Beards & Bible Podcast

From the Mailbag, Vol. 1 (the unforgivable sin & blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, the theology of the Shack, spiritual bypassing & mental health, the Rise & Fall of Mars Hill podcast, etc.)

Happy new year, Beards & Bible listeners! We asked, and you delivered.
 
Now we want to take time to answer some of your questions related to topics like the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit and the unforgivable sin, the sin of anxiety vs. the mental health disorder of anxiety, Saul and the Witch of Endor, our thoughts on the Rise and Fall of Mars Hill podcast, the Shack, and any more we can squeeze into one episode. Hang on tight, this might be a long one!

BONUS- Beards and Bible Podcast Special Announcement!

We wanted to reach out to our listeners about a very special episode we’re releasing in the new year. We’re calling it, “From the Mailbag”, and we will be answering listener questions that have been sent in to us throughout the year. So since we haven’t recorded yet, if you have any topics, issues, questions, or ideas that you want us to do our best to answer and comment on, send them over to us- beardsandbiblepodcast@gmail.com or reach out to us via the FB page. We will narrow it down the ones we think we might be able to do justice to and address and release our From the Mailbag episode on January 12, 2022.
So merry Christmas, hope and pray you and your family are blessed this season, and we look forward to hearing from you all very soon!

Paul, the Holy Spirit, and Tongues of Fire- A Gift for Today or Charismatic Confusion?

One of the more confusing topics in the New Testament is the subject of the charismatic gifts- healing, prophecy, miracles, and tongues. As bizarre of some of these gifts seem to us, it certainly appears from reading the New Testament, that these gifts that were given by Holy Spirit were a normative part of a Christian life and the experience of the early church.
But has that changed at all? Are those gifts for today? If so, how does somebody get them?
What does it mean to be, “baptized in the Holy Spirit” or “Filled with the Holy Spirit”? And if you don’t speak in tongues, does that mean something’s wrong with you?
 

The Rapture of the Church- 3 Views on what the Bible Really Says and all the Other Parts We Made Up

One of the most hotly debated topics in evangelical Christianity is the topic of the rapture of the Church. Some believers feel strongly that the Bible supports the idea that Christ will come to take believers out of the world before His return with them at the second coming. The secret rapture is “secret” in that no one will see Jesus coming except believers; this is in contrast to the second coming of Christ after the tribulation, when “every eye will see him”.  
There is a lot of disagreement among Christians regarding the timing of this thing called the rapture. Some believe in the pre-tribulation rapture, which occurs before the beginning of the seven years of tribulation. Others hold to a mid-tribulation, which happens in the middle, and still others to a post-tribulation rapture, which would happen at the end of the 7 years.
With all of the confusion and debate surrounding this topic, how do we look objectively at what scripture actually says about it? Can Bible-believing, Jesus loving, Christians agree to disagree if they don’t see eye-to-eye on the specifics of these doctrines? Or does getting this wrong lead someone to apostasy?
 

Can Masculinity be Non-Toxic? Biblical Manhood, Raising Boys, and the Crisis of Men.

Men and women are different. And those differences are not just biological. But you already knew that, didn’t you? So why is that simple admission so important, especially for people of faith?
 
We’re at a critical crossroad as Christians. We have a choice to join our post-modern culture and dismiss gender roles as bygone relics from oppressive societies that have no use in our progressive, enlightened era. For the sake of being accepted and relevant, we can try to label gender roles as simply constructs of the collective imagination of the oppressive patriarchy and nothing more or nothing less than that. But try as we might, they won’t be dismissed and they’re not going away.
 
Why? Because Genesis 5:2 tells us that, “He [GOD] created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them "Mankind" when they were created.” Jesus would later echo this in Mark 10:6 when He declared that “at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female’”. They’re not going away because they were made and given to us by God.
 
What does the Bible say about masculinity and what it means to be a man? What does “toxic masculinity” say about being a man? Is it possible for us to celebrate masculinity without it being toxic? Is promoting masculinity among men the same as degrading and oppressing women? How do we raise our sons to be spiritual leaders, selfless, humble, temperate, self-controlled, and responsible men that know how to honor women and please the Lord?

