The Christian Walk

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 worship God in Spirit and in Truth. I’m Shawn McCraneyFounder of TGNN and developer of the fulfilled perspective—calling people to faith outside of religion., your host.

Show 52 529
The Christian Walk – Part II
December 20th 2016
Knife to a Gun Fight promo?

Personal Reflection

I received an email last week that is very important to me personally. It was titled: “Blessings” and was from someone named, James. Before I tell you what it says I want to point out that there is a duplicitous manner in which the most religious communicate. The title emails things like, “blessings,” but once they have your attention level all manner of things against you in Jesus name. I find the behavior mildly and religiously schizophrenic.

Anyway, James said: “Brother, I was watching one of your shows the other night and keep thinking about you and your whole degradation of what seems to be your theology, countenance and mission. I'm not sure about your entire history but I would encourage you as a friend in Christ to go back to some of the foundations that you had once had even certain things that you would consider rules and laws meant to give you the proper walk and balance within your life. Now, you may or may not be like this, but when I get emails like this at first I get agitated, then I get reflective, and then I go to God and literally say, “search my heart and help me understand how I am to understand this information presented to me.”

Facing Criticism

These things I did because criticisms like, “I was watching one of your shows the other night and keep thinking about . . .

• “You”
• “and your whole degradation”
• of what seems to be (the degradation of your…)
• theology,
• countenance
• and mission.

And then the summary advice: “I would encourage you as a friend in Christ to go back to some of the foundations that you had once had even certain things that you would consider rules and laws meant to give you the proper walk and balance within your life.”

I read this email at 5:25 AM and laid in bed until 7:15 thinking it through with God. I realized that this is probably a majority opinion of me (my countenance, my theology, and my mission being degraded) and I had to take this critique to heart because I get it – in one way or another – quite frequently. “God in heaven,” I prayed, “have I degraded in these areas? Have I, in essence, lost my way?”

The email continued and says: “Don't think that Christ came to throw away the law instead to fulfill and as well in and through our lives, not to tear it down and just make us become mental based Christians alone, tearing through the Bible trying to figure it all out. He still is a God of order and from what I can see when I watch you it looks like you're searching for order and almost leadership in some way shape or form and you're banging on the Bible continually trying to establish it and unestablish it to work for you somehow.”

Searching for Order

This last paragraph made sense to me, and I could see how James was viewing me and what we are doing in this light. He continues: Maybe you're realizing that you're not able to at this point and so now you're just compromising its message out of frustration. The Bible is not meant for you to use in that way. Its principles are eternal. The Bible is best appreciated by those who understand that God sets love, righteousness and blessing through its principles and his presence. Don't lean on your own understanding brother and you'll find that your theology and other things like that will sort of order themselves out practically as well. Certain principles of the Bible don't just get completely bent over or melted away through God's grace, it doesn't work that way, rather they get fulfilled.

I hope this makes sense because I think that God can still use you in massive ways for spreading pure truth and edification and even certain things that you learned from your past religion are not necessarily bad such as lifestyle ordinances and so on.

He ends with (Maybe take some time away from your Bible and just pray and meditate on and with the Lord himself).

Hard as it was to read, I appreciated this email greatly and as I said really took its contents to heart. I thought long and hard about his insights and advice as I pondered.

Understanding Law in Faith

I laid back and relaxed and tried to let God help me understand.

Whether you noticed this or not, James presented me with a number of challenges, some of them accusatory and others based on assumptions (we all do this when we are trying to help people, don’t we – make assumptions – I do it all the time). As I contemplated what he wrote, I realized that maybe James was unaware of some things about me that led him to give me the advice he did.

First of all, he intimates a couple of times that it is his opinion that I am without law in my life. I have two very strong and present by the Spirit operating in my life, James – one that prompts me to believe and have faith in God and Christ and one that prompts me to love them and others as a result. In my estimation there are not other laws remaining in the Bible for me to consider.

