After Class

An 8th-century minor prophet with a major message! The guys dive into the book of Micah, the prophet from the countryside who prophesied to the southern kingdom—a people at the top, with the autonomy to decide how to use their financial and religious freedom. It is in this time of prosperity and freedom they find themselves drifting away from God and becoming more like the nations around them. Micah's message might be more relevant to our time than you think. Tune in this week as the guys lay the foundation for their new series.

There are laws that once were, but that we are no longer beholden to in Christ. Are we experiencing a shift in God’s progressive narrative in our time? Do we have reason to believe that God is changing His view on sexual ethics? Find out why that is a flawed principle to begin with. In today’s episode, the guys present their concluding thoughts and illustrate both the consistency and change we find in God as He reveals Himself through His Word and actions, engaging with and redeeming His creation, and some application points for us moving forward. 

Did God give bad laws? Did He intentionally set His people up for failure to demonstrate His glory and grace? Does God change His mind about His moral standards? Was the Law given solely to terrify us? In today’s episode, the guys unpacks these questions and shares why they believe there are better ways to interpret the texts in their original context and language.

Today, the guys discuss what they have experienced in their study of God and change, bringing their insights into conversation with conclusions drawn by others. While God experiences a dynamic relationship with His creation, does this mean He also broadens or changes His moral requirements for His people? Tune in today to find out! 

So far, we have seen that God experiences change at some level while interacting dynamically with His creatures. Now, we consider the counter-evidence as we wrestle with the scriptures that reveal a broader perspective on how we might understand God and change. How do we deal with the apparent contradiction: does God change His mind or not?

Our host continue their discussion about what the Bible says about God changing his mind. 

How do we interpret the language that depicts God as being provoked to emotion? What does this tell us about God and His changing mind? Is the language used univocal, equivocal, or analogical? The hosts wrestle with this in today’s episode of the After Class Podcast.

The Bible sometimes depicts God as changing his mind, some have used this narrative to promote a view that God has changed his mind about sexual ethics in our time.  While not dealing with this topic exclusively, the guys begin a new series investigating the question: What does the Bible say about divine change? 

This week our hosts review the movie the Book of Eli.

Prayers, oils, elders, sickness, and sin: the guys unpack the power of prayer and oil and the various interpretations in today’s episode as they conclude the book of James. 

The USA presidential debate has just taken place. Interestingly, the guys did an episode on Kamala back in Season 2. Check out Episode 2.10 - Indecent Proposal. Today, they turn to the last chapter of the Book of James and Section Three of the address. Here, Sam, John, and Ron wrap up the 'slow to anger' dialogue and enter into the conclusion of James.

We're back at it again this week! The Guys continue the reading of James and dig into what John calls "section three" as they transition to the slow to anger section. When worldly ideology meets Kingdom ideology, sparks may fly! Check your blood pressure and tune into today's episode! 

A detailed read of James chapter 3.

You’re not done with James, and neither are we! Tune back in today for James part three! This week the guys dig into chapter two and being quick to listen. Quick, listen! 

Back to the book of James! The guys continue where they left off last week with, “The believer who is poor still has reasons to boast, for he has been placed on high. But those who are rich should boast in how God has brought them low and humbled them, for all their earthly glory will one day fade away like a wildflower in the meadow” - let’s resume… 

A book notoriously difficult to structure, once thought of as a loose compendium of wisdom with no specific audience, the book of James has been revisited in recent scholarship with a newly defined structure and specific, pointed criticisms. This week, the guys begin their walk through the book of James and ask the question: Who is the audience? John lays out the writing style and the framework of James in todays episode, setting the stage for future episodes. 

Round two: Picking up where we left off, the guys attempt to summarize the New Testament in seven sentences. How would you do it? Tune in to today's episode to see if you chose the same verses as Sam, John, or Ron.

As summer break rapidly comes to an end, the guys begin a new experiment. Is it possible to tell the Old Testament story in seven sentences? What principles would one use? How does one capture the whole thing in such a short blurb? How many commas can one use? Will the guys come up with the same summaries? Find out in today’s episode. 

The guys pause to speak about recent events, specifically, the attempt on Trump’s life. How do believers respond as kingdom representatives as they interact with events like this? 

New edition, same story. Where First Maccabees tells the story of the facts, Second Maccabees slows down on certain details and illustrates them, sometimes in extreme fashion. Let’s investigate this second telling and see what wisdom we might glean as the guys wrap up the series on the Apocrypha.