What do you mean God speaks?

Send us a textThe manuscript of the book is complete and is now in the hands of the editors. It will still be around the end of this year at the earliest for it to be published, but my work--the writing part--is more or less finished! Thank you for your continued support! This series will return to the main episodes in June, covering the second half of Season Four, "God awaits you in the desert." But here, I wanted to first discuss something about the book, now that it's complete.  First, the book will be titled, "What do you mean, 'God speaks'? A Translation Guide on 'God' for our God-less World." So, what is this book is about, and what is its relation to this podcast series?  Simply put, this book is what I'd have written for the first season of this series, if I were to have written it today. I will explain what that means here, and then read what is going to go into the preface of this book, which further reveals what this book is trying to do. Support the show ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paul_Seungoh website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ * Please review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.

Send us a textI'll be working on the book until end of April, and so in the meanwhile, more extra episodes! This episode, I discuss material that did not quite make it into a main episode. One is from Season Three on science and belief-corrections in regard to God. One is from Season Four on Galileo's example of science vs religion. And one that actually doesn't fit anywhere yet. I call this the "bathroom thoughts," because of how many of these ideas start from idle thoughts in a bathroom or some similar setting, and after more critical thinking, become the material of this podcast series and the book. Or, sometimes, not quite make it. Also, my short musing on bathroom thoughts themselves.Support the show ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paul_Seungoh website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ * Please review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.

Send us a textWe're back! Sort of.First, this bonus episode is to announce an update and news. The first season of this series is being re-adapted(?) / rewritten as a book and will be published next year. If everything goes as scheduled.  So, what with the title of this episode? “A World where God seems no more believable than UFOs” is the catch-phrase of the book, or rather its starting point. It asks—as this series as asked—what “God” really means, when for many of us, God seems “no more believable than UFOs.” What I mean by that, and what this book and the series has to do with that, as well as my musings about my now hopefully completed search to find a publisher willing to invest in my book—that's what this episode is about. Support the show ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paul_Seungoh website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ * Please review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.

Send us a textWhat do we need to make a better world? In a world filled with the news of wars, injustices, human-made catastrophes, what do we need? In a world where our future seem so uncertain and bleak at times, even with all of the marvels we accomplished and progress we've made, what will lead us to tomorrow?And the Christian Bible poses an answer in the form of a symbolic act; long ago, God's judgment came upon a land, upon every family and every living thing there, to strike down its future. But, that judgment “passed over” the houses marked with the blood of a lamb. Why? What did the lamb's blood symbolize, and why is that what Jesus understood as what his own suffering and death would bring about? This is part two of the episodes exploring the final plague and Passover lamb in the Exodus account, and its significance to the Christian understanding of Jesus Christ.Support the show ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paul_Seungoh website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ * Please review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.

Send us a textWe're back again for another episode! This is a kind of milestone for the series, as we cover a key narrative in Exodus—that of the final tenth plague, which connects to the Gospel account of Jesus Christ. And the question we must first wrestle with is: why does God strike down every firstborn in Egypt? The plague horrifies with us with the image of dead children, though according to Exodus, it'd have struck down both young and old, and even the animals—but that of course only makes it worse. Why is God's judgment so indiscriminate?But, what if there's something more to this plague? What if the story of this plague means something deeper than what's on the surface? What if it is connected with other stories and ideas that both challenge and expand our idea of what God's judgment really means? And what if that is why it connects to the story of Jesus Christ, saving all of humanity?This is actually the first part of a two-part episode, which I had to split because of the length. So, I really want to get the second episode finished and uploaded within this month, though the latest trends suggest that this will be very challenging. So please keep me in your thoughts, and for those who pray, your prayers!Support the show ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paul_Seungoh website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ * Please review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.

Send us a Text Message.Were the plagues that struck Egypt in Exodus Divine intervention or natural events? This is a question that is raised by those who present natural explanation for these plagues. But, things that follow laws of nature are God speaking, just as things that do not seem to. The real question is: what distinguishes these events in Exodus from just any other things that happen? Because the difference will not be found in whether they are natural or not. And there is a difference in what it meant for God to speak and unfold these plagues, both in what they communicated, and how God was communicating them. For the first nine plagues were primarily about communication, rather than punishment. How these plagues unfolded would have meant something very clear and specific for the ancient Egyptians who experienced them. And God was speaking not only to human beings, but to things in Nature, to unfold these events. For though everything is God speaking, God also speaks to everything.Join me this episode to explore what I mean.Also, thank you for waiting during this long, unplanned hiatus! Your continued support and encouragement really does keep this series going! [Note Jul 1, 2024 : The first section, discussing the Pharaoh's motivation was removed to shorten the episode, since it was largely review of the previous episode. ]  ---------------------------------------- Support the Show. ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paul_Seungoh website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ * Please review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.

