May 22 2012

Show open and welcome

The hosts open live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper with intro banter: a show-start technical quip about the intro music, one host returning after missing the previous week while out with his wife, and the night's agenda is previewed.

Jehovah's Witness visit and the night's agenda

• How far from correct on Jesus can you be and still be a Christian?
• Where does the Bible say that Jesus is God?

A host recounts Jehovah's Witnesses visiting a host's rural home and his wife reading their pamphlet; the hosts note how persuasive the literature sounds and frame the episode's theological question: how far from correct on Jesus can you be and still be a Christian? They distinguish quibbles from quandaries and announce a new recurring series rebutting '50 proofs that God doesn't exist'.

Agenda, Adam Cates plug, and Spirit Midwest festival

The hosts run through the night's lineup (Secular vs Solomon, listener advice), praise singer Adam Cates's weekend sets at Green Grounds and Pathway Church with his CD at adamcates.org, then plan for the Spirit Midwest Music Festival in St. Charles (August 3-4): new venue, no internet yet, and logistics for broadcasting and a borrowed camper.

Fundraisers, radio shills, and giving without compulsion

• How should Christians raise money without compelling giving?

A running joke about a fake fundraiser (Elmo phones for Troy) turns into a critique of a depressing Christian-radio money appeal heard that morning; the hosts argue giving should be framed as God's protection against worshipping money, not compelled by sad stories, and one host confesses his own inconsistency with giving.

The hole-in-the-cup coffee story

Comedy interlude: a host describes pouring coffee twice through a church coffee cup that had a hole in the bottom in front of laughing onlookers, which leads to griping about the tiny new worship cups Dan ordered and church donuts, before a station ID.

Main discussion: Jehovah's Witnesses, the Trinity, and the deity of Christ

• Does it matter if Jesus is not God when the other tenets are true?

The core theological segment: after a 207-page JW book ('What Does the Bible Really Teach?') rattles a host and his wife, they studied what the Bible says about Jesus being God — the Great Commission's singular 'name' (Matthew 28:19), 'if you've seen me you've seen the Father' (John 14:9), Thomas's 'my Lord and my God' (John 20:28-29), and the stoning for blasphemy over 'I and the Father are one' (John 10:30-33). They conclude you can't argue someone out of a triune God but urge knowing why you believe what you believe instead of living on borrowed teaching.

Zeal envy: Mormons, baptisms for the dead, and effort

The hosts admit other faiths outwork them: they mock-duel over Mormon posthumous baptisms (baptism for the dead) and JW door-to-door zeal, joking about trailing JW teams with their own pamphlet, and ask whether Christians stress grace so much they mistake it for permission to be lazy.

The social-media rant: puppeted friendships

A host delivers a long rant on individualistic, binary culture: people curate friendships through Facebook feeds like a creep with binoculars, choosing what influences them, which makes real Christian witness nearly impossible; close relationships are where evangelism actually happens, illustrated by a mocked Facebook meme about the devil getting a headache when you carry a Bible.

Worship banter: Dan's cheese and low self-esteem

The hosts roast a fellow host's worship leading at Pathway Church — his cheesy '80s-style song intros ('Welcome to God's grace, Dan Hudson'), done to detract from his self-admitted low self-esteem as a non-musician — while his daughter Danielle declines to lead worship while home from college.

Plugs, festival logistics, and the Christian rave

A station ID with plugs for the YouTube channel's artist clips (Ryan Sheeter, Chris Roloff, Adam), a Spirit Midwest reminder, and growing excitement over a rumored midnight Christian rave at the festival — dubstep, flashy lights, and a plan to make Dan its emcee.

News: Dutch royals baptized posthumously by Mormons

A news item: deceased members of the Dutch royal family (Prince Klaus, Prince Bernhard, Princess Juliana) were posthumously baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by enthusiastic members via the church's genealogical database; meanwhile someone pulls up a 'How to Dance at a Rave' YouTube video for Dan.

Dear LFTP: the 70-guest bridal shower

• Is it out of line for a maid of honor to suggest a second shower when the guest list hits 70?

Advice segment: a maid of honor asks whether it's out of line to suggest a second shower when the groom's mother Alicia pads the guest list to 70; the hosts split between hosting the big one, splitting it, renting a Legion hall with meatballs and melon, and the Secular advice column says set a firm guest cap.

The stool-dubstepper rave video

Comedy bit: the hosts watch a 'How to Dance at a Rave' video on dancewithleroy.com — narrating the drop, milking-the-cow moves, and a guy dancing on a chair — before the next advice question.

Dear LFTP: fueling with the engine running, plus diesel science

• How can a listener convince her father to turn off the ignition when fueling?
• Who should pay when the daughter moves her wedding four hours away?

A long advice-plus-comedy block: a listener's father refuses to turn off the ignition while fueling; the hosts debate gasoline vapor ignition, research the auto-ignition temperature (~495 degrees), explain why diesels have no spark plugs, and a show contributor tells the story of sniff-testing mystery gas cans with his dad and learning he 'smells like Mike Fust'.

Dear LFTP: Emily, swearing, grace, and judging others

• Is it unrealistic for Emily to expect everyone to bend to her no-swearing morals?

A 19-year-old asks about her friend Emily, who has never sworn and weeps/confronts people who do; the hosts say her concern should be grace not offense — don't raise the persecution flag when unharmed — then expand into a long rant against corporate feedback culture that paints people with one bad moment, and close with warm stories of a host's young daughters' simple faith in Jesus.

Swearing in music and the Secular answer

The hosts discuss which swearing bothers them (non-mean-spirited filler vs vulgar), an old-dudes-at-the-cafe story, and the mom-approved 'Bad Bad Leroy Brown' exception; the Secular advice column tells Emily to find like-minded company, which gets a Jehovah's Witness punchline.

Proof #1: try praying (the cure-cancer challenge)

• Is the lack of God curing cancer proof that God is imaginary?

Launching the rebuttal series, a host reads 'Proof #1' from an atheist website: everyone praying tonight to cure all cancer, citing Matthew 7:7, 17:20, 21:21, Mark 11:24, John 14:12-14, Matthew 18:19, James 5:15-16, would prove God imaginary when nothing happens.

Answering Proof #1: God is not a genie

• How should a Christian apply Mark 11:24, 'whatever you ask in prayer, believe you have received it'?

The hosts dismantle the cancer-prayer challenge: God is sovereign, answers yes/no/wait, and won't be peer-pressured into a trick; prayer isn't voicing agreement with what God put on you to pray about; the challenge presumes God needs to prove himself, and healed unbelievers would just credit Allah or Buddha; they land on God's justice, earthly consequences of sin, and the Job encounter as the proper posture.

Mark 11:24 and how prayer actually works

• Does God have a will for every decision, like eggs vs toast for breakfast?

A host presses the 'whatever you ask in prayer, believe you have received it' promise as a chocolate-milk-in-the-front-yard test case; the group works through context: Jesus was speaking to disciples, mature faith stops asking spurious things, prayers change as Christ occupies more of the heart, and whether God has a will for small decisions like eggs vs toast.

Sign-off: proof #2 next week

The hosts table the second prayer-focused proof for next week, noting the biblical-context-of-prayer question is still open, then sign off with the Monday 10pm-midnight reminder and archive links.