The Blue Collar Scholar

This episode closes our discussion on evolution on what I tried to make a conciliatory note, admitting much strength in the theory of evolution, and preaching an abundance of caution when discussing the subject. *** An editor’s note on the issue of evolution. This teaching that you are about to listen to was delivered in church during the late fall of 2020. This is why I occasionally talk about the pandemic and the upcoming presidential election. My attitude toward evolution has always been a moving target, and any time I talk about the subject, it is a time capsule of how I felt at the time. By 2020, my attitude toward evolutionary theories had softened, and for the most part, what I said in 2020 represents what I believe in 2025. I have 2 exceptions: (1) I no longer believe in the near absolute absence of transitional fossils in the fossil record. Some people more knowledgeable on the subject than I am have said that there are more examples of transitional fossils than just archaeopteryx, the so-called “missing link.” My current position regarding the lack of transitional fossils is that there probably still is not enough fossil evidence to support a grand, all-encompassing tree of life, but that paleontologists should continue their work, and I may yet be proven wrong. (2) While I still am skeptical of macro-evolutionary theory, my attitude has softened so much that I now consider Evolutionary Creationism to be a completely reasonable position for a Christian to take. End of editor’s note. ***

In this episode, I highlight a few of the biggest weaknesses in macroevolutionary theory. *** An editor’s note on the issue of evolution. This teaching that you are about to listen to was delivered in church during the late fall of 2020. This is why I occasionally talk about the pandemic and the upcoming presidential election. My attitude toward evolution has always been a moving target, and any time I talk about the subject, it is a time capsule of how I felt at the time. By 2020, my attitude toward evolutionary theories had softened, and for the most part, what I said in 2020 represents what I believe in 2025. I have 2 exceptions: (1) I no longer believe in the near absolute absence of transitional fossils in the fossil record. Some people more knowledgeable on the subject than I am have said that there are more examples of transitional fossils than just archaeopteryx, the so-called “missing link.” My current position regarding the lack of transitional fossils is that there probably still is not enough fossil evidence to support a grand, all-encompassing tree of life, but that paleontologists should continue their work, and I may yet be proven wrong. (2) While I still am skeptical of macro-evolutionary theory, my attitude has softened so much that I now consider Evolutionary Creationism to be a completely reasonable position for a Christian to take. End of editor’s note. ***

The debate between "evolution" and creationism is often heated, with far more heat than light. As I begin to address the issue of evolution, I present a series of "rules of engagement" for how to discuss the subject fairly for all parties. *** An editor’s note on the issue of evolution. This teaching that you are about to listen to was delivered in church during the late fall of 2020. This is why I occasionally talk about the pandemic and the upcoming presidential election. My attitude toward evolution has always been a moving target, and any time I talk about the subject, it is a time capsule of how I felt at the time. By 2020, my attitude toward evolutionary theories had softened, and for the most part, what I said in 2020 represents what I believe in 2025. I have 2 exceptions: (1) I no longer believe in the near absolute absence of transitional fossils in the fossil record. Some people more knowledgeable on the subject than I am have said that there are more examples of transitional fossils than just archaeopteryx, the so-called “missing link.” My current position regarding the lack of transitional fossils is that there probably still is not enough fossil evidence to support a grand, all-encompassing tree of life, but that paleontologists should continue their work, and I may yet be proven wrong. (2) While I still am skeptical of macro-evolutionary theory, my attitude has softened so much that I now consider Evolutionary Creationism to be a completely reasonable position for a Christian to take. End of editor’s note. ***

Miracles are a controversial topic because most of us have never seen one, many who claim to have seen a miracle are not telling the truth, methodological naturalists deny that miracles can happen at all, and Christianity loses its entire footing without the Resurrection, a miracle. So in this episode I do my best to defend miracles and refute arguments that try to undercut miracles. (Note: This teaching was recorded 10-11-2020.)

The Resurrection of Christ is the whole ballgame. If Jesus be not raised, then Christianity is false, and we should devote none of our time to Christ's church. But, is there a reasonable defense of the Resurrection as an actual event that happened in history? This episode of the pod will attempt to make such an argument. (This lesson was recorded on 10-10-2020.)

This episode of the podcast concludes our analysis of the Problem of Evil, which is the most prevalent objection to Christian faith. (This lesson was recorded on 10-4-2020.)

