April 14, 2014 Podcast

Show open and tonight's rundown

Cold open with the produced intro voiceover, then a host welcomes listeners from the Pathway Studios, jokes in the intro that he's 'Ben Helicopter', and runs through tonight's rundown: What's Trending with Dan, and two articles about Christians being 'nice' versus bold.

What's Trending with Dan explained

• How are we supposed to interact with the culture — as 'nice' Christians or bold ones?

Dan Hudson lays out the game rules: he presents three trending stories and the panel must pick the response Dan deems appropriate. A host then frames the other big topic for the night: two online articles — one urging Christians to stop being jerks, another (from Matt Walsh) saying Jesus didn't care about being nice — and asks how Christians are actually supposed to engage the culture.

Sponsor reads and the gorilla dental bit

A host reads sponsor spots for the Eisenlauer Team ('Bob with the Eisenhower team', eisenhowerteam.com) and Westfield Veterinary Hospital (westfieldvethospital.com), which spins into a riff about whether the vet clinic would screen a 'gorilla dental' online appointment, closing with the line 'Bring your gorilla'.

Trending: graham cracker ad controversy

• Is it homophobic to be upset with a company portraying the homosexual lifestyle as wholesome?

Dan Hudson presents the first trending story: a graham cracker company drew backlash for an ad showing a gay couple with a child, then printed the negative feedback and had artists turn it into a 'love' sculpture. The panel (Boovie, Mike, guest Dane) answers A/B/C on whether objecting is homophobic; the hosts argue it's a business move for free advertising and that companies don't have moral agency. Dan awards points.

Trending: viral dog-in-a-coat-sleeve video

• What's the appropriate response to a dog video getting 400,000 views in a few hours?

Dan Hudson presents the second trending story: a 22-second video of a dachshund barking inside a coat sleeve on the floor, with 407,000 views in about a day. The panel debates whether it's sad that so much time went to a silly video — one host crunches it to ~103 full days of watch time — or just harmless fun.

Trending: blood moon and the end of the world

• Are the four blood moons a sign of the end of the world?

Dan Hudson presents the blood moon story: four lunar eclipses between tonight and September 2015, framed with paraphrases of Joel quoted in Acts 2 (sun darkened, moon to blood) and Revelation 6 (sixth seal). The panel unanimously picks option C — we don't need a sign, be ready as if it could be any minute — with a sidebar story about panic over a two-headed goat in 999 AD. Dan tallies the night's points.

Two articles: 'Christian without being a jerk' vs the NICE doctrine

A host reads the premise and 10-point list of the article 'How to Be a Christian Without Being a Jerk' (drop the confrontational bumper stickers, hold beliefs with humility, stop bullying people into the kingdom, etc.), then reads the counter-article from Matt Walsh attacking the 'NICE doctrine' — arguing Jesus condemned, denounced, disrupted, and fashioned a whip in the temple — and asks which side is right.

Debate: nice guy vs caring guy, and what tolerance means

The hosts hash out the two articles. One rejects 'hold beliefs with humility' as foolishness; another draws the line between the 'nice guy' (agreeable, wants to be liked) and the 'caring guy' (intolerant of sin, loving toward the person). They agree Jesus was tough on religious leaders, not on broken people, and that sin is an indicator of a broken relationship with Christ rather than the thing to attack.

Sin as symptom; causes vs symptoms; workplace witness

The hosts press the point that Christians attack individual sins instead of the underlying separation from God, illustrated with the abortion issue, confrontational bumper stickers, one political party claiming a monopoly on Jesus, break-room Bible-thumpers, and a joke about summoning Gideons on a street corner. A host says relationship with Christ, not behavior modification, is the goal.

People who 'smell like Jesus'

A host tells of talking with Dave Herrick (on the show a week or two earlier) about 'people who smell like Jesus' — people so close to Christ you notice it without them saying a word — tied to reading 1 John. He says tract handers never smell like that, but some radio guests and visiting bands have, and their joy alone was convicting.

The god snowman; truth and love in balance

A host presents the 'god snowman' analogy: Scripture is the agreed base, extrapolated 'God's heart' is the middle, and Christians fight over the head — what they think must be true two steps removed from the text. He argues the answer is Jesus's summary — love God and love people — with truth fought for because you love people, not as a sales transaction, plus the 'Stan the sovereign wrestler' illustration of why 'God is sovereign' can frighten someone who doesn't know God. Closes with the 99.3 FM radio sign-off.

Comment-section banter and blog self-promoters

After the break the hosts riff on which caricature Christians send out more, then skewer comment-section behavior: commenters who link their own blogs ('God's best friend Steve dot com'), and the Dalai Lama 'law center' that does divorces and tax liens.

Dear LFTP: 'my money is mine' in marriage

• Where did the attitude of 'any money I earn is mine' in a marriage or live-in situation get started?

A host reads a listener letter ('wondering in Washington') asking where young husbands' attitude that 'any money I earn is mine' came from, contrasted with his own 40-year marriage of shared money and discussed purchases. The hosts agree couples should treat money as shared and talk about it early (one suggests 'three dates in'), with comedy about buying motorcycles and a Chewbacca suit. The 'Secular' advice distinguishes cohabitation (separate finances prudent) from marriage (one unit) and notes a cultural sense of disposability.

Dear LFTP: friends' dirty houses

• Friends' and relatives' houses are cluttered and dirty — what can we do without offending them?

A host reads 'Neat in New York': friends' and relatives' homes are cluttered and dirty, subtle hints don't work, and they don't want to offend. The hosts land on honesty — say the house is nasty and stay in a hotel — with a comedy round of fake cover stories (garbage-bag seat covers, air freshener, 'my doctor said I gotta wear gloves'). The Secular advice: stay in a hotel, eat beforehand, leave non-washables at home.

Dear LFTP: the leaked pregnancy announcement

• I leaked the pregnancy news I was told to keep private — what more can I do to make this right?

A host reads a letter from a grandmother who told her sister about her son John's wife Bree's second pregnancy after being asked to keep it in the immediate family; the sister told her daughter, who congratulated Bree, drawing a furious call. The hosts are unsympathetic to the letter writer — 'she sent you two pages of truth, mama' — and advise no grand gestures, just accept the damage and respect wishes going forward. The Secular advice: accept relegation to second-tier announcements.

Outro: site, past clips, Jess Anderson's new album

A host closes the show: visit livefromthepath.org for the podcast and past clips including musical performances by Chandra Knudson and Jess Anderson, whose brand new album 'Whole' is out this week at jessanderson.com.