Riley and Christopher contemplate the question of Heaven and Hell. Is there a Hell? Where is it? Is it the underworld called “Sheol” in Hebrew or “Hades” in Greek in the Old Testament translated “hell” in the King James Version of the Bible? Or is it in the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna) in the New Testament, also translated “hell” in the King James Version of the Bible. Is it a place where the wicked go after dying or is there such a thing as a living hell on Earth? What about Heaven? Is it above? Is it on another planet called Kolob? Or is it on Earth? Is there heaven on earth? It isn’t obvious whether or where Heaven or Hell are, but contemplating these questions can bring peace on Earth.
Riley and Shiloh talk about the various ways that we, and others, have experienced God. They explore how the preparation for experiencing God is, in itself, an amazing divine experience, as there are multiple ways that each of us partake of the divine gift of sitting with God. While we often talk in terms of "feeling" the Spirit or God, sometimes we experience God in completely unique ways that aren't within the realms of "feeling," aren't commonly recognized or spoken of, and that sometimes we don't even realize ourselves without careful and intentional self-reflection. Many times in those moments when we recognize those precious and unique ways that God is touching our lives, we seek for validation and, as weird as it may sound, "permission" from others that what we're experiencing is acceptable and sufficient. We hope to impress and encourage everyone in their walk with God to validate their divine experiences that bring peace and good fruit into their lives. ...
Christopher talks with guest co-host Shiloh Logan about the final Beatitude on persecution. The Beatitudes are understood as a story that starts with the poverty of spirit (i.e., the emptying) and concludes with a blessing upon the persecuted. But what is persecution? Emerson recognized, in at least one sense, the difficulty in identifying real persecution when he pleaded, “Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.” Mere or proactive disagreement is not persecution. Yet, even beyond the discussion of external persecution, how often do we persecute ourselves? How often does our false self persecute our true self? Could it be that by recognizing, dealing, and showing grace with the voice of our internal false self that we begin to recognize, learn, and have grace for how to deal with external persecutions as Christian peacemakers? ...
Christopher and guest co-host Shiloh Logan talk about the idea of divine unconditional love. There is some religious controversy over what God’s “unconditional love” means. It has come to mean many things to many people, and there is no congruent doctrine from LDS Church leaders concerning the phrase. For as many statements come against unconditional love, there are more things said in favor of it from LDS General authorities and church leaders. But what are we to do about this? Is God unconditionally loving? Is there a way to contextualize and reconcile the words of the LDS church leaders who speak against “unconditional love” with those who speak about it and forward the message? What does a conditionally and unconditionally love God look like? What are the implications of the conditional/unconditional loving God upon the Sermon on the Mount? While the phrase “unconditional love” is a relatively new phrase within Christian literature, can we find evidence of God’s unconditional love in scripture? What would that look like and how would we find it? ...
