The constant public refrain is that humanity is destroying the planet, that we are the problem, that our presence is the single greatest driver of climate. But actually? The science doesn't go so neat and tidy in that direction. What about the power of the sun? What about our position in our galaxy? I also think with you about reducing inflation by spending $370 billion. What is going on? Why?
That the human race is a cancer to planet Earth is becoming a mainstream notion. The media constantly beat that drum but so also do movies like M. Night Shyamalan's "The Happening." I think through that movie and then compare its message with a biblical worldview on the relationship between humanity and Earth. Near the show's end I remark on the economic meltdown of Sri Lanka and how its governmental policies have played into the mess. Also, why does (should) culture matter for the Gospel of Christ?
The warnings are emphatic and constant: we are smoking the planet. If we don't adjust course the ocean's icebergs will disappear, and along with them the polar bears. But what does the science say? What did a public lawsuit in the UK conclude? Along the way I also reflect on the Great Reversal I am witnessing among the Leftists, more reflections on Ukraine, and I even cover the Talking Heads' song, "Once in a Lifetime." Come think and laugh with me.
I'll admit it, I have biases that inform how I assess the topic of Climate Change. In fact, I have 2 constant biases. What are they? Also, prompted by a friend, I offer still more information about carbon dioxide. Along the way I also address how helpful catalytic converters really are, gun violence in Chicago, some miracles occurring in Central Oregon, and the question of suffering and meaning. Come think and laugh with me!
The scientists behind the Paris accord use data (a span since the Industrial Revolution) that is too brief to be helpful. Much longer data is required to get a sense of earth's fluctuating climate. So why did the Paris accord, alongside American politicians, use shorter data? What percentage of the earth's history has been ice age? Is CO2 dangerous or beneficial for plant life? Is it—I know it sounds crazy—but is it possible the carbon dioxide we pump into the atmosphere is beneficial for life on earth? What is going on?
When I was in high school a few teachers warned us of a looming ice age. Then for a couple decades we heard dire warnings of global warming. Today? It's a matter of climate change. Along the way what changed to cause the shift in terminology? And, as we think of it, on what does climate change science rest, computer models? I also reflect on the implications of the recent SCOTUS ruling about abortion. Come think and laugh with me!
Climate change, obviously, is tied to scientific method. But just what is scientific method? How is it different from technological advance? What kinds of things get in the way of increasingly better scientific knowledge? Why, for a show about theology, am I even taking a look at climate change? I also share a fun story from when I was in the 5th grade in Oregon's Willamette valley.
How should we understand water baptism and the Lord's supper? The answers—and the infighting—are myriad, depending upon the Church, denomination, pastor, or theologian. And me? I love theology! But the Paleo-Hebrew worldview moves the question of those two Christian rituals' purpose back to a root historical level. Jesus' own baptism thus becomes the model, the archetype for our own. I also reflect on actor Matthew McConaughey's recent presentation at the Whitehouse.
Over the years until I finished high school there had been one mass school shooting in America. Since 1999 there have been fourteen. So what has changed? What does the Bible say about our agency, human rights, governmental power, and human nature? Which has caused more misery in human history, nature or governments? What about pacifism? What about "turn the other cheek"? Why are political leaders wanting to outlaw guns? Let's employ wisdom to think through this volatile issue.
For 2000 years the Western church has emphasized the incarnation as a necessary step for our atonement, and I'm grateful for that emphasis. For 1900 years the Eastern church has emphasized the incarnation for its ontology, and I'm grateful for that, too. The ancient paleo-Hebrew worldview has something to say as well about the purpose of God's having incarnated the second person of the Trinity, and it is a beautiful purpose! I also reflect on the mass murder in Uvalde and the growing cultural-moral divide.
Jesus' coming, contrary to so much bumper-stickery blather out there, was anything but peaceful. He came to do battle. Significantly, that battle was against "e"lohim who rule the nations. Jesus rejoiced as the 70 he sent out in his name drove out demons. And he enjoins our service in the Marine Corps of the Spirit to continue that battle. But for me? I get exhausted by the spirituality of warfare. So what do I do?
Christians say, "we want to do it the way the New Testament shows us to do it." Or more earnestly, "we want to do it the way Jesus said to govern." So just what do history and the New Testament show us? I work through three standard churchly models—episcopal, presbyterian, and congregational—to think with nuance about Christian governance. Also, what about the Big Quit? What's going on? How did a corporate culture play into my own decision?
Jesus, "you nailed that one, Peter! And on this rock I will build my Church." There is a long-standing Roman Catholic interpretation of that as well as an established Protestant interpretation of that seminal verse. In light of the Paleo-Hebrew worldview is it possible that Jesus' assertion meant something still different? Let's think through this together. I also reflect on the recent SCOTUS leak concerning Roe v. Wade.
Jesus, freshly baptized in the Spirit of God, was driven out into enemy territory: unholy Bashan. In a state of hungry privation he battled the Nachash who offered Jesus something that would've belonged to him as God's messiah: the nations. Jesus won those battles by quoting the Bible; we all know that. But what part of the Bible did he quote and why? I also discuss why I refer to the devil as ha Satan, using the article, "the." Let's think with nuance on these matters.
From an anthropological angle all religions have their contact points: totems, idols, altars, temples, and meeting places. I work through a significant Old Testament example and then show how (audaciously) Jesus declared himself to be the new (and eternal) meeting place with God. Applying that background I work through the logic of rejecting things just because they have been abused. Let's reason from a Christ-centered, biblically informed worldview.
What happens when we don't flatten the biblical portrayal into a metaphor? What if the Bible is as particular and vivid as it comes to us? What does reducing it to a metaphor say about us? What does leaving it as a vivid-mind-blowing story imply about God? We explore still more detail about the angel of the Lord and what Jesus has to say about him centuries later. I also reflect on guns and Ukraine.
My series thus far has focused on corrupted members of God's divine council. In this episode we begin to unearth ancient portrayals and information about another divine being: the angel of the Lord. Was he just a guardian angel? Did he ever go on the war-offensive? Is he just the general of the angels? Or something more? If so, how? I also reflect on economic inflation and product-packaging shrinkflation. Come laugh and think with me!
Beginning with the ziggurat of Babel—the first Empire state building— in Genesis 11 the Bible shows us repeatedly that different spiritual entities (1 Enoch called them archons) rule(d) over different geographic areas. God abandoned those areas, those nations, to the little "g" gods when he established the nations at Babel. Jesus Christ took captive those "g"ods and brings reconciliation to the nations. So how can we discern the presence and influence of these beings?
Inside and outside of Christian faith, many ask, "why did God command the Hebrews to utterly destroy the nations?" "Doesn't that indiscriminate slaughter make God an evil being?" Fair questions, indeed. We work through the context for that kherem/destruction and how the land came into play for the ancients in this episode. I also reveal the most unreported story in all of American Evangelicalism. Come laugh and think with me!
The common Christian expectation is that final judgment awaits the end of history. That's not bad, but the Bible sees judgment at work now in life. Even corrupted "sons of God", immoral angels, have already been judged and taken somewhere. This episode explores what 1 Enoch, Jesus, Peter, and Jude all say about the matter. I also offer reflections on the movie "Idiocracy" and the war in Ukraine. Come laugh and think with me!
