Life on the Water

We chat about the Gospel of Thomas, and whether or not it can tell us anything about Jesus.  This is an ancient gospel that didn't make it into the Bible, but may have been a contemporary to the gospels that did.  That is, it likely existed side by side Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  Even more, it likely competed with them to become the dominant view of Christianity.  Here's the thing, though.  While it shares many sayings and parables with the Bible, there are many sayings that are very peculiar.  We take a look at both the familiar and strange, and consider what Thomas can tell us about the Jesus of Nazareth who roamed the earth so many years ago.     

We chat about the history between Palestine and Israel.  Israel and Palestine are in another war...or rather, continue the war that began over 70 years ago.  The history of between these two peoples is complicated.  You wouldn't think that looking at the black and white versions of reality plastered all over social media.  Merry and I explore the gray zone, the no man's land of the conflict.  We sit within the tension.  And we ponder what everyday-folk can do, if we can, indeed, do anything.  

We chat about the Gospel of Mary, another book that didn't make it into the Bible.  The book is a wee bit weird.  It has language and symbols that are hard to understand.  And then pages are missing, so we are left to fill in a lot of blans.  But, it gives us a peak at the interesting, early centuries, religious movement we now know as Gnosticism.  More importantly, this book tells us how important Mary (Magdalene?) was to the early Christian movements.   

We chat about the Infancy Gospel of James.  What do we know about Joseph and Mary?  We know they are the parets of Jesus?  But what about their lives before all that Jesus stuff started happening?  What was Mary like as a child?  How and when did she meet Joseph?  What was Joseph like?  What's this I hear about an Immaculate Conception?  The Infancy Gospel of James tackles alot of these questions, and tries to provide us with answers.  But did the authors of this gospel really think people would take their stories as facts?  Or did they, and their readres, know that they were merely commenting on the Bible?  Why did they write this Gospel?  What was their point?  We explore all this, and much more, in this week's episode.  

We chat about a gospel account that didn't make it into the Bible, The Infancy Gospel of Thomas.  This book tells us about Jesus' childhood.  What was it like to be a God-Man discovering one's own power?  What was it like to know more than all your teachers?  What happens if you accidentally bump into the shoulder of a young Jesus?  Well...you die, that's what happens.  So what can we learn from this interesting book?  Do we take it seriously?  Was it ancient commentary on more authoritative gospel account?  Perhaps it was just fireside entertainment--like modern day movies or tv?  Listen in as we chat about all this.

We chat about the story of Peter trying to keep Jesus from going to Jerusalem.  Everyone knows what will happen to him if he goes there.  Even Jesus knows what will happen to him.  He will be arrested, tried, and executed.  Naturally, Peter tries to stop him from going.  Jesus calls him a stumbling block, and tells him that he is thinking about human things and not divine things.  We chat about why this story was told among early Jesus followers, and why Matthew may have included it in his Gospel account.

We cover a lot in this episode.  First we chat about our fall plans to participate in a charity golf tournament-- last place wins a canister of tennis balls.  By the end of September, we will be richer by one canister of tennis balls.  We then, unplanned, process the trauma of sending our eldest daughter to kindergarten.  We then get to our subject at hand--Peter confesses to Jesus that he is the king, the savior of ancient Israel that they have been waiting for.  But then Jesus orders his disciples not to tell anyone what Peter just said.  We ask the question, "why?"  Why can't they tell the world this good news?  And we also look at how Peter's confession has more to do with the political then the spiritual identity of Jesus.  Enoy! 

We chat about the story of Jesus healing a Canaanite woman's daughter.  This is one of those tought stories.  Why?  She asks Jesus for a favor, and he ignores her.  The disciples ask Jesus to address her.  She keeps bugging them.  But instead of advocating for the healing she is asking for, they ask Jesus to send her away.  Then Jesus tells the disciples that he won't throw food intended for children to the dogs.  Ouch!  But she persists.  She runs up to Jesus and says that even the dogs get the scraps.  Picture the dogs eating from the trash, not under the table.  What a tough passage.  Jesus doesn't look that good here.  But in the end, he heals the woman's daughter, and is awe struck by her faith.  Join us as we chat about what this teaches us today.   

The gospel of Matthew has a lot to say about Jesus.  And each thing we learn about him is even better than the last.  You could say that Matthew is the Ron Popeil of the New Testament.  We learn that Jesus is teacher.  But wait, there's more.  Jesus is a king.  But wait, there's more.  Jesus is a savior.  But wait.....!  This week, we talk about Jesus as our savior.  But what is Jesus saving us from?  The answer will surprise you.     