One of the more perplexing and disturbing part of the Exodus account is when God hardens Pharaoh's heart so that he does not  listen to Moses and let the people of Israel go. But then, God punishes him it by unfolding disasters--the plagues--upon Egypt. But, this seems profoundly unjust! What is the idea that the Bible is presenting about God? That nothing we do matters?However, it turns out that the message is in fact the exact opposite. There is something far more that is going on in this account. How Pharaoh's heart is hardened describes how we relate to reality, or fail to, what leads to that failure, and then locks us in.             3:12     Channels of truth available to the Pharaoh             14:18     What it means for the heart to be "hard" to truth             23:50     What actively "hardening one's heart" does to you             32:00     When God actually hardened Pharaoh's heart             34:20      What is really happening when God hardens the heart            ----------------------------------------  Support the show ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paul_Seungoh website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ * Please review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.

God that spoke to Moses is "Yahweh," unfolding everything around him. But, the question was: will reality unfold what this voice spoke to him? What if things go wrong? What if Moses was deluded, or mistaken, or deceived?How Moses, and people who hear God speak to them, find out whether what they hear is true--whether God really is speaking with them--is actually a step-by-step process. Rarely do we make some heroic leap of faith, at least at the start. We embark on that journey, one step at a time. And sometimes, the first step can be very, very small.But, the question that reality confronts us with--question that God asks--is "What will it take for you to take that step? And will you when that path opens before you? Whether we do or not separates people like Moses and those who aren't.            3:03     God's name points to reality unfolding around us             11:38     Wavering between following or ignoring God's voice             17:47     What it means for anger of God to burn against you             24:00     The question is, what it make you take the next step?             31:48     Taking the next step when stakes go up             ---------------------------------------- Support the show ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paul_Seungoh website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ * Please review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.

Consider what it means for things to have names. Names point to things, and at least to some extent, tells us what they are. But, what could possibly be the name of God? After all, it would need to "point to" all of reality as a whole. According to the Bible, the name of God spoken to Moses is "I am that I am," which in turn is presented as the meaning of the Hebrew name of God, "Yahweh." This passage has fascinated theologians and philosophers, because of the concept of "Being" and "existence" that it presents. However, this meaning presents something more immediate to our lives; it points to our experience of reality that unfolds around us, and invites us to a journey to find out what will unfold in our lives.              3:59     What it means for God to speak from the burning bush               9:47     How Moses can know whether God really spoke to him               16:51     Why "miracles" God shows Moses is only the first step               23:07     What does it even mean to name God?               32:16     It / He Just IS, and what that means               37:30     Name of God calls us to see what reality unfolds        ----------------------------------------                   Support the show ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paul_Seungoh website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ * Please review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.

It is an iconic scene in the Bible: God calls Moses from the burning bush. But, why the burning bush? After all, God can speak through an immeasurable number of things. It is because the bush that does not burn up, and the flame that blazes, yet will not burn itself out, means something to Moses--and to us--which connects us to how God, speaking all of reality, can speak to human individuals in a powerful and personal way. We'll explore what that is in this episode. (edit: Jan 30, added ~1 minute of content from 26:26, and revised sentences that were too long the final 5 minutes )             2:21     Moses is “born” twice – his birth narrative               8:28     Moses as a failed “Zorro / Batman”               16:51    Moses's life before the Burning Bush               24:43    What was the fire, and "The Angel of the LORD"               32:33    What did the burning bush mean?              ---------------------------------------------------Support the show ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paul_Seungoh website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ * Please review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.

The fourth Season opens to explore the question of the people of Israel described in Exodus. Who were they? What is the significance of their story, regarding their oppression and slavery? What remnants or echoes, if any, remain of their story in the records and memory of ancient history, and what are their significance?And where are we headed from here? 2:21     Biblical stories as "Myth that has become History"              14:43    Opening of Exodus and the oppression of Israel                19:45     Egypt and the Hyksos, the Shasu, and Israel                27:46     Who were the Hebrews, 'Apiru, and why this matters                35:03     The Slave Bible and Exodus story as timeless truth               ---------------------------------------- Support the show ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paul_Seungoh website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ * Please review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.

 Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! To celebrate(?), here is the trailer for Season 4 of "What do you mean, God speaks?"God awaits in the desertThe prologue,  "They were born in the desert"Music : "Exodus" by Tenacious Orchestra - Licensed from PremiumBeat.com ----------------------------------------   Support the show ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paul_Seungoh website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ * Please review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.