This episode digs into the problem that any human being has regarding not having the proper perspective to analyze the Problem of Evil. Like a baby receiving a lifesaving injection, we just do not have the perspective to know why such suffering is being allowed. (This lesson was recorded on 9/27/2020.)

This episode launches a new Sunday School series based on the Lee Strobel book "The Case for Faith." In this episode, we introduce the Problem of Evil and begin to address this common objection to Christian faith. (The teaching was recorded 9/20/2020)

The 1960s were a tumultuous decade in many respects, including the history of religion. In this episode, we will talk about the Jesus People movement with in the Sixties Counterculture, the Vatican II council, the Nation of Islam, the Jehovah's Witnesses, the New Age, and several other relevant religious topics

There have been a few times in American history when we felt particularly polarized. Right now kinda feels like such a time, but we take the Bronze. The actual Civil War and the time leading up to it has to take the Gold, but the Silver Medal definitely goes to the 1960s. Between opposition to the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement, American society never felt so polarized without literally going to war with each other. In this episode we will examine the Anti-War Movement in America as well as the hippie counterculture that grew along side the Anti-War Movement.

You all know what the Vietnam War is. So I want to use this summary/preview to give some trigger warnings: (1) At one point in the podcast, I refer to American WWII death as "heroes" and American Vietnam War deaths as "victims." I debated removing it from the podcast, but left it in because I was trying to make a point about war policy, NOT what I think about the men who fought in those wars. (2) At one point in the podcast, I refer to a few racial epithets that were used against Asians in WWII, the Korean War, & the Vietnam War. I do not approve of these terms. I was showing how those terms are used to dehumanize people. (3) I try to handle the subject of American war crimes very carefully. I do not want to excuse war crimes, nor do I want to make it seem like all or most American servicemen in Vietnam committed war crimes.

This episode and the next episode will cover the war in Vietnam, which is easily the most defining event of the 1960s. The trauma of the war in Vietnam will extend into and affect every other topic we will cover this semester. But in this first episode, we are covering the history of the war before the 1960s. First, we quickly survey Vietnamese history going back into ancient history. Then we follow the career of Ho Chi Minh as he and the Vietnamese people get ready to fight the Japanese conquerors (in World War II) and for their independence from their French colonizers. This leads eventually to the epic victory of the Viet Minh over the French at the "fortress" of Dien Bien Phu. In the next episode, we will discuss the war as the United States takes over the struggle against communism in Vietnam.

As I have argued before, November 22nd, 1963, is the day that "the Sixties" as a culturally significant decade began. Before the assassination of President Kennedy, the world felt more innocent, proverbially black & white. Of course, that is an impression and not necessarily a reality. The 1950s was a decade that was both wonderful and terrible, just like every decade. There was American prosperity, but also McCarthyism and systemic racism. Nevertheless, the America that Kennedy administered feels like an extension of the 1950s. But after his death, the 1960s feels like a time of turmoil, conflict, creative proliferation, and cultural upheaval. But before we get to all that, we must discuss November 22nd, 1963, and the death of the American President in public, and in broad daylight. The evidence is actually pretty conclusive that Lee Harvey Oswald, a loser who led an unhappy life, shot the President from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository where he worked. But, there is much about Oswald's life that is weird, and conspiracy theorists have had a field day for over 60 years latching onto open questions and oddities about Oswald, as well as Oswald's death at the hands of Jack Ruby, and any possible oddity even remotely related to the assassination. So in this episode, we will take a dive into choppy and murky waters, and examine the assassination and several conspiracy theories.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the first major protagonist of the 1960s, and his tragic death set the tone for one of America's most tumultuous decades. This episode is a brief survey of his career, with a significant detour to discuss Fidel Castro, arguably his nemesis. NOTE: The JFK assassination is the focus of next week's episode.

The Spring 2025 class is about the tumultuous decade of the 1960s. In order to understand most of the major events and themes of the 1960s, it is necessary to recognize the Cold War, and how it touched nearly all aspects of life and society in the United States and around the world. In fact, the Cold War shrank the world dramatically, as the USSR & the USA stuck their foot in nearly every corner of the world to influence politics, war, and the economy on a global perspective. This episode is an introduction for the class as a whole, and then there's a brief survey of communism and the Cold War that followed the spread of communism.

In the final episode of our not-consistently-recorded Sunday School series on the philosophy of Jesus of Nazareth, we engage Jesus' teaching, actions, and attitudes regarding race & racism, and His multi-cultural interactions with those who weren't part of Jesus' Jewish race and culture. The Sunday School audio was recorded on 6-26-2022.

