Heart of the Matter Broadcast

Live from Salt Lake City, Utah, this is Heart of the MatterTGNN’s original show where Shawn McCraney deconstructed religion and developed fulfilled theology., where we do all we can to try and worship God in Spirit and in Truth. I’m your host, Shawn McCraneyFounder of TGNN and developer of the fulfilled perspective—calling people to faith outside of religion..

Show 34 460
August 25th, 2015
Seventeen days and Dr. Don K. Preston will be with us here in the studio/church. That’s a Friday and a Saturday, September 11th and 12th, four hours total.

Invitation to Former LDS Members

Now listen – if you were ever LDS and came out of the religion based on information either we provided you or you got from another source, I challenge you specifically to show up. Don’t fear. Don’t believe the hype against me and my person. I want NOTHING more than to help set you free from the manipulations of Man. You listened to me with the LDS info, what’s changed?

Come ask your questions, challenge your prejudices, and hear from someone other than myself on the matter – Oh, unless you have arrived at a place you can never learn anything new? If that’s the case, then come and set us straight – please. You know who you all are. You used to come around, and you used to even support the ministry until the masses surrounding you convinced you that I was lost. Doesn’t that sound familiar?

Test all things, hold fast to what is good. To me, the only thing that could be called good are the things that are completely supported by a contextual understanding of the Bible.

Event with Don K. Preston

Don K. Preston – September 11th and 12th. Go to www.hotm.tv for more information.

And listen – in association with Dr. Preston’s visit and our stance on end times, I want to announce that on Friday night, October 2nd – right here at the CAMPUS studios we are going to be having a party. What are we celebrating? That September 2015 came (and went) and God did NOT destroy the world.

We’re going to call it: A “Thank God Jesus Didn’t Return and Destroy Us” Social. Now, here’s the thing – if you are expecting Jesus to return in September – and He doesn’t show up, maybe you could use this party to start looking at God and the Biblical promise of a Second ComingChrist’s return, fulfilled in 70 A.D., ending the old covenant—not the world. a little differently? Maybe you could stop worrying and focusing on all the evil and signs and start sharing the light with love and hope? Huh? Whaddaya say? We hope so. So if Jesus hasn’t returned and we are all still here, join us Friday Night, October 2nd, 7-9 to celebrate God’s goodness, his patience, and the fact that the Second Coming is in the past – where it should remain.

Ministry Financial State

After examining our current financial state and where we presently sit, and in light of some advice and news I recently received I am going to say the following: In the Salt Lake Valley is a church that avidly teaches tithing. They are also constantly holding the Second Coming of Jesus over the head of their congregations. What has this amounted to? Total annual donations of over 2 million dollars. That’s a 150 thousand dollars a month or 5000 coming in every day, seven days a week.

Maybe we should start preaching tithing and telling people they’d better pay it to be right with God when he comes to destroy us? Or maybe we ought to just let people know there are financial needs in this ministry. For example, as opposed to 150,000 last month we took in $ . How have we been able to do ministry for ten years?

Please know I’m not complaining. God is sooooo good to us, but we’ve done it by your generosity, and faithful people who have continued with us through thick and thin. And though other means. I have been told that general public look at the ministry online and they think everything is great. It’s great in terms of where we are with the King and what we present but we are anything but financially solvent.

However – instead of demanding contributions or implementing the lie of tithing in the church – this is our appeal: Pray that God will help us meet our needs to keep the ministry going. Share the ministry with others, and let God guide. I was told I have to let you all know – I’m letting you know.

A Moment from the Word

INTRO HERE PLEASE

We didn’t have a “From the Word” last week, so let’s pick up our culling through the New Testament for passages.

Understanding Subjective Christianity in Ephesians

Interestingly, Ephesians doesn’t hit the topic of Subjectivity on the nose as hard as other books. But it does hit on some elements of it and it certainly speaks of love which is a huge part of the faith – so let's touch on the highlights beginning at verse 4:

Ephesians 1:4 “According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.”

Holy and blameless in love. The governing force and factor in all gatherings of believers. Not rules. Not systems. Not doctrine. Love – and the way it is defined in 1st Corinthians 13.

Ephesians 1:17-18 says

“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.”

