Live Broadcast from Salt Lake City

Live from the Mecca of Mormonism, Salt Lake City, Utah, this is Heart of the Matter where we are learning together how to live as Christians in the Age of Fulfillment.

And I’m your host Shawn McCraney – let’s pray.

Upcoming Mini-Conference

Show 4B XES Out of Order:
Live Followup Show
January 28th, 2020

Okay, we are planning on holding a mini-conference here where different people will present a 90-minute presentation that we will videotape and house on our site on why their approach to the faith is best. Wildly, we are calling it, Sundays Best, Friday, April 3rd, and Saturday, April 4th.

Thus far we have in the works:

Father Christopher Gray Catholic
Bob Burgeoner representing Mormonism
Lee Baker representing Noadic Judaism
Denver Snuffer representing the Restoration Movement and myself.

This is an open, unedited, unchallenged non-confrontational time for all participants to explain why their approach is best. If you know anyone that might want to represent a faith not already represented, have them go to our site and email me. It’s an opportunity to have their position and voices heard and there will be zero challenges to what they say—it’s all for you, our viewers, to have a ready resource to test all things and to hold fast to what is good. Sundays Best – the first week in April 2020.

Also, check out exmormonfiles.com, checkmychurch.org, and talkingtomormons.com. And of course, we have some publications we endorse, namely:

Paul’s book
Our books

Understanding the Mind of God

Paul says something interesting in 1st Corinthians 2:16 when, borrowing from Isaiah 40:13, writes: "For who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.”

Have you ever thought about this? That nobody knows the Mind of God but believers have the mind of Christ? The form of speech that this is used here is called the “interrogative form” and is as strong a mode as any that denies (LISTEN) that anyone… has ever… known… the mind of the YHWH. No one can understand God. No one can fully comprehend his full plans, his feelings, his views, his designs. No one knows his nature, his truth in its entirety, or his disposition at any given time.

Last Sunday we all got news that a prominent American sports figure, Kobe Bryant, along with his 13-year-old daughter, two of her teammates, a college baseball coach and his wife, and two other women and the pilot were all killed when the helicopter they were in crashed unexpectedly. Coming from a life of heated religiosity, I’m sure that people have tried to make sense of this event by interpreting what they think is the mind of God.

“It was their time.” No.
“He wanted to send a warning.” Nope.
“They were needed in heaven.”
“They were evil on earth.”
And on and on and on.

Nature abhors a vacuum and our human natures, especially our religious human natures want answers. Too bad. Because nobody, when it comes to the intentions of the living God, can say why He didn’t save them. Nobody—in the positive or the negative can explain why it was “them/then.” Not one.

Soren Kierkegaard's Perspective

Soren Kierkegaard, a father of modern existentialism and absurdism, and whose influence greatly influenced Martin Heidegger, John Paul Sartre, Karl Barth, and Emil Brunner—described the living God as a completely transcendent and therefore said that there is "an infinite qualitative difference" that separates God from his creations (called human beings).

And while Kierkegaard did believe that God became incarnate in and through Jesus Christ, he didn’t feel that the incarnation did all that much to bridge the gap between the ways of YHWH and us—something that both Isaiah and Paul seem to openly admit.

As a result of this gap between God and us, Kierkegaard called this space "absurdism,” which is at the heart of his unique definition of faith. For Kierkegaard, faith isn't a way of knowing or “an act of trust in God's goodness and love for us.” To him, faith is a belief and trust in the "strength of the absurd"—and by "absurd," he means that which contradicts human reason.

This takes us well beyond the standard Christian idea that we can reasonably understand God but instead says that when it comes to trying to understand Him and His ways, we are being absurd—and therefore our Christian views are absurd. And with this mindset, Kierkegaard introduced what he called, “the leap of faith,” for believers which could be seen as leaping out, as it were, into the hands of a God whose ways…

The Absurdity of Knowing the Mind of God

We cannot comprehend – at all – and trusting that no matter what happens, we will not KNOW the reason why – but choose to place our faith in Him and his unknowable ways ANYWAY. I readily embrace this view of Kierkegaard. None of us knows the mind of God. So I simply choose to trust that whatever His mind is, I will accept it rather than try to explain it.

Unfortunately, in Kierkegaard trying to help believers (and others) see that we cannot know the mind of God and that to attempt to try (in any way) is an absurdity, secular thinkers (like Heidegger and Sartre) stripped the Christian language from his views and what was left was a radical individualism where faith was tragically (and erroneously) divorced from reason (meaning knowledge). And as a result of this all knowing became the domain of science alone and spiritual immaterial supernatural metaphysics were tossed into the trash.

This reaction was extreme because Kierkegaard did NOT say we could NOT know things “about” God (like that He is love, or He is Good, or He is faithful) nor did he say that we could not know how to live (which is through the “Mind of Christ”) he only said that it is absurd to think we can KNOW the mind and heart and will and ways of God. And the reality is – we cannot.

