Dummies With Wisdom

On this Fourth of July weekend, many churches will inevitably play some patriotic songs during their worship services. Is this an issue. We may love America, but how does that relate to the sacred nature of a worship service?

In this listener-submitted question, the Dummies discuss purity culture. Is it good theology? Is it damaging to people? Is the thought correct but the teaching wrong? 

In today's culture, there seem to be more and more people concerned about the pronouns you use when referring to them. How should Christians respond? Should we use false pronouns? Is it worth making a big deal about? Do we ignore pronouns altogether?

In a listener submitted question, today we talk about ourselves - where we came from, where we are going, what made us leave the Baptist realm, the struggles we have had, and more.

Many Christians have had bad experiences with churches. Sometimes, these experiences push people away from the church and they respond with a hatred towards it. Is this acceptable for Christians? Can a Christian hate the very institution of the faith? We discuss the various reasons for people despising the church and the appropriate responses to it.

We all have those sins in our lives that we commit that seem to have no effect on other people or even really ourselves. How should we view these "little" sins? Are they as serious as the "large" sins that deeply affect our relationships or even our faith? Are they something we should just accept as sinful beings? Today's episode entails both how we should see them as well as how we ought to react.

In the third part of our mini-series, we discuss different important doctrines and if they pertain to one's ability to be saved. Outside of the core Gospel, there are many important topics such as baptism, hell, understanding love, etc. Does a wrong theology in these areas cause one not to be saved? 

Biblical theology traces themes throughout the Bible. Systematic theology asks, "What does the Bible say about ____?" Which of these is more important? Which is more useful in our faith journeys? The Dummies will give you simple answers to these in-depth questions in today's discussion.

To outsiders, the church is often characterized by what we stand against. Inside the church, we often say that our faith is all about what/who we are for. When we consider practical theology (the applicational side of our beliefs), is it more about what we are for, or what we are against? Our discussion today figures out which side we are on today and which way we ought to see it.