November 25, 2013 Podcast

Show open: the repentant double-minded man

• Is repentance a single moment or an ongoing process?

A host (speaker-0) self-identifies on-air as 'Ben Foust, the repentant double minded man,' drawing on James, and says he is 'in the process of repentance.' The hosts discuss whether repentance is a single moment or a pattern of moments, and joke that he should repent of how he started the show.

Christmas event promo and the Thanksgiving-Hanukkah overlap

The hosts plug the Christmas from the Path live event in Ames on November 30 at 7:00 at Zeke's, joke about avoiding timely references since the show archives, and note 2013 is the first year since the 1800s that Hanukkah and Thanksgiving begin on the same day, not recurring for 77,000 years.

What heaven might be like: rebuilding the organ

• Will we keep our personalities and earthly interests, like rebuilding an organ, in heaven?

A host shares a conversation with his wife about an old organ he wants to rebuild but likely never will, and wonders whether Jesus might let him rebuild it in heaven. The hosts discuss what heaven might be like: skepticism about literal streets of gold, an infant-born-into-the-world analogy for the transition, and the idea that God shares his attributes with image-bearers so personality, relationships, and good design likely persist.

Why Scripture says little about heaven

• Why hasn't God revealed more about what heaven is like?

The hosts consider why God revealed so little about heaven, warning against turning heaven into an idol or merely a venue for being served ('escaping hell' while expecting service), and agree God's restraint in what he revealed must have been correct.

Show lineup and Christmas album promo

The hosts lay out the night's lineup: vetting a viral '28 rules for fathers of sons' list against Scripture, a random online Bible quiz, and Dear LFTP advice. They plug the Christmas from the Path album, available on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, and streaming on Spotify, as a way to support the show and local artists.

Bible quiz round one: 'slaughter'

The hosts take an online 10-question Bible quiz on 'slaughter': the man who murdered 85 priests (Doeg), the woman who murdered her family (Athaliah), the brothers who slew Shechem's men (for Dinah), the man who killed 30 for garments (Samson), the child-burning king of Judah (Ahaz), Samson's weapon against 1,000 Philistines (jawbone of a donkey), the 185,000-man army (Assyrians), the judge against Midian (Gideon), Samuel's-time slaughter (Philistines), and the 50,070 of Beth Shemesh.

Slaughter quiz answers and 1 Samuel 6 debrief

The hosts grade the slaughter quiz (9 of 10; they miss the Beth Shemesh question) and read 1 Samuel 6:19 aloud about the men of Beth Shemesh looking into the ark. They riff on the two milk cows sent straight toward Beth Shemesh without turning right or left, joking the cows 'are the greater Israel.'

Bible quiz round two: 'unusual death'

The hosts take a 13-question 'unusual death' quiz: Jezebel thrown from a window, Peter crucified (upside down, per tradition, citing John 21), Saul's armor bearer, Sapphira, Eli's broken neck, Haman hanged on the gallows, Ezekiel's wife, Korah swallowed by the earth, Uriah carrying his own death letter, Ahab's random arrow, Asahel and the blunt end of a spear, the king of Moab's burnt-offering son, and Absalom's hair in the tree. A running bit confuses Absalom with Abimelech, ending with the deadpan claim that 'Absalom was renamed Abimelech after his murder.'

28 rules for fathers of sons: rules 1-3

The hosts begin vetting a viral Facebook list, '28 rules for fathers of sons,' against Scripture. Rule 1: love his mother. Rule 2: let him drive (debated; one host dissents). Rule 3: teach him to be picky, especially about women and burgers, spins into a discussion of dating-for-marriage and the difficulty of pulling back invested commitment.

Rules 4-7 and the biblical manhood debate

• What does biblical manhood look like: stoic strength or open emotion?

Rules 4-7 (take him to the ballgame, love with bravery, talk about sex, teach him to be a man's man) spark a long debate about biblical manhood: the 'sturdy oak' stoic ideal vs. emotional honesty. The hosts land on responsibility and honesty as the real issue, with jokes about lifting weights, crying at football games, and a new advice format: 'Dear Dan, can I cry?'

Rules: share secrets, real discipline, manners, choosing battles

Continuing the list: share secrets with your son (genuinely listen rather than discipline with rhetorical questions), teach him manners, and teach him when to stand up and when to walk away. A host tells of his daughter dealing with a mean classmate and counseling that people who don't know Jesus can't be expected to act like they do, urging prayer instead of grudges.

Rules rapid-fire: baths, bellies, and the Saylorville memory

The hosts rapid-fire the remaining rules: let him dance in tighty whities, share music, let him win (with Monopoly and card-game stories, and a grandpa who hustled a six-year-old out of Boardwalk), father him, give him baths (one host describes bath time as a non-negotiable fatherhood staple), and rest heads on daddy's belly. They learn the list was written by 'Sarah somebody' and posted by Dan Pierce, and one host recalls his large father floating at Sailorville Lake as his children's personal boat.

Dear LFTP: should I dig up my father's body?

• Should I dig up my father's body and move it away from my stepmother after the will was rewritten?

A Dear LFTP listener writes that his late father's will set aside money for him and his brothers, but after his stepmother died he learned the will was rewritten and his family cut out. He asks whether he should dig up his father's body and move it away from the woman who disregarded his wishes. The hosts answer: the motives sound vindictive, the satisfaction would last a day or two, and it isn't worth it; a co-host addressed on-air as 'John Buva' is asked for his take and agrees.