Conversational Theology and Other Stuff

Hus, Tyndale, Wycliffe, Luther, and countless thousands of others are rolling over in their graves seeing what the world calls "Evangelicals" and "Protestant" Christianity today swooning over right wing commentators and personalities entering into the Catholic Church. The doctrine of Christ's fully accomplished and completed work for which thousands have paid with their lives to defend has been cast aside for the Christian virtue signaling of embracing all things Catholic and Orthodox (as they still condemn you in their doctrines). While that falling away is occurring, much of Evangelical Christianity has tossed aside any semblance of values or consistency to embrace Donald Trump. I've been mocked, scorned, and even banned on right wing sites for merely quoting (QUOTING, mind you) the doctrines of the Catholic and Orthodox Churches or statements by Donald Trump. We could be seeing the end times apostacy (or apostasy, your choice) forming. Evil on the Left. Evil on the Right. And the work of Christ and his preeminence thrust aside as men seek power and glory and honor.

Caitlin Clark is going to cash in on endorsements. More power to her! Love to see any semblance of capitalism left. But her WNBA contract, much to the chagrin of feminists, will not be anywhere near an NBA top pick salary. Love to see any semblance of capitalism left. Yet I don't see feminists filling WNBA arenas, paying NBA prices, or watching the WNBA in any significant numbers to make a difference. America is an empire in decline and one of the major reason is economic ignorance.

We wander around the call to Godliness in this age and apply it, not only to our lives, but to our doctrines as well. We also look at the political landscape and lament the dearth of Godliness in our leaders. Not only do we have leaders devoid of Godliness, we are led by many vile people. And, sadly, despite their vile attributes, they have managed to gain the undying loyalty of many professed believers.

The Amherst-Pelham Regional District recently ran into its own bullhorn when a trans middle school child was cruelly harassed by fellow students and then approached by staff members with Bible verses. The problem? The harassers and the proselytizers were from another superior group, blacks and Hispanics. What's a good Progressive to do? Can't punish anybody because "restorative justice" and "it's their culture." I'm gonna assume this is somehow my fault. Sorry! We also tackle what I think is the responsibility of the Christian in the workplace.

We clarify and exalt the finished work of the Savior. Not only did the Lord die in our place, He went to the grave and did not decay! He then rose gloriously to show us what lies ahead for those resting in that perfect work. But that perfect work is under assault, and most often and most directly, by those claiming to be Christians. Along the way, I discuss briefly why I don't do "church calendars." Where do we find guidelines for the current age? In Adam We All Die (Audio) https://www.spreaker.com/episode/in-adam-we-die-in-christ-we-are-made-alive--52452666 How Are We Deceived? (Audio) https://www.spreaker.com/episode/we-begin-again-how-are-we-deceived--52336521

We start our look at the great falling away that permeates Christendom. The vast majority of Christendom condemns the gospel of grace itself while most of the rest dilute it or mix it with manmade standards. Many of those who say Sola Scriptura with their lips, yield to tradition and academia. The title "Early Church Fathers" is one of Satan's most clever ruses (not necessarily the men, but the title). Christians will sacrifice studying the word of truth before God alone and defer to some doctrine because it is old or commonly held or is spewed from the mouth of men they revere above the apostle Paul himself.

We jump off from charlatan and Charismania teacher, John Avanzini's torturing of God's promises to Israel. This grave error in interpretation isn't limited to false prophets. Unfortunately the false teaching that every verse in the Bible is to all us is prevalent in many ministries today. And even those who recognize the misuse of the verses often fail themselves to understand the uniqueness of the current age and our focus on unsearchable riches in the far above the heavens (not on the earth; Ephesians 3)

We clarify the concepts of descriptive passages and prescriptive passages as we continue to be consistent in our interpretation of scripture. I recommend a few video channels and a few ministry sites while reminding is us that we are all responsible for our won theology. We summarize our approach to scripture by asking three questions when we find a change in practice or command. What changed? Why did it change? When did it change? The Messed Up Church Magical Mystery Church Brother John Elving Antichrist 45 - Bible Prophecy with Brother Paul

We continue reading verses in context such as Jeremiah 29:11 ("For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope") as well a few passages in the red letters that get ignored by supposed Red Letter Christians. We see the Lord telling his disciples to not go to Gentiles, to raise the dead, and to sell everything they have (among other things). We briefly look at the parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25) in context. And as we have been doing, we call again on all of us to BE CONSISTENT!

