Topic: Spirituality
Hosts: Milo Curtis, Dave Ambrose, Patty McCaulay
Guest: Jonathan Burg
Episode Synopsis
On this podcast we had Jonathan Burg, a good friend of mine (Milo), share with us his story of running from God, and God running to him. His story is filled with twists and turns, ups and downs. If you’ve wondered how God can speak to a person who is trying to drown out His voice, then you’ll love Jonathan’s story!
Resources Mentioned
- Books: Surprised by Hope, by NT Wright
- Books: Traveling Mercies, by Anne Lamott
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What Do You Think?
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Download the Podcast: Episode 27 – Using Religion to Make God Mad (part 1)
September 2, 2008 at 4:52 pm |
Very interesting story that touches on quite a few various topics. I’m looking forward to the next installment. A couple of things:
1. I’ve been taught that the terminology of “spirituality” originated in Paul’s letters, and therefore every group that uses that term (aside from Christians) has co-opted it. I wonder what terms they used to use instead, and how the use of the term “spiritual” has affected other religions’ theologies and society’s perception of those other religions. For example, Hinduism wouldn’t have had the option of using the term or conceptual framework of “spirituality”–so when this term is applied to Hinduism, does it make Hinduism more palatable to Westerners? Does it alter any of the concepts or the way those concepts function in the whole of Hindu theology? Maybe that term still isn’t used much by Hindus, I don’t know, but it’s definitely used by New Age (i.e. Hinduism-lite) people.
2. The concept of hell is in the scriptures, and it must be taught in order to be faithful to God’s revelation of truth to us. If God is the fulfillment of our deepest desires and purpose, and hell is the opposite of that, then hell is something that should repulse any reasonable person, and fear of it or the desire to avoid it is a healthy response to it. Yet I hear a decent number of people who want to avoid talking about it pretty much altogether because they don’t want to scare people or motivate them partially through fear. I agree that it’s possible to use the idea of hell to illegitimately manipulate people’s emotions, etc., and that’s wrong. However, it must be possible to tell the truth without wronging the listeners. What do you think? How can it be done properly? I suspect that the real way to determine whether or not the discussion of hell is being done in an illegitimate way is not by judging the listener’s response, but the preacher’s methodology. I would expect the listener to respond with the same repulsion no matter how the idea is presented.
September 2, 2008 at 7:09 pm |
Loved the Podcast! Can’t wait for the second installment. I’m very happy to hear this very moving story again, about how God never gave up on his child. Very happy that Jonathan listened to that inner voice that was God and decided to run back to his Father, whom had open arms.
I think the issue of hell must be addressed, but with God’s timing. Not sure if bringing the whole hell issue to the table to a knew believer would bring them closer or further away from Christ. Peach adds a great response to the discussion, and hell certainly is talked about in the bible, but from what I have read it is brought to the believer’s attention. Jesus taught with genuine love, and told us to love our neighbors as ourselves. But at the same time he was very hard on the Pharisees, who were “believers” in an external presentation. So I think we have to listen for God’s timing and consider our audience.
September 8, 2008 at 9:38 am |
[...] share his story about how God pursued him despite a lot of destructive behaviors. If you missed part 1, I’d suggest listening to that first. Jonathan’s story is filled with twists and [...]