All in Heaven and Hell

343 Death of My Dad, Reflections on Death

343 Death of My Dad, Reflections on Death

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Eds Personal, Heaven and Hell

On Saturday 12/16/23 my Dad died after a four-month long battle with acute Crohn's. What was that all like? What happens to us in death? In this personal episode I share some fun memories I have about my dad, experiences we shared, and even the funny obituary instructions he left behind. This is no systematic episode, just a mish mash of theological, existential, and biographical reflections. What was amazing about how Jesus went through death? Why do I seem surprised by the grief of death? What kind of tatoo does my son think he might get? What was interesting about my Dad and alcohol? What kind of service will my Dad get? What are some existential takeaways I have ensuing this experience? Come laugh and think and grieve and hope with me.

332 RfYtB (6) My RealPolitik, The Moral Goodness of Hell

332 RfYtB (6) My RealPolitik, The Moral Goodness of Hell

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Reasons for Your Belief, Heaven and Hell, Eds Personal

A Christian engagement with politics is idealistic, right? I mean, don't Christians want both a righteous messiah and an earthly Nirvana? Not me. I explain why I do engage politically, noting my historical and theological reasoning. In the show's second part I work through the topic of hell. Can we say God is loving if he sends people there? Can we say God is just if he sends people there? Well, actually, I believe there are profound reasons to suggest that hell is morally good. Let's be more nuanced.

293 Shotgun: NDEs, Doctrine as Reality, My Shrink Jesus

293 Shotgun: NDEs, Doctrine as Reality, My Shrink Jesus

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Christian Worldview, Current Events, Heaven and Hell

Near Death Experiences (NDEs) consistently report a pattern that defies common Christian expectation. What's that pattern? Why does it matter? Then, prompted by my wife, I talk about what doctrine meant to the apostles and what it sh/could mean to us. Finally, I present and assess the new model of Christianity as therapy. Overwhelmed by cultural trends this psychological model is re-shaping Christianity. What dangers does that present? All along the way I'm laughing and thinking, and enjoying being alive in God.

065 Heaven and Hell (15) What About Those Who Never Hear The Gospel?

065 Heaven and Hell (15) What About Those Who Never Hear The Gospel?

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Heaven and Hell

What does the Bible suggest to us about those who never hear the Gospel? What points of logic should be brought to bear on such a question? Does a horrible death equate to eternal life? Does pure faith equate to salvation? Is the issue how sincere one's faith is? In this issue I also reflect on the recent SCOTUS, Justice Kavanaugh, hearings. Still more, I tell the story about when I made my only hole-in-one.

063 Heaven and Hell (13) Paul: Hell and Universalism

063 Heaven and Hell (13) Paul: Hell and Universalism

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Heaven and Hell

What did Paul teach about hell? Or did he at all? Did he, instead, promote universalism: that all will be saved in the end, no matter what? What is the constant basis for universalism? How do we process salvation in light of a first century Jewish mentality? How do Modernism and the human desire for mastery go hand-in-hand? What do I think about people who have bright lime-green hair?

062 Heaven and Hell (12) The Devil and Hell

062 Heaven and Hell (12) The Devil and Hell

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Heaven and Hell

Does the devil rule in hell now? Can demons read our thoughts? What are the signs of demon possession? What makes it possible for demons to enter our souls? Is it even Christian to root for the Dallas Cowboys?! What does the devil like to say to us? Why do some regions and areas have more demonic activity than others? Are demons even real or are they projections of our consciousness? I ask and answer 9 questions about the demonic realm.

060 Heaven and Hell (10) Jesus On Hell, What Did He Say?

060 Heaven and Hell (10) Jesus On Hell, What Did He Say?

Uncensored Unprofessor
Jesus, Heaven and Hell

Is hell real? Is it eternal? Or is hell just Jewish symbolism for annihilation? To answer some of those questions we look at what Jesus had to say about hell, the terms he used, the contexts within which he spoke, and why he talked about it at all. Did he build on the Old Testament teaching or completely re-vamp that? Also, I discuss the Roman Catholic Church's ongoing sexual-abuse catastrophe.

059 Heaven and Hell (9) Hell? Oh Why Bother?!

059 Heaven and Hell (9) Hell? Oh Why Bother?!

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Heaven and Hell

Why does the Church teach about hell? I will note four reasons why I believe there must be a hell, although that doesn't always make me comfortable. What is the central reason Christians have believed in hell? Are there gradations of biblical teachings that are less and more offensive? If not, why? If so, what do we do with that? During an A.D.D. break I also review the movie, "Mission Impossible: Fallout."

