December 16, 2013 Podcast

Show open: Christmas event fallout and tonight's lineup

Ben (self-identified on-air as 'Ben Foost') opens the show from the studio, reminisces about the old Locust Street Studios days of arriving minutes before air, and recounts the Christmas From The Path event where he emceed while playing bass and introduced himself as 'the host of Live From The Path' - prompting Mike to dub it the 'Ben from the Path Show' and stay indignant all night. He gives the broadcast schedule (live Mondays 10-11pm on livefromthepath.org, KTIA Saturday nights at 7, YouTube archive) and previews the night: the pessimism discussion, Dear LFTP letters, and 2014 goals.

2014 goals roundtable

The hosts trade personal goals for 2014. Ben's top goal is to hand-sew his own t-shirt from store-bought fabric - one shirt, done right, then never sew again - after digressing through rejected ideas (becoming a cobbler, buying a piano-tuning kit, and his old habit of running brand-new tools over with his truck so nobody mocks new gear). Boova (addressed as 'Buvo' and 'Troy') wants to finish his weight loss and reach maintenance after quitting smoking two years prior, riffing on big-and-tall clothing prices. Dan (Dan Hudson) discusses past gumball-selling and RAGBRAI cycling and floats building a small guest house or caboose on his property for traveling missionaries or wayward family. Ben adds writing a novella and landing a top-tier show guest, and jokes about taking a broadcast class ruining the formula.

Can a Christian be a pessimist?

• Can you have the love of Christ in your heart and still be a pessimist?

A hard-question discussion: can you have the love of Christ in your heart and still be a thoroughgoing pessimist? Ben distinguishes honest critical thinking (noticing what went wrong) from the dispositional pessimist who tacks a gloomy ending onto everything. Boova argues futuristic pessimism is doubting God - if Christ's glory might come of it, do it and let God work. Ben counters with Noah as the 'biblical downer' who was right, and lands on the dreamer-vs-implementer tension: God made both kinds, but living for the 'I told you so' is a stinky existence; he confesses he is usually the negative man in the room and wonders whether God designed him that way or he is being sinful.

Dear LFTP: the wife who won't shave her legs

• Is it a slap in the face that my wife of 25 years no longer shaves her legs?

A listener writes that after 25 years of marriage his wife no longer shaves her legs and is 'starting to look like a gorilla,' calling it a slap in the face. Dan answers first: assume both are Christ followers, you made a vow to God, 'if your wife has become an ape, well, that's just life' - husband, love your wife, and it's probably his fault somehow. The hosts agree the complaint should never have been shared publicly, joke about the reverse (a wife writing about her husband's nose hair), and read the Secular advice: it may be rebellion or Poughkeepsie winters, stay at the zoo you're used to, and 'close your eyes and pretend it's cashmere' - which they declare terrible advice.

Dear LFTP: the first-and-last date

• Is it modern women's fault that men act like little boys? (Asked after a date who ordered only for himself.)
• How does God feel about tattoos?

A woman writes about a first date where the man ordered himself a beer and prime rib without asking if she wanted anything, theorizing modern tattooed women who 'talk like sailors' ruined chivalry. The hosts reject both halves: no defense for the man ('he's a cartoon character'), and it's not women's fault men act like little boys. They debate who pays - Ben's daughters would allow no second date if the man didn't pay; Dan usually pays even for business coffees. A tangent: a man asked Ben during the week whether God hates his heart-with-'mom' tattoo after his old church condemned it; Ben told him the church doesn't speak for Jesus and to talk to Jesus himself. The Secular advice says it's not the lady's fault and she should speak up, noting many women now prefer to pay.

Dear LFTP: grandma's pre-written thank-you notes

• Is it a breach of etiquette to enclose a self-addressed stamped thank-you note with grandchildren's gifts?

A grandmother asks if it's a breach of etiquette to enclose self-addressed stamped pre-written thank-you notes with gifts for unresponsive grandchildren. The hosts call it inappropriate, rude, and dumb - a passive-aggressive move the kids will see through. The bit spirals into an extended grandma roleplay where Boova ('Troy') is the overweight grandson told to lay on the floor so he won't break the couch, bringing novelty-sized items to Christmas. The Secular columnist, from the same generation, calls it a great idea as a last resort - which the hosts reject: get on Facebook, that's how you'll get your thanks now.

