The question that starts many arguments is: “Was America started as a Christian nation?” I’ll get to that later, but honestly I believe a better question is one that many really want to know is, “Were our Founding Fathers Christian?

Welcome to the Elephant in the Pew, a daily video and podcast that looks at the world through a Christian viewpoint engaging in the topics everyone wants to discuss, but nobody wants to talk about.

Don’t forget to check out our website, elephantpew.com where you can get up to date information on everything Elephant in the Pew!

If you have a question or a topic that you’d like us to address please send us an email at [email protected]

Follow Ryan and Stephen on all the Social media!

Ryan

Instagram and Twitter: @shoutwild

Stephen

Instagram and Twitter: @stoneswillcry

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Sources:

https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Founding-Fathers-Deism-and-Christianity-1272214

http://www.beliefnet.com/resourcelib/docs/53/Letter_from_Thomas_Jefferson_to_John_Adams_1.html

Additional resources

https://wallbuilders.com/founding-fathers-jesus-christianity-bible/

http://www.heritage.org/political-process/report/did-america-have-christian-founding

Recommended Books

The Faiths of the Founding Fathers 1st Edition by David Holmes

Are you tired of hearing everyone spew on and on that the founding fathers of our country weren’t Christians? I am too, so here are the reasons I think the founding fathers were Christian!

Welcome to the Elephant in the Pew, a daily video and podcast that looks at the world through a Christian viewpoint engaging in the topics everyone wants to discuss, but nobody wants to talk about.

Don’t forget to check out our website, elephantpew.com where you can get up to date information on everything Elephant in the Pew!

If you have a question or a topic that you’d like us to address please send us an email at [email protected]

Follow Ryan and Stephen on all the Social media!

Ryan:

Instagram and Twitter: @shoutwild

Stephen:

Instagram and Twitter: @stoneswillcry

We’d love for you to subscribe to our youtube channel: The Elephant in the Pew!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQieQyO-c3DUVLWe7YJpzbA

Sources:

Deism Definition:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deism

Prager University Article:

https://www.prageru.com/courses/history/were-founders-religious

1776 Book:

http://amzn.to/2tyv0gY

The age old question: Why do bad things happen to good people? Has been brought up several times to both Ryan and Stephen.  Most Christians are asked this question from time to time and it is hard even for theologians.  Ryan and Stephen set out to answer this question and give their personal thoughts on the question.  This is more than just an Elephant in the Pew; its an Elephant in the world.  The guys do their best to answer this question and bring in several more questions as they attempt to tackle this Elephant of Why Bad Things Happen to Good People.

Social justice is a commendable cause and should at all costs be sought after.  However, like many things, our definitions are what separate us from agreeing on different issues.  Social Justice Warriors, a term that is being lauded over, has attempted (and to pop culture succeeded) to redefine the term of Social Justice to defend their positions on different issues.  It is fair to say that the current “warriors” have no real internal realization of what Social Justice is and have been using the term more as a reason for the violence showing up during the “protests” turned to riots.  How are Christians, meant to be the light of the world, intended to react to these seemingly important issues without discrediting their message?

Today’s Social Justice Warrior is different than that of the activists of yesteryear.  There is a lot of activity on social medias and main media that insights a lot of so called “activism” and Christianity usually ends up being the brunt of the argument.  Ryan and Stephen express their attitudes and their approach towards these “Social Media-Social Justice Warriors” and how the Christian should react to the injustice of this world. The guys open this can of worms and attempt to disassemble this particular elephant as they discus Social Activism and the Christian Response to the Social Justice Warrior.

Why is it that when the family enters the church on Sunday morning we, as the Church, feel the need to immediately separate the family and send them each to their own segregated ministry?  Is for a particular reason?  Do we believe that each has a different maturity level or are we afraid that a young child may be too disruptive for an adult class or ministry service?  Also do we have separate ministries for Women and Men for sexist reasons or is there something a little deeper there as well.  Ryan and Stephen discuss this particular Elephant in the Pew as they attempt to shed light on the reason for some segregation in church, but question others.

“The Harvest is plenty, but the workers are few…”  As volunteers go, they are pretty hard to come by.  Especially in ministry, but when people are willing how do we determine if they are a good fit for the particular position they have volunteered?  Ryan and Stephen try to navigate this tricky Elephant in the Pew to determine “How Good is Good Enough” when discussing volunteers to try to open up discussion about where or if can we draw a line in attempting to say yes or no to volunteers.

We know all the stats of our favorite athlete.  We understand that they work hard at what they do to be the best possible [insert position of particular sport here].  We even preceive they are thankful for the chance to try at what they do let alone do it, but does this mean they are Great?  What if we told you that your greatness doesn’t come from a particular talent you have, but maybe something or someone greater?  In this episode Ryan and Stephen embark on a road that discuss sports in a different light.  This Elephant is what makes certain athletes greater than others and why our opionion might differ from that of the journalists who vote in Hall of Famers.

Will there be marriage in heaven?  Will we spend eternity with our spouse?  Ryan and Stephen sit down and converse about this topic and expound on their opinions pertaining to marriage in all senses of the word and into eternity.

Credits:

Credits:

Speaker: Stephen Whitten

Readings based on Mt. Bethel UMC Advent readings