July 30 2012

Show open and tonight's rundown

Show open: 'Live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston Proper.' A host runs down the night's plan: a Spirit Midwest Music Festival preview, catching up on two of the 50 GodIsImaginary.com proofs (missed last week), and Dear LFTP advice. A host teases asking the chat for advice for a change.

Spirit Midwest promo and dancing-pants banter

The hosts plug the Spirit Midwest Music Festival in St. Charles (Friday starting 4pm, Saturday, alongside All Saints Bike Night) with running bits: getting pumped, 'dancing pants,' Toms shoes ('for the real Christian hipster'), and V-necks. One host notes Mike's microphone keeps cutting out because he is 'boisterously loud.' Nathaniel, who will be doing spray-paint art at the festival, is named as part of the crew.

Proof #11: no scientific evidence for God

The hosts read and rebut proof #11 from GodIsImaginary.com ('Notice that there is no scientific evidence'): no physical evidence of God, Jesus' miracles left none, the Bible is 'provably incorrect,' prayer statistics show nothing, and atrocities like the Holocaust and AIDS go unanswered. Rebuttals: extra-biblical accounts of Jesus as healer/magician; the risen Jesus appeared to 500 at once (1 Corinthians 15:6); calling the biblical authors 'primitive men' is selective snobbery (nobody calls Socrates and Plato primitive); signs don't persuade unbelievers (the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16; the crowd fed the 5,000 still demanding more signs). Verdict: 'proof number lemon, like a total fail' - 'probably embarrassment even to people who don't believe at all.'

Dear LFTP: gossip vs news

• What is the difference between gossip and news?

Dear LFTP: a listener asks the difference between gossip and news - a friend tells her things about other friends, seemingly to show she knows something, and the listener sees it as invading others' privacy. The hosts land on motivation: news affects everyone and is fact-based; gossip is 'hey, look what I know' - making yourself look good or someone else look bad. Church prayer requests are the prime example: 'please pray for so-and-so' needs no details, since God doesn't need the specifics. One host confesses to being a 'nosy Parker' about others' business.

Gossip advice, the secular answer, and the Dan Hudson controversy joke

• Is it wrong to Google a preacher's name plus 'controversy' to check them out?

Gossip wrap-up: the hosts' advice is 'if you have to ask the question, whether it's news or gossip, it's gossip and you need to walk away' (plus 'Watch channel eight for news'). They read the Dear LFTP 'secular advice': news is fact-based and affects everyone, while gossip is a form of voyeurism, often based on conjecture, whose intent is titillation. A host googles 'Dan Hudson controversy' as a joke and finds nothing - Dan Hudson is named and teased on air - then claims to have found a 'Dan Hudson banking scam.'

Dear LFTP: the fancy-restaurant manners dispute

• Was it wrong to correct my wife's table manners at the restaurant instead of waiting?

Dear LFTP: a listener corrected his wife's table manners - scraping breadcrumbs from the tablecloth onto the floor, picking her teeth with a fingernail - at an upscale restaurant, and she was upset he didn't wait. The hosts side with relaxing: nobody cares, you're not a regular, 'quit being so uptight.' Mike recalls taking Ben to a fancy place where Ben ate a butter medallion thinking it was a mint - 'at the time that you put it in your mouth, you have to commit to it.' One host jokes the husband should take his wife out more often so she wouldn't be 'so used to eating at McDonald's.'

Proof #12: 'See the Magic'

The hosts read and rebut proof #12 from GodIsImaginary.com, 'See the Magic': religions contain 'magic' (Mormon golden plates and seer stones, the Muslim flying horse, Christian 'magical insemination,' the resurrection), so God is 'identical to leprechauns, mermaids, and Santa.' They call it lazy - just attaching the word 'magic' to everything ('I walked in the magical door... and I'm imaginary') - note a worldwide flood is well attested, and flag the author's Santa obsession ('his parents told him there was no Santa at 3, and he's been mad ever since'). 'In all seriousness, we really should be praying for this guy.' Verdict: 12 for 12, 'God still stands.'

Proof previews: #27, #40, and next week's #13 on slavery

The hosts peek at more proofs: #27 (life after death - would bacteria and mosquitoes have souls? plus more Santa), and #40 ('Understanding Christian motivations') - a bet is made that if Santa appears in #40, 'Nathaniel owes you five bucks'; Santa doesn't appear. Next week: proof #13, 'Take a look at slavery,' which they expect to be a legitimate topic with real biblical background - 'he'll need to listen to Jared's sermon from last Sunday.'

Festival logistics and lineup

Festival planning details: the show may broadcast live from Spirit Midwest if they can get a 4G comp from U.S. Cellular (Al is working on it); otherwise they'll record and replay coverage over the following weeks. Three stages: the Insider stage (hard rock/punk/metal, indoors with air conditioning), the woods acoustic stage, and the main stage - Manic Drive, The Museum, Todd Agnew closing night one, Willett, Southbound Fearing, Shasta Boulevard. DJ Josiah Freeborn fires up a Christian rave at 11pm. Entry and camping are free; the hosts will have the green couch out, and Nathaniel will be grilling and painting.

Nathaniel's altar-call spoof and the youth pastor video

Nathaniel's comedy bit parodying the altar-call 'Invitational': 'close your eyes... raise your hand up nice and slow' while calling out audience members by name ('Adam,' 'the guy in the red shirt'). Then a host recounts a YouTube video of a youth pastor who had the boys struggling with sexual sin stand up, then told the room to look up: 'These are the dudes who need your prayers - don't let your daughters date these guys.' The pastor's youth group is called The Flames, prompting jokes about 'flamers running around their schools.'

The Chick-fil-A controversy and learning to be the light

• How do people come to find Christ and recognize they need a Savior if no one names sin?

On the Chick-fil-A controversy, a host argues boycotts and buycotts mostly validate Christians to each other rather than witnessing: 'nobody wants to listen to a list of things they shouldn't do. So I light a candle,' quoting the New World Son song 'Learning to Be the Light.' They wrestle with the tension - nonbelievers won't act like Christians, but how does anyone recognize the need for a Savior without naming sin? - and land on praying before acting so as not to torch your witness. They also note part of the church is trying to call some lifestyles 'God-ordained,' which muddies the message, and discuss same-sex marriage as borrowing a biblical term.

Sign-off and final festival reminder

Sign-off: the hosts remind listeners the show airs Monday nights 10-11pm, plug the Spirit Midwest Music Festival once more (St. Charles, Friday starting at 4pm through Saturday, free, volunteers still welcome), and invite everyone to come sit on the green couch.