What is the doctrine of election? How did Augustine formulate his doctrine of election? How does that compare to the Bible's presentation of election? Are you one of the elect? How should we think about election? When I was young, how did I think about election? What did Jesus teach about election? I explore this important, if often confusing, doctrine.
All in Jesus
If we saw him in his context we'd see that Jesus was fierce, confident, bold, and even male. But was his maleness toxic? How can we know? What do we see about Jesus of Nazareth when we consider his maleness? Is it true that he was everywhere affirming everyone? Was his mission one of pure inclusivity?
Miracles are not logical, so what does that suggest about the Christian life? Why didn't Jesus blast people with the miraculous? What do miracles point us toward? And, what is an indirect miracle? Finally, did Jesus use symbolism to make his points? Why or why not?
What were Jesus' temptations about? How did Mordor tempt Jesus in ways specific to Jesus' own wiring? What does that suggest about our own temptations? Is Jesus like our own era: a big teddy bear? How did Jesus confront Mordor? Why does the enemy always seem to respond in kind to God's presence?
We have no biography about Jesus' boyhood. We do, though, have boat loads of info about life in the ancient world. What would it have been like to live then? What advantage did Jesus have for living in that world? And then, what was the meaning of Jesus' baptism? Did he need forgiveness of sins? Subsequently, what is the meaning of our water baptism?
What does Jesus' entrance into reality say about him, about God? What was that entrance like? Why would God choose to hide his majesty? What does it mean to say God is a gentleman?
074 World Religions (4) Buddha vs. Jesus
Per Buddha and Jesus, respectively, what is the central problem confronting humanity? How do each of them perceive reality? What did each of them teach we should do to solve our problems? How alike are they? And, instead of demonizing other religions, why do I respect other religions? And if they were in a UFC fight who would win, Jesus or Buddha?!
064 Heaven and Hell (14) Did Jesus Go To Hell?
After his death did Jesus go to hell? Why do some theologians believe that he did? What does the Bible say about that? If he did go to hell what did he do when he was there? How should we handle ambiguous bible passages? Finally, I discuss how it is that Jesus changed the way we will die. Wild stuff!
060 Heaven and Hell (10) Jesus On Hell, What Did He Say?
Is hell real? Is it eternal? Or is hell just Jewish symbolism for annihilation? To answer some of those questions we look at what Jesus had to say about hell, the terms he used, the contexts within which he spoke, and why he talked about it at all. Did he build on the Old Testament teaching or completely re-vamp that? Also, I discuss the Roman Catholic Church's ongoing sexual-abuse catastrophe.
055 Heaven and Hell (5) Jesus Rez, My Rez!
Will you still be you in the resurrection? Or will you be completely different? Does the resurrection happen at the moment of death? What do the incarnation and resurrection say about how God's values our bodies? Is God trying to save us from creation or save us with creation? And I have a "super deep" A.D.D. reflection in this episode that you won't want to miss!
043 The Mark of a Christian
What makes one a Christian? Good works? Being nice? Humility? Love? What is the core, the center, of the Christian life? Today there are all manner of pretender answers to that question. Come and think deeply with me about your identity in the Lord.
029 Jesus On Human Sexuality - The Tension He Presents
What did Jesus teach and imply about human sexuality? Was he merely silent on the matter? Was he different from his Jewish background? Did he follow other rabbis on the matter? Was he permissive and lenient? Or, was he legalistic and strict? We do well to know what our Lord taught. How might we replicate Jesus' own m.o. regarding sex, dealing with sin and sinners, and our own heart's attitude?