The final 3rd Season's post-season episode returns to some issues to wrap up before we move on to Season 4. First, part of this Season wrestled with the question that historians today has raised regarding the historicity of the life-stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and their family—as they are recounted in the book of Genesis. But, what do I personally believe regarding the position held by most historians today? Here's why the answer to that is somewhat complicated (and oddly, why it is related to how I deal with the question of the multiverse raised by some scientists today). Second, we will return to explore two of the stories in Genesis we didn't cover in this Season—the stories of two women: Dinah, and Tamar. Listen to why we did not cover their tales in the main season, and why they are nevertheless quite important. And lastly, check out how the word, “sex,” was said more times in this single episode than the entire series so far put together!  0:00     Why would I leave things out of an episode?            3:09     What I believe about “historicity”… and the multiverse              18:28     Story of Dinah              28:54     Story of Tamar        -----------------------------------------     Support the show ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paul_Seungoh website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ * Please review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.

There's this adage that says, “Don't talk about religion or politics unless you want to get in trouble.” Well, this series is all about religion, so we might as well go the rest of the way this episode, and talk about politics!Now, politics is not what we usually explore in this series. But, it might be good to listen to me thinking aloud on topics outside my area, especially if these ideas are based on some of the insights and ideas this series has examined in the main episodes. In this case,  the importance of the person, the character of the people we select as our leaders, over what they supposedly stand for. Here are some reasons--from the Christian perspective--why you might want to vote for a person even if they hold views or position you disagree with!            0:33     To examine who we are is to examine our relation to reality - God             6:53     Why democracies are vulnerable to ourselves             17:28     My proposal : Vote for a person, not a party            Support the show ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paul_Seungoh website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ * Please review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.

It seems, at least from popular conversations in the News, opinion articles, or the constant postings on SNS, we are labeling more or more things or people as racist.  Now, racism does remain a significant problem even in countries and societies that have made significant progress against it, and strands of it do seem to have been woven into the societies and institutions we have inherited.  But, I also think that we have been too indiscriminate in labeling things or people simply as "racism" or "racist," with neither nuance or reflection--at least, at the popular level. So, as a post-season extra episode, here's my rough and partial reflections on the issue of racism. To be specific, why I've concluded that we should distinguish two closely related things that are often identified together: prejudice, and racism.               Support the show ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/Twitter: https://twitter.com/Paul_Seungoh website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ * Please review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.

Thank you for listening and following this series! But, what does it mean for me to tell you this? These simple words mean much more than you may know. It has to do with what I've experienced, the fears I've faced and the encouragements I received in doing this series. To a very important extent, it has to do with, like the rest of this series,  what God seems to speak and how that moves me to write what you hear. So, thank you for listening to what it means for me to say those words. What that means in the larger journey of this series so far. And stay tuned for the upcoming set of post-season episodes, and then the 4th season trailer. ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/  Support the show* Please leave a review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can also financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.

We have finally arrived at the final main episode of the third season. Here, we will survey what it means to believe in God, formed and expanded through the journeys of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and then Joseph. However, this account reveals that there will be times when those who are on this journey, become suspended between belief and unbelief, fear and faith. That was how it was for Jacob—who had been named Israel. After he lost his son, Joseph, and likely even earlier, his life and his journey became frozen in place, until God spoke again. So, join us as we continue to follow the life-stories of the family of Abraham to its closing of the book of Genesis. For most of October, I will be in Korea. Then, I will be back with a post-season episodes, featuring my commentary about the past season and some issues that were not included in this season. Following that will be a trailer, which will introduce  the Fourth Season, and reveal its title.            2:05     Fundamental analogies that relate us to reality              8:02     Believing in God is about which analogies to live by              13:55     What overturns our deepest beliefs and analogies              21:27     Jacob frozen with fear until God speaks again              29:48     Limbo between belief and unbelief, fear and faith              35:50     Though frozen, here we wait until God speaks again             ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ Support the show* Please leave a review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can also financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.

What began as a supplemental episode has become a rather long and hefty discussion about the question of suffering or evil in a world spoken forth by God. This is far from a complete answer. What this episode is doing is to outline a larger framework, along with a set of prior questions and considerations in order to really understand this question. Too many of us today think this question in terms of whether we can still believe that there exists a benevolent, super-powerful entity, if he will not prevent bad things from happening. But, that actually isn't the question. It is about how to understand reality, how to understand what it really means for God to speak forth a world, so that we can understand what it means for something bad to happen as a part of what God speaks.And the answer to that is not as simple as we'd think (hence the length of the episode).            1:03     Return to the question, "Why is there suffering if God is good?"             8:45     What "part" of what happens is God, and what "part" is us?             17:31     The speech-like character of reality as God speaking             27:20     So, why -is- there something like a famine?             35:10     Why we've got it backwards            Support the show* Please leave a review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can also financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.

