Serving As a Kingdom Call
For a long time, western Christianity has sat back and let the government fulfill mandates given to the body of Christ, including the care of the poor and orphans.  And for a lot of Christians on the conservative end of the theological spectrum, “social gospel” was relegated to liberal denominations and was viewed as less than the “real” Gospel. In the current economic situation in the United States of America, many states are having to cut some of the very programs that reflect those needful ones in our society.  Ray and Steve discuss how this shows the glaring omission of the body of Christ and issue a call to believers to step up to the plate and see h

Should Christians Support the State of Israel?
This week, Ray and Steve take up part 2 of the audio comment from John over at Jesus Geek.  In this part of his audio comment, John asks a very pointed question about support (financial and otherwise) of the current state of Israel. This episode ties in with the most recent episode about eschatology.  For many people, their view of the end times forces them into a view of Israel that produces difficulties as outlined in this episode. You also don’t want to miss an appearance in this episode by a particularly strangely-dressed 70’s/80’s band.

Apocalypse How?
John from The Jesus Geek sent an audio comment to BtB that bounces off a passing comment Ray and Steve made in the last episode.  Part 1 of his comment asks where they stand on their view of the end times. While both Ray and Steve agree with John that this issue should not be as divisive and “hot” as it often ends up being, they put their necks out there anyway and share where they are on this topic.  For both Ray and Steve, change has been dramatic in their views of this over time. Join BtB next week for the second half of John’s audio comment. Enjoy!

The End Doesn’t Justify the Means
Quite ironically, considering our recent podcasts about non-violence and the seeming (to us, at least) contradiction between the words and example of Jesus and the notion that violent means can be justified in some situations, a recent news story comes out regarding the murder of an abortion-performing doctor.  News interviews have painted a picture of the alleged murderer as one who confesses Christ and who performed this violent act to save the lives of unborn children. Ray and Steve discuss this news story briefly, but expand the discussion to a larger question about ends and means.  The title gives away our conclusion

Taking Jesus Seriously, Part 2
In a follow-up to last week’s episode, Ray and Steve continue to discuss the importance of taking the words of Jesus seriously.  It seems that the words of Jesus get so easily explained away or altered to be more palatable to our cultural conditions.  But why don’t we just start with what he said and go from there?