Episodes

You can read the Bible as a historical text, but if you do that, you’ll be hard-pressed to explain several passages that God-fearing people are often pressed with. One such question that often goes unanswered is how a loving God can command the utter destruction of entire races. One such example: Deuteronomy 20:16-18 - However, in the cities of the nations the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. 17 Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorit...

We begin a new series today in Season Five. We are going to walk with God through the bible. It’s a huge endeavor, but the goal is simple. To understand what God wants for mankind and how He actually accomplishes it. We’re not presenting systems or charts. We’re not inventing theology and secret returns to fit a narrative. We are listening and interpreting with the only thing we need, God’s word. You may recognize this as our Berean strategy. Welcome to season 5. It starts right where God start...

I happened to catch Pope Leo and the Catholic Church discussing concerns about AI. I thought this might be a good opportunity to weigh in as well. We’ve been very open about our use of AI on this podcast. Included in the source material is a recent Vatican discussion on AI and our response to it. I was particularly triggered by the idea that an institution heavily using AI is telling its members not to use AI. This is mentioned briefly in the paper. I think, ultimately, like with any technology...

When you engage with the Bible and the Holy Spirit, you never know where it is going to lead you. This morning, in my quiet time, I sought to understand the relationship between the old temple and the new temple. That led me to seek a deeper understanding of the role of the Holy Spirit. As you dig into these questions, you can't avoid the garden metaphors that are everywhere, so we chased those metaphors. That led to one of the coolest revelations of all. God is Growing a Garden. Well, it all co...

In our last study, we addressed the question of the rapture head-on. This taught me a lesson that I sometimes forget. Read the text! Understand the context. It seems that no matter what denomination and no matter how well-versed the pastor is, the theory of the rapture changes like changing the channel on the television. The pastor is the news anchor. If you don’t like CNN’s version, flip over to Fox. If you don’t like Fox’s version, flip over to MSNBC. Nobody seems to be reporting the event. Th...

Probably nothing is debated more among Christians than the Rapture. I was just watching a sermon by Pastor David Jeremiah, and I think even he is caught up in the systems developed to predict and explain the rapture of the church. Frankly, while I love this pastor and, like so many others, I think he gets it wrong on this issue. Full disclosure. If you follow me through this podcast, from the beginning, I present all the angles. It is really a hard question, and if you rely on Pastors and Teach...

You know, 10 years ago we would see the stories on the front page of the National Enquirer with headlines like: My Dad is an Alien. Now, the people who were once on the fringes of the News headlines are testifying to the US Congress. Americans are bracing themselves for disclosure. So far, there’s a lot of testimony, some pretty interesting videos, and random smartphone videos pepper the web. Whether real or not, it's common. I don’t think it will be long before we are presented real actual unde...

I think sometimes we think, like, I've crossed the bridge. I've professed my belief. I'm baptized. I'm a Christian! That's cool, but you're not finished. I think we've all been taught the Parable of the Sower, but Mark takes us to the next phase, the growth. And that is not of your doing. You didn't cause yourself to grow in your mother's womb, and you don't cause your spiritual growth. That's not to say that you don't play a part. You do. You're the thing that grows, but the spirit grows with y...

I think, as a rule, we tend to dismiss people who express profound interest in the spiritual, ghostly realm. Worse, we think those who claim to have had actual experiences with ghosts and spirits as “crazy”. It all gets swept under the table. I think as Christians we are missing a profound opportunity if we do that. The Bible is no stranger to the spiritual world. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this ...

This podcast is responding a listener request about reincarnation. During the discussion, we learned a number of things. While addressing the issue of reincarnation, we also found out the following, and I have a feeling this is more common among professed Christians than you might think. These statements are telling. I find it really difficult to read the Bible; it’s just too hard to understand. I’m a good person. I think all people end up in heaven. Bad people come back reincarnated to lea...

If you’ve ever gone through the interview process of some of the bigger companies, you were probably given some sort of a personality test… even if you didn’t realize it. The tech company I worked for liked Myers-Briggs. We all knew our MTBI, and most of us could ascertain the MTBI of our coworkers in a matter of minutes. As a salesperson, I was trained to ascertain my client's MTBI as quickly as possible and to tailor my responses to what works best within that person’s framework. Yeah… compani...

I think we are on the cusp of a buzzword becoming reality. Ray Kurzweil predicted the singularity to happen around 2030. I think he was right about the substance; he was wrong about the when (but not by much). The (technological) singularity is a hypothetical point when artificial intelligence surpasses human intelligence, triggering rapid, self‑accelerating technological change that fundamentally transforms society and human life. The inspiration for this discussion came from a video by Wes R...