Jesus feeds over 5000 people at once.  We chat about what this story meant back then, that it was a way of saying "Jesus is our king, not you!" without really saying it.  Merry also talks about her book, The Diplomacy of Migration.  We then apply her thesis theologically to the the Biblical story to see how we can apply these lessons today in our lives and in our world.  

We chat about the parables that appear in Matthew 13.  There are seven of them put side by side.  Sunday communities rarely read them all together.  We tend to divide them over mulitiple Sundays.  And so we miss the big picture significance of them that Matthew is trying to paint.  We chat about these seven parables--why these seven together, and why do they appear where they do?  The answer couldn't be clearer.   

We chat about Jesus' parable we call The Wheat and the Weed.  A farmer plants good seed in a field.  Then that night, his enemy sows imposter seed in the same field.  The whole season, no one realizes that there are weeds among the wheat.  By the time they realize what happened, its too late, because it is nearly harvest time.  So, the reapers come and do their job.  They gather the weed and burn it.  Then, they gather the wheat and put it in the barn.  So, what the heck is Jesus talking about?  And along the way, we talk about a new strategy Chesapeake Bay locals are using to keep beach vacationers off their backroads.    

We chat about Jesus' famous parable.  You can find it in Matthew 13.  It goes by many names, the parable of the soil, the parable of the seeds, and the parable of the sower.  We also chat about how Jesus used parables, and how this story is a commentary on Isaiah.  

Paul wrote a letter to the Romans many years ago.  It was such a good letter that it made it into the Bible.  But what on earth is Paul going on about?  We give an overview of Paul's letter, his motivations for writing it, and what he sought to accomplish.  We also focus on ch. 7: 15-25 when he laments that he is not able to stop sinning.  We put these words in the context of an ancient Jewish man struggling to live out God's will in his life, and  lamenting that he cannot live up to people's expectations of him.  We then ask how we can apply this to our lives today.     

Our world is full of tough choices.  Some of these are innocuous.  Some have consequences for ourselves and other people.  Here's an example.  A few weeks ago, a Christian denomination voted to ordain women into pastoral ministry.  Then, another denomination voted to affirm their stance to not involve women in leadership.  But both point to the Bible to support their claim.  These truth claims compete with one another, and we are asked to choose between them.  Which one is right?  Which one is on the side of God?  Matt and Merry explore this and other similar competing truth claims we faced throughout history and ones we face today.  How do we know we are supporting the right ones?  How do we know we are on God's side of any given issue?    

We chat about a difficult saying of Jesus.  "You think I came to bring peace. No, I came not with peace, but with a sword." What the heck? We chat about how this saying has been used by Christians, ane how some are using it today. We also discuss why we think this is something Jesus actually said. And then we change the tone of the saying. What if Jesus wasn't being aggressive, but was lamenting. He wanted peace and unity, but saw violence and division instead. Would this then change how we hear this saying, and change how we apply it to our lives? 

We sit with our own co-host, scholar in Chinese-American diplomatic history, and author of The Diplomacy of Migration, Dr. Meredith Oyen, to chat about the different contemporary expressions of the Church in China.  We then, well Pr. Matt, consider how the Church in China can inform how we read the Bible.  We look at Matthew 10, and we consider why the ancient Jesus movement was being persecuted by the powers-that-be.  The point here isn't to draw a parallel between the contempoary Church in China and the ancient Jesus movement, but to give us one more skill in our hermeneutical toolbox as we both interpret and apply ancient scriptures to our modern lives.    

We chat about that one time when Jesus healed a woman and then raised a dead person on the same day.  You can read it in Matthew 9: 18-26.  Why does Matthew tell the story like this?  Why these two miracles at the same time?  What is Matthew trying to tell us about Jesus?  And what does this all mean for us today?  

We chat about one of Jesus' most famous saying.  "All y'all are the salt of the earth. And y'all are a light shining into the world."  But who is he talking about? Is it you? The answer has been right there under our noses for 2000 years. And we talk about it this week.

A new website has emerged claiming that it can write a term paper, or even a sermon, using aritificial intelligence.  We chat about the ethics of this.  Knee jerk reaction says it is clearly and distinctly wrong. But, what if a student used it as a resource?  What if the student cited the work? Or, if a pastor has a hectic week filled with visits, funerals, and the typical surprises of congregation ministry? Maybe they can use it then? (with that said, any pastor with their salt can shoot from the hip every once in a while and sound good doing it).  But, we dig deep into this emerging technology and how it will eventually mean that computers will become our overlords.  

