All in Jesus said. . . That?!
After a four-month series on Jesus' harsh sayings what are my final takeaways? I work through why Jesus was a first-century shock-jock, how in light of Jesus love can be tough, Jesus' axiology, why He was a man's man, how amazing it was that Jesus was not snared by the anxiety of those around him, and why—when it comes to my faith—I am "Curious Eddie." I also unpack what the progressive Gospel says today about Christianity and how the notion of a "Cosmic Christ" is more of a nod to religious pluralism than it is harmonious with the Gospels. In the show's cultural reflection I both explain why I resist Christian-ese bumper stickers and describe the utterly historical, massive, cultural shift that is underway since the presidential election. What does that cultural shift say about the Church, say to the Church, and what opportunity is now facing the Church? Come laugh and think with me.
"Jesus was just a common Jew who wanted the best for everyone." "Jesus was a liberal first-century rabbi." Those memes have captured much of the public's imagination about Jesus. But they both are 180 degrees off the mark, especially when we read what Jesus said about himself. He said, "I am Lord of the Sabbath," and "I am greater than the Temple". And certainly those don't square with the Jesus-the-liberalizing-rabbi meme. In this episode we explore what Jesus' self-speak indicates about how he perceived himself. I also offer an extended reflection on thinking about thinking. What is the best argument for the existence of mind? Instead of probing how inert matter produced consciousness, what counter (older) argument has more explanatory power? I also muse aloud about how, for the first time in my adult life, I do not feel like the Federal government is against us. What do I mean?
"If they will not welcome you shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them," Jesus said as he gave the Twelve missional instructions. That just seems so abrupt! And it wouldn't have been recorded as part of the Gospel if it were recorded for us by someone from the 21st century; it's just too embattled. So why did Jesus say that? What did it mean? Not mean? In this week's episode we unpack the what-what of Jesus' stern sayings for the Twelve as he sent them into battle. I also ask, what does this passage mean for us today? What can we learn? In the show's opening I reflect on the massive historical shift we just witnessed. And then I ask, what does this mean for today's Church? What does it mean for Christian universities? Come, let us reason together for such a time as this.
It was brutal when in Luke 12:51 Jesus said, "Do you think I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, I came to bring division!" That embattled utterance falls inside a three-chapter-or-so pericope of urgent proclamations from Jesus. Why did he say such harsh things? How should we understand that he said he came to bring fire? In this week's episode I both frame the great invasion that Jesus led and contrast that with the inclusive-Jesus of contemporary Christianity. Then I offer practical-pastoral application of all that for an Evangelical culture. In the show's cultural reflection I remark on Mark Zuckerberg's recent strategic changes at Facebook. Additionally, I comment on why the Biden Whitehouse is working hard to prevent a smooth transition of power into the next four years. Come laugh and think with me.
"Unless you hate your parents and siblings, and even your own life, you cannot be my disciple," Luke 14:26. What a harsh statement! We have to hate our parents? Our sisters? Children? Why was that utterance even more severe in the first century than it is today? Was Jesus being literal? How does that square with "love your enemies"? We're to love enemies but hate our own family? That seems upside down, absurd even. We first explore this brutal statement in its literary and historical context. Then we show what it can mean in our own world today. At the show's beginning I reflect, again, on consciousness and mind. Do computers think? Do they remember? Experience? What has caused us to view computers with such awe? And, why do so many hope for an A.I. utopian future? All of that is unpacked in this rich episode. Give the Lord your mind and come and think with me!
Hindus who've never read four Gospel sentences and Wiccans all know he said it, "love your enemies." But since we know Jesus was not trying either to lay down a new ethical code or teach pacifism, what was his point? What did his words mean in a first century business framework of amicitia? What did Jesus' words mean in light of the Old Testament teaching on enemies? Just how should one pray for one's enemies? How have these specific words of Jesus reshaped western civilization? In the show's opening I also reflect on how Daniel Dennett, a leading evolutionary philosopher, explains away consciousness and mind. Moreover, I lament the global Church's leadership vacuum; what do we do in light of the dearth of leaders?
Dismayed in prison and puzzled by Jesus' military restraint, John the Baptist sent an envoy of disciples to ask Jesus, "are you the One or should we look for another?" Jesus answers their question, and then some! (And by his answer we learn still more about the way Jesus thought about himself.) Then Jesus added, "Truly, I say, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he." In my opinion, that's a weird thing to say. Why would Jesus say it? By saying such a thing what was Jesus indicating? What were the other things he said that help us build an answer to why Jesus said we (you and me) can be greater than his own cousin, Baptist John? In this episode I also talk about exegetical method—how to go about studying a biblical text—and reflect still further (for the third consecutive show) on transhumanism. Come think and pray and laugh with me.
"If you had the faith of a mustard seed you could say to that mountain, 'be cast into the sea,' and it would be done for you," Jesus said three different times in the Gospels. Across my life that is one of the more terrifying phrases Jesus ever uttered, and that's why I take more time than in most of my shows to address the particularities. In the literary and historical context what did Jesus mean? What was he addressing? What was he saying about himself inside of those contexts? Why did he say such loud things? I also address the common pastoral take-away from these passages: our having enough faith. How much faith is enough? What is faith? What usually happens among Christians with application of this "faith to move mountains" phrase? In the show's cultural reflection I talk, again, about transhumanism. This time about how transhumanism is making inroads into culture and why some unspeakable eventualities lay on the threshold of history for us.
The first episode in a new series, this cast o' the pod is about John 6:53, "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you." What did Jesus mean by that? What does the chapter's context establish for us? What does the book of John establish for us? Was Jesus promoting cannibalism? What does Jesus say a few verses later that shines important light on his scandalous remark? Is Jesus teaching on the Lord's Supper here? Also in this episode, because the Lordship of Christ is not reserved for private matters, I briefly reflect on the Trump-Harris ABC tv interview.
