September 28, 2015 Podcast

Show open: the glowing man and tonight's rundown

• Could Christians be committed to an insane asylum for their beliefs?

The produced intro (Pants-style voiceover) gives way to the hosts' live open in the Pathway studios in Johnston. A host jokes with Dave that his glowing face looks like he is 'about to be murdered' like a New Testament angel, then runs down the night's topics: Dear LFTP with Mike, the Pope, a study on Christians and insanity, and water on Mars.

Water on Mars, alien Jesus, and the Adam and Eve who got it right

• How should Christians digest the possibility of life on another planet?

Reaction to news of liquid water on Mars turns into a riff on how Christians should digest possible extraterrestrial life: whether God loves hypothetical aliens (and sent an 'alien Jesus'), whether NASA's drip-feed is really about colonizing Mars, and a multiverse joke about an Adam and Eve on Mars who never ate from the tree.

Things to do before Christ returns: jobs that will not survive

A host muses that some callings only exist until Christ returns: the medical profession ends when nobody is sick, so 'if you want to do medicine, you really need to get that in now.' The table riffs on appendixes, gallbladders, and Ben's first question for Jesus about the appendix.

Blood moon eclipse and end-times hype

After the recent lunar eclipse, the hosts mock Facebook end-times hysteria and low-effort eclipse photos. One argues an 'extremely unimaginative crappy god' would not announce himself with a slowly reddening moon, and that Jesus's return will be unmistakable, not a prelude people squint at.

Is America post-Christian? Ross Douthat excerpt

• Is America post-Christian?

A host reads from an article asking 'Is America Post Christian?' that quotes Ross Douthat on Pope Francis's visit: in a truly post-Christian society, would so many people find an imitatio Christi thrilling? The author of the article pushes back, and the hosts start weighing both sides.

Benedict XVI versus Francis, and the Catholic hierarchy

A long discussion of the two popes: Eric's take that Benedict XVI was 'driving the bus in the wrong direction' and reversed Catholic culture toward the 1800s before stepping down, versus Francis who 'smells like Jesus,' ditches the pomp, and leads by example. Dan says he is in the 'I don't care category' on popes and skipped all coverage; the others argue Christians can respect a man pointing people to Jesus without needing him as an intercessor.

Kingdom versus American ideology: healthcare, politics, the Pope's challenge

The hosts argue that much Christian criticism of the Pope defends 'the American way of life' more than a biblical kingdom. The flashpoint is healthcare: a host says he wants everyone to have care, and the real question is who provides it well, not whether Christians should care. They add that Jesus treated healing like health care in Palestine, and that climate talk should be judged as stewardship, not party loyalty.

Mike's Facebook feed: false-prophet accusations against the Pope

Asked about his feed, Mike reports mostly 'he's a false prophet, sent directly by the devil' posts from his circle, plus dueling articles about the Pope revitalizing the Church while Christianity tanks.

The celebrity Pope and the 1979 Iowa visit

• Does a Pope's celebrity visit produce lasting spiritual change?

Dan tells of working at Burger King as a teenager when a Pope visited Iowa in the 1970s: thousands walked past from Merle Hay Mall toward Living History Farms, and within a week life went back to normal. The hosts debate whether celebrity crowds mean anything, comparing it to Jesus's crowds that left when he said offensive things.

Post-Christian or post-Christ? Winning people, not the country

The hosts dismiss the 'Is America post-Christian?' question as irrelevant: the right question is whether America follows Christ, and the answer does not change the job, which is to win people for Christ's kingdom, not for America. A comic detour lands on a host being a 'Bernie Sanders supporter' for wanting one world government under Jesus.

Millennial views and how the Church wields influence

A host explains postmillennialism: the expectation that Christianity grows more influential and uses governmental infrastructure for good, which shapes how some Christians lean on politics. Another host calls it 'a random guess' with no biblical proof; the first grants that smart Jesus-followers hold it without subscribing himself.

Healthcare wrap-up: thieves in every system and the pool of Bethesda

Wrapping the healthcare tangent, the hosts joke about people gaming any system, then a host reaches for a biblical example of Jesus helping an undeserving man at 'the pool of Siloam' — the details actually match the Bethesda paralytic — and lands on 'neither shall I condemn you, go and sin no more' applying to everyone, not just the one example.

Blood moon Facebook craziness and bad eclipse photos

Returning to the eclipse, one host notes the only end-times post in his feed came from Dan, and it said 'take a breath.' They mock cell-phone eclipse photos ('the MSNBC of lunar moon photos'), the 'blood moon' branding, and a running gag about blood cars, blood apples, and spaghetti with blood sauce.

Will Christians be committed to an asylum? The psychosis study

The hosts take up a study purporting to link traditional views of marriage to psychosis, immature defenses, and fearful attachment. They read its long title, argue the operational definitions guarantee the finding, and flip it: believing in the Resurrection, the Eucharist, and angels destroying cities would fail a sanity questionnaire far faster than views on marriage.

Sponsor read: Bob Eisenlauer and the Eisenhower Team

A host thanks sponsor Bob Eisenlauer of the Eisenhower Team, points listeners to eisenhowerteam.com and (515) 979-2883 for listings, and jokes that saying 'the Live From The Path boys sent you' will do nothing.

Dear LFTP 1: the hour-long phone friend

• Am I being silly for not wanting an hour-long phone friendship?

Mike reads a letter from a woman exhausted by a friend who launches into hour-long phone calls without asking if she is busy; she would rather read or work on hobbies and asks if she is being silly. The table splits: one side says have the conversation and set a limit, the other says it is fine to end the friendship honestly rather than fake-friend her. A radio break for the Truth Network interrupts mid-discussion.

Dear LFTP 1 wrap: secular's answer and the five-minute solution

The discussion continues after the break: Katie's tactic of doing dishes on speakerphone, a passive-aggressive trick of calling yourself from your wife's phone to hang up, and the consensus that a brief honest conversation beats both avoidance and unfriending. Secular's answer: be honest, you owe her that much. A second Dear LFTP letter begins.

Dear LFTP 2: Embarrassed in Texas — mom's divorce and new man

• Am I wrong to be upset with my mom for dating during her divorce, or should I support her?

Mike reads a letter from a child 'Embarrassed in Texas' whose mother, mid-divorce, is already dating a high-school acquaintance and came home drunk at 5:30 a.m. to pass out in the letter-writer's bed. The hosts read a cycle of self-destructive relationships and advise a direct conversation; Mike's two-minute version: 'your behavior is not gonna end up in a joyful place for you, and I can't be a party to it.' Secular's answer worries only about unprotected sex and STDs, which the hosts lampoon via a WebMD joke.

Dear LFTP 3: husband number two and the touching

• Is it normal that my second husband touches me so much?

A woman married fifteen months to her second husband asks whether his frequent physical affection is normal after a first husband who never touched her. The hosts reassure her that touch is normal and advise talking to him: affirm what she likes, tell him what she doesn't. Secular agrees it is normal and she is lucky.

Sign-off: thanks and outro

The hosts close the show, point listeners to livefromthepath.org and info@livefromthepath.org for good feedback, and sign off with 'Ben, save us.'