"Just Thinking: About The State" Book Review

In this episode we discuss sexuality, what true freedom in sexuality and relationships looks like. What is "good" and who defines good and what freedom looks like. We also discuss the cultural narrative on sexuality and the influence and even internal conflict in the LGBTQ community... specifically with the conflicting worldview and agenda of the Trans community with the rest of the gay / lesbian community. Is the goal to not have desire like the Buddhist say... or is it to give Christ control over our desires so we don't become slaves to our desires. Human's are "meaning makers" and need a purpose in life. Satisfying every desire of our heart will not leave us fulfilled or satisfied in life. 

On this episode, we cover everything from abortion to Separation of Church and State, delve into different Worldviews and subconscious biases and how those impact how we vote and our values. We also touch on LGBTQ+ in politics and the irony of some politicians calling for leaving "religious beliefs" out of politics, when America is a country founded on Christian values and religious belief.   NOTES: This Weeks Whiskey: The Whistler Irish Whiskey AOC severely takes scripture out of context to justify abortion Exegesis - Reading scripture the way the writers of scripture intended and by the original meaning and intent Roe vs. Wade being overturned...? "Separation of Church and State" - What does that ACTUALLY mean... where does that saying come from What do people mean when they say, "Keep your religion out of politics"? Moral Therapeutic Deism vs. Secular Humanism If someone has a world view that people are basically good, than there isn't really a need for God... and you end up with ideas like Communism that end up destroying humanity in pursuit of a man-made utopia. Can you even have a discussion on politics without "religion"... or more accurately, "theology". Everyone has theology (a belief about god... even if that is a rejection of religion or god, they will make themselves into their god, elevating their own perspective and thoughts as the reigning authority in their life. The two big topics that liberals typically get upset on about Conservatives (or Christians) is abortion and homosexuality (now LGBTQ+)... with special focus and sensitivity around the T now (Transexual) It's easy to "leave your religion out of your politics", when your "religion" has no baring or influence on your daily life (you say you are a "Christian" but in reality, they are living as a secular humanist - a Cultural Christian or Christian in name only). Whether a Christian or not... most people are trying to do the best thing for themselves and the ones they love. People are voting for what they believe is best for them and their country The "other side" isn't evil... they just have a different world view, so what they believe and are voting for is what they think will bring about the best results for their values and what they care about most. If voters don't believe in God, they will create their own definition of what is good, and it most likely won't be in line with God or what He has established as good. This puts God and those who follow Him at odds with "The World". America is based on Judeo-Christian values (it's foundational laws, constitution and culture) but as we as a society get further away from those principles, our hearts are no longer being conformed to God's will or desires and society starts sliding into chaos, confusion and breaking down.  Christianity is about a willful heart change, which changes our perspective and behavior (people become self-controlled)... if people don't have this, the only way to "keep people in line", is by force... and that doesn't often lead to good results. Wherever man has tried to replace religion or God, it goes very, very badly and millions of people end up dead - Communism, Totalitarianism, Marxism, etc. (these humanist beliefs are based on the assumption that humans are basically good and largely ignore human nature and motivation) While America is a Constitutional Republic (NOT a democracy), God's Kingdom is one of a benevolent dictator (an all powerful God on the throne who wants and provides the very best for his people.    Call To Action:  Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/the_old_fashion_dad_podcast/) & Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/oldfashiondadpodcast/) for more content & DM us to connect! Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/old-fashion-dad-podcast/id1513254208) or your favorite podcast app. 

