Truth Be Told

I thoroughly enjoyed talking with my good friend Clint Porter about doubt (and faith and certainty and trust and knowledge and church cultures and the Dunning-Kruger effect and and and and and..).

Every Christian has moments of doubting and we can start to feel guilty for that, but it's highly likely that we're thinking of those moments all wrong.

In this episode we'll shed light on questions like - What do we mean when we say the ...

Compared to Old Testament and First Century Israel, celebration of God's Holy Days have diminished significantly. Even those who keep the Holy Days often have a hard time genuinely celebrating them. With this decrease in outward festivity and joy has come a complete dissolving of some of the lesser biblical observances and traditions that occurred during the Holy Days themselves in antiquity.

One of these observances that probably ...

The things that run rampant in the culture of the world inevitably filter into the Church though, hopefully, to a lesser degree. One of these unfortunate things is the seeming desire to make division out of differences. Even in local church congregations where people, generally, have a lot in common, we find ways to divide ourselves contrary to Christ's prayer for us at the end of His physical life. 

One of the biggest differences ...

The argument between science and God is finally put to rest here!

The idea that we need to take an either or approach to these two topics is a false dichotomy often leveled at Christians, so that antagonistic skeptics, atheists, and extreme naturalists can pretend like God isn't real just because He isn't hemmed in by their isolated field of study. A biblical approach to things allows for God, science, philosophy, history, morality...

*NOTE: throughout this episode I refer to Moses as a "murderer." I'd like it to be clear that I, personally, view Moses' action of killing the Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew slave as a justified act not worthy of the title of murder. Modern Torah readers, and even first century Christians (see Stephen's statement on this event) seem to view Moses' actions as appropriate, heroic social justice, and I agree that this is an appropr...

Discussing our faith opens us up for criticism, critique, and antagonism from some and might alienate us from others. Talking about our beliefs is fine in some circles but uncomfortable in most others. This can put a Christian who believes they're supposed to be unashamed about their relationship with God at odds with themselves and create a lot of unease. Don't worry - you're not the only one!

How do we balance the understanding...

With the topic of foot-washing entering the public eye with the "He Gets Us" campaign Super Bowl commercial, it felt appropriate to look into the topic to clear away some of the wrong ideas surrounding the practice. 

Who did it? To who? For What?

Often, the people that actively perform foot-washing as a Christian practice either think that it's a generic act to be done for anyone in order to show yourself a servant to all OR see it...

Those who worship Jesus Christ have been called all kinds of derogatory things since biblical times. We're told this is expected to continue as we get closer and closer to the time of Jesus' return. 

In this episode we look at 4 names leveled against people of the faith during the time of the New Testament and the responses of the ones facing the criticism. Modern aggression towards Christianity hasn't changed all that much and som...

Russ Ramsey is a pastor and author from Tennessee with a vested interest in art and how it communicates to us on a fundamental level. In this interview we use his fantastic book, "Rembrandt Is In The Wind," as a jumping off point to discussing the broad topic of beauty.

In a world that is obsessed with image, are we overvaluing beauty or are we just using an improper definition? What is the balance a Christian might want to aim for...

The phrase, "God works in mysterious ways," is so commonplace in Christian circles that it often gets mistaken for a Bible verse. Any time we perceive that God has worked in a way we don't expect, we might shrug our shoulders and say this. However, should His workings be mysterious to us?

Of course, God is all-powerful, all-knowing, omnipresent, etc. His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. We're SUPPOSED to...

The Bible is a complex series of books. It bears the marks of God in its cohesiveness across time, cultures, and personalities foretelling the end from the beginning and it bears the marks of humanity in its reflection of circumstances, periods in history, and perspectives. It wasn't perfectly understood at the times it was written and it isn't perfectly understood now because it is a book meant to gain clarity as times and seasons...

The Stoic philosopher, Seneca, offered a lot of wisdom on the topic of death - how to die well, how not to fear death, and how to live more fully in light of the knowledge that death is inevitable. Some, however, accused Seneca of being "obsessed with death," to which he might say, "No! You are obsessed with life!"

Which team should the Christian be on? Though so many want to paint the Old Testament as a collection of harsh, judgem...

There is a constant debate going on regarding the Church's messaging to the world. Should we "cry aloud and spare not" reflecting the sins of the world back at them, hoping to convict the world of its evil, and drawing hard lines in the sand about moral rightness? Or, should we recognize the broken state of the world and try to share the hope that surrounds what Jesus Christ has done, is doing, and will do in the future in an effor...

THE FINAL EPISODE!

This episode clips along at a pretty good pace - a lot to see and hear about, but this recounting of events matches the feeling of trekking across Israel, barely making it into the country of Jordan, and seeing all there is to see before getting out of the country. It all blurred together and happened so quickly that, despite having 3 days in Jordan, it felt more like wandering in the wilderness trying to make ou...

OUR FINAL DAYS IN ISRAEL!

I am feeling almost as sad about this as I was at the time of actually leaving Israel. However, all good things must come to an end and this is no exception.

Of course, this series won't be over with this episode because we still traveled into Jordan and there's a lot to talk about there that I'd be remiss not to mention.

On Day 13 in Israel we visited the two primary proposed sites of Jesus' crucifixion, ...

The temple mount was a surreal experience. To have stood closer to the proposed spot of the Holy of Holies than most of my biblical heroes could have in their time was humbling. Being there while it was almost deserted was ethereal. Picturing the layout of the first century scenery was enlightening. Standing at the Dome of the Rock, facing the Mt. of Olives, and looking up at the sky where Jesus says He'll return from was amazing.

...

Masada is one of the most sobering stories in Jewish history. The final stand of the first Jewish Revolt following the destruction of the temple by Rome saw 960 inhabitants kill themselves rather than be captured or defeated by their enemies. To this day, the swearing in ceremony of the Israeli military swears that what happened at Masada will never be repeated.

Qumran isn't much to look at, though the rock formations are beautiful...

**LINK TO PICTURES DOWN BELOW**

Day 10 was, by far, our busiest day in Israel. For one, the buses couldn't follow us into the narrow streets of Old Jerusalem so, basically, we were a walking tour for most of the day. Looking back, I'm surprised by how familiarized I was with the layout of the city by the end of this day. Even though it just felt like endless stairs and turns down outdoor corridors opening up into various sites and ...

Prior to leaving the region of Galilee we stopped at Beit She'an, the historical location where Saul and his son's bodies were hung by the Philistines after they died at Mt. Gilboa. I took a bit of detour from the main group to climb to the top which made me feel anxious but turned out alright.

We, then, drove south to Jerusalem, passing Jericho on the way. Finally seeing the city itself was definitely worth having its own section ...