Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Year in Review

~Best and worst of 2008.
~Predictions for 2009.
~Should we celebrate the new year?
~Making and keeping new year’s resolutions.

Links:
Top news stories of 2008 by Christianity Today
Top 10 theology stories of 2008 by Christianity Today
Top 10 everything of 2008 by Time
Top 10 Christian stories of 2008 by Crosswalk
Top 10 religious stories by RNA.org
Innovation by Christian Science Monitor
How to fix your life in 2009 by Wall Street Journal
Top 10 stories of 2008 by Hulig.com

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Theological Tuesday

~Bible Stories 41: Joseph’s Coat (Genesis 37)
~What does it mean that “God’s Word does not return void?”
~Does the Sermon on the Mount require us to cut off our hands and poke out our eyes?
~Is prayer only about words?
~Is God humble?

Links:
Bible References:
Humble, Humility
Humility by Wikipedia
Is God humble? by Shidon.blogspot.com
Is God humble? by LegionofAngels.net
How to be a force for peace by Justpeace.org
Pope asks God for peace by Catholic News Agency

Monday, December 29, 2008

Ethics: Should We Reward Children For Being Good?

I figure most all of us parents reward good behavior, either with praise or with incentives or simply by not punishing the child, since the conceptual parallel of rewarding for doing good is to not punish for not doing bad. But the real question is whether this is good parenting or merely common parenting? Here’s my concern. If we reward children for doing good, then they ultimately learn to do good in order to get a reward. But what if the reward is not forthcoming? Will they simply stop being good because they aren’t being paid enough? And even if the pay suits them, have we grown good people or merely prudent people? If a person only does good because of what it will get him, how is that any different from a person who does bad because of what it will get him? The worldview for both is to get what they desire, never imagining that anything other than self-servingness is the goal of human life. So what I’m really wondering (and very much wanting to talk with you about today) is how we can cultivate goodness rather than merely good behavior.

When And Where Would You Like To Go?


Although I suppose some people dislike them, the vast majority of people like to take a vacation and explore some novel place and meet interesting people. But of course it’s possible to imagine that the most interesting places to visit would not merely be places but also times. So, today, in the spirit of Bill and Ted’s excellent thought experiment, I thought we could discuss what places and times (other than 33 AD Palestine, of course) would be the most interesting to visit, presuming that time and space travel were slightly more easy.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Christmas and Prophecy


Though some people mistakenly claim that Christmas is not an important part of Christianity, the Bible says otherwise. God didn’t just give us Jesus suddenly. He prepared the way for Him with many prophecies that confirmed His identity in advance of His birth and His miraculous life. What are these prophecies, and how were they fulfilled? We’ll read the Scriptures and discover the answers.

Bible References: Gen 3:13-16, Gen 12:1-3, Gen 17:15-21, Gen 18:16-19, Gen 21:9-13, Gen 22:15-18, Gen 49:10, Numb 24:17, Deut 18:14-19, Psalm 2:7, Psalm 132:11, Isaiah 7:10-16, Isaiah 9:1-7, Isaiah 11:1-10, Isaiah 16:5, Isaiah 37:31, Jer 23:5-6, Jer 31:15, Jer 33:14-18, Daniel 9:24-26, Hosea 11:1, Micah 5:1-5, Matt 1:1-25, Matt 2:1-23, Matt 4:13-16, Luke 1:1-2:38, Luke 2:1-38, Luke 3:23-38, John 18:37, Acts 3:22-26, Rom 15:12, Gal 4:1-5, Eph 1:10

Links on Christmas and Prophecy:
Messianic prophecies by Christiananswers.net
Prophecy, the Bible, and Jesus by CARM.org
Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by Biblia.com
Biblical prophecies fulfilled by Jesus by BPRC.org
Messianic prophecies fulfilled by Godonthe.net
Prophecy of Christ's birth by Bibletools.org
Messianic prophecies by ClarifyingChristianity.com

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Theological Tuesday

~Bible Stories 40: The Birth of Jesus (Matthew 1-2, Luke 1-2 )

~What does it mean that “God’s Word does not return void?”

~Does the Sermon on the Mount require us to cut off our hands and poke out our eyes?

~Is prayer only about words?

