
God's Gamble
The Gravitational Power of Crucified Love
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Randy Coleman-Riese
-
By:
-
Gil Bailie
About this listen
The Cross of Christ has left a crater at the center of history, an inflection of sacrificial love toward which everything before and after this event is ordered and properly understood. That Christ is the Alpha and Omega—the logic, the meaning of creation itself, from whom the drama of salvation emanates and toward whom it moves—is a central but often neglected doctrine of Catholic Christianity. Though it is a mystery that will ever elude rational explication, sufficient traces of it can be found. Drawing primarily on the insights of René Girard and Hans Urs von Balthasar, Gil Bailie’s new book is a work of reconnaissance, an effort to locate and explicate some of these traces. He presents a narrative of both rich and subtle textures—the story of God’s gamble in and on history.
“God’s Gamble is a vividly written, engaging account, at once personal and provocative, of man’s search for meaning. Designed for a general audience, Bailie’s unique telling of the story of Christian revelation invites the reader to a rich reflection on the meaning of the incarnation, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and to deeper readings in the grand intellectual tradition of the Christian West.” (Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Philadelphia)
“This is a masterful synthesis of insights from Girard and Balthasar, among others, in an attempt to take seriously the proposition that Christ is the fulcrum upon which all of human history turns. Bailie accepts Balthasar’s judgment that eschatology is the storm center of the theology of our times and carefully unpacks the issues of greatest pastoral relevance.” (Tracey Rowland, Dean, John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family, Melbourne)
“This remarkable book is both demanding and deeply penetrating, a Girardian tour de force plumbing the depths of the current postmodern malaise and presenting a rich Christology and a robust anthropology, both of which will challenge readers to see salvation history with new eyes.” (Carl E. Olson, author of Did Jesus Really Rise From the Dead? and co-editor of Called to Be the Children of God)
“With God’s Gamble, Gil Bailie has written his masterwork. He shares the fruits of a lifetime of patient reflection upon the innovative anthropological hypotheses of René Girard and the fearless theological explorations of Hans Urs von Balthasar. The result is a breathtaking synthesis that meditates on all the most puzzling questions of human history. In a spirit of humility, Bailie investigates what we can know about both the origin and the destiny of humankind. It is a wondrous history that becomes all the more fascinating as we continue to learn more about it through evolutionary science, cultural anthropology, and theological contemplation.” (Christopher S. Morrissey, Seminary of Christ the King, British Columbia)
“As the civilization formed by Catholic Christianity renounces its own patrimony, many have forgotten what it means to be human. In Gil Bailie such lost souls have a guide to return to sanity, and a fearless one at that, willing to lead them, and us all, through the difficulties of violence, death, sin, sacrifice, resurrection, and hope. An outstanding book, and one I’m eager to read again.” (R. J. Snell, Director, Center on the University and Intellectual Life, Witherspoon Institute)
©2016 Gil Bailie (P)2022 The Cornerstone ForumListeners also enjoyed...
-
I See Satan Fall Like Lightning
- By: René Girard
- Narrated by: Martin Girard
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A seminal work on the astonishing power of the gospel by one of the most original thinkers of our time.
-
-
Insightful but an overreach.
- By Mountain K9iner on 12-11-22
By: René Girard
-
Crucial Choice
- Reflections on Flannery O'Connor & Isak Dinesen
- By: Gil Bailie
- Narrated by: Gil Bailie
- Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gil Bailie explores the choice between a sacrifice and a sacrament as depicted in Flannery O'Connor's The Displaced Person and Isak Dinesen's "Babette's Feast".
By: Gil Bailie
-
Poetry of Truth - Reflections on the Gospel of Luke
- By: Gil Bailie
- Narrated by: Gil Bailie
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke, is traditionally known as a sophisticated non-Jew Hellenist and perhaps a physician. He was an early convert to the Christian faith, most likely through the preaching of St. Paul. But as Gil Bailie points out in this presentation, Luke is above all a gifted teller of tales - or rather a re-teller of tales.