There are many issues of human sexuality, and Jesus does not address all of them. But he does directly address some issues, such as marriage, divorce, sexual immorality, and healing & restoration for those who have sinned. In this episode, we join in our not-consistently-recorded Sunday School series on the Philosophy of Jesus. This lesson was recorded on 6/19/2022.

Suffering is terrible, and no one should seek it out. But it happens. It happens to all of us. And Jesus promises us that it will happen to us. This Sunday School lesson dives into Jesus' teachings on suffering. This is audio from a Sunday School lesson on 5-29-2022.

This Sunday School lesson examines the teachings of Jesus in the Gospels to determine His philosophy of human free will. This Sunday School lesson was recorded on 5-22-2022.

Christians ought to treat Jesus Christ not only as God the Son, but also as our greatest teacher and philosopher. This Sunday School series delves into Jesus' teaching from the Gospels to discern what is His philosophy of various topics. This episode digs into Jesus' philosophy of the nature of reality. Recorded Audio from a Sunday School lesson - 4/17/2022

Evangelicals are wonderful when it comes to believing in Jesus Christ as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. The death, burial, and resurrection of God the Son? Yeah, we got that down! ... But what about Jesus as our Lord, our teacher, or our philosopher? Do we do what He says? This episode of the podcast is not only a sermon delivered sans notes (the pastor got sick at the last minutes), but it serves as a backdoor pilot for a Sunday School series about Jesus as our Philosopher.

This simple, quick lecture brings our Fall 2024 class on the Book of Revelation to a close.

In this episode, when I am not chasing bunny trails (which is often), we go deep into the Biblical concept of Heaven. We look at both Old Testament and New Testament passages relevant to the concept of Heaven, and we spend quite a bit of time in the final chapters of Revelation, looking at the Millennial Kingdom and New Heavens & New Earth.

The Book of Revelation makes a poor chronology. It does some jumping about. And several chapters are enigmatic, far more enigmatic than the book as a whole, which is one of the most enigmatic books in the Bible. There are messages that are concealed, symbols that have no consensus regarding their meaning, and even a main character - the Great Prostitute - who remains a great mystery. In this episode we will take a crack at these other chapters of Revelation.

This episode picks up our survey of the Judgments of God in the Book of Revelation. There are 21 judgments, which come in three sets of seven: 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets, and 7 Bowls/Vials. This episode picks up with the 5th Trumpet Judgment and continues to the end. We also examine the Battle of Armageddon, the final defeat of Satan, and the Great White Throne Judgment.

As the Fall 2024 Revelation class continues, we are proceeding using the interpretation of Revelation as primarily a futurist document. There definitely are other interpretations, and I would encourage you to seek out scholars who provide those other perspectives. Nevertheless, if we proceed as if Revelation is primarily a futurist document, then the heart of the End Times timeline is 3 sets of 7 judgments, identified in the Book of Revelation as 7 Seals, 7 Trumpets, and 7 Vials or Bowls. This episode, part 1, examines the 7 Seals as well as the first 4 of the Trumpet Judgments. To set the stage, we begin by briefly talking about the attributes of God, identifying various events in the Bible that are identified as judgments of God, and taking a close look at the Ten Plagues, the Judgments against Egypt, as a template for Judgment as a set of judgments, a motif repeated thrice in Revelation.

This episode digs into the Scriptural data for Satan a.k.a. the devil a.k.a. Beelzebub a.k.a. the ancient serpent a.k.a. the Dragon of the Book of Revelation. We also do a bit of corrective analysis to make sure that we aren't letting the popular conception of Satan drive our understanding of the figure that is taught in Scripture. Furthermore, the character known as Satan makes very few appearances in the early part of the Bible, but he is dealt with more thoroughly in the newer books of Scripture. This implies either that Satan is a myth, or that his existence and work in the universe is revealed to us bit-by-bit in what is known as Progressive Revelation.

Besides the Devil himself, there is no scarier character in the Bible than the person that the Book of Revelation calls the Beast, and 2nd Thessalonians calls the Man of Lawlessness (or Man of Sin; Man of Perdition), and the Book of Daniel calls the Little Horn. The term that we commonly use for this character is the Antichrist. Ironically, Scripture does use the term Antichrist five times, but never for this person. Nonetheless, that is the preferred term often used for the prophesied future global political leader who controls the worlds' military, religion, economy, etc. and who actively opposes Jesus and all of His followers. In this episode of the podcast, we take a look at Scriptures that may give us details about this future evil leader.