Foundations and Perceived Shortcomings

James also suggested:

“I would encourage you as a friend in Christ to go back to some of the foundations that you had once had even certain things that you would consider rules and laws meant to give you the proper walk and balance within your life.”

So, “my friend in Christ,” you want me “to go back to some of the foundations that I once had in my life, even certain things that I would consider rules and laws MEANT TO GIVE ME PROPER WALK AND BALANCE IN MY LIFE!” Would those things be rules of Mormonism or are you talking about Christianity.

Let me let you in on a little secret. When I was LDS and when I embraced the foundations of Evangelical Christianity, and believed those “certain laws and rules that were supposed to make my walk better and my person more balanced I was MORE sinful, more arrogant, more fleshly and NOT less. The laws you are recommending, brother, make us all sinners.

In my present state, the one you call degraded, I have NEVER – in all my life after 10 years of age – been more right with God nor further from my flesh. Never. My degraded theology causes me to worship God and Christ more deeply naturally and honestly than ever before. My degraded countenance is a reflection of my desire to walk humbly before God and having less desire to be of this world, and my degraded mission has caused me and the ministry to operate more by the fruit of the Spirit than ever before.

Contradictions and Faith

Finally, when it comes to the Bible, I am an admitted walking contradiction because while I absolutely adore it and what it is, what it does, and all that it contains, and while I read it, study it and teach it as often as possible, I also see first-hand some tremendously upsetting but historical issues orbiting around it and I personally have observed that the more people try and use it like a manual, the more in-fighting, arrogance, mean-spiritedness, and attempts to control and (even abuse others) through its contents seems to occur.

And so I will address these paradoxes – at the risk of being misunderstood and assumed to be degraded. I have not created this in me – it's who God created me to be who I am. Intellectually and pragmatically I realize very well that I could have remained LDS, been a charismatic leader, and been rewarded in this life for the choice. But God has never let me see or relate to this world in such a fashion – not with any amount of peace, anyway.

And so on we go. But I want to reassure James that if my countenance is degraded it's due to age and the wages of former sins. If my theology seems degraded it has never, ever been more clear, and if my mission, in your eyes, seems to have degraded, maybe you’re not understanding what I have been made – and called to do.

I wrote James and told him to watch tonight as I was going to reply to his email on air. This is what he wrote back:

I probably won't watch the show, brother. But it's simply because I feel that you're going to use this email and this word just to create cheap content for your show. I would honestly caution you in mocking this word. Jeremiah talks about returning to the ancient paths and walking in God's peace. This is what I strongly am urging you to do so that you don't experience judgment.

Spiritual Instability and Growth

or condemnation in the end. Don't think that you are E eternally secure. God does not desire doctrinal thesis and chaos, he's looking for those who will worship him in Spirit and in Truth. Spirit and in Truth. He doesn't need you to discover the truth for him. The truth proceeds from the Spirit and that's why the Spiritual walk with the Lord is first mentioned. I think that you're assuming your instability is contributing to your show and what you consider charismatic personality, but it's actually doing the exact opposite in the spiritual world and realm at this point. You've basically just become a downtrodden wild goat in a field and I hope for your own sake and for those around you you're able to purify and shed the extra mass that you've caked on to yourself unnecessarily. If I'm off in my assessment please let me know between you and me alone but otherwise I feel the Spirit of the Lord on this. Also know that instability craves attention and at other times hates it completely if it points out certain flaws and weaknesses that it doesn't know how to repair or repent of. That's all I have to say about that, life's like a box of chocolates I guess.

Becoming God's Children

And with that, how about a Moment from the Word? (Run from the Word here)

I want to present something really basic from the Word. It’s a reiteration but one taken to its biblical limits, is often forgotten. All human beings are creations of God – the One God. He is the Father of all creation and we, along with the rest of creation, are his creatures. There is a way that we can become God’s children, sort of like (sort of) like Jesus was His only begotten Son. We find the key in Galatians 3:26

“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.”