The series is back again, as it nears (steadily and slowly) the completion of Season 3! Thank you everyone for waiting!This episode will explore,  as we conclude the life of Joseph, this perplexing question.  If everything that happens is what God speaks forth, could God not have spoken something else? Could God not have brought about different happenings, different things, different life, a different world? If our reality unfolds like a story, and God is like  the Author, is God also the author of our suffering?Did Joseph have to go through the painful years of slavery, and wrongful imprisonment, just so that he could save the world around him and his family from the famine?  Why?Note: the discussion of Creation in this episode draws significantly from the first half of Season Two.            3:05      Idea of God as the "Speaker" and Reality that could be           10:50      Asking if God could have "done better"           19:43      "Other people are living lives just as real as mine."           27:53      The story of Joseph's brothers           35:11      How what we do, what Nature does, become part of God speaking                     ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ Support the show* Please leave a review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms! * You can also financially support this show by clicking the "Support the Show" line above.

We are often faced with the question of ambiguity in our wrestling with God. That was the question Joseph faced alone in prison. What was God speaking to him? Had God ever really spoken to him? God spoke to him insights into dreams and wisdom to lead people. Yet, he was in prison, seemingly forsaken and forgotten by God. However, God was doing something during those years, which would prepare him to be the kind of person he would need to be. For the dreams in his youth where his brothers were bowing before him were not about him ruling over them. It was about saving them, even when they had hated him and betrayed him. That was who God was forming him into in the pit--someone who would be able to do so. That is what God is speaking forth into the lives of those who follow the footsteps of Joseph.                                 0:00   Question of ambiguity of God for Joseph             9:55   Who Joseph was becoming in the prison            15:44 What God spoke through the Pharaoh's dream            24:57 Joseph leads Egypt through the famine            30:50 Joseph's brothers come to Egypt            34:40 What God had really spoken to Joseph in his youth            ----------------------------------------Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ Support the show * Please leave a review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms!

We've now started the final set of episodes of the 3rd season, as we explore the life-story of Joseph, and the question he confronted: what happens when what God has spoken to you, seems to have been proven false? What do you do when listening to God seems to have thrown you into a pit? How does your journey with God continue from there? What can you still hold on to?Also, I was recently interviewed by Dr. John D Wise in his podcast, “The Christian Atheist”. You can check out the podcast here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-atheist/id1553077203(Also check out the rest of their content, which starts by detailing a philosophy professor's journey away from Christianity to atheism, and then from atheism back to Christianity, 25 years later.)           1:30     When your 'map' is being questioned             10:03     The dreams God spoke to Joseph             17:42     Joseph's life is thrown into a pit             24:50     What do you mean God is with Joseph?             31:28     Why Joseph still listened for God            ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ Support the show * Please leave a review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms!

Full title: "Questioning the Bible, and Risking Belief for Faith" Thank you for the loooong wait! We continue from the previous episode, which followed the trail of questions that begin when I thought to myself years ago, “Maybe there is no God.” In the previous episode, we followed how I wrestled with the questions about what we really mean by “God,” what it is to try to understand all of reality as a whole, and how this eventually led me to a book, written by those very people who came to relate to reality as a whole, as “Who,” that speaks with us.This book, the Christian Bible, is the focus of my next set of questions, which this episode explores. It will recount how I wrestled with the questions of what it means for the Bible to be “the Word of God,” and how anything we can put into words and write on a book can meaningfully be God speaking, and the central role of the figure of Jesus in it all. We will follow how I tried to think through some of the questions posed against the Bible from science and history, and where I eventually arrived afterward. And what I found was: to take a journey of faith, you have to risk your beliefs.         2:02       How we've gotten our question of God backwards            8:25       How can a book ever be God “speaking?”               13:33     How life of a person is God speaking               19:43     Question about morality of the Bible               25:20     Question about science and the Bible               32:32     Question about history and the Bible               40:15     Bible is a map; follow at your own risk              ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ Support the show * Please leave a review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms!

We're back for 2023. This is the first part of a two-part episode, which explores how today, in our modern, secular society, we wrestle with our belief in God. These two episodes will detail how I've thought through the questions and issues years ago when I seriously asked myself, “Maybe there is no God.” Because of that, these two episodes are a kind of alternative overview of this series so far, because this entire series was borne out of a journey that began with that very question. So, this episode and the next will revisit the key questions and ideas that had been presented throughout this series so far in the past episodes, but describe them from a different angle. They are what I learned by having faced the question, “Maybe there is no God,” and wrestling with my beliefs regarding God. This episode follows how my thinking about the general idea of God has changed, while doing so, and where this eventually led me to. Next episode will follow what questions then confronted me, and why it led me to examine what the Christian Bible testified.         0:00     Wrestling with our belief in God         2:49     What does it mean to ask, "Maybe there is no God"         9:50     What is really meant by “God”         16:37    What is the question to ask, to find if there is no God         21:15    How to begin thinking of reality as “Who”         28:11    Where all these questions led me        ----------------------------------------Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/      Support the show * Please leave a review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms!