We're back after three months off to welcome a new addition to our family.  And we come back swinging.  This week we give you an update on the past three months, we chat about what pastors is and what they should do, and we chat about a textual variant in John's gospel account that questions how unified the early church was on the question of who Jesus is- Son of God, God's chosen one, or both.  

We chat about one of Jesus' parables. In it Jesus tells the story of an estate manager who was fired by the owner. He was accused of wasting the owner's money. Facing unemployment and bankruptcy, he cuts deals with the folk that owe his boss money. His boss finds out about his trickery. So what does he do? He praises him! Whhaattt! We also chat about The Taiwan Relations Act and also football.

We chat about pastors plagiarizing in the pulpit.  Another mega-church pastor has been caught doing something fishy.  He allegedly uses other people's ideas and words, doesn't cite them, and then says he doesn't have to.  So, we chat about what plagiarism looks like behind the pulpit.  We also discuss MLK's "I Have a Dream Speech," and what that event teaches us about the do's and don't's of employing someone else's ideas and words when preaching.  

What does the BIble have to say about forgiving student loan debt?  There's a lot of people quoting the Bible in the wake of Biden's announcement about forgiving student loan debt.  Some say you have to repay.  Others say the Bibel says otherwise.  We chat about all that, and give our take on things.  We also chat about yet another mega-church scandal involving the alleged misbehaviors of a big name pastor.  And we debate when the fall season begins-- after Labor Day or at the kickoff of the first football game?

In the stories about Jesus, there's a lot of talk about when it is ok to heal someone. May you heal someone on the Sabbath? Why was this such a big deal? Why was Jesus so insistent on it? And what does any of this have to do with today? Along the way, we chat about visits to the dentist, names of generic cereals, and bane of social media.     

Merry and I chat about a recent twitter debate over the role of children in church.  Do they even belong there?  We also chat about a recent vacation Bible school we participated in.  We then share memories of our childhood VBS experiences, and we recognize the advanced level crafts Merry did in the days of yore.

Diana Butler Bass recently gave a sermon about Mary Magdalene.  She raises the research of a student at Duke who recently discovered that the story from the Bible of Jesus raising Lazarus had been edited in an early transmission.  Did Lazarus have two sisters?  Or was the second woman watching Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead Mary Magdalene?  And if so, what does this mean?  We read the sermon, and we have some thoughts about it.  Follow this link to read the sermon with us.

We chat about the possibility of a strategic and friendly competition between the U.S. and China. We also talk about a new BBQ joint that opened down the street, and the merits of putting slaw on a pulled pork sandwich.

In the last year, a movememt called the Reawaken America Tour has doubled down on the idea that the U.S. Constitution was inspired by God. One prominent person is even calling on pastors to preach on the U.S. constitution just as much as they do the Bible.  We chat about this, and compare this movement to some of the early Jesus movements. 

We've tested positive for Covid, and share some of our experience with you.  We also go back into the archives to present our take on Jesus' parable commonly known as The Good Sarmaritan.  

Matt and Merry chat about conflicts in the early years of the Jesus movement, and how they worked through them.  We also chat about tv shows, predictable plots, jumping the shark, and avoiding social media.   

The U.S. Supreme Court has recently overturned the 1973 ruling on Roe V. Wade.  Now laws regarding abortions have been returned to the state and local governments.  Matt and Merry crack open that big ol' can of worms and chat about what a Christian reponse to this may look like.  

Billy Graham had a rule about never being alone in a room with a woman that wasn't his wife.  We chat about how this rule has been adopted, revised, and distorted by some spiritual leaders today.  We also chat about what it takes to be a college professor.  And we also ponder how many times Jesus said, "Baby!"  

Matt and Merry chat about the oral tradition of Jesus of Nazareth before people started writing things down about him and his movement. How were the early stories of Jesus spread throughout Galilee and beyond? How were they passed down from one generation to the next?  Why were they written down?  We also chat about the January 6th hearings, our political leanings, and cheesy jokes about Matt's last name (Beers).  

Matt and Merry chat about a new book called The Flag and the Cross.  It is written by two sociologist, Philip Gorski & Samuel Perry, who look at the recent surge of "white Christian nationalism."  We also chat about the making lapel pins, a game called "Pin the Flame Game," and discuss yet another church scandal.    

