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3 Reasons You Should NOT Listen to my Podcast

By Jeremy Myers
6 Comments

3 Reasons You Should NOT Listen to my Podcast

I recently launched the One Verse Podcast, and hundreds of people have subscribed so far.

And while most of the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive, I have also received a bit of negative feedback from people who subscribed and didn’t like what they heard.

So here are three reasons you should NOT subscribe to my Podcast:

1. Don’t Listen to My Podcast if you are a pastor or professor and want to keep your job.

If you are a pastor, and you are listening to these podcasts, or if you lead a Bible study in your church, let me provide a brief warning. Do yourself a favor and don’t teach any of what I am teaching you to the people in your church. In most cases, if you teach these things about Genesis 1, it will not go well for you.

Pastoral payI think churches are beginning to lighten up a bit on some of this stuff, and consider ideas that maybe they wouldn’t have considered ten years ago, but I have heard so many horror stories of pastors being fired and Bible study leaders getting booted out of the church simply because they taught some of the views I have been sharing in these podcasts.

In fact, when I first started learning about some of the things I am sharing on these podcasts about ten years ago, I was working for a non-profit Christian organization, and I made the mistake of writing a blog post about how I was studying and researching these things. Do you know what happened? I got fired from my job. There were seven things I was studying at the time, and one of them was the issue we have been discussing in this podcast, about whether or not Moses was writing a scientific treatise on how the earth came to be. My boss didn’t like that I was researching these things, and he fired me.

So be careful!

2. Don’t listen to my podcast if you get uncomfortable when your understanding of Scripture is challenged.

In my theological writing and Scriptural research, I have always sought (like Captain Kirk) to “Boldly go where no man has gone before.” But that doesn’t mean that what I write is science fiction! (Though some might think so! Ha!)

Read the BibleNo, what I mean is that I have always sought to investigate a matter from every possible angle. While lots of Christians only read books and listen to teachers with whom they agree, I always do my best to listen to Bible teachers and read Christian books with whom I know I will disagree.

I figure that if what I believe is true, then it can stand up to any and every challenge thrown at it. If, however, what I believe is not true, then the only way to learn the truth is to be taught by those who believe something different than what I believe.

What this means, however, is that what I write and what I teach on my Podcast, is often a strange mixture of ideas gleaned from Dispensational, Reformed, Catholic, Pentecostal, Orthodox, and Jewish sources. Believe it or not, there are even some ideas from Atheistic sources thrown in.

Does that last part shock you? I listen to what Atheists say because the critics of Christianity often speak truths we ourselves are blind to.

Here’s the point: If you don’t like your theology and your views of Scripture to be challenged, you probably don’t want to listen to my Podcast. It will be too upsetting for you.

I am not saying I am right in everything I teach. I am learning right along with you. All I am saying is that the people who will most enjoy the podcast are those who also know that they are not right in everything they believe. This is the third reason you might not want to listen to my podcast.

3. Don’t listen to my podcast if you are a Bible expert and there is nothing else you can learn about Scripture.

I am not a Bible expert. I am a fellow traveler with you on this road of following Jesus.

My blog and podcast are places where I share with you my life-long hobby of reading theology and studying Scripture.

But if you have all your theology figured out and you know what every verse in the Bible means, then you have no need to listen to my podcast and you won’t enjoy it. You will probably just end up thinking I’m some sort of heretic.

On the other hand, if you know that you have much to learn about Scripture and theology, then you are exactly the type of person who should listen to my podcast, because you are the type of person I want to learn from.

Why You Should Listen to My Podcast

One Verse PodcastWhile my podcast is a place for me to teach what I have come to believe about various verses in the Bible, it is much more than that. More than anything, my podcast is a way for me to invite feedback from you, so that I might learn from you as you learn from me.

My podcast, just like this blog, is about inviting you into the conversation. I am not at all interested in telling you what to believe about Scripture and theology. I am very interested, however, in having a cordial conversation with you about Scripture and theology, and how to live it out in our lives so that you and I end up looking and acting more like Jesus.

That is what I hope my podcast accomplishes, and if that interests you, then I look forward to hearing from you about the content in my Podcast. See you there!

God is Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: Bible Study, podcast, Theology - General

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How Central is the Cross of Jesus to your Life and Theology?

By Jeremy Myers
23 Comments

How Central is the Cross of Jesus to your Life and Theology?

Do you understand everything that occurred in the crucifixion of Jesus, and how central it is to your life and theology?

Whether you think so or not, let me introduce you to the cross of Jesus and how truly significant it really is.

For me, the death and resurrection of Jesus is the foundation to how I read and study Scripture. The cross is at the center of my theology. What Jesus did on the cross provides the pinnacle example of how Christians are to live our lives. Without the cross, there is no Gospel. And as Paul says, if Christ is not raised, our faith is in vain (1 Cor 15:17).

crucifixion of Jesus

I have written a lot on this blog about the death and resurrection of Jesus, and some people have asked that I make these posts more accessible to readers. So to help you see the same thing, I have decided to make several of my central blog posts about the death and resurrection of Jesus available to people by email.

