What if the conflicts tearing apart the church and culture aren’t accidental—but engineered?

In this episode of Naughty vs Nice, we unpack how dialectical thinking operates beneath the surface of modern Christianity, politics, and cultural debates. From problem–reaction–solution frameworks to forced polarity and false binaries, we expose how tension is often manufactured to move people toward outcomes they never consciously chose.

This conversation explores how the dialectic reshapes belief systems, reframes truth, and subtly transfers authority—often under the guise of unity, progress, or compassion. We examine why Christians feel constantly pushed to “pick a side,” how this mindset distorts discernment, and why many believers sense manipulation but can’t quite name it.

If you’ve ever felt trapped between two bad options, exhausted by cultural outrage cycles, or uneasy with how church conversations are framed, this episode will give you language, clarity, and biblical grounding to recognize what’s really happening.

This is not about politics.

Headship is one of the most misunderstood—and misused—concepts in modern Christianity.

In this episode, Todd and Laura examine how Scripture defines authority between men and women in the church, and why so many modern expressions of “biblical leadership” look nothing like the New Testament. They explore how headship has been reshaped by Western corporate models, how abuse distorts authority at every level, and why Scripture anticipates those dangers rather than ignoring them.

This discussion challenges both rigid complementarian systems and culture-driven egalitarian reactions, offering a more faithful biblical framework rooted in Christ’s example, covenant responsibility, and mutual submission under His lordship.

If you’ve ever wondered whether the church is defending God’s design—or protecting traditions that no longer reflect Scripture—this episode invites you to reconsider what true headship actually is.

What does the Bible actually teach about the roles of men and women in the church—and how much of what we believe comes from Scripture versus culture?

In this episode of Naughty vs Nice, we examine how modern church debates around gender roles, authority, and leadership often collapse biblical categories into cultural assumptions. Rather than reacting to extremes or importing modern ideological frameworks, we slow down and let Scripture speak on its own terms.

We explore:

How the Bible defines authority, submission, and service

The difference between biblical roles and cultural stereotypes

Why abuse and power distortion have shaped modern reactions to gender language

How first-century church structures differ from modern corporate church models

Where both traditional and progressive church teachings tend to oversimplify Scripture

This conversation is not about winning culture wars or enforcing rigid systems—it’s about recovering clarity, humility, and faithfulness to the biblical witness.

Whether you’re confused, frustrated, or simply trying to think more biblically about men and women in the life of the church, this episode invites you to step outside reactionary theology and return to careful, grounded reading of Scripture.

In this follow-up to the “Two Trees” episode, Todd, Laura, and Kelly turn the spotlight on the occult counterfeit of the Tree of Life. Todd argues that across esoteric traditions—Kabbalah, Hermeticism, New Age spirituality, and mythic world-tree systems—the “Tree of Life” is often not a picture of grace or union with God, but a rebranded Tree of Knowledge: a ladder of ascent where spiritual “progress” is achieved through secret wisdom, tools, and ritual practice.

The episode breaks down a consistent pattern: the occult merges opposites (“union of opposites through the middle path”), recasts God as an impersonal force, and places a mediator (guru, priest-king, occult adept, even a pastor-figure) between people and ultimate truth—promising illumination while producing deeper bondage. Todd traces how these systems use predictable practices with unpredictable rewards—mirroring the psychology of gambling—so “coincidences” become proof that the method is working.

Laura connects these ideas to familiar Christian distortions like prosperity thinking, the fear of “putting negativity into the universe,” and the treadmill of earning favor instead of living in grace. The conclusion is blunt: deception rarely shows up as overt darkness—it shows up as righteous language with altered definitions, and the church must regain discernment to recognize it.

In this episode of Naughty Versus Nice, Todd, Laura, and Kelly start with a real-life discernment moment: Kelly spots a “Christian” course book that subtly reframes creativity through a false gospel—one built on self-actualization, secret knowledge, and autonomy dressed up in church-friendly language. Instead of being dismissed, her notes are received with humility by course leadership, opening the door for the class to learn how deception often works: not by obvious darkness, but by familiar words with redefined meanings.

