Theology For the Rest of Us | Quick Answers to the Questions About God and the Bible

The Book of Ecclesiastes is one of the most unique books of the entire Bible. It has some great wisdom and unique perspective from the wisest man to ever live King Solomon; but this book also possesses some odd words that may cause some people to raise an eyebrow because it can be easily misunderstood. The Book of Ecclesiastes also has some interesting language that, if taken out of its context, is highly likely to lead readers to embrace weird or bad theology. In fact, several religious groups have asserted some strange and false doctrines because of their misunderstandings of the Book of Ecclesiastes. In this episode, Kenny clearly explains why this book was written and explains King Solomon's circumstances when he wrote it. Kenny highlights what we can learn from reading this book, and points out how this book reminds us of the importance of always cultivating genuine vibrant intimacy with the Almighty.

There are many questions in the arenas of faith and spirituality. Many people wrestle with a variety of faith-related ideas, and there is no shortage of sources and outlets in the world giving answers to those questions. But are the answers that are being given always Biblical? Of course not. It is essential for all Christians to study apologetics and be immersed in truth, so that we can all develop a genuine Christian worldview, and so that we can recognize quality Biblical truth in our world. In this episode, Kenny interviews author and apologist Jason B. Ladd about his own story of coming to faith in Christ and how apologetics played a major role in that process. They also talk about several ideas related to logic, philosophy, spirituality, worldview, and theology. Jason B. Ladd is an award-winning author, US Marine, and Iraq War veteran. Ladd served on active duty with the Marines for fourteen years and has flown as an instructor pilot in both the F/A-18 and the F-16 fighter jets. Jason is the founder of Boone Shepherd, LLC and the creator of IndieListers.com, the largest live online database of book promotions results built by authors. His newest book was an award finalist in the 2016 "Next Generation Indie Book Awards" and it has been endorsed by some of the world's preeminent apologists such as Michael Licona, Frank Turek, and John Njoroge. Jason lives in Alaska with his wife, Karry, and their five children. Check out Jason's Book: One of the Few Follow Jason on Twitter: @jasonbladd Check out Jason's Website: www.jasonbladd.com   Additional Resources  I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist (by Frank Turek and Norm Geisler) Why Jesus? (by Ravi Zacharias) Tactics (by Greg Koukl) The Case for Christ (by Lee Strobel)  

Many world religions embrace the concept of reincarnation; but it is a Biblical concept? Does the Bible teach that we will be reborn after we die? In this episode, Kenny makes clear what the Bible says about the topic of reincarnation. Highlighted Passages Hebrews 9:27 2 Corinthians 5:8  

Was Jesus ever married? Did He have any biological children? Was He married to Mary Magdalene? Or was she His concubine? And has there been a massive cover up by the Catholic Church to hide these facts, like we read in Dan Brown's best-selling fiction novel "The Da Vinci Code?" In this episode, Kenny answers these questions and talks at length about Dan Brown's famous novel. Kenny starts by making it clear that Jesus was not married, and Kenny highlights the fact that there is absolutely no evidence that ought to lead us to assume that Jesus was ever married or that He ever fathered any biological children. Secondly, Kenny goes through the supposed evidences used by some critics; evidences that supposedly point to the idea that Jesus fathered children. Kenny demonstrates that all of these evidences are fraudulent, hoaxes, or simply absurd. These supposed evidences include: 1) The absurd claims by the early Mormon leaders' asserting that the ancient Greek philosopher Celsus made a statement about Jesus being a polygamous; 2) The Coptic fragment found in 2012 which is known as "the Gospel of Jesus' wife" that eventually was proven to be a forgery; 3) The 2008 documentary "Bloodline" by Bruce Burgess that was based on faulty claims by archaeologist Ben Hammott; eventually Hammott issued an apology for his faulty claims. [NOTE: Click here to see a screenshot of his apology statement]; 4) A 13th century French monk mentioning that there were some people in his region who hypothesized that Mary Magdalene was Jesus' concubine, but doing so with no real evidence to support any such hypothesis; 5) The "Jesus Scroll" made famous by an Australian radio producer after his travel to Israel in 1970's to examine the Masada evacuations, but he produced no authentic evidence that the scroll ever even existed. Third, after going through those five false evidences, Kenny highlights the logical fallacies that critics often argument from in order to make claims that Jesus was married or that He had kids. Kenny finishes the episode by making the point that there is as much evidences for "Abraham Lincoln being a three-eyed Martian" as there is evidence for any supposed biological bloodline of Jesus.  

