had other children. I was amazed at how he is able to use the Bible to put things back into perspective. He would make an excellent detective.
June 21, 2014
Here Jeff masterfully argues a case for the goodness of The God of the Gospel, a happy God who is for the human race, and he does so with memorable stories, scholarly exegesis, and powerful logic. This book is a compelling and challenging case for a redefinition of the Gospel as good news of great joy rather than okay news of sort-of-glad-tidings.
Here Jeff specifically (and masterfully) argues against the commonly held penal substitutionary theory of atonement, the nature of God as an angry mythological deity, and what he called the "abandonment" theory (along with a few chapters on hell). Everything is argued with loads of scriptures, is scholarly handled, and is presented in a clear manner. For anyone looking for a hard hitting argument against this topics I recommend this book.
At the heart of it, Saints in the Hands of a Happy God is a beautifully freeing book aimed towards liberating those stuck in bondage and fear, cowering before an angry god. It's clear that Jeff has many years of insider experience with hell fire preaching, with it's fierce Jonathan Edwards like style of judgement. That experience gives a practical backdrop to the whole of this book, setting it up to be a reforming and revolutionary book for the church today. Through this book you are invited over and over again to repent (metanoia, change you mind) and see that God is good, He is for you, He loves you, He is not like you've thought, and He has included you in His fellowship. In other words, you're invited to stand awestruck at the gospel: the glad tidings of a happy God!
Here Jeff specifically (and masterfully) argues against the commonly held penal substitutionary theory of atonement, the nature of God as an angry mythological deity, and what he called the "abandonment" theory (along with a few chapters on hell). Everything is argued with loads of scriptures, is scholarly handled, and is presented in a clear manner. For anyone looking for a hard hitting argument against this topics I recommend this book.
At the heart of it, Saints in the Hands of a Happy God is a beautifully freeing book aimed towards liberating those stuck in bondage and fear, cowering before an angry god. It's clear that Jeff has many years of insider experience with hell fire preaching, with it's fierce Jonathan Edwards like style of judgement. That experience gives a practical backdrop to the whole of this book, setting it up to be a reforming and revolutionary book for the church today. Through this book you are invited over and over again to repent (metanoia, change you mind) and see that God is good, He is for you, He loves you, He is not like you've thought, and He has included you in His fellowship. In other words, you're invited to stand awestruck at the gospel: the glad tidings of a happy God!
December 8, 2014
We are SAINTS IN THE ARMS OF A HAPPY GOD.
I liked this book. Mr Turner has did a lot of studying for this book over several years. He shares his revelation of a very happy GOD that loves us unconditionally. A GOD that does not see them and us but only us. A GOD that loves His creation more than we can even imagine. If we can grasp this what a difference it would make in this world. The only thing that kept me from giving 5 stars is that he does go into great lengths to get each question or point across, a little repetitive. But at the same time we need to have things repeated to get it. A lot of information to digest. Take your time to do just that. We have a awesome GOD.
I liked this book. Mr Turner has did a lot of studying for this book over several years. He shares his revelation of a very happy GOD that loves us unconditionally. A GOD that does not see them and us but only us. A GOD that loves His creation more than we can even imagine. If we can grasp this what a difference it would make in this world. The only thing that kept me from giving 5 stars is that he does go into great lengths to get each question or point across, a little repetitive. But at the same time we need to have things repeated to get it. A lot of information to digest. Take your time to do just that. We have a awesome GOD.
February 17, 2015
This needs an editor, SO badly!
March 31, 2016
Eye opening
This book helped me to realize just who God revealed in Jesus really is. Thank you for this enlightening book
This book helped me to realize just who God revealed in Jesus really is. Thank you for this enlightening book
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews