As Bruce Shelley states in Church History in Plain Language, ”Christianity is the only major religion to have as its central event the humiliation of its God“. But, if this is so, why do believers in Jesus so frequently seek to exert power over others through politics or church hierarchies? In this episode Steve and Ray converse about learning to let go of the thirst for power and submitting to each other as Jesus taught and modeled. As always we would love your input and would enjoy dialoging with you!
Beyond the Box-Learning to Lose Control [33:30m]:
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Is Homosexuality a sin? With debate raging around the country about California’s Proposition 8, Steve & Ray discuss how we as believers should respond. Should Christians seek to advance legislation that would outlaw same-sex marriage in order to “protect the institution of marriage”? Thanks to listener Big C for submitting this topic on our idea submission page! As always, we welcome your comments, questions, attaboys and disagreements in the comments section…and yes, you may burn us in effigy if you so choose!
Beyond the Box: What About Homosexuality? [35:46m]:
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Ray and Steve are taking this week off from podcasting. Check back next Wednesday for a new episode. Better yet, if you’re relatively new to the podcast, use this “free week” to catch up on older episodes that you might have missed 
How much of what we say or do as Christians amounts to “abracadabra” or just plain superstition? While Christians might be able to recognize the silliness of tossing salt over one’s shoulder or fearing a broken mirror, it doesn’t stop us from having our own equally silly beliefs.
With a great deal of humor and a willingness to laugh at themselves, Ray and Steve talk about a variety of practices and beliefs that they put in a category called “Christian Superstition”. Sure, toes will get stepped on, but Ray and Steve willingly and knowingly step on their own toes in the process!
Cue Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”…
Beyond the Box: Christian Superstition [37:13m]:
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Can believers today expect to actually hear the voice of the LORD? What does the voice of our Father sound like? Does God speak only to groups of people or can we expect to hear His voice individually? Join Steve and Ray as they “voice” their thoughts on the voice of the LORD! We welcome your comments and would love to hear about your experience of hearing the voice of the LORD or your thoughts about why we should or shouldn’t expect to hear the voice of the LORD.
Beyond the Box-The Voice of the LORD [37:04m]:
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Most of us were taught at an early age how to pray: close your eyes, bow your head, fold your hands, start by addressing God, and finish with “in Jesus’ name, Amen”. Prayer became an event, something that had a definite start and a stop to it.
Listener Heather posted on our Idea Submission page that she would like to hear our thoughts on what prayer is, and so in this episode, Ray and Steve talk about some ideas regarding prayer. What is prayer? What does it mean to “pray without ceasing”? Are there formulas that we should follow? What does it mean to pray “in Jesus’ name”?
All of these questions and more get batted around in various forms as Ray and Steve dialogue about this topic. What are your experiences with prayer, listener? Comments are open below for you to share.
Beyond the Box: Prayer [37:20m]:
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In the first podcast episode directly in response to listener ideas, Ray and Steve discuss the idea that life in Christ looks a lot like everyday living. In a culture where hype is all too often built around spiritual things, and churches try to outdo each other and themselves with productions intended to usher in the presence of God, is there a place for everyday spirituality? Ray and Steve think so. Listen in as they discuss listener Ian’s question about this topic.
Beyond the Box: Everyday Spirituality [32:43m]:
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In this conclusion to the two-part series about the atonement, Ray and Steve continue to discuss the implications — both pros and cons — of viewing the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross as the means of paying ransom to Satan vs. appeasing an angry Father.
Thoughts from our listeners in response to this topic are definitely welcome!
Beyond the Box: God's Punishment or Satan's Defeat? Part 2 [33:48m]:
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Ray and Steve begin a 2-part discussion about the death of Jesus on the cross. Was the death of Jesus the punishment of God taken out on Jesus in our place? Or was it a defeat of Satan? Or some combination of the two?
Never ones to shy away from a controversial topic, Ray and Steve bat around a couple of thoughts about the effect our view of the atonement has on our view of our Father. The comments are open for your thoughts in response!
[Note: In this episode, Ray mentions a book containing a discussion about four views of the atonement. That book can be found at: http://www.ivpress.com/cgi-ivpress/book.pl/code=2570]
Beyond the Box: God's Punishment or Satan's Defeat? Part 1 [35:11m]:
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In this conclusion to a two-part discussion about God and politics, Ray and Steve discuss some of the effects brought about by political activism in the name of religion. Can we apply Christian standards (however we may define them) to a world that is not in Christ? Can we legislate in such a way that true heart change takes place?
Beyond the Box: Is God a Democrat or a Republican? Part 2 [32:56m]:
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