This is a combination of 2 lectures into one. First, we dig into the Olivet Discourse found in Matthew 24-25 (see also Mark 13 & Luke 21). In this, one of the final longform teachings of Jesus Christ prior to His death, burial, & resurrection, Jesus accurately predicts the destruction of the Temple, which would happen in the year 70AD. He goes on to talk about false teachers, war, rumors of war, natural disasters, etc. that are inevitably part of the human experience in history, and now, and also in the End Times. He also talks about events that sure seem to point to the End Times as well. In the second half of the lecture, we switch gears and talk about the Great Tribulation (or the Tribulation) in general terms, as well as diving into Daniel 9 to discern why many eschatology teachers have concluded that the Tribulation shall be a seven year period just prior to Christ's Second Coming.

Well, any discussion of the End Times requires one to cover the Rapture, which is the least-agreed-upon topic in all of Christian theology. In this episode, we examine the passages of Scripture from which John Nelson Darby and Dispensationalists draw out the teaching of a Rapture event. Then, assuming the truth of the Rapture event, we examine the implications of such an event. Finally, we look at a few alternate viewpoints of the Rapture, and look at the strong criticisms of this teaching. ... Also, Bunny Trail alert! We chase about four or five metaphorical bunnies in this episode.

In this episode, I give ample air time to the other Schools of Thought when it comes to Christian Eschatology. I, as the professor, freely admit that I am a premillennialist. Furthermore, I am a premillennial dispensationalist, though I am the least dogmatic premillennial dispensationalist that I know of. But I want to give a fair hearing to those who disagree with me wholeheartedly about the End Times. So this episode attempts to be a fair presentation and analysis of all four schools of eschatology: premillennialism, postmillennialism, amillennialism (or realized millennialism), and preterism.

This episode opens up the second section of our Revelation class, as we take a hard turn into eschatology, which is the study of the end times. In this introductory lecture, we take a look at the major themes of the End Times. The heavy emphasis of this lecture is that many end times gurus can be dangerous.

Well, I hope you like history podcasts, because this episode is a deep dive into the history of ancient Rome, from its legendary beginnings to the reigns of the first 11 emperors who reigned during the events of the New Testament. Because we cover over a thousand years of history, this lecture skips over much. This is only the highlights of Roman history as we try to firmly establish the setting, the culture, and the civilization of the Roman world in which John wrote the Book of Revelation.

Our class collectively decided to do a half class this night, as we are 95% KC Chiefs fans and wanted to get home to watch them beat the Baltimore Ravens (which they did, 27-20, coming down to the last second of the game and a Ravens would-be-touchdown that was out-of-bounds by less than an inch. But I digress). In this episode, we make a case for John the Apostle as the author of the Book of Revelation, and explore how the book functioned as a hopeful epistle for the early church.

As part of the class I am taking ("Modern America Since 1968") for the History Master's Degree program at Pittsburg State University, I reviewed the classic American movie The Graduate. I gave the movie an A-, and recommend that all American adults see the movie at least once. It is perhaps the quintessential Sixties film without any over-the-top '60s tropes.

When John wrote the Book of Revelation, it was obvious that he was heavily influenced by large swaths of the Old Testament. There are obvious parallels between the plagues in Exodus 7-12 and the judgments in Revelation. But the parallels are even greater when comparing Revelation to the Books of the Prophets (Isaiah through Malachi). In many ways, Revelation has much more in common with these books - in terms of tone, style, voice, imagery, etc. - than with the other books of the New Testament. So in this episode, we will take of brief survey of the Old Testament passages that influenced the Book of Revelation and our understanding of eschatology.

Greetings! It is time for our Fall 2024 class: The Book of Revelation! We are glad to have you join us in this first lecture of the Fall, where we are introduced the the concept of "revelation" as a means by which we know things and how we know God. We take a brief journey through the Scriptures and conclude with the Bible Project videos about the Book of Revelation. Please note: the audio of these videos is shared with you for educational purposes only. This audio is not being shared with the express permission of the Bible Project, or by Dr. Tim Mackie, who is the lead scholar of The Bible Project and the narrator of videos. Neither I nor The Blue Collar Scholar podcast are earning money from this episode. I strongly encourage you to go to bibleproject.com and explore all their amazing videos on all the books of the Bible as well as hundreds of topical videos. It is an amazing resource for personal Bible study.

