Explore every episode of the podcast What do you mean God speaks?
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S4E6: Divine Intervention or Natural Events? What the Plagues Meant
Were the plagues that struck Egypt in Exodus Divine intervention or natural events? This is a question that is raised by those who present natural explanation for these plagues. But, things that follow laws of nature are God speaking, just as things that do not seem to. The real question is: what distinguishes these events in Exodus from just any other things that happen? Because the difference will not be found in whether they are natural or not.
And there is a difference in what it meant for God to speak and unfold these plagues, both in what they communicated, and how God was communicating them. For the first nine plagues were primarily about communication, rather than punishment. How these plagues unfolded would have meant something very clear and specific for the ancient Egyptians who experienced them. And God was speaking not only to human beings, but to things in Nature, to unfold these events. For though everything is God speaking, God also speaks to everything.
Join me this episode to explore what I mean.
Also, thank you for waiting during this long, unplanned hiatus! Your continued support and encouragement really does keep this series going!
[Note Jul 1, 2024 : The first section, discussing the Pharaoh's motivation was removed to shorten the episode, since it was largely review of the previous episode. It seems this change isn't being updated though on most apps though, for some reason--the episode should be just 40 minutes long otherwise. ]
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S4E5: Why God hardened Pharaoh's heart and then punished him for it
One of the more perplexing and disturbing part of the Exodus account is when God hardens Pharaoh's heart so that he does not listen to Moses and let the people of Israel go. But then, God punishes him it by unfolding disasters--the plagues--upon Egypt. But, this seems profoundly unjust! What is the idea that the Bible is presenting about God? That nothing we do matters?
However, it turns out that the message is in fact the exact opposite. There is something far more that is going on in this account. How Pharaoh's heart is hardened describes how we relate to reality, or fail to, what leads to that failure, and then locks us in.
3:12 Channels of truth available to the Pharaoh 14:18 What it means for the heart to be "hard" to truth 23:50 What actively "hardening one's heart" does to you 32:00 When God actually hardened Pharaoh's heart 34:20 What is really happening when God hardens the heart ----------------------------------------
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S3Post1: What do I mean, "Thank you for Listening?" My experiences with this series
Thank you for listening and following this series!
But, what does it mean for me to tell you this? These simple words mean much more than you may know. It has to do with what I've experienced, the fears I've faced and the encouragements I received in doing this series. To a very important extent, it has to do with, like the rest of this series, what God seems to speak and how that moves me to write what you hear.
So, thank you for listening to what it means for me to say those words. What that means in the larger journey of this series so far.
And stay tuned for the upcoming set of post-season episodes, and then the 4th season trailer.
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S3Finale: Frozen between faith and fear - How our Journey continues
We have finally arrived at the final main episode of the third season. Here, we will survey what it means to believe in God, formed and expanded through the journeys of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and then Joseph. However, this account reveals that there will be times when those who are on this journey, become suspended between belief and unbelief, fear and faith.
That was how it was for Jacob—who had been named Israel. After he lost his son, Joseph, and likely even earlier, his life and his journey became frozen in place, until God spoke again. So, join us as we continue to follow the life-stories of the family of Abraham to its closing of the book of Genesis.
For most of October, I will be in Korea. Then, I will be back with a post-season episodes, featuring my commentary about the past season and some issues that were not included in this season. Following that will be a trailer, which will introduce the Fourth Season, and reveal its title.
2:05 Fundamental analogies that relate us to reality 8:02 Believing in God is about which analogies to live by 13:55 What overturns our deepest beliefs and analogies 21:27 Jacob frozen with fear until God speaks again 29:48 Limbo between belief and unbelief, fear and faith 35:50 Though frozen, here we wait until God speaks again
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S3E17.17: So, what -is- God's part in a famine or whatever else?
What began as a supplemental episode has become a rather long and hefty discussion about the question of suffering or evil in a world spoken forth by God. This is far from a complete answer. What this episode is doing is to outline a larger framework, along with a set of prior questions and considerations in order to really understand this question.