I'm back for 2023, and here is an extra episode to update what is being worked on. Next episode, "Risking belief to keep your faith"  will air around mid-February. In the meanwhile, you can listen to this unscripted episode--if are so inclined--as I bemoan my troubles, trying to figure out which publisher would be appropriate for my book, and figure out how to write up a proposal that'd get them interested.  I'll also comment about the next episode, and what is coming up next season, slated Spring of this year. (not very surprising spoiler's alert:  it's titled, "Exodus")The website for the conference I mention is here:   https://mcmasterdivinity.ca/transcendence/I will be giving a talk in its 4th parallel session, which will be titled, "Recovering God: Mapping and Translating the Journey."  ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/      Support the show * Please leave a review or rate this series on Apple Podcast and other platforms!

Many people are surprised that the name of the people of God, "Israel," means to "wrestle with God". But, that was the name God gives to Jacob, who is a character full of faults and failures, and that became the name of everyone who are called God's people in the Bible ( Christians are called "new Israel" in the New Testament). So, in this episode, we will explore how Jacob received this name and how we are to understand the relationship between humanity and God. This episode is also a milestone of sort, as it was it was originally meant to cap the second phase of the series (the first phase being the first season). As such, the episode will reference many of the key ideas in the past episodes.P.S. If I sound somewhat different in this episode, it's because I'm currently recovering from Covid; so please stay safe and healthy, everyone!         0:00     The name, “Israel” means to wrestle with God           2:55     Overall recap of what “God speaks” means           10:25     Jacob's ladder and God's promise           19:05     Jacob's life, struggling with family           25:09     Jacob's struggles and God's promise           31:57     Jacob wrestles with his fears and hopes           36:06     To live, is to wrestle with God           ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/       Support the show

We're back with part 1 of the two-episode exploration of Jacob's life.        What does it mean to be blessed by God? What is it about Jacob and his life that Genesis identifies him as the spiritual ancestor and representative of the people that God personally speaks with--people who journeys with God? After all, Jacob is an unlikely figure for a hero of a story. He lies to his father, tricks his brother, and even his deceptions are not due to his wit, but his mother's. We will find out in the next two episodes.        0:00   From Abraham to Isaac to Jacob and Esau       4:35   What does inquire from the LORD mean?         10:22   Jacob and Esau, twins who were very different         16:55   The strangeness of Jacob being the hero of this story         24:35    The real question that the story asks         29:47   Why would God speak through dreams?          ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/      Support the show

Isaac is the promised child of Abraham and Sarah. Yet, his life as described in Genesis seems, well, uninteresting. But, there is a very interesting idea behind what happens--or rather, what doesn't happen--in Isaac's life, and it has to do with to how humanity's relation to God develops through multiple generations, according to the Bible. Coming to learn the personal character of God is a journey, and journey means each step starts from where the previous step ended. And so, each generation begins their journey from where the previous generation ended. How that works and what that means is presented through Isaac's life.  2:42      Those who watched Abraham's life         12:28     What you learn by watching Abraham's life         20:15      Knowing God through time and generations         26:42      Where Isaac begins and his life         ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/    Support the show

A bonus, unscripted(!) episode. We'll see how this episode turns out. So, we've been exploring "ideas, insights, and stories in Christianity." But, where am I in all this? Have I ever experienced some of the things I describe in this series, especially in the third season--God speaking personally to people, making promises, and unfolding miracles?Now that I've wrapped up the main life-story of Abraham and Sarah (and I'm in the process of moving), I decided to share a few examples from things I experienced in my life. Just a few, but you'll get to hear a bit more of the person behind this series. ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/     Support the show

Why did God call Abraham to offer his son, Isaac, as a burnt offering?The story of the "Binding of Isaac," is not simply about a story of a man obeying God to the point that he will sacrifice his own son.  It is about a call that everyone who speaks with God eventually hears. And we hear this call because all of humanity has been waging a one-sided Cold War with God, and to offer Isaac was to bet on peace.      2:22     Would you be at peace if God spoke to you?       7:50     Trouble with heirs - Ishmael and Isaac       14:41    Why what God spoke to Abraham is so perplexing       18:30    Humanity is waging a Cold War on God        26:00    Why Abraham needed to offer his son to God       32:28 Peace Child  ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/   Support the show