Monday, December 22, 2008

Let's Sing Christmas Carols


At this time every year, I like to take an hour and do what I’ve done every year for as long as I can remember: sing Christmas carols. So here’s the deal. You may call and sing a solo. You may call with a group of people and sing together. You may ask me to sing with you or tell me to be quiet. But there’s a catch. If you don’t call, I will sing by myself, and we know that nobody wants that to happen. So call and sing your favorite Christmas carols today from 5:00-6:00.

Ethics: How To Respond To A Bad Gift


We’ve all received gifts given by other people that were either not what we expected, not what we wanted, or (at the very worst) things we decidedly did not want. Such experiences turn what could and should be a moment of great joy and closeness into a moment of difficulty, social etiquette, ethical conundrums, and relational crisis. The overwhelming consensus of advice in these situations is to smile, say, “Thank you,” and remind yourself that it’s the thought that counts. It’s a horrible thing to be honest in such moments and reward generosity with punishment. After all, you can just regift it to someone else later, right? But is this the best response in terms of Christian ethics? Is this the best response in terms of relational development? Is it possible, in fact, that someone who responds this way is actually doing something immoral and lazy compared with the best alternative?

Bible References: Prov 21:14, Eccl 3:12-13, Eccl 5:18-20, Matt 5:21-24, Matt 5:40-42, Matt 6:11, Matt 7:6-12, Matt 10:8, Matt 19:21, Luke 6:30-36, Acts 2:38, Acts 20:35, 1 Cor 12, Rom 5:15-18, Eph 2:8-9, James 1:17, Rev 11:10

Articles by Andrew:
Bad Christmas gifts part 1, Not giving them
Bad Christmas gifts part 2, What to do when you get them

Links:
Parent Alert: Video Games To Avoid by ABC News
What To Do WIth Bad Gifts by Blackamericaweb.com
Top Ten Worst Gifts From Last Christmas by 1stholistic.com
Anatomy of a Bad Gift-Giver by 1stholistic.com
Bye-Bye, Bad Gifts by USA Weekend
Humor: Things To Say About Bad Gifts by Zozanga.com
The Gift That Keeps On Being Given by Orlando Sentinel
Marketing, Convenience Drive Gift Card Growth by USA Today
Regifting by Wikipedia
Regifting 101 by Regiftable.com
The Regifting Debate by CBS News
12 Rules For Regifting Without Fear by MSN.com

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Wacky Wednesday--There Are Many Paths To Heaven

Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.

~It wouldn’t be fair to people who haven’t heard the Gospel to give them no pathway to God at all.
~Saying Jesus is the only way is extremely narrow-minded and arrogant.
~Nobody ever says, “I’m sure there’s only one way to God, but I have no idea what it is.” Claiming your religion is the only one is just self-serving propaganda.
~People throughout history have been widely recognized as having an extra large dose of the divine spark, even though they were clearly not Christians. Would you deny that these people were really tuned into God?
~Even the Bible says that there are many more things that Jesus taught than are contained herein. ~Maybe some of the other stuff is what shows up in other religions.
~If the single God at the heart of Christianity, Islam, Bahaism, and Judaism aren’t all the same ~Being, then suddenly you have two (or more) Gods, rather than just the one. Pirsig’s argument.
~There are certainly some elements of truth in all religions.
~Religions agree about a great many things, including the importance of living a holy life, being generous to the poor, and doing good things for other people.
~It’s not particularly loving to condemn people to hell for simply not having even the chance to respond to the Gospel.
~Even Jesus talked about how He only came for certain groups of people, like Jewish sinners, rather than the righteous or the non-Jews.
~If only those who accept Christ go to heaven, then Jesus certainly wasn’t a very good advertising executive. He should have gone to more places rather than just a few square miles of middle eastern desert.
~People can’t be judged for rejecting Christ if they never heard of Him, right?
~So much of Christianity instructs the same basic things as other religions, how different or unique can you really think it is?


Post-Show Thoughts: The key in responding to this idea is to ask the right questions. The first, most useful question is, "If Jesus is one of the ways, what do you think His way is?" or "What do you think the Christian way is?" Since no one who actually knows the Gospel would ever say this, all you have to do is listen for the ways in which they do not understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ and then lovingly explain it to them. A second question which can be very useful is, "Why do you think that Jesus had to die on the Cross?" This also will reveal what they do or do not know about the Gospel and point out the silliness of thinking that all religions are basically the same as Christianity. Other things are worth saying, but here's my basic advice. Try to avoid getting into an argument and instead try as much as possible to simply clarify the Gospel. The key is to know the difference between moralism and Christianity. Only someone who doesn't know this difference will be likely to be swayed by this argument. And remember that a Gospel is a world-changing event or fact that everyone must deal with. It is only by pondering the Gospel and embracing it that we are changed, at which point the rules are not rules but simply descriptions of how we already want to behave in honor and gratitude of Jesus Christ's gift to us.