So, by looking to His Son in faith, all people can become the children of God. The Paul writes in Romans 8:17

“And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.”

This suffering, required to become joint-heirs with Christ, is made possible by and through the Spirit, which is bestowed upon all who have believed on His son, which is why we read in John 1:12

“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: “

This power to become the Sons of God is a very different thing than becoming a Child of God by faith.

Children and Sons of God

There is a marked difference between the child of a King (teknon) and a Son (huios). Paul touches on this principle in the following way:

Galatians 4:1 Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all; 2 But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: 4 But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, 5 To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. 7 Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

And adding on Paul’s words we could finish this passage by saying . . . “if . . . we suffer with Him.” This is a perfect segue into part two from last week where we started to discuss what it looks like to walk the Christian walk. And last week I introduced to you the I Robot form that has been hanging on our set. Let’s go to the board.

• We established that human beings were originally made from the clay (body – sarx) and God breathed into Adam (pneuma) and Adam became a living soul (psuche) which we defined as mind will and emotion. BODY SOUL SPIRIT
• We then noted that Adam sinned, in that day he died spiritually, and that all human beings are now born as bipartite beings not tripartite.
• That men say, I think I will do this (mind) and feel like doing it (emotion) and I will do it (will) and then they carry whatever it is through

The Realm of Happiness and the Spirit

We labeled this “area” the Realm of Happiness because people do here what brings them the most happiness – whether it has positive or negative consequences. (-) (+)

I maintained that I personally believe that all people do exactly what serves them most in this state in the area of happiness. I also said that I believe people will change activities once the activity with which they are engaged ceases to provide them with the happiness they desire. Some people like to be in gangs that terrorize (Soul -) some like to Pastor churches (Soul +). Some like illicit sex and drugs (Body -) and some find happiness in exercise and nutrition (Body +).

We then explained that no matter what a person does in the ROH – positive or negative – they are still spiritually dead. And for this reason Jesus explained that all need to be born again. Finally we marked this world DARK and the realm of the Spirit as LIGHT – and we called it the ROJ. From here we said that God so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son to come and make the way to receive the Light; to be born from above by looking to Him in faith. And we noted how those in closest proximity to the light were more likely to receive Him while those furthest from the light (as evidenced by those in the North/east corner – the successful and wealthy) typically not receiving Him because they basically have no need.

All of that was to bring us to the convergence point between Christ Jesus and the person dwelling in the ROH. In other words, we are now speaking of people who have been born from above, who have entered into a relationship with Christ, and who are now walking the Christian life (or a LIFE IN THE SPIRIT).

Teachings of Jesus

Here we come to see the genius of Jesus’ teachings. And it's laid out in the simplicity of the Beatitudes. So turn to Matthew chapter five where he gives a superbly insightful message about what the true Christian life looks like. As we read I am going to place these descriptions in our Spirit Box.

Now remember, that I marked the actions we take in the Realm of Happiness as (-) and Positive (+). Well, when we come to Christ we seem to have negatives and positives to our walk as well. Let me explain.

The Beatitudes

In Matthew 5:1-2 we read:

“And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: And he opened his mouth, and taught them (eight principles or characteristics of the Christian,) and says,”

ONE Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

The Greek word for poor here is PTO-KHOS and it means “a beggar or a pauper,” taken from a word that describes “one who crouches.” We note a couple of things from this. First, we see that like all the rest of this Jesus says that such a person is blessed or happy in the joyous sense. We also note that right here in this first description Jesus, “Theirs IS the kingdom of Heaven.”

The first person present indicative – it is presently the state – theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven – not will be, is. Finally, we note that this is not a really positive description is it – “the poor in Spirit.” To me, it expresses loss, a breaking down, a person that has gone into spiritual despair. Because of its nature described as poor I am going to place it in the (-) side (WRITE IT ON THE NEGATIVE SIDE) – that when.

