Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:00:22 — 62.5MB)

DESCRIPTION: Jack discusses the ideas that “God loves everybody” and how they stack up with the actual words in scripture. Much is made of the “gold and silver” passages, as well as passages about worthiness, usefulness, and so forth.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:05:45 — 65.9MB)

DESCRIPTION: Jack continues with the discussion of the text of Hebrews 11, pointing out that these people “embraced the promises” of God regarding the afterlife for the faithful/righteous, and thus, lived a different life from those in the world around them who did not embrace those promises. He also discusses the concept of “when faith was rational”. All this is set against the backdrop of current political events in the USA.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:24:48 — 83.3MB)

DESCRIPTION: Jack discusses the text of Hebrews 11, pointing out that these people “embraced the promises” of God regarding the afterlife for the faithful/righteous, and thus, lived a different life from those in the world around them who did not embrace those promises. He also discusses the concept of “when faith was rational”. All this is set against the backdrop of current political events in the USA.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:13:55 — 77.6MB)

DESCRIPTION: Jack talks about “Blessed are the meek…” from Matthew 5:5, demonstrating that the original idea behind the Greek here is a virtue that is sadly rare among Christians today.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 58:19 — 63.0MB)

DESCRIPTION: Jack continues this 2-part discussion by explaining more of the cognitive science and how it fits in with the way we tend to manage our Bible learning. It ends with a discussion of the “core doctrine” concept, and how that so frequently is used as a “thought stopper” for discussions Christians should naturally be having.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 31:15 — 34.8MB)

DESCRIPTION: Jack explores what human emotions are and how they work–as well as why not knowing how to manage our emotions well can cause us to “shut down” in conversations about the Bible. He gives a basic description of the standard 2-part theory of the mind, as well as the newer 3-part version, and explains how the human “spirit” mentioned in the Bible may just be that 3rd part that some cognitive scientists have recognized. This is the first of a 2-part discussion.

SHOW NOTES

Links mentioned in this episode:

Introduction to Reality-Based Thinking:  https://youtu.be/v3qkk2jA1Jw This is Jack’s video podcast, which only has three episodes, which together comprise a thorough introduction to the concept of Reality-Based Thinking.

Thinking, Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman.  https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374533555 If you’d like to do some extended thinking on how the human mind works, this book is a great place to start. It’s written for a general audience, but even so, you might have to put on your academic “thinking cap” and read it just a bit at a time. Note that Kahneman give’s a 2-part model of the mind, where Stanovich (below) offers a 3-part model.

What Intelligence Tests Miss, by Keith Stanovich. https://www.amazon.com/What-Intelligence-Tests-Miss-Psychology/dp/0300164629 Stanovich demonstrates that IQ Tests do not measure ALL the cognitive skills necessary for Reality-Based Thinking. And he posits a 3-part model of the mind that includes the “Reflective Mind”. This book seems to be a dialog within the cognitive science community, so the nomenclature may slow down the lay person a bit. But if you find this topic interesting, I’d definitely buy the book, whether you’re an academic or not.

Rationality & the Reflective Mind, by Keith Stanovich. https://www.amazon.com/Rationality-Reflective-Mind-Keith-Stanovich/dp/0195341147 This is Stanovich’s formal treatise on his tripartite model of the mind. It’s written to an academic audience, even moreso, it seems than is the other book above, so don’t expect to speed through it if you’re not already familiar with the language of cognitive science.

VIDEO: TedX talk on dealing with unpleasant feelings, by Dr. Joan Rosenberg:  (I’ve embedded the video just below for your convenience.)“….what I found is that what holds people back is their inability, or their challenges with, dealing with unpleasant feelings.  Yet nobody really teaches us what to do or how to handle them.” …. “Make the choice to stay present in the moment”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:11:53 — 76.5MB)

DESCRIPTION: In this episode, Jack completes the discussion of the Proverbs passages about fools and foolishness.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:04:44 — 69.8MB)

DESCRIPTION: In this “experimental” episode, Jack is off the script with a list of proverbs about fools and foolishness. It’s a frank and down-to-earth discussion comparing our intended role as people created in God’s image and likeness to the schemes that the fool would rather play out instead. NOTE: All the Bible passages used in the episode appear below for your convenience.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:32:56 — 87.9MB)

DESCRIPTION: After we “finished” the three COVID-19 episodes, Jack kept thinking, and thought of some more very important related issues that Christians need to think about. This family discussion episode brings in Kay and James to consider some of the often-unrealized implications and consequences of conventional Christian wisdom on this issue. So if any of our episodes call for deep thinking, this one certainly qualifies!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:32 — 52.1MB)

DESCRIPTION: This is the third of a 3-part series on this topic. Also, this entire podcast is designed for you to start at Episode 1 and work your way forward. If you don’t, you’re going to be at a real disadvantage when starting here.
In this episode, Jack finishes the discussion of Romans 13:1-7, and shows how one governor is himself not “obeying the government”.