Wacky Wednesday--We Should Eliminate Grades

Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.

~It’s always subjective, there are only degrees of subjectivity.
~Students learn to work for an extrinsic reward rather than for the sake of learning itself.
~Grades turn education into a coercive transaction rather than a voluntary or pleasurable one.
~Good students idolize grades and derive their sense of worth and identity from them, which makes them arrogant and also sets them up for devastation when they go to Princeton, where someone has to get the Cs.
~Bad students also idolize grades and derive their sense of worthlessness from them, which blinds them to their unique talents and their intrinsic value as people.
~The school setting is so artificial that grades are always misleading. It’s dominated by the visual/auditory learning style. Test-taking aptitude is the primary skill which most testing certifies. ~And creativity is heavily stifled in school.
~Graded events like tests, mid-terms, and finals primarily reward effective cramming rather than long-term retention and integration of material.
~It’s very harmful to children’s self-esteem to get bad grades.
~You can get great grades and be really stupid.
~You can get great grades and be a moral wretch.
~You can get great grades and have lousy social skills.
~When you get into your first real job, after the first year or so, the grades you got, the degree you got, and the place you got them become practically the same as worthless.
~The bell curve only applies to large numbers but it gets applied to small samples, such as 25 students.
~Different graders will assign different grades.
~When so much emphasis is put on grades, people will do anything to get them, such as exhibit cutthroat behavior and cheat.
~Grades create an adversarial rather than a collaborative environment in schools, but collaboration is one of the very best educational paradigms for both parties.

New Article by Andrew

Check out my most recent article, "A Christmas View of Abortion" on the articles blog.

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Theological Tuesday

~Bible Stories 39: John the Baptist (Luke 1:11-17, Luke 1:39-45, Luke 3:1-22, Matthew 3:13-17, Luke 7:18-39, John 3:22-36, Mark 6:11-33, Luke 9:12-27)
~What does it mean that “God’s Word does not return void?”
~Does the Sermon on the Mount require us to cut off our hands and poke out our eyes?
~Is prayer only about words?

Monday, December 15, 2008

Ethics: Gift Giving and Receiving


Every year, we do a show on this topic because it’s such an important part of Christmas. Why, exactly, do we give gifts? What are the key ingredients to a good (and a bad) gift? What should you do when you get a gift you don’t want? Should you be honest with the person? Aren’t Christians supposed to tell the truth? Would you want to know if you failed at giving someone else a gift?

Reverse News

The news has long bothered me for a fairly simple reason, it purports to inform us, but it usually winds up misleading us grotesquely. Not because the things the news reports are false, but because they are only a small slice of the truth. And if all we see on a regular basis is the most strange and shocking slices of the truth, in the process our picture of the whole truth has become badly distorted. So, today I thought it would be fun to pretend to be newscasters who do the opposite: report on the vast majority of the truth of any subject rather than only the most captivating exceptional cases.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Ethics: Opposing Gay Marriage


After the disheartening experience reading a Newsweek article today explaining to me that the Bible actually embraces gay marriage and hearing that Iowa of all places is next to consider judicially mandated gay marriage, I thought it might be useful to step back and examine the ethical question of whether we are really doing the right thing in fighting gay marriage. This may seem like an easy question to answer, but I hope to raise some issues you may not have considered and at least try to clarify our objectives in this discussion.


Links

Skills Every Man Should Know


I came across this article from Popular Mechanics which listed the 100 things every guy ought to know. I found the list rather amusing, both for what it included and for what it did not include. But I certainly thought it would be an interesting discussion to have.
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Links

Thursday, December 4, 2008

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Wacky Wednesday--Jesus was rich

Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.

~He traveled doing ministry without working for 3 years.
~He had a treasurer.
~His followers owned homes and tombs.
~He consorted with the wealthy easily.
~The disciples were businessmen.
~So many people teaching it, it must be true.
~Why would God allow His beloved Son to be poor?
~The three wise men set him up for life.
~Jesus came to give us an abundant life, would He not have one Himself?
~Paul prays for us to prosper. Would Jesus not have done so Himself?
~The patriarchs prospered: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, David, Solomon.