We discuss the value of a seminary education (or the lack of value). We look at a couple of the most oft quoted verses in modern American Evangelicalism in their respective contexts (2 Chronicles 7:14 and Ezekiel 36:26). We carefully note how these passages can't possibly be referring to believers of the current age or the current gospel. Then we note that believers still have an old nature and we encourage all of us to "walk according to the calling to which we have been called" (Ephesians 4:1), and not the calling of other companies. I will clarify in the next podcast, but I quipped "Southern Baptist" after I mentioned Dallas Theological Seminary. DTS was founded by the Chafer brothers (most notable Lewis Sperry Chafer) and is probably the premiere Classic (Acts 2) Dispensationalist Seminary in the USA. The Southern Baptist Convention surely has dispensational pastors, but they take no formal position on the matter.

More on saving ourselves from Charismania and other errors. Whatever theology you claim (hopefully it's yours and you didn't just adopt some system), make sure it remains consistent in your interpretations. It was a desire for a consistent theology that brought me to where I am (and still drives me as I seek more light). If you think the "red letters" are for you, do you really keep the red letters? I mean ALL the red letters? Are you in an "Acts" church? Do you really practice what's laid out in the Book of Acts? I mean ALL the Book of Acts? If you claim all 21 epistles as the foundation of your faith, do you obey ALL 21 epistles?

Christendom has suffered, from its inception, the curse of religion and superstition. It seems as though so many professed Christians are dissatisfied with blessings in the far above the heavens that they fall for earthly promises and superstition. No matter the theological school one adopts, compromises and contradictions will rule the day if we fail to cut straight lines in scripture. There is a way out of the madness. We must turn to our Apostle, Paul, and seek to understand the message and hope he has revealed to us in the current age. Sample of Audio Podcasts on the Parables: The Key to the Parables is Israel https://www.spreaker.com/episode/the-key-to-the-parables-and-the-bible-is-israel--41046329 Introduction to the Parables of the Kingdom (Matthew 13) https://www.spreaker.com/episode/introduction-to-the-parables-of-the-kingdom-matthew-13--40514017 Noting the Judgments in the Parables https://www.spreaker.com/episode/noting-the-judgments-for-believers-in-the-parables-and-elsewhere--40906111

The second and final part of a very short series I recorded in 2007 about the basics of self Bible Study. We turn to the parables and look at what the Lord had to say about them. They're not nice little stories which make an obvious point. Quite the opposite, The Lord said they are meant to be deep and meant to lead the truth seeker to study. Lastly, we look at a "disharmony" of the gospels. That is, we shouldn't try to harmonize the four gospels to make then fit together, we need to take each on its and discover why the Holy Spirit left us four accounts of the Lord's earthly ministry. "Study to show yourself approved unto God..." 2 Timothy 2:15

The first part of a very short series I recorded in 2007 about the basics of self Bible Study. We emphasize the individual responsibility and nature or Bible study and encourage every believer to start to read, study, and compare scripture for himself or herself. Not every command in scripture is for every person. That might sound good and religious, but it's palpable and demonstrable nonsense. "Study to show yourself approved unto God..." 2 Timothy 2:15

As believers who see the rise of the globalists as at least a possible sign that the biblical end times are near, we cannot go on ignoring the biggest globalist on the block. The richest, most powerful, outwardly spiritual globalist player on the world scene, the Roman Catholic Church. As I engage Catholics disgruntled by the current Pope, I challenge them to read what their own church teaches them about the pope (spoiler: they are commanded to bow their minds and wills to the Pope in all matters of faith and morals). None of this is to win points or to just be smug, it's an attempt to get their eyes off the Pope, off the issues, off the outward glory and turn to Christ alone. It's a call to find rest in Christ alone. My short testimony coming out of Catholicism: https://bereanbeacon.org/do-you-read-the-scriptures-michael-f-scotto/

After I pay a short tribute to an old classmate who recently passed, we move on to several statements I heard in a recent message from the pulpit. Why don't we see a lot of miracles today? Why is Abraham so prominent in most of the Bible (while being conspicuously absent from Paul's last seven epistles)? Are all believers the children of Abraham?

We pithily, with a dash of sarcasm, comment on Stephen Strang's strange defense of Mike Bickle. Apart from covering up Mike's alleged pedophilia, Strang has called the "advocates" (read: victims of Bickle's grooming and sexual abuse of multiple girls - allegedly) the "tools of Satan." From the theological side, we apply the practice of "right division" (2 Tim 2:15) to the mania and suggest that a proper biblical understanding of the age we live in could help many avert these sorts of abuses of power. We put the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement in the spotlight.

