Podcasts about rhetorician

Title: Eyes to See and Ears to Hear Text: Acts 28:23-31 FCF: We often struggle humbly heeding the Word of God. Prop: Because God alone acts to save sinners, we must humbly heed the Word of God. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 28. In a moment we will read from the Legacy Standard Bible starting in verse 23 and going to the end of the book of Acts. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. Today is a bittersweet day. Today we close out our exposition of the text of the book of Acts. Next week we will do one final review sermon as we provide a bird's eye view of the major themes in the book. It will be difficult to move on from this two-year study, but very soon we'll begin our next sermon series on the letters to the Thessalonians. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let's be reminded of where we are in the book of Acts today. Paul has just settled in to his situation in Rome. He is under house arrest, guarded constantly by a Roman sentry. He does not have the freedom to leave his home to do any sort of preaching ministry within the city, but he has called the Roman Jewish leaders of the synagogue to come to him in his home. He has explained why he is here so they wouldn't think he was a criminal. Of course, they hadn't heard anything about Paul coming to Rome. But they had heard about the Nazarene Sect and how much trouble it has caused the Jewish communities around the Empire. They are very curious to learn more and understand why there is so much contention. Paul will now have an opportunity to meet with these Jewish leaders at length to speak about the hope of Israel. Which is the gospel of Jesus their Messiah. Please stand with me to give honor to and focus on the Word of God as it is read. Invocation: Savior God, You are our Redeemer. Father You have planned our redemption within the counsel of Your will since before the dawn of Your creation. Jesus You have been eternally begotten of the Father to go and accomplish this Redemption for a people You have elected before the foundations of the world. Spirit You have proceeded from the Father and the Son and like the Son You raise us up and wash us in the waters of regeneration so that we may be united to the redemption provided to us by the Son. Savior God, You, and You alone, are our Redeemer. Nothing can save us but You. Help us then Lord to hear from Your Word today and believe that You act alone in our salvation, so that we can respond to this great salvation by humbly heeding Your Word. We pray this in Jesus' name… Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] Augustine of Hippo: “The grace of God does not find men fit for salvation but makes them so.” Benjamin Beddome “God's grace can save souls without preaching, but all the preaching in the world cannot save souls without God's grace.” W.E. Best “The sinner apart from grace is unable to be willing and unwilling to be able.” These thoughts are fundamental to the message Paul has for the Roman Jews. Let's look at what he says. I.) Mere logic and persuasion cannot move the heart of sinful man to repent and believe the gospel, so we must humbly heed the Word of God. (23-24) a. [Slide 3] 23 - And when they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly bearing witness about the kingdom of God i. So, the Jews return in great numbers to Paul's rented abode. ii. They are highly motivated to learn about the Nazarene sect and why they are hearing reports against it from everywhere. iii. Paul begins by speaking intently with them. The one Greek word translated here “solemnly bearing witness” implies not simply testifying or giving of information but urgent reporting on matters of grave importance. iv. What is so important? v. It is the coming of the Kingdom of God. vi. This eternal Kingdom that is spoken of by their own prophets, greatest of which was John the Baptist – has now come. And they need to respond. This promise IS for the children of Israel. vii. But entry into this Kingdom is not granted based on that status. viii. Being born of Abraham is not enough to inherit this Kingdom. ix. So how do you enter? b. [Slide 4] and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, i. You must be born of the Spirit. You must go through Jesus. ii. As has been a central theme to the book of Acts since the beginning, the Jews have a unique position in the redemptive plan of God, in that Jesus is their Messiah. iii. Jesus is the central and key figure to gain access to God and to this eternal Kingdom. iv. Jesus is Yahweh's Servant who has borne griefs and healed wounds. He has purchased Israel's pardon. v. And they have been granted the Scriptures which contain prophesies concerning this one who will come to redeem not just them, but the whole world. vi. Paul takes them through these books to show them Jesus. c. [Slide 5] from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, i. What do they need to do then? ii. They do not need to join a new religion in order to inherit the Kingdom. iii. No. iv. They need simply to realize that to repent and believe on Jesus as the Christ is what their own law and prophets have told them to do since the beginning. v. If they intend to continue to be Jewish, in the truest sense of the word, they must repent and trust in their own Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. d. [Slide 6] from morning until evening. i. Paul earnestly contended with them on this point for many hours. ii. He probably showed them from their own scriptures how Jesus had fulfilled over 300 prophesies by his birth, life, death, and resurrection. iii. How Jesus becomes our new Adam, our new representative. How Jesus is the new Abraham in establishing a New Covenant. How He is the new Moses, being the Great Prophet. How Jesus is the Great High Priest offering a sacrifice that does not need to be repeated since He was the sacrifice. How Jesus is the Son of David and that human King prophesied to reign over Israel forever… and the whole world. iv. From morning until evening Paul gave it all he had. He preached, he discussed, he debated, he argued, he strove, with all the persuasiveness that he could. v. What were the results? e. [Slide 7] 24 - And some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others were not believing. i. Well, the results were decidedly… mixed. ii. Some of them were being persuaded. Notice the passive voice here. 1. While it largely depends on context, many times in scripture when the passive voice is used, it is what we call a divine passive. 2. This occurs when God does something but does not wish to overtly say He is doing the action in that specific context. 3. We know from the greater context of scripture, and even in this very text, that natural man is spiritually dead and unable to hear and respond to the gospel message unless the Holy Spirit actually enables them to hear it and respond to it. 4. No matter what theological background you come from, everyone prays for the lost the same. We all pray that God would open the eyes of sinners to help them receive the gospel. 5. Christians may define what happens there differently. But the long and the short of it is, that God must move first and God must move in an individual's heart not just in an event for a broader people group. 6. It is not Paul's words that are persuading them… it is God's Spirit opening their eyes to see the truth of what Paul is saying. iii. But the others, the majority, do not believe on Jesus. iv. But how does this happen? v. How can the apostle Paul, a skilled Rhetorician, speak for hours, expounding from the scriptures how Jesus is the Messiah, and yet many do not believe, and the ones that do believe do not do so because of Paul's persuasiveness? vi. If Paul cannot convince his own kinsmen, what hope do we have to convince anyone of the gospel? f. [Slide 8] Summary of the Point: In the last episode of Luke's record of the early formation of the church and the Kingdom of God expanding to the uttermost parts of the earth, Luke chooses to conclude on a sermon by Paul. It is a sermon preached over several hours to his own kinsmen, Jews of the city of Rome. Luke says he spoke passionately and urgently to them communicating from the Mosaic law and the prophets how Jesus was the Messiah and the King promised of old who would bring with Him a New Kingdom. Paul preached passionately that this kingdom has come and is here and the evidence that this is so, is the expansion of the church throughout the Roman Empire. But despite all his theological arguments, despite his rhetorical skill, despite his logic, despite his passionate pleas, most of those listening did not believe. Only some were persuaded as God opened their eyes and ears to receive the truth of what Paul spoke. Luke's purpose in this book is to give Theophilus assurances that what he has believed is true. One great assurance to Theophilus is that the wisdom of men in logic and persuasion cannot actually convince sinners to repent and believe the gospel. Theophilus was not conned by skilled speakers to believe a lie. Instead, his eyes were opened to believe the truth by God Himself. This is true of everyone who receives the gospel. God calls and draws. Then and only then do we respond. And so, what is our application to such a point? We must humbly heed the Word of God. We must be the kind of people who are ready to listen and to obey what God reveals. Transition: [Slide 9 (blank)] Still, our curiosity forces us to ask why don't they believe? Is there something deficient in them? What qualities make up a person who will not believe? And how do we avoid that? II.) God hides the gospel from the arrogant and disobedient, so we must humbly heed the Word of God. (25-27) a. [Slide 10] 25 - And when they disagreed with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one word, i. So, this devolves fairly quickly. ii. We have these once loosely untied Roman Jews, coming to Paul for information on the Nazarene sect of Judaism, and as the hours go on, now they are disagreeing so sharply that those who do not believe Paul abandon him and their fellow Jews and leave the house. iii. Luke records that they did this especially when Paul said one word. iv. Well which word? v. What follows is a sermon from Isaiah 6. vi. So which word makes them leave? vii. Well, the word translated “word” can mean a single word or it can mean a message. viii. In the expression “what's the word?” we are not asking what is the single word. We are asking, what is the news? ix. In a similar way, Luke records this mini-sermon that Paul spoke that turned out to be too much for the unbelieving Jews to handle. x. What did Paul say that chased them away? b. [Slide 11] “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, i. First of all, Paul goes to the prophet Isaiah. ii. Psalms and Isaiah account for half of the citations of the Old Testament in the New Testament. iii. Some commentators refer to the book of Isaiah as the fifth gospel. iv. Secondly, Isaiah's prophesies include both strong warnings and judgment proclamations as well as great and wonderful promises to the children of Israel. v. Paul is probably not going to the promises here. He is responding to the unbelieving Jews and their slowness to receive the message of their own Messiah. vi. In this way, he says that the Spirit of God inspired Isaiah rightly when he spoke to their ancestors. vii. This is a euphemistic way to say, in so many words, you are behaving just like your ancestors… that's good right? WRONG! viii. Notice that Paul does not claim them to be his own ancestors because he does not behave like them. ix. So, what does Paul quote for them? c. [Slide 12] 26 - saying, ‘GO TO THIS PEOPLE AND SAY, YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; i. Paul is quoting from Isaiah 6:9-10. This is the initial call of Isaiah to be God's prophet to Judah during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. ii. We'll take a look at this passage in a moment, but why is Paul quoting this passage? iii. Because he feels similar to Isaiah. Isaiah was told that he would proclaim the Lord's message but that Judah as a whole would not listen to him. There would no doubt be some who would and remain faithful to Yahweh, but the majority would not. iv. Paul has experienced the exact same thing as he has traveled through three different missionary journeys across the Roman Empire. Some Jews heard and believed on Jesus… but most did not. And it seems like the same will be true here in the city of Rome. v. So Paul quotes this passage to try to expose why these people are so slow to believe in Jesus. vi. Paul, through quoting Isaiah, gives two interconnected reasons that they do not believe. vii. First, though they will able to hear the truth of the gospel message, they will be unable to understand and perceive it… let alone believe it. viii. If we were to put this in medical terms, we would conclude that something in the brain is broken. ix. All the biological necessities are there for them to hear and see but something is broken to the point that the brain cannot interpret the signals coming from the eyes or the ears. x. They will be rendered unable to believe. xi. Well, why will this be their condition? d. [Slide 13] 27 - FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, i. Now it is interesting here that Paul quotes the Septuagint of this text. ii. Paul would have been familiar with the Hebrew version, but his hearers would not. iii. So, what are the differences between the Hebrew and the Septuagint? iv. [Slide 14] The Hebrew version puts these verbs in the imperative. They are commands of God to the people and to the prophet Isaiah. Let's look at the LSB's translation of Isaiah 6:9-10 to see the difference. 1. God tells Isaiah to tell the people… Keep hearing but do not understand 2. Keep seeing but do not know 3. These commands are given to Isaiah to tell the people. To command them to keep hearing and seeing without understanding or perceiving. 4. The next command seems to be issued to Isaiah with regard to his role in preaching this message. 5. Render the hearts of this people (notice God does not say my people) insensitive (or fat – full to the point of not being able to take any more in) 6. Render their ears dull and their eyes dim. Make them unable to perceive. 7. Lest (to keep them from) seeing with their eyes, and hearing with their ears, and understanding with their hearts, and return and be healed. 8. In other words, this doesn't read like a prediction but a judgment. v. So, does this mean that the Septuagint corrupted the text? No. vi. The translators of the Septuagint were obviously uncomfortable with assigning to God the blame for their condition of not hearing and obeying His Word. vii. Their dynamic interpretation of the Hebrew then, is to assume that God uses these words in hyperbole to get them to respond. viii. By setting the verbs into the indicative mood, the translators place the blame on their ancestors. ix. [Slide 15] But they do not remove God's role in this entirely. 1. Notice that the heart of this people has become dull. 2. Well, who made their heart dull? 3. The subject is not identified. 4. The Septuagint translators softened the text but did not completely change it. 5. They simply inserted a divine passive to take the place of the harshness of God's commands. 6. Meaning that within this last segment of Acts 28 those who are persuaded of the truth of the gospel and those who's hearts have become dull to the gospel are both activities God does but does not overtly say He is doing. x. But we need to understand the WAY Paul is using this. xi. Paul quotes the LXX which changes the commands into future tense verbs. That something WILL happen to the people. And why is he quoting it? He is quoting it because at this moment what WAS said in Isaiah, is being fulfilled. xii. In other words, God commanded Isaiah to render their hearts dull and eyes dim… and now Paul says… that has happened. Their heart has become dull. xiii. Paul uses the intentional softening of the Septuagint to pierce the heart of these Jews… showing them that they have succumbed to what God commanded Isaiah to accomplish by preaching to them. xiv. What Paul is saying is that the blindness of the Jews to the gospel in the 1st century AD is the fulfillment of Isaiah's preaching ministry in the 8th century BC. xv. By extension, of course, the Jews who have believed are also the fulfillment of that same preaching ministry. xvi. Again – Isaiah is the fifth gospel. And the gospel divides. xvii. So, how did they come into the state in which they could not believe? Well, in fulfillment of the preaching ministry of Isaiah, their hearts have become dull. And what else? e. [Slide 16] AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES; LEST THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I HEAL THEM.' i. As the quote continues, and as we analyze the context of Isaiah 6 and the whole book itself, we recognize that God has only decreed this end upon them after the people have been continually a people characterized by unbelief and disobedience. ii. There is a necessary correlation here between God making their hearts dull and their rebellion and disobedience. iii. The sun's rays both hardens the clay and causes fertile soil to spring forth vegetation. iv. Already barren and rocky soil will only be baked in the sun's heat while fertile soil will produce crops and a harvest from the same sun's rays. v. In the same way, the Word of God preached, warnings given, commands expressed, to the heart of one who is humble and obedient will produce more of the same. vi. While the same words will produce resentment and disdain from those who are arrogant and rebellious. vii. Again, Isaiah's preaching ministry has two outcomes and both of them are present in this text. The Jews who believed on Jesus inherit the promises of the Servant songs in the latter half of Isaiah. But those who do not believe the gospel inherit the judgments of the same book. viii. So, although the first reason they do not believe is that they are not able to… the second reason is that they are unable because they are also unwilling. They are characterized by continued pride and disobedience. f. [Slide 17] Summary of the Point: Through the text of Paul's sermon from Isaiah, Luke stresses the key reason that these Jews, and by extension every other unbeliever, do not believe the gospel when it is preached. Why is it that two people can hear the same message and one believes and the other does not? We've already seen how those who believe do so because God enables them to. What about those who do not believe? Is that God's fault too? The scriptures are quite clear on this. Those who continue in obstinate rebellion and self-determined beliefs and values are not able to understand and perceive the gospel message. God only hides the gospel message from those who are arrogant and disobedient. God does not allow people to understand or perceive the gospel message who continually refuse to be humble and listen to Him. Paul says this is why these Jews today were walking away in disbelief. It is because the Holy Spirit prophesied rightly through Isaiah to their fathers whom they are living like. God has had enough and will not let them see or hear the truth. This is why it is abundantly necessary for all those under the sound of my voice to humbly heed the Word of God. Always. Not just the gospel itself but all that God has said, we must humbly heed it. Transition: [Slide 18 (blank)] So, what is the application of this text from Isaiah 6? How does Paul apply this harsh reality to them? III.) God saves all men by grace through faith in Christ, so we must humbly heed the Word of God. (28-31) a. [Slide 19] 28 - Therefore, let it be known to you that this salvation of God was sent to the Gentiles—they will also hear.” i. Because they have continually closed their eyes to the gospel and shut their ears to scarcely hear… ii. Because the soil of their hearts, the land of their souls has been polluted. iii. Because the hearts of the Jews have become rocky ground where little grows. iv. God has turned aside to shine His gospel light on different fields. v. This is not necessarily God turning his back on the Jews forever. We've seen this in Jeremiah where the Lord continues to call those whom He has divorced, to repentance. vi. But it is God leaving behind the Jews, extending the gospel to the gentiles, to make the Jews jealous. vii. And Paul's final comment is what ultimately forces the unbelieving Jews to walk away in disgust. viii. It isn't necessarily that the gospel will go to the gentiles. ix. But Paul says, they will also hear. 1. The word hear, is the same word used before to communicate their ability to hear even though they didn't understand. 