Pope Francis has died: how the Church chooses the next pope
- How does the Catholic Church choose the next pope after Francis's death?
Ben reports that Pope Francis died today and the hosts dig into how a new pope is chosen: a two-to-three-week conclave of cardinals under 80, up to four secret votes a day with ballots sewn together, black smoke for no consensus and white smoke when two-thirds agree, and the new pope choosing his name. Ben contrasts Benedict and John Paul's theologian style with Francis's pastoral style (Francis of Assisi, care for the poor, peripheral cities, plain Vatican housing), jokes that Kenneth Copeland, Joel Osteen, and Jesse Duplantis in one room could never reach two-thirds, and closes saying that even though they are not Catholic, the pope's influence on how the world sees Jesus is worth praying for. Mike supplies Francis's full name, Jorge Mario Bergoglio.
More on Prayer
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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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'What would I fight God on?': buildings, pews, and the zero-fruit youth group
- What would I fight God on — and would my heart go along with following him?
Ben shares what he ran into in the last couple weeks: 'what would I fight God on even if I knew it was him?'
From No. 603 · Found Out
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Is modern Christianity biased toward a personality type?
- Is modern Christianity (its sermons and worship music) biased toward a certain personality type?
A host asks whether what churches teach, focus on, and sing is biased toward a certain personality type — prompted by emotive worship lyrics (the 'sloppy wet kiss' line in a…
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Should following Jesus feel more comfortable as time goes on?
- Should following Jesus feel more comfortable as time goes on?
A host asks whether following Jesus should feel more comfortable as time goes on — noting the low-level tension many feel around am-I-doing-enough and the stigma that contentment equals laziness.