Spiritual Growth through the Beatitudes

People receive Christ they are often placed in a place of being spiritual beggars – needing God to supply them with every need.

Understanding Mourning and Comfort

Okay Number 2

TWO Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Again, I would place this on the loss or negative side (WRITE IT ON BOARD) Because when we are mourning we are experiencing or have suffered loss. The word means to grieve, mourn. What would someone who has received Christ mourn over? Perhaps the time they spend in the world, or their behaviors therein, or perhaps the loss of friends, a society, an occupation, or even health.

Walking from the ROH can be rife with mourning of all different kinds. We note that as opposed to our first promise from Jesus, where theirs IS the kingdom of Heaven, here Jesus says simply that those who mourn SHALL BE comforted. Then coming right out of the world where “might makes right,” Jesus says

THREE Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Christian meekness comes with a future promise, that those who possess it “shall inherit the earth,” (shall, Dotty, shall!). But I would suggest that becoming meek is a symbol and sign of the Spirit abiding and reigning and not the flesh. Therefore this would once again include a taking away or loss. So I’ll place it here.

At this point I think we are discovering an order in the way Jesus has presented these principles. Blessed are the poor in Spirit. Then blessed are those who mourn (perhaps because they are poor in Spirit). Then blessed are the meek (perhaps because they have mourned and have been poor in spirit).

What we are witnessing in and through these descriptions are the deconstruction of the fleshly human. The broken soul. Once in place, I believe Jesus begins to present us with factors that build us back up in heavenly ways and so our fourth principle I am going to put on the positive side. And it says:

Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness

FOUR Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

Again, we see a future promise (we shall be filled) for hungering and thirsting after righteousness. We’ve been poor in spirit. We’ve mourned. We’ve been made meek. Now God starts to build us back up in our character. And we begin to hunger and thirst after righteousness – something that was totally absent from our lives in the ROH.

Hungering and thirsting after righteousness we are lead to a higher plane of Christian characteristics, as Jesus then says:

FIVE Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

We’ve hungered and desired to be righteous, and in so doing have seen the importance of mercy. And we are once again promised with receiving mercy in the future because we have embraced and practiced mercy. Once we find ourselves being merciful, which is a product of realizing first hand our need for mercy and therefore our sinful state or natures, Jesus then says, moving us up the ranks of Christian characteristics:

SIX Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

Now God is working on our hearts. The promise for reward is in the future but as we’ve seen the value in mercy our hearts begin to become pure – without guile – humble, true, honest. God is moving us into the realms of Heaven. Our hearts are pure by and through traveling through the winter lands of loss. Now he brings us to a truly valiant trait of the Christian walk saying:

The Role of Peacemakers

SEVEN Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Here we have risen to the level that from pure hearts and merciful thoughts, after hungering and thirsting after righteousness, we seek and want peace – like our Lord, the Prince of Peace. This is really getting up there in the characteristics of a Christian, isn’t it. When people from a pure heart become peacemakers! Wow. Of course, the promise here is future.

If Jesus stopped here many of us might think we have arrived – and that we have the Christian walk down. But he drops a bomb on us. Having taken us all the way to the near top, He adds, as if to say, “Oh, yeah . . . and . . .”

EIGHT Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my

The True Test of the Christian Walk

12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

This is the height of the Christian walk. I mean, we’ve suffered loss, we’ve been poor of spirit, mourned, been made meek. Then we started to really grow, and hungered and thirsted after righteousness, and became merciful, and our hearts became pure (right???) and we became peacemakers and at this point it’s as if Jesus says: Okay – let’s put all that to the test. And he talks about persecution!

I suggest that this is the true test of the Christian – when we are tried and persecuted of righteousness sake (righteousness which we hungered and thirsted for), when… “men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.” At this point many fail – if not in one mistreatment then in others. And what is the outcome?

The Endless Cycle of Spiritual Growth

We drop all the way back down to the first beatitude, don’t we: “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” And we start all over… in an endless cycle.