In this episode, Kenny explains and defines the concepts of Theonomy and Christian Restructionism. Theonomy is the idea that Old Testament law should be considered morally binding. Theonomists reject the traditional Reformed belief that the civil laws of the Mosaic Law are no longer applicable to us today. Most Theonomists are also proponents of Christian Restructionism, which is the idea that the Old Testament law should be considering binding on societies and modern governments.   Additional Links for Research: Westminster Confession on Old Testament Law Ligonier Article on Theonomy and Christian Reconstructionism Ken Gentry's Christian Reconstructionist Blog   Recommended Books: The Institutes of Biblical Law (by Rousas John Rushdoony with Gary North) God and Government (by Gary DeMar)  

Sometimes we feel remorse or guilt for our sinful actions. Is this good or bad? Well, it depends on the source of those feelings and impressions. Sometimes those feelings are coming from the conviction of the Holy Spirit and other times its emotions of condemnation. How can we tell the difference? Conviction is from God, and it causes us to feel sorry for our sin and ought to inspire us to repent. Condemnation is from the enemy of our soul, and it causes us to feel shame and run from from God. In this episode, Kenny discusses the difference in these two impressions, their sources, and their eventual outcomes. Kenny then gives us pastoral advice on how we ought to respond to conviction versus how we ought to respond to condemnation. Highlighted Passages John 3:17 2 Corinthians 5:21 Romans 8:1-2  

Theologically speaking, the Book of Hebrews is one of the most important books of the entire Bible. It eloquently defines Jesus Christ as our High Priest, supreme over all of creation, and highlights Jesus as the fulfillment of the Old Testament Law and Prophets. But both the authorship and audience of this letter are in question. Church tradition had long embraced the Apostle Paul as the author of this letter, but the consensus among most scholars today is that we simply do not know precisely which early church leader wrote the Book of Hebrews. However, scholars today are certain that Hebrews was written by someone who was well educated and intimately acquainted with the Jewish Scriptures. We also know that it certainly written by an apostle or someone directly mentored by an apostle, which is why it was allowed into the Canon, but by which apostle, we're not 100% sure. In this episode, Kenny dives into all of the authorship questions around Hebrews. Kenny dives into the evidence for and against Paul as the author of Hebrews as well as giving us evidences for other potential writers such as Luke, Barnabas, Apollos, Priscilla, and Clement of Rome.

The desire of church leaders to reach irreligious or unchurched people is certainly not a new desire, and there have been many movements throughout church history influenced by that simple desire. One of those movements influenced by that desire is a modern movement within North American Evangelical circles now known as the "seeker sensitive" movement. This modern movement has its roots in the philosophies of mega-church Willow Creek Community Church (pastored by Bill Hybels) in the Chicagoland region. In this episode, Kenny starts off by giving us the multiple definitions and understandings of the term "seeker sensitive" and some of the ramifications of this modern movement. He also highlights the core values of this modern movement, as well as its pros and cons. Kenny makes it clear that he believes church leaders ought to be cognizant and aware of the fact that there might be people in the church service that do not understand the Gospel, the Bible, modern Christian lingo, or modern Evangelical sub-culture, therefore we ought to be cautious about how we articulate certain things from the pulpit, being sensitive to their lack of knowledge. In his typical simply style, Kenny gives us illustrations and key points as to how we ought to view "seekers" in the church and how church leadership ought to approach unbelievers in the midst of the worship gathering. Kenny believes that the Gospel itself is offensive to the natural human mind, so when the Gospel is proclaimed, it will offend some people (and it should). So, with that in mind, Kenny believes preachers and church leaders ought to be cautious not to offend unbelievers with any non-Gospel-related topics. The other important element Kenny highlights in this episode is the primary purpose for church services. Kenny tells us that New Testament themes point to the fact that church services ought to be the place where Christians gather together for worship and to hear the Word preached. While we certainly ought to be sensitive to the fact that there might be "seekers" in the room, we must always remain faithful to this primary purpose. Kenny says that this is where many churches get it wrong; being too seeker sensitive, sometimes even catering to the seekers or seeking to entertain unbelievers to ensure that those unbelievers come back to church. This is where many churches end up compromising the quality of the worship service or they neglect rightly preaching the Word of God. Highlighted Passages Romans 1:16 Romans 10 Hebrews 4:12 Psalm 119 1 Corinthians 1:18  

There is a common saying in modern Evangelical circles that whenever someone repents and comes to faith in Christ (often called "getting saved"), the angels in heaven "throw a party." Is this true? Do the angels indeed celebrate? In this episode, Kenny explains the passage of Scripture that this idea comes from (Luke 15:7-10) and he highlights what those verses are actually saying. The Bible does indeed tell us about a form of rejoicing and abundance of joy that is in heaven whenever humans repent, but when we examine the passage closely, it becomes obvious to us that the source of the joy and rejoicing isn't the angels.

