86 conversations
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Dear LFTP: anxiety over filtering bad news, husband as news filter
- Is it wrong to prioritize mental well-being over staying informed about the news?
A listener writes that America is in turmoil, she is horrified by daily senseless death and fears death, and she has made her husband filter bad news for her - but feels guilty about not educating herself.
From No. 292 · The Viral Dulcimer
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Who killed Jesus? The Wiesenthal Center poll story
- Who killed Jesus?
The hosts discuss a news story in which the Wiesenthal Center got the National Geographic Channel in Latin America to remove an online 'who killed Jesus?' poll offering Pontius Pilate, the Jewish people, and the high priests as options.
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Clarification: is America a Christian nation?
- Is America a Christian nation?
Ben clarifies a reels comment: the point was never 'America is a Christian nation' — it was that if Jesus is not the king, it is not a Christian nation.
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Off politics: what do the people of Jesus need to do?
- What do the people of the Lord Jesus need to do, apart from the political surroundings?
A host recounts teasing Ben about being 'heavily into politics' after Ben pledged to stay off the news and sent a politics article seven hours later.
From No. 421 · What Christians Do in a Divided Country
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News: the Last Supper opening-ceremony controversy and a murdered Lao pastor
- Am I under-reacting to the Last Supper opening-ceremony controversy?
The news segment covers the Paris Olympics opening-ceremony tableau resembling the Last Supper — the guest saw headlines about a drag-queen depiction, and the host reads a…
From No. 536 · The Olympic Supper Club
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Hating the news: is information overload too heavy to carry?
A host describes his growing hatred of the news — two paragraphs in, all he feels is weight — and how one day lost to an event beats years lost fearing it.
From No. 418 · Top Bible Searches of 2020
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Chinese spy balloon news and the absurdity of the U.S. response
- Was the Chinese spy balloon a real surveillance threat, and why did the U.S. shoot it down with a missile instead of towing it down?
The hosts walk through the Chinese spy balloon saga: Montana spotting it first, the Baymax comparisons, and the bafflement that China would use a visible non-propelled balloon when satellites and phones harvest data far better.
From No. 490 · QuickTrip Johnson
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Live open: a big news week
- How should Christians react to the overturning of Roe v. Wade?
- Should the praying football coach have been fired?
A host opens live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston Proper and frames a big news week: the Supreme Court decisions on abortion and on the praying football coach.
From No. 468 · Turned Over Not Over
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Reading the Christian Post metaverse article
- Will the metaverse eat the megachurch?
A host reads the Christian Post piece on the metaverse and the megachurch: pre-pandemic only 22 percent of pastors livestreamed their full service, the 2021 state of church…
From No. 462 · Jesus and the Metaverse
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The oil-producing Bible ministry fraud
- How can you tell whether a claimed miracle is real or a fraud?
A host reads a Chattanooga Times Free Press investigation of the 'His Name Is Flowing Oil' ministry in Dalton, Georgia, whose Bible allegedly produced oil that lab analysis matched to Tractor Supply mineral oil after leader Jerry Pierce admitted buying gallons of it.
From No. 397 · Interview with Blake Stanley with BLDR Apparel
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News: Tanzanian pastor arrested after deadly stampede
- What caused the stampede at the Tanzanian church service?
The hosts discuss a news story: Tanzanian pastor Boniface Mwamposa was arrested after telling roughly 10,000 worshipers at a stadium service to rush to one side to be anointed with blessed oil, causing a stampede that killed 20 people, five of them children.
From No. 394 · Tunes with Jeff Arrandale, Prodigal Junk, and Drifting Families
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News: Wuhan pastors and the coronavirus question
- Is the coronavirus news coverage and scare warranted given the reported death rate?
A host shares a better news story: amid the coronavirus outbreak in China, Wuhan pastors are encouraging congregations not to fear and to be at the forefront of helping others.
From No. 394 · Tunes with Jeff Arrandale, Prodigal Junk, and Drifting Families
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The Hawaii false missile alert
- If you got twenty minutes' warning of an incoming ballistic missile, what would you do with it — and would it change how you live?