In this episode we discuss if anger at God is ok, do we have the right to judge God, what roll does suffering play in our lives and should we be trying to avoid it and the healthy and appropriate way to handle such emotions as anger, specifically when it's directed at God.   NOTES: This Weeks Whiskey: Horse soldier Bourbon 120 proof from Ohio "Sinful anger is a expression of you playing God" - David Powlson of CCEF If anger is an emotion and emotions are a-moral (neither good or bad)... it matters more not that we are angry but rather how we respond to that anger and where we direct it. If God is good and perfect, there is logically never a time where we are justified to be angry at God. There is a big difference between being angry AT God vs. having room to process being angry WITH God When we don't hold scripture (& therefore God) as the highest authority, we start to follow culture in the trend of holding humanity and what we think as our own highest authority... which is what makes it possible for us as created beings to have the hubris to sit on the judgment seat and put God on trial, judging him based on our sense of right and wrong and justice. God's very nature is righteous, good and holy... He is the definition of good. So if we ever have a conflict or disagreement between what God says is good and what we think... it's not God that needs to change, it's us. Was Jesus dieing on the cross the equivalent of "divine child abuse" (I've heard this said from some on the left who have "deconstructed" their faith - meaning they either don't consider themselves "Christians" anymore or if they do, they don't believe in the authority of scripture like they once did) When suffering or a tragedy happens, we have a tendency to ask, "Why God?"... but what we are really asking is "why ME God?" (why am I suffering). It's a selfish question. If we read scripture in it's entirety, we will understand that we need to expect hardship and suffering. Ease and comfort should not be the primary thing we expect and are pursuing. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 - give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. God has no obligation to explain Himself or what his larger plan is, to us. Ephesians 4:26 - "Be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger". This verse is usually applied to horizontal relationships (between humans) but it also applies to our relationship with God     Call To Action:  Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/the_old_fashion_dad_podcast/) & Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/oldfashiondadpodcast/) for more content & DM us to connect!   Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/old-fashion-dad-podcast/id1513254208) or your favorite podcast app. 

Cancel culture, censorship and free speech. How do we as Christian, fathers, and parents tackle these issues.  Whether you like it or not, none of us can simply ignore this issue of censorship and what we know as free speech.  So we must turn to the Bible to help us develop a view of speech.  We are called to speak truth, but not engage in the idolatry of “Freedom of Speech”   What was the intention behind the 1st Amendment Where have we gone wrong with freedom of speech? How do we protect good speech and should there be limits on “bad” speech   NOTES: This Weeks Whiskey: Del Bac Mesquite whiskey - Arizona  Have people become so fragile that they can't bear to hear something they don't agree with or is "offensive" OR are people so stupid, that they can't be trusted to hear more than one perspective and decide what is true or false? “Look at the ships also: though they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.” James 3:4-6 ESV https://bible.com/bible/59/jas.3.4-6.ESV “Our post-Christian society has dangerously married moral relativism to a sense of righteous zeal inherited from its Christian past, without any of the Christian humility that comes from the comforting faith in God’s providence. Accordingly, it is hellbent on a moral crusade to enthrone relativism by force of will.” - Brad Little John   https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/theology-free-speech/   Call To Action:  Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/the_old_fashion_dad_podcast/) & Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/oldfashiondadpodcast/) for more content & DM us to connect! Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/old-fashion-dad-podcast/id1513254208) or your favorite podcast app. 

This week we sit down and "Babel" about the essentialism of being dependent on God, talk the connections between the self-glorifying endeavor of the Tower of Babel and the internet, as well as C. B. puts his counselor hat on for C. H. existential question on how do we really know our motivation for following God is pure and not just trying to use God to get a good life...   NOTES: This Weeks Whiskey: The Mattie Gladin straight bourbon whiskey. Spirits of French Lick, Indiana ZDogg MD Show - Science Vs. Advocacy, Omicron , & More (w/ Dr. Peter Attia and Dr. Marty Makary) - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/science-vs-advocacy-omicron-more-w-dr-peter-attia-dr/id1218431966?i=1000546834280 Why did God "confuse their languages" in response to men creating the Tower or Babel. The big issue is man acting independent of God and claiming their greatness and accomplishments... outside of God, which is the hight of pride. The Tower of Babel is really just an extension what started in the Garden of Eden with Adam and Eve eating of the forbidden tree, mans desire to be independent of God. What is so wrong with desiring to be independent from God in the first place? What does this matter? ... Because all of life and the universe is sustained by and dependent on God for everything. God was checking their hearts... and it wasn't good. They wanted to be God... which is still humanity's desire today. The root of "culture" and "cultivate" is the same... God has built within us the desire and ability to take his raw creation and cultivate it in something more, developing technology and create culture. How we use these technology tools, including the internet, for good or evil matters... as does our heart behind WHY these technologies was created (are we trying to replace God with our own "greatness") We are designed and built to be dependent on God in everything Christian H. asked the honest and tough question, "how do I know my motivation as a Christian is in the right place? How do I know that I'm not just using God to try and get what I want in life (money, influence, obedient kids, fulfilling marriage, etc)? Just as we are called to be dependent on God, we are also designed and called to be dependent and in relationship with each other (fellow Christian's and participate in the local church).   Psalms 139 -  O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up;     you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down     and are acquainted with all my ways.....   Call To Action:  Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/the_old_fashion_dad_podcast/) & Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/oldfashiondadpodcast/) for more content & DM us to connect! Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/old-fashion-dad-podcast/id1513254208) or your favorite podcast app. 