When our church went into lockdown in early March 2020, we were all expecting the Quarantine to last a few weeks. Well, in the early Fall, we finally started live worship services again, roughly 6 months after our lockdown began. A surge in COVID-19 would lead us to do a second, shorter lockdown a few months later, but our first foray into pandemic quarantine came to an end with this Facebook Live Sunday School lesson about the Gospel and the path to personal salvation.

The Bible makes it clear that "all have sinned & fall short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) The Ten Commandments are a great mirror to show the reader one's own need for salvation. Spoiler alert: In the next episode, we will see that Jesus Christ is the source of that salvation.

The previous three episodes built a brief apologetic case for the existence of God. Now comes the closing argument, where we present the evidence for Jesus Christ as the Messiah of the Jewish people, prophesied frequently in the Old Testament, as powerful evidence for the existence of God. This closing argument also helps us move past apologetics arguments that argue for a generic deity, and now we are clearly talking about the Triune YHWH: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And Jesus, as God the Son, shows us God's character and identity. NOTE: This episode was cut off abruptly by a faulty internet connection. So this Sunday School lesson ends in the middle of an argument and lacks a conclusion.

This episode makes the positive case that the existence of objective moral values and duties proves that there is a God. This episode also addresses the arguments against God's existence collectively known as the Problem of Evil or the Problem of Suffering.

This episode analyzes the Cosmological Argument for the Existence of God. Or, rather, the cosmological arguments, plural. There is the Kalam, the Leibnizian, the Argument from Contingency, etc. I invite you to dive into this episode as we discuss these arguments, as we advance our mission to lead someone to Christ who does not even have a concept of God.

Apologetics has nothing to do with apologizing, even though "apologetics" and "apology" share similar etymology. Rather, apologetics is the intellectual defense of the faith. Over the next few episodes, we will explore both apologetics and evangelism as we engage in a thought experiment: how to talk about God and Jesus Christ to someone who is such a tabula rasa that they don't even have a basic concept of God (such a space alien, or a member of a tribe that has been completely untouched by modern society). In this episode, I give a quick survey of some of the apologetic arguments I find the most appealing.

Most people want to imagine God as a Mr. Rogers-type, friendly deity. And as we all learned in Vacation Bible School, Jesus is your friend. However, He is also a righteous Judge. And our understanding of God is incomplete if we don't have a rigorous theology that includes understanding God as Judge. But our great Judge is fair, mercy, thorough, and consistent as Judge. In this sermon, we explore the idea of God as Judge, and hopefully we will see that God as our righteous Judge is a good thing.

Our Sunday School series on marriage comes to an end with several topics that don't warrant their whole lesson: homosexuality, polygamy, and premarital sex. The episode closes with a brief survey of what a healthy marriage looks like, scripturally-speaking.

Diversity is a wonderful thing. But not every incarnation of diversity is inherently good. In the last episode, we saw that interracial marriage is not only ok, but it is occasionally lauded in the Bible as wonderful. But what about interfaith marriage. Most liberals (and I am not using that as a particularly bad term) that I know would laud interfaith marriage as an excellent example of tolerance and diversity. However, Scripture does not support the idea. Those who belong to Christ have a different purpose and a different destiny from those who do not call on the name of Christ. This does NOT mean that Christians are good, and non-Christians are bad. There are plenty of deplorable believers and also remarkable non-believers. That is, ultimately, irrelevant. Interfaith marriage is prohibited because both persons have different goals and destinies. ... However, many people find themselves in such marriages. What are we supposed to do in such situations? Well, give this episode a listen and we will find out.

My wonderful wife and I are part of an interracial marriage. I am proud of that fact. But does the Bible support the institution of interracial marriage? Many Christians have believed that the Bible prohibits these kinds of relationships. Spoiler alert: They are wrong. In this episode, we examine the Biblical texts involving interracial marriage. In short, if a man and a woman love Christ and they love each other, their racial and ethnic background does not at all prevent the relationship.

This episode expands on the previous episode and explores what the Bible says about divorce and remarriage.

Divorce is not ideal. It can even be described as an evil. That does NOT mean that those who have been touched by divorce are evil, defiled, unredeemable, yada, yada, yada. This episode begins to survey the Biblical texts on divorce, talking about what divorce is, what it is not, when it is allowable, etc.

This episode starts a new Sunday School series about marriage. This series was done via Facebook Live in the summer of 2020 while we were in lockdown.