Links:
Was Jesus rich? by Come let us reason

Was Jesus wealthy or poor? By E-Ggospel
Was Jesus rich or poor? by Claude Mariottini
Wealth and poverty by Kerby Anderson

Wacky Wednesday--We should not help the poor


Note: Before reading the following arguments, please understand that they are not what I believe. On Wednesdays, I deliberately argue for wrong ideas, challenging my listeners to call and defend the obvious right answer, which is usually far harder than one would expect. This is a summary of what Wacky Andrew will be arguing, not a representation of what real Andrew believes.

~Didn’t Jesus say they’ll always be with us?
~If you can’t make it in America, what’s your problem?
~They’re blessed already, don’t interfere with that.
~They’re ungrateful for any help you give them.
~If we really believe in freedom and capitalism, we would allow the poor to suffer the consequences of their choices just as we do for the wealthy.
~Don’t I have an obligation to be a good provider for my family?
~The poor are already more than taken care of by our government, and all those foreigners who are poor aren’t really my responsibility.


Bible References: Lev 19:18, 1 Sam 2:8, Psalms 82:3, Prov 14:31, Prov 19:17, Prov 21:13, Prov 22:9, Prov 28:27, Isaiah 58:6-11, Matt 5:43-45, Matt 11:1-6, Matt 19:16-19, Matt 22:35-40, Matt 25:14-30, Matt 25:31-46, Mark 12:31-33, Luke 3:9-11, Luke 4:14-37, Luke 6:20-38, Luke 10:25-37, Luke 12:30-34, 2 Cor 9:7-15, Eph 2:8-10, James 1:27, James 2:8, James 2:14-24, 1 John 3:17-19, Rom 13:9, Gal 5:14, 1 Tim 6:17-19

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

The Bible League

Africa is the second largest continent in the world with over 900 million people, a number which is expected to triple by 2050. In this land of 3,500 ethnic groups and over 2,000 languages, where one third of the people live on less than one dollar a day, the most pressing need is not economic reform, political reform, or even basic sustenance. The most pressing need is for Bibles. The vast majority of African Christians do not have a Bible they can study for themselves, and the even greater number of African Muslims do not have access to a Bible which they are in fact eager to read for themselves. The Bible League is helping to end this Bible famine by providing copies of God’s Word to people who participate in bible studies and then help plant churches. For every four dollars you contribute, an African desperate to study the Bible for herself receives one. You can call 1-800-YES-WORD (1-800-937-9673) or click on this link to send the most valuable form of aid you can to these precious people. For more general information about the Bible League, click here.

Links:

To help end the Bible famine in Africa
For more information about the Bible League

Monday, December 1, 2008

Aunt Kim's Killer Corn Casserole

This is a disturbingly yummy way to make corn.

2 pounds frozen corn
1 cup heavy cream
4 tbsp butter
2-3 tsp salt (to taste)
2-3 tbsp sugar (to taste)
2 tsp corn starch
4-5 oz FRESH shredded parmesan cheese

In a pot, bring corn, cream, butter, salt, and sugar to boil (adjust salt and sugar to taste, but you should be able to clearly taste both the salt and the sugar when it's right). Reduce heat to low, and add corn starch, stirring until mixture thickens slightly. (It should still be a liquid in consistency.) Sprinkle or shred (blocks make the best result) the cheese over the top and broil until the cheese is brown (5 minutes or so).

Ethics: What's Bad About Money?

Recently, I’ve done several shows on the value of money in an effort to remedy what I think are some of the most pervasive wrong-headed notions about money and capitalism. But in the process of undoing those mistakes, I haven’t taken very much time to talk seriously about some of the real problems that come with money. So, as a way of making the conversation more complete, I thought we could discuss some of the real dangers that are associated with or caused by money.

Favorite And Least Favorite Thanksgiving Dishes

In asking people today what their favorite Thanksgiving food item was, I inadvertently discovered that people seem to have far more passion in sharing which item they can’t stand rather than sharing the ones they love. So, what’s your favorite and also your least favorite traditional (or not) Thanksgiving food item? Also, we’ll be sharing tips and tricks for making it better next time around, particularly cooking and organizational ideas. And, if you encountered a Thanksgiving problem, ask and our highly talented radio audience will surely have an answer.