WWJD? In his 77-page novella about Jesus’ second coming, Rick Herrick tells us by having Jesus affirm, “[Y]ou wonderful folks are going to save me by redefining Christianity according to my original message.” For 2,000 years, “Christians have distorted my message, and created their own religion around the myth of personal salvation in heaven.” But “I’m here to tell people that there is a second chance” to get it right. How? “The point is to get rid of all the foolish doctrine, and focus on learning how to love.”
Herrick, who grew up in Toronto, in a writing for progressivechristianity.org, explains how he’s drawn to “a Christian culture defined by a concern for economic and social justice, inclusion, and nonviolent approaches to solving human conflicts.” A decade ago, he, in an interview with Vineyard Gazette, declared: “I think we need to focus Christianity…towards the ethical teachings of Jesus. They still give me goosebumps. Every time I read the Sermon on the Mount I say, wow, that is some guy.”
A Second Chance is, its publisher reckons, a book that “offers a quick read, and considerable food for thought.” As one reader bewailed, “I didn’t want the story to end.”
A Second Chance
By Rick Herrick
Resource Publications, 2022
