One of the key tenets of the Christian faith is the fact the God is merciful. It’s what salvation is all about. While God sees everything we do with our lives, he still sees someone he wants to save. Our salvation isn’t based on our actions nor is it disqualified by the acts of our past. That is what sets true Christianity apart from other faiths and religions that all depend on you acting a certain way to be qualified for their own version of salvation. But that poses somewhat of a paradox for Christianity. In Isaiah chapter 43 verse 25, it says “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; And I will not remember your sins.”

Now that idea is key for the salvation doctrine, but God also says that he knows everything. So the paradox comes up when the Bible says that God will forget our sins, but is He capable of forgetting? The submitted question asks this very question and it is enlightening to know the answer. “Does God forgive and forget?”

Today are go back into the conversation from last week, which was “why does God allow suffering in our lives”, but we try to move through some concerns we had from the last episode. We add to the conversations we already had about Job from last week, as well as opening up new topics. One of which I will note now is on the subject of mental health and suffering. We do our best to talk about it, but it is admittedly difficult to talk about such complicated topics in the timespan we have. There are so many answers that we can give and it is difficult to pin down someone’s specific situation. But if you have a question you would like for us to address specifically, you can find a form to submit questions at www.ibbvn.org/deeperroots.

In this episode, we start on a new topic, mainly around the basis of hurt and pain. One of the most common questions that lead people away from God or make them question their own faith is “why does God allow suffering in our lives”, and then we get a lot of other questions that stem from that. Now, if you’re like me, and you scroll through online forums or you are online often, you will see that a lot of people have this question and other variations of it. It’s difficult, especially for people with tragedies and terrible things that happen in their lives. But the concern and the doubt is legitimate, we can’t deny that first, It is real that people suffer in their lives, and no amount of talking about it can really make that suffering just go poof and disappear like it never happened. The pain has happened and you are living in this world now. And secondly, That the only person that who has felt your pain is you. Other people may have experiences similar to yours, but you are the one that has to deal with the things going on in your life. But that ultimately leads to a point where we have to understand humility and understanding. Just because we are the only ones who have experienced our own pain doesn’t mean that God doesn’t know how we feel. When we confront these issues with humility, we are open to hearing what God has to say about our pain, and that allows for change and healing to really happen. Instead of being victims of circumstance and tragedy, we can become victors over the pain in our lives.

In this episode, we continue exploring the topic from last week, but today we discuss the direct political responsibility of Christians, especially in modern day America. We talk about a Christian perspective about politics and the political hot-topics in order to help us make our own judgements on each area. The biggest subject, though, is our role as Christians in American democracy. Last week we talked about how Christians are essentially supposed to be the referees of the sinful world, but how do we take that position and apply it to being participants in the world’s power structures, like voting. This topic is very insightful, and you don’t want to miss it.

In this episode, we start on a new topic, with a new base question: “Is it possible to be a progressive Christian?”. Now this is clearly a political question, but it is one that we want to address accurately. How do we, as Christians, have to think about where we stand not only politically, but idealistically as well? We go into what it means to be a Christian, at least in where it is relevant to the question, and how our political allegiances are getting in the way of being better Christians, regardless of which side of the aisle you are on. I hope you continue listening, because, for me, there was a lot to learn in this conversation, and I am sure you will find value in listening into this podcast too.

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We aim to bring clarity to the most common and most pressing questions that are asked by listeners like you. The goal is to open up a dialogue to encourage questions and opportunities for deeper understanding, and through that we can actually form a relationship closer to God rather than letting the lack of clarity obscure our walk toward him.

Deeper Roots can be found on the popular podcast streaming platforms, like Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify Podcasts, as well as YouTube for clips and full episodes uploaded as videos.

Website: https://www.ibbvn.org/deeperroots

Submit your own question: http://bit.ly/DeeperRootsSubmitAQuestion

YouTube: https://bit.ly/DeeperRootsYouTube

Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/DeeperRootsApple

Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/DeeperRootsGoogle

Spotify: https://bit.ly/DeeperRootsSpotify

Instagram: @deeperroots_podcast, https://www.instagram.com/deeperroots_podcast/

Deeper Roots is a ministry of Iglesia Biblica Bautista Vida Nueva, which is a local church in Castro Valley, CA. You can learn more about us and our church by going to our website https://www.ibbvn.org

In this episode, we continue the conversation that we started last week about hypocrisy in the church. We continue diving into the question, expanding on what we talked about last week, and talking more about the role the church has in being accountable for the hypocrisy and sin in its organization.

Website: https://www.ibbvn.org/deeperroots

Submit your own question: http://bit.ly/DeeperRootsSubmitAQuestion

YouTube: https://bit.ly/DeeperRootsYouTube

Apple Podcasts: https://bit.ly/DeeperRootsApple

Google Podcasts: https://bit.ly/DeeperRootsGoogle

Spotify: https://bit.ly/DeeperRootsSpotify

Instagram: @deeperroots_podcast, https://www.instagram.com/deeperroots_podcast/

Deeper Roots is a ministry of Iglesia Biblica Bautista Vida Nueva, which is a local church in Castro Valley, CA. You can learn more about us and our church by going to our website

https://www.ibbvn.org

One of the biggest questions a lot of non-believers and skeptical believers have is “why are the Christians I know hypocrites?” That is a very valid question and it isn’t one that a lot of Christians tend to like to answer. We decided to start talking about this question and other follow up questions in this episode of Deeper Roots.

Website: www.ibbvn.org/deeperroots

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw-lF8mmgPFASXAub6IdX4g

Instagram: @deeperroots_podcast, https://www.instagram.com/deeperroots_podcast/