Too many of us today think this question in terms of whether we can still believe that there exists a benevolent, super-powerful entity, if he will not prevent bad things from happening. But, that actually isn’t the question. It is about how to understand reality, how to understand what it really means for God to speak forth a world, so that we can understand what it means for something bad to happen as a part of what God speaks.
And the answer to that is not as simple as we’d think (hence the length of the episode).
1:03 Return to the question, "Why is there suffering if God is good?" 8:45 What "part" of what happens is God, and what "part" is us? 17:31 The speech-like character of reality as God speaking 27:20 So, why -is- there something like a famine? 35:10 Why we've got it backwards
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S3E17: Is God the 'Author' of our suffering? Yes... and No (Joseph Pt. 3)
The series is back again, as it nears (steadily and slowly) the completion of Season 3! Thank you everyone for waiting!
This episode will explore, as we conclude the life of Joseph, this perplexing question. If everything that happens is what God speaks forth, could God not have spoken something else? Could God not have brought about different happenings, different things, different life, a different world? If our reality unfolds like a story, and God is like the Author, is God also the author of our suffering?
Did Joseph have to go through the painful years of slavery, and wrongful imprisonment, just so that he could save the world around him and his family from the famine? Why?
Note: the discussion of Creation in this episode draws significantly from the first half of Season Two.
3:05 Idea of God as the "Speaker" and Reality that could be 10:50 Asking if God could have "done better" 19:43 "Other people are living lives just as real as mine." 27:53 The story of Joseph's brothers 35:11 How what we do, what Nature does, become part of God speaking ----------------------------------------
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We are often faced with the question of ambiguity in our wrestling with God. That was the question Joseph faced alone in prison. What was God speaking to him? Had God ever really spoken to him? God spoke to him insights into dreams and wisdom to lead people. Yet, he was in prison, seemingly forsaken and forgotten by God.
However, God was doing something during those years, which would prepare him to be the kind of person he would need to be. For the dreams in his youth where his brothers were bowing before him were not about him ruling over them. It was about saving them, even when they had hated him and betrayed him. That was who God was forming him into in the pit--someone who would be able to do so. That is what God is speaking forth into the lives of those who follow the footsteps of Joseph.
0:00 Question of ambiguity of God for Joseph 9:55 Who Joseph was becoming in the prison 15:44 What God spoke through the Pharaoh's dream 24:57 Joseph leads Egypt through the famine 30:50 Joseph's brothers come to Egypt 34:40 What God had really spoken to Joseph in his youth ----------------------------------------
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S3E15: When listening to God throws you into a pit (Joseph)
We’ve now started the final set of episodes of the 3rd season, as we explore the life-story of Joseph, and the question he confronted: what happens when what God has spoken to you, seems to have been proven false? What do you do when listening to God seems to have thrown you into a pit? How does your journey with God continue from there? What can you still hold on to?
Also, I was recently interviewed by Dr. John D Wise in his podcast, “The Christian Atheist”. You can check out the podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-atheist/id1553077203
(Also check out the rest of their content, which starts by detailing a philosophy professor’s journey away from Christianity to atheism, and then from atheism back to Christianity, 25 years later.)
1:30 When your 'map' is being questioned 10:03 The dreams God spoke to Joseph 17:42 Joseph's life is thrown into a pit 24:50 What do you mean God is with Joseph? 31:28 Why Joseph still listened for God
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S3E14: Questioning the Bible (Wrestling with God today Pt.2)
Full title: "Questioning the Bible, and Risking Belief for Faith"
Thank you for the loooong wait!
We continue from the previous episode, which followed the trail of questions that begin when I thought to myself years ago, “Maybe there is no God.” In the previous episode, we followed how I wrestled with the questions about what we really mean by “God,” what it is to try to understand all of reality as a whole, and how this eventually led me to a book, written by those very people who came to relate to reality as a whole, as “Who,” that speaks with us.
This book, the Christian Bible, is the focus of my next set of questions, which this episode explores. It will recount how I wrestled with the questions of what it means for the Bible to be “the Word of God,” and how anything we can put into words and write on a book can meaningfully be God speaking, and the central role of the figure of Jesus in it all. We will follow how I tried to think through some of the questions posed against the Bible from science and history, and where I eventually arrived afterward.
