What Do You Intend Podcast

In this season opener, Jem and Dustin begin their investigation into one of the most overlooked words in all of Scripture: Raqia, commonly translated as Firmament.

Why did ancient translators render the word as Stereoma and Firmamentum, while many modern translations now prefer Expanse? Did the Hebrew text change, or did our assumptions change?

Together, they explore the origins of the Septuagint, the meaning of the Hebrew word Raqia, the role of the Mishnah and Talmud in Jewish tradition, and the growing tension between biblical cosmology and modern cosmological models.

Rather than asking listeners to reject science, this episode challenges a deeper question:

Are we observing reality, or are we interpreting reality through assumptions we rarely examine?

As the discussion unfolds, Jem argues that observations and conclusions are not the same thing. Evidence may be legitimate while the explanation built upon it may not be. This distinction becomes the foundation for the entire season ahead.

Join us as we begin asking difficult questions about the heavens, the waters above, the floodgates of heaven, and the cosmological framework that emerges when Genesis is taken seriously on its own terms.

The investigation has only just begun.

In this episode, Jem and Dustin explore how Hollywood, cultural narratives, and modern influence shape the way we think about relationships, marriage, and identity. From subtle messaging in entertainment to deeper questions around deception, truth, and systems like NASA, this conversation uncovers how these patterns may be influencing everyday life more than people realize.

What if the tension in your relationship isn’t actually coming from your partner? What if there’s a deeper pattern at play—one that’s been working its way through generations, shaping expectations, behaviors, and beliefs?

This is Part 1 of a two-part series focused on identifying that pattern—where it started, how it evolved, and how it shows up in relationships today.

Because before you can fix what’s broken… you have to understand what’s actually working against you.

Why does Genesis call every day “good” — except Day 2?

In this episode, Jem and Dustin examine the first divisions in creation and ask whether contrast itself was part of God’s design for freedom. Drawing from Scripture, philosophical traditions, and reflections on love and marriage, they explore whether the separation of light and darkness laid the foundation for choice long before the Fall.

If love requires the possibility of rejection, then division may not be a flaw in creation — but the condition that made relationship possible.

After years of exploring mysticism, physics, evolutionary theory, and alternative narratives, Jem kept running into the same three questions: Where did this begin? Who defines what’s real? Why does meaning feel binding?

She shares why evidence wasn’t the real obstacle — authority was — and why belief became less about religion and more about bending toward truth.

In Genesis 1:11–12, God doesn’t simply create plants. He speaks, and the earth responds.

In this episode, Jem and Dustin slow down and examine what Scripture is actually claiming about reality itself. Is matter passive, or is it designed to respond? What does “good” mean before sin ever appears? And what does creation’s obedience reveal about intention, order, and accountability?

Together, they explore the tension between modern scientific assumptions and the biblical framework, unpack key Hebrew terms, and trace how ideas like materialism, animism, and deism emerged in moments of historical pressure rather than neutral discovery.

This isn’t a science-versus-faith conversation. It’s a question of alignment.

If creation listens when God speaks, what does that say about us?

In this episode of What Do You Intend?, Jem and Dustin step into the ancient world to explore how different civilizations understood the origin of reality — and why Genesis stands apart.

Rather than treating creation as a myth competing with other myths, this conversation examines the shared assumptions behind Babylonian, Greek, Egyptian, Norse, Chinese, and other ancient cosmologies, many of which begin with chaos, instability, or competing forces.

Genesis tells a different story.

Through thoughtful dialogue, dry humor, and honest skepticism, Jem and Dustin unpack the biblical claim that order comes first, boundaries are established by God’s word, and creation is not something humanity must fear, manage, or appease.

This episode invites listeners to consider whether modern cosmology is truly new — or whether it echoes ancient frameworks dressed in scientific language — and why accountability, intention, and trust in the Creator remain central to the biblical worldview.

Freedom is often mistaken for relief, distraction, or permission. This episode confronts the difference between real freedom and escape, and asks what we’re actually choosing when nothing in our lives truly changes. Are we free or are we deep in bondage?

Big Bang Belief vs. Biblical Cosmology.

In this debate-style episode, Jem and Dustin explore whether the Big Bang is an observed scientific fact or an interpretive origin story. They examine redshift, cosmic radiation, parallax, and other common arguments, asking where observation ends and assumption begins.

This episode isn’t about denying science.

It’s about questioning origins, frameworks, and authority.

In this episode, Jem and Dustin slow down in Genesis 1:5–8 and ask a question most people never think to ask:

Who decided when a day begins?

Genesis presents a dusk-to-dusk rhythm rooted in God’s design, yet modern life runs on a midnight-to-midnight clock. Was that shift about efficiency, or something deeper?

Together, they explore the waters of Genesis, the meaning of the firmament, why the second day is never called “good,” and how ancient cultures once understood time before that rhythm changed. Along the way, they wrestle honestly with questions about structure, boundaries, authority, and how God’s order is established in creation — and what happens when that order is quietly replaced.

This episode is about noticing what Scripture slows down to show us.

In this episode of Finding God Together, Jem and Dustin continue their careful walk through Genesis, slowing down in Day Two of creation to explore the firmament, the dividing of the waters above and below, and the boundaries God establishes before life unfolds.

They examine the ancient Hebrew word raqia, often translated as “firmament” or “expanse,” and why modern translations can subtly shift meaning away from the original text. Through open conversation and honest skepticism, they wrestle with what Genesis is actually describing and how ancient Hebrew cosmology differs from modern assumptions.

The episode also explores God’s design for time and rhythm, including why the biblical day begins at evening rather than sunrise, and how that rhythm reflects rest, trust, and order. Jem and Dustin discuss how God’s intentional structuring of creation challenges modern ways of measuring time and authority.

This conversation is not about forcing conclusions, but about staying rooted in Scripture, asking honest questions, and rediscovering the depth and intentionality woven into the Bible from the very beginning.