Yesterday we talked about: “The serpent we built.” This is the other side of the coin, now looking at the shepherd we follow. It derives from the exact same conversation we had with the Berean Teacher application about the Serpent We Built. We’ve entered an era in which we’re getting our guidance from AI - WAY BEYOND what to buy and what website we're looking for. You've heard people say this, I'm sure: “I absolutely know this is true! I saw it on the internet". Some say it tongue-in-cheek but m...

The Serpent We Built is an article developed for our Berean Teacher series. As you may have learned from recent episodes in this series: We used our Berean Teacher application and uploaded discussions and videos from a number of sources to get the Berean Teacher (an application confined to the scriptures) to weigh in on the recent news and topics submitted by our audience. The idea was to cover as much from all sides of the discussion as possible and then let the Berean Teacher respond with a co...

We used our Berean Teacher application and uploaded discussions and videos from various sources to have the Berean Teacher weigh in on the recent news. The idea was to cover as much from all sides of the discussion as possible and then let the Berean Teacher respond with a comprehensive biblical perspective. The Berean application evaluates modern ideas, spiritual claims, cultural narratives, and emerging technologies through the authority of Scripture alone. Its purpose is to separate evidence ...

This is a repeat but worth re-hearing. Originally played in the Red-letter Journey. Most Christians are already quite familiar with the Parable of the Sower. What often goes unnoticed, however, are the subtle distinctions in how each Gospel records and emphasizes the parable, offering perspectives that differ slightly yet remain fully complementary. In this discussion, we explore those nuances and also take a closer look at certain English translation choices—particularly in Mark 4:11–12—that...

I spent two hours contemplating three verses in Luke. The best way, I think, to read The Two Debtors in Luke 7:41-43, is to insert yourself into the story. If you dare, play the part of Simon the Pharisee. If your first inclination is to say, I couldn’t do that, that’s not me- well, then, you’re already doing it. And that’s the point of the parable. Notes for the Two Debtors Episode Link: https://www.rabbitholesandmeditations.com/the-two-debtors/

If you’re watching some of the biggest YouTube channels, or at least the biggest ones I watch - Chase Hughes, Steven Bartlett, Tom Bilyeu, the Why Files, and more, across the board, you are going to run into almost a universal consensus that we are living in a simulation. We decided to pit this theory against scripture using our Berean software. The Berean application was written to avoid the affirming nature of AI chats. The explicit instruction is that if I say something contrary to scripture...

It almost seems like a flippant remark by Jesus. He's asked why He's hanging out with sinners and tax collectors. And why isn't He honoring the traditions of the Jewish culture and religion? Jesus' response to the former question isn't so much of a dismissal but more in tune to - this is where I belong. It's more a matter-of-fact statement than a flippant remark - though a Pharisee might not have taken it that way. Often, though, this parable is characterized as out with the old and in with t...

I don't know about you, but if the four Gospels were identical copies of each other, what would be the point? If four people walk into a courtroom as key eyewitnesses and they deliver exactly the same testimony, what would you think? Why should you expect the eyewitness accounts in the gospels to be any different? As a Christian, I always read knowing that I'm seeing the gospels from different perspectives. If you want to view the Gospels from a single narrative, look up the Gospel harmonies th...

Spoiler: contrary to what you may have been taught, or understood, the wise and the foolish builders BOTH believe in Christ! This is one of the most familiar stories Jesus ever told—and one of the most misunderstood. Jesus is not speaking to outsiders. He is speaking to those who already call Him Lord—and He confronts them directly: “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?” (Luke 6:46) This is not about hearing truth. It is about obedience. Because every life is ...

Today marks the first day of Season 4 - The Parables. We are closing the chapter on the Red Letter Journey however if you want to go back to that you can navigate to: www.TheRedLettersJourney.com Podcast Summary: Imagine waking up one morning to find your bank account is empty — but the screen still shows yesterday's balance. You walk through the day spending freely, confident, secure, completely unaware that you have nothing. The most dangerous condition you could possibly be in is the one yo...

There is a lot of rhetoric online about Israel and Iran. The US is clearly approaching a war with Iran if not already in one. So, things against that automatically get one marginalized by those who support the effort in Iran. And of course, relative to the Middle East, you're going to get people calling out "Zionists," people who support Israel, people who take a more discerning approach toward support for Israel, and everything in between. People that I’ve followed for quite some time now seem...

The first time I read the DaVinci Code by Dan Brown I was fascinated by it. It was a work of fiction, but it felt absolutely true. At the beginning of the book, it even says this: “All descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents, and secret rituals in this novel are accurate.” I happened to be on a flight to Paris when I was reading that book, years ago. One stop among many was the Louvre’, which, as you know if you’ve read the book, is the setting at the beginning of the book. In The Da Vi...