February 11, 2013 Podcast

Show open and the house-smell banter

The show opens live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper with the usual intro. A host raises a top-10 life fear: his nose has gotten used to some nasty house funk he can no longer smell, and his wife fears the same about visitors. The crew riffs on the idea of jarring up a host's basement funk as 'Boovafunk' and auctioning it as a scented candle.

Episode rundown: guest, proof 35, news

A host lays out the night: Jeff Arendale and the Two Ton Commons are in the studio and have news about April; the show continues working through the 50 proofs from godisimaginary.com, now on proof 35 ('notice Jesus' myopia'); plus a couple of news items. He jokes that God is 34-and-0 so far in the series.

Pope style advice survives the pope's resignation

A host says he had lined up pope-style advice for the night, but then the pope resigned — so they can still give pope-style advice, just not with that pope. It is the news that the papal office is vacant, delivered as a comedy bit.

Sponsor reads

A host reads the show's sponsors: Valley Services (valleyservices.net) for residential and commercial cleaning; On Purpose Promotions (Jared Roy, onpurposepromos.com) for promotional materials and race/event shirts; the Eisenlauer team — realtors Bill and Bob Eisenlauer (eisenhowerteam.com in the transcript), who handled Mike's last buy/sell; and Kapanas Coffee and Gelato in Ames (Peyton and Dave) on Lincoln Way.

Jeff Arendale interview: Nashville recording session

The guest, introduced on-air as Jeff Arendale of the Two Ton Commons and the show's most-visited guest, is interviewed about a return trip to Nashville the first weekend of April to record songs never recorded before — including a bigger studio, session players (Reba McEntire's drummer), and the band-written song 'Most High'.

'Almighty' live performance and holiness discussion

Jeff introduces 'Almighty,' a song written around Revelation 15's picture of heavenly beings worshiping around the throne, and the band performs it live. Afterward the crew discusses the passage — what God's holiness (set apart, set apart, set apart) means, and the comfort that God delights in the praises of his people even when they feel unworthy. A host plugs jeffarendale.com and show reminders.

Proof 35 read aloud: notice Jesus' myopia

• If Jesus were God, why didn't he use his power to end slavery, sexism, disease, poverty and war?

A host reads the full text of proof 35 from godisimaginary.com. The argument: if Jesus were God, he would have used omniscience and omnipotence to end slavery, sexism, racism, disease, poverty, monarchy and war; because he endorsed slavery instead, left the Bible with no 'slavery is forbidden' statement, chose no women apostles, and performed no world-changing technological miracles, he was merely human and the God of the Bible is imaginary.

Dan's rebuttal: God's holiness and bigger purpose

Dan, addressed by name by the host, responds that the atheist author is thinking in his small world of the social issues of his generation. God is holy, holy, holy with bigger plans; Jesus did not come to heal everybody or make this life comfortable but to seek and save the lost and forgive sins — poverty gone means nothing if people still go to hell in their sins.

Boova on faith in suffering; the host's macro-level argument

Boova (addressed by name) argues that a problem-free utopia would eliminate the concept of faith — no one needs a Lord and Savior if everything is perfect. The host adds that the premise is false: Jesus did speak to these things at the macro level — love God, love neighbor, husbands love wives as Christ loved the church, all made in God's image — so slavery and sexism are already condemned; and people rejected Jesus even after seeing his miracles because they would not give up worldly status and power.

Jeff responds; verdict on proof 35; proof 36 preview

Jeff calls the proof 'uninformed': Jesus is love, not the creator of bad things, and God uses hard things to develop Christlike character. The host rules proof 35 a loss for the atheist site — willful ignorance and misrepresentation of the Bible, harsher than their usual tone. Jeff asks whether the author parallels Saul/Paul before conversion. The host previews proof 36 ('realize that God is impossible,' the dictionary-definition-of-God argument) for next week and plugs the live show and website clips.

Website promos: clips, Deuteronomy Dan, Christmas extravaganza

A host promotes livefromthepath.org: clips from the show including past Jeff Arendale appearances; the new 'Deuteronomy Dan' clip/game where Dan reads laws and listeners decide whether they are Old Testament law or made up; the Secular and Solomon games under the game section; and the Christmas extravaganza show (Jeff's band headlined, the building was unlocked fifteen minutes before start, a host unplugged the piano mid-show) still available on the site.

'Certainty' intro: Linda's assurance story

Jeff introduces 'Certainty,' a song about ten years old from his first solo CD 'Not Here For Me,' written around God's certainty regarding salvation. He tells how his wife Linda, fifteen years a Christian at the time, struggled after conversion to grasp that surrendering to Christ was all she had to do — Satan working on her with 'how can God possibly forgive you' — and the song grew out of that and teaching he was under.

'Certainty' live performance and band introductions

The band performs 'Certainty' live to an enthusiastic studio. A host says he sang along and 'Boo Boo' was throwing elbows dancing. Jeff introduces the band: Matt Wetzel on bass, Brandon on cajon (playing with them since last summer), Adam Jones on guitar, and Jason Badger on vocals and 'shaky things.' A host notes the CD is on amazon.com and iTunes.

Jeff's upcoming gigs and Nashville timeline

Jeff says the band is taking a break with open dates in March, has his first out-of-state gig in Missouri in April, and is mainly focused on the Nashville recording weekend. He does not know yet whether they will cut two, five, or eight tracks, or how long until a finished CD — the last one took about six years.

Dear LFTP: rehearsal dinner debt

• Should we go into debt to host our stepson's rehearsal dinner for a wedding we cannot afford?

A host reads the letter from 'Stepmom in Canada': her stepson Steve is marrying into a family throwing a large formal wedding, and she and her husband are told to host the rehearsal dinner — thousands of dollars they do not have, requiring debt. The crew agrees with the 'secular' answer: do not go into debt; traditionally the groom's side pays, but today anyone can host; be honest that they cannot. Then the radio portion ends for 99.3 KTIA listeners, the hat winner Dan Custis is announced, and the podcast continues.

Flat Stanley bit and the 'can't tolerate fools' letter

• How do I let annoyances roll off my back and bite my tongue when tired or stressed, without just 'killing them with kindness'?

The podcast continues with a Flat Stanley bit — a host proposes 'Flat Dan' photos of hat winner Dan Custis — and a story about the crew spending a whole day photographing a listener's Flat Stanley in Kansas (Royals Stadium, the Capitol, a cornfield) and never sending the pictures. Then a host reads the next Dear LFTP letter from 'can't tolerate fools in Des Moines': when tired or stressed they voice annoyance at others' quirks and feel guilty, doubting 'kill them with kindness' because it enables behavior.

Advice: patience, scripture memory, and the secular answer

The crew answers the letter. Boova (addressed by name) says he would ask whether the annoyance is general meanness under stress; don't just compliment the quirk, just don't say anything, and try flipping it around — if the world tolerates me, I can tolerate their quirks. A host says this is not a surface problem: if the writer's intolerance comes from unhappiness about their own life, deal with the root — the log in their own eye — and suggests memorizing a scripture to focus on instead. Others add the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control). Then the secular advice is read to 'Troy': isolate-yourself warning plus 'is it true? is it kind? is it helpful?' — which the crew then mocks as Bill Gothard 1979 material they could justify their way through anyway.

Sign-off

A host closes the show: live Monday nights at livefromthepath.org, Sundays on 99.3 KTIA (truncated), full episodes via the podcast. He debates the phrase 'the full Monty,' settles on 'the full Leviathan,' thanks Jeff Arendale and the band, and wishes listeners a wonderful week.