July 2 2012

Show open: honest faith, fierce grace, and donkeys

Ben introduces the show by name from the Pathway Studios in Johnston and welcomes first-time listeners. The hosts riff on their tagline 'honest faith, fierce grace, and donkeys,' debating whether the donkeys are misleading or intriguing to newcomers.

Tonight's agenda: proof eight, Dear Life, Iron Sharpens Iron

The hosts preview the hour: week eight of the GodIsImaginary.com proofs series (proof number eight, near-death experiences), advice segments (Dear Life on the Path, Iron Sharpens Iron), and a scheduled guest, Carl from the Incredible Pizza Company.

No-show guest Carl from the Incredible Pizza Company

The scheduled guest Carl from the Incredible Pizza Company has not arrived, so the hosts joke about his absence and then talk up the company: a franchise in Urbandale described as a 'Jesus company' that offers free pizza buffets to churches. They hatch a plan to call ahead and record a quick phone interview instead of hosting him in studio.

Study: belief in heaven without hell correlates with higher crime

• Does belief in heaven and a forgiving God lead to higher crime rates?

The hosts read a New Scientist article covering a University of Oregon study by psychology professor Dr. Azeem Sharif: across 143,000 people in 67 nations, countries where belief in heaven outpaces belief in hell had higher crime rates even after controlling for GDP, income inequality, population density, and life expectancy. The hosts are skeptical of the causation claim, arguing the survey respondents are cherry-picking beliefs rather than following an actual religion.

A host's Bible study on hell: reincarnation, separation vs. fire

• What is hell actually like — eternal fire or mere separation from God?

One host describes skipping his LTG Bible-reading plan to do a topical study on hell with a friend. They conclude reincarnation is ruled out by Hebrews ('appointed for a man once to die, then judgment'). He pushes back on the popular reduction of hell to mere 'separation from God,' sharing the image of an ocean of people in heaven with the lost plucked out alone into a test tube, and notes Jesus repeatedly describes eternal fire; either way, he concludes, eternity apart from God is terrible and worth avoiding.

Cheating for a forgiving God, Romans 6, and marriage counseling

• Should we sin so that grace may abound?

The hosts read more of the Sharif study: participants who wrote about a forgiving God claimed nearly $2 more than entitled on an anagram cheating task (everyone cheated at least a little). This sparks a Romans 6 discussion — 'shall we sin so grace may abound? By no means' — distinguishing a slip from deliberate rebellion ('God will forgive me' as a license in marital crisis). One host talks through how he would counsel a daughter in a bad marriage: separate but don't divorce, recommending James Dobson's Love Must Be Tough.

Format change: the show goes one hour, 10 to 11 p.m.

The hosts announce the show is shortening to one hour, broadcasting 10 to 11 p.m. Monday nights, noting Mike and Dan want to be home to put their young kids to bed. The change is effective this week.

Proof eight: near-death experiences are not a proof

• Can you base your faith in God on near-death experiences?
• Why won't God heal amputees (WhyWontGodHealAmputees.com)?

The hosts read proof number eight from GodIsImaginary.com: near-death experiences are chemically explainable (ketamine reproduces them; oxygen loss is the trigger), so NDEs prove nothing. The hosts fully agree — no Christian they know bases faith on NDEs; faith is not built on experience, and NDEs are 'not a flagship of the Christian faith.' A digression on Daniel's handwriting on the wall leads into the claim that the church's war on science drives youth away: 'God and science are not at war. Science is just how God did stuff.'

Defending the faith: the God particle, carbon dating, search gag

The hosts discuss defending the faith through research: a press release about the Higgs-Boson 'God particle' collider result is expected, and they argue a creator model should be able to absorb scientific findings. They critique carbon dating's reliability beyond a few centuries of verified decay rates. They set next week's proof nine ('understand ambiguity') and laugh at a search result for 'God hate amputee' that returns an amputee-adult dating site — 'the internet is not discerning.'

Upcoming events: Wellspring local day and Manifest show

The hosts plug Saturday's local day at Wellspring (Book and Bible / Resource Center) in West Des Moines/Urbandale, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with musical guests Jeff Arendale, Zach Swobin, Tim Cooper, and Sean Covington. They also plug the Friday the 13th show with Manifest at the Indian Only Community Church (transcribed two ways), opening with Double J and Saved on Sunday, and point listeners to the Live From the Path YouTube channel for Manifest footage.

Dear Life: the sister-in-law's dollar-store gift boxes

• How do I stop my wife's sister from sending boxes of unwanted dollar-store gifts without hurting feelings?

Mike is handed the mic and reads a Dear Life on the Path letter: the writer's wife Diane and her sister Jenny have grown close; Jenny mails boxes of cheap dollar-store knickknacks the family neither needs nor has room for, and the wife won't tell her sister to stop. The hosts side against the writer — he sounds like the 'loose cog' who dislikes his sister-in-law anyway — and say either accept the gifts (re-gift, donate, rotate them out) or say something directly, while Secular's advice of a fake declutter cover story is mocked as a 'dog and pony show.'

Dear Life: a southerner adjusts to northern manners

• As a southerner visiting northern homes, should I just get over the manners difference?

A graduate student writes that she moved from the south to the east coast and feels northerners are rude for not taking her coat or inviting her to sit. The hosts tell her to get over it and follow local cues, riffing at length on coat piles, the awkwardness of surrendering your coat, and a memorial-service story about being scolded for standing with fingers interlaced. Secular's advice agrees: being invited means you're welcome.

Dear Life: introduced as the charity case

• My friend introduces me as her charity case — do I suck it up or curtail our meetings?

A car-less letter writer says a friend who drives her to the grocery store weekly introduced her to friends by recounting her lack of a car, making her feel portrayed as an object of charity. The hosts advise treating it as a one-time incident: it was likely thoughtless rather than malicious, and if it repeats, gently ask whether she's becoming a burden.

Send-off: Wayne Stewart's new CD

The hosts close by sending listeners out with music from Wayne Stewart, a past show guest with a new CD recorded and coming out soon, and remind listeners of next Monday's 10-to-11 p.m. show and the Wellspring event.