All in The Spiritual World

334 RfYtB (7) Election—Israel as Proof for God

334 RfYtB (7) Election—Israel as Proof for God

Uncensored Unprofessor
Reasons for Your Belief, Spirituality, The Spiritual World, Current Events

Election is a thoroughly biblical doctrine. Among many—Protestants especially—election goes to the matter of who is eternally saved, or not. But that's not where the Bible begins with the doctrine of election, and it's not even where Jesus began in his practice of election. No, instead? Election has to do with mission, being called to mission, and sharing in the mission of God's redemption of creation. With that formulation as a foundation, why then are the Jews so globally hated? Why, across all of written history, have the Jews been so targeted for pogrom, genocide, and Holocaust? And with that, why are the Jews so deeply hated and targeted for massacre today?

307 Demon possessed Christians?, IN the world but not OF?

307 Demon possessed Christians?, IN the world but not OF?

Uncensored Unprofessor
Christian Worldview, Current Events, The Spiritual World, Cult of the Now

Can a Christian be demon possessed? I walk through theology and experience on that matter. In this UU shotgun I also discuss tolerance, cell phone culture's effects on the brain, how the transgender movement is being challenged, Budweiser marketing ploys, and how Christian parents ought to evaluate movies for their kids. In the second half of the show I work through, at a 2K' macro level, what "in the world but not of" it means. To top off that theme I note three dominant positions the Church has taken vis-a-vis culture in the Modern era. Let's probe more deeply into our faith.

304 Prophets as Ancient Comedians, Masking NYT, Return of Ancient gods

304 Prophets as Ancient Comedians, Masking NYT, Return of Ancient gods

Uncensored Unprofessor
Bible, Christian Worldview, Cult of the Now, The Spiritual World

Shotgunned UU topics: quickest thing in the world, prayer for a young couple, praying with biblical words, the result of the Twitter hearings, pastor Timothy Keller's third way reflection, comedic humor and ancient prophets, our having attended a live Babylon Bee show, uncomfortable truths about EVs, social contagions in history, cell-phone culture, a NYTimes article about masks, tone-splaining, Deacon Calvin Robinson's Oxford speech, the strategy inside the Russian gulag, and secular-Jew Naomi Wolf's reflections on the spirits at work in America. Come think and laugh with me!

297 Pope Benedict & the Anti-Christ, Human Mirrors of the Divine

297 Pope Benedict & the Anti-Christ, Human Mirrors of the Divine

Uncensored Unprofessor
Current Events, Christian Worldview, The Spiritual World

Before he died Pope Benedict wrote about the presence of the anti-Christ. What did he say? What did he say that I affirm? How did the anti-Christ appear to Jesus? In what form will the same devil appear to us that he had appeared to Jesus? I also work through four principles given to us by Benedict for conducting spiritual warfare. In the show's beginning I also think out loud about operating out of a Christian worldview. What does that look like? Let's turn our brains on for the mission and glory of Christ.

263 The Spiritual World (16) Baptism and Eucharist

263 The Spiritual World (16) Baptism and Eucharist

Uncensored Unprofessor
The Spiritual World, Christian Worldview, Bible

How should we understand water baptism and the Lord's supper? The answers—and the infighting—are myriad, depending upon the Church, denomination, pastor, or theologian. And me? I love theology! But the Paleo-Hebrew worldview moves the question of those two Christian rituals' purpose back to a root historical level. Jesus' own baptism thus becomes the model, the archetype for our own. I also reflect on actor Matthew McConaughey's recent presentation at the Whitehouse.

261 The Spiritual World (15) Incarnation and Ancient Mission

261 The Spiritual World (15) Incarnation and Ancient Mission

Uncensored Unprofessor
The Spiritual World

For 2000 years the Western church has emphasized the incarnation as a necessary step for our atonement, and I'm grateful for that emphasis. For 1900 years the Eastern church has emphasized the incarnation for its ontology, and I'm grateful for that, too. The ancient paleo-Hebrew worldview has something to say as well about the purpose of God's having incarnated the second person of the Trinity, and it is a beautiful purpose! I also reflect on the mass murder in Uvalde and the growing cultural-moral divide.

