This topic came from a viewer. The question: What does "saved" mean? Strangely, the answer reveals multiple problems with the word, and also reveals how it should be understood - once we discover the way it is actually used in the Bible. ——————————————————————————————————————— Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question you would like me t…

Our daughter recently began researching our family tree. Her discovery was surprising: we have two famous ancestors. One on my father’s side and one on my mother's. These discoveries got me thinking about the importance of notable ancestors... and what it is that REALLY makes us special. ——————————————————————————————————————— Have a spiritual, the…

Can a children's book written for toddlers tell us something about the nature of God? Yes, and there is even scripture to back it up! ——————————————————————————————————————— Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question you would like me to tackle? Contact me via email: Dan@SkyPilot.zone And be sure to check me out on Facebook: https://www.f…

Having just returned from vacation, I found myself wondering what god would think about our times of rest, vacation, and play? ——————————————————————————————————————— Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question you would like me to tackle? Contact me via email: Dan@SkyPilot.zone And be sure to check me out on Facebook: https://www.facebook…

In the book of 1 Timothy, Paul gives instruction for women to be submissive and silent. This episode asks the question, is Paul's instruction the definitive statement on the role of women in the church and community, or does the Bible have more to say on the matter? ——————————————————————————————————————— Have a spiritual, theological, or religious…

Monotheism is such a basic and fundamental theological concept at the heart of the three Abrahamic faiths, as well as many others. What could possibly be wrong with it? This episode does not argue against it, but instead point out, if you are a monotheist, the word may not mean what you think it means. ——————————————————————————————————————— Have a…

This episode is in response to a reader who suggested this topic. The thought behind this topic is simple: Has the Judeo-Christian tradition always believed in Hell? If not, where did it come from? And also , we should be aware that there are some pretty significant theological difficulties with the concept of hell. ————————————————————————————————…

There is word, a single word, in the Bible that has been woefully and tragically misunderstood. One interpretation of this word leads to harmony and abundant living, the other interpretation could quite possibly lead to the ruin of humanity. So, what is the word and why do so many Christians choose the interpretation that could lead to our destruct…

The Bible contains 66 books. Of the 27 books that comprise the New Testament, only four are dedicated to telling the story of Jesus's earthly ministry; these are the Gospels. The Gospels each tell the story of Easter morning and the discovery of Jesus's empty tomb, but there is surprising variation between them. This episode highlights the differen…

There’s a St. Francis quote appearing on social media in which he seems to says that, when you die, you can and WILL "take it with you." This left me with two questions: Did he actually say this? And more importantly, what does it mean? This episode answers both questions. (Spoiler alert!) He did not say it, but...maybe he wishes he had! Watch and …

I encounter many people online who are concerned about their faith. Their concern is often expressed by asking basic questions, and most of the questions have a similar feel: Am I doing this right? This episode offers five simple questions to evaluate your faith and see if you are headed in the right direction. —————————————————————————————————————…

Experts from varied professions agree on one thing: you should endeavor to live "in the now." My take is that living “in the now” is wonderful, as long as you are aware of the pitfall - the heresy - that potentially lurks within. This episode describes the heresy of now, why it is dangerous, and also surprisingly common. ———————————————————————————…

An email from a listener, responding to last week's podcast, prompted me to make this episode about a simple but powerful reality for all people who follow Jesus. It can help you avoid being a stumbling block to others AND offer a tool for deeping your own faith. ———————————————————————————————————————. Have a spiritual, theological, or religious q…

Are you a person of faith? Do you know what you believe? Could you areticulate your belief to someone else, if asked? I asked a group of people on Reddit to tell me what they believed - not to tell me the tenents of their faith - but to tell me what they personally believe. I was genuinely surprised by the results. #humor #christianity results. ———…

I have heard and read so much recently from Christians who espouse their belief that God is on the side of their political candidate. After watching so much contantious debate, it seemed less than wise to venture into those hostile waters with an opinion. And yet... I decided, "what the heck?" And so in this episode, I endevour to answer what is, i…

I am a huge fan of hero movies. Superheros, westerns, or war heroes, I love them all. I was thinking recently about how much I enjoy them and found myself wondering if, perphaps, I am drawn to Jesus because he is the ultimate hero story. This episode examines the possible intersections between hero tropes in movies and the story of Jesus. —————————…

