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We chat about one of Jesus' most famous saying.  "All y'all are the salt of the earth. And y'all are a light shining into the world."  But who is he talking about? Is it you? The answer has been right there under our noses for 2000 years. And we talk about it this week.

A new website has emerged claiming that it can write a term paper, or even a sermon, using aritificial intelligence.  We chat about the ethics of this.  Knee jerk reaction says it is clearly and distinctly wrong. But, what if a student used it as a resource?  What if the student cited the work? Or, if a pastor has a hectic week filled with visits, funerals, and the typical surprises of congregation ministry? Maybe they can use it then? (with that said, any pastor with their salt can shoot from the hip every once in a while and sound good doing it).  But, we dig deep into this emerging technology and how it will eventually mean that computers will become our overlords.  

We're back after three months off to welcome a new addition to our family.  And we come back swinging.  This week we give you an update on the past three months, we chat about what pastors is and what they should do, and we chat about a textual variant in John's gospel account that questions how unified the early church was on the question of who Jesus is- Son of God, God's chosen one, or both.  

We chat about one of Jesus’ parables. In it Jesus tells the story of an estate manager who was fired by the owner. He was accused of wasting the owner’s money. Facing unemployment and bankruptcy, he cuts deals with the folk that owe his boss money. His boss finds out about his trickery. So what does he do? He praises him! Whhaattt! We also chat about The Taiwan Relations Act and also football.

We chat about pastors plagiarizing in the pulpit.  Another mega-church pastor has been caught doing something fishy.  He allegedly uses other people's ideas and words, doesn't cite them, and then says he doesn't have to.  So, we chat about what plagiarism looks like behind the pulpit.  We also discuss MLK's "I Have a Dream Speech," and what that event teaches us about the do's and don't's of employing someone else's ideas and words when preaching.  

What does the BIble have to say about forgiving student loan debt?  There's a lot of people quoting the Bible in the wake of Biden's announcement about forgiving student loan debt.  Some say you have to repay.  Others say the Bibel says otherwise.  We chat about all that, and give our take on things.  We also chat about yet another mega-church scandal involving the alleged misbehaviors of a big name pastor.  And we debate when the fall season begins-- after Labor Day or at the kickoff of the first football game?

In the stories about Jesus, there's a lot of talk about when it is ok to heal someone. May you heal someone on the Sabbath? Why was this such a big deal? Why was Jesus so insistent on it? And what does any of this have to do with today? Along the way, we chat about visits to the dentist, names of generic cereals, and bane of social media.     

Merry and I chat about a recent twitter debate over the role of children in church.  Do they even belong there?  We also chat about a recent vacation Bible school we participated in.  We then share memories of our childhood VBS experiences, and we recognize the advanced level crafts Merry did in the days of yore.

Diana Butler Bass recently gave a sermon about Mary Magdalene.  She raises the research of a student at Duke who recently discovered that the story from the Bible of Jesus raising Lazarus had been edited in an early transmission.  Did Lazarus have two sisters?  Or was the second woman watching Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead Mary Magdalene?  And if so, what does this mean?  We read the sermon, and we have some thoughts about it.  Follow this link to read the sermon with us.

We chat about the possibility of a strategic and friendly competition between the U.S. and China. We also talk about a new BBQ joint that opened down the street, and the merits of putting slaw on a pulled pork sandwich.

In the last year, a movememt called the Reawaken America Tour has doubled down on the idea that the U.S. Constitution was inspired by God. One prominent person is even calling on pastors to preach on the U.S. constitution just as much as they do the Bible.  We chat about this, and compare this movement to some of the early Jesus movements. 

We've tested positive for Covid, and share some of our experience with you.  We also go back into the archives to present our take on Jesus' parable commonly known as The Good Sarmaritan.  

Matt and Merry chat about conflicts in the early years of the Jesus movement, and how they worked through them.  We also chat about tv shows, predictable plots, jumping the shark, and avoiding social media.   

The U.S. Supreme Court has recently overturned the 1973 ruling on Roe V. Wade.  Now laws regarding abortions have been returned to the state and local governments.  Matt and Merry crack open that big ol' can of worms and chat about what a Christian reponse to this may look like.  

Billy Graham had a rule about never being alone in a room with a woman that wasn't his wife.  We chat about how this rule has been adopted, revised, and distorted by some spiritual leaders today.  We also chat about what it takes to be a college professor.  And we also ponder how many times Jesus said, "Baby!"  

Matt and Merry chat about the oral tradition of Jesus of Nazareth before people started writing things down about him and his movement. How were the early stories of Jesus spread throughout Galilee and beyond? How were they passed down from one generation to the next?  Why were they written down?  We also chat about the January 6th hearings, our political leanings, and cheesy jokes about Matt's last name (Beers).  

Matt and Merry chat about a new book called The Flag and the Cross.  It is written by two sociologist, Philip Gorski & Samuel Perry, who look at the recent surge of "white Christian nationalism."  We also chat about the making lapel pins, a game called "Pin the Flame Game," and discuss yet another church scandal.    

Matt and Merry talk about mass shootings and gun control.  We look at how some callous Christians are responding to recent events, how gun culture in rural areas has changed, and commas in the second amendment make it very difficult to interpret and apply to our current day (and few people ever mention the "well regulated" clause of the amendment).

Matt and Merry review the recent report released by the Southern Baptist Convention on their investigation into abuse. What they found surprised even them, but none of us.  Also, a popular Sunday newspaper appears to be participating in plagarism and intellectual theft.  We also chat about a new bourbon Matt tried recently, and what made it taste so weird.

Matt and Merry spent part of their week at the beach. But it was a bummer. It rained the whole time.  Nevertheless, we lived our best life, and our daughter had the time of her life.  We also got to see folks called Bronies who were attending a My Little Pony convention. Matt also went to church meetings for an annual assembly, and experienced how political divisions are affecting churches in your neighborhood.