260 The Spiritual World (14) Warfare and Mission

260 The Spiritual World (14) Warfare and Mission

Uncensored Unprofessor
The Spiritual World

Jesus' coming, contrary to so much bumper-stickery blather out there, was anything but peaceful. He came to do battle. Significantly, that battle was against "e"lohim who rule the nations. Jesus rejoiced as the 70 he sent out in his name drove out demons. And he enjoins our service in the Marine Corps of the Spirit to continue that battle. But for me? I get exhausted by the spirituality of warfare. So what do I do?

259 The Spiritual World (13) Who Got Peter Right?

259 The Spiritual World (13) Who Got Peter Right?

Uncensored Unprofessor
The Spiritual World

Christians say, "we want to do it the way the New Testament shows us to do it." Or more earnestly, "we want to do it the way Jesus said to govern." So just what do history and the New Testament show us? I work through three standard churchly models—episcopal, presbyterian, and congregational—to think with nuance about Christian governance. Also, what about the Big Quit? What's going on? How did a corporate culture play into my own decision?

258 The Spiritual World (12) Hell's Gates Shall Not Prevail

258 The Spiritual World (12) Hell's Gates Shall Not Prevail

Uncensored Unprofessor
The Spiritual World, Who is Jesus?


Jesus, "you nailed that one, Peter! And on this rock I will build my Church." There is a long-standing Roman Catholic interpretation of that as well as an established Protestant interpretation of that seminal verse. In light of the Paleo-Hebrew worldview is it possible that Jesus' assertion meant something still different? Let's think through this together. I also reflect on the recent SCOTUS leak concerning Roe v. Wade.

257 The Spiritual World (11) Conquering Unholy Bashan

257 The Spiritual World (11) Conquering Unholy Bashan

Uncensored Unprofessor
The Spiritual World, Who is Jesus?

Jesus, freshly baptized in the Spirit of God, was driven out into enemy territory: unholy Bashan. In a state of hungry privation he battled the Nachash who offered Jesus something that would've belonged to him as God's messiah: the nations. Jesus won those battles by quoting the Bible; we all know that. But what part of the Bible did he quote and why? I also discuss why I refer to the devil as ha Satan, using the article, "the." Let's think with nuance on these matters.

256 The Spiritual World (10) Idols, Totems, and Holy Places

256 The Spiritual World (10) Idols, Totems, and Holy Places

Uncensored Unprofessor
The Spiritual World


From an anthropological angle all religions have their contact points: totems, idols, altars, temples, and meeting places. I work through a significant Old Testament example and then show how (audaciously) Jesus declared himself to be the new (and eternal) meeting place with God. Applying that background I work through the logic of rejecting things just because they have been abused. Let's reason from a Christ-centered, biblically informed worldview.

255 The Spiritual World (9) Yahweh's Man-God

255 The Spiritual World (9) Yahweh's Man-God

Uncensored Unprofessor
The Spiritual World

What happens when we don't flatten the biblical portrayal into a metaphor? What if the Bible is as particular and vivid as it comes to us? What does reducing it to a metaphor say about us? What does leaving it as a vivid-mind-blowing story imply about God? We explore still more detail about the angel of the Lord and what Jesus has to say about him centuries later. I also reflect on guns and Ukraine.

254 The Spiritual World (8) One like a Son of the gods

254 The Spiritual World (8) One like a Son of the gods

Uncensored Unprofessor
The Spiritual World

My series thus far has focused on corrupted members of God's divine council. In this episode we begin to unearth ancient portrayals and information about another divine being: the angel of the Lord. Was he just a guardian angel? Did he ever go on the war-offensive? Is he just the general of the angels? Or something more? If so, how? I also reflect on economic inflation and product-packaging shrinkflation. Come laugh and think with me!