Unity in Diversity

For me, if Paul’s prayer holds water, then God “grants us the Spirit of Wisdom and revelation in the Knowledge of Him, that the eyes of our understanding are enlightened that we may KNOW what is the hope of His calling. Did you notice that men and their views on things aren’t included here? Pauls’ prayer is all a petition for God to send His Spirit to bring these things to us as believers internally. Individually. And therefore subjectively.

How about some passages that speak to unity? While Subjective, we are, in the midst of our vast differences, one.

Ephesians 2:16 says:
“And that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.”

Ephesians 2:18 “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”

Ephesians 3:6 “That the Gentiles should be fellowheirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel:”

Ephesians 2:19-22 “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.”

Ephesians 4:1-7 “I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ.”

No divisions, but certainly different parts and participants who obviously will have differing views, purposes and points of view but who love.

Paul's Prayer for Strength and Love

How about this prayer of Paul’s?

Ephesians 3:16-19 “That He (God) would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”

“By the Spirit in the inner man . . . that Christ may dwell in our hearts.”

“Hey, Religion makers, tithe collectors, rule enforcers, I gotta question for you? If Jesus is actually dwelling in my heart (by the Spirit) why am I subjecting myself to your rule and religion and ways? Explain that to me again, please? Jesus is IN us – IN US! What the heck more do we need? I get teaching, I get feeding us the Word – but the rest?”

This is not to say that pastors and teachers and evangelists are not needed in the Body – oh, contraire! I am a pastor/teacher who tries (tries) to feed the flock every week. But to what end?

Understanding Paul's Teachings in Ephesians

Paul tells us, saying in Ephesians 4:11-32:

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” Amen to dat!

But he continues – “From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love. This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor: for we are members one of another. Be ye angry, and sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace. not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.” We’ve all got a long way to go on all that, eh?

Importance of Walking in Love

Then Paul adds in Ephesians 5:2 “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.” Ephesians 5:9 “For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth.”

Laboring with a Servant's Heart

Ephesians 6:6 talks about laboring and says: “Not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men.” Men want us to serve them, and their authoritai – but Paul says to do our service as to the Lord and NOT to men.

Spiritual Warfare and Armor of God

Ephesians 6:12 makes it plain that our wars and arguments are not against each other – even the world, saying “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” And then listen to how Paul continues on, wrapping the whole thing up with appeals to INNER weaponry and armor – nothing physical, saying: Ephesians 6:13-18“Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the

The Spirit and Truth

"Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.”

Philippians next week. With that, let’s have a word of prayer.

We open every show by saying that, Heart of the Matter is aimed at seeking God in SPIRIT and TRUTH. Jesus said to the woman at the well:

John 4:23 “But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.”

In the next verse Jesus adds

John 4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

The two – spirit and truth are really interesting concepts because

• The Spirit is the Truth
• And the Truth is the Spirit

The Role of the Spirit of Truth

On the Day of Pentecost when the Spirit fell the truth was testified of to those present – and dwelled in them. Notice that the 120 gathered at Jerusalem were first believers on Jesus and THEN they were filled with the Spirit.

Jesus said this:

John 14:17 "Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you."

Then later added a specific purpose of the Spirit of Truth, saying:

John 15:26 "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me."

John 16:13 "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come."

Ephesians 1:13 "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were then sealed with that holy Spirit of promise."

The gospel is preached, and after the people believe it, they are sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise.

Paul wrote in 2nd Thessalonians 2:13 "But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth."

Then the Apostle Peter brings it all home saying:

1st Peter 1:22 "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:"

1st John 5:6 says plainly: “. . . the Spirit is truth.”

The Impact of Pentecost

Since Pentecost the Spirit has been at work. People preach the Good News, and the Spirit of Truth has reached into the hearts of those God has chosen and they have believed. Praise God.

In our studies of Sola Scriptura we have seen that the written and Distributed New Testament was not really out there and available and agreed upon by the masses until 1530’s – and yet The Spirit of Truth was able to exist. Admittedly, for a 1000 years the ages were darker as religion dominated the hearts of Man and when the apostolic writings were finally mass produced a tremendous gift – my sole prized worldly material possession – the New Testament, was given to the world.

This gift ought to have enhanced the Spirit of Truth as it is Truth by the Spirit but instead it has been used to divide and destroy and condemn rather than enlighten, unite, and serve the Spirit living in the hearts of believers. What happened?

