2017 Episode 5

Show open from the Pathway Studios

A produced intro voiceover announces the show, then a host opens live from the Pathway Studios in Johnston proper and sets up the night's topics: pope-style advice and a news story about an atheist teacher under investigation.

Pope-style advice teaser

• What does it actually look like to give up your life to gain it?

A host previews the night's advice bit: 'giving your life so you may gain it' may mean something different than people think, and teases the question of what losing your life actually looks like.

Atheist teacher Susan Kramer calls students 'cretins' on Facebook

• What does the word 'cretin' actually mean?

The hosts read and discuss a news story: atheist teacher Susan Kramer of Merritt Brown Middle School in Panama City is under probe after calling students who invited her to church 'cretins' on a private atheist Facebook page that was screenshotted. The hosts look up the dictionary definition of 'cretin' (a dullard; medically, congenital thyroid deficiency), joke about it, and discuss whether her outrage is justified, students blessing sneezers to get a rise out of her, and how Christians should respond without taking the bait.

Pope-style advice: lose your life to gain it

• What does it actually look like to give up your life to gain it?

Mike (addressed by name in the audio) delivers the night's sage advice on 'giving your life so you may gain it.' Drawing on Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 13, and Jesus' provision for the lilies of the field, he argues that following Jesus is not Bible-reading or prayer as earners but spending your life on people: God's kingdom is built on people, the joy comes from dealing with his people, and much of Christian burnout is two kingdoms fighting for control. The hosts extend the point with a line-in-the-sand experiment: make it 'not you today, it's everybody else today,' and note how entertainment habits (like skipping Bible reading for Person of Interest) reveal whose kingdom is really running the show.

Minimalism article: what are we simplifying for?

• What are we simplifying for?

A host reads from an article arguing that minimalism's promise of 'a more meaningful life' usually means a life made happy on your own terms, and that the deeper question is 'what are we simplifying for?' The hosts agree the real issue is where meaning is grounded: stuff can't ground a life facing refugee crises, cancer, and human trafficking. The piece's turn to John and the Greek word 'logos' (meaning/reason for life, defined via Heraclitus) leads to discussion of generosity with houses and money, the paralytic man lowered through the roof, and how the fruits of the spirit are revealed in interactions with other people.

Dear LFTP: jealous daughter-in-law and the grandchildren

• How do I handle a jealous daughter-in-law who keeps my grandchildren from me?

The first Dear LFTP letter: a grandmother writes that her daughter-in-law is jealous of her close relationship with her daughter and withholds the grandchildren when upset, though she already gets them almost every weekend. The hosts find the letter muddled and defensive (e.g. 'I work a full time job' as a defense), advise her to talk to her son, and note the mother/daughter closeness likely reads differently to the daughter-in-law. The Secular voice answers that the writer is probably not being kept from the children and should remind herself of that.

Dear LFTP: 'fake Paul' and the shared name

• How should I handle colleagues and students joking about me sharing a name with another teacher and a student?

The second Dear LFTP letter: a Pennsylvania fifth-grade teacher named Paul shares his name with another teacher and a student, and is discouraged by daily jokes like 'fake Paul' and 'Paul Junior.' The hosts answer that nobody owns a name: you can endure it, suggest an alternative (like 'Sir Paul' with humor), and note that owning your situation beats being upset you can't change. The Secular voice advises asking to be addressed as Mr. plus last initial; the hosts push back that colleagues will mock that. This widens into a discussion of living creatively within oppressive circumstances, winning on the ideas front as well as the physical one, and how Christianity works best without power.

Close: hate mail and sign-off

The hosts close the show, directing hate mail to rolloff dot org and signing off with the 'Live From The Path' tag.