253 The Spiritual World (7) Demonization of the Land

253 The Spiritual World (7) Demonization of the Land

Uncensored Unprofessor
The Spiritual World

Beginning with the ziggurat of Babel—the first Empire state building— in Genesis 11 the Bible shows us repeatedly that different spiritual entities (1 Enoch called them archons) rule(d) over different geographic areas. God abandoned those areas, those nations, to the little "g" gods when he established the nations at Babel. Jesus Christ took captive those "g"ods and brings reconciliation to the nations. So how can we discern the presence and influence of these beings?

252 The Spiritual World (6) Giants, Land, and Extermination

252 The Spiritual World (6) Giants, Land, and Extermination

Uncensored Unprofessor
The Spiritual World


Inside and outside of Christian faith, many ask, "why did God command the Hebrews to utterly destroy the nations?" "Doesn't that indiscriminate slaughter make God an evil being?" Fair questions, indeed. We work through the context for that kherem/destruction and how the land came into play for the ancients in this episode. I also reveal the most unreported story in all of American Evangelicalism. Come laugh and think with me!

251 Spiritual World (5) Giants and the Netherworld

251 Spiritual World (5) Giants and the Netherworld

Uncensored Unprofessor
The Spiritual World


The common Christian expectation is that final judgment awaits the end of history. That's not bad, but the Bible sees judgment at work now in life. Even corrupted "sons of God", immoral angels, have already been judged and taken somewhere. This episode explores what 1 Enoch, Jesus, Peter, and Jude all say about the matter. I also offer reflections on the movie "Idiocracy" and the war in Ukraine. Come laugh and think with me!

250 The Spiritual World (4) Giants and their Demons

250 The Spiritual World (4) Giants and their Demons

Uncensored Unprofessor
The Spiritual World

With great detail the Jewish apocryphal book 1 Enoch delineates Genesis 6. What is apocrypha? How did Enoch inform the worldview of Second Temple Judaism? (What is Second Temple Judaism?) What kinds of specific sins does 1 Enoch describe sinful Sons of God committing? When giants die where does their spirit go? What does Enoch say a dead giant's spirit does? Come explore with me this significant historical era, one that greatly informs the New Testament.

249 The Spiritual World (3) Giants

249 The Spiritual World (3) Giants

Uncensored Unprofessor
The Spiritual World

Paleo (most ancient) cultures were aware of the existence of giants. Most of those cultures viewed them as great warriors, heroes, and transmitters of divine oracles. The Bible, in clear contrast, views them as abominations, corruptions, and transmitters of evil. This stems, at least, from the Bible's sensitivity to the spiritual world. This episode establishes important backgrounds for still later (newer) biblical teachings. I also share my thoughts on the war in Ukraine.

248 The Spiritual World (2) Problems in Paleo Paradise

248 The Spiritual World (2) Problems in Paleo Paradise

Uncensored Unprofessor
The Spiritual World

"There was a serpent in the garden of Eden." What does that mean? First? I erase some glosses that get overlaid onto the text. Then, we work through both some historical-cultural and textual framing of the story of the serpent. What would ancient readers immediately have recognized about that creature, that story? How does the notion of divine oracles play into the story? Come laugh and think with me.

247 The Spiritual World (1) God's Heavenly Council

247 The Spiritual World (1) God's Heavenly Council

Uncensored Unprofessor
The Spiritual World

Mirroring his purpose to have agents on earth who represent his character and goals, God has a council in heaven. This episode explores Jesus' prayer (the Lord's prayer) on daily spiritual warfare and how that ties into the Hebrew bible's portrayal of the structure of the heavenlies. I also reflect on my six-year-old granddaughter's recent Jiu Jitsu competition. Come laugh and think with me!