May 20, 2013 Podcast

Show open from the Pathway Studios

A host opens the show from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper, jokes about listening 'creepily through zeros and ones' via livefromthepath.org, and pitches his pet term 'digital taxi' for internet listening. He states the show's theme of honest faith, fierce grace, and donkeys, and gives the listener email info@livefromthepath.org for complaints.

The donkey as an anger outlet

A host spins a comic monologue about buying a donkey purely as a frustration outlet: donkeys are universally stubborn at the worst possible times, so every bad day could be concentrated on the donkey blocking his car, which would just stand there unbothered. Another voice briefly likens the donkey to a complacent Laurel-and-Hardy type.

'The Cow in the Parking Lot' and cow anecdotes

A host describes a book called 'The Cow in the Parking Lot': its concept is a cow blocking the best parking spot, which will never move no matter how angry you get, so you might as well laugh and find another spot. The hosts trade real cow stories — a cow on the Iowa-Missouri border, a cow in the road in Atlantic, Iowa prompting an awkward call to the police — tied to the show's 'city slicker Hudson' teasing.

Tonight's lineup: proof number 48

A host lays out the night's plan: they are on number 48 of the 'proofs that God is imaginary' from godisimaginary.com, working through them one by one to give a defense of the faith, with only number 50 plus three bonuses left afterward. He also previews Dear LFTP advice and a news item about doomsday broadcasters.

Proof 48 read aloud: prayer as a lucky horseshoe

• Is prayer any different from a lucky horseshoe?

A host reads proof number 48 verbatim from the site: the dictionary definition of superstition, the cancer-patient thought experiment contrasting a man with a lucky horseshoe against a man who prays for healing and then asks for a tax-deductible donation, and the claim that prayer has been proven to have no effect in every scientific experiment.

Answering proof 48: prayer, God's will, and providence

The hosts answer the horseshoe argument: the site's version of the praying Christian is a shallow believer or scam artist, whereas an earnest prayer asks for God's influence, comfort, and revealed will rather than demanding outcomes. They argue God is not a genie, that unanswered prayer reflects his macro view of eternity versus our micro view, that knowing the mind of God is impossible, and that a God who never promised to answer prayer would still be God. One host illustrates God's sovereignty with a finger writing on the wall (Daniel 5) and another with Joseph's stand as a young man.

Proof 49: look at who speaks for God

• Who speaks for God, and why doesn't God silence the embarrassing ones?

A host reads the opening of proof number 49 — 'look at who speaks for God' — which claims that if God were real and loving, he would silence the lunatics who speak for him, citing embarrassing example videos. The hosts concede the examples of poor representation are probably strong, joke that the challenge for next week is to show someone not following the Holy Spirit 'Job style' without gossiping or slandering, and tease the follow-up episode.

News: Harold Camping's Family Radio in financial trouble

The hosts discuss a news story that Harold Camping's Family Radio network is struggling after his failed end-of-the-world predictions: assets dropped over $105 million in under five years despite $85 million in donations, and donations fell nearly 70% after May 21, 2011. They note that about 30% still donate, call Camping a false prophet per Deuteronomy's test, and discuss why date-setting contradicts Jesus' instruction, why people want to know the date so they don't have to stay ready, and pray he comes to know Jesus.

Irritation at NBC's 'Save Me' and Christian TV portrayals

A host vents about promos for NBC's new show 'Save Me' starring Anne Heche, about a woman who has a near-death experience and becomes a prophet: he finds it insulting, a show 'tailored for your stupidness' by writers with no grasp of the faith, riding the success of the Bible miniseries. The hosts broaden into where comedy crosses the line — they're fine being laughed at themselves, but TV's Catholic priests are always drunks or uptight and mocking Jesus himself ends the deal — concluding that networks insult everyone and cash in.

Sponsors, KTIA, and bonus content plugs

The hosts run the mid-show business: thank sponsors, note the show airs Mondays and Saturdays at 7pm on 99.3 KTIA, and explain that the podcast 'bonus content' continues online after the radio broadcast ends around the one-hour mark. They plug the website, Facebook and Twitter, the Silversyde interview from a couple weeks ago, and Brian Leach's recent full-show appearance, plus banter about Dan making sandwiches and a $7 lottery win.

