Why do we expect the Christian life to be easy when the Bible clearly says it will be a struggle? Starting with the wrong expectation, says John Mark Comer, makes us spiritually neurotic and causes more suffering than necessary. He talks with Skye about his new book, “Live No Lies,” why spiritual warfare isn’t what you’ve been taught, why information alone doesn’t change us, and what it means to really be people committed to the truth.
Also this week, artificial intelligence is now offering very questionable ethical advice. Phil wonders what it means for self-driving cars. Two seminaries are suing the government over the Covid vaccine mandate, but is it really a question of religious liberty? New data says white evangelicals are those most likely to use violence to defend America, and those most likely to reject America’s founding ideal of pluralism. Does anyone else see a contradiction? Plus, skull-crushing wombat bums.
News Segment:
Deadly wombat butts [5:14]
Ethical AI trained on Reddit [13:57] https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7dg8m/ethical-ai-trained-on-reddit-posts-said-genocide-is-okay-if-it-makes-people-happy
“Drive Recklessly” short film - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S75Rfva9O8
Two evangelical seminaries sue to block vaccine mandates [27:32]
Study: Most white evangelicals don’t want to live in a religiously diverse country [38:06]
Holy Post Updates [48:40]
Interview with John Mark Comer:
“Live No Lies: Recognize and Resist the Three Enemies That Sabotage Your Peace”- https://amzn.to/3oh724y
PATREON BONUS: https://www.patreon.com/posts/58518164/
Interview Start [51:05]
Spiritual warfare and the spirituality of struggle [53:14]
Truth and lies; desert fathers and mothers [1:00:09]
Information alone vs. embodied spiritual formation [1:05:41]
Mental maps and spiritual imagination [1:13:36]
Conservative and progressive fundamentalism [1:24:14]
Other books mentioned:
“Water from a Deep Well” by Gerald L. Sittser - https://amzn.to/3kpBMPJ
“The Road Less Traveled” by M. Scott Peck - https://amzn.to/3D5t4h4
“Where the Light Fell” by Philip Yancey - https://amzn.to/3mZAzjS
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I listened with interest to the discussion on vaccine exemptions. As many states have taken away the personal exemptions, only religious and medical exemptions remain.
As a physician, I am particularly qualified to make a medical exemption but not a religious one. In fact, asking a physician to grant religious exemption seems odd indeed when one considers that all of our training has been in the scientific field and none of it on religious grounds. As vaccines save billions of lives and serious side effects are on the order of one in millions, it is also quite illogical as a physician, interested in the physical well-being of my patients, to grant a religious exemption. I can think of a particular…
First of all I love your show. I watch for the drop on Wednesday and feel I am missing something if I don't have time to listen.
On another note, I am a mother to 3 adult children, two of whom are adopted, one of whom is on the spectrum along with other issues. We were told not to continue to vaccinate her by her medical doctor because of her spectrum issues back in 1997.
When the COVID vaccine became an option, I did copious research into scientific studies and talked with my functional medicine doctor about whether it was advisable to take the vaccine myself and she advised me that it was not a good option especially given some…
I didn’t love that Comer said progressive millennials are the most closed minded people…
Really good episode. Thought provoking content from John Mark Comer about how loosely we use the term "spiritual warfare."
RE: Those opposing "government regulation in a free society" - This is not new, as pointed out by Christian - she read my mind. Interestingly, heated arguments against seatbelt laws in the 80s are eerily similar to the battle against mandates on vaccines, complete with Nazi name calling and all. https://www.history.com/news/seat-belt-laws-resistance I wonder if it's a matter of waiting for the dust to settle on this one... I hope that's the case, though I have my doubts.
I am not an expert in this by any stretch of the imagination. However I might have a bit of insight on the religious exemption for vaccines.
My BFF is currently an anti-vaxxer. This is a recent move for her, came between children 3 and 4 I believe. So 3 of her kids are as vaccinated as kids are at their respective ages, as was she and her husband.
The religious exemption has to do with abortion and the use of aborted fetal tissue in the research and mass production of the vaccines. Her husband lost his job at a hospital because he refused the flu vaccine due to the hospital not accepting religious exemptions anymore. And her children a…