January 28 2013

Show open: KTIA moves to Saturdays at 7pm

The hosts open with their technical operator out on vacation, joking that it takes eight hands to run the show without him. They announce the KTIA 99.3 radio broadcast is moving from the 10pm slot to Saturdays at 7pm. They preview the night: proof #32 of the GodIsImaginary.com series, Dear LFTP advice, the Deuteronomy Dan game, Pope-style advice on fasting, and a discussion of Christian boycotting.

Sponsor reads: Valley Services, Caponis Coffee, Eisenlauer, On Purpose Promotions

Sponsor block: Valley Services (cleaning), Caponis Coffee in Ames on Lincoln Way — a host recounts Troy Engeldinger trying their gelato and declaring it better than ice cream — the Eisenlauer real-estate team, praised by name as honest to deal with, and On Purpose Promotions for shirts and hats.

Proof #32 read-through: 'talk to a theologian'

• Why does a perfect God's book need human theologians to interpret it?
• Why doesn't God answer impossible prayers, like flying like Superman, an amputated limb, or $10,000 in your pocket?

A host reads proof #32 from GodIsImaginary.com. The proof argues the Bible makes no sense without theologians, citing Matthew 17:20 ('nothing will be impossible for you'), Mark 11:24, and Matthew 7:7 ('ask and you shall receive'), then stages a mock dialogue between 'Norm' and theologian 'Chris' where every attempted interpretation is shown to add unstated conditions. It concludes that God is imaginary because a perfect God would have written a clear book and prayer would work as written.

Hosts rebut proof #32: context, faith, and the Holy Spirit

The hosts push back: they say they have never once sent anyone to a theologian, and the proof pulls half-verses out of context — Jesus ties these promises to faith. They argue the New Testament was written in Koine Greek, the common man's language, so it is accessible without scholars; the Holy Spirit interprets as they read, which is why familiar passages land fresh. They work through the Cain-and-Abel 'who will kill me' question, discuss God's heart and incomprehensible grace, land on the starting assumption 'God's right' when reading Scripture, close with the 1-800-THEALO joke, and tease proof #34 (health insurance).

Deuteronomy Dan: five statements, Deuteronomy or Dan?

The game show returns: Dan poses five statements and the others guess whether each is from the Mosaic law or invented. Rounds: a healed boil shown to the priest (law, actually Leviticus 13), injured-servant wages (invented), 'you shall not curse the deaf or put a stumbling block before the blind' (law, Leviticus 19:14), a detestable cat and the gods of Egypt (invented), and three-year-forbidden tree fruit (law, Leviticus 19:23). Troy scores around 80%. The long comic riff on the blind/deaf law leads into a discussion — framed by a G.K. Chesterton fence quote the speaker attributes to 'G.K. Washington' — that laws and traditions had reasons before modern people tear them down.

Christian boycotting Christians: Girl Scout cookies and the top-30 list

• How is boycotting a company winning souls for Christ or advancing God's kingdom?
• Where do you draw the line on boycotting if you want to be consistent?

Sparked by Ben & Jerry's appearing on a Christian boycott list, a host tells of putting his daughter in the Girl Scouts and getting pushback on Facebook for selling cookies because the Girl Scouts support Planned Parenthood. The hosts debate consistency: if you boycott over one sin you must boycott nearly everything, since you cannot pick which sins are the big ones; they read a list of 30 boycotted companies. One host counters with the JCPenney catalog story — a host identified in the audio as Dan Hudson quit shopping there after it ran same-sex-parent feature articles — saying he personally avoids companies that actively attack Christianity but stays quiet about it, since boycotting wins no souls and he would rather be in the thick of pagan culture than hidden under a sheet.

Pope-style advice: fast little things, learn self-control

The Pope-style advice segment, drawn from a Catholic-radio preacher on fasting: do not fast things that are already easy — train self-control on the small stuff first, especially the eyes. The advice asks whether listeners can drive past billboards without looking, and argues that until you control the little things there is no mastering the big ones. It closes with the Holy Spirit's help, a paraphrase of Matthew 5 (if your eye offends, get rid of it), the show outro, and a final word: start small and do not bite off more than you can chew.