Graduation advice: be a lighthouse where God puts you

The host addressed on air as John Buva the third gives the first graduation roundtable advice: as graduates leave school ('the fairyland') for the real world, they should pray about where God wants to put them and be a light — a lighthouse for God — in their new home, relationships, and workplaces. He says his own regret after high school was not praying for God to use him in each new situation.

Graduation advice: adolescence is man-made, your life already started

A host argues adolescence is a man-made, unreal time period that gives teens a 'free pass' to act like fools until 24, when churches and counselors should instead treat them as men and women now. He says nobody's life starts at graduation — it started years ago — and waiting ten years to follow Christ bets on God's grace while wasting the most productive years. Another host adds that every stage of life goes quickly, citing nursing-home residents who still feel 20 and Joseph's stand for God as a young man, and they close by praying for graduates.

Dear LFTP: must scratch-ticket winnings be shared?

• If a scratch ticket given as a gift is a winner, is there an expectation the winnings be shared with the giver?

A host reads a listener's family dispute: a scratch ticket given as a gift wins — is there an expectation the winnings be shared with the giver? The hosts say no: a gift is a gift, using the popcorn analogy (you don't expect half the popcorn back), though the recipient might graciously give a little. The 'Secular' answer quotes Alexander Pope ('hope springs eternal in the human breast') and agrees there's no obligation.

Dear LFTP: lied about being a college graduate

• I lied to the man I'm dating about being a college graduate when I'm three credits shy; what should I do?

A host reads a letter from a woman three months into dating an 'awesome guy': she told him she's a college graduate but is really three credits shy, and he keeps encouraging her to further her education. The hosts' verdict is unanimous — come clean now; if he takes it poorly, that's an appropriate filter showing he wasn't the man for her, and finishing the degree is easy. The 'Secular' answer agrees she'll feel better clearing the air and should qualify that she'll have the credits by autumn.

KTIA sign-off; podcast bonus content continues

A host signs off the 99.3 KTIA radio broadcast and directs podcast listeners to livefromthepath.org for the continuing bonus content, promising to return next week.

Dear LFTP: the widow, Sam, and wedding invitations

• What is proper when inviting a widow to a wedding — should her new boyfriend be welcome?

A host reads a letter from a widow ('Dear Abby, Dear LFTP') who cared for her husband through early-onset Alzheimer's and is now with a man named Sam; twice she was told she can't bring him to a wedding. The hosts riff on the running joke that 'Sam's a creeper,' concede hosts of expensive events aren't wrong to limit plus-ones, and admit it's hard for Sam to enter a room where he knows one person. One host shares meeting his girlfriend Tessa's mom through a wedding. The 'Secular' answer calls it a breach of etiquette to ask to bring a guest to an expensive event and leaves it to her whether attending alone is worth it.

Dear LFTP: bilked after cosigning loans for a vanished man

• I cosigned loans for a man who bilked me and vanished; what legal recourse do I have?

A host reads a letter from a 40-year-old divorced woman who cosigned loans for a man who stopped paying, blocked her calls, moved, and turned out to have been engaged — now married — the whole time. The hosts respond with comic revenge fantasies (writing on his lawn in weed killer, subscribing him to teapot magazines, stealing a tire) before landing that she signed the paper and owns the debt — 'give them your tunic as well' — while criticizing the 'Secular' answer (report him to the loan company and police, talk to a lawyer) for hearing no personal responsibility.

Dear LFTP: ex is having a baby; protecting five-year-old Mandy

• My ex is having a baby with a woman he doesn't love; how do I protect my daughter and handle the new sibling?

A host reads a letter from a newly engaged mother of five-year-old Mandy whose ex-husband is having a baby boy with a woman he says he doesn't love and isn't committed to. The hosts advise not punishing the new child for the father's mistakes, treating it as an opportunity to show the child love — especially since both mothers fell victim to the same man — while protecting Mandy's innocence, letting her own relationship with her fiance flourish, and not venting disgust at the situation in front of the daughter. The 'Secular' answer agrees it's not appropriate to show disgust to the child.

Show close and live-chat invitation

A host closes the show, inviting listeners to join the live chat Monday nights at 10pm via livefromthepath.org and thanking the audience for listening.