671: Mailbag! God’s Pronouns, Project 2025, & Asking Jesus Into Your Heart
- Phil Vischer
- May 28
- 2 min read
Phil, Kaitlyn, and Skye respond to questions from the listeners, including whether lay people should go to seminary, how important is attending a church after being hurt by one, and whether Christians should make violent video games. They also venture into theological topics like what pronouns are appropriate for God, what doctrines do we emphasize too much, and why they all think telling kids to “ask Jesus into your heart” is a bad idea. The crew also revisits the topic of Project 2025 and whether they regret their dismissive opinions about it from before the election. Also this week—Skye reveals plans for his new project with Holy Post Media, and one listener's question prompts Kaitlyn to make a big announcement.
Holy Post Plus:
Hill to Die On (Phil on Swearing):
Ad-Free Version of this Episode:
0:00 - Sponsor - World Relief - Learn more about what life is like for refugees. Hear real stories to better understand what refugees are facing every day! https://www.worldrelief.org/whatisarefugee
1:09 - Show Starts
2:30 - Theme Song
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5:04 - Is Protesting in Rotunda Illegal?
7:04 - Skye’s Next Book?
11:35 - Should Laypeople Go Into Seminary?
16:00 - What Do We Mean “Jesus in My Heart?”
24:00 - Project 2025
32:00 - Clarifying vs Changing Scripture
39:00 - Christians Making Video Games?
49:00 - What Theological Issues Do We Overrate?
55:00 - Church Community
59:33 - Special Question
1:06:01 - End Credits
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So many helpful topics are discussed in your podcast. On the issue of "changing vs. clarifying Scripture," I have been fascinated by Paul's instructions to my namesake Timothy (II Tim 4:13) because of our inability to do what Paul says: (my parapharase) "Bring my cloak and my scrolls when you come to me." This sort of highly localized and contextualized command as well as the deixis of the text is well outside of the time and place of a modern-day reader or student of Scripture. I hope that Christians can be free enough to take in this complexity and let it inform our understanding of how the bible is authoritative for Christian communities today.
I agree that “asking Jesus into your heart” seems mostly based on a misreading of Rev 3:20, and is probably not a great salvation/conversion metaphor.
However “Christ living in you” imagery is present in the NT, especially John 14:23 (that whole section of John is filled with indwelling language), and Eph 3:17 (Christ dwelling in your heart).
I forgot an important step: Log in first, then type an extended comment from the phone. To paraphrase an upcoming work by Kristin Kobes Du Mez: Live, Laugh, Learn from mistakes.
The upcoming/planned project on a catechism sparked interest and hope for me. I am currently on day 31 of "Catechism in a Year" with Fr. Mike Schmitz as a podcast. The podcast has a few advantages:
-- Low barrier to entry. A 15 minute daily listen to an engaging voice
-- Working with a text from an established source that has been around for awhile
-- Has funding worked out
-- Push technology available
A few disadvantages:
-- There isn't an easy way to interact with something that doesn't…
Skye is naive if he thinks that the current Project 2025 damage can be easily undone. The destruction of government capabilities (I know many abused and traumatized federal employees) and U.S. research infrastructure will take a LONG time to recover from. You can burn a house down quickly; rebuilding it is hard.
It is also not at all clear that the courts will stop most of these efforts. Birthright citizenship is clear in the Constitution, so that's probably safe. But it is not at all clear whether the judges who are holding back some of the authoritarian moves like eliminating government functions, defunding research, bullying universities, and depriving people they don't like of due process will be upheld -- the…
Seminary student, children’s/youth pastor, and mom of 3 here. I actually disagree with the strong hating on the phrase “inviting Jesus into your heart.” I agree completely that this phrase has been misused and overused. I agree it might be confusing for young children. I agree it can lead to reciting “incantation-like” prayers for salvation. I have never said this to a child in my ministry or to my own children.
BUT (big but) I don’t hate the phrase entirely. It’s not from the Bible, true. It is from Christian history though. I think it is an oversimplified statement of Augustine’s plea in the Confessions “My soul is like a house, small for you to enter, but I pray you…