No, we didn’t watch the Oscars. But whether you watched them or not, it’s hard to escape the footage of Will Smith’s now-infamous on-stage slap of Chris Rock after the comedian’s joke concerning Mrs. Smith’s shaved head. Frankly, the new Best Actor award winner could have used Mr. Robinson’s advice here in this podcast! What’s going on in our culture that enabled a moment like this? And how would you have handled it? Let’s do some biblical thinking! Click below to listen. (Scroll below the video for two related links.)
If you are interested, here is a link to the YouGov survey we refer to in the video. The results look a tad different than described in the podcast, partially due to changes in the age-group boundaries and possibly due to additional data since the early results we looked at, but the trend is still the same, illustrating a significant difference between the perception of younger and older individuals. Also, here is a link to that earlier post that unpacks and examines Will Smith’s statement “Love will make you do crazy things.”
https://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.png00Wallace Smithhttps://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.pngWallace Smith2022-04-01 16:22:332024-07-09 13:15:49Podcast: Let’s Talk About that Oscars Slap
We published an old commentary by Mr. Jonathan McNair recently that was (1) related to Passover, (2) referenced recently in a sermon by Mr. Weston, and (3) so very, very encouraging. It highlights that Passover isn’t just about looking backward and that all of us can gain hope from the promise that’s available to us through God’s forgiveness and merciful aid—the promise that we can, at any time, create a brand new beginning.
We’d like to link to it here for you to consider reading as the Spring Holy Days approach. It’s a very short read and well worth the little time it takes: “The End of the Beginning.”
https://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.png00Wallace Smithhttps://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.pngWallace Smith2022-03-29 08:35:002024-07-09 13:16:11The Promise of a Brand New Beginning
OK. This is not meant as encouragement to watch the Oscars each year. The audience levels for the Oscars are dying, and they should be allowed to die. But when something newsworthy (or “newsworthy,” with appropriate quote marks) happens during them, there is can be something to learn from it. Here’s a hot take about last night’s.
https://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.png00Wallace Smithhttps://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.pngWallace Smith2022-03-28 12:55:412024-07-09 13:16:45A Lesson from (sigh) the Oscars: “Love will make you do crazy things.” Really?
Today’s podcast features a novel take on the age-old question of tattoos! Does Revelation 19:16 imply Jesus Christ had a tattoo? And if so, does that mean we can get one?
The answer is straightforward, but there’s more to consider, starting with a follow-up question: Why do you want one?
We hope you enjoy the podcast! And afterward, you might want to check out a related oldie-but-goodie: Dr. Scott Winnail’s Living Church News article “Body Ink: What Does God Think?” (Clicking the link should open it in a separate tab so you can keep playing the podcast.)
https://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.png00Wallace Smithhttps://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.pngWallace Smith2022-03-25 10:57:402023-01-09 09:55:31Podcast: So, if Christ has a tattoo, can I get one?
Sometimes you know how worthwhile something is because of how much it is hated by some people. And the famous Kalam Cosmological Argument is such a thing.
The argument, affectionately known as the “Kalam” by some, has been promoted by popular apologist (guy arguing in debates that God exists) Dr. William Lane Craig, and it is simple but powerful. It has inspired passionate resistance among atheists—even whole documentaries devoted to trying to explain it away—all of which always falls short. (Concerning the categories of proof and evidence in our booklet The Real God: Proofs and Promises, it seems to fit in the “Creation Demands a Creator” category.)
The argument says, essentially, that everything that begins to exist at some point has to have a cause behind it, and, since the universe began to exist at some point in the past, the universe, therefore, has to have a cause. Pretty normal stuff. Yet, the cause of the universe can’t be some “ordinary” thing—the cause has to exist beyond space, beyond time, and matter, and beyond energy, since all of those things are part of the universe. In fact, the more you explore what that cause must be, the more you find yourself exploring attributes of God.