(MAKE THE INFINITY MOTION)

But take notice! Whether we have just entered the Kingdom by faith, or whether we have climbed up in our Christian walk and have grown into some really great attributes – if we are at the bottom or at the top in BOTH places, ours IS the KINGDOM of Heaven. Everything in the middle is a promises – shall be shall be shall be. But number 1 and number 8 the promise is the same – “theirs IS the kingdom of heaven.”

The Goal of Christian Attributes

So its NOT our achievements, its our hearts and the desire to possess all the characteristics Jesus has laid out here in such a remarkable fashion. The goal, using this form, is the North East area of the Spirit. We will talk about this area we long to abide in next week. I call it the Fourth Dimension.

Let’s open up the phone lines

(801)

And while operators are clearing the calls, take a look at this:

SHOW SPOT HERE

Emails

Hey Shawn,

I just watched the recent episode between you and Matt discussing sola scriptura, which was really about authority. You kept asking Matt who has the authority to say they're right and others are wrong, which Matt couldn't answer.

Then in your recent episode on free will, you started off by saying that the debate between free will and total depravity/irresistible grace has been going on for centuries. You then named numerous people who debated the issue (flowers vs white, Calvin vs armenius, Luther vs Erasmus, and Augustine vs pelagius).

Notice that the debates that have raged on for 500 years are between protestants. The issue was settled for catholics. We don't sit around debating for 500 years over basic theological issues. Look around: there are no Calvinist cardinals debating Pelagians Bishops against an Armenian pope. The issue is settled. Instead, right now, we're debating sexuality and divorce and remarriage. That will get settled, we'll move on to the next issue 100 yrs from now, and you'll still be debating the issue amongst yourselves.

Thas because the bible sets up a system where people debate, the church calls a council, the debate gets settled, then we move on. You don't see Catholic bishops arguing with each other over patripassionism, monophysitism, donatism, docetism, pelagianisn, arianism, etc. Yet protestants still have major denominations that have resurrected all of these issues, and can't settle them.

The reason is because the bible doesn't set up your system or matt's system. it doesn't say to just sit around and read the Bible really hard. It doesn't say to just do whatever you want and teach whatever you feel like. I mean, what would you say to a person who claims to follow christ, but is in an incestuous marriage, believes in abortion up until birth, and supports euthanasia for down syndrome adults, and any bible verse you show them they disagree with you upon? Where does relativism end?

Instead, the bible shows that the Holy Spirit protects the Church as it settles these debates in councils, and those councils were binding upon believers– even though the people in the councils are sinners. Remember, the leaders at the council in acts 15 included murderers and racists, yet God still protected and guided it.

You may not trust "brick and mortar" churches since you've been burned by the LDS church, but that's just as rational as a woman not trusting all men because one of them abused her.

Love your show. Think about it! Thanks, God bless, –Keith

Hi Shawn,

I have really enjoyed your past

Exploring Concepts of Death, Hades, and God's Fire

Two MEAT sermons on DeathSeparation from God—now overcome. Physical death remains, but it no longer separates us from life with God. and Hades and Jesus having the keys. Thank you!

I wanted to pass along something that you touched on a little bit regarding the fire of God. I am going to show two passages that, I believe, show that the fire of God will save everyman. Now, just want to say, I am convinced that God will save every human that ever lived and will live. What are we saved from? The Lake of Fire? Nope. We are saved from the law of sinMissing the mark of faith and love—no punishment, just lost growth or peace. and death (Romans 6:23, Romans 8:2). I really see it just a matter of timing when all will experience the scourging of Gods fire and then become fellow heirs with Christ. His judgment produces righteousness (Isaiah 26:9) and in the end His mercy triumphs over his judgment (James 2:13). Here is the passages. I pray that spirit will guide. Thanks for your time!

