June 20 2011

Show open: Azazel, Leviticus 16, and the Denzel Washington movie

The hosts open the show at the Pathway Studios in Johnston, Iowa. One host introduces himself as Ben. A caller/voice asks 'Mike, Mike, are you here?' and the pre-show chat has been about Leviticus 16:8 and who Azazel is (one lot for the Lord, one scapegoat let go to Azazel). A host recalls a recent movie in which a man was Azazel and they nail it down as the Denzel Washington film (Keanu Reeves is ruled out; Training Day is cited to identify Washington).

Studio banter: Intern or Burn promo, sermon jokes, a low-budget trip

The hosts tease the day's game, 'Intern or Burn.' Banter includes a running joke that a host steals sermon material ('I told you God created Google'), and one host recounts a comically low-budget vacation to the nation's capital: shared meals, staying in friends' homes in Pennsylvania ('We did anything to not spend money'), and a backstory about Cheryl being maid of honor at a friend's wedding while pregnant with Danielle.

Question posed: how far does the Good Samaritan obligation go?

• How far does the obligation to act as a good Samaritan toward strangers go?

A host says he has a question about 'the length of which you are to be a good Samaritan,' describing a real situation from that day that left him unsure what he should have done, noting it has come up a couple of times in the last three weeks. The question is posed just before the trivia setup; its discussion resumes later in the show.

Bible trivia warm-up: clean teeth, bleating sheep, the mule and the angel

Trivia questions from the Bible Brain Workout: which prophet alludes to people having clean teeth (answer: Amos 4:6, read aloud: 'God gave you cleanliness of teeth in all your cities'), plus 1 Samuel 15:14-15 (the bleating sheep and lowing oxen) and a question involving a mule and the angel of the Lord. The book answers with verse references only, so the hosts read the verses aloud.

The Good Samaritan discussion: half-naked men, the QT, and the interstate

The hosts work through the Good Samaritan question with real stories: a half-naked man changing a tire in his underwear, passing a struggling man on the way to church ('I thought, I'm on my way to the temple'), a man standing outside a QT whom one host tried to send a colleague after ('I said, send Engeldinger'), a prayed-for commitment ('your will be done. I'll send someone back to get you'), and an interstate hitchhiker who needed a lift to Ames. Troy is addressed about running from smoking tickets; a host tells of buying deli sandwiches at Hy-Vee for a homeless woman; a purported homeless vet story gets dissected. Along the way they plug a July 1 'Saved on Sunday' tent revival at Eagle Vision and joke about the Cynic Byway.

Honesty and unsolicited opinions: names, daughters, and what people think

The conversation drifts to honesty about other people's choices: silly example baby names ('Boot Rogers,' 'Sass Barilla'), a host's kid named Kurt with a J, and whether people should voice opinions on others' parenting. A Dear LFTP-style exchange surfaces about a man who said 'your daughter's an idiot' (his daughter Melanie is a social worker), turning into a debate over when honesty becomes cruelty and whether it matters what other people think. A movie 'playing in Pleasantville' gets mentioned in passing.

Dear LFTP: is it ever okay to comment on another man's wife's looks?

• Is it appropriate to comment on another man's wife's attractiveness in front of the couple?
• What is the appropriate reaction as the husband when someone comments on your wife's attractiveness?

A Dear LFTP letter: a listener writes that twice, at social functions, he and his wife met couples for the first time and a man leaned over and called the other man's wife 'gorgeous,' leaving the listener caught off guard and uncomfortable for the wives. The letter's two questions: is that comment appropriate, and what is the right reaction as the husband? The hosts rule it inappropriate ('It's none of your business'), note it feeds the ego, and land on 'you really married up, dude' as the only acceptable version of the compliment. Troy is polled and doesn't love it either.

Dan Hudson's Bible Brain Workout quiz

A host announces 'It's question 248 in the Bible Brain Workout for Dan Hudson' and grills him: Ruth 4:13-17 (David's great-grandmother: Ruth), the only orator named in the New Testament (Apollos? Tertullus?), and Saul's words to his armor bearer from 1 Samuel 31:4 ('draw your sword and run me through'). A mock 'Welcome to open forum' segment and a caller-style 'take our next call' bit frame the round.