While apologetics (reasoned arguments in favor of something—in this case, in favor of God’s existence) are not everyone’s cup of tea, being able to defend why you think God exists is increasingly important. If those sorts of discussions are interesting to you, then the video below might be of interest, as well.
https://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.png00Wallace Smithhttps://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.pngWallace Smith2022-03-24 16:27:542024-07-09 13:17:27One of the Most Successful Arguments for God’s Existence
Today’s podcast involves a question that has floated around among some Church of God youth in recent years: If Jesus calls Christians the “salt of the earth” (He did) and if salt is used as a preservative and purifying agent (it is), then does that imply we should vote in elections in today’s world to help preserve and purify the world in some way? As the world gets more “exciting” (that is, “awful”), the pressure to participate in worldly ways of “fixing” it will grow, and this statement by Christ is sometimes used to justify a “Christian obligation” to vote, etc., that frankly [Spoiler Alert!] does not exist. As usual, in discussing the topic, we tend to roam a little, and you may learn more about salt than you ever wanted to. Hopefully, we get most of it right, but you “salt knowledgable” scientists out there are welcome to weigh in and let us know otherwise!
https://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.png00Wallace Smithhttps://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.pngWallace Smith2022-03-17 16:56:042024-07-09 13:17:40Podcast: If We’re “Salt”… Should We Vote?
If you listened to last week’s podcast, you heard us talk with Mr. Mark Sandor about the U.S. Constitution, and we noted how the freedoms our governments provide shouldn’t prevent us from restricting ourselves based on God’s laws and desires, and how a “return to the Constitution” is not enough to save the U.S.—we need real repentance and a turning to God’s laws, not man’s.
As I thought about it, I was reminded of a recent sermon by Mr. Jonathan McNair in which he made a very similar point. The video below is cued up to the moment in that sermon where he explains a major reason why those of us who are Americans currently live “in a land that is being torn apart [and] ripped apart.” It’s a reason that illustrates a key difference between man’s approach to government and God’s.
It’s worth a listen, and the video below is cued up to that specific point in the sermon.
https://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.png00Wallace Smithhttps://www.livingyouth.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/logo2-300x138.pngWallace Smith2022-03-14 08:22:002024-07-09 13:17:54Sermon Snippet: Rights vs. Responsibilities
Tomorrow’s World
Podcast: Let’s Talk About that Oscars Slap
/in Podcast/by Wallace SmithNo, we didn’t watch the Oscars. But whether you watched them or not, it’s hard to escape the footage of Will Smith’s now-infamous on-stage slap of Chris Rock after the comedian’s joke concerning Mrs. Smith’s shaved head. Frankly, the new Best Actor award winner could have used Mr. Robinson’s advice here in this podcast! What’s going on in our culture that enabled a moment like this? And how would you have handled it? Let’s do some biblical thinking! Click below to listen. (Scroll below the video for two related links.)
If you are interested, here is a link to the YouGov survey we refer to in the video. The results look a tad different than described in the podcast, partially due to changes in the age-group boundaries and possibly due to additional data since the early results we looked at, but the trend is still the same, illustrating a significant difference between the perception of younger and older individuals. Also, here is a link to that earlier post that unpacks and examines Will Smith’s statement “Love will make you do crazy things.”
The Promise of a Brand New Beginning
/in Uncategorized/by Your Friendly Neighborhood EditorsWe published an old commentary by Mr. Jonathan McNair recently that was (1) related to Passover, (2) referenced recently in a sermon by Mr. Weston, and (3) so very, very encouraging. It highlights that Passover isn’t just about looking backward and that all of us can gain hope from the promise that’s available to us through God’s forgiveness and merciful aid—the promise that we can, at any time, create a brand new beginning.
We’d like to link to it here for you to consider reading as the Spring Holy Days approach. It’s a very short read and well worth the little time it takes: “The End of the Beginning.”
A Lesson from (sigh) the Oscars: “Love will make you do crazy things.” Really?