-
-
Moving, renewing and beautiful.
- By Woodwork on 06-27-23
By: Gil Bailie
-
Violence Unveiled
- Humanity at the Crossroads
- By: Gil Bailie
- Narrated by: Randy Coleman-Riese
- Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gil Bailie wrote Violence Unveiled in the mid-1990s after learning of René Girard’s mimetic theory of human cultural origins. The mimetic theory posits that human interspecies violence posed an existential threat to the continuation of any early human community until the evolution/discovery of a particular kind of directed social violence – scapegoating violence - which in times of social crisis brought peace and harmony to the community at the expense of what would later be understood as a sacred victim or god who becomes a focus of religious awe.
-
-
Exceptional
- By Jan J on 06-01-23
By: Gil Bailie
-
Introduction To Christianity (2nd Edition)
- By: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI
- Narrated by: Scott Russell
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of Cardinal Ratzinger's most important and widely read books, this volume is a revised second edition with an improved translation and an in-depth preface by the Cardinal. As he states in the preface, since this book was first published over 30 years ago, many changes and significant events have occurred in the world, and in the Church. But even so, he says he is firmly convinced that his fundamental approach in this book is still very timely and crucial for the spiritual needs of modern man.
-
-
great book poorly narrated
- By Harrison Ayre on 12-24-22
By: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, and others
-
What Is Christianity?
- The Last Writings
- By: Pope Benedict XVI
- Narrated by: Kevin O'Brien
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With prophetic insight into our times, Benedict warns of a "radical manipulation of man" in the name of tolerance, insisting that the only "authentic counterweight to every form of intolerance" is Christ himself—and Christ crucified. A lifelong Catholic, the late pope pays tribute to some of the giant figures of Christianity who have served him through the years as guiding stars: his predecessor Pope John Paul II, the 20th-century German Jesuit martyr Alfred Delp, and the silent carpenter Joseph, his patron saint.
-
-
Important insights re Israel
- By Juelz S. on 11-16-23
-
I See Satan Fall Like Lightning
- By: René Girard
- Narrated by: Martin Girard
- Length: 7 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A seminal work on the astonishing power of the gospel by one of the most original thinkers of our time.
-
-
Insightful but an overreach.
- By Mountain K9iner on 12-11-22
By: René Girard
-
Crucial Choice
- Reflections on Flannery O'Connor & Isak Dinesen
- By: Gil Bailie
- Narrated by: Gil Bailie
- Length: 3 hrs and 42 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gil Bailie explores the choice between a sacrifice and a sacrament as depicted in Flannery O'Connor's The Displaced Person and Isak Dinesen's "Babette's Feast".
By: Gil Bailie
-
Poetry of Truth - Reflections on the Gospel of Luke
- By: Gil Bailie
- Narrated by: Gil Bailie
- Length: 14 hrs and 45 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, St. Luke, is traditionally known as a sophisticated non-Jew Hellenist and perhaps a physician. He was an early convert to the Christian faith, most likely through the preaching of St. Paul. But as Gil Bailie points out in this presentation, Luke is above all a gifted teller of tales - or rather a re-teller of tales.
-
-
Moving, renewing and beautiful.
- By Woodwork on 06-27-23
By: Gil Bailie
-
Violence Unveiled
- Humanity at the Crossroads
- By: Gil Bailie
- Narrated by: Randy Coleman-Riese
- Length: 14 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Gil Bailie wrote Violence Unveiled in the mid-1990s after learning of René Girard’s mimetic theory of human cultural origins. The mimetic theory posits that human interspecies violence posed an existential threat to the continuation of any early human community until the evolution/discovery of a particular kind of directed social violence – scapegoating violence - which in times of social crisis brought peace and harmony to the community at the expense of what would later be understood as a sacred victim or god who becomes a focus of religious awe.