2. But Paul uses the middle voice of this verb. 3. Middle voice is when the subject does the action… to or for themselves. 4. To hear for yourself… implies not just a perception of sound or noise, but to receive or heed it. x. This is quite shocking. xi. It is probably difficult enough for the Jews to accept that God is sending the message of salvation to the Gentiles. xii. But Paul intentionally, by wordplay, makes a direct comparison. xiii. The Jews before him today, what they cannot and will not do, the Gentiles will do. xiv. This last comment is too much for these Roman Jews to take. xv. This is the “word” that forces them to walk out. b. [Slide 20] 29 - [When he had spoken these words, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves.] i. You'll notice that I have this verse in brackets and in yellow on the screen. ii. Many of the oldest, and most reliable manuscript copies of the book of Acts that we have are missing this verse. iii. When the chapter divisions and verse numbers were assigned, we had not yet discovered these manuscripts and therefore had no reason to question the authenticity of this particular verse. iv. Since the KJV was translated we have discovered almost 6,000 manuscripts of the New Testament. Most of which affirm and authenticate the manuscripts that the KJV translators had available to them. v. But occasionally, we find a verse like this where the evidence does not support a verse being included. vi. As to the motive of the addition it is actually fairly obvious. vii. If this verse isn't in the text, we must make an intuitive leap that it was the fact that Paul said the Gentiles would believe the gospel that caused these Roman Jews to leave Paul's residence in frustration. viii. Everything in verse 29 is mentioned earlier which again reinforces the idea that this was probably added as a comment to remind the reader or point out to the reader that this was the real reason the Jews left. c. [Slide 21] 30 - And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, i. Finally, Luke concludes his book with a look to the remaining two years of ministry Paul has in the city of Rome. ii. For the next two years Paul welcomes all who came to him and we should very much see this as Luke's assertion that Jews and gentiles alike were welcomed to come and visit with him. Not just the gentiles. iii. Many of his visitors were his companions visiting with him and ministering to his needs. iv. From his letters we know that Paul had sent many of his visiting companions to relay messages all around the Roman Empire to various churches. v. We are reasonably sure that Paul wrote the letters of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon during this time. d. [Slide 22] 31 - preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, unhindered. i. But Paul was not merely writing letters and entertaining Christian guests. ii. He was also preaching the gospel to all who would hear. iii. He did this boldly and without any restraint on him. iv. And so, the gospel goes to the Jews and the Gentiles of Rome, and Paul ministers to the church there while he awaits his trial. v. This is how Luke's record for Theophilus ends. vi. And we know that Paul will be released and will travel on a 4th missionary journey after this, and possibly even to Spain after that. vii. And so, the promise of Jesus from Acts 1, that His church will take the kingdom of God to the uttermost parts of the earth, has been fulfilled. viii. And with that bookend, the book of Acts is complete. e. [Slide 23] Summary of the Point: Luke finishes his book declaring the wonderful grace of God. Though the soil of the Jews had grown rocky and hard, God is still gathering a people to himself from all nations. Jews and Gentiles will be gathered in by His grace. He will open their eyes and allow them to understand and perceive the truth of the gospel. He will enable them to believe on Jesus of Nazareth as their Lord and Savior. He will graciously create a Kingdom of Priests who are the bride of His dear Son. As John the Baptist said, he could raise up stones to declare His praises to Him if He desired. So, God has determined to raise up a people that were not a people to be His people. A people made of Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female, rich and poor, from every tribe, tongue, nation and culture. And Paul spends the next two years in Rome with that application. That God is shining the light of the gospel to the gentiles and that they will hear it. So, what must we do today? Humbly heed the Word of God today my friends. Join this Kingdom that is and will be forever. Conclusion: So, what have we seen here today CBC that corrects and informs our beliefs and shapes and guides our lifestyles? Basics of Faith and Practice: [Slide 24] How fitting it is for Luke to conclude his two-scroll tome to Theophilus with a scene in which Paul continues the same ministry he always had. Preaching the gospel to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. Paul's sermon demonstrates the final word to Theophilus on why he must hold fast to what he has believed. He did not believe because of the persuasive power of those who preached the gospel to him. Instead, he believed because the Lord opened his eyes so he could humbly heed what the Word of God said. He, like all other believers, was saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus of Nazareth. All these points combine together to deliver to us a single message of truth. Theophilus must know the certainty of the gospel because… the gospel is that God alone acts to save sinners. He does so by the washing of regeneration so a sinner can grasp hold of the purchased redemption of Christ by faith. This is all according to the power of God to change people who are dead in their sins and children of wrath by nature… into sons and daughters. Theophilus must know that the gospel is true, because he has been brought to life by the power of God. No man can do what has been done to him. In fact, the litmus test for the true gospel, is how much of man's power is in it. If there is any at all… it is not the gospel. So, we must humbly heed the Word of God. Certainly, we must hear and heed the gospel command to repent and believe on Jesus Christ. But also, in every facet of life, we must humbly heed God's Word. No matter what it says no matter how much we naturally disagree, and no matter how much it means we must change. Let God's Word be true and everything else be a lie. But let me attempt to apply these concepts to our everyday life. 1.) [Slide 25] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that salvation is accomplished in an individual's life by God alone. a. Paul's sermon to the Roman Jews consisted of several hours of preaching the kingdom of God manifested in the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth, which was predicted in the Mosaic law and the Prophets. b. For hours he reasoned with them passionately. c. In the end some did come to faith in Jesus Christ. But Luke does not give credit to Paul for this. d. God opened their eyes to the truth of what Paul taught. e. We saw this in Acts 16 when Lydia did the same. f. And Paul himself says this in I Corinthians 2, that this was true when he preached in Corinth. g. Paul didn't convince anyone of the gospel. Paul didn't lead anyone to Christ. h. The scriptures teach us that GOD draws sinners to Himself. How? Through the word of God being proclaimed. i. In this the preacher is merely the means God uses to connect those whom He is calling to faith in Jesus Christ. j. You see, not only has the price been paid through the redemption of Jesus Christ, but God even acts to bring sinners to that realization. k. If your view of the gospel has any whiff of man's effort, man's work, man's action, or man's ability… it is not the gospel you are believing. l. If your gospel says that God has done everything except for… you can stop right there… because it isn't the gospel anymore. m. God did not do 99.99% of your salvation and awaits you to contribute your .01%. n. God accomplished EVERYTHING. o. In Romans 8 we see that God foreordained, predestined, called, justified, and glorified His people. p. Paul takes us from before the foundations of the world to the eternal kingdom and shows that in an individual Christian's life… God has done everything. q. When He desires you to be connected by faith to the redemption Jesus has purchased with His blood, He will enable you to believe by opening your eyes to see the truth of the gospel and believe it. r. The scriptures clearly teach us that salvation is not of works, it is all a gift, so much so that even repentance and faith are called gifts of God in the New Testament. s. So, my friends, we must, for the sake of the purity of the gospel, we must eradicate every last shred of human work, no matter how small, from our understanding of the gospel. t. For if we don't… it just isn't the gospel anymore. 2.) [Slide 26] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God resists the proud and disobedient and hides the gospel from them. a. Do you remember the parable of the soils which Jesus taught. b. It is one of the few parables where Jesus actually explains its meaning to His disciples. c. The farmer is the same. The seed is the same. The distribution of that seed is the same. d. The only thing that changes is the soil in which the seed is cast. e. The first soil is soil that is hard. It is a pathway. It is not tilled. It is not soft. It is not open to receiving the seed. f. On this soil the devil comes and snatches away the seed scattered there because it did not penetrate the soil. g. This is essentially what Paul says has happened to the unbelieving Jews. They are so arrogant and so disobedient that though they have eyes, they cannot see, though they have ears they cannot hear… though the soil of their heart has dirt… it is hard, beaten down, and eroded. It is incapable of receiving the seed. h. James says that God resists the proud. i. The fact of the matter is that a heart that is proud, self-focused, self-ruled, disobedient and defiant… such a heart can never receive the gospel message. j. But there is a tension here that we need to recognize. 3.) [Slide 27] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that God has given salvation to only one specific people group. a. As shocking as it was for the Jews to hear that God is giving salvation to the gentiles, so it will be just as shocking for us to hear that God is not giving salvation to one kind of people. b. God is giving salvation to Muslims, Mormons, Buddhists, Atheists, Agnostics, Hindus, and even Satanists. c. God is giving salvation to homosexuals, pedophiles, transgenders, murderers, adulterers, thieves, traitors and liars. d. God is giving salvation to Democrats, Republicans, Rich people, poor people, black people, red people. e. As long as the heart of that person is soft to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ… they will receive it. f. But all these labels along with their beliefs, allegiances, and practices, all bow to the Lordship of Jesus Christ when one truly receives the gospel. g. Gentiles will hear the gospel… but that doesn't mean they can keep worshipping their pagan gods. h. But God is not just saving those who attend church all their lives. i. His people are scattered throughout the world. j. They could be your neighbors, your co-workers, your family, your friends, your nurses, doctors, lawyers, financial advisors. k. They may have a different political party than you. They may currently be practicing a different religion. l. We don't know who they are. So we preach Christ crucified and rely on God's power to change them. m. It is a lie for us to believe that anyone is beyond the reach of the gospel. n. Look at Paul… how many times has he preached to the Jews in various cities and how many times has the result been the same? Very few believe. Many do not… And then they oppose the gospel. o. Yet here he is again… preaching to Jews in Rome. p. May we have the same drive of Paul to preach the gospel to any and all we come into contact with. 4.) [Slide 28] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must humbly heed the Word of the Lord. a. Generally speaking, God resists the proud but exalts the humble. b. True and humble belief in His Word is always accompanied by obedience. c. James says we must be doers of the word and not hearers only. d. The Jews had a long history of struggling with this as a nation. e. There were always those who did humbly heed the Word of the Lord. f. They were the remnant. True Israel. g. If we are God's children, we too must humbly hear and heed the Word of God. h. Do you have that view of God's Word? Or do you find yourself always interpreting the of the Word of God to make it fit what you already believe or what you are already doing? i. When is the last time you had to crucify something you believed or practiced because of what God's Word said? j. If you can't think of a time that that has ever happened… or if that has rarely happened in your life…you may want to search your heart. Is it too hard to be molded by God's Word? 5.) [Slide 29] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” Will you humble yourself and obey the gospel? a. The book of Acts really is part two of the gospel of Luke. b. It is a gospel. It makes much of the person and work of Jesus Christ. It does so by way of seeing His followers forever changed by His saving power in their lives. c. This rag tag group of 20 somethings, nothings from nowhere, had suddenly turned the world upside down with the message of the gospel. d. My friends… what will you do with this Jesus? e. He is not a great prophet who spoke many wise words. He is not an example for us to show kindness and love to all people. He is not someone we can quote to support this political position or that… f. He is the Son of God, the Lord of all, and He will come to judge the living and the dead. g. He will judge them according to their works. h. All those who are judged by the books which record their works will be cast into the lake of fire which is the second death. i. Only those who are not judged by those books but by the book of life… only they will enter into His Kingdom. j. So I ask again… what will you do with Jesus Christ? k. What should be done with Him? l. If all that Jesus said, did, and claimed of Himself, the world, and The Kingdom of God is true.. then you must humble yourself before His Lordship… beg for His mercy… and place all your hope in His death and resurrection to be your death and resurrection. m. Jesus Christ should become your… EVERYTHING. That is what it means to obey the gospel. n. It doesn't matter who you are, what you've done, what you have believed up to this point, or where you think you are going… o. Humble yourself, repent and believe on Jesus and you will have life in Him. p. If this is you today – don't leave without talking to an Elder. We'd love to hear and help in any way we can. [Slide 30 (end)] Let me close with a prayer by the Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs. Lord, today you have set before me out of your word a glorious mystery—a righteousness of your Son that I did not know or care about before. I see now my happiness lies there. No matter what happens to me in the world, and no matter what happens to my name or my worldly possessions, I am forever secure if I have Christ to clothe me. Lord, if righteousness did prevail, then you would be honored more than ever. We would have the joy of our hearts, we would be delivered from the temptations we encounter, and your saints would not suffer as they do. We pray that you would make righteousness prevail in our hearts, in Jesus' name, Amen. Benediction: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Until we meet again, go in peace.

