Actor starts a New-Age temple; how do we describe the Holy Spirit?
- How should Christians describe the work of the Holy Spirit without it sounding like vague New-Age energy?
- How do you tell the difference between being merciful and being a doormat?
A host recounts a Vice story about Andrew Keegan — the 'jerk boyfriend' actor from 10 Things I Hate About You — starting a New-Age spiritual movement called Full Circle in Venice, California, after a street lamp exploded and a heart-shaped rose quartz crystal jumped off an altar. The hosts chuckle, then turn serious: the movement's vague language about synchronicity and energy sounds uncomfortably like the way Christians often describe the Holy Spirit. They confess to using 'it feels like a Holy Spirit thing' as a cop-out when they don't know what else to say, and one host recounts a real conversation about being merciful versus being a doormat where he nearly used the Holy Spirit as a dodge. The consensus: the Holy Spirit is a tangible advocate with real fruit, not a vague energy blob.
More on Discernment
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'When God is silent': what counts as hearing from the Lord?
- What does it mean to 'hear from the Lord,' and how often should we expect it?
Mike brings a question from his Bible study, whose paragraph heading was 'when God is silent': the author wrote that he experienced God's silence for a couple of weeks and freaked out, and Ben expected a relatable years-long drought story — 'Oh, two weeks.
From No. 603 · Found Out
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Mike frames the question: are more people hearing from God?
- Does it seem like more and more people are hearing from God — and is that real or a lie and a huge distraction?
Ben asks Mike for a two-sentence framing; Mike says listening to the book of Job while mowing made him furious when Bildad 'received a word from the Lord,' turning a bad human argument into an unarguable divine claim.
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God
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Does God speak more now? Indwelling Spirit versus prophets
- Does God talk to people as much now as he did in the Old Testament or New Testament?
A host asks whether God talks to people as much now as in the Old and New Testaments. Ben's key distinction: the indwelling Holy Spirit means more people can have the experience…
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God
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How to tell your voice from God's: the Bible test and leniency
- How can you tell the difference between you speaking and God speaking?
Ella distills the question: how do you tell the difference between you speaking and God speaking? Her first answer: we have a Bible — what God is telling you is probably already in it ('Ben's gonna have a proud papa moment').
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God