What is faith? What is a miracle? And how are the themes of promise, time, and ambiguity related to all of that?Has God truly been speaking with us? Is Reality personal? Christians believe God speaks to them and walks with them, but what we've explored so far still remains open to the question on whether this is merely one possible way to relate to reality, a subjective way to perceive what reality unfolds in our lives. It is only with the narratives of God's promise and its fulfillment repeated throughout the Bible that the belief in the truly personal reality of God is established in Christianity. It is in this context, that miracles have any meaning in Christianity.Thus, the narrative of God making a promise with people and how that promise unfolds is central to Christian account of humanity's relationship with God. And that is the  life-story of Abraham and Sarah.This leads to the related question of faith. Faith has a dimension those of us today seldom notice, yet is probably the most important: time. Because promise implies waiting, and waiting implies time. 2:03       Ambiguity, not absence, of God that confronts us         9:40      God breaks through the ambiguity with a Promise to Abraham         16:48      What is a miracle? How people today misunderstand          24:28      Faith and personal trust         29:43      Why Time is essential to Miracles and Faith         ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/      Support the show

Moral teachings in the Bible, especially in the Hebrew portion (the Christian Old Testament) pose a problem. There are rules and regulations that do not seem very important to us, while there are practices, such as slavery, God either seems to ignore, or even condone. And we're not even getting to the laws that God commands that seem too harsh or even barbaric by our standards today.  Then, to make this even more confusing, the New Testament portion of the Bible sometimes seem to present new moral teachings. God commands Abraham that the male members of God's people must be circumcised; apostle Paul writes that Christians who now belong to God do not need to be circumcised.  People in the time of the Old Testament engaged themselves in terrifyingly savage wars; Jesus Christ teaches his disciples to love their enemies, and instead of condemning people for their sins, died for them. Why do moral views change in the Bible? Or, is it perhaps, the Bible is trying to teach something far more important regarding morality than any particular law or precept? 3:09     The problem of outdated morality in the Bible        8:24     Why God accommodates to our moral level         17:20    What the Bible is teaching about morality         23:58    Why Christians shouldn't follow some OT laws         27:15    What the Bible teaches is people         30:49    Where God seems to lead Abraham by conversing with him         ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/     Support the show

Moral values of people in the Bible, especially in the Hebrew portion (the Christian Old Testament) pose a problem. There are rules and regulations that do not seem very important to us, while there are practices, such as slavery, or depopulating whole cities in a war, that the God either seems to ignore, or even condone. And we're not even getting to the laws that God commands that seem too harsh or even barbaric by our standards today.  If God is good, why does God not teach better morality to the people in the Bible? But, here's an even more basic question. Why would you think that God is good?What did people mean, and what does Christianity mean, by saying that God is good? If that is what it means for God to be good, again, what was God trying to teach the people in the Bible, and what are we to learn from that?We will begin to explore that in this episode.  1:56     Morality, evolution, and gods         9:55     God, as Being, Truth, Goodness         19:05    The problem of morality in the Bible         25:13    God accommodates to our moral level and why         31:26    Moral truths the Bible is really teaching         ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/    Support the show

For ages, people have ascribed personality to their deities. What was their reasoning? And what would be the personality of God that speaks forth all things? How should we start thinking about this? And what about Abram, Sarai, and their family? What was the personality of God that spoke to them? How did they begin to learn Who God was in their lives, and what did they experience? 2:12     Our cognitive predisposition to belief in gods         8:40     How we ascribe personality to gods         14:39    What would be the personality of “God”?         19:00    The role of Promise in personal relationship with God         25:50   Abram and Sarai try to fulfill God's promise themselves         30:25    God makes a separate promise to Hagar        ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/   Support the show

The first extra episode for Season 3; the next main episode (S3E5) will go live next week. This episode addresses the more "meta" question about this series that I wanted to go over before releasing the next episode--what this series has been doing, how it has approached the questions and issues it has explored so far, and where this series is now heading. It also drops hints of future plans, and some long overdue thanks at the end.  ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/   Support the show

To hear God speak to you, is to be presented with truth; they are the same thing. And God speaking to you often begins with uncertainty, because we don't know whether what is being presented to us really is true.Abram and Sarai hears God speak to them in how they are moved, or inspired, to follow an inner call. "Something" guides them, and that "something" unfolds events in their lives that enable them to follow the call. Because of this, they learn that what this Voice speaks, is really true. But, something more happens, and they gradually learn Who is speaking to them. Let's follow their journey (or for this episode, Abram's portion) to explore what happened.  2:02       Why there is uncertainty in hearing God speak  8:25       What Abram learned in Egypt         14:28      Abram's developing inner strength shown in Canaan         23:25      Abram's fateful meeting with Melchizedek          29:14      Abram learns that "God Most High" was speaking to him          ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/  Support the show