And what I found was: to take a journey of faith, you have to risk your beliefs.
2:02 How we’ve gotten our question of God backwards 8:25 How can a book ever be God “speaking?” 13:33 How life of a person is God speaking 19:43 Question about morality of the Bible 25:20 Question about science and the Bible 32:32 Question about history and the Bible 40:15 Bible is a map; follow at your own risk
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S3E13: Maybe there is no God (Wrestling with God today Pt.1)
We’re back for 2023. This is the first part of a two-part episode, which explores how today, in our modern, secular society, we wrestle with our belief in God. These two episodes will detail how I’ve thought through the questions and issues years ago when I seriously asked myself, “Maybe there is no God.”
Because of that, these two episodes are a kind of alternative overview of this series so far, because this entire series was borne out of a journey that began with that very question.
So, this episode and the next will revisit the key questions and ideas that had been presented throughout this series so far in the past episodes, but describe them from a different angle. They are what I learned by having faced the question, “Maybe there is no God,” and wrestling with my beliefs regarding God.
This episode follows how my thinking about the general idea of God has changed, while doing so, and where this eventually led me to. Next episode will follow what questions then confronted me, and why it led me to examine what the Christian Bible testified.
0:00 Wrestling with our belief in God 2:49 What does it mean to ask, "Maybe there is no God" 9:50 What is really meant by “God” 16:37 What is the question to ask, to find if there is no God 21:15 How to begin thinking of reality as “Who” 28:11 Where all these questions led me ----------------------------------------
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S3Extra3: Update - Search for Publishers, Book Proposals, & the Upcoming Season
I'm back for 2023, and here is an extra episode to update what is being worked on. Next episode, "Risking belief to keep your faith" will air around mid-February.
In the meanwhile, you can listen to this unscripted episode--if are so inclined--as I bemoan my troubles, trying to figure out which publisher would be appropriate for my book, and figure out how to write up a proposal that'd get them interested. I'll also comment about the next episode, and what is coming up next season, slated Spring of this year. (not very surprising spoiler's alert: it's titled, "Exodus")
The website for the conference I mention is here: https://mcmasterdivinity.ca/transcendence/ I will be giving a talk in its 4th parallel session, which will be titled, "Recovering God: Mapping and Translating the Journey." ----------------------------------------
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S3E12: People of God are those who wrestle with God
Many people are surprised that the name of the people of God, "Israel," means to "wrestle with God". But, that was the name God gives to Jacob, who is a character full of faults and failures, and that became the name of everyone who are called God's people in the Bible ( Christians are called "new Israel" in the New Testament). So, in this episode, we will explore how Jacob received this name and how we are to understand the relationship between humanity and God.
This episode is also a milestone of sort, as it was it was originally meant to cap the second phase of the series (the first phase being the first season). As such, the episode will reference many of the key ideas in the past episodes.
P.S. If I sound somewhat different in this episode, it's because I'm currently recovering from Covid; so please stay safe and healthy, everyone!
0:00 The name, “Israel” means to wrestle with God 2:55 Overall recap of what “God speaks” means 10:25 Jacob’s ladder and God’s promise 19:05 Jacob’s life, struggling with family 25:09 Jacob's struggles and God's promise 31:57 Jacob wrestles with his fears and hopes 36:06 To live, is to wrestle with God ----------------------------------------
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S4E4: How Moses learns God is speaking with him step-by-step
God that spoke to Moses is "Yahweh," unfolding everything around him. But, the question was: will reality unfold what this voice spoke to him? What if things go wrong? What if Moses was deluded, or mistaken, or deceived?
How Moses, and people who hear God speak to them, find out whether what they hear is true--whether God really is speaking with them--is actually a step-by-step process. Rarely do we make some heroic leap of faith, at least at the start. We embark on that journey, one step at a time. And sometimes, the first step can be very, very small.
But, the question that reality confronts us with--question that God asks--is "What will it take for you to take that step? And will you when that path opens before you? Whether we do or not separates people like Moses and those who aren't.