Unfortunately religionists often make the mistake of thinking that we (or they) can, and then they proceed to assign God’s love or His anger or His disposition to events and circumstances around us. In this way, religionists are no different than superstitious backwooded people groups who believe a woodpecker in the yard at dusk means a windfall of money in the morning.

No, infinite God or His ways are not knowable by finite man. He is infinite and unknowable, and all we have left, as Kierkegaard made clear, is the personal choice to trust in this as fact rather than to try to overcome the absurdity of events with faulty assumptions and reason. In this age of fulfillment, absent apostles left behind to speak the will of the LORD, we would do well to adopt Kierkegaard’s insights on absurdity and just trust that whatever His plans and purposes are, we are going to accept them, painful and horrific and unexplainable as they may be.

Addressing Sexuality Authentically

So last night we continued to talk about sex in the age of fulfillment and when we taped it I was led to open up about my life relative to the subject of sexual experiences. I did this for a couple of reasons.

First of all, the subject, among religious people especially, is not openly addressed. We feel too much shame and embarrassment talking about the elements that are part of human sexuality – desires and forbidden desires, lust, what we allow and seek, body parts, various emissions, all of it – really horrible. Tie in the fact that God has expectations of us in that realm and we find ourselves really bunched up over speaking about it, right?

Living Authentically in the Age of Fulfillment

So as a means to show that the subject ought to be less verboten than it is – especially among believers – I chose to throw open the closet and let the skeletons run free, remembering that the only way to keep mold from growing is to keep things in the light. My second reason was more important, however, and is tied directly to our goal of living authentically as Christians in the age of fulfillment.

See, in the former age, especially in the wrapping up of it, there was an apostolic expectation that the Elders and deacons and believers were living up to a pretty strident ideal. From what Paul writes to the Corinthians that ideal was not easily achieved but it was necessary for Church unity, true communion with other Saints and for the bride to be without spot or wrinkle.

But in the age of fulfillment, where the faith is now house directly in the hearts of individual believers who are led of His Spirit, there is zero need for men of supposed authority, to stand over us, and feign holiness from their lofty elevated positions. Like Ian Anderson wrote of the Bishops in the Church of England:

In your pomp and all your glory You’re an old man underneath who licks the boots of death Born out of fear.

Gone are the days of sinful men hiding behind their fig-leafed suits of religious refineries and present are the days for the facts –

Men are

Flesh and Faith

Men who have hearts of flesh and very few, if any on the face of the earth, can stand before others without hypocrisy, and present themselves as pure. Our flesh is too corrupt and even if our hands are clean, the hearts and minds are not.

I opened up last night as a man who teaches the word of God several times a week. I am not worthy but by the blood of Christ that has washed me clean by faith. Realizing this, demanding this of those we allow to teach us is an important step in the survival of the faith in our day and age of scrutiny.

1Ti 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; No priests, no pastors, no reverends, no prophets, no elders, no bishops, no deacons.

Jesus Christ, the worthy one. Now, having said that, and all that I said last night, there is zero benefit in bemoaning our fleshly state before each other either. I’ve gone 16 years plus without ever speaking of these things, and I will never speak of them again. Why? They are not me. I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by FAITH in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. I do NOT set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness came through the law then Christ died in vain.

Genuine Faith

In this age of fulfillment, we have neither any need to dress in religious garb as a means to feign holiness nor to constantly bemoan our sinful ways. The work, by HIM has been done. Complete. It’s over – for all of us – the whole world. And so let’s walk in this light, being genuine before each other and refusing to wallow in the past or present ways of our flesh. Neither of those are who we ARE! Get it? We can’t promote ourselves as righteous (but by Christ) and we cannot present and re-present ourselves as fleshly whores – we are neither. We are His, in faith, with God in us, living our lives in His light and ways, not the fluorescent light of other men or the dark acts of our flesh.

Religion – that thing of the past – will not allow for what this approach. It demands both the pretense of holiness from its leaders and either the confession of sin from its congregates or the hiding of it.

The Age of Fulfillment

The age demands liberty and freedom for the Spirit to work within us. So, let's hit some of the comments from last night:

seek find wrote

Here is an example of what pastors should be like open and honest. Brother I can relate to all you have said what got me the most was you can not love unless you have been loved it always comes back to the cross. God is so patient and suffers long with us how can I point a finger when we are all in the same boat we all need Christ. Love you all at hotm.

Could not agree more! Thanks for the comment.

Timothy Williams

This is my favorite video that you have made. Thank you and God bless you. Isn’t that amazing? We have done more than 2000 hours of video presentations over nearly 15 years and this was his favorite. Why? Because the subject matter speaks to all of our hearts. And we can all relate in one way or another. We need the walls of religious barriers to fall in this age of fulfillment and speak of WHAT HE HAS DONE FOR ALL OF US. Thanks Timothy.

