Idolatry
47 conversations where the hosts get into idolatry.
47 conversations
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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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Does God affirm our struggles or call us to repent of them?
- Does God affirm our struggles or call us to repent of them?
Mike frames two camps: one that says God affirms our struggles as-is, another that says He calls us to repent of what is in our control.
From No. 534 · The Antagonistic Bison
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Is it wrong to keep a potty mouth and chew tobacco?
- Is it wrong to love and follow Jesus while keeping a slight potty mouth and continuing to chew tobacco?
- Does the Bible call gambling a sin?
Third 'is this wrong?' case: can a host love and follow Jesus all his days while keeping a slight potty mouth and chewing tobacco?
From No. 524 · Handshakes and Wrongness
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Ask the pastor: the queen of heaven in Jeremiah 7:18
- What is the 'queen of heaven' in Jeremiah 7:18?
Boova's ask-the-pastor comes from his Jeremiah read-through: the 'queen of heaven' in Jeremiah 7:18 (cakes baked, drink offerings poured 'to provoke me to anger').
From No. 508 · The Caduce
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Pick your own pharaoh: America, free thought, and the persecuted church
- Is restricted freedom the reason Jesus is flourishing in countries like China?
Chris is invited to speak and asks whether restricted freedom in places like China is why Jesus is flourishing there.
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Jeremiah: cursed is the man who trusts in man
- What good does it do to pronounce this the end of the world?
A host shares from Jeremiah 16-18, reading that the sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron and engraved on the tablet of their heart, and that God says, 'cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength.'
From No. 419 · Election Stuff, Reluctantly
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Hard question: the greatest false idol of modern Christianity
- What is the greatest false idol of modern Christianity?
A host brings a Relevant Magazine article asking for the greatest false idol of modern Christianity and polls the panel: family, the megachurch, salvation.
From No. 273 · Fear, the False Idol
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Is recreational marijuana okay for Christians where it is legal?
- Is recreational marijuana use okay for a Christian where it can be purchased legally?
Prompted by Colorado's legalization of recreational marijuana, the hosts debate whether use is permissible for Christians where legal.
From No. 173 · Marijuana and Spiritual Leadership
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The tobacco testimony: three weeks nicotine-free
- Is using chewing tobacco sinful, and what should be done about it?
A host recounts giving up chewing tobacco three weeks earlier after a callback from a previous show's question: a woman saw tobacco products at his house and said 'that's not how we grow,' which he took to prayer in the car and accepted as God's answer.
From No. 527 · Angels and Blessings
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BeliefNet items four and five: superstition and drinking to get drunk
- Is drinking in moderation acceptable for Christians, and where is the line?
Item four (superstition) is summed up as idolatry — faith in objects having magical powers — with 1 Peter 5:8 cited as the article's kicker.
From No. 476 · CS Lewis Has Fallen
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Ponds, not wells: the peace that stays
Ben develops the ponds-vs-wells metaphor: the things people chase — money, sex, identity, emotional self-knowledge — are ponds, not deeper wells, and 'they both look the same from the surface'; you have to wade in to your waist and go 'well crap.'
From No. 603 · Found Out
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Testimony: food addiction, Whole30, and denying yourself
- What do you do about the things you refuse to deny yourself?
Boova (speaker-0; addressed on-air as 'Buva'/'Booba') gives an extended testimony about food addiction as idolatry.
From No. 386 · At Me, Bro
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Tower of Babel and the god of your own universe
The metaverse arc closes theologically: building your own universe is Tower of Babel territory, the coming philosophy is man becoming his own god, and the virtual self-improvement…
From No. 462 · Jesus and the Metaverse
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The church's unique offer and hot-button idols
One host argues community can be found at the bar, but the church's one unique offering is Christ crucified — 'the only thing we have to offer that has nothing else like it.'
From No. 421 · What Christians Do in a Divided Country
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Worried but hopeful: Jesus as King, not a Sunday accessory
A host says he feels both worried and hopeful about comfortable consumers losing their Sunday routine: worried for them, hopeful the destruction of routine exposes the chasm.
From No. 400 · Ineffective Conspiracies and Monday Morning Christians
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Pope-style: money stewardship testimony
- When money troubles hit, do you ask God to solve them only within what you are willing to give?
speaker-2 (addressed as Boova/Booba in the audio) delivers his 'Pope light': hours earlier he learned he owed a large sum of money and his first reflex was to ask God to cover it…
From No. 272 · How Not to Teach Your Kids the Bible
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Chasing the emotion vs pursuing the thing; the spin-off idol
The hosts warn that chasing the emotional experience is not holy, but pursuing the thing itself is. One host says people can end up worshipping a spin-off version of Jesus: one…
From No. 355 · The Weight of Grace
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Sins 2 and 3: Apathy, gluttony, and greed
On apathy, the hosts agree the deeper problem is dishonesty about what Scripture actually asks. On gluttony, they argue the point is really about trust and idolatry: filling voids with food or trinkets, or treating God as a tool who provides turkey legs and houses.
From No. 246 · Nine Sins the Church Is Okay With
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RELEVANT article, part 6: never measuring up — sold out for the work
Problem 6: 'you never seem to measure up' — trying to prove your love for God becomes trying to earn his; 'Jesus was a sacrifice to end all sacrifices.'
From No. 234 · The Messiah Complex
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Response: money must glorify God, deny yourself
The hosts push back: the Bible does not say everyone must sell everything; money must glorify God. They cite the parable of the talents, the rich young ruler in Matthew 19 (Jesus…
From No. 116 · September 24 2012
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Why fight so hard? The Loch Ness Monster argument
Wrapping proof #9 at nine-to-zero, the hosts argue the site's real motive: if God is real, life must change, so people fight hard not to give up their idols.
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Five last-days predictions from the Old Testament
- What are the last-days passages pastors rarely preach on?
- What is your worship of Molech?
The hosts work through an article of 'last day's passages that pastors rarely preach on': prophecy touches every person alive, with key New Testament passages named (Matthew 24, 1 Thessalonians, Revelation).
From No. 532 · Murph and the End
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Is the tree an idol? Worship as a heart posture
- Is there anything God created that is inherently evil?
The hosts argue the passage describes idol-making, not modern Christmas trees: the issue is worshiping the thing, not the thing itself.
From No. 484 · The Idol Tannenbaums
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Hidden sin two: Comfort
- Is comfort a sin, and when does comfort become idolatry?
The second item, comfort, gets the same treatment: comfort itself isn't sin, but turning it into an idol or using it as an excuse to dodge what God asks is.
From No. 475 · Finding Sin, Missing God