Before I answer that I want to speak to how we do things here at CAMPUS. We gather every week – twice on Sunday. We pray, we sing the word of God, we sit in silence, then I teach the word verse by verseTGNN’s Bible teaching series—book-by-book, through the lens of fulfillment and spiritual liberty..

In the morning, which we call Milk, we are presently in Acts, having covered Matthew and John. In the afternoon, which we call Meat, we are presently in 1st Peter, having covered Romans, Hebrews, and James. We then pray for those who are on our prayer list and we sing the word of God.

With the exception of Tuesday nights the building is open to whomever in the community – believer or not – that wants to use it – free of charge. There is no hierarchy, no board, and I am not a policeman. Problems and situations must be solved by those involved. If they are going to differ on doctrine they can. If they

Unity through the Spirit

are going to divide and split they can – though it hasn’t happened.

We have people who are futurists, Trinitarians, and can’t wait for eternal punishment. We have people who just want to love on others and don’t care about doctrine. We have others who just want to serve others and we have people who only want to be served.

Homosexuals, drug users, lesbians, homeless and criminals are welcome. So are the affluent, the well-to-do and the gainfully employed and professionally appointed.

Diverse Beliefs and Unity

I teach to the best of my ability and people get to choose what they believe BY THE SPIRIT and THE WORD and what they don’t.

This past week we had a conflict. It was a misunderstanding really. The people were left to fix it. And they did. We pray love will reign. The situation involved two type of people clashing – the first group are open, liberal fellowshippers who want the freedom to love on others without margins and the other group are more linear, academic and seeking to have more order present in get togethers – for very good reasons.

Both groups – the liberal and the conservative – contain (in my estimation) some of the best Christians around. They ALL love the Lord and seek Him in their respective ways. I happened to show up to the building after the difficulty and both sides presented their cases. Both had merit. Both had reasons for taking some umbrage to the situation and both had fault in the temporary division.

The New Testament clearly lays out the solution for this difficulty and any that will follow – the fruit of the Spirit.

We trust that the fruit of the Spirit will prevail and help these believers in Christ Jesus work it out.

Addressing Conflicts

So why tell you all of this?

The division could have been over scheduling, over opinion, over doctrine, over practice, over organizational situations – the division could have been about ANYTHING.

The question is this:

1. AS believers we have all been given the Spirit of God, we are all followers of Christ, and we all seek to serve Him in the Body – with this being the case we have IN EACH OF US the ability to handle all issues without corporate or institutional powers.

Because as individuals in Christ we are all responsible for how we react and work with our brothers and sisters in the Body.

What do we do if one person is in the flesh and is causing all sorts of uproar? Someone who is refusing to play fair, who is pushing for an agenda they are convinced is best for all – but others disagree?

We appeal to the things of the Spirit to work them out. We pray for understanding, for love, for patience and longsuffering. We die to the flesh, we take up our cross, we appeal to Spiritual tools not fleshly and trust that God will work. We strive very hard to appeal to such things at CAMPUS not because they are the most expeditious nor because they are going to solve all the problems quickest, but because this is His Body, and we do not war against flesh and blood.

This has taken me a while to get to the point but here it is –

Instead of approaching Christianity in these ways, men and women have stepped in and inserted their solutions, and ideas, and strategies, and boards, and policies to respond to these things and more.

And while they MAY present efficiencies and immediate solutions to difficulties in the Body they are the wisdom and ways of MAN and wind up creating Man made and Man run institutions.

Trusting Spirit over Man

In the end, and in my estimation, these stop-gap measures, and grand operating policies, and systematic theologies are all steeped in faithlessness and in the arm of the flesh rather than in Spirit and in Truth. The Body will always be filled with liberals, conservatives, saints and sinners. There will always be differences among us – practical, theological, doctrinal, and in terms of governance.

But instead of really trusting that Jesus by the Spirit is in charge both of the body and the hearts of those in it, we have decided to intervene – sometimes to solve troubling issues before they erupt or cause division, sometimes to control people, sometimes to keep the flock growing and profitable, sometimes to ensure that denominational doctrines are maintained.

So, where God seeks people who will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth, and wants people to freely love and learn to work in and

The Establishment of Doctrines and Denominational Allegiances

Around differences, men have established laws, rules, demands, doctrines, and denominations – all of which are antithetical to what Jesus established. And what has that given us today? Religious institutions, rich, powerful, that insist on either denominational allegiances to their doctrines and rules and ways and authority rather than a dynamic gathering that allows all people to seek, discover, differ and find.