Matt and Merry talk about mass shootings and gun control.  We look at how some callous Christians are responding to recent events, how gun culture in rural areas has changed, and commas in the second amendment make it very difficult to interpret and apply to our current day (and few people ever mention the "well regulated" clause of the amendment).   

Matt and Merry review the recent report released by the Southern Baptist Convention on their investigation into abuse. What they found surprised even them, but none of us.  Also, a popular Sunday newspaper appears to be participating in plagarism and intellectual theft.  We also chat about a new bourbon Matt tried recently, and what made it taste so weird.

Matt and Merry spent part of their week at the beach. But it was a bummer. It rained the whole time.  Nevertheless, we lived our best life, and our daughter had the time of her life.  We also got to see folks called Bronies who were attending a My Little Pony convention. Matt also went to church meetings for an annual assembly, and experienced how political divisions are affecting churches in your neighborhood.  

We used to be known as Life on the Water, but now we're Cocktails with Beers.  This newly named show is all about a husband and a wife carving out time in a busy week to catch up over a cocktail and chat with one another about both lighthearted and important issues.  And for some reason we decided the first step of our newly named show should be right on the land mine that is the abortion issue.  Enjoy.     

Matt and Merry chat about a critical debate happening on social media over what women can wear to the grocery store.  We also talk about the carnal feelings that arise when watching a Tom Cruise movie.  How can we protect ourselves from this relentless assault on our freedom and moral virtues?  And, Matt tries out his new sound board, which proves rather annoying to Merry.    

What if archaeologists discovered a box full of bones, and they could prove conclusively that they were the bones of Jesus? How would that change your faith? Would it change the way you lived? Matt and Merry wrestle with this questions, and chat about how we are so focused on Jesus living again that we lose sight of the good news of what Jesus' living had for us to begin with. If the empty tomb doesn't change the way we live today, then Jesus rose from the dead in vain.

Matt and Merry talk about the season of Lent.  Both of us grew up in a tradition that didn't practice this season, so we didn't go to a Lent serice at a church until we were well into adulthood.  We chat about what we, two folk who grew up evangelical, think about Lent today.  

Matt and Merry chat about Hillsong, their recent scandals, and whether or not they should be considered a church.

Matt and Merry chat about folks called TheoBros, their social media presence, and their counterparts, The Exvangelicals.   

In our final installment to our Joseph series, Joe reconciles with his family.  We also weigh in on the determinism vs. free will debate, and chat a little about gas prices, globalism, and the war in Ukraine.

We talk about the war in Ukraine and what Christians should think about it all.  We chat about chaos and creation, Cain and Abel, Noah and the flood, and how much God hates violence and war.  We ask where God is when humanity insists on perpetuating violence, and ask what we should be doing when evil seizes the day. 

Jospeh overcame so much, but he couldn't overcome the world.  This week, Matt and Merry explain what they mean about that.  Along the way, we talk about getting old, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson's arms, and what the world would look like if we paid our taxes in ducks.     

Matt and Merry chat about Joseph's rise to power in Egypt. We also discover the Egyptian book of dreams, an old text kept by one of Pharaoh's priests in the temple of the sun. And we use it to interpret some of our own dreams. You'd be surprised how hard it is to do that, butalso how coherent an interpretation could be.     

Matt and Merry begin a four part series on the story of Joseph.  Not the Christmas Joseph, but the guy who wore the Technicolor dream coat.  In part one, we chat about how Joseph's inflated ego and sense of entitlement got him into trouble with his brothers.  Along the way, we chat about the best actors to hire for an audio edition of the Bible, as well as the importance of sibling position in determining success.

Matt and Merry try some fruity and tart beers from two of their favorite brewers.  We're not big fans of sour beers.  So, we're trying these to see if our favorite brewers can make a sour beer that we can actually like.  

Matt and Merry conclude their two part series on the role of women and men in American Evangelical Christianity.  Last week, we covered the women, and this week we turn toward the men.  We read Kristin Kobes Du Mez's book called Jesus and John Wayne.  In it, she talks about how the secular ideas of what it means to be a man have been largely adopted by American Evangelical Christianity.  What has risen is an interesting blend of Christianity/ American Nationalism defined by aggression and militancy.  In a century dominated by wars and rumors of wars, we lament that for some people being a Christian man means looking for something to resist and someone to fight.