-
-
Exceptional
- By Jan J on 06-01-23
By: Gil Bailie
-
Introduction To Christianity (2nd Edition)
- By: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI
- Narrated by: Scott Russell
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of Cardinal Ratzinger's most important and widely read books, this volume is a revised second edition with an improved translation and an in-depth preface by the Cardinal. As he states in the preface, since this book was first published over 30 years ago, many changes and significant events have occurred in the world, and in the Church. But even so, he says he is firmly convinced that his fundamental approach in this book is still very timely and crucial for the spiritual needs of modern man.
-
-
great book poorly narrated
- By Harrison Ayre on 12-24-22
By: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, and others
-
What Is Christianity?
- The Last Writings
- By: Pope Benedict XVI
- Narrated by: Kevin O'Brien
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With prophetic insight into our times, Benedict warns of a "radical manipulation of man" in the name of tolerance, insisting that the only "authentic counterweight to every form of intolerance" is Christ himself—and Christ crucified. A lifelong Catholic, the late pope pays tribute to some of the giant figures of Christianity who have served him through the years as guiding stars: his predecessor Pope John Paul II, the 20th-century German Jesuit martyr Alfred Delp, and the silent carpenter Joseph, his patron saint.
-
-
Important insights re Israel
- By Juelz S. on 11-16-23
-
The Spirit of the Liturgy
- Commemorative Edition
- By: Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, Romano Guardini
- Narrated by: David Sanborn
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Considered by Joseph Ratzinger devotees as his greatest work on the liturgy, this profound and beautifully written treatment of the "great prayer of the Church" will help listeners to deepen their understanding of the rites of the Church. The cardinal discusses fundamental misunderstandings of the Second Vatican Council's intentions for liturgical renewal, especially about the priest's orientation of prayer to the Father, the placement of the tabernacle in churches, and the posture of kneeling.
-
-
Excellent books on Catholic liturgy . . .
- By Thomas St. Catherine on 01-23-23
By: Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, and others
-
The Four Loves
- By: C. S. Lewis
- Narrated by: C. S. Lewis
- Length: 2 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this remarkable recording, C. S. Lewis shows why millions of readers have acclaimed him the greatest spokesman for Christianity in the 20th century. In a resonant, baritone voice, Lewis explores the nature of the four Greek words that are translated love in English: storge (affection), philia (friendship), eros (sexual or romantic love) and agape (selfless love).
-
-
Insightful Views on Love
- By William on 01-30-05
By: C. S. Lewis
-
Dominion
- How the Christian Revolution Remade the World
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Tom Holland, Mark Meadows
- Length: 22 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Crucifixion, the Romans believed, was the worst fate imaginable, a punishment reserved for slaves. How astonishing it was, then, that people should have come to believe that one particular victim of crucifixion - an obscure provincial by the name of Jesus - was to be worshipped as a god. Dominion explores the implications of this shocking conviction as they have reverberated throughout history.
-
-
Only the forward is narrated by Holland.
- By Honora on 06-16-20
By: Tom Holland
-
The Catechism of Trent
- By: The Roman Catholic Church
- Narrated by: James Walmsley
- Length: 22 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Catechism of Trent was published in 1566. It was commissioned by the Council of Trent during the period of the counter-Reformation. The document's main task was to clarify the doctrine of the church for the clergy. It enjoyed widespread use within the Roman Catholic world and was considered the authoritative guide for the faithful up until the most recent catechism, which was released in 1992.
-
-
A perfect book
- By John A. on 10-10-21
-
You Are Gods
- On Nature and Supernature
- By: David Bentley Hart
- Narrated by: Chris Monteiro
- Length: 5 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In recent years, the theological—and, more specifically, Roman Catholic—question of the supernatural has made an astonishing return from seeming oblivion. David Bentley Hart's You Are Gods presents a series of meditations on the vexed theological question of the relation of nature and supernature. In its merely controversial aspect, the book is intended most directly as a rejection of a certain Thomistic construal of that relation, as well as an argument in favor of a model of nature and supernature at once more Eastern and patristic.
