Without Works

Amity Armstrong and Lemuel Gonzalez
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Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, bring you a show of news and culture debunking the errors of fundamentalism and showing the progressive nature of Christianity.

  1. OCT 30

    The Rapture - Take 2

    Show Notes Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today’s painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. Amity:  Joshua Mhlakela, South African preacher and false prophet  made a prediction during an interview in June: He claimed a vision of Christ on the throne announcing his return during Rosh Hashanah, the first of the Jewish high holy days. Mhlakela declared that on September 24-25, of 2025, the  Lord Jesus Christ, would return in power and glory, taking away all the faithful. He would appear in the Eastern sky, creating a manifestation visible to everyone, everywhere in the world. A trumpet, or the sound of a trumpet, would announce his appearance.  This was his third prediction of the rapture this year. Like the previous two, this prediction did not come to pass.  Lemuel: This was the most recent in hundreds, or possibly thousands, of predicted returns, the earliest of them dating to 500 AD. None of them have been accurate.  It may be best, at this point, to clarify what the rapture, and the second coming of Christ are. They are two separate things both inspired by interpretations of New Testament prophecy.  “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, and with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.” I Thessalonians 4:16-17 This seems to support the claims of dispensationalists who see a coming rapture of the faithful, followed by a final judgment. These are the words  of Jesus himself, describing what has been called his Second Coming: “Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” Matthew 24: 3o-31 Jesus says these things after visiting the Temple at Jerusalem, when his disciples ask him about his comment that one day the temple will be in ruins.  “When will these things happen?” they ask.  The answer was forty years. The destruction of the Temple of Jerusalem. Jesus implies that this end of the world he is talking about is the end of the world in his hearers ears. Their world. He describes conditions, “wars and rumors of wars,” that are constants in the world, then and now. Conflicts and famine. He warns of false prophets. He speaks of persecution. He warns people to flee to the mountains. Amity: It is hard to conceive of how awful the destruction of the Temple at Jerusalem was. Having staged a rebellion against the occupying Roman forces the Zealots fought hard to preserve their way of life, and their faith. It was ultimately fruitless. After a five month siege, one that made rivals out of former allies in the resistance, and led to starvation in the city.  The Temple was the final thing ruined by the 48,000 Roman troops led by Titus Caesar Vespanius. Seven thousand men, women and children were killed trying to defend the temple.  Its violation and destruction meant the end of traditional Jewish worship. The Temple was never rebuilt.  So is it possible that Jesus' prediction of the end of the world, and his triumphant return, was something that has been misinterpreted, and continues to be misinterpreted.  Some of the early Church fathers saw this as an allegory and this point of view is taken by much of the High Church. Newsweek Wikipedia Bible Gateway

    34 min

  2. SEP 16

    Heaven is Too Far Away

    Episode Notes Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today’s painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. Amity: Donald Trump has recently expressed his interest in going to heaven. This was motivation for trying to negotiate a peace resolution to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia.  “I want to end it. I want to try and get to heaven if possible. I’m hearing I’m not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to heaven, this will be one of the reasons.”  Trump, struggling with illness and diminishing popularity, is thinking about his eternal destination. Being that he surrounds himself with people claiming Christianity, they seem to have influenced him to think about being judged after his death. Unsurprisingly, he is concerned with his destination rather than his presidential legacy and the many people hurt along the way. Going a step further, he has exploited his remaining followers by using his fear of death to start a fund raising campaign. It requires minor donations of $15.00. How this is going to lift him into heaven is not clear.  Lemuel: Trump’s spiritual advisors are “Christian Nationalists.” Their faith is superficial and based on public declarations of devotion, but their outward lives show no sign of God’s presence. Jesus described such people this way: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ Luke 19;9-13 The Christian way for reaching heaven has been codified into the, ‘Plan of Salvation,’ : Contrition. repentance, making amends. To achieve this kind of salvation trump would have to: Admit that he is wrong and feel genuine regret. Repent and accept God’s forgiveness.  Make amends and change his course of actions and thinking. These actions are hard to do on your own. Jesus taught that his strength will be granted to a genuine penitent. God will help, and the community of the Church, working together will help.  Jesus didn’t teach of heaven as a place to work toward, but a place to rest when our days are done.  “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14; 1-3

    23 min

  3. AUG 18

    The Way

    Show Notes Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today’s painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. When we started this podcast years ago, my purpose was to explain Christianity to the unchurched. I had seen, and worked with, so many people who had no idea about the faith at all. That or they had vague memories of drawn out sunday services that they mostly slept through. As of 2024 thirty three percent of the world claims Christianity. American culture, symbols, and language are given to us from the faith. Our emphasis on public repentance, humiliation, acts of contrition, and redemption are terms adopted from Christianity. Some sociologists prematurely claimed that we live in a post Christian age. That the religion has diminished in influence and is not used to make decisions by anyone other than its adherents. They ignore that a person can accept the framework of Christianity for moral guidelines and not accept the theology of Christianity. A person can accept the morality of the teachings of Jesus, but not believe that he is God. That person still lives under the influence and ideas of philosophy of Jesus. I would argue that there was not, in a real way, a Christian age. There has been a Church, prone to abuse of power and corruption, as institutions always are. That is not Christianity, or rather, it should not be. The actual faith, with or without theology, is practiced by individuals. It follows their convictions and helps them overcome their foibles. It helps them back to their feet when they have stumbled. The theology of Christianity is for those who look for a higher meaning for their life, and want to find God’s purpose for it. God exists; to me this is self-evident. I don’t mean to convince everyone that God exists, but tell those who already believe that God has expressed their intention, and that is not exclusionary. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withoutworks Email @ withoutworkspod@gmail.com Our Internet home: www.withoutworkspodcast.com