Title: Eyes to See and Ears to Hear Text: Acts 28:23-31 FCF: We often struggle humbly heeding the Word of God. Prop: Because God alone acts to save sinners, we must humbly heed the Word of God. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 28. In a moment we will read from the Legacy Standard Bible starting in verse 23 and going to the end of the book of Acts. You can follow along in the pew bible or in whatever version you prefer. Today is a bittersweet day. Today we close out our exposition of the text of the book of Acts. Next week we will do one final review sermon as we provide a bird's eye view of the major themes in the book. It will be difficult to move on from this two-year study, but very soon we'll begin our next sermon series on the letters to the Thessalonians. But before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let's be reminded of where we are in the book of Acts today. Paul has just settled in to his situation in Rome. He is under house arrest, guarded constantly by a Roman sentry. He does not have the freedom to leave his home to do any sort of preaching ministry within the city, but he has called the Roman Jewish leaders of the synagogue to come to him in his home. He has explained why he is here so they wouldn't think he was a criminal. Of course, they hadn't heard anything about Paul coming to Rome. But they had heard about the Nazarene Sect and how much trouble it has caused the Jewish communities around the Empire. They are very curious to learn more and understand why there is so much contention. Paul will now have an opportunity to meet with these Jewish leaders at length to speak about the hope of Israel. Which is the gospel of Jesus their Messiah. Please stand with me to give honor to and focus on the Word of God as it is read. Invocation: Savior God, You are our Redeemer. Father You have planned our redemption within the counsel of Your will since before the dawn of Your creation. Jesus You have been eternally begotten of the Father to go and accomplish this Redemption for a people You have elected before the foundations of the world. Spirit You have proceeded from the Father and the Son and like the Son You raise us up and wash us in the waters of regeneration so that we may be united to the redemption provided to us by the Son. Savior God, You, and You alone, are our Redeemer. Nothing can save us but You. Help us then Lord to hear from Your Word today and believe that You act alone in our salvation, so that we can respond to this great salvation by humbly heeding Your Word. We pray this in Jesus' name… Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] Augustine of Hippo: “The grace of God does not find men fit for salvation but makes them so.” Benjamin Beddome “God's grace can save souls without preaching, but all the preaching in the world cannot save souls without God's grace.” W.E. Best “The sinner apart from grace is unable to be willing and unwilling to be able.” These thoughts are fundamental to the message Paul has for the Roman Jews. Let's look at what he says. I.) Mere logic and persuasion cannot move the heart of sinful man to repent and believe the gospel, so we must humbly heed the Word of God. (23-24) a. [Slide 3] 23 - And when they had set a day for Paul, they came to him at his lodging in large numbers; and he was explaining to them by solemnly bearing witness about the kingdom of God i. So, the Jews return in great numbers to Paul's rented abode. ii. They are highly motivated to learn about the Nazarene sect and why they are hearing reports against it from everywhere. iii. Paul begins by speaking intently with them. The one Greek word translated here “solemnly bearing witness” implies not simply testifying or giving of information but urgent reporting on matters of grave importance. iv. What is so important? v. It is the coming of the Kingdom of God. vi. This eternal Kingdom that is spoken of by their own prophets, greatest of which was John the Baptist – has now come. And they need to respond. This promise IS for the children of Israel. vii. But entry into this Kingdom is not granted based on that status. viii. Being born of Abraham is not enough to inherit this Kingdom. ix. So how do you enter? b. [Slide 4] and trying to persuade them concerning Jesus, i. You must be born of the Spirit. You must go through Jesus. ii. As has been a central theme to the book of Acts since the beginning, the Jews have a unique position in the redemptive plan of God, in that Jesus is their Messiah. iii. Jesus is the central and key figure to gain access to God and to this eternal Kingdom. iv. Jesus is Yahweh's Servant who has borne griefs and healed wounds. He has purchased Israel's pardon. v. And they have been granted the Scriptures which contain prophesies concerning this one who will come to redeem not just them, but the whole world. vi. Paul takes them through these books to show them Jesus. c. [Slide 5] from both the Law of Moses and from the Prophets, i. What do they need to do then? ii. They do not need to join a new religion in order to inherit the Kingdom. iii. No. iv. They need simply to realize that to repent and believe on Jesus as the Christ is what their own law and prophets have told them to do since the beginning. v. If they intend to continue to be Jewish, in the truest sense of the word, they must repent and trust in their own Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth. d. [Slide 6] from morning until evening. i. Paul earnestly contended with them on this point for many hours. ii. He probably showed them from their own scriptures how Jesus had fulfilled over 300 prophesies by his birth, life, death, and resurrection. iii. How Jesus becomes our new Adam, our new representative. How Jesus is the new Abraham in establishing a New Covenant. How He is the new Moses, being the Great Prophet. How Jesus is the Great High Priest offering a sacrifice that does not need to be repeated since He was the sacrifice. How Jesus is the Son of David and that human King prophesied to reign over Israel forever… and the whole world. iv. From morning until evening Paul gave it all he had. He preached, he discussed, he debated, he argued, he strove, with all the persuasiveness that he could. v. What were the results? e. [Slide 7] 24 - And some were being persuaded by the things spoken, but others were not believing. i. Well, the results were decidedly… mixed. ii. Some of them were being persuaded. Notice the passive voice here. 1. While it largely depends on context, many times in scripture when the passive voice is used, it is what we call a divine passive. 2. This occurs when God does something but does not wish to overtly say He is doing the action in that specific context. 3. We know from the greater context of scripture, and even in this very text, that natural man is spiritually dead and unable to hear and respond to the gospel message unless the Holy Spirit actually enables them to hear it and respond to it. 4. No matter what theological background you come from, everyone prays for the lost the same. We all pray that God would open the eyes of sinners to help them receive the gospel. 5. Christians may define what happens there differently. But the long and the short of it is, that God must move first and God must move in an individual's heart not just in an event for a broader people group. 6. It is not Paul's words that are persuading them… it is God's Spirit opening their eyes to see the truth of what Paul is saying. iii. But the others, the majority, do not believe on Jesus. iv. But how does this happen? v. How can the apostle Paul, a skilled Rhetorician, speak for hours, expounding from the scriptures how Jesus is the Messiah, and yet many do not believe, and the ones that do believe do not do so because of Paul's persuasiveness? vi. If Paul cannot convince his own kinsmen, what hope do we have to convince anyone of the gospel? f. [Slide 8] Summary of the Point: In the last episode of Luke's record of the early formation of the church and the Kingdom of God expanding to the uttermost parts of the earth, Luke chooses to conclude on a sermon by Paul. It is a sermon preached over several hours to his own kinsmen, Jews of the city of Rome. Luke says he spoke passionately and urgently to them communicating from the Mosaic law and the prophets how Jesus was the Messiah and the King promised of old who would bring with Him a New Kingdom. Paul preached passionately that this kingdom has come and is here and the evidence that this is so, is the expansion of the church throughout the Roman Empire. But despite all his theological arguments, despite his rhetorical skill, despite his logic, despite his passionate pleas, most of those listening did not believe. Only some were persuaded as God opened their eyes and ears to receive the truth of what Paul spoke. Luke's purpose in this book is to give Theophilus assurances that what he has believed is true. One great assurance to Theophilus is that the wisdom of men in logic and persuasion cannot actually convince sinners to repent and believe the gospel. Theophilus was not conned by skilled speakers to believe a lie. Instead, his eyes were opened to believe the truth by God Himself. This is true of everyone who receives the gospel. God calls and draws. Then and only then do we respond. And so, what is our application to such a point? We must humbly heed the Word of God. We must be the kind of people who are ready to listen and to obey what God reveals. Transition: [Slide 9 (blank)] Still, our curiosity forces us to ask why don't they believe? Is there something deficient in them? What qualities make up a person who will not believe? And how do we avoid that? II.) God hides the gospel from the arrogant and disobedient, so we must humbly heed the Word of God. (25-27) a. [Slide 10] 25 - And when they disagreed with one another, they began leaving after Paul had spoken one word, i. So, this devolves fairly quickly. ii. We have these once loosely untied Roman Jews, coming to Paul for information on the Nazarene sect of Judaism, and as the hours go on, now they are disagreeing so sharply that those who do not believe Paul abandon him and their fellow Jews and leave the house. iii. Luke records that they did this especially when Paul said one word. iv. Well which word? v. What follows is a sermon from Isaiah 6. vi. So which word makes them leave? vii. Well, the word translated “word” can mean a single word or it can mean a message. viii. In the expression “what's the word?” we are not asking what is the single word. We are asking, what is the news? ix. In a similar way, Luke records this mini-sermon that Paul spoke that turned out to be too much for the unbelieving Jews to handle. x. What did Paul say that chased them away? b. [Slide 11] “The Holy Spirit rightly spoke through Isaiah the prophet to your fathers, i. First of all, Paul goes to the prophet Isaiah. ii. Psalms and Isaiah account for half of the citations of the Old Testament in the New Testament. iii. Some commentators refer to the book of Isaiah as the fifth gospel. iv. Secondly, Isaiah's prophesies include both strong warnings and judgment proclamations as well as great and wonderful promises to the children of Israel. v. Paul is probably not going to the promises here. He is responding to the unbelieving Jews and their slowness to receive the message of their own Messiah. vi. In this way, he says that the Spirit of God inspired Isaiah rightly when he spoke to their ancestors. vii. This is a euphemistic way to say, in so many words, you are behaving just like your ancestors… that's good right? WRONG! viii. Notice that Paul does not claim them to be his own ancestors because he does not behave like them. ix. So, what does Paul quote for them? c. [Slide 12] 26 - saying, ‘GO TO THIS PEOPLE AND SAY, YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; i. Paul is quoting from Isaiah 6:9-10. This is the initial call of Isaiah to be God's prophet to Judah during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah. ii. We'll take a look at this passage in a moment, but why is Paul quoting this passage? iii. Because he feels similar to Isaiah. Isaiah was told that he would proclaim the Lord's message but that Judah as a whole would not listen to him. There would no doubt be some who would and remain faithful to Yahweh, but the majority would not. iv. Paul has experienced the exact same thing as he has traveled through three different missionary journeys across the Roman Empire. Some Jews heard and believed on Jesus… but most did not. And it seems like the same will be true here in the city of Rome. v. So Paul quotes this passage to try to expose why these people are so slow to believe in Jesus. vi. Paul, through quoting Isaiah, gives two interconnected reasons that they do not believe. vii. First, though they will able to hear the truth of the gospel message, they will be unable to understand and perceive it… let alone believe it. viii. If we were to put this in medical terms, we would conclude that something in the brain is broken. ix. All the biological necessities are there for them to hear and see but something is broken to the point that the brain cannot interpret the signals coming from the eyes or the ears. x. They will be rendered unable to believe. xi. Well, why will this be their condition? d. [Slide 13] 27 - FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, i. Now it is interesting here that Paul quotes the Septuagint of this text. ii. Paul would have been familiar with the Hebrew version, but his hearers would not. iii. So, what are the differences between the Hebrew and the Septuagint? iv. [Slide 14] The Hebrew version puts these verbs in the imperative. They are commands of God to the people and to the prophet Isaiah. Let's look at the LSB's translation of Isaiah 6:9-10 to see the difference. 1. God tells Isaiah to tell the people… Keep hearing but do not understand 2. Keep seeing but do not know 3. These commands are given to Isaiah to tell the people. To command them to keep hearing and seeing without understanding or perceiving. 4. The next command seems to be issued to Isaiah with regard to his role in preaching this message. 5. Render the hearts of this people (notice God does not say my people) insensitive (or fat – full to the point of not being able to take any more in) 6. Render their ears dull and their eyes dim. Make them unable to perceive. 7. Lest (to keep them from) seeing with their eyes, and hearing with their ears, and understanding with their hearts, and return and be healed. 8. In other words, this doesn't read like a prediction but a judgment. v. So, does this mean that the Septuagint corrupted the text? No. vi. The translators of the Septuagint were obviously uncomfortable with assigning to God the blame for their condition of not hearing and obeying His Word. vii. Their dynamic interpretation of the Hebrew then, is to assume that God uses these words in hyperbole to get them to respond. viii. By setting the verbs into the indicative mood, the translators place the blame on their ancestors. ix. [Slide 15] But they do not remove God's role in this entirely. 1. Notice that the heart of this people has become dull. 2. Well, who made their heart dull? 3. The subject is not identified. 4. The Septuagint translators softened the text but did not completely change it. 5. They simply inserted a divine passive to take the place of the harshness of God's commands. 6. Meaning that within this last segment of Acts 28 those who are persuaded of the truth of the gospel and those who's hearts have become dull to the gospel are both activities God does but does not overtly say He is doing. x. But we need to understand the WAY Paul is using this. xi. Paul quotes the LXX which changes the commands into future tense verbs. That something WILL happen to the people. And why is he quoting it? He is quoting it because at this moment what WAS said in Isaiah, is being fulfilled. xii. In other words, God commanded Isaiah to render their hearts dull and eyes dim… and now Paul says… that has happened. Their heart has become dull. xiii. Paul uses the intentional softening of the Septuagint to pierce the heart of these Jews… showing them that they have succumbed to what God commanded Isaiah to accomplish by preaching to them. xiv. What Paul is saying is that the blindness of the Jews to the gospel in the 1st century AD is the fulfillment of Isaiah's preaching ministry in the 8th century BC. xv. By extension, of course, the Jews who have believed are also the fulfillment of that same preaching ministry. xvi. Again – Isaiah is the fifth gospel. And the gospel divides. xvii. So, how did they come into the state in which they could not believe? Well, in fulfillment of the preaching ministry of Isaiah, their hearts have become dull. And what else? e. [Slide 16] AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES; LEST THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I HEAL THEM.' i. As the quote continues, and as we analyze the context of Isaiah 6 and the whole book itself, we recognize that God has only decreed this end upon them after the people have been continually a people characterized by unbelief and disobedience. ii. There is a necessary correlation here between God making their hearts dull and their rebellion and disobedience. iii. The sun's rays both hardens the clay and causes fertile soil to spring forth vegetation. iv. Already barren and rocky soil will only be baked in the sun's heat while fertile soil will produce crops and a harvest from the same sun's rays. v. In the same way, the Word of God preached, warnings given, commands expressed, to the heart of one who is humble and obedient will produce more of the same. vi. While the same words will produce resentment and disdain from those who are arrogant and rebellious. vii. Again, Isaiah's preaching ministry has two outcomes and both of them are present in this text. The Jews who believed on Jesus inherit the promises of the Servant songs in the latter half of Isaiah. But those who do not believe the gospel inherit the judgments of the same book. viii. So, although the first reason they do not believe is that they are not able to… the second reason is that they are unable because they are also unwilling. They are characterized by continued pride and disobedience. f. [Slide 17] Summary of the Point: Through the text of Paul's sermon from Isaiah, Luke stresses the key reason that these Jews, and by extension every other unbeliever, do not believe the gospel when it is preached. Why is it that two people can hear the same message and one believes and the other does not? We've already seen how those who believe do so because God enables them to. What about those who do not believe? Is that God's fault too? The scriptures are quite clear on this. Those who continue in obstinate rebellion and self-determined beliefs and values are not able to understand and perceive the gospel message. God only hides the gospel message from those who are arrogant and disobedient. God does not allow people to understand or perceive the gospel message who continually refuse to be humble and listen to Him. Paul says this is why these Jews today were walking away in disbelief. It is because the Holy Spirit prophesied rightly through Isaiah to their fathers whom they are living like. God has had enough and will not let them see or hear the truth. This is why it is abundantly necessary for all those under the sound of my voice to humbly heed the Word of God. Always. Not just the gospel itself but all that God has said, we must humbly heed it. Transition: [Slide 18 (blank)] So, what is the application of this text from Isaiah 6? How does Paul apply this harsh reality to them? III.) God saves all men by grace through faith in Christ, so we must humbly heed the Word of God. (28-31) a. [Slide 19] 28 - Therefore, let it be known to you that this salvation of God was sent to the Gentiles—they will also hear.” i. Because they have continually closed their eyes to the gospel and shut their ears to scarcely hear… ii. Because the soil of their hearts, the land of their souls has been polluted. iii. Because the hearts of the Jews have become rocky ground where little grows. iv. God has turned aside to shine His gospel light on different fields. v. This is not necessarily God turning his back on the Jews forever. We've seen this in Jeremiah where the Lord continues to call those whom He has divorced, to repentance. vi. But it is God leaving behind the Jews, extending the gospel to the gentiles, to make the Jews jealous. vii. And Paul's final comment is what ultimately forces the unbelieving Jews to walk away in disgust. viii. It isn't necessarily that the gospel will go to the gentiles. ix. But Paul says, they will also hear. 1. The word hear, is the same word used before to communicate their ability to hear even though they didn't understand. 