-
-
A Path for Hope in Faith
- By Vatoussis fam on 01-22-23
-
Sacrifice (Breakthroughs in Mimetic Theory)
- By: Rene Girard
- Narrated by: Tim Lundeen
- Length: 2 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Sacrifice, Rene Girard interrogates the Brahmanas of Vedic India, exploring coincidences with mimetic theory that are too numerous and striking to be accidental. The Bible reveals collective violence, similar to that which generates sacrifice everywhere, but instead of making victims guilty, the Bible and the Gospels reveal the persecutors of a single victim. Instead of elaborating myths, they tell the truth absolutely contrary to the archaic sense.
-
-
solid, pithy Girard lectures transcribed
- By luke in seattle on 08-28-16
By: Rene Girard
-
The Genesis of Gender
- A Christian Theory
- By: Abigail Favale
- Narrated by: Jane Griffiths
- Length: 7 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dr. Abigail Favale provides an in-depth yet accessible account of the gender paradigm: a framework for understanding reality and identity that has recently risen to prominence. With substance, clarity, and compassion, Favale teases out the hidden assumptions of the gender paradigm and exposes its effects. Yet this book is not merely an exposé—it is also a powerful, moving articulation of a Christian understanding of reality: a holistic paradigm that proclaims the dignity of the body, the sacramental meaning of sexual difference, and the interconnectedness of all creation.
-
-
Must read on the topic
- By Walter J. Caywood on 10-15-22
By: Abigail Favale
-
Hope in Times of Fear
- The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter
- By: Timothy Keller
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Resurrection accounts of Jesus in the Gospels are the most dramatic and impactful stories ever told. One similarity unites each testimony - that none of his most loyal and steadfast followers could "see" it was him, back from the dead. The reason for this is at the very foundation of the Christian faith.
-
-
Revealing the roots where true hope is found
- By PWC on 04-17-21
By: Timothy Keller
-
Grace Saves All: The Necessity of Christian Universalism
- By: David Artman
- Narrated by: George W. Sarris
- Length: 7 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Grace is amazing. About this all Christians agree. Yet nearly all forms of Christianity put significant limits on grace. In Grace Saves All, David Artman argues that grace saves alone and goes to all. This inclusive approach to Christianity is variously called universal reconciliation, universal salvation, or perhaps most accurately, Christian universalism. He contends that the inclusive/Christian universalist approach is necessary because it offers the only Christian theology that successfully defends the goodness of God.
-
-
God's Goodness Expounded
- By Rose Anne on 09-26-20
By: David Artman
-
The Spirituality of the Cross
- By: Gene Edward Veith
- Narrated by: William Sarris
- Length: 5 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Veith explores and presents a true understanding of justification by faith, the means of grace, vocation, theology of the cross, the two kingdoms, worship, and the church. This is a revised edition of the original text written in 1999.
-
-
First book for Christian newbies
- By M. Johnson on 09-27-24
-
All Things New: Rethinking Sin, Salvation, and Everything in Between
- By: Fiona Givens, Terryl Givens
- Narrated by: Fiona Givens
- Length: 5 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Robert MacFarlane has written that language does not just register experience, it produces it. Our religious language in particular informs and shapes our understanding of God, our sense of self, and the way we make sense of our challenging path back to loving heavenly parents. Unfortunately, to an extent we may not realize, our religious vocabulary has been shaped by prior generations whose creeds, in Joseph Smith's words, have filled the world with confusion. I make all things new, proclaimed the Lord. Regrettably, many are still mired in the past, in ways we have not recognized.
-
-
A must read!
- By nc1976 on 03-31-21
By: Fiona Givens, and others
-
The Day Is Now Far Spent
- By: Cardinal Robert Sarah, Nicolas Diat
- Narrated by: Scott Russell
- Length: 15 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this powerful audiobook by the acclaimed spiritual leader and best-selling writer, one he calls his "most important", he analyzes the profound spiritual, moral, and political crisis in the contemporary world. He says that he "considers that the decadence of our time has all the faces of mortal peril." His finding is simple: Our world is on the brink of the abyss.
-
-
Why Catholicism
- By John Devere on 10-24-19
By: Cardinal Robert Sarah, and others