I recently came across a quote from Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross that caught my attention. She bluntly said there is a life choice that is so important, if you don’t choose it, you are a "prostitute" and "you will not have a pleasant death." This episode offers two opposing life choices. One is proposed by Dr. Kubler-Ross. Other is a movie quote, but …

In this episode, I explain how I believe many people think God is a lot like the computer algorithm behind Wordle, the popular word puzzle. I tell you how I came to this realization, why people might hold this belief, and of course, how I think it is probably not how God really sees us. ———————————————————————————————————————. Have a spiritual, the…

I recently came across a post that made a simple statement: "the Bible is filled with stories." Suddenly, there was a strong response from quite a few people: “No, the Bible is true!” This episode offers an answer to two questions: is the Bible filled with stories and if so, can these stories - any stories - be true? ———————————————————————————————…

Within the the world of spirituality, faith groups, and even mental health, there is a growing movement to move away from thankfulness and towards something that sounds remarkably similar: gratitude. This episode explains the difference between the two, why there is a push for the change, and an easy method for making the change in your own life. —…

In 1965, Charles Schultz, the creator of the Peanuts comic strip, released the television show A Charlie Brown Christmas. Most of the show was about Charlie Brown feeling out of sync with the rest of the world around him during the Christmas season and his trying to figure out what “Christmas is really all about. “ In the end, he comes to a breakin…

If you live in the United States, like I do (even if you didn't grow up religious) you probably feel like you have a pretty good mastery of the Christmas story. And yet, there are elements of the story that we learned as children, that are assumed as factual, but which some Biblical scholars now argue may not be correct. None of these challenges th…

A viewer wrote to me and said, if only believers could prove their faith and prove the existence of God, then he, and many others, would not only take them seriously but believe in themselves. This episode is my response. ———————————————————————————————————————. Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question you would like me to tackle? Conta…

Running is one of those pastimes where most of us feel like there are "real" runners, and then there are just those who run. “Real” runners are the dedicated...the special...the elite. I watched a half marathon run by our home on Thanksgiving Day and it caused me to wonder, what exactly makes someone a “real” runner? ———————————————————————————————…

This episode was sparked by quotes from two famous people. One is Steve Jobs, the billionaire entrepreneur. The other is Brandon Saunderson, the prolific fantasy author. The first quote was said by Steve Jobs at a college commencement as he shared his thoughts about the best way to approach every day in life. The other quote was written by Sanderso…

I was scrolling through my social media feeds when I came across a quote from Neil deGrasse Tyson in which he describes the nature of philosophy, theology, and science. I was so intrigued, that I began to research the quote as well as Dr Tyson's beliefs. This episode is the result of that quest. ———————————————————————————————————————. Have a spiri…

This episode starts by quoting Colin Cowherd as he talks about the problem with the Dallas Cowboys. It then talks about who does or doesn't have the best coffee. We go in search of the best city in the world to live in - and then tie all of this together in hopes of living with a more healthy faith and practicing a healthier religion - regardless o…

The question for this episode is so simple: what is Jesus' name? And yet, the vast majority of Christians probably couldn't come close to answering this question. Check out the latest episode! Test your knowledge! Be the first on your block to actually know his name! ———————————————————————————————————————. Have a spiritual, theological, or religio…

While some within Christianity debate whether or not Jesus had siblings, there are others who believe that he had nothing less than a twin brother! And, the person they believe to be his twin, is someone you have heard of. ———————————————————————————————————————. Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question you would like me to tackle? Cont…

There has been a great deal of effort amongst those who study the Bible and ancient history, to peel away the opaque layers of centuries and get closer to understanding the historical Jesus. But what about his mother, Mary? What do we know about her? And, how has the church tried to shape our understanding of her through the 2000 years since she li…

Jesus says that if we have faith, any faith - even if it is as small as a mustard seed - we can achieve amazing things. But what if you don't have any faith? What if you desperately want to have faith, but you have none? Can you borrow someone else's? ———————————————————————————————————————. Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question you …

179 previous episodes and every single one has a question for the title. The very first time we break with that tradition is to tell everyone NOT to buy a Bible!?! And you know the reason? It wasn't intended for you. Really. This episode really does suggest an alternative to owning a Bible, and more importantly, tells you the reason why. ——————————…

I recently overheard someone tell a total stranger about the troubles in his life. The stranger's response was to say that she would pray for him. Upon hearing this, he suddenly switched from wanting to share to being obviously uncomfortable by her offer. This podcast explores an important question: Should we tolerate the prayers of people whose fa…

