March 9, 2015 Podcast

Show open from the Pathway Studios

The show opens with the produced intro and the live start: 'Live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper. You are live from the path.' A host welcomes listeners and viewers watching online.

YouTube pre-roll ad banter

The hosts note they agreed to run ads to monetize the show and usually get cheesy clickbait software ads they can't control. Today the pre-roll on their opening clip was an 'explore the Bible book by book' study ad, which they take as relevant content and a sign of 'big money.' A host jokes that 'Christians are suckers' for being too trustworthy online.

Philemon pronunciation comedy bit

A comedy riff on the short epistle of Philemon: a host jokes 'You could write Philemon on your arm' instead of downloading it, and the hosts volley over the pronunciation (Philemon vs. 'Filiman,' 'feelings').

Agenda: the remaining three of the seven lies

The hosts set the agenda: continuing last week's discussion of the 'Seven Lies Christians Tell' article (christianitytoday.com), recapping the four lies already covered (overclaiming confidence, claiming the unexplainable is explainable, not acknowledging doubt, pretending the Bible has no nasty parts). Tonight they will cover the remaining three. A host notes Mike has extra 'pope-style' advice to add, and the room jokes about 'seven lies Mike told today.'

Lie #5: claiming to understand other beliefs

The fifth lie: 'we lie when we claim we understand other beliefs, faiths, and worldviews.' The hosts agree Christians posture about Islam without real understanding. Dan (named in the audio) describes a class he took on Islam and admits he still 'doesn't have a clue.' A host cites Nabil Qureshi's 'Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus' for how conversion costs a Muslim their whole social infrastructure. The 2014 Noah film is held up as the reverse case: filmmakers who studied the wrong sources and made a movie for Christians that wasn't Christians' story. Conclusion: stop posturing, ask people, and read scripture through proper exegesis rather than claiming certainty.

Lie #6: not all beliefs are a '10'

The sixth lie: Christians are disingenuous when they claim every dogma with equal veracity. The article's author believes the 'floating zoo' happened but does not hold its details with the same lay-your-life-on-it conviction as the cross and resurrection. Dan (named in the audio) pushes back: if the information comes from the same place you can't pick and choose what's a ten. The room lands on a distinction between what Scripture states explicitly (a ten) and interpretations and systematic-theology conclusions (not tens), plus the difference between literal and symbolic readings — biblical inerrancy does not require treating symbolism as error. The Noah movie gets a final verdict: 'it was just not a good movie.'

Lie #7: pretending to really love people

The seventh lie: Christians 'insidiously and barbarically' lie when they pretend to really love the other person while dismissing their story, not listening, or reducing them to labels and opponents. One host admits it's more disingenuous to placate than to be honest. Dan (named in the audio) confesses he has labeled whole groups of people instead of hearing their stories, and recounts the hosts attending an atheist conference years earlier: outsiders argued with attendees while the hosts prayed for them and ate breakfast with them. The room agrees apologetics are conversation starters, not finishers: 'if you win and they lose and they don't still love Jesus, you still lost.' A joke lands: 'take up your cross and follow this flowchart.'

Bonus lie: 'cross spiritual communication is dangerous'

A host adds a lie of his own: he was lied to by religious people who said 'cross spiritual communication' (evangelism) is dangerous because it divides and makes enemies. The hosts mock the jargon ('Sometimes I call it talking to another guy'), riff on the 'witch of Endor' (ASR 'Indore'), and debate what 'post Christian society' even means. Wrapping the whole series, a host concludes the through-line of both weeks: 'we try to protect God as if he needs protecting' — overstating what we know and believe. The fix: deal honestly with Jesus and with people, since 'if he's God, then you're not,' illustrated by the upcoming sermon on the Lord's Prayer ('hallowed be your name' as 'God, be God').

Pope-style advice from Mike: don't play hide-and-seek with Jesus

In the 'pope-style' bit, Mike (addressed by name in the audio) is asked for wisdom by the crowd that mistook him for the pope. His advice: playing hide-and-seek with the Lord is a waste of time — you can't hide from God, and when it's your turn to find him, 'he's right in front of you saying, hey, don't know where you've been but I've been sitting here.' He tells of reading Acts and the ascension with his young daughters, whose ideas of heaven (all white, games, hide-and-seek with Jesus) sparked the theme, and compares drifting from Jesus to drifting from his grandpa: 'just finish counting to 10 and open your eyes.' The room riffs on Zacchaeus in the sycamore and kids hiding behind curtains.

Pope-style advice from Boova: be a man of your word

Boova (addressed as 'Bubba'/'Booba' in the audio) gives his pope-style advice to the crowd on his lawn: 'Stop being a schmuck. Be a man of your word.' Drawing on a recent broken commitment that turned his anger into self-examination, he teaches that 'let your yes be yes and your no be no' has no scale — a promised rubber ducky for his godson and a promised email carry the same obligation as helping someone move. A host adds a personal story of failing to return a church pamphlet review on time, arguing integrity means planning to keep your word (setting two alarms), not just apologizing after. Close: 'It's not integrity, boys.'

