Slander

Hosts

Woe

aka Eschatologuy

Once taken, a man’s reputation is nearly impossible to restore to him. In the 8th Commandment (and many other places in Scripture), God enshrines and makes abundantly clear that He hates slander and the man who spreads it. And yet Scripture goes further: Not only must we not slander our neighbor, but we must rebuke the one who does so. Scripture calls the one who hears slander but does not rebuke the slanderer evil.

Next to his life, wife, and possessions, the most dear thing a neighbor has is his good name and reputation. As Christians, we know that we must aid our neighbor in maintaining all that is his, and this certainly includes his reputation. Slander destroys families, friendships, organizations, churches, and entire societies. A godly prince would wield the sword against the slanderer, but every individual Christian has a moral duty to rebuke the slanderer and not to repeat what he has heard.

In this episode, we will examine the contours of what “slander” encompasses, and what we, as Christians, must do in this life.

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Show Notes

Parental Warnings

None.

Transcript

The transcript for this episode can be found here

Other transcripts can be found here

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Galatians 3:28

Hosts

Woe

aka Eschatologuy

Galatians 3:28 is, perhaps, the most abused verse in modern churches (a term that should, arguably, be in quotes), and this is not without reason. Satan attacks where he knows there is purchase to be found or headway to be made. In entirely unambiguous terms, Galatians 3:28 affirms the very real existence of race, hierarchy, and sex (i.e., that we are created either male or female) — the very things that the modern world constantly attacks and denies.

We must be careful readers when it comes to Scripture. God does not choose His words idly and we should not skim over them. We do not usually focus on a single verse to this extent, but it is incumbent on faithful Christians to defend where the battle is joined. In today’s episode, we will arm you to detect abuses of this verse, to defend yourself against those abuses, and to understand the wealth of what God has transmitted to us in a mere twenty-three words).

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Show Notes

  • Galatians (The entire letter will take you no more than fifteen minutes to read.)
  • “What We Believe” from the ‘Black Lives Matter’ website [via Archive.org]

See Also

Parental Warnings

None.

Transcript

The transcript for this episode can be found here

Other transcripts can be found here

Comments?

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Apostasy

Hosts

Woe

aka Eschatologuy

By the time Josiah, King of Judah, noticed that pagan worship practices had crept into the land of Judah — and even into the Temple itself —, apostasy, wickedness, and idol worship were rampant. The Temple was filled with altars to and symbols of false gods, the area around the Temple and around Jerusalem was filled with centers of false worship, and the valley adjacent to Jerusalem even saw the sacrifice of children to demons. Undoubtedly, these false beliefs and false practices did not creep into Judah all at once — Satan brought them in bit by bit.

The apostasy of Judah was not the first time humanity lost the Word of God (although perhaps none have done this as literally as Judah forgetting the actual scroll somewhere in a pile of rubble in the Temple); by the time of Judah’s apostasy, Israel (the Northern Kingdom) was already apostate and in the process of being eradicated by the Assyrians. We see the same happening all over the world as the sons of Noah lost the Word of God over time — some certainly faster than others. And, of course, the entire world, save Noah and his immediate family, had lost or rejected God’s Word by the time of the Flood.

Today, the churches face a similar crisis as that which faced Josiah: We are beset on all sides by false worship, and false shepherds and wolves have even brought these false beliefs and false practices into the church. We have fallen so far that supposed pastors, priests, and teachers will recoil when presented with the words of God. This does not mean that there is no hope, but it is surely a call for repentance and prayer. Josiah would not see the destruction of Judah, which God promised as recompense for their wickedness, but his grandson would.

Let us not be like the wicked Northern Kingdom or the apostate Southern Kingdom.

Joel 2:12–14 (ESV):  
»“Yet even now,” declares the LORD,  
  “return to me with all your heart,  
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;  
  and rend your hearts and not your garments.”  
Return to the LORD your God,  
  for he is gracious and merciful,  
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;  
  and he relents over disaster.  
Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,  
  and leave a blessing behind him,  
a grain offering and a drink offering  
  for the LORD your God?«

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Further Reading

Parental Warnings

None.

Transcript

The transcript for this episode can be found here

Other transcripts can be found here

Comments?

