The $5 charity debate
- Should you give cash to a stranger who asks -- even a well-off one?
- Where does tithing fit alongside spontaneous giving to people in need?
A long, meandering debate on giving cash to strangers. One host (addressed on-air as Ben) describes his practice of trading $5 for a stranger's name -- 'buying a name to pray for' -- and argues for giving without interrogating need; another host says he'd give to a homeless person but not a well-to-do teenager, and the live chat jokes 'Mike would give anyone money and then follow him to see where he lives.' They weigh the 'least of these' (Matthew 25:40), enabling vs. helping, tithing and the Old Testament gleaning principle, meal-vs-cash (IHOP coupons), discomfort with street witnessing, Paul as a tentmaker, Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace for chronic need, and 'give to the one who asks' (Matthew 5:42).
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