2. But Paul uses the middle voice of this verb. 3. Middle voice is when the subject does the action… to or for themselves. 4. To hear for yourself… implies not just a perception of sound or noise, but to receive or heed it. x. This is quite shocking. xi. It is probably difficult enough for the Jews to accept that God is sending the message of salvation to the Gentiles. xii. But Paul intentionally, by wordplay, makes a direct comparison. xiii. The Jews before him today, what they cannot and will not do, the Gentiles will do. xiv. This last comment is too much for these Roman Jews to take. xv. This is the “word” that forces them to walk out. b. [Slide 20] 29 - [When he had spoken these words, the Jews departed, having a great dispute among themselves.] i. You'll notice that I have this verse in brackets and in yellow on the screen. ii. Many of the oldest, and most reliable manuscript copies of the book of Acts that we have are missing this verse. iii. When the chapter divisions and verse numbers were assigned, we had not yet discovered these manuscripts and therefore had no reason to question the authenticity of this particular verse. iv. Since the KJV was translated we have discovered almost 6,000 manuscripts of the New Testament. Most of which affirm and authenticate the manuscripts that the KJV translators had available to them. v. But occasionally, we find a verse like this where the evidence does not support a verse being included. vi. As to the motive of the addition it is actually fairly obvious. vii. If this verse isn't in the text, we must make an intuitive leap that it was the fact that Paul said the Gentiles would believe the gospel that caused these Roman Jews to leave Paul's residence in frustration. viii. Everything in verse 29 is mentioned earlier which again reinforces the idea that this was probably added as a comment to remind the reader or point out to the reader that this was the real reason the Jews left. c. [Slide 21] 30 - And he stayed two full years in his own rented quarters and was welcoming all who came to him, i. Finally, Luke concludes his book with a look to the remaining two years of ministry Paul has in the city of Rome. ii. For the next two years Paul welcomes all who came to him and we should very much see this as Luke's assertion that Jews and gentiles alike were welcomed to come and visit with him. Not just the gentiles. iii. Many of his visitors were his companions visiting with him and ministering to his needs. iv. From his letters we know that Paul had sent many of his visiting companions to relay messages all around the Roman Empire to various churches. v. We are reasonably sure that Paul wrote the letters of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon during this time. d. [Slide 22] 31 - preaching the kingdom of God and teaching concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, unhindered. i. But Paul was not merely writing letters and entertaining Christian guests. ii. He was also preaching the gospel to all who would hear. iii. He did this boldly and without any restraint on him. iv. And so, the gospel goes to the Jews and the Gentiles of Rome, and Paul ministers to the church there while he awaits his trial. v. This is how Luke's record for Theophilus ends. vi. And we know that Paul will be released and will travel on a 4th missionary journey after this, and possibly even to Spain after that. vii. And so, the promise of Jesus from Acts 1, that His church will take the kingdom of God to the uttermost parts of the earth, has been fulfilled. viii. And with that bookend, the book of Acts is complete. e. [Slide 23] Summary of the Point: Luke finishes his book declaring the wonderful grace of God. Though the soil of the Jews had grown rocky and hard, God is still gathering a people to himself from all nations. Jews and Gentiles will be gathered in by His grace. He will open their eyes and allow them to understand and perceive the truth of the gospel. He will enable them to believe on Jesus of Nazareth as their Lord and Savior. He will graciously create a Kingdom of Priests who are the bride of His dear Son. As John the Baptist said, he could raise up stones to declare His praises to Him if He desired. So, God has determined to raise up a people that were not a people to be His people. A people made of Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female, rich and poor, from every tribe, tongue, nation and culture. And Paul spends the next two years in Rome with that application. That God is shining the light of the gospel to the gentiles and that they will hear it. So, what must we do today? Humbly heed the Word of God today my friends. Join this Kingdom that is and will be forever. Conclusion: So, what have we seen here today CBC that corrects and informs our beliefs and shapes and guides our lifestyles? Basics of Faith and Practice: [Slide 24] How fitting it is for Luke to conclude his two-scroll tome to Theophilus with a scene in which Paul continues the same ministry he always had. Preaching the gospel to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. Paul's sermon demonstrates the final word to Theophilus on why he must hold fast to what he has believed. He did not believe because of the persuasive power of those who preached the gospel to him. Instead, he believed because the Lord opened his eyes so he could humbly heed what the Word of God said. He, like all other believers, was saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus of Nazareth. All these points combine together to deliver to us a single message of truth. Theophilus must know the certainty of the gospel because… the gospel is that God alone acts to save sinners. He does so by the washing of regeneration so a sinner can grasp hold of the purchased redemption of Christ by faith. This is all according to the power of God to change people who are dead in their sins and children of wrath by nature… into sons and daughters. Theophilus must know that the gospel is true, because he has been brought to life by the power of God. No man can do what has been done to him. In fact, the litmus test for the true gospel, is how much of man's power is in it. If there is any at all… it is not the gospel. So, we must humbly heed the Word of God. Certainly, we must hear and heed the gospel command to repent and believe on Jesus Christ. But also, in every facet of life, we must humbly heed God's Word. No matter what it says no matter how much we naturally disagree, and no matter how much it means we must change. Let God's Word be true and everything else be a lie. But let me attempt to apply these concepts to our everyday life. 1.) [Slide 25] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that salvation is accomplished in an individual's life by God alone. a. Paul's sermon to the Roman Jews consisted of several hours of preaching the kingdom of God manifested in the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth, which was predicted in the Mosaic law and the Prophets. b. For hours he reasoned with them passionately. c. In the end some did come to faith in Jesus Christ. But Luke does not give credit to Paul for this. d. God opened their eyes to the truth of what Paul taught. e. We saw this in Acts 16 when Lydia did the same. f. And Paul himself says this in I Corinthians 2, that this was true when he preached in Corinth. g. Paul didn't convince anyone of the gospel. Paul didn't lead anyone to Christ. h. The scriptures teach us that GOD draws sinners to Himself. How? Through the word of God being proclaimed. i. In this the preacher is merely the means God uses to connect those whom He is calling to faith in Jesus Christ. j. You see, not only has the price been paid through the redemption of Jesus Christ, but God even acts to bring sinners to that realization. k. If your view of the gospel has any whiff of man's effort, man's work, man's action, or man's ability… it is not the gospel you are believing. l. If your gospel says that God has done everything except for… you can stop right there… because it isn't the gospel anymore. m. God did not do 99.99% of your salvation and awaits you to contribute your .01%. n. God accomplished EVERYTHING. o. In Romans 8 we see that God foreordained, predestined, called, justified, and glorified His people. p. Paul takes us from before the foundations of the world to the eternal kingdom and shows that in an individual Christian's life… God has done everything. q. When He desires you to be connected by faith to the redemption Jesus has purchased with His blood, He will enable you to believe by opening your eyes to see the truth of the gospel and believe it. r. The scriptures clearly teach us that salvation is not of works, it is all a gift, so much so that even repentance and faith are called gifts of God in the New Testament. s. So, my friends, we must, for the sake of the purity of the gospel, we must eradicate every last shred of human work, no matter how small, from our understanding of the gospel. t. For if we don't… it just isn't the gospel anymore. 2.) [Slide 26] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must affirm that God resists the proud and disobedient and hides the gospel from them. a. Do you remember the parable of the soils which Jesus taught. b. It is one of the few parables where Jesus actually explains its meaning to His disciples. c. The farmer is the same. The seed is the same. The distribution of that seed is the same. d. The only thing that changes is the soil in which the seed is cast. e. The first soil is soil that is hard. It is a pathway. It is not tilled. It is not soft. It is not open to receiving the seed. f. On this soil the devil comes and snatches away the seed scattered there because it did not penetrate the soil. g. This is essentially what Paul says has happened to the unbelieving Jews. They are so arrogant and so disobedient that though they have eyes, they cannot see, though they have ears they cannot hear… though the soil of their heart has dirt… it is hard, beaten down, and eroded. It is incapable of receiving the seed. h. James says that God resists the proud. i. The fact of the matter is that a heart that is proud, self-focused, self-ruled, disobedient and defiant… such a heart can never receive the gospel message. j. But there is a tension here that we need to recognize. 3.) [Slide 27] Refutation: “What lies must we cast down” or “What do we naturally believe, or have been taught to believe, that this passage shows is false?” We must deny that God has given salvation to only one specific people group. a. As shocking as it was for the Jews to hear that God is giving salvation to the gentiles, so it will be just as shocking for us to hear that God is not giving salvation to one kind of people. b. God is giving salvation to Muslims, Mormons, Buddhists, Atheists, Agnostics, Hindus, and even Satanists. c. God is giving salvation to homosexuals, pedophiles, transgenders, murderers, adulterers, thieves, traitors and liars. d. God is giving salvation to Democrats, Republicans, Rich people, poor people, black people, red people. e. As long as the heart of that person is soft to receive the gospel of Jesus Christ… they will receive it. f. But all these labels along with their beliefs, allegiances, and practices, all bow to the Lordship of Jesus Christ when one truly receives the gospel. g. Gentiles will hear the gospel… but that doesn't mean they can keep worshipping their pagan gods. h. But God is not just saving those who attend church all their lives. i. His people are scattered throughout the world. j. They could be your neighbors, your co-workers, your family, your friends, your nurses, doctors, lawyers, financial advisors. k. They may have a different political party than you. They may currently be practicing a different religion. l. We don't know who they are. So we preach Christ crucified and rely on God's power to change them. m. It is a lie for us to believe that anyone is beyond the reach of the gospel. n. Look at Paul… how many times has he preached to the Jews in various cities and how many times has the result been the same? Very few believe. Many do not… And then they oppose the gospel. o. Yet here he is again… preaching to Jews in Rome. p. May we have the same drive of Paul to preach the gospel to any and all we come into contact with. 4.) [Slide 28] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must humbly heed the Word of the Lord. a. Generally speaking, God resists the proud but exalts the humble. b. True and humble belief in His Word is always accompanied by obedience. c. James says we must be doers of the word and not hearers only. d. The Jews had a long history of struggling with this as a nation. e. There were always those who did humbly heed the Word of the Lord. f. They were the remnant. True Israel. g. If we are God's children, we too must humbly hear and heed the Word of God. h. Do you have that view of God's Word? Or do you find yourself always interpreting the of the Word of God to make it fit what you already believe or what you are already doing? i. When is the last time you had to crucify something you believed or practiced because of what God's Word said? j. If you can't think of a time that that has ever happened… or if that has rarely happened in your life…you may want to search your heart. Is it too hard to be molded by God's Word? 5.) [Slide 29] Evangelism: “What about this text points us to Jesus Christ, the gospel, and how we are restored?” Will you humble yourself and obey the gospel? a. The book of Acts really is part two of the gospel of Luke. b. It is a gospel. It makes much of the person and work of Jesus Christ. It does so by way of seeing His followers forever changed by His saving power in their lives. c. This rag tag group of 20 somethings, nothings from nowhere, had suddenly turned the world upside down with the message of the gospel. d. My friends… what will you do with this Jesus? e. He is not a great prophet who spoke many wise words. He is not an example for us to show kindness and love to all people. He is not someone we can quote to support this political position or that… f. He is the Son of God, the Lord of all, and He will come to judge the living and the dead. g. He will judge them according to their works. h. All those who are judged by the books which record their works will be cast into the lake of fire which is the second death. i. Only those who are not judged by those books but by the book of life… only they will enter into His Kingdom. j. So I ask again… what will you do with Jesus Christ? k. What should be done with Him? l. If all that Jesus said, did, and claimed of Himself, the world, and The Kingdom of God is true.. then you must humble yourself before His Lordship… beg for His mercy… and place all your hope in His death and resurrection to be your death and resurrection. m. Jesus Christ should become your… EVERYTHING. That is what it means to obey the gospel. n. It doesn't matter who you are, what you've done, what you have believed up to this point, or where you think you are going… o. Humble yourself, repent and believe on Jesus and you will have life in Him. p. If this is you today – don't leave without talking to an Elder. We'd love to hear and help in any way we can. [Slide 30 (end)] Let me close with a prayer by the Puritan Jeremiah Burroughs. Lord, today you have set before me out of your word a glorious mystery—a righteousness of your Son that I did not know or care about before. I see now my happiness lies there. No matter what happens to me in the world, and no matter what happens to my name or my worldly possessions, I am forever secure if I have Christ to clothe me. Lord, if righteousness did prevail, then you would be honored more than ever. We would have the joy of our hearts, we would be delivered from the temptations we encounter, and your saints would not suffer as they do. We pray that you would make righteousness prevail in our hearts, in Jesus' name, Amen. Benediction: May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope. Until we meet again, go in peace.

