Taking the Disciple approach to the Skeptic Disciple, we will explore the encouraging message sent from Paul to a young Timothy:

As a teen, whenever someone asked (usually a pastor) what our favorite bible verse was, I’d try to either sneak out or pray I wouldn’t be called on.

I hated being put on the spot. I didn’t have a verse to quote from memory. Truth is I never read the Bible. It seemed so odd to me. But, the expectation was there. You’re a good kid, so you must read the Bible, and you must have a favorite verse.

But, if you ask me now. I’ll tell you that I DO have a favorite verse. And, it comes from 2 timothy. Where it is believed that Paul is encouraging Timothy to lead, despite his youth.

2 Timothy 1:7 “for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline.”

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We are first of all human and secondly we are learners. Listening is an essential skill in reading scripture and listening to teaching. In this episode we will discover how NOT to listen.

The 3 Defects of Listening:

1. Listening in a way that is like an upside down container. This means that physically we may be attending to but mentally we are busy somewhere else. So when someone is teaching, we are not in fact listening at all.

2. Listening in a way that is like a container with holes. This means that even though we are listening, we don't retain the content. In this case we lack mindfulness and memory. In order to benefit from teachings we must retain them with mindfulness. When our interest is half hearted, we only remember half the points, and we retain them only for a short time. We should reflect and think about whatever we have heard, over and over again. In this way, the knowledge will stay in our mind for a long time.

3. Listening like a vessel containing poison. When we listen to the teachings, we must avoid deluded motives. All activities, particularly Dharma practices such as listening and reading scriptural texts, must be done with a wholesome motivation. We should aim to control the undisciplined mind. I urge you not to treat Dharma knowledge like any other kind of science just to earn a living.

It's our hope that you can apply these principles even when we listen to each other. 

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Book Source:

Stages of Meditation by The Dalai Lama

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Many of us learned the children's version of Bible stories, but have we ever looked back and read them as adults? What do we do with the problematic parts. Do we still prefer to see those stories as we did when we were children, and if so how does this affect the way we live out our beliefs? This is a short episode simply doing a little bit of "house-keeping" before moving on with the rest of our episodes. 

Thanks for listening!

You Shall Not Bear False Witness & You Shall Not Covet are the Last of the Commandments!

As with all else, there is always more than meets the eye. We hope you've enjoyed this journey through the 10 Commandments. We will be moving forward to the rest of the story of the Exodus and the story of the Bible itself in the VERY near future. 

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Possessions, things, money, wealth they are all human concepts. Concepts that allow us to feel as though we own the things that God created. I am no socialist or communist, but I do believe that the early church understood the spirit of the law when they shared things in common so that everyone had something to eat, something to wear, a place to rest their heads. A community that cared for one another not out of duty to a set of laws but out of the kindness of a heart transformed by the good news of Jesus.

Want to know more about the case in Italy referenced in this episode? Click the following link: In Italy, Food Theft is Not A Crime If You're Poor And Hungry

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Sex and sexuality have always been topics of great debate throughout history. In this episode we discuss how the commandment regarding adultery was later expanded upon by Jesus in the New Testament. We find that Jesus constantly challenges his followers to rethink and dig deeper into the issues of the human condition. 

Due to the nature of this topic, it MAY not be suitable for all audiences. We ask that you practice discretion. 

The word adultery originates not from “adult”, as is commonly thought, but from the Late Latin word for “to alter, corrupt”: adulterare. Adulterare in turn is formed by the combination of ad (“towards”), and alter (“other”), together with the infinitive form are (making it a verb). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adultery

To learn more about the way adultery was understood in Old Testament times visit the following link https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/adultery/

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