Out of the Embers

Faith After the Great Deconstruction

By: Bradley Jersak

Narrated by: Boyd Barrett

Deconstruction: Trendy brand name for falling away from belief in God? Or a process essential to authentic faith?

Liberation or trauma? Prison break or exile?

It’s complicated. Just like you.

Christian history records a Great Reformation and a Great Awakening. But today’s “Great Deconstruction” will surely leave an equally profound impact.

In Out of the Embers, Bradley Jersak explores the necessity, perils, and possibilities of the Great Deconstruction—how it has the potential to either sabotage our communion with God or infuse it with the breath of life, the light and life of Christ himself.

In this collection of vulnerable memoirs, philosophical memos, and candid provocations, Jersak resists both the hand-wringing urge to corral stray sheep and the exultant desire to play the happy-clappy Ex-vangelical cheerleader. He employs the wisdom and expertise of the great deconstructionists—Christianity’s ancient influences (Moses, Plato, Paul, and the Patristics), “beloved frenemies” (from Voltaire to Nietzsche), and the masters of deconstruction (Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard, and Weil)—to double down and deconstruct deconstruction itself.

Where is faith after deconstruction? The author’s heart is to engage and empathize with the bereft and disoriented, stoking the brittle ashes for live embers. In this quest for the resilient gospel of the martyrs, the marginal, and those outside the threshold...inexplicably, in this liminal space, life stirs. A Light shines through the ashes. We find, often for the first time, that living connection Jersak calls “presence in communion.”

There is a sea change occurring across the Western church and civilization. Whether we’re watching a radical course correction or a complete collapse remains to be seen, and how it pans out will likely depend on how we see what’s happening, who we are becoming, how we live in response—and, most important, where we find Christ situated in this storm.

©2022 Bradley Jersak (P)2022 Bradley Jersak

Really important book!

I love this book, it showed so many different sides and helped me see there is a long tradition of deconstruction in the human race and Christianity. I enjoyed how Brad went into voice is good or not commonly heard.
The narrator was especially slow, I can listen to it on 1.7 times and have no trouble understanding.

Powerful book on recovering from deconstruction

A must listen to book on recovering from deconstruction. Masterful historical analysis of different philosophers, and how they have dealt with the construction. Heartfelt, authentic and challenging.

Honest and very helpful

Became familiar with Bradley via his Christlike” books - which were very helpful to me. Reading Bradley’s own story here and how he wove in all of these historic voices, and then so many practical examples of how to move forward in Christian community in these divided times was a great way to cap things off.

Wonderful journey

So grateful for the work of Bradley Jersak and the way he takes us to find word for what is what I call Hidden Truth within our spirit. Especially when we have begun our deconstruction and not sure what is ahead. Well thank you for including me in your journey so I can understand mine. Manny

Humble, brilliant, beautiful and profound

I found my heart and experiences expressed on these pages in so many moments of this reading. Bradley’s intellectual honesty and tender humility come together so beautifully in this work. So helpful to see deconstruction framed in the wider context of biblical and social history. I found this book to be comforting, clarifying, and challenging in all the best ways. I would recommend it for anyone who is in the throes of deconstruction themselves, or feeling baffled or concerned about a loved one who is on that journey. It will both comfort and enlarge your heart and ground you in hope. Thank you so much Brad for giving us this gift.