From there, the conversation moves into the Two Trees framework: the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (autonomy, self-rule, moral self-definition) versus the Tree of Life (union, God-dependence, communion). Laura reframes Eden as not “paradise lost,” but a story that already anticipates Christ—where Adam functions as a “stencil” pointing toward the incarnate Son. Todd then traces a sweeping biblical pattern showing how Scripture repeatedly connects Jesus to “tree” imagery: the cross called a tree, Christ as the seed that dies to bear fruit, the true vine, living water, firstfruits, and the final harvest—culminating in Revelation’s vision of the Tree of Life healing the nations.

Next episode: the counterfeit—how the occult repackages the same lie in endless new packaging, and why the church often struggles to recognize it.

As New Year’s approaches, most people think about time in terms of cycles—fresh starts, reinvention, resolutions, and self-improvement. But Scripture presents a radically different view.

In this episode of Naughty vs Nice, Todd and Laura unpack the biblical understanding of time and contrast it with the occult worldview that sees time as cyclical, manipulable, and subject to human will.

Together they explore:

• Why the Bible presents time as linear, purposeful, and God-governed

This conversation reframes how believers understand sanctification, suffering, purpose, and hope, and why Christ—not cycles, rituals, or self-will—is the true center of time itself.

Galatians 4:1–7 (ESV)

Ephesians 1:7–10 (ESV)

Psalm 31:15 (ESV)

Exodus 12:51 (ESV)

Psalm 145:4 (ESV)

Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

Romans 8:28 (ESV)

Hebrews 11 (Referenced conceptually)

Most of us grew up hearing Christmas as a sweet story—angels, shepherds, a manger scene, and a baby wrapped in cloth. But in this episode, Todd and Laura walk through the biblical reality behind the incarnation: the moment God reconciled Himself to humanity was not at the cross, but at conception.

In this extended Christmas conversation, they explore:

• Why the incarnation is the work of Christ, not just a prelude to the cross

This is the Christmas story few Christians have ever heard taught—and the one that makes sense of everything else in Scripture.

Scripture Referenced (ESV unless noted):

Luke 2:8–14

John 11 (Lazarus)

John 14:6

Genesis 3

Romans 5; Romans 8

1 Corinthians 15

Revelation 12

Works / Authors Mentioned:

#NaughtyVsNicePodcast #ChristmasEpisode #Incarnation #VirginBirth #ChristianPodcast #BiblicalTheology #KingdomOfGod #GospelTruth #Reconciliation #OccultCounterfeits #ChristianApologetics #HolidayTeaching

In this special Christmas episode of Naughty vs. Nice, Todd and Laura dig into one of the most overlooked truths in the entire Christian story: the reconciliation of God and man didn’t begin at the cross—it began in the manger.

While the church often treats Christmas as little more than a sweet birth narrative, Todd and Laura argue that the incarnation itself—the eternal Son taking on flesh—is the very moment heaven and earth are joined, the point at which God steps into His creation not just for humanity, but as humanity.

Drawing from Luke 2, the angels’ proclamation of “peace on earth, goodwill toward men” is reframed not as sentimental holiday language or a distant future hope, but as a present reality inaugurated in the birth of Christ. The peace is not political—it is relational. Not circumstantial—it is cosmic. Not merely promised—it is embodied in the infant Jesus, the Second Adam, who unites God’s life with ours in Himself.

In this episode, they explore:

Why the reconciliation of God and man begins at conception, not at Calvary

Why focusing only on Christ’s death misses the breathtaking meaning of His life

Why Jesus had to be born—not appear fully grown

How the virgin birth establishes God’s sovereignty, not human cooperation

What it means that Christ was born holy, yet fully human

Why the incarnation is the foundation of the Kingdom of God now

How the church’s misunderstandings mirror the very expectations Israel got wrong

And how the occult’s counterfeits highlight the uniqueness of God’s true work

Instead of treating Christmas as the “prelude” to the real story, Todd and Laura show why the manger is actually one of the central theological pillars of Christianity—the moment God and humanity are no longer estranged but joined in the person of Christ.

If you’ve ever wanted Christmas to mean more than nostalgia, gifts, and nativity scenes, this conversation will reshape how you see the season forever.