3:03 God's name points to reality unfolding around us 11:38 Wavering between following or ignoring God’s voice 17:47 What it means for anger of God to burn against you 24:00 The question is, what it make you take the next step? 31:48 Taking the next step when stakes go up
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We're back with part 1 of the two-episode exploration of Jacob's life.
What does it mean to be blessed by God? What is it about Jacob and his life that Genesis identifies him as the spiritual ancestor and representative of the people that God personally speaks with--people who journeys with God? After all, Jacob is an unlikely figure for a hero of a story. He lies to his father, tricks his brother, and even his deceptions are not due to his wit, but his mother's. We will find out in the next two episodes.
0:00 From Abraham to Isaac to Jacob and Esau 4:35 What does inquire from the LORD mean? 10:22 Jacob and Esau, twins who were very different 16:55 The strangeness of Jacob being the hero of this story 24:35 The real question that the story asks 29:47 Why would God speak through dreams? ----------------------------------------
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Isaac is the promised child of Abraham and Sarah. Yet, his life as described in Genesis seems, well, uninteresting. But, there is a very interesting idea behind what happens--or rather, what doesn't happen--in Isaac's life, and it has to do with to how humanity's relation to God develops through multiple generations, according to the Bible. Coming to learn the personal character of God is a journey, and journey means each step starts from where the previous step ended. And so, each generation begins their journey from where the previous generation ended. How that works and what that means is presented through Isaac's life.
2:42 Those who watched Abraham's life 12:28 What you learn by watching Abraham's life 20:15 Knowing God through time and generations 26:42 Where Isaac begins and his life ----------------------------------------
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A bonus, unscripted(!) episode. We'll see how this episode turns out.
So, we've been exploring "ideas, insights, and stories in Christianity." But, where am I in all this? Have I ever experienced some of the things I describe in this series, especially in the third season--God speaking personally to people, making promises, and unfolding miracles?
Now that I've wrapped up the main life-story of Abraham and Sarah (and I'm in the process of moving), I decided to share a few examples from things I experienced in my life. Just a few, but you'll get to hear a bit more of the person behind this series. ----------------------------------------
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Why did God call Abraham to offer his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering?
The story of the "Binding of Isaac," is not simply about a story of a man obeying God to the point that he will sacrifice his own son. It is about a call that everyone who speaks with God eventually hears. And we hear this call because all of humanity has been waging a one-sided Cold War with God, and to offer Isaac was to bet on peace.
2:22 Would you be at peace if God spoke to you? 7:57 Trouble with heirs - Ishmael and Isaac 14:48 Why what God spoke to Abraham is so perplexing 18:38 Humanity is waging a Cold War on God 26:07 Why Abraham needed to offer his son to God 33:05 Peace Child ----------------------------------------
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S3E8: Faith in Ambiguity - Miracles, Promise, and Time
What is faith? What is a miracle? And how are the themes of promise, time, and ambiguity related to all of that?
Has God truly been speaking with us? Is Reality personal? Christians believe God speaks to them and walks with them, but what we’ve explored so far still remains open to the question on whether this is merely one possibleway to relate to reality, a subjective way to perceive what reality unfolds in our lives. It is only with the narratives of God’s promise and its fulfillment repeated throughout the Bible that the belief in the truly personal reality of God is established in Christianity. It is in this context, that miracles have any meaning in Christianity.
Thus, the narrative of God making a promise with people and how that promise unfolds is central to Christian account of humanity’s relationship with God. And that is the life-story of Abraham and Sarah.
This leads to the related question of faith. Faith has a dimension those of us today seldom notice, yet is probably the most important: time. Because promise implies waiting, and waiting implies time.
2:03 Ambiguity, not absence, of God that confronts us 9:40 God breaks through the ambiguity with a Promise to Abraham 16:48 What is a miracle? How people today misunderstand 24:28 Faith and personal trust 29:43 Why Time is essential to Miracles and Faith
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Moral teachings in the Bible, especially in the Hebrew portion (the Christian Old Testament) pose a problem. There are rules and regulations that do not seem very important to us, while there are practices, such as slavery, God either seems to ignore, or even condone. And we're not even getting to the laws that God commands that seem too harsh or even barbaric by our standards today.
