All in Current Events

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!

287 Shotgun—Darwin's Faith, Anti-Truth, God's Will on Elections

Charles Darwin was not a neutral investigator. What were his pre-existing beliefs (that he had inherited from his father) which shaped his conclusions? There are lies and there is anti-truth, what is the difference? How do I read the imminent split that threatens (again) the Catholic Church? In this episode I also work through some funny memes and share some reflections on the season of Advent. Come think and laugh with me!

284 Spudlandia Homelessness—Bill Roscoe Interview

What is it like to serve the homeless? How can or should we help them? Reverend Bill Roscoe has been a leader in homeless ministry for thirty years. In this interview he explains the grounds for ministry—short and long term—to people created in the image of God. What is involved in training the staff? What's it like to work with local government? What is the shelter's denominational affiliation? How have the clientele changed over the decades? How does he keep from becoming mired in depression?

282 The Gap in History

Peter, James, Paul. . . the entire apostolic community expected Jesus to return, bodily, in their lifetimes. Growing up, I didn't expect to make it out of high school before Jesus returned. The apostles were, and my boyhood church was, wrong. So just why has it been 2000 years since Christ ascended into heaven? Why the gap? What kind of missional and existential challenge does that gap present to us? And what is the most common temptation to sin here in our Post-Christian culture? All in this episode!

281 Culture via History—The Rub and the Meat

The Evangelical tendency? To personalize Jesus. And for the immediate that is all well and good. But the problem is that it minimizes the historic and cosmic impact of Christ's coming, person, and work. We need to marvel bigger, examine more sweepingly, because that historic cosmic coming reveals to us what God's telos is for the future. And still for all that? We see a proportionate polarization at work in our culture: it loathes freedom, beauty, and the Gospel.

280 Culture via History—Preliminaries

PoMo culture has a couple dominant views about history: a) it is written by the winners, and b) it is meaningless. Both of those promote cynicism and apathy which corrode the human soul. Instead a biblical and Christian worldview says there is hope. I explore why that is so. I also pare back some problematic ways that Christians approach and think about history. Oh, and I unpack why it is that I am increasingly typified by dangerosity!

279 Culture via Homelessness

We only see the upper 5' of the iceberg that is homelessness. Down beneath the surface is a massive soul-deadening, cold, indifferent, objectifying culture. That culture teaches us to treat the homeless like incurable objects while politicians use homelessness to score points on their largesse. What should a Christian response be? How does a Christian metaphysic view the problem? How does the book of Lamentations help frame the problem? I also note a recent Pew Forum examination of Christianity in the USA.

278 The Queen's Death

On Thursday, September 8, 2022 Queen Elizabeth died. I watched the long parade-drive to Windsor Castle and have, for 2+ weeks, been listening to her funerary music. How did that touch me? What stood out to me? How does it point to the Parousia of Christ himself? I also muse about Youtube censorship, Alex Berenson's legal victory, the state of Texas vs. media censorship, and share more about a corporate churchly bearing/presence vis-a-vis culture.

276 Climate Change (13) Green Energies

To save the planet we all need to embrace green and renewable energies, right? Well, perhaps, sort of. This episode works through the dominant renewable energies noting their pluses and minuses. I also explore questions like, can we mine enough global lithium to eliminate all fossil fuel powered cars? Are electrical vehicles as clean and efficient as we are led to believe? The show opens with a reflection on the beauty of vocation in a God-created world. Come laugh and think with me!

275 Climate Change (12) The Poorest of the Poor

Climate Change is expensive. $370 billion dollars just passed by the Democrats shows us just how expensive it really is. So how do those policies impact the indigent? And stemming from that why did the Progressives trade the poor—their ardent concern in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s—for today's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion? What do we learn from that trade? I also think aloud about how economics works like spider webs. This is complicated and sensitive stuff but we can chuckle and smile as we think it through.

274 Climate Change (11) Extreme Weather

With every forest fire, hurricane, snow storm, or hot summer we hear the cry, "climate change!" But are things really getting worse across the planet? Why are we led to believe they are? Then, how do green policies on the West coast actually make things worse? I also talk about my brother who, as an insurance adjustor, worked hurricane Katrina. In this episode I also share some of my own m.o. for doing the show, why the show is formed the way it is.

273 Climate Change (10) The Paris Agreement

In 2015 most of the nations entered into the Paris agreement on capping of Earth's temperatures. What standard did they all commit toward? Now after 7 years how is that going? What are the potential pitfalls of the agreement? How might fraud and grift both play into Climate Change? I also work through necessary elements for Christian spiritual discernment.

272 Climate Change (9) Water Levels

With global warming all the glaciers are melting and the islands are being flooded, right? We'll take a careful look. We are causing Earth to approach catastrophic levels of sea rise, right? Hundreds of millions of people live under immediate threat of being flooded into annihilation, right? Let's study it. Why do I find the ancient Roman city of Pompeii so amazing? All of that and more in my continuing climate change series. Oh, and what about the recent increase in IRS agents? What does that indicate about where America is headed? Come think and laugh with me.