Relentless Inquisitor

For this episode we are going to continue looking a people leaving the church. Some will say that walking away from the church also means leaving your faith behind. Is it true that when you leave the church you also abandonee your faith ? What are churches doing to address the issues of people leaving? Are they making excuses, and just applying a band-aid, or are they looking at what people say are the reasons and finding answers? So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

Reports of people leaving the evangelical church seem to be a common occurrence over the last decade. The stories share the theme in which young people feel the church's' ideals are out of date with the times. Is this the entire story or is there more? Do the doctrines of the church meet what people today expect? Do churches today follow the teachings of Jesus or have they gotten lost in 2000 years of tradition?  These are just a few of the questions that I hear people asking all the time. I wanted to find the reason why people are leaving the evangelical church and if they are leaving their faith behind also. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

Show Notes:
https://www.christianpost.com/news/leaving-christianity-what-are-the-statistical-trends.html 

Outlaw Christian: Finding Authentic Faith by Breaking the 'Rules Jacqueline A. Bussie 2016 Thomas Nelson 

Searching for Sunday: Loving, Leaving, and Finding the Church Rachel Held Evans 2015 Thomas Nelson 

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/determinetruth/2022/01/evangelicalism-why-are-so-many-young-people-leaving-the-church-and-even-their-faith/ 

https://research.lifeway.com/2019/06/19/10-reasons-people-are-leaving-your-church/

Today, we will continue our talk about mental health for men and some of the issues many of us face. While researching information for this series, my son came into the office needing me to help with a video game he was playing. My son is my pride, joy, and an essential part of my life. He is the constant bright spot of my existence. At this point, I thought, why do we never hear about mental health and fatherhood. As fathers, we are under more pressure than ever when it comes to raising our children and being the examples for them we should. The role of fatherhood is constantly changing, and what used to be the norm is no longer the case. How can we care for our mental health to ensure we can give the best care to our children? What resources are out there for the father that is struggling? So join me for this episode as we look at mental health for today's father.

Show Notes:
https://mhanational.org/mental-health-and-new-father
https://nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/December-2020/The-Mental-Health-of-the-Modern-Dad

Recently there has been a virial video on social media platforms such as Facebook, Tiktok, and Instagram talking about the terrible state of men's mental health. The video talks about several issues from the number of male suicides, how women potentially view men, and some of the stereotypes centered around how men deal with problems. I thought this would be a great topic to cover for our podcast. Personally there are time I do struggle with how to deal with problems and much of it steams from being a "man". So join us as we take a look at "Why is mental health a difficult subject for most men?

Show Notes
https://www.rtor.org/2021/03/05/negative-stereotypes-and-stigma-in-mental-health/
https://happiful.com/toxic-stereotypes-detrimental-mens-mental-health/
https://www.verywellmind.com/men-and-suicide-2328492
https://www.choosingtherapy.com/mens-mental-health/
https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/men-and-mental-health
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/mens-mental-ealth#common-conditions

Everyday when we look at or watch the news, there is a report about gun violence. I think we hear the same stories on what seems to be a sad, never-ending loop. Someone was shot and injured during a robbery, a woman was killed by her boyfriend or husband in a domestic issue, or, the most heart wrenching, a school shooting. According to NPR, there have been 27 schools shootings in the US as of May 25th 2022, including Uvalde, Texas. Why do other leading industrialized nations not have this problem? What makes America unique when it comes to gun violence? Those are just some of the questions we are going to at in what just might be the most controversial episode yet. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode.

https://www.npr.org/2022/05/24/1101050970/2022-school-shootings-so-far

 https://www.bradyunited.org/key-statistics

 https://www.cdc.gov/vitalsigns/firearm-deaths/index.html

 https://publichealth.jhu.edu/2022/new-report-highlights-us-2020-gun-related-deaths-highest-number-ever-recorded-by-cdc-gun-homicides-increase-by-more-than-one-third

 https://nypost.com/2022/05/26/guns-leading-cause-of-death-for-american-children-cdc-says/

 https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/02/03/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/

 https://www.nraila.org/get-the-facts/gun-safety/

The United States has a very interesting situation when it comes to gun laws versus the rest of the world. In relation to the number of civilian-owned guns and population numbers, the US has 40% of the worlds supply of firearms, but only 4% of the population. It is clear that our country has lots of guns. Laws controlling the sale and possession of firearms exists at all levels of government federal, state, and local. Add the Second Amendment to the mix and the topic becomes clear as mud. In this episode we are going to look a the history of gun laws in the US on the federal level. How they started, how they have evolved over the years, and look at some current court cases that could set several presidencies for years to come. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the show.

https://fflconsultinggroup.com/american-gun-laws-colonial-arms-regulation/

https://time.com/5169210/us-gun-control-laws-history-timeline/

https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4825&context=lcp

https://www.thoughtco.com/us-gun-control-timeline-3963620

https://www.aicgs.org/2013/01/a-brief-history-of-the-evolution-of-gun-control-in-the-u-s/

https://gun-control.procon.org/history-of-gun-control/

For this episode, we will discuss a subject that could be the most controversial one in America. Today's topic is firearms. Guns are one topic that I heavily debated on creating episodes around due to its nature, but this is the exact topic I had in mind when I started this podcast. For this episode, we will look at gun ownership in the US today. The laws vary differently between the federal, state, and local levels. We need to look at the numbers associated with gun ownership, including the demographics of who owns firearms and the number of guns in the hand of civilians. This will be an exciting series, to say the least, so sit back and enjoy the show.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2018/06/19/there-are-more-guns-than-people-in-the-united-states-according-to-a-new-study-of-global-firearm-ownership/ 

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/09/13/key-facts-about-americans-and-guns/

 https://wamu.org/story/20/09/18/how-many-people-in-the-u-s-own-guns/

 https://ballotpedia.org/Firearm_registration_requirements_by_state

 https://news.gallup.com/poll/1645/guns.aspx

There is no doubt that charities are big business. Across the world there are probably thousands of different sizes, different missions, and different areas served. The two largest charitable foundations in the world have combined trust at over $120 billion US dollars. Novo Nordisk Foundation and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation awarded almost $7 billion in grants in just 2020 alone. Then there are the small charities that support people on the local level such as Second Harvest Food Banks. This organization is made up of 200 local food banks that provide food and meals to more than 48 million people in the US. Helping those in need is an incredible mission and those people and companies that tackles these deserve accolades. There are questions about the impact they make in communities and if they are having the biggest impact for the cost. For this episode we are going to look at weather charities are using resource to make the biggest impact and how we as individuals can maximizes what we can do with our resources given to charities. So join me for today's episode as we look at the business of being a charity.

For this episode we are going talk about something that I think everyone would agree that this world needs more of, kindness. If you spend any time at all on social media you will see several stories or memes about helping others or motivation to help others. You will also see stories of the harm and evil that humans can do. There are times it seems the bad out weighs the good by a factor of ten or even one hundred. The situation might seem that kindness is a rarity today, but I do not think that is the case. Today we are going to look at several stories of kindness and the impact made by these acts. I also want to talk about how each of us can work in the local community to make things better. So join me for todays episode as we look to find a little kindness and ways we can be a little more kind.

For the last part on the series of grief, we are going to look at choosing the wrong path while working you way through a loss. Bad choices or behaviors can impede the grieving process and could lead to problems for us. Why do people take the wrong path? What should I avoid to not end up in a situation I do not like? What if I am thinking of taking my own life? This are the questions we are diving into on this episode.