058 Heaven and Hell (8) Eschaton Gravy

058 Heaven and Hell (8) Eschaton Gravy

Uncensored Unprofessor
Heaven and Hell

Part 2 of a reflection on the Eschaton, this episode builds on both biblical teachings and foundational elements for human nature to imagine what life after the Resurrection will be like. How will it be new? Totally new? Will you still be you? Will we be able to grow in the afterlife, or will we be frozen by our current identity? Will we be creative? Will we work or play, or neither? And what about time? Will it be entirely eliminated by the eternity of God? What do I want to do for my first 1000 years there?

057: Heaven and Hell (7) Escha-what? Eschaton!

057: Heaven and Hell (7) Escha-what? Eschaton!

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top25, Heaven and Hell

If Heaven (Intermediate state) is not our final God-intended goal, what is? Just what will resurrected life be like? Will we lose our memories? Will we lose our identities? Will we lose our friendships? What is God going to do with the earth? Will he destroy it? Where will there be continuity with this life? And, why will there be continuity with this life, this eon? Yeah, just what on earth is the Eschaton?! Come and—following the trail blazed by Scripture—think theo-logically with me about the future that awaits us!

056: Heaven and Hell (6) Heaven: The Intermediate State

056: Heaven and Hell (6) Heaven: The Intermediate State

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Heaven and Hell

When believers die do they immediately experience the resurrection? Is there a resurrection of the soul without the body? What is the intermediate state, is it purgatory? Does the bible teach about the intermediate state? Does the soul experience reincarnation? Is there consciousness after death? Will we be able to physically touch each other in the afterlife? What does the bible mean when it says those who are dead are "asleep"? Are the unrighteous punished before they go to hell?

055 Heaven and Hell (5) Jesus Rez, My Rez!

055 Heaven and Hell (5) Jesus Rez, My Rez!

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Jesus, Heaven and Hell

Will you still be you in the resurrection? Or will you be completely different? Does the resurrection happen at the moment of death? What do the incarnation and resurrection say about how God's values our bodies? Is God trying to save us from creation or save us with creation? And I have a "super deep" A.D.D. reflection in this episode that you won't want to miss!

054 Heaven and Hell (4) The New Testament on Heaven

054 Heaven and Hell (4) The New Testament on Heaven

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Heaven and Hell

To a first-century Jew, what was profoundly mind-blowing about the timing of Jesus' resurrection? What does the New Testament witness to about Jesus' resurrection? Was his body the same? Did he appear only as a spirit? What does his resurrection mean for the resurrection of you and me? If the resurrection happens at the moment of death, what is going on with all the cemeteries in the world? Come and think with your brain such that your heart will be filled with hope!

053 Heaven and Hell (3) Inter-Testamental Shift

053 Heaven and Hell (3) Inter-Testamental Shift

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Heaven and Hell

The Old Testament was vague at best concerning the afterlife and what happens to the self. The Inter-Testamental period represents a significant shift thereon. Why? What changed? What was going on among the ancient Jews to cause such an enormous paradigm shift? Did Jesus believe more like an OT Jew or an inter-testamental Jew? Even more pressing, was God still at work during this "silent" period? Or, is God only at work when it concerns us and our era?

052 Heaven and Hell (2) Old Testament Death and Afterlife

052 Heaven and Hell (2) Old Testament Death and Afterlife

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Heaven and Hell

What did the ancient Hebrews believe about death and the afterlife? What was their emphasis? How does the Old Testament set the stage for what occurs in the New Testament? Was Jesus consistent with or divergent from the Old Testament when he taught on the afterlife? How did the Hebrews differ from their surrounding neighbors concerning death and the dead? This episode helps us to see how divergent Jesus was in his person, teachings, and actions.

051 Heaven and Hell (1) Death to the Afterlife

051 Heaven and Hell (1) Death to the Afterlife

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top25, Heaven and Hell

This is episode #1 in a series on Heaven & Hell. Why don't Christians any longer talk about or imagine life following the resurrection? What caused believers to make the afterlife irrelevant? What did Jesus believe about the afterlife? Answering questions like those, we will also look at some Barna polling agency stats on American belief in the afterlife. And, of course, I'll mix in some of my dry and zany humor!