If you want to receive my posts on the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus in your email inbox for you to read at your leisure, I have now created a way for you to do just that. To get started, add your name and email address in the form at the bottom of this post.

redeeming JesusThe crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus forms the foundation for everything I write on this blog. Everything.

What Jesus accomplished on the cross and through His resurrection is central to everything else. The death and resurrection of Jesus are not only central to Scripture and the Gospel, but are also central to learning (maybe for the first time) what God is like, and how we are supposed to live our lives as followers of Jesus.

By reading these emails, you are forming a firm foundation for understanding Scripture, theology, church, and life. You are gaining what I like to call “crucivision.” You will learn to see everything through the lens of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Fill out the form below to get started. I cannot wait for you to start fully understanding the significance of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus.

There are about 26 emails in this series, and you will get one every Friday, which means that by getting these emails, you can spend the next six months focusing your mind on “Jesus Christ and Him Crucified.” This will be revolutionary for you. See you soon!

The cross of Jesus is CENTRAL to everything!

Transform your life and theology by focusing on the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus:

Fill out the form below to receive several emails from me about the death and resurrection of Jesus.

(Note: If you are a member of RedeemingGod.com, login and then revisit this page to update your membership.)

God is Featured, Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: cross, crucifixion, cruciform, crucivision, death of Jesus, hermeneutics, Jesus, resurrection, Theology - General, Theology of Jesus

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A New Podcast by Brandon Chase! I am loving it!

By Jeremy Myers
10 Comments

A New Podcast by Brandon Chase! I am loving it!

theology podcastsI have a 25 minute commute to work. Sometimes I listen to Conservative Talk Radio, but when I am looking for something with a little less doom and gloom, I listen to Podcasts.

Two Podcasts I almost never miss an episode of are the (1) The God Journey by Wayne Jacobsen, and (2) Beyond the Box by Raborn Johnson and Steve Sensenig.

A blogging friend of mine, Brandon Chase, recently started his own podcast. I listened to the first two episodes last week. All I can is WOW.  If you like listening to Podcasts about theological topics like the things we discuss here on this blog, I highly recommend Brandon’s “Real Life Radio” podcast. Keep it up, Brandon!

Click any of the links above to subscribe to their Podcasts through iTunes.

Brandon’s first two episodes were a discussion with Jamal Jivanjee. They discussed many of the things I have been writing about on this blog during the past couple years (prior to the current Calvinism series). They say some quite controversial things about Scripture, God, and the church. What a challenging discussion! In fact, I think that Jamal got himself in a bit of trouble by some of the things they discussed… listen to the two Podcasts and then go read his blog to find out why… You should also read Brandon’s blog.

If you subscribe to any of these podcasts, let me know what you think!

As a bonus, I often enjoy listening to The Free Believers Network Podcast as well. The discussion from 7/27/2014 called “Heaven is for NOW” was fantastic.

 

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Bible Study, Bible Study Podcast, Brandon Chase, podcast, Theology - General, Wayne Jacobsen

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Why There Will be No Sports in Heaven

By Jeremy Myers
28 Comments

Why There Will be No Sports in Heaven
sports in heaven
Someone once told me there would be infinite downhill skiing in heaven, where you never get to the bottom of the hill. Sounds cool!

Based on just the title of this post, I can hear lots of people cheering and lots of other people rethinking whether or not they want to go to heaven.

No sports in heaven? For some that is truly heaven, while for others it sounds like hell.

Whichever feeling wells up within you, bear with me…

Someone once told me that since there wasn’t any mention of sports in the Bible, this means that there will be no sports in heaven.

I think that logic is pretty bad, but recently as I was listening to a news update about the passer rating of a certain quarterback, it occurred to me that there was a pretty good theological reason for there not to be any sports in heaven.

Except for baseball…. Kevin Kostner proved that there is baseball in heaven…. 😉

filed of dreams sports in heaven

The Theological Reason for No Sports in Heaven

It is often taught in churches that when we get to heaven, we will never get sick, we will never die, we will have all our questions answered, and we will be perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect.

That sounds nice… until you begin to realize what this means…

I like the idea of no more sickness and no more death, but the more I think about having all my questions answered and being perfect in everything, I am not sure I like that at all.

I am not a sports fanatic, but I like watching some sports, and I even play a bit of sports. … Well, no I don’t. Not any more. But I used to.

But here’s the point:

Sports is based on the universal reality that humans are not perfect in everything we do. That’s why we have batting averages. Free-throw percentages. Quarterback ratings.

Imagine if there was a person who always batted 1000, who never missed a free throw, and whose every pass of the football was for a touchdown.

Such a player would dominate the world of sports. Whatever team he was on would always win. Always.

Now imagine that every single player on both teams played just as perfectly. It sounds thrilling for about one second until you begin to think of what that game would be like.

Imagine a basketball game where every single shot was good. The announcer’s job would be easy. All he would have to say is “He dribbles down the court … he shoots … he scores!” over and over and over. Heck, the players wouldn’t even have to dribble down the court to shoot. All the shots would be full-court shots with 100% accuracy. It sounds thrilling to watch … for about five minutes. Then it becomes incredibly boring.