We saw very early on in Church history the attempts of the Roman Catholic Church to implement and govern by these very things. “You must do this this way, you must practice this that way, you must believe this way.” Right? By the late 15th Century people could see the writing on the wall – and they started to resist – we’ve mentioned some of them – Wycliffe, Linacre, Erasmus, Luther, Tyndale. And from this resistance, we were blessed with something that should have been received without our corporate input – the Bible.

But what is one of the first things we did with this wonderful book of spiritual guidance? We attempted to systematize it. Can you believe this! We took the Word of God into our human fleshly hands and attempted to force it into a system of beliefs. It’s our way! It’s in our flesh! God is certainly a God of order but we are NOT God. We appeal to His orders not our own. Don’t get me wrong – from very early on men were trying to systematize the Bible. Athanasius tried, Basil, Gregory of Nissa, Ireaneus, Justin Martyr, Origen, Augustine, Tertullian – they all made attempts and they were all men and they were not unified in their systems!

Within Roman Catholicism proper there was St. Anselm, Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure, St. Francis of Assisi, and many others.

Protestants and the Continuation of Systematic Theology

Then we got the Bible into the hands of the people. Those souls who make up the Body of Christ and the Temple of God. The Spirit can now work on individuals by faith to love and let the Spirit finally subjectively move us. And what happens? We get Protestant attempts to provide us with new systematic theologies. None agree completely. Some have held more sway over the hearts of people than others – but not one of them – except Kierkegaard – allowed for the Subjective approach.

Before we go to the phones and emails, I want you to take a look at all the human beings who believed that they could take the Word of God and force it into their own objective theological box. Ready?

Notable Theologians

• Martin Luther
• Marcella Althaus-Reid
• Gustaf Aulén, Lutheran
• Karl Barth, Reformed
• Herman Bavinck, Reformed
• Oswald Bayer, Lutheran
• Louis Berkhof, Reformed
• Theodore Beza, Reformed
• Donald G. Bloesch, Evangelical Protestant
• James Montgomery Boice, Reformed
• Wilhelmus à Brakel, Reformed
• Gerald Bray, Anglican, Reformed
• Emil Brunner, Reformed
• John Calvin, Calvinism, proto-Reformation
• Sarah Coakley, Anglican
• Lewis Sperry Chafer, Evangelical
• Martin Chemnitz, Lutheran
• James Hal Cone, Methodist
• Kevin Conner, Pentecostal
• Jack Cottrell, Independent Christian Churches/Churches of Christ
• Joseph (Jody) Dillow, (Calvinist)
• Millard Erickson, Baptist (Evangelical, Calvinist)
• Gabriel Fackre, Evangelical Reformed
• Paul S. Fiddes, Baptist
• Charles Finney, Presbyterian
• John Frame, Presbyterian, Calvinist
• Hans Wilhelm Frei, Lutheran
• Richard Gaffin, Reformed, Presbyterian
• Norman Geisler, Evangelical
• Johann Gerhard, Lutheran
• John Gill, Particular Baptist
• Wayne Grudem, Calvinist
• Colin Gunton, Reformed
• Adolf von Harnack, Evangelische
• Stanley Hauerwas, Methodist
• Charles Hodge, Presbyterian
• Michael Horton, Reformed
• Stanley M. Horton, Pentecostal
• H. Wayne House, Baptist
• Robert Jenson, Lutheran
• Catherine Keller, Process
• Robert Letham, Reformed
• George Lindbeck, Lutheran
• John MacQuarrie, Anglican
• Sallie McFague, Presbyterian
• Alister E. McGrath, Evangelical
• Philipp Melanchthon, Lutheran
• John Murray, Presbyterian
• Jürgen Moltmann, Evangelische
• H. Richard Niebuhr, United Church
• Reinhold Niebuhr, New Orthodox
• Thomas C. Oden, Wesleyan
• Oliver O'Donovan, Anglican
• J. I. Packer, Anglican, Reformed
• Wolfhart Pannenberg, Lutheran
• Iain Paul, Reformed, Church of Scotland
• Earl D. Radmacher, Calvinist
• Albrecht Ritschl, Lutheran
• Charles Caldwell Ryrie, Calvinist
• Friedrich Schleiermacher, Lutheran
• Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki, Methodist
• William Greenough Thayer Shedd, Calvinist
• R. C. Sproul, Presbyterian
• Augustus H. Strong, Calvinist
• Kathryn Tanner, Reformed
• Henry Clarence Thiessen, Theistic
• Paul Tillich, Lutheran
• Thomas F. Torrance, Presbyterian
• R. A. Torrey, Evangelical
• Francis Turretin, Reformed
• Kevin Vanhoozer, Reformed
• Cornelius Van Til Reformed
• John Walvoord, Calvinist
• John Webster, Anglican
• J. Rodman Williams, Charismatic
• Rowan Williams, Anglican
• NT Wright, Anglican
• Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss Reformed
• Thomas Jackson, Anglican
• Lewis Sperry Chafer, Baptist