Sponsors: Bob Eisenlauer and Westfield Veterinary Hospital

Sponsor block. Bob Eisenlauer of the Eisenlauer Team (ASR: 'Bob Eisen with the Eisenhower team') is thanked as the metro's top realtor as voted by City View readers — 'a great friend of the show.' Westfield Veterinary Hospital (westfieldvethospital.com) gets a spring pitch for flea-and-tick prep, plus a story about the host's rabbit-killing dogs and a one-eyed cat with a smelly eye headed to the vet.

New believer question: which Old Testament laws still apply?

• How can Christians discern which Old Testament laws still apply versus what was covered by Jesus' sacrifice?

Boova (addressed by name) relays a question from a brand-new believer: with all the Old Testament laws (food, sacrifices, priests and blemishes), how do we discern what still needs doing versus what was covered by Jesus' sacrifice? The hosts answer that the New Testament itself covers much of it: Jesus' Sermon on the Mount points to a 'greater righteousness,' and Jesus' life — 'the Word' of John 1 — is the example that replaces a checklist (circumcision of the heart over physical circumcision). There is no side-by-side yes/no document, and wanting one misses the point: 'God said, I'll give you me.' Practical counsel to the new believer: read the New Testament through two or three times before tackling the Old Testament.

Upcoming music guests and radio sign-off

Announcements: friends of the show Silversyde (ASR 'SilverSide') return to the studio the first Monday in May and their album 'Casting Shadows' is out; the Israelites have albums on SoundCloud; country artist JC visits the studio soon; Wagner's band may come in early April (John Wagner helped with the Lent discussion a couple weeks ago); Chris Akers and Wayne Stewart are expected toward the end of April. The hosts sign off the Truth Network 99.3 radio broadcast and note the podcast continues after a short break.

Dear LFTP: 'Overheated' and the heated mattress

• My husband's heated mattress roasts me every night — should we move to separate beds?

Dear LFTP letter from 'Overheated,' a 48-year-old woman with night sweats and hot flashes whose husband runs a heated mattress, turns her side on by mistake, and sleeps naked with all his covers flipped onto her. She is considering separate beds. The hosts call the husband selfish and urge a real conversation and compromise (separate blankets, moderation) before separate beds. Dan (named in the audio) offers health advice about vitamin B for hot flashes. The 'secular answer' is read: separate beds are practical, but she should talk to her doctor since the flashes may be hormonal.

Dear LFTP: crashing a family-only graveside service

• What do you think of people who show up at graveside services announced as family only?

Dear LFTP letter: a friend who wanted no funeral had a graveside service announced as family only, followed by a small reception — and some friends showed up at the graveside anyway, one saying 'she was like a sister to me.' The letter writer felt it was an intrusion. The hosts side with the family: if you want family only, don't announce it publicly, and close friends should ask permission rather than assume. The 'secular answer' says the service conductor should have spoken up; the hosts reject that as 'the most uncomfortable thing on the planet.' Verdict: the family handled it with grace, the writer is overreacting.

Dear LFTP: 12-year-old likes a boy named Chris

• I'm 12 and like a boy named Chris at another school — how do I get in touch and tell him how I feel?

Dear LFTP letter from a 12-year-old girl who likes a boy named Chris at a different school, has flirted with him on and off for two years, will be reunited next year, and 'can't hold on much longer' — while Chris is at school with his ex. The hosts advise leaving him alone and being patient; at 12, 'love is a farce at your age, sweetheart.' The bit becomes 'advice from seventh grade Dan' — the hosts riff on Dan's unhurried teenage self ('I date to marry, and I'm only 12'), with Leif Garrett and Shaun Cassidy jokes. The 'secular answer' agrees: be patient, the school year is half over, and don't waste time worrying about the ex.

Dear LFTP: in-laws who take the leftovers home

• What's the rule of etiquette when in-laws bring dessert or wine and then take the leftovers home?

Dear LFTP letter: when the in-laws come for dinner they ask what to bring, are told 'nothing,' bring dessert or wine anyway, then take the uneaten dessert and uncorked wine home. The hosts side decisively with the in-laws — 'you're the jerk' — and call it a non-issue; the letter writer is inventing a transactional grievance instead of having a relationship. The 'secular answer' says commandeering leftovers is poor manners; the hosts concede the etiquette point but still find the complaint ridiculous. The segment ends with the joke plan to publish the show's own book of etiquette, 'Etiquette from the Path.'

Outro: sponsors and the Life Path buffet

The hosts close the show, thanking sponsors Westfield Veterinary Hospital and Bob Eisenlauer of the Eisenlauer Team again. They note the date of the upcoming Life Path buffet needs to move and joke that 'integrity says Ben will have a date by next week,' tying back to the pope-style integrity theme.