Scriptural Insights on Salvation

Jordan from Oceanside, CA

1 Corinthians 3:13-15KJV- Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

Mark 9:49KJV-49 For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt.

Personal Reflections on Faith and Challenges

Dear Shawn, I was listening to your live stream 525 Bartles and James episode as I do every week, and I just had to stop and write. You have no idea how you have helped me over the past 2 yrs. with my Christian walk. I've written you before, you read my email on the air. I was the one who found out I had a sister wife in the eternities following my husband's death in Feb. 2015. You thought it was funny but I honestly wasn't trying to be entertaining, I was devastated. I promised my husband as he took his last breath that I would stay faithful to him all my days of my life as his loving wife, death would not change our marital status, we were sealed forever. As you see, I was totally expecting to be eternally married and sealed forever. Some months after his death I wrote my Bishop requesting records for my church files of his sealing cancellation to his ex-wife and learned he never had it done and told our Bishop he was forced to request it by me and wished to remain sealed to his ex-wife also along with me. The Bishop and my husband kept this little bit of information from my knowledge and secret for several years until after he died of colon cancer at the age of 55. You see, I was sealed to him on the promise that his sealing to his 1st wife would be cancelled because I am completely sickened by the thought of polygamy and refused to participate in this life or the next. I met with my Bishop many times about this and believe me, he KNEW how I felt. So they kept it secret and never sent the request to Salt Lake and I never knew I would be in an eternal 3 some until after my husband died and it was too late. This is what pushed me over the edge and started me on my obsession of polygamy in church history. As you know, the more I learned, the more disgusted I became…then came Book of Mormon problems, 1st Vision versions issues, Book of Abraham issues, blacks and the priesthood, Mountain meadows…..etc…you know… the list is endless. I was sitting with my class in Sharing Time and the Article of Faith they were learning was the one about being saved by the laws and ordinances of the gospel…not a mention of Jesus and what he did on the cross. I got up and walked out and never went back. I was a member for 35 yrs. and served faithly in all leadership callings and kept a Temple Recommend all those years even though I never understood the temple and never had a spiritual experience there ever. Instead I felt very uneasy each time I went and couldn't get out of there fast enough. If I had not found your show on You Tube and Mormon Stories and Bishop Earl and Lila LaBaron and the Wilder's Unveiling Grace… I would have lost all faith whatsoever in Christ. But your show, Heart of the Matter, and your verse by verseTGNN’s Bible teaching series—book-by-book, through the lens of fulfillment and spiritual liberty. teaching of the Bible changed my life. I did what you asked your viewers to do every show, got down on my knees and poured out my heart to God.

Personal Transformation Journey Out of Mormonism

I asked Him to forgive me and make me new in Christ Jesus. I can tell you I was completely washed clean and every cell of my body was filled with the Holy Spirit. I WAS Born Again. For several months following that experience, I was walking on water. I could not get enough of the Word. I would go to different churches in my area each Sunday trying to find a church home, which you know coming out of Mormonism is a very difficult task. I never wanted to join another religion and be controlled and trapped in THEIR man-made institutions ever again. I leaned towards non-denominational. I loved the worshiping and praising Jesus through song, I mean just singing out to the Lord in praise was amazingly beautiful to me and so very different than the LDS church. But I did see in some that it seemed more like a concert and a show and was very put off.

But the more I tried to find a church home, the worse it got. You had to join and become a member, pay tithing, believe exactly as their list of beliefs were. I found I learned far more listening to your verse-by-verse teachings and listening to your weekly episodes than I did seeking a church. I have listened to just about every single episode starting with the 1st one up to the present. I have seen you change your mind on many issues, get smacked down by evangelicals, and make mistakes. But I can say one thing, I never saw you be anything less than sincere and devoted to bringing souls to Christ. Your Mormon Stories interview brought me to tears. You too have been on a journey along with us all who have come out of Mormonism and it is a long, long bumpy ride. I even started to question my born-again experience as mistaking it for emotional feelings when I could not find the Spirit in some of the churches. I wondered if what I felt was nothing more than what people feel when they take Moroni's challenge and ask if the LDS church is true.