Dear LFTP: the unnamed funeral musician, read by Mike

• Why don't obituaries mention the musician who played the funeral?

Ben asks Mike to read the next letter: a musician's pet peeve that obituaries never name the musician who played the funeral, though they prepare more than the pallbearers. The hosts mock the self-importance ('do you just shut up and play that harp?'), then Ben - who has played funerals - says being approached afterward is flat-out awkward: the day isn't about him, though a sincere thanks from family is fine. The Secular advice suggests the musician's name belongs on the program. The segment closes the radio hour: the KTIA sign-off, a goofy 'against the groove' exchange with Boova, and agreement that an officiant complimenting the music mid-grief is different from a stranger asking for CDs.

Dear LFTP: the 16-year-old doubting her Catholic faith

• How can I convince my devout Catholic parents that my agnosticism is not just a phase?
• Which one went to heaven: the nice dad who skipped church or the devout church lady? (Both died at 40.)

A 16-year-old from a devout Roman Catholic family writes that she's never felt religious, now identifies as agnostic, and is crushed by having to lie to her parents. Dan's core answer: they taught her religion but never introduced her to the living God and a relationship with the Savior - 'you can't pass on religion... you can pass on relationship.' Boova adds from experience that she'll have to choose herself and urges finding a Bible-believing youth group before giving up on God. The hosts agree to deal honestly with what the teen actually believes rather than deny it. The Secular advice says don't minimize her feelings or make it a contest of wills, closing with 'the opposite of faith is not doubt, it is certainty.' Ben then riffs: his Texas-drive Eminem listen (struck by the absence of joy, wondering who told the rapper about Jesus), a coworker's unanswerable 'which one went to heaven' question about his nice non-churchgoing dad vs. the devout church lady, his basic definition of a leader, and the 'super dad' who rocks at faith without faking it.

Bible quiz: boats

The hosts take an online 'boats in the Bible' 10-question quiz, with Ben reading questions and calling on Boova ('Buva'), Mike, and Dan Hudson for answers: the ark's length (300 cubits - they said 400), where it landed (Ararat), Jonah's flight to Tarshish and being thrown overboard, Psalm 107's 'wonders in the deep,' why Jesus preached the parable of the sower from a boat (the large crowd), Paul's first journey with Barnabas from Seleucia to Cyprus, Jesus sleeping in the storm-tossed boat, the centurion cutting the lifeboat ropes in Acts 27, and James and John mending nets. They score 9/10 (90%) against the site's 84% average over 25,255 takings since 2004, gloating 'talk to me, Old Testament' / 'talk to me, New Testament.'

Bible quiz: clouds

A second online quiz, 'clouds in the Bible': the pillar of cloud and fire (they guess 3, answer is 1), Elijah's servant's cloud like a man's hand (they said 'great darkness'), 'maketh the clouds his chariot' (Psalm 104:3), Ecclesiastes 11:4 on regarding the clouds, which gospel omits the transfiguration voice from the cloud (John), Luke 21:27's 'power and great glory,' Hebrews 12:1's 'cloud of witnesses,' Revelation 14:14's sharp sickle - the one Boova alone gets right ('Buva prepared to gird your loins... Dan, you led me astray') - Proverbs 25:14's clouds without rain, and 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 on being caught up in the clouds. They score 7/10 (70%) vs. the site's 61% average over 6,483 takings, then browse other available quizzes (arrows, wells, wine, tithing).

Sign-off, closing song, and ad

Ben wraps the show: thanks the audience, notes there will be no live show next week (they'll air the Christmas special instead), invites prayer requests at info@LifeFromThePath.org, and asks for accountability if they've 'run the show under the ground.' A closing song plays ('This world tried to evade me... but a kingdom is coming... we know God is love'), followed by a Spotify/Coffee Mate seasonal ad read.