HOWARD KING God (the Creator) = Love. There, I have found a mathematical/spiritual relationship. You are right, Shawn, sex is not love. Sex is an instinct to preserve a species and is part of the ‘old’ man (in the human species). But, sex is common to almost all species (some microscopic organisms not included). However, of all species, humans have a unique difference—we can use logic (reason) which gives the ability to believe in things we cannot sense (hear, see, smell, taste, feel, etc.) “Faith is the ‘substance’ of things not seen”. It is in this logic that love exists.

For example, people sometimes say that they want to ‘make love’ when they mean they want to ‘have

Reflection on Love and Spiritual Growth

Love comes from God (the Spirit). Humans are not flashlights, we are mirrors. We can only reflect love. But if we are dirty mirrors, we can’t reflect the love the Creator sends (not too efficient). The Creator has to get out His (It’s) Holy Windex (Truth) and work on cleaning our mirrors (us). “Now we see through a glass darkly but then face to face.” But this transformation cannot happen until we give our permission to allow the Spirit to clean us up. When you found yourself beside the road that time and called on your Creator to make Itself known to you (if It existed), you gave It your permission to enter your ‘old flesh’ and sit on your life throne (Holy of Holies)—born again. You made the leap from the old flesh (lizard brain) to the cerebral brain which allowed you to begin your journey—no longer having to walk by ‘sight’ but beginning to walk by faith.

I appreciate your candid discussion. Thanks for having the courage!

And thank YOU for your insights. You get it – clearly – and I am blessed to know this. Thank you.

Denae Hansen
God bless you Shawn!

Thanks my sister! And God continue to bless YOU.

Exploring Physical Intimacy within Spiritual Contexts

Laura writes:
Your candid honesty about your life experiences led me to ponder the sexuality of those who struggle with the flesh. I was raised Catholic. This had a totally different outcome in many lives. I know there are many women who will never admit to this very sensitive subject. Physical intimacy is something to avoid as much as possible and at all costs. The consequences of this are devastating. Many will never understand this area of the flesh. How does this fit into God's plan of becoming "one" when it produces everything opposite of physical love? Just wanted to share the other side of this issue. Sexual desire. No desire.

God bless you, Shawn. This is definitely a topic that needs to be brought into the light.

It really is because we tend to sweep from one extreme to another. Either we are silent and dying inside over it or we are so open and passionate about it we are seen as deviants. To me the subject can be broached rightly only when Christians begin to see sexual relations as created by God for pleasure, that there is nothing wrong with any of it in the right order, and that if we step out of that order it only harms us – which is something a long God does not want for His creations of children.

Concerns on Teachings and Beliefs

Then TheProfit MoeHamHead simply posted a link to an article in psychology today that talks about how sexual promiscuity creates mental issues in some people studied. Cannot disagree with that.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201303/how-casual-sex-can-affect-our-mental-health?amp#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp_tf=From%20%251%24s

Thank you for that.

Cyrus Dabar
I level with you on this 100%. Sexual sin is probably one of the biggest issues in this world. It is, has been, and always will be. Henceforth, Jesus.

Finally, Daric1 wrote out some of his thoughts about me (I suppose my expressions last night did not enlighten him at all) and so let’s take some time to review what this brother says:

Shawn, I am really concerned for you. I can't consider you a brother in Jesus when you espouse things such as

1. universal salvation,
2. deny that the Son and Holy Spirit have eternally been persons and eternally been truly God (whereas you have taught that Jesus was literal "words" that came out of God's mouth, and that the Holy Spirit is God's literal "breath", meaning that God had parts that came out of him; this is the heresy of partialism and/or modalism),
3. deny the literal and physical resurrection of the dead and
4. of the return of Jesus,
5. the non-existence of the church today and church offices such as deacon and elder,
6. denying church discipline set up by Jesus and confirmed by Paul,

Main Topic: Critique of Theological Beliefs

• and now you are saying that sin is "anachronistic" and that everyone is reconciled to the Father through Jesus? In other words, sin is no longer a thing?!

Seriously? To say there is no more sin anymore is absolutely anti-Biblical. It demonstrates your continuing pride and your need for true salvation. I am sorry, Shawn, but every single day you demonstrate that you have completely departed from historical Christianity and were never truly a part of it, just the same as with Joseph Smith.

Questioning Authority

You follow the Spirit alone ("solus Spiritus") rather than making what God spoke as the final authority. Instead, you are now your final authority. Who gave you such authority?

Concern for Doctrine

You slowly depart from Scripture every single time you make an episode or explain one of your doctrinal beliefs. I am concerned for the state of your soul. I urge you to repent and exercise faith in the eternal God, Jesus (not "words" who came out of God's mouth and then took on flesh, as you espouse) to save you, knowing that you are a sinner who needs to be saved from your sins which you have committed.