The Genesis account of Abraham, Sarah, and their children, invites its readers to follow in their path, and continue their journey toward God.  There's one, big problem: it doesn't tell us how to start. Their journey begins with God speaking to Abraham (Abram), but Genesis does not describe how God first spoke to Abram, and how Abram heard God for the first time. So, can we get an answer?This episode will explore and consider what it means to say Abraham, Sarah, and their family were real people, and what it was for them to begin their journey with God. 2:04     What can we say about Abraham as a real person?        6:54     What Christians are concerned about regarding the Bible        13:17     The silence on Genesis about how God spoke to Abram          19:10     How God speaks to all people according to Genesis          22:01     The voice that spoke to Abram          27:58     Did Abram know it was God speaking?          ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/ Support the show

 Abraham, Sarah, and their family--are they "historical" figures?The simple answer? No... and Yes. (Ok, so it's not a simple answer)Another answer is the actual title of this episode: "Historical in/significance of Abraham's story"This odd title can refer to four things.1) The "insignificance" of Abraham as a "historical figure" for historians2) The significance of Abraham's story in history3) The historical dimension  "in the significance" of Abraham's story4) The significance of Abraham in how history has unfolded ever since.And all of that leads us back to God's original promise to Abraham in Genesis, to bless him, to make him great, and to make his name significant, so that he will be a blessing to all people.  1:33    Primeval History in Genesis versus…         8:29     … the Ancestral History in Genesis        13:02     Who wrote Genesis and why?         21:12     The question of Abraham as a "historical" figure         27:35     Historical in/significance of Abraham        ----------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/   Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/PaulSoC/)

What does it mean to say, “There's no God?” What it means for us today, to say, “there's no God,” is quite different from what it meant for people living just several centuries ago, to say, “there's no God.” That's because people back then did not merely believe that God exists. They perceived God in their world. Then, some time ago, God disappeared from our perception. We forgot what it meant to hear God speak, or see God in our lives, and so, one day, ‘God' was no longer "there.” * Revised on April 3 for greater clarity and flow in the 2nd half. 3:00       How the ancients perceived their gods         10:10       What it means to perceive God         20:58      A metaphor made God disappear from the cosmos         27:53      A metaphor made God disappear from our lives               ----------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/   Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/PaulSoC/)

A short prologue to the 3rd Season of What do you mean God speaks?  -  "Those who wrestle with God. 1st main episode of Season 3 is scheduled to go live next week.  Music : "True Genesis" by Tenacious Orchestra - Licensed from PremiumBeat.comSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/PaulSoC/)

 Trailer for the upcoming Season 3 of "What do you mean God speaks?"    Those who wrestle with God.          The trailer : "Monologue of the children of Abraham" Music : "True Genesis" by Tenacious Orchestra - Licensed from PremiumBeat.comSupport the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/PaulSoC/)

Post-season bonus episode; here I just go over some things I thought of while writing this second season, or other things I could have put into the episodes (or thought was interesting), but didn't. I also talk about new listeners, trouble with writing for people I can't see, and stuff like that. Also: at the end of the episode, I play the full length music pieces I have used for the episodes, in their unedited glory!Season 3, "Those who struggle with God," will begin mid-March!-----------------------------------------   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/   Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/PaulSoC/)

The finale of Season 2: Genesis. Please join me for the third Season! We think the story of Babel is about God punishing people for building a tower that reaches the sky; that is why God makes them speak in different languages. But, what if it's much more than that? What if the Tower is not really God's primary concern, and the goal of God making people speak different languages, is simply that—that they would speak differently? (Genesis 9 ~ 11) 2:17     The logical progression of Genesis primeval narratives       9:13     Noah's descendants and Noah's curse       15:55     What is strange about the story of Babel       22:45     God wants humanity to speak different languages      -----------------------------------------   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/   Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/PaulSoC/)

What does the Flood that God speaks forth mean for those of us today? What is God speaking and promising when Noah and his family emerge from the Ark to a new world? What does it mean for God to make a covenant that the world will never unravel completely from the Flood?This is the conclusion of the second arc of this season, which spans between episodes 8 to 12. If you put the titles of these episodes together, it should read:  “When Life becomes your enemy, and Death becomes your response, so that everything unravels into the Flood, what will save you from the Deluge, (is the reason) why Flood will not destroy the world.”   (Genesis 7 ~ 9)   2:04     Floods threatening our modern world  8:47     How God ends the Flood  16:35     Meaning of Noah's offering after the Flood  20:43     Why the Flood will not destroy the world -----------------------------------------   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/     -----------------------------------------   Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/PaulSoC/)

