You Are Not Listening To This - Podcast

This is the sign-off. I appreciate everyone that has listened to this podcast. It has been produced through much pain and anguish of trying to say what I felt and not offend or upset while still being honest. But it has not become the open space I needed it to be for a number of reasons, many self inflicted. As such, it is not serving the purpose I desire from it. Maybe I'll come back in some other form, but who knows.

This episode centers around my evolving views on the concept of "Redemption."

Works and concepts referenced in this episode include:

*Patriarchs and Prophets (pg. 68) - Ellen White

*The Great Controversy (Chapter 29 - "The Origin of Evil") - Ellen White

*Seventh Day Adventists Believe - (1988 exposition of the [then] 27 Fundamental Beliefs of Adventism) - Belief 6.

* Desiring God video by John Piper - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBX0xOY9AaE

* The Evolution of Adam - Pete Enns (Chapter 4 - "Israel and Primordial Time")

Time Stamps:

1:50 - Redemption Defined

5:50 - "Fault Lines"

10:15 - The Great Controversy

16:30 - Cosmic Lab Experiment

23:00 - John Piper's view on the Devil's current value

27:40 - Redemption Redeemed

In this episode that You Are Not Listening To, I share some thoughts I have about an article published in the Adventist Review titled “Headship Matters – What the Bible Does and Doesn’t Say About Male Headship.” By Laurel Damsteegt.

The article presents itself as attempting to address abuses perpetrated by supposed “godly” leaders or husbands, by providing a better interpretation of Scripture as it relates to marriage and church leaders. However, as you’ll hear, it only helps to prop up the poor interpretations that lead to these abuses by informing women of their subordinate position in the eyes of something the author keeps calling God.

I find the article and the mind frame behind it to be abhorrent. It is not treatment, it is the disease.

**Trigger warning: rape, marital rape, and sexual abuse are referenced in the article and are addressed in the Podcast. Not in any detail nor for very long, but if those topics are uncomfortable for you, maybe skip this one.**

Link to the Adventist Review article: https://adventistreview.org/commentary/head-matters/

Just a few thoughts on the catholic baptismal rites controversy in Arizona with Father Andres Arango, how the issue places process over people, and how many if not most church organizations make similar self-centered and self-preservatory choices.

This episode is brought to you by insomnia and science videos from Youtube.

My random half-baked thoughts about some philosophical topics like 'Qualia' and "the Explanation Gap" and how a sleep-deprived mind connects them to spirituality and religion.

#justiceforjulius

Links to smarter people than me:

Justice For Julius: https://www.justiceforjuliusjones.com/action

V-Sauce Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6nSFpj9HTCZ5t-N3Rm3-HA

Qualia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qualia

Explanation Gap: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Explanatory_gap

Color Constancy -Red Landscape: http://bit.ly/aEgpMH

Color Constancy – Grey Connector: http://bit.ly/Ub0xPQ

This is another Ellen White episode. Not so much a discussion of the prophetess, but insight into the Adventist psyche and the complex issues that arise from attempting to create space for additional inspired writings. I've discussed the mental gymnastics of individual members before, but this is a discussion of some of the methods used to teach these principles from Adventist pulpits around the world.

To do this, I use and reference audio clips from a sermon series entitled "Re-Evaluating the Sanctuary" by Dr. Dwight E. Haynes, given at an Immanuel Seventh Day Adventist church somewhere in Canada in 2013 (I say 6 years ago in the podcast but its 8) as it represents a classic method of Adventist education - the traveling seminar series.

My issue is not what is said but is simply an example of a larger systemic issue. I intend no insult or accusation toward the speaker or his hosts. That said, the issues raised in this episode, in my opinion, have been ignored for far too long from inside the house.

The source of the audio clips is https://youtu.be/oAxEKuziFIs?t=7159 used herein via fair use principles for illustrative purposes only.

Initiating thought: Moral Truths mirror societal values even as societal values change.

Intro: 0:00 - 3:30

- Old wine in new wineskins/New wine in old wineskins

Slavery is objectively evil, right?: 3:30 - 15:50

- Ellen White quote referenced comes from - Spiritual Gifts, Vol. 3,

p. 75.

I've Got a Feeling: 15:50-22:45

-Does feeling drive belief and interpretation?

Options or Obstacles?: 22:45-35:00

-Are other schools of thought valid for intellectual consideration

or temptations?

What is the Bible?: 35:00-56:00

-How human is the Bible?

-How tightly should it be held?

-A brief visualization/thought exercise.

This episode is kind of for the Adventist insiders though some might not appreciate it. It concerns a discussion I got into with another Seventh-Day Adventist about problematic quotes from a book called Testimonies of The Church Volume 9, by Ellen White. Less theological analysis and more a social analysis of the issues raised.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/you-are-not-listening-to-this-podcast/id1050220060?i=1000532747201

Reflections on bad theology and a little fun with the Garden of Eden Narrative.

I address my own inner conflict from accepting constructs over people, and then I take and challenge one of those constructs.

Just getting the mind juices flowing

Connotations

*Words change meaning over time, depending on how we use them.* - start -12:15

0:00-3:55 – The term “Nimrod” and Bugs Bunny’s effect on its meaning. (Pod correction: Bugs Bunny’s cartoons are the source of the change, but it is actually Daffy Duck who uses it.)

3:56-12:15 – “Honor your Father and Mother” in different times or societal structures.

*Summarization changes the meaning of stories over time.* - 12:15-32:00

12:48-14:20 – What happened on Christmas again?

14:20-18:08 – Creation Stories

18:08-32:00 – Genesis 1-3 in a pre-messianic world vs the current world

32:00-End – Why words that become Scripture intrigue me and is it time for more evolution?