Last week I watched Frozen 2 with my grandaughter. How did she and I react? What was funny? What was insightful? How did the "cast" of actors do? What went wrong? What was stereotypical? What philosophical messages did Disney jamb down? Listen and laugh with me. (Originally a Premium listeners' episode.)
How can you get your kids to think critically about Christianity? What are apologetics? How might believers go about standing for truth in our emotion-driven society? What are compassionate compromisers and terrifying truth tellers? What's it like to be a woman doing apologetics from a conservative wing in the church? This is my delightful interview of Hillary Morgan Ferrer, general editor and author of Mama Bear Apologetics.
We are meme-barded with the following, "all religions are just different paths to the same mountain top," "all religions want salvation," and "all religions are mystical at heart." But when we look carefully do those hold up? What two facets of western life drive all those memes? What is the de-facto western religion? Let's laugh together even while we process carefully. This is part two of my series on questions that can wreck faith.
We are meme-barded, "Science has disproved Christianity!" Is that true? Can science disprove something it has no capacity to measure? How might we think about science and religion as different disciplines to benefit humanity? What are the limitations of science? Truth is truth, but there are different ways to get at, and realize, truth.
Most Christians do death just like unbelievers: avoidance, aversion, escape, pretending as though it's just not that real. But Jesus is Lord of everything, even death. What if we gave our death—now—to God as a gift? How might we go about that? What would that look like? What would the effect of that be like?
Our normal default is to consider guilt a bad thing. In Christ, however, it can be a glorious thing. Why is that? And what should we do about collective guilt? Are we supposed to feel guilty for the past sins of our forebears? Specifically, I consider the nation of Germany and whether it should continue to feel guilty for the Holocaust. What does prolonged guilt do to an entire nation?
What was the best movie of 2019? Worst? My favorite reads of 2019? Worst? What were the biggest international stories from 2019? What was the U.U.’s most and least listened to episodes of 2019? What do I think about the impeachment of Donald Trump? What was the highest grossing musical tour of the year? And then, what about college life in 2019? Why are college students so depressed? Let’s look back together.
We sentimentalize baby Jesus' birth. But what if his coming actually suggested important values, approaches, and attitudes for our own Christian mission? What might we learn from how he entered space and time? (This is a 6 minute quick hitter.)
There were two angel songs to the Shepherds outside Bethlehem. One announced great joy to all people, the other announced peace to all upon whom God's favor rests. The first, we will see, goes toward inclusivity. The second goes toward exclusivity. How should we make sense of these two songs?
The Shepherds heard an angel, saw a heavenly angelic host, and they were afraid! Is fear of God healthy? For how long? Moreover, Jesus is a man of wonder. His coming is wondrous! So how can we practice wonder? And why does wonder transcend our intellect? Come, and like human tea-bags let us steep our identities in the peace-filled identity of Christ!
Advent celebrates Jesus' coming to earth and his incarnation. There are specific themes that spill out of the Bethlehem portion of the story: lowliness, kingship, motherhood, flesh, beauty, prophecy, and just plain old weirdness! Let's go deeper into the Christmas mystery.
Advent celebrates the varied ways that Christ comes to us: past, present, and future. This week of Advent focuses on anticipation and yearning. To unpack that I address the power of symbolism, what it is like to yearn, a weird dream I just had, and prayer. Also spend a few minutes sharing my reflections and concerns about Kanye West's turn to Christ.
Is the peace of Christ merely a religious selling point, something to help people choose Christianity? I tell two of my friends' stories to develop the reality that peace can be in the Christian life. But across the Bible peace is even greater than an inward experience. What is that? Also, what is the most overlooked gift in the universe?
In the West there are two churches and they are growing apart. Significantly, this has to do with their understanding of work. One side embraces Gospel work, the other side embraces Kingdom work. What characterizes these two kinds of work? What are their goals? How might we address the growing bifurcation of these two emphases?
What are some (unintended?) consequences, some collateral damage, of the transgender movement? Given recent SCOTUS rulings is there hope for the future of freedom? Can God call someone to a vocation that supports his Kingdom even if they are not a pastor or a missionary?
How can the Law actually be God's grace? In part 1 of a 2 part interview I ask Kristen Waggoner, Senior Vice President at Alliance Defending Freedom, questions along that line. How is it loving to use the law to defend one's neighbor? Isn't a use of the law always coercive and thus against Jesus' methods? And, shouldn't Christians just live and let live and not try to bring our faith into the legal arena?
The 16th century Reformation was explosive about the topic of works and salvation. So what should we think and believe and embrace about both work and works today? Do they matter? If so, why? If not, why? I also do some Halloween reflecting!
The Christian worldview is a future-directed way of life. Significantly then that involves hope. But what is hope? How is it different from wishing or generally being positive? How is it that hope can function as a guide or strategy for our lives? Is the Christian hope a disembodied existence in heaven? I also deal with the question, what does it mean to be a successful Christian?
I've never met somebody who relished in uncertainty. Ambiguity is hard on us, sometimes it is hard on our faith. In this episode will I celebrate ambiguity? Nope. But I will point out some of the positive dimensions that the space, distance, and freedom which all come from ambiguity make possible in our lives. I also talk about the olfactory wonders of walking my dog, Bindi!
Belief in truth requires belief in the law of Non-Contradiction. Simply put, A≠B, you are not me, we are not God. There are irrevocable distinctions in reality. What kind of truths involving the law of Non-Contradiction does the Bible teach? Along the way I describe our recent trip to Nashville and demolish some errors being embraced by church folk today.
