All in Christian Worldview

309 The Cult of Culture, 212-0 Women's Softball Team


From whence does culture come? Well, directly, from a cult. I explore and explain how cult and culture are related in this U.U. shotgun. Variously, I also work through the recent lingual faux pas of the Dali Lama, a very funny church-joke, Ukraine's president and his skimming money from the USA, a statue to honor a pedophile's dream, the United Nation's new policy on pedophilia, the significance of Tucker Carlson's recent firing at FOX, and the recent non-defense of Title 9 by House Democrats. I finish the show with a reflection on how humans are greater than angels.

308 Nefarious movie review, The spirit of mutilations

In this UU shotgun I plow through Twitter's new state-label accounts, a review of the new horror movie Nefarious, the recent horror-show of an election for Chicago's mayor, and some excellent college recommendations. Then I think through how progressivism is not only mutilating both bodies and reason, but celebrating that; and demanding that we celebrate that! I end the show with a reflection on Jesus' parable of the talents. Was he teaching a divine embrace of capitalism? Was he teaching we can earn our salvation? Come laugh and think with me! 

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

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.

306 Ukraine War, Asbury Revival

The war in Ukraine is 14 months old and 250,000 people have been killed. It's time for peace, so I pray to that end. I also work through why the Whitehouse wants to shut down natural gas. Then, as an act of humility, I confess three errors of prediction I made two years ago; you gotta own when you are wrong! Across the last half of the show I discuss the recent Asbury revival and frame it in light of America's history of revivals. Our national imagination has been deeply shaped by huge revivals! Then I both affirm and critique revivals.

305 History's Wicked Playbook

Former president Donald Trump has been indicted and will be arrested before this podcast is issued. It seems so loud, so ill-fitting for civilized times. But Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago shows this extensive playbook has been successfully used before. We are not, as conservative journalists tell us, merely watching a kind of nincompoopish incompetence: "poor ol' Joe!" This is a strategy, the implementation of a historic playbook. How so? Let me work through the specific ways. Let's turn on our spiritual discernment.

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

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!

303 Shotgun: State Hatred, UFOs, Healing the Racial Divide

Under Joseph Stalin there was intense hatred from the State toward the Russian citizenry. Today we are witnessing the same here in America. How did that then, and how does that today, manifest? I also variously work through what I think about UFOs, the Southern Poverty Law Center's having targeted Latin Rite Catholics, the effects of tolerance, and why the Church needs to put critical-cooperation into practice. Come think theologically and laugh heartily with me! 

302 Who Hates the Atonement?, Relaxed Evangelism

My friends grew concerned when their church changed its vocabulary and stopped preaching both forgiveness of sin and Jesus as sacrificial Savior. It made me wonder, who hates the atonement and why? Was it really only St. Paul who emphasized Jesus' atoning death? In this episode I also discuss Adam Curry's presence on Joe Rogan's podcast, whether tolerance is a Christian virtue, recent revelations about January 6, and I share poignant things I've learned reading The Gulag Archipelago. Come think and laugh with me!

300 Anti-Sloganeering, Sisyphus You, Theological Amnesia

Shotgun: prayer for sore throats (w/a gross story), 300th episode!, why I don't like slogans or live according to pet slogans, my regular and constant prayers, Facebook's "most relevant" listings, Australian heart attack numbers, who Trump blamed for the 2022 election slotch, Dr. Russ Spittler's death, and you carrying the weight of the world. The last half of the show is spent on examining Jesus vis-å-vis Jewish tradition. The gloss goes that Jesus hated religion, stood against Jewish tradition, and offered a free-floating spirituality. More carefully? Well, we take a look.

299 God's Salvation Strategy; Tradition—Democracy of the Dead

Concerning how God worked (works) in history, what is the constant biblical pattern? Will everyone be saved no matter what? Will only the pure in heart be saved? I examine both Genesis and John to discern the biblical template. Along the way I variously pray for children who have spurned the faith, teach about prayer using ancient words, note G.K. Chesterton's definition of tradition, muse aloud about a-historical and rootless believers, and work through some theological humor. Come think and laugh with me.

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

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.