Searching for Truth After Being Born Again

I cannot deny that my heart was changed though, but you are exactly right. Where do all of us go after we are born again? We feel like a duck out of water and everyone is looking. We don't understand theology because what we were taught and believed in was so different, even though called by the same name. I know if the Lord had not called you to do what you do, I would be agnostic and just question for the rest of my life. What I so desperately need is real truth. The real translation from the real source so I can learn and walk with Christ in Spirit and in Truth. Thank you. This episode was exactly what I needed to hear. I cannot say how much I appreciate what you do week after week despite all the flack you receive. I'm not sure what I think about 70 A.D. yet, that's just way over my head. I'm just trying to understand the Bible and terms that have other meanings than what I thought they were. Thank you, Shawn.

Cindy

Contemplating Prayer and Its Impact on Children

Hi Shawn,

I've been thinking about prayer and my 3-year-old a lot lately. My older sister does what many Christian parents do, forcing her kids to pray, either aloud or silently while she prays aloud, at every meal, before they start school for the day, and before they go to bed. This was a common thing with my parents when I was a kid, and the same for my husband, but in general it seems to have produced the opposite of what they were trying to achieve. My husband (to my knowledge) doesn't pray at all, and I am extremely uncomfortable praying aloud.

When asked by my extremely legalistic and judgmental sister if I am teaching my son to pray, I feel like a bad Christian, but at the same time, I don't want to force Jack to pray and produce what I feel is an unfortunate discomfort with prayer. I also don't want my kids to pray only because they have to, or treat it like a mindless, memorization practice.

Thoughts?

Thanks,

Authority and Free Will Debate in Christian Doctrine

Hey Shawn,

I just watched the recent episode between you and Matt discussing sola scriptura, which was really about authority. You kept asking Matt who has the authority to say they're right and others are wrong, which Matt couldn't answer.

Then in your recent episode on free will, you started off by saying that the debate between free will and total depravity/irresistible grace has been going on for centuries. You then named numerous people who debated the issue (flowers vs. white, Calvin vs. Arminius, Luther vs. Erasmus, and Augustine vs.

The Role of Debate in Religious Doctrine

Notice that the debates that have raged on for 500 years are between protestants. The issue was settled for catholics. We don't sit around debating for 500 years over basic theological issues. Look around: there are no Calvinist cardinals debating Pelagians Bishops against an Armenian pope. The issue is settled. Instead, right now, we're debating sexuality and divorce and remarriage. That will get settled, we'll move on to the next issue 100 yrs from now, and you'll still be debating the issue amongst yourselves.

Historical Context of Church Debates

That's because the bible sets up a system where people debate, the church calls a council, the debate gets settled, then we move on. You don't see Catholic bishops arguing with each other over patripassionism, monophysitism, donatism, docetism, pelagianism, arianism, etc. Yet protestants still have major denominations that have resurrected all of these issues, and can't settle them.

The reason is because the bible doesn't set up your system or matt's system. It doesn't say to just sit around and read the Bible really hard. It doesn't say to just do whatever you want and teach whatever you feel like. I mean, what would you say to a person who claims to follow christ, but is in an incestuous marriage, believes in abortion up until birth, and supports euthanasia for down syndrome adults, and any bible verse you show them they disagree with you upon? Where does relativism end?

The Role of Councils in Settling Debates

Instead, the bible shows that the Holy Spirit protects the Church as it settles these debates in councils, and those councils were binding upon believers– even though the people in the councils are sinners. Remember, the leaders at the council in acts 15 included murderers and racists, yet God still protected and guided it.

You may not trust "brick and mortar" churches since you've been burned by the LDS church, but that's just as rational as a woman not trusting all men because one of them abused her.

Love your show.

Think about it!

Thanks, God bless,
–Keith