Then, to make this even more confusing, the New Testament portion of the Bible sometimes seem to present new moral teachings. God commands Abraham that the male members of God's people must be circumcised; apostle Paul writes that Christians who now belong to God do not need to be circumcised. People in the time of the Old Testament engaged themselves in terrifyingly savage wars; Jesus Christ teaches his disciples to love their enemies, and instead of condemning people for their sins, died for them.
Why do moral views change in the Bible?
Or, is it perhaps, the Bible is trying to teach something far more important regarding morality than any particular law or precept?
3:09 The problem of outdated morality in the Bible 8:24 Why God accommodates to our moral level 17:20 What the Bible is teaching about morality 23:58 Why Christians shouldn't follow some OT laws 27:15 What the Bible teaches is people 30:49 Where God seems to lead Abraham by conversing with him ----------------------------------------
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Is God good? And if God is good, why are moral laws and commands in the Bible, sometimes not so good? And of course, why do bad things happen, if God is good?
But, before we can ask those questions, we should've asked this more basic question: Why would you think that God is good?
What does it mean to say that God is "good"?
We will begin to explore this question in this episode. Then, we can start asking what the Bible is trying to teach us about morality and goodness.
[ Update: the previous version of this episode has been split into 2 episodes. The new version of this episode expands on the first half, and explores the Genesis account of the city of Sodom and its destruction. The next episode (S3E7) will expand on the second half. ]
1:56 Morality, evolution, and gods 9:55 God, as Being, Truth, Goodness 18:24 Judgment of God, revisited 23:00 The account of Sodom’s destruction 29:19 The meaning of Sodom’s destruction ----------------------------------------
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S3E5: Let's start thinking about the personality of God
For ages, people have ascribed personality to their deities. What was their reasoning?
And what would be the personality of God that speaks forth all things? How should we start thinking about this? And what about Abram, Sarai, and their family? What was the personality of God that spoke to them? How did they begin to learn Who God was in their lives, and what did they experience?
2:12 Our cognitive predisposition to belief in gods 8:40 How we ascribe personality to gods 14:39 What would be the personality of “God”? 19:00 The role of Promise in personal relationship with God 25:50 Abram and Sarai try to fulfill God’s promise themselves 30:25 God makes a separate promise to Hagar ----------------------------------------
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S3Extra1: Where this series is headed, and what it's been doing
The first extra episode for Season 3; the next main episode (S3E5) will go live early July. (update: there were more delays, so I couldn't complete the new episode by the end of June as I had originally planned. I apologize for the delay!)
This episode addresses the more "meta" question about this series that I wanted to go over before releasing the next episode--what this series has been doing, how it has approached the questions and issues it has explored so far, and where this series is now heading. It also drops hints of future plans, and some long overdue thanks at the end.
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To hear God speak to you, is to be presented with truth; they are the same thing. And God speaking to you often begins with uncertainty, because we don't know whether what is being presented to us really is true.
Abram and Sarai hears God speak to them in how they are moved, or inspired, to follow an inner call. "Something" guides them, and that "something" unfolds events in their lives that enable them to follow the call. Because of this, they learn that what this Voice speaks, is really true.
But, something more happens, and they gradually learn Who is speaking to them. Let's follow their journey (or for this episode, Abram's portion) to explore what happened.
2:02 Why there is uncertainty in hearing God speak 8:25 What Abram learned in Egypt 14:28 Abram's developing inner strength shown in Canaan 23:25 Abram's fateful meeting with Melchizedek 29:14 Abram learns that "God Most High" was speaking to him
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S4E3: What does the name "YHWH" mean, and why it matters
Consider what it means for things to have names. Names point to things, and at least to some extent, tells us what they are. But, what could possibly be the name of God? After all, it would need to "point to" all of reality as a whole.
According to the Bible, the name of God spoken to Moses is "I am that I am," which in turn is presented as the meaning of the Hebrew name of God, "Yahweh." This passage has fascinated theologians and philosophers, because of the concept of "Being" and "existence" that it presents. However, this meaning presents something more immediate to our lives; it points to our experience of reality that unfolds around us, and invites us to a journey to find out what will unfold in our lives.