This episode looks at the intersection of the time-travel science fiction sub-genre, created by H. G. Wells, and the more modern idea of Chaos Theory. How are they related, and what can knowing more about their intersection do to inspire us to be better people today? ———————————————————————————————————————. Have a spiritual, theological, or religio…

Have you lived a life in which you, at times, feel thankful for the blessings you have received? This is a good thing, right? Well, oddly enough, it can also be manifested by something I call Plantation House Theology. I invite you to list and then tell me what you think. ———————————————————————————————————————. Have a spiritual, theological, or re…

There is a rabid fascination, and even obsession, in our culture today with the growing field of artificial intelligence (A.I.). Today's podcast is as unusual as it is simple: I asked an A.I. to write an episode arguing in favor of the existence of God. The results were different — very different —than I expected. Check it out! ————————————————————…

An incantation is the performance of words that are believed to have a magical effect when spoken or sung. A prayer, on the other hand, is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. But, are these two descriptions really saying the same thing...or are they something quite differ…

There is a growing belief within modern Western Christianity that the Biblical teachings of Jesus just don't cut it anymore. You may be thinking, “yeah, yeah, liberals are always trying to remove Jesus and His teachings from mainstream Christianity.” But this Jesus-is-out-of-touch mentality is coming from the other end of the spectrum - the conserv…

Two people's dramatic stories intersect on one of the world's highest and most difficult mountains. The result? Questions. Questions about what happened, questions about what should have happened, and most importantly, questions about if, and how we see ourselves in this story. ———————————————————————————————————————. Have a spiritual, theological,…

We Christians share the Ten Commandments with Judaism. Except they call them something different., they don’t have all the same commandments that we do, and they interpret them differently, also. And, wait until you hear how they understand the commandments were written on the stone tablets! Once you listen to this episode, you may be thinking abou…

Ever wondered to yourself if there is any overlap between an Orson Wells movie and what we call Jesus? No? Okay, how about this: have you ever wondered about the things within Christianity that are so commonly said we cease to think about where they came from or what they originally meant? No again? huh. Well...listen to this podcast anyway. Things…

The idea for this episode came as I was writing the podcast on being silly. It dawned on me that, in all the stories we have about him, Jesus never laughs. I'm not saying that Jesus never laughed. I assume that he did. But, it is disappointing, to me, that scripture never mentions it. That got me thinking about other thing that are not in the Bible…

Winding its way from Veggie Tales to court jesters, to Peter Pan, and then finally ending with the wisdom of C. S. Lewis, this episode makes a case for the sacredness of silliness. ———————————————————————————————————————. Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question you would like me to tackle? Contact me via email: Dan@SkyPilot.zone And be…

Simple question, followed by a simple straightforward answer. This is one of those episodes in which the answer may be controversial for some, but is vitally important for the health of our nation and the grounding of our own spiritual lives. ———————————————————————————————————————. Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question you would lik…

When interpreting the Constitution, there is a great deal of discussion around the original intent of our Founding Fathers. So it seems appropriate to look at their personal beliefs when we attempt to answer the question: Was our country founded as a Christian nation? So, lets begin this journey with Benjamin Franklin. —————————————————————————————…

This episode takes a look at the small everyday value judgements with which we fill our lives, and then strives to help us realize why they might be more important than we think. ———————————————————————————————————————. Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question you would like me to tackle? Contact me via email: Dan@SkyPilot.zone And be s…

I was listening to a song by Miranda Lambert recently which is entitled Famous in a Small Town. The title doesn't really tell you about a major focus of the chorus: dying famous. This episode openly asks the question: how Can I die famous? ———————————————————————————————————————. Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question you would like m…

The Dunnning-Kruger effect is a psychological phenomena in which our self-assessed mastery of knowledge and abilities in a particular area are not always matched by our by reality. This episode explores some recent studies and then explains how this relates to our own faith journeys . ———————————————————————————————————————. Have a spiritual, theol…

For many many generations there has been a widely know list of the seven deadly sins: lust, gluttony, greed , sloth, wrath, envy and pride. But, if the list is so ancient, that raises several questions: is it from the Bible? if not, where did it come from? and, what purpose does it serve us today? ———————————————————————————————————————. Have a spi…

There are a handful of questions I was asked repeatedly when I was in parish ministry. This particular question was asked in many forms, but always came back to the same basic question: do animals have souls? This episode takes a fresh look at the question, what is means, what is actually asking, and how it might be of particular relevance today. —…