77 conversations
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'It's not a religion, it's a relationship': framing the big question
- Does God want a relationship with you - and if so, what do we actually mean by it?
Ben frames the night's first big question: the phrase 'it's not a religion, it's a relationship' is common, and evangelicals say 'God wants to be in relationship with you' - but is it true, and if so, what do we mean?
From No. 602 · Relationship Counseling
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Leadership training for church leaders: get a business manager
- Do people who lead churches need leadership training?
Mike's real question: to what extent do people need leadership training to lead churches? Ben gives two distinct answers.
From No. 602 · Relationship Counseling
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Will there be bison in heaven?
- Will there be bison (animals) in heaven?
A listener question: after arguing with a Tijuana missionary who insisted bison have no souls and won't be in heaven, Mike makes his case - God called creation good and redeems it; if only humanity is restored, then "Satan wins" on the rest.
From No. 534 · The Antagonistic Bison
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Are UFOs and aliens real?
- Why are pastors talking about UFOs?
The docket's big question, framed by 'why are the pastors talking about the UFOs?' -- societal distrust among older Christians and conspiracy fears; ancient evidence…
From No. 532 · Murph and the End
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'Seven common Christian beliefs that aren't in the Bible' #1: Satan was once Lucifer
- Was Satan once Lucifer, a fallen angel?
The hosts walk a BeliefNet article by Stephanie Hertzenberg. Item one claims 'Satan was once Lucifer' rests on a translation issue: the devil's fall comes largely from Milton's Paradise Lost, and Luke 10:18 and Revelation 12 never say Satan was an angel.
From No. 508 · The Caduce
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What is Calvinism? And what is theology?
- How much does theology really matter?
- What is Calvinism?
Prompted by a story about a co-worker the hosts read as a Calvinist, the room gives a rough explanation of Calvinism: named for John Calvin, built around five points, denying free will in salvation so that God chooses the saved and the rest cannot be rescued.
From No. 502 · When Evil Strikes
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Youth group question of the week: do babies go to heaven?
- Do babies go to heaven?
A host brings a question from a 12- or 13-year-old in his youth group: do babies go to heaven? One host shares a funeral story where a grieving mother was told her unbaptized baby…
From No. 358 · Paul The Intern
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The Shack: book, movie, and theological controversy
- Is it okay to read or watch The Shack?
- Is the author of The Shack a believer? Was it published by a Christian publisher?
A long discussion of The Shack prompted by its film release. One host, who listened to it on audiobook while new in the faith, says it made him think and drove him back to his Bible without replacing his theology.
From No. 312 · The Shack
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Is God the author of sickness and disease?
- Is God the author of sickness and disease?
The hosts read and debate a Facebook article arguing 'I can assure you that God is not the author of sickness and disease,' with commentary on John 9 (the man born blind).
From No. 190 · Is God the Author of Sickness?
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Hard question: can demons repent?
- Can demons — or Satan himself — repent?
A question that came up at church: can demons — or Satan himself — repent? The hosts reason that demons are fallen angels who chose against God in full knowledge, citing Hebrews 2:16 ('it is not angels that God helps'), 2 Peter 2:4, and Jude 6.
From No. 178 · What Are Our Snakes?
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Hard question: should every man who loves Jesus study theology?
- Is it necessary that every man who loves Jesus study theology?
Ben (speaker-0) poses the hard question: is it necessary that every man who loves Jesus study theology?
From No. 144 · Irreducible Complexity
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Dear LFTP: the $2,000 eyelid-surgery promise
- Does the writer owe Maria the $2,000 he promised toward her eyelid surgery after she ended the relationship?
- How long does a person's word last, and is a promise made in sin still binding?
A man who cohabited with Maria for two years asks whether he owes her the $2,000 he offered toward her eyelid surgery now that she has left him for someone else.
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Filtered DVDs, cursing, and Jesus Christ Superstar
- How much do you need to see a movie if you need a filtered version of it?
- Can a movie like Jesus Christ Superstar teach anything true about Jesus?
A substantive discussion: are profanity-filtering DVD players worthwhile, and 'how much do I need to see a movie if I need a filtered version of it?'
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The seventeen list, statements one through nine
The hosts burn through the first nine claims: you do not deserve God's love; you were born a sinner (original sin and the baby-baptism tangent); Jesus rescued you from God (from…
From No. 562 · Enter the McCormick II
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The seventeen list, statements ten through seventeen, plus the complaint line
The last eight claims go quickly: skipping church violates God's way; staying in an abusive relationship out of obedience (no); the Bible means only what seminary-trained leaders…
From No. 562 · Enter the McCormick II
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Hard question: is it okay not to like Solomon?
Returning to the docket teaser, a host explains he has just read 1 Kings and can no longer deify Solomon's wisdom: the man who asked for wisdom and built the temple also built…
From No. 551 · BeliefNet.Org.Com
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Ten years later: the 'can you call God bro' debate revisited
- Is it okay to call God casual names like 'bro' or 'big dog'?
Nathaniel retells the story from a decade earlier: a 19-year-old, fresh off a Walgreens shift and jazzed on Arizona tea, argued at length with Boova about whether it is okay to call God 'bro'.
From No. 428 · Old Church Ideas
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Debate: do our justifications for pets in heaven hold up
The hosts push back on the letter's logic: Mike argues the writer conflates an animal's simple affection with deep human love and overprescribes the pet's role in creation.
From No. 543 · Britches in Heaven
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Restored creation: animals, dominion, and the new Eden
The hosts work through whether animals belong in eternity: Ben argues Scripture pictures a creation God declares good and restores rather than destroys, with the lion lying down…
From No. 543 · Britches in Heaven
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Dan's baptism framework: age, mode, purpose
Dan Hudson, introduced as representing the more conservative position, says Boova's question carries about two hundred years of church argument.
From No. 539 · Birdcage
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Why is John's Judas so much harsher?
Boova's carryover hard question: why does John's Gospel feel so much more aggressive toward Judas than the Synoptics — 'son of perdition,' the money-bag thief detail, 'Satan enters him'?
From No. 515 · Beyond Despacito
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Six Things, Part 3: Everything Happens for a Reason
Item three of the article: 'everything happens for a reason.' The discussion follows the article's caution that the phrase can short-circuit real engagement with suffering, with the hosts probing when the saying comforts versus when it dismisses.
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Six Things, Part 6: I'm Blessed
The article's final item: 'I'm blessed.' A host pushes back that blessing in scripture is a declaration of God's approval and identity, not a reaction to events like a new home or a found coupon, citing Genesis 1:28.
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How much does theology really matter?
The hosts take up the docket's hard question: does theology matter? A pastor's systematic-theology-as-automobile analogy argues the doctrines are engineered to work as one vehicle…
From No. 502 · When Evil Strikes