3:59 What it means for God to speak from the burning bush 9:47 How Moses can know whether God really spoke to him 16:51 Why "miracles" God shows Moses is only the first step 23:07 What does it even mean to name God? 32:16 It / He Just IS, and what that means 37:30 Name of God calls us to see what reality unfolds ----------------------------------------
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The Genesis account of Abraham, Sarah, and their children, invites its readers to follow in their path, and continue their journey toward God. There's one, big problem: it doesn't tell us how to start. Their journey begins with God speaking to Abraham (Abram), but Genesis does not describe how God first spoke to Abram, and how Abram heard God for the first time. So, can we get an answer?
This episode will explore and consider what it means to say Abraham, Sarah, and their family were real people, and what it was for them to begin their journey with God.
2:04 What can we say about Abraham as a real person? 6:54 What Christians are concerned about regarding the Bible 13:17 The silence on Genesis about how God spoke to Abram 19:10 How God speaks to all people according to Genesis 22:01 The voice that spoke to Abram 27:58 Did Abram know it was God speaking?
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S3E2: Is Abraham a "historical" figure? No... and Yes.
Abraham, Sarah, and their family--are they "historical" figures? The simple answer? No... and Yes. (Ok, so it's not a simple answer)
Another answer is the actual title of this episode: "Historical in/significance of Abraham's story"
This odd title can refer to four things. 1) The "insignificance" of Abraham as a "historical figure" for historians 2) The significance of Abraham's story in history 3) The historical dimension "in the significance" of Abraham's story 4) The significance of Abraham in how history has unfolded ever since.
And all of that leads us back to God's original promise to Abraham in Genesis, to bless him, to make him great, and to make his name significant, so that he will be a blessing to all people.
1:33 Primeval History in Genesis versus… 8:29 … the Ancestral History in Genesis 13:02 Who wrote Genesis and why? 21:12 The question of Abraham as a "historical" figure 27:35 Historical in/significance of Abraham
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What it means for us today, to say, “there’s no God,” is quite different from what it meant for people living just several centuries ago, to say, “there’s no God.”
That's because people back then did not merely believe that God exists. They perceived God in their world. Then, some time ago, God disappeared from our perception. We forgot what it meant to hear God speak, or see God in our lives, and so, one day, ‘God’ was no longer "there.”
* Revised on April 3 for greater clarity and flow in the 2nd half.
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* Please review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.
S3 Trailer: "Those who wrestle with God" - A Monologue
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S2Extra: What was left out of Season 2, and my thoughts
Post-season bonus episode; here I just go over some things I thought of while writing this second season, or other things I could have put into the episodes (or thought was interesting), but didn't. I also talk about new listeners, trouble with writing for people I can't see, and stuff like that. Also: at the end of the episode, I play the full length music pieces I have used for the episodes, in their unedited glory!
Season 3, "Those who struggle with God," will begin mid-March!
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S2Finale: Why Babel is not a punishment and our Utopia falls
The finale of Season 2: Genesis. Please join me for the third Season!
We think the story of Babel is about God punishing people for building a tower that reaches the sky; that is why God makes them speak in different languages. But, what if it’s much more than that? What if the Tower is not really God’s primary concern, and the goal of God making people speak different languages, is simply that—that they would speak differently?
(Genesis 9 ~ 11)
2:17 The logical progression of Genesis primeval narratives
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What does the Flood that God speaks forth mean for those of us today? What is God speaking and promising when Noah and his family emerge from the Ark to a new world? What does it mean for God to make a covenant that the world will never unravel completely from the Flood?
This is the conclusion of the second arc of this season, which spans between episodes 8 to 12. If you put the titles of these episodes together, it should read: “When Life becomes your enemy, and Death becomes your response, so that everything unravels into the Flood, what will save you from the Deluge, (is the reason) why Flood will not destroy the world.”
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S2E11: ...what will save you from the Flood (Noah's Ark)
When everything unravels into the Flood, what will save you from it? Make sure you've listened to "S2E10: ...so that Everything unravels into the Flood" before this episode.
What does it mean for God to bring the Flood, while speaking to Noah to build the Ark? The Ark is more than just a means to escape destruction--God is, in a sense, telling Noah to build a small world that will not unravel into the Flood.