You know her. Perhaps you've read her books. Maybe you've even been taken with her rhetorical skills. But do her writings and teachings meet this particular moment in Christianity?Tune in as Ethan and Jo offer a pastoral critique of Nadia Bolz-Weber's interview with Rainn Wilson on his podcast, Soul Boom. (It's episode 40, "Does Religion Still Matter? Nadia Bolz-Weber on Faith, Community & Belonging." We're not gonna link it.)Find all things WTHIAP at www.wthiap.com.

Watch/Listen to this and all episodes ad free by joining the ITBR Patreon for only $10 a month! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/ivorytowerboilerroom⁠⁠ Scholar, Professor, and Rhetorician, Dr. Travis A. Rountree enters the ITBR to discuss episode 7, "Smells Like Codependence" of the iconic “Queer as Folk” 2000 American TV show! On this episode Travis shares his fondness for the characters and says, “I felt like they were my friends." Later, Andrew and Travis discuss Brian and Michael's codependence as “trauma bonding” since each experienced difficult pasts that come to light later in the series. Finally, Andrew and Travis discuss the broad spectrum of queer male experiences since this episode includes the inclusion of the closeted gay man, the innocent gay man, and the asshole gay man. Just to remind you all here's a brief description about the, "Smells Like Codependence" episode: Debbie meets Dr. David; Michael and Dr. David spend a weekend in the country; Justin's father learns the truth and decides to send Justin away to school; Brian's emotional hold on Michael and dislike for Dr. David intensifies. Make sure you re-watch all of the episodes with us on Showtime: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.sho.com/queer-as-folk/season/1⁠⁠ Follow Travis on X, @TravisARountree and on Instagram @tar2382 Be sure to follow The SoapBox on IG, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thesoapboxny⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and TikTok, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thesoapboxny⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and call or message them to get your hands on their Four For Fall products! To subscribe to The Gay and Lesbian Review visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠glreview.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Click Subscribe, and enter promo code ITBR50 to receive 50% off any print or digital subscription. Follow them on IG, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@theglreview⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Head to Broadview Press, an independent academic publisher, for all your humanities related books. Use code ivorytower for 20% off your⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ broadviewpress.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠order. Follow them on IG, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@broadviewpress⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Order and follow ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@mandeemadeit⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (on IG) mention ITBR, and with your first order you'll receive a free personalized gift! Follow That Ol' Gay Classic Cinema on IG, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@thatolgayclassiccinema⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and listen here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/that-ol-gay-classic-cinema/id1652125150⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Follow ITBR on IG, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ivorytowerboilerroom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, TikTok, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@ivorytowerboilerroom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, and X, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@IvoryBoilerRoom⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! Thanks to the ITBR team! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Andrew Rimby⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Host/Director), ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Mary DiPipi⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ (Chief Contributor), and our Fall 23 interns (Jonathan and Sara) --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ivorytowerboilerroom/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/ivorytowerboilerroom/support

National Polygamy Advocate ™ Mark Henkel, continuing a new series of new podcast episodes, shares what he personally had to learn and to grow throughout the years of the 2000s decade for the modern polygamy rights movement for unrelated consenting adults. With the Standard of Love-not-Force bringing healing and growth, the decade of the 2000s started with much hope. Mark Henkel shares his history-storytelling about Y2K, Web 2.0, Polygamy Day ®, being on Pat Robertson's "700 Club" TV program, and how the tech giants of Google, Yahoo, and Facebook brought a more disappointing end to that decade. Mark Henkel lists his role throughout the 2000s, including being a Trademark mini-expert, a Webhosting Server owner, a Writer and Rhetorician, a Media Talking Head, a Legal "expert" (while not an attorney), and able to grow beyond serving Christian Polygamy to also becoming the overall National Polygamy Advocate. From all this, Mark Henkel still had more to learn and grow in the next decades to come. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://www.NationalPolygamyAdvocate.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/nationalpolygamyadvocate/support

Erec Smith is an Associate Professor of Rhetoric at York College of Pennsylvania and a prominent voice in the effort to bring greater nuance to conversations about anti-racism and identity movements. Erec was on The Unspeakable back in July of 2021 talking about Critical Race Theory, specifically what it means and where it began. Now he's back for a more free-ranging conversation about the state of racial discussions on campuses, in the workplace and in the culture more broadly. In this episode, he and Meghan discuss the Elimination of Harmful Language initiative released by Stanford last month, which classified words such as “brave” and “guru” as problematic. Erec offers practical advice about how to respond when Critical Race Theory or Diversity, Equity and Inclusion protocols are introduced into your school or workplace; for instance how to distinguish positive and useful implementations of CRT and DEI from counterproductive ones, what questions to ask, who to ask, and how to ask those questions in a non-threatening way. He talks about the concept of a “kairotic moment,” why, as a black academic, he's become (in his words) a pariah in his field, and why he thinks contemporary anti-racism efforts have a hand in keeping racism alive.    This episode offers bonus content! Erec sticks around for some extra conversation that's available to paying subscribers at https://meghandaum.substack.com. Here, Meghan asks how Erec feels about his life circumstances at this moment–not just professionally but personally. Erec talks about the price he's paid for not toeing the party line, what it's like to live in a rural area as an unmarried middle aged person, and the loneliness of being out of ideological step with your peers and neighbors.   Guest Bio: Erec Smith is an Associate Professor of Rhetoric at York College of Pennsylvania. Although he has eclectic scholarly interests, Smith's primary focuses on the rhetorics of anti-racist activism, theory, and pedagogy. He is a co-founder of Free Black Thought, a website dedicated to highlighting viewpoint diversity within the black intelligentsia. Smith is a Writing Fellow for Heterodox Academy, a Senior Fellow for the Foundation Against Intolerance and Racism and an advisor for Counterweight, an organization that advocates for classical liberal concepts of social justice.

Yaron Brook, a renowned rhetorician and expert on the history of the Spanish language, joins Lexman for a fascinating conversation about the origins and evolution of the electric sparrings. Clearly knowledgeable about the subject, the two discuss various techniques and styles associated with early European electroacoustic music, highlighting the unique contributions of Hispania to the development of contemporary studio production.

Dr. Lance Cummings is an associate professor in the Professional Writing program at the University of North Carolina Wilmington where he researches and teaches writing in technologically and linguistically complex environments. Many of his current publications look at the interrelationship between technology, writing, and cultural history, and can be found in journals like Rhetoric, Professional Communication, and Globalization, Computers and Writing, and Res Rhetorica. Dr. Cummings has more recently been exploring how the rise of the creator economy has changed digital writing. Dr. Cummings writes about AI workflows for creatives looking to develop original and differentiated content online. His Twitter: @LanceElyot

Dan invites Nat Garcia-Hammon (pronouns: they/them), a faculty member at Nova Southeastern University to discuss the challenges of teaching in Florida, practicing & embodying vulnerability in the classroom and beyond, the relationship between learning/knowledge creation and full-embodiment, Nat’s journey from Law School to Rhetorician, their Freirean classroom pedagogy, how Doctoral programs can better prepare students forContinue reading "86. Embodying Vulnerability w/ Nat Garcia"

Recorded on January 18th 2022. Check out my YouTube & Twitch channel for live streams and other content.

Why was it necessary to publicly respect that jerk Pharaoh?

Parent's just don't understand Today's story is the tale of a father trying to come to grips with his son and his new lack of care for his father's opinion. "Father and Son" by John B. Rosenman Published by Dark Owl Publishing LLC. About the Author John was an English professor at Norfolk State University where he designed and taught a course in how to write Science fiction and Fantasy. He is a former Chairman of the Board of the Horror Writers Association and the editor of Horror Magazine and The Rhetorician. He has published over 250 stories in places such as Weird Tales, Whitley Strieber's Aliens, Fangoria, Galaxy, Endless Apocalypse, The Age of Wonders, and the Hot Blood erotic horror series. John has published two dozen books, including SF action-adventure novels such as Beyond Those Distant Stars, Speaker of the Shakk, A Senseless Act of Beauty, Alien Dreams, and the Inspector of the Cross series (Crossroad Press). He has also published a four-book box set, The Amazing Worlds of John B. Rosenman (Crossroad Press). In addition, he has published two mainstream novels, The Best Laugh Last (McPherson & Company) and the Young Adult The Merry-Go-Round Man (Crossroad Press). Recently, he completed two science-fiction novels, Dreamfarer and Go East, Young Man that are the start of a new Dreamfarer series. The first one was published by Crossroad Press on August 17. “Garden of the Dead” first appeared in Midnight Street #3, Winter 2004. Two of John's major themes are the endless, mind-stretching wonders of the universe and the limitless possibilities of transformation—sexual, cosmic, and otherwise. John B. Rosenman is on Facebook, Amazon Author Page, Pinterest, Goodreads, and LinkedIn. @jrosenman is on Instagram and John B. Rosenman, @Writerman1 is on Twitter. Visit his website at http://www.johnrosenman.com. Check out one of his interviews at http://www.milscifi.com/files/inter-JBR-BS.htm. Other interviews, a podcast, movie trailers, and more can be found on his website. Dana, in case you need the links to all his online presences to hyperlink in his bio, here's the list. Blog: http://johnrosenman.blogspot.com/ Twitter: John B. Rosenman (@Writerman1) | Twitter Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/john.rosenman/ Facebook Home Page: https://www.facebook.com/ https://www.facebook.com/john.rosenman/ Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/John-B.-Rosenman/e/B001KMN69E Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/johnrosenman/ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/938855.John_B_Rosenman LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-b-rosenman-50287218 About the Publisher " Dark Owl Publishing, LLC is a woman-owned business providing genre fiction--fantasy, horror, mystery, thrillers, and science fiction--for all types of readers, from young to adult. Our books are available both in paperback and on Kindle. We are dedicated to taking care of our authors and getting their work out to the public in ways they might otherwise not be noticed. Come visit our website to learn more!" You can check them out here https://www.darkowlpublishing.com/ Music - Wake Up in the Dark by Co.ag music Check them out here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkoLxwCahrE Be sure to come say hi at our website! To hear more creepy content from independent writers throughout the horror community, check out our website at nightterrorspodcast.com Or feel free find us on Twitter @nighterrorpod or instagram @nighterrorpod If you have any suggestions, submissions, or just want to chat, you can reach Dana either through the form on the website at nightterrorspodcast.com or email him at nightterrorpod@gmail.com Thank you again for all your support, and don't forget to like, follow and share The Night Terrors Podcast --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/nightterrorspodcast/message

Just in time for a Labor Day weekend, we're back in your feeds with another episode! This time, Eliza Gellis, a fourth-year PhD Candidate in rhetoric and composition at Purdue University stops by to chat about her dissertation project bridging rhetorical studies with Jewish studies through a focus on the rhetoric of the Tanakh (or the Hebrew Bible). Specifically, she examines encounters with the Divine as a framework for understanding Otherness and the rhetorical encounter using a transdisciplinary methodology. Eliza, who was a third-year doctoral candidate at the time or recording, chats about the project, but also the broader implications of her work regarding historiography, comparative rhetoric, classical and/or ancient rhetoric, and bringing rhetorical studies into conversation with Jewish studies. For those of you who find yourselves wondering about what the past reveals about today—and vice versa—or how to use our training in classical rhetoric to envision new avenues for work, this is the episode for you! You can reach out to Eliza on Twitter (via DM) at @ElizaGellis or via email at egellis@purdue.edu. Read more about her work and projects at her website, available at this link. If you'd like to learn more about the show, find links to things we talked about, find transcripts, or sign up to be a guest, please check out tellmemorepod.com. Feel free to follow us on Twitter at @TMM_Pod, too. Well wishes and safety to you all as we make our way through the fall semester. References to Things Mentioned in this Episode: Enos, Richard Lee. Greek Rhetoric Before Aristotle, Revised and Expanded Edition. Parlor Press, 2012. Geiger, Joseph. “Notes on the Second Sophistic in Palestine.” Illinois Classical Studies, vol. 19, 1994, pp. 221–230. Katz, Steven B. “The epistemology of the Kabbalah: Toward a Jewish Philosophy of Rhetoric.” Rhetoric Society Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 1-4, 1995, pp. 107-122. ---. “The Kabbalah as a Theory of Rhetoric: Another Suppressed Epistemology.” Rhetoric, Cultural Studies, and Literacy, edited by John Frederick Reynolds, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1995. Magonet, Jonathan. A Rabbi Reads the Bible, 2nd ed. SCM Press, 2004. Loewen, James. Lies Across America. New Press, 1999. Porter, James I. The Sublime in Antiquity. Cambridge U Press, 2016. Rickert, Thomas. “Parmenides: Philosopher, Rhetorician, Skywalker.” Logos Without Rhetoric: The Arts of Language Before Plato, edited by Robin Reames, University of South Carolina Press, 2017. Versnel, H.S. “The Poetics of the Magical Charm: An Essay in the Power of Words.” Magic and Ritual in the Ancient World, edited by Paul Mirecki, Brill, 2015. Walker, Jeffrey. Rhetoric and Poetics in Antiquity. Oxford U Press, 2000.