Of course, it is here where we start to run into problems. Take baseball as another example. It is logically impossible to have a player bat 1000 and have a pitcher throw a perfect game.

So you see? Sports are based on the fact that nobody is perfect in everything.

But if in heaven, everybody is perfect in everything, this means that there could be no sports.

So Heaven Sounds Pretty Dull After All…

Frankly, I find this highly depressing. Not because I am such a sports lover, but because I am such a lover of learning.

I love the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake. Just as some people love sports, I love the feeling of my mind and heart racing as I encounter a new idea from a book or insight on a particular passage of Scripture.

I wonder what life would be like without this. I think it would be pretty boring.

sports in heavenAll in all, heaven is starting to sound like a pretty dull place.

So the only thing I can conclude is that we won’t be perfect after all in our eternal state. We will not be perfect. We will not know it all. We will grow and develop and think and ask questions and learn by trial and error. We will invent, inquire, and inspire.

As it turns out, imperfection is the only way heaven can be real and not be hell.

So maybe there will be sports in heaven after all…

All you football fans can breathe a sigh of relief.

But if Heaven Requires Imperfection…

Then the ramifications of this got me thinking.

If we are not perfect in what we know and what we do, does this mean that we can get injured and hurt after all? If, in heaven, I decided I want to learn to become a tightrope walker, and I become so good I decide to tightrope across the heavenly version of Niagara Falls, what happens if I make a mistake and I fall?

Or, what happens if I decide to become a Master Chef, and in cutting potatoes one day, I slip with the knife and slice my finger? Will it cut? Will it hurt? Will it bleed? I cannot see how it cannot. If I remember correctly, I think C. S. Wrote about this is The Problem of Pain. I don’t have the book in front of me, but I seem to remember Lewis explaining that pain tells us when something is wrong. (If you find the section, let me know!) If I cut my finger with a knife, I need it to hurt so that I can know I should stop cutting! If it didn’t hurt, I would keep cutting, and do great damage to my finger.

If there is no pain in our eternal bodies, does this mean that we will never cut our fingers? That the knife turns to rubber if we try? If we are out for a hike on Pluto, and we fall off a cliff, does that mean we will bounce when we hit the bottom? I cannot see how. But on the other hand, there will be no more death, so will we be like the Wolverine from X-Men or Claire from the TV show Heroes who can regenerate no matter what? That’d be cool…

But this then leads me to the question of God.

Earlier when I said that we will be perfect as God is perfect, I intentionally misquoted Matthew 5:48. Why? Because how I misquoted it is how I sometimes hear others misquote it.

In Matthew 5:48, Jesus says that we should be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect. I have written on this text before by saying it is impossible to live perfect lives, but for our purposes here, note that Jesus does not say that we will ever be perfect just as God is perfect, nor does Jesus even say that God Himself is perfect. Jesus simply says that we should strive to be perfect, in the same way that God is, however that is. 

Some people point to 1 Corinthians 13:10 as evidence that when we get to heaven we will be perfect, but this verse is talking about spiritual gifts and is not teaching anything about mental or physical perfection when we get to heaven.

Then there is 1 John 3:2-3. Some say that since Jesus is perfect, when we see Him, we will become just like Him, and hence, we will also be perfect. Well again, I am not denying that we will become like Jesus. And I am not denying that through glorification, we will achieve moral perfection.

God gave us baseball
Hezekiah 2:7: “And God gave us baseball…”

Come to think of it, I cannot think of a verse anywhere in the Bible which says that in our glorified bodies, we will be perfectly perfect in every way, including all our mental, moral, emotional, spiritual, and physical capacities. Can you think of anywhere that teaches this?

If were to achieve this perfectly perfect perfection, then we would be exactly like God.

Or maybe …. could it be? …. maybe God is not like this either? Maybe we constructed a God of our own liking according to platonic philosophical ideas of what “perfection” entails, and God is not like that at all!

Is it possible that God Himself learns, invents, and inquires as well?

Could it be that our creative desire to see and try new things comes from the very nature of God Himself?

Maybe we seek answers to life’s problems because God does.

Maybe we want to explore, discover, and seek because God has these desires too.

Of course, maybe, just maybe, we have no clue what heaven will be like after all, and this whole post is a bunch of malarkey.

One thing is for sure … who ever knew that sports could get you thinking about heaven?

God is Redeeming Scripture Bible & Theology Topics: Discipleship, heaven, Matthew 5:48, perfection, sports, Theology - General, Theology of the End Times

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This is what theology debates are sometimes like

By Jeremy Myers
22 Comments

This is what theology debates are sometimes like

Calvinism-and-Arminianism-Paradox

One group only sees the picture on the left and says, “It’s a square!”

Another group only sees the picture on the right and says, “No, it’s a circle!”

The truth, of course, is that it is both and neither. It is neither a square nor a circle; it is a cylinder, but depending on one’s perspective, it can appear to be a square or a circle.

The trick, of course, is backing up far enough so that we can see the cylinder…

It takes time, and sometimes it requires complete separation from all the traditions and rituals that keep us focusing on either the square or the circle.

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: Theology - General, theology debates

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