When everything unravels into the Flood, what will save you from it?  Make sure you've listened to "S2E10: ...so that Everything unravels into the Flood" before this episode.What does it mean for God to bring the Flood, while speaking to Noah to build the Ark? The Ark is more than just a means to escape destruction--God is, in a sense, telling Noah to build a small world that will not unravel into the Flood. (Genesis 6 ~ 7)   2:25     What God was speaking to Noah  11:54     Noah's Ark is not a fallout shelter  16:46    No line between the natural and the supernatural  21:18     Noah's Ark is a version of world that can be saved  26:02     The Ark remains as the world unravels -----------------------------------------   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/   -----------------------------------------   Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/PaulSoC/)

What does it mean for God to bring the Flood? Why does God bring the Flood? What is the Flood that brings an end to our world?    (Genesis 4 ~ 6) Is our world unraveling into a flood? 2:16       Did the Great Flood happen?  9:53       What humanity makes of the world after Cain  16:38       How evil unravels our world into the Flood  27:05       Genesis introduces Noah  ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ https://twitter.com/Paul_Seungoh website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/-----------------------------------------    Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/PaulSoC/)

What would it be like to be Cain? To rage at how your life is unfolding, then somehow, in some way hear God speak to you, and recognize those words as God speaking? And then, go against it? What was going on with him? What would lead him to do this? And how would this change the world afterward? Yourself, and your descendants? When Cain murdered his little brother, he got his wish; that wish put a mark on humanity. And Death became our response to Life.  (Genesis 4)  1:18    What God speaks to us through what happens  8:55    How God spoke to Cain and what was spoken  15:03    What Cain killed and lost by killing his brother  22:11   So, murder becomes a habit  ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ https://twitter.com/Paul_Seungoh website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/-----------------------------------------   Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/PaulSoC/)

From the Fall, Exile from Eden, to the first MurderWhat "death" did the Fall bring upon humanity? One way to answer is, "how do we live forever?" I'm not asking how do we avoid dying forever; rather, if we don't die, how do we live? Because after the Fall, Life has become our enemy. And Cain murders his brother because of it.  (Genesis 3 ~ 4)  1:48     What we lost in Eden  6:27     Religion and Philosophy seeks what we lost  13:17    What kind of death, to whom?  18:31     We cannot live forever, even we don't die  22:44     Cain and Abel and their offering ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ https://twitter.com/Paul_Seungoh website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/-----------------------------------------   Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/PaulSoC/)

Several times in Genesis, God pronounces judgement and punishment on humanity, and some of those punishments seem rather strange, and some of them seem to outweigh the wrongs that were done. What's going on when God judges people? And are the accounts in Genesis 1 ~ 11 mythical? The two questions are kind of related. (Genesis 1 ~ 11) 0:52  Questions about judgment and genre  2:30  What do you mean Genesis 1-11 is mythical?  10:59  Why present truths this way?  15:15  How we misunderstand what God's “judgment” is  21:41  What does it mean for God to pronounce judgment ---------------------------------------- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ https://twitter.com/Paul_Seungoh website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/-----------------------------------------   Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/PaulSoC/)

Hostile Partings - the Fall of ManWhat made humanity fall? What severed our relationship with God, with each other, and everything, and eventually led us into destruction? Genesis has a surprising answer; it was eating from the Tree of knowledge of good and evil. But, why would something so seemingly trivial have such dire consequences?  (Genesis 3) 1:13   Humanity and the Tree of the knowledge  8:11   The Serpent's fatal accusation  14:07   Distrust of God and hiding from God  19:59   Ruined relationships -----------------------------------------   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/   Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/PaulSoC/)

What would it have been like to be humanity before the Fall? What is the Garden of Eden, and what did it mean for the first humans to tend to this garden and eat its fruits?   (Genesis 2 ~ 3)                                                                                                                      1:50  Our God-given capabilities and responsibilities  6:52  Eden and its primordial Trees  12:28  Humanity is to tend to the Trees  17:47  Life in Eden before humanity became us -----------------------------------------   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/     -----------------------------------------   Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/PaulSoC/)

What is the significance of humanity, according to Genesis? How Genesis describes humanity, or “Adam,” and our significance, is different from how we have sought to define our uniqueness.   (Genesis 1 ~ 2)                                                                                                                     2:12The universe was not created for our sake9:07Our uniqueness is not in our origin16:58Human existence according to Genesis19:04The Image of God27:33Adam is not Homo Sapiens-----------------------------------------   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/whatdoyoumeangodspeaks/ website: https://whatdoyoumeangodspeaks.buzzsprout.com/     -----------------------------------------   Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/PaulSoC/)