The Woke Revolution, Critical Race Theory, and the Courage to Tell the Truth

In a recent article from Commentary.org, journalist Bari Weiss recounts an alarming number of incidents that have occurred in numerous academic institutions across the country. She writes of,
“David Peterson, an art professor at Skidmore College in upstate New York. He stood accused in the fevered summer of 2020 of “engaging in hateful conduct that threatens Black Skidmore students.”
What was that hateful conduct? David and his wife, Andrea, went to watch a rally for police officers. “Given the painful events that continue to unfold across this nation, I guess we just felt compelled to see first-hand how all of this was playing out in our own community,” he told the Skidmore student newspaper. David and his wife stayed for 20 minutes on the edge of the event. They held no signs, participated in no chants. They just watched. Then they left for dinner.
For the crime of listening, David Peterson’s class was boycotted. A sign appeared on his classroom door: “STOP. By entering this class you are crossing a campus-wide picket line and breaking the boycott against Professor David Peterson. This is not a safe environment for marginalized students.” Then the university opened an investigation into accusations of bias in the classroom.”
In recent years, disturbing incidents like this one Weiss reported have been happening at an alarming rate. Activism across college campuses and in progressive cities has pushed for radical social, political, and societal revolution. The calls to “dismantle the patriarchy”, “redistribute wealth”, “tax the rich”, “defund the police” are all grounded in the understanding that these institutions are by nature irredeemably discriminatory and must be destroyed. The call to be “woke” is to be conscious of these injustices in society and aware of the need for their dismantling. Critical race theory is an approach to these social changes that also calls for the deconstruction of supposedly “racist” institutions, laws, and establishments.
But are these ideas grounded in truth? Are they working, and will they ever work? What is the Christian response to critical race theory? How is a Christian to view being “woke”? And, what if we get “canceled” or “censored” for simply telling the truth?

Jesus Music- Commercialization, Commodification, and Concealment in the Christian Entertainment Business (feat. Zach Simms)

The word “sing” appears in the Bible over 400 times, and at least 50 of those are commands for followers of Jesus to sing. In Colossians 3:16, believers are commanded to, “sing to God with gratitude from the heart” and to sing to each other, teaching and admonishing through “psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs”. It’s clear from the Bible that God desires for His people to sing- both to Him and to each other. But what happens when that experience of connecting with God and other believers through music gets commodified and turned into a product to be bought and sold?
Total sales from the Christian music industry are more than a half billion US dollars annually. Christian/Gospel music is considered one of the fastest growing areas in recorded music history, with more than 1,400 radio stations and 80 million listeners. Even mainstream brands such as Pepsi MidAmerica, Cracker Barrel, Allstate, NASCAR and McDonald’s, among others, have aligned with Gospel/Christian artists, releases and festivals and events to promote their brands.
It’s clear that there’s money to be made in Christian music and entertainment. But at what cost to the Christian message? And what about the artists, producers, and writers that help create that music? Are they all, truly “Christian”- or are they simply pandering to a carefully selected demographic through setting clean, positive, nonspecific, and formulaic jargon to modern music?
Is the music promoting an authentic lifestyle of radical surrender to Christ as King, or is it simply giving us a soundtrack to a life of safe, comfortable, consumerism with a little Jesus sprinkled on top?

Cults- Characteristics, Warning Signs, and the Spirit of Deception

In modern English, a cult is defined as a social group characterized by unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs, or by its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. Throughout church history, many groups have deviated from the basic tenets of the Christian faith while requiring unquestioning devotion from their followers. Often things like guilt, shame, fear, and manipulation are used as ways to control behavior and brainwash followers.
So what’s the difference between a “cult” and a dysfunctional church? Does any group teaching false doctrine qualify as a cult? What about the Mormons? Jehovah’s Witnesses? And how do we watch out and make sure that we ourselves aren’t deceived?

Calling it Quits- Why Some People Walk Away from Christianity and How We Can Respond

One of the most painful realities of the Christian faith is that some people who once professed an active, vibrant faith in Jesus choose to walk away. Some cite intellectual obstacles for their reasons for leaving the faith- “how can anyone trust the Bible when it seems to contradict science, or how can anyone believe that someone actually came back from the dead?”
Others claim that it’s church hurt, hypocrisy, and abuse from other Christians that’s lead them to walk away. Still others point to a personal tragedy or hurt that’s lead them to a deep disappointment in the idea of a loving, yet all powerful God.
How do make sense of the stories of people leaving Christianity? More than that, how do we respond to friends, family members, and loved ones that just don’t believe anymore?

Afghanistan, the Taliban, and the Persecuted Church

On August 15, Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul fell to the Taliban. During the month of August, more than 100,000 people have been evacuated by military airlifts from US and coalition partners or commercial flights, and many thousands more desperately await evacuation. On August 26 there was a suicide bombing outside of the airport in Kabul that killed at least 60 Afghans and 13 US service members, and wounded more than 100 others (ISIS-K, Islamic State group’s Afghan affiliate claimed responsibility).
Afghanistan is now effectively under the rule of the Taliban- the ultra fundamentalist Islamic group that ruled the nation of Afghanistan with an iron fist for 5 years before U.S. led forces removed them from power in 2001.
The situation in Afghanistan is a horrifying nightmare. It’s Madness. Absolute Chaos. And now with the Taliban in power, the small population of Christians in Afghanistan are at risk for even more significant persecution than before.
How did all of this happen? Who are the Taliban and what do they want? And what it’s like to be a Christian in Afghanistan right now? How can we be praying for them, supporting them, and helping in any way? And is there any hope for Afghanistan?