Religiosanity

Deeply problematic, ugly, satanic texts about biblical jihad (passages from the Hebrew bible that no serious theologian would ever cite without significant, careful assessment of the context), are suddenly surfacing among the ranks of Israeli politics to seemingly justify what appears to be a war campaign hell bent on elimination. On this episode, Pastor Andrew reads his letter to his representatives alerting them to this danger, breaks down these (and other) passages, their origins, why they are problematic, and how their prima facie invocation is a perilous brand of Religio-INsanity.

On this final episode of 2023, Pastor Andrew posits that, the longer a two-state solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict seems more and more unattainable, the more Martin Buber's vision for a single state of two nations will be the only option.

As promised, Pastor Andrew breaks down the various geographic terms of the areas surrounding and including what we nowadays refer to as Israel and Palestine, explaining how these terms were formed, what is contested, and why it matters.

A hot button topic sometimes needs to be discussed in order to bring some sanity to it, especially if it's related to religion. Pastor Andrew carefully lays out the differences between Ant-Judaism, Antisemitism, and Anti-Zionism, and goes on the record, unequivocally, regarding where he stands.

The worst conflict between Israel and Palestine in recent memory sparks a hypothetical question for Pastor Andrew: If there were a button that would erase all the organized religions from the planet, would you press it? His answer leads into a discussion about the broader reaches of fundamentalism, which certainly does not leave Christianity unimplicated.

Pastor Andrew brings us back to the ritual that points to the origins of the word "scapegoat," throw in a mysterious possible deity named Azazel, and you have the polytheistic roots of the Yom Kippur tradition for the Jewish people!

A short video about the same subject: https://youtu.be/fVWz08cvXFI

On this second episode about Hawaii, as promised, Pastor Andrew digs into the myth of Pele (Goddess of Volcanos)and her significance to the Hawaiian people even now. But first, he talks about the devastating wild fires that have terrorized the island of Maui.

After mentioning it in many episodes, finally Pastor Andrew takes us deep into one of his favorite topics: Hawaii. This epic episode dips into many aspects of our 50th state, including its history, its religion, the Polynesian people in general, the surprisingly good results of the American occupation, the surprising lack of sandy beaches, and much much more.

Last week The Supreme Court ruled in favor of "303 Creative LLC," making it acceptable for a business to withhold service from Gay people. Pastor Andrew talks about this frustrating decision, and the myriad ways in which it makes no sense.

The decision reached at the latest Southern Baptist Convention to exclude churches with women clergy is the springboard for a larger conversation with Pastor Andrew about women in the church, Christian misogyny, female deities, and much more.

A short video about 1 Corinthians 14 about women to be silent during worship: https://youtu.be/vFfoJYaG8Zw

And an exegetical sermon on Luke 8:1-3 - https://youtu.be/AB7UjfFcJvU