We have arrived at the final topic of season 4, and the production team has expressed their gratitude. We are talking about a very buzzy term in this one - and thanks to 80,000hours.org - we are able to reflect on some research regarding how one can create the highest impact throughout their career. For the purpose of this podcast, we extend these ideas beyond careers. Wave a goodbye to our guests Ren, Chase, and Sam. They have stuck with us through the entirety of the season, on a quest to improve accountability and thought surrounding overall quality of life. We have absolutely loved growing with them, and we are now convinced that accountability groups are the secret sauce to growing strong friendships. For anyone interested in learning more about breaking into filmmaking, investing, or basketball technique/coaching, email us at strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com. We will be happy to respond to you with the most helpful advice we can offer after years of practice and experience. For anybody looking to break into the field of law, email Ren at ren_moore@hotmail.com (she is happy to answer questions about the basics of law and law school) Follow us on Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod Like our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Intro and end music by The Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=Hsa4KUM_R2uDUvtP8u6Qyw

What do Bells, Brains, and Owl VR have in common? They all have curves. Today we are talking about curves of growth. As the human brain enters a more mature state, it begins to learn differently. So listen up and put on your LT (long-term) memory hats on folks. Our guests Ren, Chase, and Sam were all challenged to break down a particular time of learning in their lives - and we were surprised by how differently they each prefer to learn new skills. Send us an email: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Follow us on Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Intro and end music by The Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=WwKfdT_dQyug7A9BueXvxA

As we round third base on the season, hear from our guests about their experience with partnered accountability over the past 3 months. Apologies for any background noise. We thought Ren was training to be a lawyer but it turns out she must be some kind of construction project manager. She's great at multitasking. Send us an email: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Follow us on Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod Join our Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Intro and end music by The Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=1bc7qenPSIO_YlMdkz8Z6Q

Welcome to the Court of Strictly Business. In this court, we take time to argue about really stupid inside debates that happen within our dynamic - and because we always fail to settle these debates- we decided to involve our Season 4 guests as the jury to put these controversies to rest. Stealing? Sunscreen? Coaches Sons? All Rise. Send us an email: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Follow us on Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod Join our Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Intro and end music by The Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=yseQIzncRbCE-W1JBXPEfg

Welcome to the final installment of our weekly accountability meetings, where we review our goals from last week, and set them for the next. We hope that this short series has helped our listeners to feel empowered to start an accountability group of their own, as we provide tips for success along the way. We have our own way of doing things, but please feel free to get creative while designing an accountability group structure that works for you and your peers. If you enjoy the content, please consider subscribing to the show, rating, reviewing, or sharing it with a friend. One of these simple actions is hugely impactful for us. Send us an email: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Join our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Follow us on Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod Intro and end music by The Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=BqJ420aqTJid4EwJjGlvUg

Startups.. terrorists.. That's right, some guy conducted a study using these two groups as subjects where he observed the outcomes of their successes and their failures. News flash bucko - failure is important. But more interesting than that is what our guests had to say about their personal experiences with failure. Lucky for you, none of them talked about startups or terrorists. There's a surprise offer at the end of this episode. Send us an email requesting it, and we will get you hooked up. Send us an email: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Join our Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Follow our Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod Intro and end music by The Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=HgQafHNmRw2c_VOPKVC6FQ

In honor of National Sex Ed Day on February 2nd, I’m teaching you how to talk dirty! You’re welcome. Let me tell you who this episode is for. It is for people who are excited about the idea of dirty talk, or sexy talk, or explicit talk but have no idea how to start or aren’t sure if their partner is receptive or have had a bad experience or been turned off by stereotypes in the media. It is for people whose sex life has gotten stale but role playing and expensive toys and one-size-fits-all costumes that fit no one seems overwhelming, expensive, and just like a lot of work. It’s for people who think have fantasies about different sex acts--doing it in the butt, group sex, being ravaged by a handsome pirate--but don’t necessarily want to do the actual acts. Maybe you don’t have access to a pirate. Maybe group sex is a hot fantasy but in reality terrifying and very unsafe. Or maybe you have hemmerhoids and butt sex is just off the table. Like any kind of speech, sexy talk is amazing because it can create an experience in your mind that isn’t necessarily happening in an actual physical act. When it comes to sex, we are way too obsessed with the acts. Because the act sells. You gotta buy costumes and toys and porn and so on. And you also get to sit in your house, masturbating alone, thinking about how your partner won’t XYZ, self-loathing for feeling that way, and that self-loathing drives your consumerist behavior. But sexy talk is free. Sexy talk can bring any experience you would like to have in the whole world right into your brain so you can enjoy all of the sensations and titillations without ever having to spend a dollar or open a butt crack. And all you need is a sex vocabulary, a little bit of courage to talk about it, and your big beautiful imagination. The formula for great sexy talk:  “I want to…” Alternatives include “I like it when...” and “I’ve always fantasized about...”  Step two: Add a verb. Lick, suck, smack, grind, rub, caress. No 19th century romance novelist nonsense like “fondled” Step three: Add body part: asshole, mouth, feet, pussy, eyes, slit, hands, cock, legs.  Step four: Add precise adjectives that cannot include “awesome” or “cool.” You may have the adjective “amazing,” as in, “your hips are amazing” but only if you mean it. Step five (optional):  liberally sprinkle in some curse words.  Read the blog version: https://rhetoriclee.com/smut-yr-mouth-dirty-talk-like-a-rhetorician/ *Learn more at https://rhetoriclee.com  *Follow the show on Facebook and on Instagram @rhetoriclee for more teasers, highlights, and awesome graphics *Don’t miss an episode. Subscribe on iTunes/Apple Podcasts, on Google Podcasts, on Stitcher, on Youtube, on Spotify, or via RSS.  *Take 20 seconds to leave a short review and 5 star-rating (I’ll even take 4 stars, I’m not greedy). Reviews help future #rhetoricnerds find the show! *Have mixed feelings about the show or think I may have stepped in it? Let’s discuss on social media or at rhetoriclee@gmail.com.  Resources used in this episode: https://www.weshouldtryit.com/ https://slate.com/culture/2021/01/bridgerton-sex-scenes-meh.html

Many of us are familiar with the idea that our willpower is a limited resource. Turns out, after a bit of research, we really don't know as much about it as we once thought. This is a discussion about how science is a liar sometimes, and how it has ruthlessly deceived us all. Make sure to listen for our guests Chase, Ren, and Sam throughout the episode as they share their thoughts and experiences related to the topic. Please consider taking a moment to rate, review, subscribe, download, or share this podcast if you find it enjoyable. Even picking just one of these is greatly beneficial to us! Send us an email: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Follow us on Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod Intro and end music by The Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=wWqHiPrlSNqtrlThZAxoxQ

What's up, and welcome to our 5th weekly accountability meeting. We're just three friends who set and track goals together once a week. A simple formula for personal success and deepened friendship. Oh - and we each happen to have our own accountability partners outside of the podcast, who we feature and track each week. Our Guests: Sam: He had his first week of well-defined goal setting and seems to be warming up to the rhythm of it all. Frick ya Chase: He fucked around and ate McDonalds for breakfast. He failed his goals for the week but is optimistic for next week. Ren: She had a high-performance week given her circumstances, and is on the road to achieving her long-term goals for the year. Please rate, review, subscribe, or share this show if you enjoy what we do. For real - thanks in advance - it will help us keep up and running for seasons to come. Send us an email: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Follow our Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod Intro and end music by The Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=YSY5T2vITNu2KtIc9pMAFQ

Adversity is an inevitable and recurring event in our lives. Often times - as soon as we feel we can conquer anything - an unexpected struggle sets us back. How can we move through these difficult times with grace, while becoming stronger as individuals? It turns out it mostly has to do with how you *think* about what you're going through. In this episode, we break down this thinking process into three categories: control, commitment, and challenge. Keeping up with our guests: Sam, Chase, and Ren From being misunderstood or a self-titled black sheep, to breakups - listen in as our guests recount periods of extended adversity, and reflect on their experiences and thought processes as they navigated their way through it. If you have enjoyed this show, please consider rating, reviewing, subscribing, or sharing the show with your friends. Bonus points if you do it all. Seriously - hit us up with proof and find out what we have in store for you. Thanks Grinder. Send us an email: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Join our Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Follow our Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod Intro and end music by The Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=5ojIEGUOSL22bHhIBD3p0w

This is week four of Strictly Business the Podcast's weekly accountability meetings. We hope that these episodes provide you inspiration to create an accountability group of your own. Whether you set weekly goals or not, there is immense benefit in meeting consistently with a group and talking things through with them. Keeping up with our guests for Season 4: 1. Sam is starting to hit a rhythm and tune into what he actually wants to accomplish. He is highly motivated to find success in his weekly goals, and is just figuring out how. 2. Chase crushed his week of goals and is dead-set on going 5/5 again next week. Anyone want to challenge him to a game of Super Smash Bros? 3. Ren transitioned from her parents home in Spokane back to school in Hawaii and she's pretty dang stressed. Fingers crossed that she'll lock down her new apartment and escape her EVIL roommates. Listen, enjoy, and let us know if you have an accountability group of your own! We'd love to feature you on the show. Send us an email: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Follow us on Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod Intro and end music by The Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=5CPgQHBCSSuzu6B8DAnEow

Humans are fascinated with discovering the next big gimmick in goal setting or habit development. It's all too easy to get wrapped up in an image of one's future-self while obsessively theorizing on how to get to that desired state of being. While it's a good practice to envision your desired future-self, this kind of introspection can only take you so far. In practice, turning your vision into a reality is going to be really difficult. As soon as these difficulties begin to feel insurmountable, many of us give up. But, what if there was an insanely simple tool at our disposal? In this episode, we seek to determine the role that one's attitude plays in setting and achieving goals. In a messy life full of things beyond our control, we believe it's worth spending more time focusing on something that we actually have a grip on: Attitude. Keeping up with our guests: Sam appears to be struggling with finding a positive outlook these days, but in his reflections he is able to identify many reasons why. Covid-19 has hindered many of our efforts in life, and he seems to be feeling it. Chase embraces his inner-voice that cheers him on in the darkest of days, and sets out to prove that there's some truth in what it's saying to him. Ren explores how easy it is for her to get “stuck” in the future, and how important it is to be present. So what's a healthy balance? Let's just call it “living for your future-self”. If you have enjoyed our show, please share it with someone. It's hugely beneficial to us, and it's a zero-cost way for you to show us love in return for the time and effort we put into curating this content outside of our regular jobs. Thank you, and grind on. Send us an email: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Follow us on Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod Intro and end music by The Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=oCIcPiqCSW61jGBN3JqMlA

Have you ever wanted to be more persuasive, a better communicator, or an overall better public speaker? On this podcast, I talk with Daniel T Richards who is a Rhetorician and a writing guru. listen to learn his top tips to better your communication. You can find him here: https://www.danieltrichards.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/man-meets-modern/support

Welcome back to our private weekly accountability meeting. Please don't listen it's private! But in the case that you do - make sure to take some notes on how to succeed with your future or current accountability group. But don't listen please this is private. Keeping track of Season 4's guests: Ren is off to a great start, having hit her goal benchmarks every week so far. Stay tuned as she transitions back to law school next week. Chase has also found good success with his weekly goals, but porn might be his kryptonite. Sam is warming up to identifying and setting his goals more measurably. He has also been doing some soul-searching in the Alaskan frontier. We are feeling generous. If you're still reading this, you have permission to listen to this episode. Send us an email: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Join our Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Follow our Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod Intro and end music by The Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=UU8IHIWYQoGc2EgXhKKfXQ

Humans are busy creatures, and our brains are wired to anticipate future events. When it comes to identifying where we want to be or what we want to accomplish in the future, our efforts often fall short. Humans have this amazing ability to self-sabotage their endeavors, or to procrastinate eternally. The fix? Starting with accountability. You are likely familiar with the term, but let's explore together how accountability as it relates to us and our peers is one of the most important tools you can equip yourself with in order to be who you want to be. We take a close look at a high school called the Life Academy of Health and Bioscience, in an effort to learn how they achieve such extraordinary results for their students. This school is unique for many reasons - but in this case - student, counselor, and teacher accountability stood out to be the secret sauce that pulls everything together. Our guest Grinders for Season 4 have some diverse opinions regarding peer accountability so far - and we are curious to see how they develop throughout the course of the season. We have Sam - an introspective guy who's life has been put on pause due to Covid-19, we have Chase - an exuberant young hip hop artist who is reaching a transition point in his life, and we have Ren - a law student accomplishing her graduate studies in Hawaii. Deep Dive - Explore this case study developed by Stanford's SCOPE, which we referenced throughout the episode: https://edpolicy.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/SCOPE-Student-Centered-Learning-Life.pdf Send us an email: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Follow us on Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod Intro and end music performed by The Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=UtuEPpLBQVm9M8T9-xUtlQ

What's up Grinder? Welcome to the second installment of our weekly accountability meetings. Our goal here is to encourage you to create an accountability group of your own friends as we provide an example along the way. This is an intimate perspective of what our meetings looked like before we ever started the podcast. These are the meetings that got us to today! Be sure to keep up with our three guests each week as they set and track weekly goals. Seriously - we have a guy who lives in the middle of nowhere, Alaska (Sam), we have a budding lawyer from Hawaii (Ren), and a computer science hip hop artist from Seattle (Chase) - and we are keeping track of them for an entire season! Ah yes, the Grinder team is strong. Send us an email: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Like our page on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Follow us on Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod Intro and end music by The Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=D98ekgL4S6mrPgqVqXGjGg

Welcome to Strictly Business the Podcasts episode 0. This episode is a product of failed New Year's resolutions and an ongoing experiment in peer accountability. Us Grinders have failed almost all of our resolutions in the past, so we decided to fix them. After a year of showing up to our accountability meetings every single week and reflecting on who we are, we decided to each invite our own "guest Grinder" to partake in our weekly meetings and discuss episode topics with us as they go. We are insanely stoked to have our guests Sam, Chase, and Ren on the show with us. This episode offers some surprisingly practical and useful solutions to you; the Grinder Community. Listen up, it's time to fix your New Year's resolutions. Email us: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Like our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Follow us on Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod Intro and end music by The Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=GBnGcTpIRD2sLQXG77e9kQ The song that played while Jacob tells the Grinder's story: Tom Fox - "Our new home": https://soundcloud.com/user-416166523/celestial-being-borders-hong-kong-ep5