Intern or Burn: Wily Characters of the Bible

The main event: 'Intern or Burn' with the theme 'Wily Characters of the Bible.' Troy Engeldinger is introduced as the second intern and pitted against intern Danielle; one host will write down Troy's answers. Roughly 18 multiple-choice questions follow (clean teeth = Amos, Jehu the reckless driver of 2 Kings 9:20, Jezebel, Saul vs. Saul, Leah vs. Rachel, Samson, Gideon, Eglon, 'Nibikanezer,' Ehud, Micah). The hosts admit they're stinking at it, George Washington gets a tangent ('always got picked to be the head of whatever committee'), and at the end nobody knows who gets the prize. Troy is told to answer first because it's funnier.

Music: a clip from youth artist Echo

After the game, the hosts play a clip from Echo, 'the youth from an artist we had on last week,' directing listeners to check him out on Facebook. The song plays through, and the hosts react ('That was Echo'), admitting some of it stuck with them and some was painful.

More trivia talk: Samson's riddle, the Sphinx, Saul and David, the Jubilee

Trivia discussion continues: where is the earliest example of a riddle in the Bible (Samson's riddle, Judges 14:12-18, quoted and paraphrased), a 'so pagan' tangent on the Sphinx's riddle, 'Samson's daddy,' Saul hurling his spear at Jonathan (1 Samuel 20:33), David cutting Saul's cloth in the cave (which prompts a host's confession about sneaking around bathrooms cutting shirt corners), and the Year of Jubilee ('the release to slaves,' land returning to families in the 50th year). A listener named JC chimes in from the chat with 'Saul.'

Hard question: why don't modern Jewish people keep the Old Testament law?

• Why do modern-day people of the Jewish faith not continue to follow the Old Testament law?

A host asks why modern-day people of the Jewish faith don't continue to follow the Old Testament law. The hosts reason through it: there is no temple (the Temple ground in Jerusalem is under Muslim control), the required elements (the heifer's ashes, the cloth and ringlets) are unavailable, and sacrifices can't be restarted at a random temple — which raises the open question of how a future return of the Messiah is signified.

Spirit Midwest promo, Vance Lambert's birthday, and 'Just Vance'

Technical difficulties hit while the show plays a track, so the hosts vamp: they plug the Spirit Midwest Music Festival (August; spiritmidwest.com), note that Vance Lambert is playing this year, learn it's Vance's birthday, and spin his Lady Gaga 'Just Dance' parody 'Just Vance' in his honor ('who has been on the show before'). While the track buffers they banter about Vance reminding a host of Jehu — then get tangled over whether Jehu was the husband of Jezebel ('Wasn't she wicked?').

Declined invitations and planning the Mad Style remote broadcast

Two invitations were declined: a guest who politely declined to come on ('thoughts on... witnessing') and another contact (a writer of a New Testament authorship article) who casually ignored the ask. Then the hosts plan a remote broadcast at Mad Style for a Friday night and Saturday: how to power it (a DJ with 900 extension cords; 'An electrician doesn't equal power from above'; mobile spider boxes with 350-amp feeds), who will watch it (Joe Conn asks), archiving 48 hours of footage, RVTV 'like Channel 13,' camping on site, and 'broadcast into the wee hours for no reason.' A digression on Esau's hairy son and a perfume-making tangent closes it.

The snipe bit: snipe hunting, Boy Scouts, and trout

Someone proposes live snipe hunting for the remote event, and a host who has never heard of a snipe hunt asks what it is. One host reads a Wikipedia-style entry aloud ('A snipe is any of about 25 wading bird species...'; the jack snipe restricted to Asia; hunting snipe gave rise to the term 'sniper'). They reminisce about Boy Scouts/Cub Scouts, the pillowcase method, and learn Troy has never seen a live trout ('That doesn't mean trout don't exist, Troy'). Dan is asked whether he's ever caught one; a 'hairy dude link from Stacy' gets pulled up on screen.

The daughter's card and the wrong picture on the radio show

A host's daughter made him a card that got posted on Facebook before he saw it ('An amateur move'). Then the studio pulls up a picture on the show feed and nobody can agree who's in it ('She looks like Esther. My wife. My daughter is the one I'm holding hands with' ... 'My wife is not in the picture. That does not look like my daughter at all'). It goes poorly for Dan, and the host makes a new rule: 'I don't want to see my pictures on the radio show.'

Sign-off: Balaam's donkey, tornado warnings, see you next week

Closing banter: 'You should have said, I am Balaam, and I'm talking to a donkey,' Mike is told not to give a certain look, and a Jehu joke becomes the send-off gag ('Don't let Jehu drive you home now'). Tornado warnings are in effect, so the hosts give storm-safety tips (center of the house, as many walls between you as you can) before 'Thanks for being with us tonight' and 'We'll see you next week.'