Prosperity Gospel, blab it and grab it, name it and claim it, health and wealth... false teachers who say you need to "give to get" come in many flavors. Beware of false doctrines and false teachers. We are called to walk in truth and light and worship the one true God. What do we mean when we say prosperity gospel? What makes a false teacher and why do we need to be aware of them? How do we know what the truth is and if someone is a false teacher?   NOTES: This Weeks Whiskey: Stranahan's Blue Peak single malt whiskey Prosperity Gospel relies on ideas like, "that the more money you give, the more money you'll get"... "doesn't a good God what you to be prosperous, happy and healthy?" It uses hope and promises of "the good life" and part-truths, to emotionally manipulate people to give money they don't have to make false teachers wealthy The "Health and Wealth Gospel" treats God like a magic genie, who is obligated to give us what we want if we just have enough faith or say the right prayer or give enough money Suffering, hardship, illness or poverty are not necessarily due to people sinning or being unfaithful to God (but the prosperity gospel would tell you it is) A large indicator of a false teacher is that they don't preach on or talk about suffering. They don't have a theology of suffering because they are preaching a false gospel about how god wants to deliver us from suffering, if we just give enough and have enough faith. Idolatry is what happens when we focus more on the gifts, then the Giver. Prosperity Gospel is a counterfeit gospel... you spot counterfeits by really knowing the real thing (intimately knowing God and His word)   “But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in my name that I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that same prophet shall die.'” Deuteronomy 18:20 ESV “My hand will be against the prophets who see false visions and who give lying divinations. They shall not be in the council of my people, nor be enrolled in the register of the house of Israel, nor shall they enter the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord God.” Ezekiel 13:9 ESV “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4 ESV “And the Lord said to me: "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I did not send them, nor did I command them or speak to them. They are prophesying to you a lying vision, worthless divination, and the deceit of their own minds.” Jeremiah 14:14 ESV ---- The Gospel Coalition - "What you should know about the prosperity gospel" - www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/what-you-should-know-about-the-prosperity-gospel   David W. Jones outlines five errors of prosperity gospel teaching: 1. The Abrahamic covenant is a means to material entitlement. 2. Jesus’s atonement extends to the “sin” of material poverty. 3. Christians give in order to gain material compensation from God. 4. Faith is a self-generated spiritual force that leads to prosperity. 5. Prayer is a tool to force God to grant prosperity.   “In light of Scripture, the prosperity gospel is fundamentally flawed,” Jones says. “At bottom, it is a false gospel because of its faulty view of the relationship between God and man. Simply put, if the prosperity gospel is true, grace is obsolete, God is irrelevant, and man is the measure of all things. Whether they’re talking about the Abrahamic covenant, the atonement, giving, faith, or prayer, prosperity teachers turn the relationship between God and man into a quid pro quo transaction.” ---- https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/story-behind-john-pipers-most-famous-attack-on-the-prosperity-gospel/   Call To Action:  Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/the_old_fashion_dad_podcast/) & Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/oldfashiondadpodcast/) for more content & DM us to connect! Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/old-fashion-dad-podcast/id1513254208) or your favorite podcast app. 

