James Clark – Book Review of Take This Cup

February 14, 2022 By Fr. Charles Erlandson

Review – Take This Cup by Charles Erlandson | The North American Anglican James Clark Take This Cup: How God Transforms Suffering into Glory and Joy. By Charles Erlandson. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2020. 216 pp. $46 (cloth); $26 (paper). Suffering, as Charles Erlandson observes, is the only universal human experience. Given that suffering is additionally “so heavy, so painful, [and] so destructive” (1), it is unsurprising that so many books have been written on suffering in the Christian... Read more

Joseph Laughon – Book Review of Take This Cup

February 11, 2022 By Fr. Charles Erlandson

Here is a book review of Take This Cup by Joseph Laughon for the North American Anglican. https://northamanglican.com/book-review-take-this-cup/ Take This Cup: How God Transforms Suffering into Glory and Joy. By Charles Erlandson. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2020. 216 pp. $46 (cloth); $26 (paper). Theodicy is a subject that writers, theologians, and even comedians have tried tackling. Every religion and thought system on some level attempts to explain human suffering. Oftentimes these discussions, in particular in the Christian world,... Read more

The Best Thing God Ever Did was the Worst Thing Man Ever Did

February 7, 2022 By Fr. Charles Erlandson

When Christ consumed the Cup of Suffering, He transfigured the world forever. When Christ consumed the Cup, He transformed the meaning of suffering. When Christ consumed the Cup, He transmuted its contents from evil into good. God’s judgment upon man was translated from “Guilty!” to “Not Guilty.” Death was transported into life. Suffering was transmogrified from punishment and a sign of death and judgment into glory and joy and a sign that God is with us. God is famous... Read more

Jesus Took on All Human Suffering – Part 2

November 22, 2021 By Fr. Charles Erlandson

Jesus Learned Obedience by What He Suffered. Jesus Experienced Our Common Sufferings Often, we focus too exclusively on the extraordinary suffering of Christ: His Passion and Crucifixion. But these are only the perfection of a life filled with suffering, most of which was “ordinary.” Whatever category of suffering we are capable of experiencing, Jesus suffered it for us. Read more

Jesus Took on All Human Suffering – Part 1

November 1, 2021 By Fr. Charles Erlandson

We sometimes mistakenly think that Jesus' suffering was only the 6 hours on the Cross. But everything Jesus did was an act of self-giving and humility. Jesus took on all human suffering. Read more

The Gospel of Suffering

October 27, 2021 By Fr. Charles Erlandson

Hear, then, the Gospel of Suffering: 1. Far from being a sign of God’s non-existence, apathy, or impotence, human suffering is transformed by Christ into a sign of God’s presence, love, and power. 2. Because Christ has become man and suffered to redeem man, suffering is a primary means of participating in God’s nature and being united to Him. 3. As Christians partake of Christ and His suffering, their own suffering is transformed by God into glory and joy. Read more

New book and blog by Fr. Charles – Take This Cup!

October 25, 2021 By Fr. Charles Erlandson

This post is the first in a new blog of mine: Take This Cup: How God Transforms Suffering into Glory and Joy. Read more

The Bible Begins and Ends with a Marriage!

August 26, 2021 By Fr. Charles Erlandson

Here’s another excerpt of my book: Love Me, Love My Wife: 10 Reasons Every Christian Should Join a Local Church (available on Amazon) The Bible begins and ends with a wedding! In the beginning (Genesis 1), the first wedding is that of God and man. But there’s also a human marriage at the beginning of the Bible: the marriage of Adam and Eve. When God created Adam, he said of Adam: “It is not good that the man should be... Read more

Love Me, Love My Wife

August 19, 2021 By Fr. Charles Erlandson

How do you think Jesus feels when we say that we love Him but also say we think very poorly of His Bride, the Church? Read more

One Reason I Became a Priest

January 29, 2021 By Fr. Charles Erlandson

One Reason I Became a Priest The following quote is one reason I became a priest: “I must study politics and war, that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history and naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain.” – John Adams, 1780 letter to wife Ever since the... Read more