Show Notes
Do good deeds achieve God's favor, leading to a successful life? Are wealth, fame, and power evidence that one is following Jesus? Michael, Jim, and Loren discuss the theology of glory that has polluted much of Christianity. This leads to a discussion on twisted leadership in the church, what causes it, what makes us susceptible to it, and what's the fruit of it?
More from In the Shadow of the Cross
Many people are taught that the way you gain an understanding of God is by going through the Bible and finding all the verses containing attributes of God. Then you list all those attributes and you'll have an accurate picture of God. Here a verse, there a verse, everywhere a verse, verse. Michael Hardin calls this, "Old MacDonald theology." Michael, Steve, and Loren discuss why this is problematic and where we turn to get an accurate picture of our Heavenly Father.
Are you unteachable? Ever noticed it's always the other guy that is unteachable? "I've got it down! They need to listen to me!" Some Christians have even gone so far as to embrace anti-intellectualism while they claim to be the authority on understanding the Bible. How is it possible to be the authority on a book written in other languages, in other cultures, thousands of years ago yet never have studied ancient Greek or Hebrew, ancient middle Eastern culture, or ancient history? Did the Holy Ghost download ancient Greek into your brain? Steve, Michael, and Loren discuss the history of anti-intellectualism in the church and then turn to real life applications on how we can walk along side our siblings in Jesus who don't see things the same way we do.
Numerous believers question if Paul believed in the resurrection because of some of the words he used in his letters, particularly in his letter to the Philippians. The words translated into English as "if" and "might" cause some confusion for many people. Michael, Steve, and Loren take an in depth look at Paul's words to the Philippians to shed some light on his thoughts on the resurrection.
In this special episode, we remember our dear friend and fellow podcaster, Jim Durkin Jr. We put together a highlight reel of Jim from some of the past episodes of the podcast so you can join us in remembering our wonderful friend.
In light of some sad news we share at the start of the podcast, Michael Hardin, Loren Rosser, and our new host, Dr. Stephen Crosby discuss the resurrection. Surprisingly, this is often a hot topic that can cause tempers to flare. But the three point out that this being a more speculative topic, when Christians discuss these things, we need to be generous of spirit. What is the hope that we have in Jesus? What do we have to look forward to? And how has platonism impacted the views many Christians have of the after life?