(Genesis 6 ~ 7)
2:25 What God was speaking to Noah 11:54 Noah's Ark is not a fallout shelter 16:46 No line between the natural and the supernatural 21:18 Noah's Ark is a version of world that can be saved 26:02 The Ark remains as the world unravels
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S2E10: ...so that Everything unravels into the Flood
What does it mean for God to bring the Flood? Why does God bring the Flood? What is the Flood that brings an end to our world? (Genesis 4 ~ 6)
Is our world unraveling into a flood?
2:16 Did the Great Flood happen? 9:53 What humanity makes of the world after Cain 16:38 How evil unravels our world into the Flood 27:05 Genesis introduces Noah
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It is an iconic scene in the Bible: God calls Moses from the burning bush. But, why the burning bush? After all, God can speak through an immeasurable number of things.
It is because the bush that does not burn up, and the flame that blazes, yet will not burn itself out, means something to Moses--and to us--which connects us to how God, speaking all of reality, can speak to human individuals in a powerful and personal way. We'll explore what that is in this episode.
(edit: Jan 30, added ~1 minute of content from 26:26, and revised sentences that were too long the final 5 minutes )
2:21 Moses is “born” twice – his birth narrative 8:28 Moses as a failed “Zorro / Batman” 16:51 Moses’s life before the Burning Bush 24:43 What was the fire, and "The Angel of the LORD" 32:33 What did the burning bush mean? ---------------------------------------------------
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S2E9: ...and Death becomes your Response (Cain to Lamech)
What would it be like to be Cain? To rage at how your life is unfolding, then somehow, in some way hear God speak to you, and recognize those words as God speaking? And then, go against it? What was going on with him? What would lead him to do this? And how would this change the world afterward? Yourself, and your descendants? When Cain murdered his little brother, he got his wish; that wish put a mark on humanity. And Death became our response to Life. (Genesis 4)
1:18 What God speaks to us through what happens 8:55 How God spoke to Cain and what was spoken 15:03 What Cain killed and lost by killing his brother 22:11 So, murder becomes a habit
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S2E8: When Life becomes your Enemy (The Fall to Cain)
From the Fall, Exile from Eden, to the first Murder
What "death" did the Fall bring upon humanity? One way to answer is, "how do we live forever?" I'm not asking how do we avoid dying forever; rather, if we don't die, how do we live? Because after the Fall, Life has become our enemy. And Cain murders his brother because of it. (Genesis 3 ~ 4)
1:48 What we lost in Eden 6:27 Religion and Philosophy seeks what we lost 13:17 What kind of death, to whom? 18:31 We cannot live forever, even we don't die 22:44 Cain and Abel and their offering -----------------------------------------
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S2E7: Why does God smite people? And is Genesis mythical?
Several times in Genesis, God pronounces judgement and punishment on humanity, and some of those punishments seem rather strange, and some of them seem to outweigh the wrongs that were done. What's going on when God judges people? And are the accounts in Genesis 1 ~ 11 mythical? The two questions are kind of related. (Genesis 1 ~ 11)
0:52 Questions about judgment and genre 2:30 What do you mean Genesis 1-11 is mythical? 10:59 Why present truths this way? 15:15 How we misunderstand what God's “judgment” is 21:41 What does it mean for God to pronounce judgment -----------------------------------------
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S2E6: Why did humanity Fall by eating from a Tree?
What made humanity fall? What severed our relationship with God, with each other, and everything, and eventually led us into destruction? Genesis has a surprising answer; it was eating from the Tree of knowledge of good and evil. But, why would something so seemingly trivial have such dire consequences? (Genesis 3)
1:13 Humanity and the Tree of the knowledge 8:11 The Serpent's fatal accusation 14:07 Distrust of God and hiding from God 19:59 Ruined relationships -----------------------------------------
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S2E5: Why was Adam placed among the Trees in Eden?