/in Uncategorized/by Wallace SmithOK. This is not meant as encouragement to watch the Oscars each year. The audience levels for the Oscars are dying, and they should be allowed to die. But when something newsworthy (or “newsworthy,” with appropriate quote marks) happens during them, there is can be something to learn from it. Here’s a hot take about last night’s.
Read morePodcast: So, if Christ has a tattoo, can I get one?
/in Podcast/by Wallace Smith & John RobinsonToday’s podcast features a novel take on the age-old question of tattoos! Does Revelation 19:16 imply Jesus Christ had a tattoo? And if so, does that mean we can get one?
The answer is straightforward, but there’s more to consider, starting with a follow-up question: Why do you want one?
We hope you enjoy the podcast! And afterward, you might want to check out a related oldie-but-goodie: Dr. Scott Winnail’s Living Church News article “Body Ink: What Does God Think?” (Clicking the link should open it in a separate tab so you can keep playing the podcast.)
One of the Most Successful Arguments for God’s Existence
/in Uncategorized/by Your Friendly Neighborhood EditorsSometimes you know how worthwhile something is because of how much it is hated by some people. And the famous Kalam Cosmological Argument is such a thing.
The argument, affectionately known as the “Kalam” by some, has been promoted by popular apologist (guy arguing in debates that God exists) Dr. William Lane Craig, and it is simple but powerful. It has inspired passionate resistance among atheists—even whole documentaries devoted to trying to explain it away—all of which always falls short. (Concerning the categories of proof and evidence in our booklet The Real God: Proofs and Promises, it seems to fit in the “Creation Demands a Creator” category.)
The argument says, essentially, that everything that begins to exist at some point has to have a cause behind it, and, since the universe began to exist at some point in the past, the universe, therefore, has to have a cause. Pretty normal stuff. Yet, the cause of the universe can’t be some “ordinary” thing—the cause has to exist beyond space, beyond time, and matter, and beyond energy, since all of those things are part of the universe. In fact, the more you explore what that cause must be, the more you find yourself exploring attributes of God.
While apologetics (reasoned arguments in favor of something—in this case, in favor of God’s existence) are not everyone’s cup of tea, being able to defend why you think God exists is increasingly important. If those sorts of discussions are interesting to you, then the video below might be of interest, as well.
Podcast: If We’re “Salt”… Should We Vote?
/in Podcast/by Wallace Smith & John RobinsonToday’s podcast involves a question that has floated around among some Church of God youth in recent years: If Jesus calls Christians the “salt of the earth” (He did) and if salt is used as a preservative and purifying agent (it is), then does that imply we should vote in elections in today’s world to help preserve and purify the world in some way? As the world gets more “exciting” (that is, “awful”), the pressure to participate in worldly ways of “fixing” it will grow, and this statement by Christ is sometimes used to justify a “Christian obligation” to vote, etc., that frankly [Spoiler Alert!] does not exist. As usual, in discussing the topic, we tend to roam a little, and you may learn more about salt than you ever wanted to. Hopefully, we get most of it right, but you “salt knowledgable” scientists out there are welcome to weigh in and let us know otherwise!
Sermon Snippet: Rights vs. Responsibilities
/in Uncategorized/by Your Friendly Neighborhood EditorsIf you listened to last week’s podcast, you heard us talk with Mr. Mark Sandor about the U.S. Constitution, and we noted how the freedoms our governments provide shouldn’t prevent us from restricting ourselves based on God’s laws and desires, and how a “return to the Constitution” is not enough to save the U.S.—we need real repentance and a turning to God’s laws, not man’s.
As I thought about it, I was reminded of a recent sermon by Mr. Jonathan McNair in which he made a very similar point. The video below is cued up to the moment in that sermon where he explains a major reason why those of us who are Americans currently live “in a land that is being torn apart [and] ripped apart.” It’s a reason that illustrates a key difference between man’s approach to government and God’s.
It’s worth a listen, and the video below is cued up to that specific point in the sermon.