Yep, you heard that right. Listen through the end to understand what we mean when we say that evil doesn't exist.
Articles:
https://www.str.org/w/augustine-on-evil-1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Absence_of_good
https://digitalcommons.calvin.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1008&context=religion_beets
This is called the "Privation Theory of Evil" and has been around for a very long time. So if you want to dive deeper into this topic, I suggest a Google search with the quotations above. What you'll find is that a lot of Christians believe this and it is rational and biblical. Though no theory is perfect, I think it makes the most sense of the data of 1) what we experience and 2) what the Bible teaches about God. At the end of the day, I think it's right, but this isn't a salvation issue. We can agree to disagree on this and it is totally okay.
This episode is a recording of a recent high school lesson. For those of you who know me, I hope you'll find the title provocative! Don't send angry emails until you've listened to the whole thing, okay?
Much love!
An incredible conversation with Nate Holder that we had a while back but have just now managed to get it published.
There are some more PG-13 themes in Nate's testimony (hence the title). But, wow, such an incredible story of God's grace in Nate's life. Thanks again to Nate for being on the show. Enjoy!
There's some weird stuff around the flood in Genesis. A simple reading of the text would make you think that it's a total, global flood. But there are others who say it was more localized. But there's more! The text itself isn't so simple.
This episode may just begin a series on weird stuff in the Bible. It's so easy to interpret the Bible in ways that erase all the weird stuff, but there's plenty weird stuff that won't fit into the interpretations that we've made for ourselves. For instance, is Genesis 1–2 actually a literal, 6-day (24-hour day) creation? Or what about Cain freaking out over these people that will want to kill him after he is exiled? Where did they come from?
Weird stuff!
This episode might be best for parents of younger listeners check out first, but the information in here is just too good to not share with everyone you know! Ashley Moore is our guest today and she is the executive director at CAST (Citizens Against Sex Trafficking).
Ashley has her Master’s degree in International Criminology with an emphasis in Restorative Justice from the University of Sheffield in the UK and has her Nonprofit Financial Management Certification from Cornell University. She has worked as a caseworker for survivors of sex trafficking in Austria, England, and the United States, and has partnered with law enforcement on freedom flight and sting operations. Additionally, Ashley has helped build 4 nonprofit programs from the ground up and is passionate about bringing a nonprofit mission to life. She is dedicated to serving and empowering victims of exploitation as well as equipping the community with the knowledge they need to end sex trafficking and exploitation before they begin.
Back from a hiatus, this episode was incredible and moving to get to record with Preston back. You won't want to miss this discussion!
Don't let the beginning audio error dissuade you-- keep listening! (Our mic didn't pop on until a minute or two in).
Given the recent attack in New Orleans, we wanted to talk about Muslims in America and how Christians ought to go about thinking about them.
Plus, this episode features a very special guest that long-time listeners won't want to miss!
(Background music is Atonement by Alice in Winter)
Mason is a friend of Preston's and it was such a blessing to have him on the show. I hope you appreciate his heart for Jesus, his insight, and humility.
At the time of recording, Mason is a part of a podcast called Three Minds, One Mic (which he co-hosts with Nathan Holder). We hope that you'll check them out!
If you've ever wondered what Catholics believe (whether you're not a part of that tradition or maybe you are!), we hope this will be a helpful episode as Preston asks his good friend, Dawson Sellner about what Catholics believe that might be different than what Protestants believe.
This is a bonus episode, "after party" conversation with Dr. Jesse Scheumann from our previous interview. I never hit STOP on our recording until we were off our call and I'm so glad that I didn't! We hope that you find this conversation around Genesis 3 as deep as we did!
A lot of people deal with social anxiety. In this episode, we try to give some help to those who might ask questions like, "How can I get better at social interactions?"
"How can I welcome others?"
or, "How do I talk to someone I'm interested in?"
This is a very special episode for me, personally! On today's episode, we have my favorite intellect in the world of the Hebrew Bible: Dr. Jesse Scheumann! Jesse was my first year Hebrew Professor back at Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis. This guy would have breakfast with us each class, taught in a way that was engaging and fun, and instilled in me a love for the Hebrew Bible. I'm forever indebted to this man and I hope you'll enjoy listening to our conversation today.
Jesse Scheumann holds a PhD with a specialization in Hebrew from the University of the Free State in South Africa. He holds an MA in Linguistics from the University of Minnesota, an MDiv and ThM from Bethlehem College and Seminary, and a BA in Biblical and Theological Studies from University of Northwestern – St. Paul. In 2017, he founded Picture Hebrew with his wife, Merissa, to provide illustrated resources that help others internalize the language of Scripture.
Dr. Scheumann’s interests lie in the areas of generative linguistics, language acquisition, Greek and Hebrew exegesis, and biblical theology. He has been teaching communicative Hebrew for several years and is passionate to see any committed student become a lifelong reader of Greek and Hebrew. His desire is to build up the church, locally and globally.
Yep. We called an audible while we were recording and got super nerdy and talked about Star Wars and how it relates to the Christian faith. We hope you enjoy as much as we did!
Have you ever wondered why God doesn't show up in burning bushes today? The answer goes deep. An invitation to reality, to knowing God, and knowing yourself.
If you have social anxiety, or think that you're socially awkward, this episode will help you! We get really practical about how to have a good conversation with someone and build friendship. If you're a Christian, we also give practical advice on how to share your faith with your friends.
We hope you enjoy!
This week's episode is a recording from a recent sermon on the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant in Matthew 18.
CW: If you have experienced sexual assault, we want to let you know that there is a story towards that end of the sermon that might be triggering.
Emily Klotz was abducted and raped, but chose to forgive her rapist after his imprisonment.
This week, we recap a recent live discussion on questions regarding Genesis 1–3.
The questions are:
"This is a really stupid question, but how would a Christian historian explain cavemen? Did they even exist? Is that was Adam and Eve were?"
"Why are we here? (Just to suffer)"
"Why couldn't God have established an 'Abrahamic Covenant' with Adam and Eve or make a way for them to sacrifice something in payment for their sins? basically: Make a way for them to be righteous by their faith? was it that they rejected God fully aware, fully believing, that he was there?"
In this episode, Preston and Brax talk about sharing your faith in the workplace, the role of evangelism in the Christian life, and the importance of personal obedience to Jesus before telling people about Christ.
Two things: we tried recording video as well as audio, but it just didn't work out. Sorry if we talk about being on camera, since we're obviously not this time.
We also recorded this episode after an episode about the GOP's recent shift on its stance on abortion. If you want to have a conversation about this, please reach out. But for the moment, we're not going to release that conversation. In hindsight, I (Brax) felt like I was coming into that conversation with a lot arrogance and self-justification. That's not what we want to add into our community. Thanks for your understanding!