What would it have been like to be humanity before the Fall? What is the Garden of Eden, and what did it mean for the first humans to tend to this garden and eat its fruits? (Genesis 2 ~ 3)
1:50 Our God-given capabilities and responsibilities
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What is the significance of humanity, according to Genesis? How Genesis describes humanity, or “Adam,” and our significance, is different from how we have sought to define our uniqueness. (Genesis 1 ~ 2)
2:12 The universe was not created for our sake 9:07 Our uniqueness is not in our origin 16:58 Human existence according to Genesis 19:04 The Image of God 27:33 Adam is not Homo Sapiens
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S2E3.1: Coffee, Creation, Vegans, Myths, Beliefs about the Bible
An extra episode, to cover the various topics that I wasn't able to in the main episodes in season two so far. Also: an announcement for the funding for this series. -----------------------------------------
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What is the meaning of it all? Why did God create the universe? Did God create the universe, so that humanity could exist? What does the Genesis creation narrative say about the purpose of everything? Its answer may surprise us. (Genesis 1) - 01:40 - A recurring problem: our idea of God is too small . 08:40 - Is the Universe designed so that Life can exist? . 15:45 - The purpose of each created thing in Genesis . 22:30 - Meaning of God's Delight in Creation . -----------------------------------------
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S2E2: Creation - Why it is true for the ancients, us, and the E.T.s
The Creation narrative in Genesis, according to biblical scholars, is based on the ancient Middle Eastern cosmology held by the Hebrews when it was written. Then, how is Genesis true for us living in the modern age? In this first part of exploring the opening creation narrative of Genesis, we will consider how Genesis presents significant ideas that were true for the ancient Hebrews, are true for us, and will even be true for extraterrestrial visitors from another planet. (Genesis 1)
01:33 - How people in the ancient Middle East saw the world . 08:11 - We can only reach truth we are ready to reach . 14:55 - What different parts of the world represent for the ancients . 17:34 - Genesis Creation account revisited (1st ~ 3rd day) . 24:51 - What the Genesis Creation account is telling us . -----------------------------------------
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The narratives told in the first 11 chapters of Genesis, especially the account of God creating the world, form the framework in which the Christian Bible and its message is set. However, many of us today are at a loss as to what these narratives mean for us. So, we will begin our second season by exploring the primeval history in Genesis. (Genesis 1 ~ 11) - 02:10 - The place of Genesis narratives in Christianity . 07:30 - Genesis Creation account and modern scientific cosmology . 13:25 - Questions Christians raised about Genesis Creation account . 17:26 - God "accommodates" to human understanding .
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The fourth Season opens to explore the question of the people of Israel described in Exodus. Who were they? What is the significance of their story, regarding their oppression and slavery? What remnants or echoes, if any, remain of their story in the records and memory of ancient history, and what are their significance?
And where are we headed from here?
2:21 Biblical stories as "Myth that has become History" 14:43 Opening of Exodus and the oppression of Israel 19:45 Egypt and the Hyksos, the Shasu, and Israel 27:46 Who were the Hebrews, 'Apiru, and why this matters 35:03 The Slave Bible and Exodus story as timeless truth
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What was God doing before creating the Cosmos? This seemingly esoteric question reveals a key aspect of the idea of God. We can only know God who speaks. And God first speaks in Genesis. - 00:22 - Returning to previous unanswered questions . 05:24 - Difficulty of thinking about God before Genesis . 12:19 - Transcendence and Ultimate Reality . 19:58 - God is "like" the Author of the Story .
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S1 Extra5: What Jesus never taught us - Christians playing the wrong game
There is something Jesus never taught his disciples how to do. And Christians tried it anyway, and when they did, they found themselves playing the wrong game.
00:39 - When our beliefs lead us to perpetrate evil . 11:36 - What Jesus never taught his disciples how to do . 17:11 - The kind of power rejected by Christ . 25:00 - Christians playing the wrong game .
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S1 Extra4: Is Success due to Merit or Luck? What the idea of God means for that question.
Is our success due to our merit or luck? We will explore how there is a larger perspective, centered around the idea of our responsibility before God, which will present a different answer to this question.
(edit June 29: added a short section on the ideas of "gifts" and "calling" for one's responsibility, as alternative to the idea of merit)
Also: below is the link to the YouTube video I mention in the episode.
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