Special guest episode with Jeremy Donald, who is an expecting father (first-time)... who has an amazing story of redemption to share with us.   NOTES: This Weeks Whiskey: Blueberry Hex Mead from Superstition Meadery This Weeks Cigar - @myfathercigars @olivacigar Before God got ahold of Jeremy, he lived by the moto, "Better to reign in Hell, than to serve in Heaven" and considered himself "The Devil's right hand"...   Call To Action:  Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/the_old_fashion_dad_podcast/) & Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/oldfashiondadpodcast/) for more content & DM us to connect! Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/old-fashion-dad-podcast/id1513254208) or your favorite podcast app. 

On today’s episode we are talking about 5 things you can do to jump start your marriage... or 5 things that we should all be continually doing in our marriage, if we want them to be healthy and God glorifying.   NOTES: This Weeks Whiskey: J.T.S. Brown Kentucky Bourbon - Heaven Hill Distillery Pappy Van Winkle Cigar Christian B. was a guest on Chad and Tyler's podcast, "The Honest Cigar Experience" recently, to talk marriage and gave 5 Tips to Jump Start Your Marriage. Episode 61 - "5 Steps to a Thriving Marriage with Christian Bringolf" - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-honest-cigar-experience/id1525048020?i=1000541075201   5 Tips to Jump Start Your Marriage: Know why your marriage is not functioning well.  Don't make happiness your goal in marriage Protect your marriage Steward your marriage well Lead from a place of humility   What does it mean protect your marriage?  When we make "happiness" our goal in marriage, we are willing to sacrifice everything else on the alter of self-satisfaction, chasing our passions and being "true to ourselves"... which really means do what you want, follow your passions and whims and don't judge. It leads to pursuing immediate gratification and neglect the hard thing and commitments we've made As Christians, God and His Word is our highest authority... not ourselves, not our minds, not societal trends. In the Bible, God designed men to protect and defend their family, property and stand up to evil. While many Christian men are willing to physically "lay down their life" for their wife or family... it's more likely that our greatest threat to our marriage is not external... but internal. The greatest threat is internal - The greatest threat is the husband not leading well and sinning against his own family. Ephesians 5 To steward our marriage well means to recognize that the marriage and your spouse doesn't ultimately belong to you but rather, it belongs to God and you are to take good care of it, as if it was yours. How would we treat our view our spouses differently if we saw God as our Father-in-law? We as husbands need to "practice" at our marriage. Marriage is a perishable skill and we have to work at it to get better and cultivate our wife.   Call To Action:  Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/the_old_fashion_dad_podcast/) & Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/oldfashiondadpodcast/) for more content & DM us to connect! Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/old-fashion-dad-podcast/id1513254208) or your favorite podcast app. 

On today’s episode we are talking about what we say "Merry Christmas" and not simply "Happy Holidays".   NOTES: It acknowledges our condition - sinners in need of a savior It acknowledges who is in control and on the throne It is a recognition and celebration of the hope we have in Jesus It is God glorifying... or at least that is our heart disposition for us, towards God   Christmas is not just about Christmas trees, presents, Christmas decorations and yummy holidays smells... it's primarily about what Christ has done in humbling Himself to come to the earth as a human, fulfill scripture and save humanity back to Himself... giving us life and hope in Himself.  Genesis 3:4-6 - But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise,2 she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. John 3:16 - “For hGod so loved the world,9 that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. Ephesians 2:8 - For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 1 Corinthians 15:20-22 - But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. Romans 5:2-5 - Through him we have also obtained access by faith[a] into this grace in which we stand, and we[b] rejoice[c] in hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.   Call To Action:  Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/the_old_fashion_dad_podcast/) & Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/oldfashiondadpodcast/) for more content & DM us to connect! Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/old-fashion-dad-podcast/id1513254208) or your favorite podcast app. 

