October 10 2011

Show open and studio banter

A host opens the show with a 'ghost host' bit and introduces Mike Foust and Dan Hudson as the regular crew in the studio. The hosts rib Dan about the harsh bulletin notice he posted while on vacation, telling callers his phone will not be answered. They joke that the producer Pants can be relied on to do things but never in a timely fashion.

Tonight's lineup

A host previews the show: a debate over a Slate article arguing a month-long marriage sabbatical can help couples, reflections on the passing of Steve Jobs and faith, a Florida case of parents convicted after withholding medicine from a child on faith-healing grounds, and a backlog of Dear LFTP advice letters.

Steve Jobs' death and celebrity grief

• Is it right to grieve Steve Jobs' death as deeply as 9/11 or the JFK assassination?

A host recounts hearing a radio caller compare the day Steve Jobs died to 9/11 and the JFK assassination for her 13-year-old son, and says he could not put his finger on why that rubbed him the wrong way. The hosts discuss how Apple's products became an identity for users — the iPhone, iPad, and apps as a way of presenting who you are — and how people invest hope in the vision of a man they never knew.

Legacy, mortality, and 'created, not creator'

The hosts discuss Jobs' Stanford commencement speech on death as a motivator and agree that with Jesus' name inserted it would be dead-on true. Reflecting on Ecclesiastes — 'everything is meaningless under the sun' — they conclude that figures like Jobs, Einstein, Newton, and the Wright brothers merely saw more of what God created than others, and that placing faith in them mistakes the created for the creator.

Pre-flood technology speculation

One host wonders what a mind like Jobs' could have built with a 900-year lifespan, then speculates that pre-flood people of Genesis 6 — who lived hundreds of years — may have been more advanced than the 'flannelgraph' image suggests, joking that Noah might have run a computerized factory or checked the weather forecast. The bit veers into comedy with Noah the cosmonaut and an 'I love a Jesus, Oprah' singalong riff.

Harold Camping's October 21 and gospel tracts

• Are we in the tribulation, and is the end coming on October 21?

A host notes eleven days remain until the predicted October 21 end of the world and the hosts mock the failed May 21 prediction and its unfulfilled details. This turns into a debate over gospel tracts: one host argues pamphlet evangelism impresses no one, while another defends the old men who hand out children's coloring books.

Children's Bible literature critique

The hosts argue children's ministry materials sanitize Bible heroes, debating whether Noah was truly righteous — reading Genesis 6:8-9 aloud — and listing the flaws of Samson, Solomon, and David that the kids' versions cut out. They contrast the heroic impression children get with the adult realization that the stories are about a great God saving flawed people, naming Daniel and Joseph as rare near-flawless examples.

Camping postmortem, Michael Jackson trial, Steve Brooks

The hosts read back the failed judgment-day details and joke about the quiet natural-disaster scene, then drift to coverage of the Michael Jackson manslaughter trial. A host wonders what happened to Steve Brooks, a former show guest who sincerely studied Harold Camping's teachings and has since cut contact after the prediction failed.

'Why do you believe in God?' — testimony

• Why do you believe in God, and how does God converse with you?

A host recounts a conversation in which a struggling man asked why he believes in God; his answer was simply 'he did.' He describes growing up in church without knowing Jesus, and how prayer never fixed his situations but always changed his perspective — and how God speaks to him through thoughts that are not in his own self-interest. Asked how God converses with him, Ben agrees it works the same way: a strong, unexplainable thought that ultimately glorifies God.

The 'holy bloodfist' parody of Christianese

Mocking sermons full of impenetrable buzzwords, the hosts invent the nonsense phrase 'redemptive bloodfist' — later shortened to 'holy bloodfist' — to show how clichés like 'give it to Jesus' or 'let the Holy Spirit envelop you' confuse seekers and new believers. They riff on prayer-speak ('Abba father, bloodfist, ghost'), note that Jesus never said 'hey, Dan,' and run the gag through the rest of the show.

Chat interlude and next-week promo

The hosts check in with a rowdy live chat, note that a listener skipped the studio visit, and plug the podcast signup and the Monday-night schedule. They preview next week's in-studio guests, the band Syndrome of Fire, and their new EP — jokingly titled 'holy blood fist' and sold for $3.99.