After a quick rundown of the night's stories, the hosts linger on the false ballistic-missile warning in Hawaii: the dropdown-menu text, the forty-minute delay in correcting it, and what anyone could do with twenty minutes anyway.
From No. 339 · Kenny Got A Plane
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Wisconsin company offers employees implanted microchips
- Would you get an RFID microchip implanted in your hand for workplace convenience?
Ben (addressed by name in the episode) reads a Washington Post story: Three Square Market, a Wisconsin vending-machine software company, is offering employees optional RFID chip…
From No. 327 · Got You Under My Skin
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An Episcopal bishop tries to sell his church to townhouse developers
- Does a three-year suspension fit a bishop trying to sell his congregation's property without permission?
Ben reads the news: a disciplinary panel recommended suspending California bishop J. John Bruno for three years after he tried to sell St. James the Great in Newport Beach to a townhouse developer without the congregation's permission.
From No. 327 · Got You Under My Skin
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The Mandela effect: did Sinbad star in a movie called Shazam?
- Did a Sinbad movie called Shazam actually exist?
A host reads a Relevant Magazine piece about internet users who vividly remember a 1990s Sinbad movie called Shazam that never existed — no records, no VHS, and Sinbad himself…
From No. 312 · The Shack
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Atheist teacher Susan Kramer calls students 'cretins' on Facebook
- What does the word 'cretin' actually mean?
The hosts read and discuss a news story: atheist teacher Susan Kramer of Merritt Brown Middle School in Panama City is under probe after calling students who invited her to church 'cretins' on a private atheist Facebook page that was screenshotted.
From No. 311 · Lose Your Life to Gain It
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You can't carry the world; stop overweighting your impact
A host argues people were not created to bear the burden of knowing everything: the 24/7 news cycle and social media sell the false idea that your voice matters on a giant stage, when your real influence is your family and community.
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Norway's Lutheran church puts membership records online; 15,000 deregister in five days
- What does it mean that Norway's Lutheran church lets members check and leave their membership online?
A host shares a news item: the Lutheran Church in Norway, the country's official religion, launched a web page (the previous Monday) letting people verify whether they are registered members, and by Friday 15,000 people had deregistered.
From No. 292 · The Viral Dulcimer
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The Blazing Saddle vandalism story
- Was the youth group right to help the vandalized gay bar, or is that "rebuilding the Ba'al Temple"?
A host reads a Des Moines Register story: the gay bar Blazing Saddle was vandalized (rock through the window); a Christian youth group from Two Rivers Church brought a $160 donation, flowers, and cards, which the bar redirected to the Orlando massacre victims' fund.
From No. 283 · When Totems Fall
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News: the lip balm ban and the fifth-grade petition
- If your elementary-school child wanted to reverse a policy set by the school board, how would you counsel her?
Dan presents the news item: a Virginia elementary school banned lip balm over sharing concerns; a fifth grader started a petition that drew the support of Balmtastic Lip Balm, a multimillion-dollar company started by two young sisters, who sent hundreds of tubes.
From No. 204 · Losing My Religion
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News: Kanye West's concert and owning your awkward moments
- What is the best way to handle an awkward moment when you have said something you should not have said?
Dan recounts Kanye West halting a Sydney concert until everyone stood, with wheelchair users in the crowd and one man removing his prosthetic leg — an excruciating moment.
From No. 204 · Losing My Religion
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What's happening: the Coppertone Facebook ban
- Is there any nudity — art, photography, statues, etc. — that can be considered nonsexual?
Dan poses the first news question: a mother was banned from Facebook for posting a photo of her toddler recreating the 1953 Coppertone-girl pose.
From No. 197 · Can Nudity Be Nonsexual?
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What's happening: confronting beach thieves
- How would you confront someone who's stealing your stuff on a beach?
Dan's second question covers a viral video of a man filming two women stealing his beach gear, who then attack him on camera.
From No. 197 · Can Nudity Be Nonsexual?