The Uncensored Unprofessor

Beauty is not in a fight with reason, but transcends reason. Beauty flows from the character and being of God himself. So why do Protestants so miss out on God's beauty? How might we recover a sense of beauty? How might beauty be used as a conversation starter in our relationships? All those topics and questions are addressed in my conversation with PhD student, pastor Michael David Mitchell. Come laugh and think with us!

The mantras in bumper-stickerish Christian-ese are that Christians should always turn the other cheek, always be pacifistic, always defer, never upset anyone. But sometimes, out of the constricts Christ places upon us, we are required to take a stand, to draw a line in the sand. When should we do that? How should we do that?

What a rodeo! In that light I share personal, national, philosophical, and theological reflections on the presidential election. How has it hit me? What does it mean for the nation? How should we think about history? And, is everything that happens, especially when we prayed about it, God's will?

Society teaches us that our emotional state is of supreme importance. How does that compare with the Christian way of life? To make the point I tell three of my life-changing stories. How had God re-directed my own path? I also offer some immediate post-election reflections. Come, think and laugh with me.

Words have contexts. So what is the context for the word "nice" here in the early 21st century? How do insecurity and self-hatred drive our understandings of niceness? Still further, how does a market-place mentality play into our understandings of God? I also share how I occasionally try to bargain with God. Let's go deeper.

The common human tendency is to fashion God or the gods in our own image. The Bible calls that tendency idolatry. How did the ancients work idolatry? How do we today? But if we study nature, the circle of life, what does it show us about God? What, for instance, might we learn from observing bees? Or, what might we learn by studying Michelangelo's David?

Do you have to pray, "Dear Jesus, Come into my heart," in order to be a Christian? How else might we assess whether someone is a believer? Then, in my final episode in this "Cult of the Now" series, I address the issue of taking a stand. To that end I offer 6 practical steps pertinent for our strange and disorienting era.

Across human history American culture is quite unique. Part of that novelty concerns the Founders' concerns to halt the ability of the state to rototill any and all opposition into the dirt of non-existence. What did they especially ensconce to slow the all-devouring state? Individualism. I explain why Marxists loathe individualism. More, I look at some biblical categories on the matter. This episode also looks into the future for where this cultural revolution may be headed.

Significant for the shape of our nation is care for the poor. What did Jesus model and teach that we can implement in our strategies today? What has America, and Christians inside America, done for the poor over some 230 years? What do Marxists want for the poor? How we frame the issue is foundational for how we will go about trying to address the issue. Let's move past shouting and think together.

Neo-Marxists are not only pushing for cultural change they're pushing for a new consciousness, a consciousness summed up in the term 'Wokeness'. What is that wokeness? From whence in the history of philosophy did it derive? How does it compare to a biblical and Christian worldview? What are work-place consciousness training sessions about? On the personal front, what singular victory did I just enjoy? Come laugh, sing, and think with me!