The marriage sabbatical debate

• Is it possible your marriage could be better if you just took a month break?

The hosts debate a Slate piece on Iris Krasnow's book reporting that women who spend July apart from their husbands return closer, and her finding that fishermen's and truckers' wives say separation honed their communication. They agree the real mechanism is attitude toward the marriage, not absence — you do not need a month away to have purpose outside the home — while admitting brief time apart can make you miss your family.

Church-building tangent

Prompted by chat chatter, the hosts riff on a local church-building purchase, quoting a $2,000,000-plus price from Olsen and joking about corralling children behind a curtain 'holy of holies' bought at Walmart. The bit continues the show's running joke about cheap, practical fixes — like using cinder blocks to brace a nursery gate — versus overbuilt solutions.

Dear LFTP: waffle-iron etiquette

• Was I being rude monopolizing the buffet waffle irons, and is there a rule of etiquette about it?

A listener on vacation with four young children asks whether monopolizing three buffet waffle irons to make breakfast for six was rude, after another guest berated her and blamed her for childhood obesity. The hosts side with the writer — children need full waffles and the woman's outburst was outrageous — and the 'secular' answer agrees she broke no etiquette rule.

Dear LFTP: husband's unfounded infidelity obsession

• My husband of 40 years suddenly became obsessed that I was unfaithful, then turned hyper-attentive - is he the guilty one?

A woman writes that her husband of 40 years suddenly became obsessed that she was unfaithful before their youngest child's wedding, then turned hyper-attentive after vowing to let it go; she wonders if he is the guilty one. The hosts say there is not enough information, note the pattern looks like projection, and the secular answer advises marriage counseling if trust is gone.

Dear LFTP: widower asks when to disclose his loss

• When do I tell my date that I lost my wife and child in a car accident?

A widower who lost his wife and only child in a car accident three years ago asks when to tell new dates, fearing he will scare them away. The hosts agree he should mention it matter-of-factly early on — hiding something that significant would be creepier — while the secular answer says he need not disclose all details on a first date.

Dear LFTP: regret over a career move that led to divorce

• How do I get over my regrets and heal after a career move that led to divorce?

A woman who quit a good job at 25, later divorced, and now feels her life would be better if she had stayed, asks how to get over regret. The hosts advise trying to reconcile with her ex-husband if possible rather than dwelling, debate whether a biblically divorced couple can remarry — one host looks up Deuteronomy 24 — and riff on a 'First Church of Christ, Scientist' sign as a comedy tangent. The secular answer advises staying in the present and thanking a higher power for the chance to rebuild.

Amish beard-cutting attacks in Ohio

A host reads a news story dated 10/10/2011 about three Ohio Amish men — Lester and Johnny Mullet and Levi Miller — arrested for breaking into homes and forcibly cutting hair and beards, allegedly at the instigation of their shunned bishop father Sam Mullet. The hosts crack up at the contrast with ordinary vandalism and joke about the logistics of a quick dry haircut.

Deuteronomy 24 read aloud and marriage theology

One host reads Deuteronomy 24 from a digital Bible: a man who divorces his wife, who then marries another, may not take her back after the second marriage ends — 'for that is an abomination before the Lord.' The hosts broaden the discussion to Malachi's 'I hate divorce' and Jesus on hardness of heart, concluding that marriages entered as permanent rarely fail that way and that treating divorce as no option changes how couples approach counseling.

Next week's guests and studio move logistics

The hosts confirm the band Syndrome of Fire will be in the studio next week to talk about their new EP — they are opening for Evanescence — and discuss moving the show to a new room, worrying about tile floors, lighting, and fitting instruments into the smaller space.

Iranian pastor faces execution for apostasy

A host gives an update on Iranian pastor Youcef Nadarkhani, charged with apostasy for converting from Islam at 19 and refusing to recant, with his case reaching Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei while Iranian authorities reframe the charges as rape and extortion. The hosts note the pastor's letter to his congregation framing persecution as the logical extension of belief, and observe that Christians in Egypt are being killed as well.

Sign-off and closing music

The hosts sign off, directing listeners to lifeinthepath.org and the podcast feed, and preview next week's show with Syndrome of Fire. The episode closes with a music performance of 'You Gave It All' by Adam Katz, who was on the show the previous week.