Many believers get stuck in their Bible reading. They want to do what is right and want to hear from the Lord, but because they only read in one set way they get stuck, and frustrated. I work through 5 different ways to change-up your reading method and tell some personal stories along the way. I also offer up an analysis of our societal chaos and sing a new ditty for your informational pleasure! :)
Postmodern definitions of personhood are both ambiguous and ambiguously grounded. Let alone the confusion, why is that dangerous? What kinds of demographic subgroups will be targeted in and through that strategic ambiguity? Why are Christians called to discern the Zeitgeist (spirt-of-the-age) in which they reside? Come laugh and think with me!
The 2015 SCOTUS Obergefell ruling created a new, if ambiguously grounded, right. The basis for that ruling? A philosophy that had been slow-cooking on college campuses for 150 years. How did Charles Darwin's faith play into the cooking of that philosophical stew? What is that philosophy doing to the fabric of society? Let's laugh and think together!
Sixteen years ago Michael Mitchell fought off cancer. Five years ago it returned. He's been battling with it, off and on, but is now confronted with two-to-four months to live. By having him on the show again I want to honor both he and his ministry, but also talk with him about a topic mostly avoided in our culture: death. What would he have us consider? What is important in such a critical season? How does one keep one's sense of humor through all that. Come and join us in a poignant and important conversation.
The SCOTUS Obergefell ruling of 2015 left behind a massive definitional vacuum: how should personhood be defined? How is it being defined? How does that ruling spill out of what people love? What are some profound implications resulting? What is rushing in to fill the vacuum created by the Obergefell ruling? Let's think together about our bodies and personhood.
Millions ask themselves, "Does God exist?" But that's not the rub; as if God were only happy that we acknowledge his existence. The more probing question, the one that is more foundational for Christian faith, is "Does God communicate?" And then, why does God allow for people to reject or manipulate his words? Come think and laugh with me through these seminal matters.
When I was in the seventh grade I was bullied by a bigger, taller eighth grader. What'd I learn? What do psychologists tell us about the mindset, the neediness, of bullies? What do most insightful websites say to do regarding bullies? What does that mean for Christian life and faith? Come laugh and think with me.
What is the core element of Christianity? In our confused and confusing society, is that core element variously love or the Bible or persons? Which one? And then, is that core element worth preserving? Why or why not? I also explain why many Christians like to say "Maranatha" as a kind of greeting or exclamation! Come laugh with me.
Filled by hope, should Christians be dismissive? Watching our societal foment should Christians be freaked out? With our eyes fixed on Christ, even while we watch society stab itself, just what is a healthy demeanor? (Quick hitter: 7 minutes)
Eight predictions for the future: Joe Biden, the price of gasoline, the Senate filibuster, UFOs, Derek Chauvin, the Vatican, the U.S. military, and the 2nd Amendment. I also mix in a personal reflection: what about the Christian faith fills my heart with hope? And yet another "CDC Ministry of Truth report" is inside the show.
In this—my 200th public—episode I reflect on the state of my show and what it was like to leave a tenured professorship. I also carefully reflect on the nature of the Great Washout we are experiencing. How is it different from previous washouts? How is the clamor for diversity more truthfully a push for a monochrome uniformity? What does all this mean for the Church? Come laugh and think with me!
The battle to topple traditional American, and Judeo-Christian, culture is raging today through a dynamic I'm calling "disproportionate engagement." I offer some examples of how this is so: an unwitting tv Christian family gets played, confessions of a former Antifa member, the unabashed educational indoctrination system, and how even cartoons are being cancelled. At the show's conclusion I also offer four steps believers should be taking. Come laugh and think with me!
Who's against compassion? Not me. Out of compassion God sent his Son. The Bible shows God is constantly looking to extend compassion towards us. But today's PoMo culture over-burdens millions, they are taught they need to "own" and solve all the world's problems, by themselves. How might you check to see whether your compassion pendulum has swung too far? Also in this episode: why I go to church.
A common adage, "the church always does better when she's persecuted," stems from Tertullian, "the blood of the martyrs is the seeds of the church." Yet, if we study history is that even true? Was that true under the Romans? Under Muslims? Under Soviet Marxists? And then, why? Why do I care? Or why do I prefer to say to those in favor of Christian suffering, "you first!"?
We now live in an era characterized by B.S. In this episode I define what, technically, is B.S. and talk about how to set your B.S.-o-meter. On what basis did Jesus positively teach us to judge? What things did he say that implied our need to judge? What kinds of daily decisions require judgment? What qualities are helpful for growing healthy Christian discernment?
We are told, incessantly, that Jesus commanded, "Do Not Judge." But is that really all that should be said on the matter? How does Jesus compare to ancient Judaism on judgment? What was Jesus saying in his own context about judging? When it comes to judging what can God see that we cannot? And, why does the WorldSpirit love to argue that Jesus forbad all judging?
All artists design based on an idea, a pattern—however unformed—in their minds. If that holds, what blueprint did God use when he created? To what end did he create? Or more narrowly, how did the END shape the beginning? Building from that I think with you about what it means to be human, at the most basic level. Come and relish with me the beauty of the Christian way. Only Christianity promotes caritas with practical applications.
Tomas d'Aquino, following Aristotle, proposed five ways (arguments) for the existence of God. I work through those five ways and relish in the miracle of existence and vision. We then explore just how eye-sight works, unpacking how complicated it is in order to perceive what a loving gift it is. I also challenge Christians—following Old Testament prophets and Jesus himself—to embrace a public confession of faith.
How does the Bible compare to other explanations of the origins of the universe? Was the Bible aware of other such explanations? Why is the Bible's explanation truly logical and with what famous scientific theory does that align? And then, what is light? How fast does it travel? What does its dual nature suggest to us about reality, about ethics? What lessons cannot be inferred from studies about light? Come and wonder with me about the magic of our universe.
Culture teaches us to perceive reality in utilitarian terms: what does it do for ME? Or how does that benefit ME? But viewing life through Christic eyes involves wonder. And so I suggest a couple of ways to perceive with gratitude and wonder the realities—things like Luna, the moon—that present themselves to us. I also reflect on our culture's ongoing pursuit of dissociation what that means for the future.