Scripture:

Luke 2:8–14 – Angels announce peace on earth

John 1:14 – The Word becomes flesh

Matthew 1:18–25 – Virgin birth

Romans 5:12–21 – Adam and Christ as two humanities

Philippians 2:6–8 – Christ’s self-emptying and incarnation

Hebrews 2:14–18 – Christ shares in flesh and blood

Genesis 3:15 – The promised seed

John 14:9 – “If you’ve seen Me, you’ve seen the Father”

Works/Authors:

Thomas F. Torrance, The Incarnation: The Person and Life of Christ

Early church responses to Docetism and Gnostic denials of Christ’s humanity

#NaughtyvsNicePodcast #ChristmasEpisode #Incarnation #VirginBirth #Reconciliation #ChristOurPeace #SecondAdam #Theology #ChristianPodcast #KingdomOfGod #ApplePodcasts #SpotifyPodcasts #PatreonCreator

What happens when the church is so committed to “saving marriages” that it accidentally protects wolves and sacrifices the wounded?

In this follow-up conversation to their interview with Mandy, Todd and Laura (with Producer Kelly on mic) zoom in on patterns of abuse—especially in “Christian” marriages—and why so many church responses actually make things worse.

They unpack:

The cycle of abuse – honeymoon → tension → incident → rupture/repair → honeymoon again… and why pastors usually get invited in right at the fake “repair” stage when the abuser is on their absolute best behavior.

“It was just a joke” and other minimizations – how sexual comments, subtle threats, containment (“you’re not allowed to leave this room”), and constant criticism create little-t trauma that’s just as real and damaging over time.

Predators who “find Jesus” – Todd talks about manipulators who use a dramatic conversion story, a new Bible, and all the right language as a hard reset so they can keep abusing for another decade—especially in churches that confuse love with tolerance.

When headship becomes ownership – Laura traces how wedding imagery (unity candles, sand ceremonies) and bad teaching about “submission” can turn wives into property, conditioning them to accept patterns of control as “godly.”

Why traditional marriage counseling can be dangerous – the crew explains why joint counseling with a true narcissist or chronic abuser usually just arms him with new weapons, and why separate counseling and clear boundaries are often safer and wiser.

Real change vs. performance – they contrast slow, quiet, Spirit-led growth (measured in 5-degree shifts over years) with the instant, 100% overnight “I’m a new man!” transformation that’s almost always pure manipulation.

If you’re a pastor, elder, small-group leader, or friend walking with someone in a destructive marriage, this episode will help you:

Stop treating entrenched abuse like a “communication issue”

Recognize that repeated patterns matter more than teary apologies

Understand why sometimes the most Christlike response is removing a wolf, not sending a lamb back into the pen with him

And if you’re the one who’s been told you’re “overreacting,” “too sensitive,” or “not submissive enough,” this conversation is a reminder: you’re not crazy, your nervous system isn’t lying, and you are not the second sacrificial lamb.

References

Scripture mentioned

Other references

Prior Naughty vs Nice episode featuring Mandy (licensed clinical mental health counseling associate) on trauma, attachment, and the brain

General secular domestic violence statistics and narcissistic abuse literature (especially around lethality risk when a woman returns after physical violence)

Dateline (NBC true-crime series) as an anecdotal reference point for common abuse narratives in church contexts

In this powerful episode of Naughty vs Nice, Todd and Laura sit down with Bible teacher and licensed clinical mental health counselor Mandy Cornett to tackle one of the hardest—and most avoided—subjects in modern Christianity: how trauma, narcissism, marriage, abuse, and mental health intersect with the church... and how often the church gets it wrong.

With warmth, honesty, and decades of experience in Scripture and counseling, Mandy helps untangle the confusion around:

Mandy breaks down neurobiology in a way that clicks:

This episode brings clarity, dignity, and hope to anyone who has felt unseen, unheard, or spiritually pressured to stay in harm’s way. It reframes therapy not as a “lack of faith,” but as a God-honoring tool that aligns with truth, love, and healing.

Luke 2:52

• Johari Window

Mandy Cornett — Bible teacher, author, inductive study leader, and licensed clinical mental health counseling associate.