On today’s episode we vent a little on the parenting challenges of letting our kids experience the consequences for their decisions, but we mostly talk about fear and anxiety. We get into how much of these struggles stem from us trying to control our lives, instead of trusting God and placing our hope and identity in Him. NOTES: This Weeks Whiskey: Rabbit Hole Kentucky Straight Bourbon Oliva cigars - series O Love and Logic (book) - https://www.loveandlogic.com/collections/parents  What are some of the factors that lead us to be anxious and fearful day-to-day? A big factor is our perspective. Where are we getting our information from and is it a constant stream of bad information from social media and the mainstream media that taps into our fears and insecurities, to keep us hooked. Stop and ask yourself, does how bad I'm being told things are, actually reflect the reality I'm living... or is there a disconnect between what you are being told is true and the correct state of the world "out there", reflected in your personal life? People will also be fearful and anxious if they have a low view of God. Either God is in control and in charge or He's not. If you are a humanist and don't believe there is a God, then everything in life is dependent on you and that is a crushing burden to bare... how can you not be anxious or stressed with that world view. In his counseling practice, CB says that so many people come to him knowing their anxiety and depression originated within them... but they also think that the answer to these problems is also within them... But scripture tells us that our problem is our sin nature that is within us but our solution to that is found outside of us, in Jesus. The idea that "I can't learn to love someone else until I learn to love myself" is utter nonsense. That's like saying that "I need to become more selfish, in order to learn how to be less selfish". Our problem is not that we don't love ourselves enough. The problem is that we already focus too much on ourselves. The honest person may even outright say, "I don't want to submit myself to anyone else... I want to do what I want to do and be my own god". When we are our highest authority and answer only to ourselves, where do you look for hope if there is nothing greater outside of yourself? Many people crank down on trying to control every aspect of their life, which leads to even more anxiety and fear... especially when things don't go their way or they realize that most of life is totally outside of their control. Psalm 139 - David is calling out to God to search and know his heart. We need to always be evaluating our heart and our level of dependence upon God. No matter how "modern" and advanced we get as humans or society, we will never outgrow our need for God. Human nature, human needs and God don't change, even as societies and technology inevitably will. We are forgetful and get full of ourselves and so we need to regularly be in God's Word, to be reminded of God's truth and give us perspective to what is truly important in life. One of the biggest "proofs" that God wrote the Bible and not humans, is that we would paint ourselves and humanity in a much better light. We would write ourselves as the hero, not the villains in need of a savior. Atheism vs. Christianity: If you are Atheist (there is no God), then it totally makes sense to just do what you want because you are your own highest authority. Why would you want to or try to be good or kind or help others when there is no objective right or wrong and logically, doing what is best for you is all that really matters. Because of God's Common Grace, even non-Christians who don't know or love God can have a better grasp on being kind and merciful though they are in open-rebellion against God. Mathew 6:25-34 - "Therefore I tell you, fdo not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 gLook at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. hAre you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his ispan of life?7 28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 29 yet I tell you, jeven Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, kO you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For lthe Gentiles seek after all these things, and myour heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But nseek first othe kingdom of God and his righteousness, pand all these things will be added to you. 34 q“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." The crux of sin is that we don't trust God and take matters into our own hands. Anxiety and fear are a natural result of trying to take back control from God and do things our way and in our timing, instead of obediently waiting on God. God will take care of us and provide for us, though that doesn't mean life will be easy or we'll get everything our hearts desire. Unlike the "prosperity gospel", we don't follow Jesus so that we can live a life of comfort and ease. The reason we pray isn't so much about asking God for what we want but rather about bringing our heart and will into alignment with Gods. It's the challenges, friction and suffering in life that lead to our growth and maturity. Just like growing our muscles in the gym, it takes resistance to make us stronger. Comfort and ease are not what we should be primarily striving after. "Comfort is not healthy to the organism" - Liver King (The hardiest and most resilient people and organisms, are found in the harshest environments) Who is on the throne of your life (you or God) and where do you find your hope? Where do you find your comfort and identity? "Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention" The Lion Chaser Manifesto - https://www.harvestabq.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Lion-Chasers-Manifesto.pdf    Call To Action:  Follow us on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/the_old_fashion_dad_podcast/) & Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/oldfashiondadpodcast/) for more content & DM us to connect! Don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcast (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/old-fashion-dad-podcast/id1513254208) or your favorite podcast app.