In 1947, an incredible archaeological discovery was made in some desert caves located near the Dead Sea. Several hundred scrolls from ancient times were found; more than 200 hundred of them were manuscripts of Biblical text. Since the discovery, the region around the caves have been excavated and examined. The Dead Sea scrolls have been called the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times. In this episode, Kenny explains these scrolls and why every Christian ought to be familiar with this incredible discovery. The Dead Sea Scrolls have had an incredible impact on how many scholars view our modern Bible. Recommended Second Thoughts on the Dead Sea Scrolls (FF Bruce)

A common question asked by new believers and those inquiring about the Christian faith, "How do we know the Bible hasn't been changed over the course of centuries since the early Church? How can we be confident that the words have not been edited, rewritten, or altered in any way?" This is also a topic often brought up by critics that would seek to undermine the authority and credibility of the Scriptures. One of the primary tenants of the Christian faith is the authority of the Scriptures, but if we cannot prove that the writings are authentic, then how can we know that they are authoritative? The answer has to do with the manuscripts and fragments of manuscripts discovered by archaeologists. In this episode, Kenny uses a fun animated narrative to teach how textual critics reconstruct writings from the ancient world. Then, Kenny examines the number of manuscripts we have today for many popular works from antiquity and compares those numbers with the numbers of manuscripts we have today for the Bible. The evidence we have for the authenticity of Bible is overwhelming!   Recommend Resources How We Got the Bible (Timothy Paul Jones) The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable? (FF Bruce) The Books and the Parchments (FF Bruce) The Canon of Scripture (FF Bruce) Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Norm Giesler) The Text of the New Testament (Bruce Metzger)  

One of the primary tenants of the Christian faith is the authority of the Scriptures. The Bible is heavily relied upon by many people for the development of theology and doctrine as well as personal guidance and advice. But where did the Bible come from? How was this book compiled? In this  episode, Kenny makes the point that we cannot understand the Bible, and its authority, unless we understand the history surrounding the Bible. Once we understand the first century context of how these letters were written, then we can understand how and why it was compiled. Kenny highlights the overall history of the Bible by using a fun animated narrative. Then, Kenny talks through the important moments and ecumenical councils throughout church history that solidified the ultimate compilation of Scriptures into the singular book we now call The Holy Bible.   Recommend Resources How We Got the Bible (Timothy Paul Jones) Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics (Norm Giesler) The Canon of Scripture (FF Bruce)  

The name "Josephus" is a name that is "thrown around" in many Jewish and Christians circles on a regular basis; but who was this man? And why does he matter to our lives today? In a previous episode, Kenny interviewed Dr. John Morris about extra-Biblical evidences for the resurrection of Jesus, and the primary source mentioned in that episode was the works of Flavius Josephus. In this episode, Kenny gives us a glimpse into the life of this influential man. Josephus was a Jewish religious leader who later became a military commander for the Jewish people in the "Jewish Wars" of the first century and then eventually became the state-sponsored historian for the Roman Empire. He wrote extensively about the Jewish people and their way of life. PBS ran an article about Josephus wherein he was referred to as "our primary source" for understanding the first century context of the Judean region and reconstructing first century history.   Recommended Resources Josephus: The Complete Works edited by J.I. Packer Resurrected! by Dr. John Morris

There is a common belief among many Christians that "all sins are equal"... but is idea this true? In this episode, Kenny dives into the history of this common belief and what passages of Scriptures, if any, that this idea is rooted in. Then Kenny gives us a more holistic Biblical approach to properly comparing sin. Yes, it is true that all sins have the same eternal consequences for your soul if you do not repent, so in that sense all sins are equal. But overall, all different types of sins have a variance of their impact on our own souls and upon others. Some sins cause more damage than others, therefore, in that sense, they are not equal.

In this episode, our host Kenny interviews theologian Kenneth Freire about preachers publicly "calling out" other preachers with whom they disagree. Freire says that there is indeed a time and place for preachers to call out other preachers, but he warns against doing so too fast or too flippantly because of the repercussions such actions can have on that preacher's reputation. Kenneth Freire has a Bachelors degree in Biblical Studies from Liberty University and an M.Div. from Regent University. He has more than eight years of experience with leadership development, having trained over 500 men and women in leadership and theology. Kenneth Freire currently serves as a part of the ministry leadership team at Bethany Global University in Minneapolis, MN where he serves as a professor as well as serving as one of the Directors of their Lead Internship gap-year program. Read Kenneth Friere's Blog: www.kenfreire.com Follow Kenneth on Facebook: www.facebook.com/kenneth.freire Check out the Lead Internship: www.leadintern.com