On This Episode:

OUR OBSESSION WITH "THE SELF" IS MAKING US MISERABLE (0:00-14:26)

The Western world has largely conquered the problems that plagued most of history -- hunger, security, comfort, etcetera. In the absence of those struggles, we've become obsessed with the "self" and the emotional affirmation thereof. The results of that, though, have been soaring rates of all sorts of emotional disorders.  All of that is true. What do we do now? 

CLINGING TO CONSPIRACIES (14:30ish - 26ish)

We all know decent people who have been convinced of various conspiracies. An email from a listener prompted me to interact with the reality that some folks still cling to a conspiracy about the most recent election. I will try to establish that all of these can be true at the same time: the mass media is a biased, corrupt institution; there are politically driven, bad people throughout the institutions of power; governments used Covid to improperly change voting procedure; AND the outcome was fair and accurate.

DON'T IGNORE WHAT'S HAPPENING IN CUBA (26ish-37ish)

Communism, its precursor socialism, and all other centralized systems are immoral systems that oppress and hurt human flourishing. Watching what's happening in Cuba got me thinking about a lot -- what it means to be free, and how Cuban-regime sympathizers in the US would take us down a dangerous path.

A WHOLE BUNCH (37ish-End)

-Why is my show experiencing a surge of growth?

-We got good news for religious liberty in court cases in both the US and in the UK

-The consequences of our Covid freakout last year continue to come into focus slowly.

-Ben Carson speaks a truth that gets him in trouble

On this Episode:

THE RISE AND FALL OF MARS HILL CHURCH (0:00-15:30)

I've been listening to a FASCINATING podcast about the rise and fall of Mark Driscoll and the church he pastored in Seattle. One lesson I know we can take from Driscoll is the importance of being teachable. Are you someone who can take criticism and counsel? Do you make it terrifying for anyone to question you? There is safety and wisdom in having counselors around you. 

I'll also offer here a Biblical model on how to GIVE criticism and how to receive criticism.

WHAT WOMEN WANT (15:30-33:38)

Here's the New York Post story: https://nypost.com/2021/07/10/why-progressive-women-want-to-date-men-who-act-conservative/

It's in the words of liberal, progressive, secular women: they prefer men who adopt traditional (conservative) roles -- despite the larger culture trying to bludgeon those values out of men for almost 4 decades now. 

There are certainly biological and sociological reasons for this attraction, but there's a deeper reasoning: it's Biblical.

The maker and men and women designed them for one another. These ladies can deny a God,-designed world and humanity, but their preferences betray them.

CULTURE WAR, ROUND 2 (33:39-End)

The catalyst for this is this post from a far-left blogger: https://jabberwocking.com/if-you-hate-the-culture-wars-blame-liberals/

In the last 30 years or so, conservatives have gotten SLIGHTLY more conservative, while liberals have gone off-the-wall Left. This made them the aggressor, and the VICTOR, in the Culture Wars around family, parenthood, sexuality, marriage, etcetera. 

Beyond this just being an interesting observation, it made me think about the next 30 years and beyond. Will anti-Biblical secular progressivism continue to dominate? Maybe so, at least in the West. But it doesn't have to, and I have some thoughts on that.

On this Episode:

WORRY AND FEAR AS A CULTURAL FIXTURE (0:00-14:53)

Putting aside actual anxiety disorders for a moment, I noticed recently that we are a culture almost dominated by fear. In conservative media, I recently saw BODY ARMOR being advertised. The home security systems have become ubiquitous, and we have companies selling us apps to constantly monitor our kids and even our pets. 

In a terrified world, the Jesus follower can live with a distinct faith and confidence. I have some thoughts on that.

THE IMPORTANT STORY BEHIND THE OLYMPIAN HER TURNED HER BACK ON THE FLAG (14:53-32:52)

I'm generally not offended and don't particularly care about this young lady's behavior at the playing of the national anthem at a recent Olympic trial event. However, I'm deeply interested in what we can learn from attitude. In interviews after the demonstration, it becomes clear that this girl is just a miserable person. If you listen closely, you can hear her misery emanates from a posture of entitlement. She's blown away that the world isn't exactly as she wants it to be, and until it's perfect, she's just going to be angry about it.

We can do that too. Some folks create a world (or a family, spouse, career, home, etcetera) that has never existed and will not exist. Then, they get disaffected that their fantasy world isn't real.

We have a choice to make. We can be grateful for the world we have, leading to happiness. Conversely, we can feel entitled to a world we didn't earn and doesn't exist, leading to misery.

PLAGIARISM IN SERMONS (32:52-47ish)

I'll provide details on a sort-of controversy in the evangelical world right now regarding pastors plagiarizing each other's sermons. The topic also allows some exploration on sermon generation and the nature of preaching.

SOME CLEANUP (47ish)

I re-visit some recent show content, respond to comments, and make clarifications.

On This Episode:

INDEPENDENCE DAY THOUGHT (0:00-7:26)

Happy Independence Day, all! Every year, I try to connect the people that celebrate the US totally uncritically and those that struggle to celebrate it at all. We are both the greatest experiment for human flourishing in the history of the planet AND a place with deep flaws -- all at the same time. We can, and should, recognize all those truths simultaneously.

If you live in the US, you live better and more opulently than 99.9999% of all the humans that have ever lived on this earth. You could take the kings and queens of antiquity, bring them to 2021 America, and they would think they were in heaven. We can choose to be grateful for our place compared to all of human history, or we can choose to compare the US to a fantasy land that doesn't exist and be dejected. It's really our choice.

