Round robin: Dan on radio teachers, tapes, and interpretive humility
Dan (addressed by name) traces his influences: at 18 with no father figure, Focus on the Family taught him about being a husband and dad, then Chuck Swindoll on the radio, then years of cassette tapes from Bible teachers. He notes that every recent voice he dialed into (Driscoll, Perry Noble) eventually blew up, so now he prefers topical listening without deifying anyone. The discussion widens to N.T. Wright's Ask N.T. Wright podcast and Wright's daily Greek New Testament reading, and to Wright and Keller disagreeing on real issues — which the hosts take as reason for humility: scripture is bigger than any interpreter, and God is sovereign over the disagreements.
More on Humility
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The New Testament case for human shaping
- What does the New Testament actually say about spiritual authority and submission?
Ben walks the New Testament texts: Hebrews 13:17 ('obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls') presumes a soul-watching laborer, not a rule-maker;…
From No. 600 · Rage The Elephant
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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
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Evaluating the event: Elijah, Josiah, the sign of Jonah, the donuts test
- How do we tell whether a church element has become the thing itself rather than pointing to Jesus?
The hosts work through evaluation tools for curated experiences: Elijah didn't ask God to repeat the fire, and Jesus refused to repeat signs for the Pharisees ('you get the sign…
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Dear LFTP: the untidy grandchildren's home
- How can I tell my son's family that visiting their untidy home increases my anxiety without offending them?
Mike reads a letter from a grandmother anxious about her son's untidy home; the hosts diagnose persnickety-vs-oblivious wiring (Ben's sock-on-the-floor example, Martha), advise…
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