And that is just the Protestants! All different. But all the same God in Christ by the Spirit who are called to love. Isn’t the world – or at least the youth of this world who love Jesus – ready to read the Bible and let everyone believe as they are led, refusing to divide over anything, and letting God through Jesus by the Holy Spirit lead us to love? I think so. I hope so. Next week we will T off this information.

Let’s open the phone lines (801)

EMAILS

From: Susan

What Bible do you read from, King James version or another version? All I have is the LDS Triple combination and I want to buy a new one.

From: John

Subject: from Mormon to baptist!

Message Body:

Hi Shawn! My wife

Challenges in Religious Transitions

and I left the Mormon church 3 years ago. We took a year off and decided to try a baptist church in ______ utah. I’m having problems there! I feel I’ve left a cult and joined another!! I’ve been reading Steve Hassan’s book on cults! I feel I’m being mind controlled! With all this hell fire and brimstone! Now we’re being asked to wear a tie! What’s next Shawn! A (blanking) white shirt! God is angry here! Can you give me some pointers on how to handle this stuff??? I’m a fan of hotm! Love ya man! John

Ha ha, Hi Shawn. Not only do I watch you for the best religious discussion on the internet, but also for entertainment!!! 🙂 You getting so excited about about the September thing makes me smile, you're so fun. I personally think a big unwinding may happen next month, but I hope you're right. Guess we'll have a better feel this coming week. Anyway, I wish I could drop in again and say hello. I really enjoy talking with you, because you are one of the few people I know with broad enough life / religious experience to be able to relate to what I've seen and felt.

I appreciate the time you spent with me in the spring. Lots of people have difficult situations. Mine is unique to me, but hardly the worst. I've made little progress in talks with my wife. She withdraws and cries whenever I try to bring up anything halfway substantial with respect to religion or relationship. She's hurting and I'm hurting, all the while precious time is being wasted. I just can't see using up our lives in quiet desperation, so I'm trying to be more loving and considerate, but also trying to do better at communicating to her that we need to work on things (which she either doesn't get, or is too afraid to admit).

Perspectives on Freedom

I enjoyed your talk on freedom. I'd actually never thought about being in bondage to Christ. Probably the LDS part of my brain, the same one that made me think I would be a god, didn't have me being in bondage to anyone. Ego. Anyway, it was a new thought, and that's one of the reasons I can't wait to hear what you have to say every week.

Have to get back to planning my shelter now, see you later! 😀

Your friend, I hope Doryn J In the smokey Idaho Panhandle

Subjective Christianity

From: Dusty N Idaho

Subject: Subjective ChristianityA direct, personal relationship with God—free from institutional authority, guided by personal relationship, faith and agape love.

Message Body:

Shawn, I have followed your show off and on since I saw it aired on a local TV station here in Idaho in 2006. I was born again in 1974 and like many others of the “hippy generation” had no prior religious training. I was strongly influenced by the Calvary Chapel system and other non-denominational churches. Though I am grateful for the emphasis on the teaching of the Word that was provided, my BS meter went off about twenty years ago when my wife and I began to experience the effects of the corporate style employed by what you call “brick and Mortar” churches. I know there are many disappointed and even broken hearted true followers of Jesus Christ who no longer attend traditional churches. My hope is that God is preparing to move in a new direction.

I appreciate your candor and willingness to address some of the doctrinal issues that divide the Body of Christ. The very fact that there is debate is proof that God has not revealed everything to us! Childlike faith in Him is more important than academic correctness that borders on legalismRule-based religion is over. Faith and love—not law—define life with God now..

Also, can you explain what you mean when you say that all of Christianity is subjective?