DEGREES OF SIN (7:26-27:00)

Are all sins equal? Do Christians improperly focus on certain kinds of sin in the culture and ignore others? These questions are worth exploring. Using a full Bible hermenuetic, we find that, while all sin is eternally damnable before a holy God, not all sins are considered equal. I'll build that out for you.

BIBLICAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE (27:00-42:36)

A listener sent me a podcast that developed the idea that prisons are unbiblical. It didn't win me all the way over, but it required me to think about our broken and often irrational penal system. Our prison system is out of control, often dehumanizing to the criminal, not restorative to the victim, and produces an alarmingly high recidivism rate. 

This segment is heavy on itemizing the problems but also has some ideas for solutions near the end.

THE PRESIDENT'S "YOU NEED F-15s AND NUKES" TO RESIST THE GOVERNMENT COMMENT (42:36-End)

Of course, the president's comment here was bizarre and dumb, but this notion is common among certain critics of the 2nd amendment. I'll explain why it's a terrible argument against the 2nd Amendment's first purpose, which was defending the states and citizenry against a potentially tyrannical federal government.

On This Episode:

MATTHEW WEST'S SONG TO HIS DAUGHTERS AND THE REACTION THERETO (0:00-19:11)

Matthew West released a song that encouraged his daughters to dress modestly. Some critics said the song adds to a toxic culture of blaming women for male behavior. While the song is good-natured, it's worthwhile considering how we talk to girls about how they dress and the pressures we put on them. I have a lot to say on this one.

THOUGHTS ON JUNETEENTH (19:11-25:10)

If we should ever be able to unify on something, celebrating the end of slavery should be right near the very top of that list. That happened -- sort of. However, some folks ruined it by being reactionary and others ruined it by trying to use it for their on agenda and collection of power. Way to go, USA, you can even find ways to dislike each other while celebrating the end of slavery.

It's not secret I think the ACA is a terrible law and program. The numbers back me up. It has broken every promise made about it. It's original form fundamentally changed the relationship between human freedom and the government. However, technically, the Supreme Court got this one correct on the merits. I have several thoughts on this one.

THE SUPREME COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF RELIGIOUS LIBERTY -- SORT OF (31:20-37:11)

It was technically a win for freedom when the Court unanimously ruled in favor of a Catholic agency discriminated against by the city of Philadelphia because they hold to Biblical sexuality. It's not nearly the win it could have been, though, and that's because John Roberts is just terrible. I'll explain.

BILL MAHER GOES AFTER HIS OWN SIDE (37:11-42:56)

Bill Maher goes after the Hamilton creator for bowing the cancel culture. It's foul-mouthed, but it's sort of important.

MEGHAN MCCAIN ON JOE BIDEN AND ABORTION (42:56-end)

Meghan McCain said some hard but true things recently about abortion and the current president. I have some thoughts to add.

On this Episode:

A STORY ABOUT A POORLY BEHAVED FATHER (0:00-13:00ish)

I saw a story recently of a father who dumped thousands of pennies on his ex-wife's lawn to make his final "child support" payment. The mother and daughter took this vindictive action and turned it around. This is a good opportunity to focus on what unforgiveness can do to us -- and the beauty that comes when we release our bitterness.

THE CHURCH MATTERS (13:00ish-22:00ish)

I know denominations of Christianity can seem absolutely mind-numbing at a glance. However, organized churches were the entities that gave us hospitals, orphanages, schools, universities, and a ton more. Let me convince of the power and significance of churched acting cooperatively.

WHAT I SAW AT THE CONVENTION (22:00ish-End)

From a presidential election to a debate on Critical Race Theory and an obviously growing skepticism (maybe well-earned) of SBC leadership, I have some facts to give you and some potentially meaningful take-aways.

ONE OTHER NOTE:

The show is slowly growing again. I mean this so sincerely: thank you for listening to me. Thanks for giving me an hour every week. I'm blown away by that. So, thank you.

On this Episode:

THE DEEPER LESSON FROM THE AOC ABUELA STORY (0:00-19:26)

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez recently complained about the conditions in which her grandmother was living. It never even occurred to her that he had the capacity to help. She had only the instinct for the all-powerful state/government to help. How does that happen? From where does that worldview emanate?

I'll trace a philosophical history from the Dark Ages through the Renaissance and Enlightenment to demonstrate how we got to that backward view of family, responsibility, and care.

SOME REACTION TO THE SHOW SCHITT'S CREEK (19:26-32:00ish)

This show has become quickly popular across the culture. I don't know if they meant to, but the show teaches some really traditional values about family and roles in the family. I'll provide details. 

THE WUHAN LAB LEAK THEORY (32:00ish-38:30)

Smarter people than I will solve the mystery of Covid's origin. What I want to talk about is how the worst of our institutions, the American media, made this a mess.

QUICK THOUGHTS ON REMEMBERING THE TULSA MASSACRE OF 1921 (38:30-43:00ish)

It's important that American know our history -- all of it. We should engage with our glorious moments AND our most shameful. We also have to be able hold simultaneous ideas at the same time about the history of ethnic injustice in the US. I'll break that down.

THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION IS NEXT WEEK (43:00ish-end)

The nation's largest denomination meets next week in Nashville, and I'll be there. With Critical Race Theory, gender roles, and the future of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission on the docket, it's going to be an eventful few days. I'll provide a preview.

I sat down with a good friend, Brandon Burkhalter, to talk about taking the time to pause, think, and rest in our "go-go-go" and highly stimulating world.