How Do We Know What Is Applicable?
In the same theme as a recent episode about the Old Testament, listener “Yabadabadoo” asked on our Idea Submission page how we know which verses in the New Testament are applicable to us today.
Ray and Steve discuss this question, and discuss the idea that perhaps there is a different way of looking at it. Once again, the discussion comes around to the topic of love and its central importance to the message of Christianity.
Thanks, everyone, for your patience while we worked out some technical difficulties. Our mixing/producing machine seems to be working properly now, and all seems to be in order for us to continue producing episodes! 🙂
Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 49:35 — 34.0MB) | Embed
March 6th, 2009 at 10:56 am
Hey guys,
This was another great episode. Thanks for the compliments. You had me blushing. I guess it wasn’t enough to cover my hacking activities though ;).
I really hope you are getting through to some Christians. If such attitudes became the norm for Christianity, you’d see opposition to the religion nearly vanish. Most secularist don’t have a problem with religion per se, but with the imposition of it’s ‘moral’ laws and practices on all of society. If Christianity were less legalistic, they’d have little desire to impose morality and instead inspire morality. That I like.
From my perspective, what you are describing as the Holy Spirit in this episode is what most would call one’s conscience. It motivates us to act in love (though it’s in competition with our selfishness). It comes naturally to almost all humans regardless of their religious beliefs. Why the need to believe it comes from God? Why attribute only that one instinct to God? Selfishness is instinctual as well. Why is simply loving all people insufficient?
FYI my pseudonym is pronounced FAY-woo (with a hard ‘a’ sound).
March 6th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Sid,
I can’t comment completely right now (just stopping in for a minute), but I wanted to say that I love this observation you made:
If Christianity were less legalistic, they’d have little desire to impose morality and
instead inspire morality.
You are very right my friend 🙂 I actually believe that this is what Father has called believers to. The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil leads to our judging others and constantly pointing out their shortcomings. Eating from the tree of life causes us to live our lives in love, and allows our lives to actually be the Gospel instead of constantly trying to preach at people.
March 10th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
Hey I am getting through the first 15 minuets of the show where Ray works in a devils den – I mean a christian book store … my bad yo. Anyway I coined a phrase many years ago to cover the majority of “current” christianity, teen christianity, and “those” bookstores and it is this: “Pop-christianity”. I saw it majorly with the wwjd EVERYTHING, and the “cool” tshirts that mimic and infringe on known trademarks and copyrights, and basically everything that is popularly sanitized for christians. I thought you might find this term relevant to your everyday interactions. Thanks for the interesting show.
December 3rd, 2013 at 11:35 am
This is a wonderful episode esp the last half!! I’m so excited about what you guys are doing! Thank you for sharing your conversations with us 😡
December 3rd, 2013 at 11:36 am
That happy face was suppose to be blowing y’all a kiss- I have idea what that face ismaking ?