296 "He Gets Us," Cessationism, God and Distinctions

In this shotgun episode I discuss the ongoing "He Gets Us" tv ads. What are they about? From whom did they come? What critical elements do they omit? I also work through the Reformed perspective of Cessationism: that the gifts of the Holy Spirit ceased when the apostles died out. Is that true, accurate, or theologically helpful? Then I work through the whys and whats of the Christian worldview on distinctions. What is the theological root for all those distinctions? What does distinct mean for us today? Along the way I mix in irony and humor. Come think and laugh with me!

295 Shotgun: St. Musk?, Archetypal Amy Grant

This show's four themes: a) Elon Musk, b) me being 61-and-a-half, c) how Anglicanism compares to Catholicism, and, d) Amy Grant's version of Christianity. Why do some want to nominate Elon Musk for American sainthood? What has been thrown into relief for me as I've been doing my daily bible readings from the church lectionary these last 5 years? How is Anglicanism different from Catholicism? And how does music star Amy Grant represent a massive cultural shift inside of low-church Christianity? What does her archetypal perspective do to Christian mission? Come think and laugh with me!

294 Educating Heroes for Christ: Britton La Tulippe Interview

Father of eight children, Britton La Tulippe has given extensive thought to education. Himself the product of an elite military prep school (he later trained for the Green Beret), Britton variously compares and contrasts public school with prep schools, classical education schools, and homeschooling. What is the goal of public education? Should parents think of their own kids as Christian missionaries to public schools? Why or why not? This interview will inspire you to pursue greatness for the mission and glory of Christ!

293 Shotgun: NDEs, Doctrine as Reality, My Shrink Jesus

Near Death Experiences (NDEs) consistently report a pattern that defies common Christian expectation. What's that pattern? Why does it matter? Then, prompted by my wife, I talk about what doctrine meant to the apostles and what it sh/could mean to us. Finally, I present and assess the new model of Christianity as therapy. Overwhelmed by cultural trends this psychological model is re-shaping Christianity. What dangers does that present? All along the way I'm laughing and thinking, and enjoying being alive in God.

292 Shotgun: Twittering, Civilization, Apple Trees n' Faith, Scientism

In this shotgun show I reflect variously on the recent Twitter revelations, why free speech is necessary for civilization, a comparison of Jesus and the tree of life in Eden, and the limitations of Science. There is a growing trend of Scientism: the belief that science will solve all human problems and that science—isolated unto itself—is the final arbiter of truth and meaning. But science is, at definitional levels, incapable of measuring all manner of things that are deeply important to human beings. Let's think with nuance even while we enjoy some laughter!

291 Shotgun: Catholicity, Wisdom, & Third Way Churches

Most people today hear "Catholicism" and they think the Pope or veneration of Mary or the Vatican. But what was the original definition of Catholicity? What might that ancient notion suggest for Christian relationships today? Then I share-reflect a reading from an Advent service wherein I participated. And finally I explore the growing movement of Third Way Christianity. I assess the motives and explain the cultural failure of Third Way Churches. Come laugh and think with me!

290 Shotgun: Why Dec. 25th?, Apple & 1984, Tremors of Roe

Why do we celebrate Christmas on December 25th? What does history show us about that? Then, in 1984 Apple Computer produced a memorable challenge-the-faceless-corporations tv advertisement, but in 38 short years they have become that faceless corporation. How so? What are the results of an at-home medical experiment I conducted? I also explore some of the aftermath of the SCOTUS June ruling that over-turned Roe. What is our ensuing cultural milieu? Come laugh and think with me.

289 Path Crisis Pregnancy: Interview w/Tracy Hall & Sue Drayton

What is it like to have a pregnant woman walk in the door when she's trying to determine what to do with her unexpected baby? In what way does church culture impact a crisis pregnancy? What measures and structures does Path Crisis Pregnancy center have in place to receive women? How can technology shape a woman's decision? How has the SCOTUS over-turning of Roe changed the dynamics of crisis pregnancy center work? What have both COVID and our inflation-wrought economy done to crisis pregnancy center service? What is a Christian approach to crisis pregnancies? 

288 Shotgun—Evolution Challenged, The 2nd Coming, Grieving the Spirit

The Cambrian explosion—as scientists call it—raises some fascinating challenges to Darwinian evolution. I explore how that is so. I also variously work through fairness at the Southern border, whether I miss teaching, taking on the establishment, local television news in Idaho, the Evangelical framing of Christianity, the worldview of America's founders, and the second coming of Christ. Interspersed throughout are some NFL helmet-slogan inspired catch-phrases. Come think and laugh out loud with me!