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The Gnostic Heresy

Hosts

Woe

aka Eschatologuy

Gnosticism is one of the oldest religions of man. When Satan tempted Eve in the Garden, it was with an invitation to learn secret — explicitly forbidden, in this case — knowledge. From the mystery cults of Ancient Greece and Rome to modern Pentecostalism, Mormonism, and any of dozens of other cults, Gnosticism has always been a major font of false religion and corruption.

Christianity is not a mystery religion; Christianity is a religion with mysteries. The Sacrament is a mystery, because we cannot fully understand it, but it is not a mystery in the sense of being secret knowledge — we proclaim it publicly before the world and it is set forth in God’s Word. Anyone who claims that you must have some secret knowledge in order to be a good or a full or a proper Christian is lying to you and attempting to drag you into heresy and apostasy. There is no secret knowledge in Christianity.

In today’s episode, we do not go over the specifics of any of the various Gnostic cults — ancient or modern; rather, we go over the core of the Gnostic claims and the foundation of their beliefs: the existence of mystical or esoteric knowledge, the salvific nature of this supposed knowledge, dualism, and the denial of the flesh (i.e., the material).

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Show Notes

See Also

Further Reading

Parental Warnings

None.

Transcript

The transcript for this episode can be found here

Other transcripts can be found here

Comments?

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The Judaizing Heresy

Hosts

Woe

aka Eschatologuy

Judaizing has been a problem in the Church from the beginning. Even St. Peter fell prey to the Judaizers and their attempt to import into Christianity the false beliefs of Judaism. Today, Judaizing takes a number of forms. In this episode, we will cover circumcision, the use of “Yahweh” (and “Yeshua”), and several related matters.

As Christians, we must always ask ourselves both what the source of the thing is and what the purpose of the thing is. When it comes to Judaizing, the source is not God and the purpose is from Satan. The Jews do not have a special relationship with God or even any relationship with God, because they rejected His Son, and the Word of Scripture is clear:

No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.

Why would we, as Christians, who have the Son by Faith, ask the Jews, who reject the Son and therefore do not have the Father, anything about religion?

What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols?

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Show Notes

See Also

Further Reading

Parental Warnings

We have a frank discussion about circumcision, including some technically ‘explicit’ language, in this episode — you may wish to screen it before listening to it with your children.

Transcript

The transcript for this episode can be found here

Other transcripts can be found here

Comments?

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Liturgical Life

Hosts

Woe

aka Eschatologuy

Unlike the Old Testament Israelites, New Testament Christians are not required to observe any particular set of feasts, festivals, or commemorations — Scripture does not lay out a Church Year that we are required to follow. However, the Christian standard is not ‘What is required?’, but rather: ‘What is profitable?’ When we ask, instead of what we must do, what we should do for the sake of unity, instruction, and order, we arrive at a far different answer from that of most modern Christians, who have jettisoned from their faith much of the historic practices of the Church.

Whereas we affirm that neither we nor you, as Christians, are required to observe the feasts, festivals, and commemorations of the Church and her historic calendar, we also resolutely contend that these observances are good for the body of Christ. It is in the cyclical and seasonal observances that we live out of lives as Christians and recognize our brothers-in-Christ, who are living out similar lives. There is a difference between the minimum of the faith and the fullness of the faith — we want you to have the latter.

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Show Notes

Further Reading

Parental Warnings

None.

Transcript

The transcript for this episode can be found here

Other transcripts can be found here

Comments?

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God’s Gifts, Man’s Duties

Hosts

Woe

aka Eschatologuy

Whether our gifts are many or few, great or small, God has most assuredly prepared beforehand opportunities for us to use those gifts to serve our neighbors. We, in fact, have a duty to use what God has given us for the good of our neighbor. All that we have we hold in trust as stewards, for all comes from God and all belongs to God.

It is through our good works that we demonstrate, both to ourselves and to the world, that we have a living faith. There are no hard and fast rules or mathematical formulae to determine precisely what one should do with what one has been given — these are matters of wisdom. But we know the basics: Faithfully pursue your work, come to the aid of family and neighbor, and render good works when and where God provides you the opportunity.