After I mockingly used the idea of a $50/hour minimum wage to make a greater point in a recent podcast, some politician running for the US Senate seat from California proposes a $50/hour minimum wage. And not just for CA. She wants the whole nation to adopt the policy! Guarantee some of the same people who would tell me my example is ridiculous, would turn around and try and defend the economic suicidal policy once their party proposes it. Happens with a lot of issues. Jen Psaki told us we're crazy for suggesting some on the Left want killing babies in the birth canal to be legalized. After she was quickly corrected by her friends on the Left that many of them actually do support that idea (they have to, it's the necessary conclusion when you devalue life in the womb) she caves and now it's a "good" thing. Finally, we talk a little bit more about supposed modern day prophets and the corrupt clergy system.

We stop off in Kansas City to speak broadly about the scandals (plural) at The International House of Prayer (IHOP). Mike Bickle, Bob Harley, and others caught up in extramarital affairs and the sexual abuse of minors. We pull back the lens a bit and look at how these sorts of wicked acts can arise from pastor/prophet/charismatic systems. We are all capable of falling into sin, but for sin on this scale, arising from multiple leaders, in one of the largest religious movements in the USA must be examined, condemned, and removed. When you reject the Apostle Paul as the last Apostle sent to God's people, the one given the final revelation for this age, you open yourself up to all sorts of deception. We finish with another short trip to fantasy Minimum Wage Land.

We have discussed previously the idea that most people are deceived in to thinkin that they actually think, but they are really just acquiescing to some system or group. In many areas, there are laws that guide outcomes and reactions and ramifications no matter what we feel about the topic or what we want to be true. We have to guard against these biases. In Theology, we see the most dangerous result of submission of mind and will (required, example, in Catholic doctrine and dogma) for we will all answer for our beliefs and actions before our Lord. This problem is certainly not limited to the Catholic Church as almost all of professing Christendom is sliced into sects, each connected to a personality or system.

Men love religion. Men crave ritual. Over the course of Bible history, God has revealed the inability of man to keep laws and the inability of man to pay for his own sins. An eternal debt required an eternal payment. Very few in Christendom fully embrace the revelation of the full grace of God found in the heavenly hope and heavenly blessings given to our Apostle, Paul. Men insist upon doing things the hard way and insist God bless them for their efforts. To often, men, in the name of Christianity, mock the cross, reject the finished work of Christ, and deem the unsearchable riches of God's grace as beneath them.

Ephesians 5 starts off with more warnings for the believer. We focus in on the warning against "coarse jesting." In every language there are words deemed "off-color" or "dirty" or "swear words." The words themselves make the list through some societal agreement, often not through any clear standard. There are two slang words, for example, for human excrement. One is acceptable and the other ist verboten. Can context play a role here? Should we be more lenient with those who come out of background where regular use of "unacceptable" words are acceptable? We've already noted context, and I believe context and intent are at the heart of this and many other matters of the faith.

Too many Christians are caught up in Group-Think. There are so many assumptions made about the faith and about the Christian Life based on the modern structures in Christendom. That is, so many look to a pastor or to a denomination when it comes to how to interpret the Bible or how to live the Chrostian Life. There is also a surrendering of discipleship when it comes to hope before us. We must break free from this way of thinking. We shall all stand before God and give account for our service. The Lord knows we are limited creatures with limited intellects and failing minds, but that does not give us the right to forfeit our responsibilities before our Master to study in a manner to show ourselves approved. We do not have to forsake fellowship or corporate worship to do this, but we must forsake systems, catechisms, creeds, and confessions.

PODCAST CLASSIC Source: https://www.spreaker.com/user/michaelscotto/podcast-yeshua AUDIO ONLY - More and more people are using the Hebrew "Yeshua" instead of the English "Jesus." And that's perfectly fine. A problem arises, however, when they either try to put other believers into bondage to fear by exalting the Hebrew name or when they get puffed up because they use the Hebrew name. Hint: Paul and the Holy Spirit seemed to prefer the Greek.

To get a better glimpse of tremendous depth of God's grace (for all we ever get in this life is but a glimpse), we must see ourselves as creatures desperately in need of that grace. While the world (and Christendom) preach a message of self-love, the great saints of the faith in scripture teach us that the way to experience God is through lowliness of heart. It is in taking our place as beggars and sinners in need of a grace beyond our comprehension. If you want to experience more of God's grace, take your place among the ashes.