What's up Grinder? Welcome to our first weekly accountability meeting episode, where we make public what our meetings actually look like "off-the-air" each week. In this episode, we pretend that it's our first accountability meeting in efforts to provide you with ideas and inspiration for hosting your own accountability group with your friends. Feel free to use our structure as a template, or create your own structure that works for you and your social dynamic. UPDATES: This episode introduces a new podcast format as we head into Season 4 of Strictly Business the Podcast. Each Sunday, you'll find a new "Weekly Grinders Accountability" episode, and each Wednesday, you'll find a longer format episode where we take a deep dive into topics, ideas, or strategies that will aid us and you in our journey of accountability and the pursuit of personal success. We also have the pleasure of introducing our guest Grinders that we will be following and growing with throughout the entirety of Season 4. Keep your ears open in this episode to hear for the first time from our subjects Sam, Chase, and Ren. They are setting their own goals each week, and providing their perspective regarding each weekly topic that we cover. We are so excited to get to know them more as we progress throughout the season. CONTEST: If you were inspired to create your own accountability group, send us an email and share your story. The first person to do this will receive a copy of James Clear's book "Atomic Habits" signed by yours truly - the Strictly Business hosts. Send us an email: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Join our Facebook Grinders Community: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Follow us on Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod The music in our show's intro, and at the end of each episode is created by The Rhetorician. Check him out on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=ytYHmYLxT0uoM8zc3PtzcA

Aw yeah, so you've got a fresh new habit and you're executing like a champ, feeling refreshed and anew. What's your plan for when your habit starts to falter after your habit-honeymoon period? Tune in, we've got some insight on how to make those habits stick, leaving you feeling rewarded along the way. What's next? Get an accountability partner. This is the Pièce de Résistance. This week - we are feeling AHEAD of the game. Why? Because we learned that one of the most effective ways to develop habits and obtain goals is to.. you guessed it.. having an accountability partner (or two). We are feeling like Michael Burry in The Big Short. Haven't seen it? Well, start with listening to this episode. It's basically the same thing. Send us an email: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Follow our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Follow our IG: @strictlybusinesspod Intro and outdo music by the Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=SwJHI-HYS9mPsw5Vj914WQ

What's this whole podcast about? Find me: Instagram: @think.outside.the.bod Website: annawegnercoaching.com Email: annawegnercoaching@gmail.com Special thanks to The Rhetorician and Hunter Gillam for the intro and outro song. Check out their music here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf https://open.spotify.com/artist/2F5b3T5l7gr5th7ImThiQS

I interview my good friend Katie Reines to talk about her experience in her dietitian program, how to be vegan and still be an intuitive eater, her journey with disordered eating, and how she approaches weight loss within the realm of food freedom. Find Katie on: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lifeisrawesome Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vitamin.katie/?hl=en Find me: Instagram: @think.outside.the.bod Website: annawegnercoaching.com Email: annawegnercoaching@gmail.com Special thanks to The Rhetorician and Hunter Gillam for the intro and outro song. Check out their music here: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf https://open.spotify.com/artist/2F5b3T5l7gr5th7ImThiQS

Remember how Ulysses had his crew tie him to the mast so he could hear the Siren's song without steering the ship and his crew toward imminent death? This episode is about that - developing a commitment device - a choice you make in the present that locks in better behavior in the future. We thought about this a lot, and decided some of our own solutions were less drastic than tying ourselves to the mast of a large boat. While commitments can be hard to keep, rest assured that you can find ways to enjoy your new commitments and behaviors with the use of strategic and immediate gratification. Sounds too good to be real? Well yeah - we are using Greek mythology as a metaphor. The content of our book club segment is derived from chapters 14 & 15 of “Atomic Habits” written by James Clear. Send us an email: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Join our Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Follow our Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod Intro & closing music by the Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=AAiy-E9HQpe1gFGv1cEKgQ

You SUCK at starting habits! So do we. Turns out it's a super common thing to struggle with. This week we talk about a little "hack" that we can use to more mindfully create the habits we're after. It goes like this: Define your "entry point" to a habit. This is the first step you would take in completing a goal. Now stop, don't go any further. Focus on doing this entry point task daily until it in itself becomes a habit. Then, you'll work your way up over time. KISS (Keep it simple, stupid). Don't push yourself too hard.. relax and listen to this episode to learn more. This episodes content was derived from James Clear's "Atomic Habits) - Chapters 12 & 13 Email us: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Join our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Follow us on Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod Intro and outro music by the Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=-ICc2GqURGmSA6vJCrVXsA Check out our Anchor Profile: https://anchor.fm/strictlybusinesspod

Welcome back to Strictly Business the Podcast. This week we discuss what it means to be "in motion" versus being "in action". Being in motion is most comparable to the act of planning, while being in action relates to - well you know - actually doing something. It's far too easy to get caught up in the act of planning - in fact - it often goes so far that we never actually end up taking real action. Is there a healthy balance between the two? It turns out that taking action pays the most dividends in terms of neuroscience and improvement. In the pursuit of taking action, how can you make your life easier by reducing the friction of performing certain tasks? Think Bernoulli's Principle - it's kind of like that. Thanks Daniel Bernoulli. Rest in peace. These topics were derived from chapters 11 and 12 of "Atomic Habits" written by James Clear. Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Follow our Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod Send us an email: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Intro and outro music by the Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=ruxJr_DFQzaTzAFq4nX_BA

Welcome to Strictly Business the Podcast. This week, we bring some exciting new updates about the show, we play our first round of "Smart or Stupid", we discuss chapters 6 and 7 of James Clear's "Atomic Habits", and we feature our first "truth time" section where Ben shares some vulnerable thoughts regarding his participation in the podcast. How can you make your desired behaviors and habits more visible? How can you make your bad habits invisible? No, we aren't talking about the paranormal here. We're talking goals and growth because THIS IS STRICTLY BUSINESS, BABY. If this content speaks to you at all, you know where to find us and we want to hear from you. Go get those goals! Email us: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Join our Facebook page for more content: Strictly Business the Podcast (@strictlybusinesspod) Follow us on Instagram: @strictlybusinesspod Intro and outro music supplied by the Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=dReSqs4-R1KNi-ZT-yzFqQ

This week on Strictly Business the Podcast, we cover the ideas of "habit stacking" and using an "implementation intention" strategy to build new habits that we desire. "Habit Stacking" is the practice of using a habit that you have already acquired as the "cue" for a new habit that you are trying to build. If you want to start meditating every morning and find yourself struggling, but you make coffee every morning without fail, perhaps you can use the brewing process as the cue for your morning meditation. When your coffee finishes brewing, you can end your meditation and enjoy your coffee. By developing this cue inside of an automated behavior, you are more likely to perform a behavior that isn't yet automated in your life. "Implementation Intention" is the practice of making a plan regarding when and where you will be performing a behavior. Based upon the above example for meditating while brewing coffee, your implementation intention could look like "After I begin brewing my coffee in the morning, I will meditate for 4 minutes at the dining table." Studies show that you are more than twice as likely to perform a desired task with an implementation intention strategy than you are if you just desire to perform and track the task. Do you see how habit stacking and implementation intentions go hand-in-hand? Go ahead and give this a try if you are working towards a new habit - you may find refreshing success in your endeavor. This is our first episode with all three grinders in the same room. It was a bit of a doozy and we learned a lot regarding how we can successfully move forward with this format. So BUCKLE UP and settle in for the full 3D experience. We're happy to have you here. Email us: strictlybusinessthepod@gmail.com Like our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/StrictlyBusinessPod Intro and outro music by The Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=2p8I1xbwRDqz1EpburI3-Q

This week on Strictly Business the Podcast, we conclude our co-host special series by interviewing our very own Keaton. Yeah, we get it. This episode is a bit long, but that's because Keaton is a talker - and we think there are a lot of conversational gems in here you will appreciate. Whether it's learning to speak Gremlin, remembering to bring a map and look for road signs, or tapping into the power of listening, asking questions, and identifying your process - we think there is something in here for everyone. If you feel like you got to know any of us more throughout this three-episode co-host series, reach out to us to connect. Now go reach your goals! Join our online accountability community: https://discord.gg/m423G3Y Send us an email: trugrindrz@gmail.com Intro and outro music by the Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=cTMKXHc7TaOdNA-pKAnbcA This episode features a song called "Throwback" by CLARK: https://open.spotify.com/track/1XP8V6uCZxmIBjZxhQWYDq?si=KSgqGeQHQIC9yZ9FWzmHqQ

Welcome to this week's episode of Strictly Business the Podcast! This episode marks our first "Grindrz Book Club" meeting. Have we been setting our goals wrong this entire time? Maybe.. just maybe. Join us as we discuss chapter 1 of James Clear's "Atomic Habits", and seek more data-driven paths to explore within goal-setting and accountability. Join our growing online community: https://discord.gg/m423G3Y Send us an email! Contact us at trugrindrz@gmail.com Intro and outro music by the Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=IWHS2xt6Tm-EK3fBiz3RCw

This week on Strictly Business the Podcast, we introduce our first guest to the show. Jordan Moss, aka the Rhetorician talks with us about hip hop, goal setting, discipline, and offers some anecdotal stories ranging from absolute hilarity to prolific life symbolism. Join us in the chaos! This episode embarks us on a journey of beginning to curate a Strictly Business "Family" - and we are honored to have Jordan as part of it. The Rhetorician provides the music for our show, and if you'd like to hear more, check him out on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=0lDNwgv2SXu_IvvAbTy7NQ He has joined our Discord Community - Now, will you? Come say "hi" and join our accountability group: https://discord.gg/m423G3Y Want to start a conversation? Email us at trugrindrz@gmail.com - we would love to hear from you.

Welcome to Strictly Business THEE Podcast. This week, we are obviously talking about goals - but the application looks a bit different than it normally does. First there was "Strictly Bensness" where we explored co-host Ben's personality, goals, dreams, motivations, and the like. Now it's Jacob's turn. That's right, our wonderful data-informed AI Turing-Tester robot, Jacob. A wonderful man with dreams larger than life. How can we work together to inform decision-making and help him reach his goals as a collective? Stay tuned to find out. If you feel connected to him at all, please send us an email to start a conversation or join our Discord. We all love to hear from you. Links below! Join our growing and free online Discord community: https://discord.gg/m423G3Y Send us an email: trugrindrz@gmail.com Intro & Outro music performed by the Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=RZLIuhalS7mpwwOsbc4laQ

Check Out Our Sponsor, Eargasm Earplugs https://www.eargasmearplugs.com/?rfsn... Corey's Twitter: @coreyhanna1 Chris's Twitter: @CofWeird_Chris Tyler's Twitter: @thinkle34 Bryant's Twitter:@ragtimeGaming Merch Store: https://cofweird.storenvy.com/ Around The Cauldron Podcast: Available On Spotify, iTunes, Google Podcast, and Stitcher New Gaming Channel Cauldron of Gaming: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2b7... Find us on: Facebook: Cauldron of Weird @CofWeird Instagram: Cauldron of Weird @CofWeird Twitter: @CofWeird For the gaming side we have Twitter: @ragtimeGaming Twitch: twitch.tv/ragtimeroastbeef Twitch: twitch.tv/cauldronofweird Equipment Used: Sony 4K Handy Cam Audio Technica AT2020 Cardioid Condenser Microphone Mackie PROFX8V2 8-Channel Compact Mixer with USB and Effects Adobe Premiere Pro Patreon: patreon.com/CofWeird

Strictly Business the podcast is largely about setting and achieving goals, while learning to hold oneself and others accountable. While achieving goals is important, there's a lot more to life than the grind. This week on the podcast, the Grinderz take a calculated leap-of-faith during the days of Covid-19, and set out on a bike-packing trip to San Juan Island here in Washington State. We reflect on what we got out of the experience through storytelling and bits of the podcast were recorded during the trip. But don't be fooled - we didn't brush any goals under the proverbial rug. Welcome to the show! Want to join our accountability group? Access our Discord and see what it's all about: https://discord.gg/m423G3Y Email us at trugrindrz@gmail.com Intro and outro music by the Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=ptYfe9IuTT2DvhpYEsJEfQ

This episode is a hot one - and we aren't talking about the content - we are referencing how hot our rooms were when we recorded together. As the grinderz prepare for their first socially-distant grinderz trip, Keaton hits the second-hand market for a bike and learns a lesson about appropriate gratification. Jacob and Keaton experienced moments of extreme contrast this week, and Ben continues to hold out on his announcement. Join our growing online accountability community: https://discord.gg/m423G3Y Send us an email: trugrindrz@gmail.com Intro and outro music by the Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=snQfyvVVSraiuqg1LsGZxA

(Disclaimer: This episode has a cliffhanger in regards to the future of our podcast and who is hosting it.) That's right - the moment is finally here. It's our first episode with an ACTUAL agenda and we are so excited to be delivering this to you, right here and now. Strictly Business the podcast is growing and innovating with each episode and we are happy you're a part of it. Join us as we navigate a disagreement about timeliness, and talk about the pros and cons about both coffee and sunscreen. Join our growing community for free: https://discord.gg/m6kbRar Send us an email: trugrindrz@gmail.com Intro and Outro music by the Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=dBLD_BqNSlij27HW_GNj0w

Who is Ben? What inspired him to coach a high school basketball team? What brought him to live out of his car in Bavaria? Join us in this week's episode of Strictly Bensness - where we take a closer look at the person behind the one who calls himself "Ben". Learn more about the history of racism here Join our growing discord community here Email us at trugrindrz@gmail.com Intro and Outro music by the Rhetorician

What a week! In this one, us grinders kick back with some ice cold bread sodas to break things down because things have been tense. From Jacob's COVID-scare, to Lynden Washington's basketball legacy, to unveiling the podcast's first "Group Grinder Goal", and one or two stories about hot strong and sensitive men - we had a lot to cover. Wow, that's kind of a weak description, I should probably ask for Jacob and Ben's review next time! -Keaton To continue education about systematic racism: To help us grow our online community: Email us at: trugrindrz@gmail.com Music by the Rhetorician:

Uh-oh, it's season 2 and you know what that means... the business is getting stricter. We blew all of our corporate sponsorship money on tulip bulbs and boats and we are back with another season because our funds have run dry. What does this mean? Well, we are figuring that out as we speak. Join us as we do that. Join our growing online community: https://discord.gg/m423G3Y Send us an email: trugrindrz@gmail.com Intro and outro music by the Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=KZYszJyTTSahadByL3saKA

We're just a couple of average folks like you.. trying to spend 25 hours of leisure time by the water this Summer. Normal.. right? Join us as we plan to transform Jacob's life - to teach him how to swim. It's almost a metaphor for our podcast in and of itself. I mean, we're just trying to keep our heads above water after all. Black Lives Matter. Learn to be a better ally: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H-Vxs6jEUByXylMS2BjGH1kQ7mEuZnHpPSs1Bpaqmw0/mobilebasic?fbclid=IwAR19DDHjh0q_6BbfjBqnpXsOGOu3PbCp1O1qs-7tCOPQhiSj-wFILpi5S60 Join our growing online accountability community: https://discord.gg/m6kbRar Email us: trugrindrz@gmail.com Intro and outro music by the Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=cyh2UnpsTY-_YyBwEclb7A

Hey *yawn* welcome to the show *stretch* because this is sleepy business. We are sleepy and grumpy and talking more about what we don't like about each other. Because we are all trying to go back to sleep! And you know what they say.. never go to bed angry. Black Lives Matter. Learn to be a better ally: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H-Vxs6jEUByXylMS2BjGH1kQ7mEuZnHpPSs1Bpaqmw0/mobilebasic?fbclid=IwAR19DDHjh0q_6BbfjBqnpXsOGOu3PbCp1O1qs-7tCOPQhiSj-wFILpi5S60 Join our Community - it's growing: https://discord.gg/m423G3Y Email us: trugrindrz@gmail.com Intro and Outro music provided by the Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=l9VpXcKfR8aZh5mLSu8sZQ

What happens when a teacher of journaling and a rhetorician talk about journaling? Topics covered: -Making choices about your thoughts -Setting your thoughts aside then revisiting them -Handwritten journaling vs digital -Taking pride in your past self -Words and your personal technology -A textbook on yourself -Unexamined thoughts -Journaling isn't cute -Isaac hates Avocado…or does he? -Liars who don't want to be -Making yourself an ally with truth

Gee whiz. Controversy plagues the grindrz this week as Jacob celebrates what some are calling a "Spirit Star". In other news, Ben gets cocky, Keaton discovers he is a modern-day Magellan, and oh yeah - it was Ben's birthday. We celebrate by telling each other what we don't like about one another. Please send us an email: trugrindrz@gmail.com Please join our Discord: https://discord.gg/cddxBf Intro and Outro Music by The Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=y4bhk-7oQt-MJqHAHeYvMA If you rate us on Apple Podcasts, or leave a review - send us an email. We want to reward you and hear how we can keep you listening, but even more-so, how we can help you achieve your goals!