The Christian life is not found in pilgrimages or hair shirts or in putting crosses on every surface in one’s home. The faithful Christian baker makes good bread; the faithful Christian shoemaker makes good shoes; the faithful Christian woman keeps a good home; a faithful Christian man diligently pursues his calling — whatever it may be. These are not matters over which to be anxious or about which to fret or worry; God knows what we need and he knows what our neighbor needs, and He has so ordered things that our neighbor can aid us and we can aid him. The Christian life is lived out in many thousands of small interactions, all undertaken with thanks for the good gifts, all of which flow from God.

»17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.«
— James 1:17 (ESV)

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Show Notes

  • Previous episodes:
  • Some recommended Scripture passages:
    • Matthew 6:25–34
    • Matthew 25:1–13
    • Romans 12:3–13
    • Romans 14:1–12
    • 1 Corinthians 4:2
    • 1 Corinthians 12:1–11
    • 1 Corinthians 15:58
    • Ephesians 2:10
    • Colossians 3:18–4:1
    • 1 Peter 4:7–11
    • James 1:16–18
    • Luke 12:35–48
    • Luke 16:1–13
    • Proverbs 3:27–28
    • Proverbs 16:3
    • Proverbs 22:29
    • Ecclesiastes 9:9–10

See Also

Parental Warnings

None.

Transcript

The transcript for this episode can be found here

Other transcripts can be found here

Comments?

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Capitalist Idolatry

Hosts

Woe

aka Eschatologuy

Of all the idols of modern man, Capitalism may be one of the most challenging to overcome. Not because the wickedness of Capitalism is not manifest, for it is (and we will demonstrate this in today’s episode), but because it has been sold as the only alternative to Communism — a system so wicked that no Christian can possibly support it. Yet the choice is not binary, and those who would claim that it is seek to mislead the Christian into supporting a system that is, in point of fact, anti-Christ.

It is the lack of concern for one’s neighbor — a feature built into the Capitalist system and inextricable from it — that should immediately raise alarm bells for the Christian man. Under Capitalism, it is the maximum extraction of profit (itself a dubious category, insofar as it is a vague term) that serves as guiding principle, and yet this is an alien and hostile thing to the Christian system of ethics and morality. Need it even be said that the extraction of maximized profits runs diametrically counter to the second-greatest commandment:

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Throughout the pages of Scripture, God repeatedly states His concern for the poor, the needy, and the exploited, and yet Capitalism relies, in no small part, upon the extraction of profits from those very categories of the most vulnerable. Ours is not a Marxist critique of Capitalism, but a Christian one. The central question: Is Capitalism compatible with Christianity? We answer in the negative.

Mammon is an old god, an idol served by many men from may nations across many centuries. The love of money is not the root of all evils, but, in the words of Scripture, it is certainly the root of many evils, and, in fact, may serve as the stumbling stone upon which faith may founder:

»For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.«
— 1 Timothy 6:10 (ESV)

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Parental Warnings

None.

Transcript

The transcript for this episode can be found here

Other transcripts can be found here

Comments?

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The Lord’s Supper

Hosts

Woe

aka Eschatologuy

Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me.”

In the same way also, He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

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Parental Warnings

None.

Transcript

The transcript for this episode can be found here

Other transcripts can be found here

Comments?

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The Reformation, Its Causes, and Its Consequences

Hosts

Woe

aka Eschatologuy

The Reformation was not the beginning of the problems in the Western Church, nor in the Church more generally. Over the centuries before the beginning of the Reformation, generally accepted as 31 October 1517, the Church faced a number of heresies, divisions, and other problems. Yet God has always seen her through these tumultuous waters.

Today, we find ourselves yet again in need of reformation, for the existing church bodies are corrupt — virtually all from the top down. This does not mean that there are no faithful churches, that there are no faithful congregations, but we do, indeed, find ourselves virtually bereft of faithful, ‘official’ leadership.

To address these challenges and to restore Christendom, we will have to work together. Not as Lutherans or Reformed or Baptists or Romans or whatever other tradition or denomination we may call our own, but as Christians. This is not a call to abandon our distinctives or our doctrinal convictions; rather, it is a call to work together across these lines in the kingdom of the left hand of Christ.

God willing, our grandchildren will see a Christendom we have known only in history books.

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Parental Warnings

None.

Transcript

The transcript for this episode can be found here

Other transcripts can be found here

Comments?

Join the discussion on Telegram, visit the feedback form or comment below.