Hey y'all. Did we not promise to shorten things up a bit? Here is a look into what our actual accountability meetings look like off the pod. We are continuing to experiment with the structure of our episodes in order to continue growing and (hopefully) keep you entertained. Send us an email: trugrindrz@gmail.com We would love to hear from you. Join our discord: https://discord.com/channels/701882547378061363/701882547818201277 Intro music by The Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=itBjpC3zSBe3Mn4QfzFfCQ

Shake Shack did not pay us to say what we said.. but they may be paying Jacob under the table. Join our discord server: https://discordapp.com/channels/701882547378061363/702209183671386183 Email us at trugrindrz@gmail.com Intro and Outro music by The Rhetorician: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0AMZup7bCBE6kW6cEtmMNf?si=77_lND8mQbe6etOMJqpGhA

What's more important? Having the truth, or understanding your opponent? In this first installment of the Forgotten Mormons series, Stephen Carter, Greg Clark, and Jon Ogden introduce Wayne C. Booth, the LDS rhetorician who would like to blow everything you know about constructive dialogue out of the water. Its implications—from political discourse to Sunday school …

What’s more important? Having the truth, or understanding your opponent? In this first installment of the Forgotten Mormons series, Stephen Carter, Greg Clark, and Jon Ogden introduce Wayne C. Booth, the LDS rhetorician who would like to blow everything you know about constructive dialogue out of the water. Its implications—from political discourse to Sunday school …

What's more important? Having the truth, or understanding your opponent? In this first installment of the Forgotten Mormons series, Stephen Carter, Greg Clark, and Jon Ogden introduce Wayne C. Booth, the LDS rhetorician who would like to blow everything you know about constructive dialogue out of the water. Its implications—from political discourse to Sunday school …

What’s more important? Having the truth, or understanding your opponent? In this first installment of the Forgotten Mormons series, Stephen Carter, Greg Clark, and Jon Ogden introduce Wayne C. Booth, the LDS rhetorician who would like to blow everything you know about constructive dialogue out of the water. Its implications—from political discourse to Sunday school …

Bootstraps, Victor Villanueva   What does a rhetorician look like? When you imagine a rhetorician, maybe you see some white-toga-ed Roman, crossing his legs under his seat, holding a stylus to his chin. Or maybe you imagine a tweedy early twentieth century rhetorician, shaking out a newspaper and frowning. Or maybe you even imagine a contemporary rhetorician, presenting at the Rhetoric Society of America in front of a powerpoint presentation. But here’s a question for you--did you imagine a white rhetorician?   Today on Mere Rhetoric, we talk about Victor Villanueva’s book Bootstraps: from an American Academic of Color, which interrogates our discipline’s white privilege and privileging. But before we get to that, let me start out by thanking some people. First off, much thanks to the Humanities Media Project at the University of Texas at Austin for supporting the show, including letting me record in this great recording booth with great people like Jacob here to record and edit. Also, thank you to everyone who took the time to leave a review of Mere Rhetoric on iTunes. Also thanks to my fiance Krystian for always believing in me. Know how you feel when you get written comments on end of semester evaluations? That’s how I feel everytime someone leaves a review. Finally, since I just came back from a conference where I got to meet some great people who like the podcast, I’d like to give a big shout out to Clancy Ratliff for showing me a great restaurant in Lafayette and her student Nolan, who let me jabber about the connections between creative writing and composition while he showed me where my next session was. If you have strong opinions about the best place to eat in your hometown, or if you have a suggestion for the next episode, why not drop us a line at mererhetoricpodcast@gmail.com? Okay, enough business--let’s get to it.   I first became aware of the racial imbalance in rhetoric at my first RSA conference. Sharon Crowley was giving one of the key addresses, talking about racism in our students, in our institutions, and at one point I looked around at the audience--and wondered about racism in our own field as well. There were a few black and brown faces, but almost everyone in the great hall was white. We couldn’t, I realized, talk about racism in our classrooms and our colleges without interrogating our own racial assumptions.   That’s exactly what Victor Villanueva sets out to do in Bootstraps. Villanueva is a hot shot rhetorician, by almost any standard possible. He’s received the David H Russell Award for Distinquished Research, the Exemplar Award and Scholarship in English and was Rhetorician of the Year in 1999. Side bar: I did not know there was an award for being Rhetorician of the Year. Somehow, I imagine a People Magazine spread like for Sexiest Man Alive, but with pictures of academics mid-gesture in a lecture or thoughtfully frowning at a computer. Villanueva has also published and edited over 80 books including the essential anthology Cross Talk in Composition and Rhetorics of the Americas: 3114 BCE to 2013 CE. Guy knows his stuff. When you are literally rhetorician of the year, you must be the quintessential rhetorician, confident and poised in your rhetoricianness.   You’d think so.   In Bootstraps, Puerto-Rico-born Villanueva weaves autobiography, scholarship and teacher research together into an exploration of how the academic world can seem uncomfortable and unwelcoming to academics of color. He himself, for his PhD and his 80 books, when he writes about himself in the third person “He still  suffers [the fear that he isn’t as smart as he thinks] today, thirty years later, PhD, publications and all… He has seen the liberal’s fear of being honest with people of color about their abilities; the fear of being considered a bigot .. He has seen that tokenism, even when well-motivated, even though somehow necessary, makes things seem equitable when they aren’t equitable at all… he always wonders if, maybe, he isn’t as smart as people think” (13).   Little commentary here: this feeling, like you don’t belong, is called impostor syndrome and it’s pernicious among graduate students, more especially people who already feel like they don’t belong, as Villaneauva says about his own PhD “I didn’t know what I was getting into, but knew I was getting into something not intended for the likes of me” (xv). I remember when I got accepted at the University of Texas at Austin, I had nightmares that I hadn’t been, in fact, accepted, but had been allowed to complete on a reality to show to gain entrance into UT Austin. “Who Wants to Be a Longhorn?” Other graduate students, professional athletes and actors, and anyone who feels like they got into something for which they secretly might not be qualified suffers from this feeling. We’ll talk about more impostor syndrome in another podcast, but for our purposes here, the key thing to remember is that academics of color, even when they are invited into programs and departments warmly can still doubt the sincerity of the welcome. They can doubt themselves, when the culture has been insisting for their whole lives that academia is “not intended for the likes” of them.      Villanueva’s education in the 60s certainly didn’t forsee a brilliant rhetoric academic career for little Victor. His first school that assumed that “you people need to learn a trade,” in the words of one of his teachers (3) and at the next one the PE teacher shouted “Go home and get a haircut! And don’t come back until you do!” So, he didn’t (38). Yeah, that’s right--Villanueva, probably one of the most important rhetorical authors of the later 20th century didn’t graduate high school, but the high schools he would have graduated perpetually underestimated him. Only through detours in the military did he finally come to Tacoma Community college: “I wanted to try my hand at college, go beyond the GED. But college scared me. I had been told long again that college wasn’t my lot” (66).   So I started this podcast talking about Sharon Crowley’s speech at RSA, and she shows up at a crucial point in Villaneuva’s life because it was Crowley, “the first person he had ever read who had written of the sophists--a bigshot” (118) who offered him a job. It’s not a happy ending though--material conditions are hard for any young academic and more especially those who don’t have large family resources.   One of the reasons why he had been underestimated is that he was a minority in the nation. That’s a word that’s hard to pin down or used too casually, but Villanueva makes a distinction between the immigrant and the minority: “We behave as if the minority problem where the immigrant problem,” (19) and all we need is to make the minority sound or act like the majority. “The difference between the immigrant and the minority amounts to the difference between immigration and colonization” (29). He tells the story of two of his students arguing about English’s role in the composition classroom. “Both are Latinos, Spanish speakers, but Martha is Colombian; Paul is Puerto Rican. Martha, the immigrant. Paul, the minority. Martha believes in the possibilities for complete structural assimilation; Paul is more cautious” (24). “The immigrant seeks to take on the culture of the majority,” he suggests, “and the majority, given certain preconditions, not leaves of which is displaying the language and dialect of the majority, accepts the immigrant. The minority, even when accepting the culture of the majority,is never wholly accepted. There is always a distance” (23).   “The code switcher is a rhetorical power player,” he quips, pointing to how bilinguals recognize intuitively the fluid nature of language, the rhetorical nuances that comes from understanding the inexact nature of self-translation (23).Villanueva points out that we often assume that cultural shifting happens naturally, without any work, when, in fact, it’s very hard to try to keep both of your identities as an other-American.   Villanueva tells of his own personal experience with assimilation when he was drilled into strict prescriptivist English as a young boy in Puerto Rico. He was criticised for speaking with an accent, but “there was no verbal deprivation at play, just a process that takes time, ‘interlanguage’ to use a sociological term” (32). Eventually he read and listened and spoke more in English until “the accent disappeared, and Spanish no longer came easily, sometimes going through French or through Latin in my head, the languages of my profession, searching for the Spanish with which to speak to my family. Assimilation” (33).   But it’s very difficult to try to be perfect at Spanish and perfect and English. “Biculturalism,” he writes, does not mean to me an equal ease with two cultures. That is an ideal. Rather, biculturalism means the tensions within, which are cause by being unable to deny the old, ot the new ...I resent the tension, that the ideal is not to be realized, that we cannot be the mosaic … nor can we be the melting pot if that were the preference” (39). Those old metaphors, the mosaic and the melting pot, don’t do enough to describe all of the cultures in the country and the complex ways those cultures relate.   The first step, it is implied, is just to make the implicit explicit and recognize that culture is necessarily complex and changing. “It is not enough to recognize and make explicit our cultures. We need to recognize cultures in the context of other cultures, since none of us can be monocultural in America. Mexican americans may have a culture in common with many Mexicans, say, but Mexican Americans also have a culture in common with fellow Americans” (57). It’s like the classic 1997 film Selena where Selena’s dad points out the frustration of trying to navigate two culture and two languages, “We have to be more Mexican than the Mexicans and more American than the Americans, both at the same time! It’s exhausting!”   Selena’s dad is right. It’s additionally important not to essentialize. “Puerto Ricans may be ‘Hispanics.’ Yet our history in general and our history as it pertains to the United States is very different from the histories of both the Mexican American and the Mexican” (57). These differences are sometimes bluntly painted over, through terms like Hispanic or even “minority.” Villanueva tells ruefully of being asked to review an article on Mexican rhetoric, even though he isn’t Mexican, but even if had been Puerto Rican rhetoric, he’s a classicist, working on the sophists. He knows about Isocrates best, so why would he be pigeonholed in this way?   If it’s not obvious by now, Villanueva is also heavily influenced by Marxist thought. He suggests that the ultimate goal of the field of Rhetoric and Composition is to develop the “organic intellectual,” a theory from Antonio Gramsci about the combination of personal experience and academic learning--much like the book Bootstraps itself. Don’t ever say Villanueva doesn’t practice what he preaches. The organic intellectual doesn’t stay in the ivory tower, but “is involved ‘in active participation in practical life’ … an intellectual liaison  between the groups seeking revolutionary change and the rest of civil society” (129).   This perspective should influence everything we do in our weird academic culture--the way we teach our classrooms and the things we research and publish, the way we structure our departments and graduate programs and admissions and graduation requirements.   Villanueva ends the book with a call that I find pretty darn stirring. I’ll give him the last word: “As our status as workers becomes more apparent and as we come more in contact with more of those who are intellectuals from non-traditional backgrounds, we find ourselves in a potentially decisive moment. The  moment is right for America’s intellectuals in traditional academic roles to help organize intellectuals recognize themselves as such and to begin to fuse with them--creating Gransmi’s new intellectuals” (138)

On this episode we talk about: Why Jamie decided to do a thesis on "Lost in translation: The impact of language barriers on law enforcement officers in the state of Texas."  What it means to "come out" and staying true to who you are. How to support those who are brave enough to come out. What is a Rhetorician? Her passion for understanding advertising and imagery.  Her views on PETA and their "go naked" campaigns.

Transcript -- A look at spin in an historical context and how its presentation to an audience has not changed from ancient times

A look at spin in an historical context and how its presentation to an audience has not changed from ancient times

Transcript -- A look at spin in an historical context and how its presentation to an audience has not changed from ancient times

A look at spin in an historical context and how its presentation to an audience has not changed from ancient times