    43 min

  4. JUN 30

    Reading is not Fundamental

    Show Notes**** Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today’s painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. Amity: Jen Hamilton, a North Carolina labor and delivery nurse, author, and social media personality, has come under criticism for a social media post. In it she reads aloud from the New Testament, Matthew Chapter 25, and in an attempt to contrast the teachings and character of Jesus Christ with the beliefs of Trump and Maga. While she reads, banners appear of the screen announcing the counterpoint atrocity committed by the Trump administration. Lemuel: The original video has had more than 8 million views. Hamilton says that she did not intend to make a political statement, though at this point, any defense of faith values is a political statement. Amity: Jen’s livelihood is being threatened. Complaints have been filed with the Board of Nursing to take her license away. She is accused of misusing the scripture, but she is not. In fact she is applying the scripture in the most appropriate way. We covered this same scriptural message just last month.  Lemuel: We were discussing the genuine message of Christianity and the MAGA appropriation of the faith. Miss Amity read the words herself. Email @ withoutworkspod@gmail.com Our Internet home: www.withoutworkspodcast.com https://www.huffpost.com/entry/viral-video-on-maga-christianity_l_6851986ae4b0e5badb471565 https://www.tiktok.com/@jen_hamilton https://www.tiktok.com/@jen_hamilton/video/7510776258964327726?lang=en https://www.tiktok.com/@quietlyberserk/video/7516666403441642782?lang=en

    29 min

  5. MAY 15

    Praying Out Loud

    Show Notes Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today’s painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. Amity: Less than a week after President Trump formed a Justice department task force fighting Anti-Chrisitian Bias, Reverend Dr. William Barber II - a founding director of the Center for Public Theology and Public Policy at Yale Divinity School, National board member of the NAACP, and MacArthur Fellow - was arrested for leading a public prayer. The Rev. Dr. and two others were arrested for “crowding, obstructing, and incommoding.” The prayers started out quietly and as the ministers began to raise their voices they were told to leave or suffer arrest. Rev. Dr. Barber had been at the capitol all day, part of a rally held behind the Supreme Court. That rally, organized by Repairers of the Breach, a national team of organizers, religious leaders, artists, strategists and advocates centering and elevating leaders who have been directly impacted by systemic injustice. focused specifically on how budget cuts would impact women and children. The interdenominational speakers included Jewish, Muslim, and Christian leaders as well as the president of the National Urban League and a representative of the Institute of Policy Studies. According to a written statement, the rally was meant to draw attention to, “... immoral budget cuts and proposed budget cuts being pursued in Washington D.C. at the expense of the poor, working people, children, women, and families.” Lemuel: Jesus taught that religious faith was a private experience, not a public one. In Matthew 6:5-6 he rails against public demonstrations of faith. Amity: “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have their reward in full. But when you pray , go into your room, close your door and pray to your Father who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Lemuel: That scripture, cited often against the demonstrative prayers of conservative and evangelical ministers, is being turned on Reverend Barber, and his associates. There is a larger consideration here. That this prayer meeting was a form of protest directed at the policy makers who are ruining people’s lives. As we stress here, Jesus’ message, the only message of Christianity, is redemption and salvation, and mercy. Jesus was baptised by his cousin, John in the Jordan river, and went into the wilderness, there tempted by the devil. He came out of the desert, wandering into his dusty childhood town. He has been tempted and proved, fined down by severe abstention, blasted by the merciless sun, his eyes blazing with purpose. He attends the Sabbath service, as is asked to read the scripture that day. Amity: “ …the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him, he found the place where it is written: “The spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Then he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone on the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” - Luke 4:17-21 Lemuel: This is the message. This is what this meeting was meant to do, and why these prayers were offered up. ** Our Internet home: www.withoutworkspodcast.com** Find us on Twitter: @WithoutWorksPod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withoutworks Email @ withoutworkspod@gmail.com Newsweek Episcopal News Network Breach Repairers

    22 min

  6. MAR 21

    Preying for Who?

    Show Notes Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today’s painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. Amity: At two National Prayer Breakfast events President Donald Trump announced the creation of a new task force, “The Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias,” to be headed by Attorney General Pam Bondi. “immediately halt all forms of anti-Christian targeting and discrimination within the federal government, including at the DOJ, which was absolutely terrible, the IRS, the FBI — terrible — and other agencies.” As the name suggests, its purpose is to: “fully prosecute anti-Christian violence and vandalism in our society and to move heaven and earth to defend the rights of Christians and religious believers nationwide.” A few hours later President Trump signed an executive order putting this plan into action. The use of government authority to support and endorse a specific religious group has caused controversy with both secular and religious groups. With unresolved military conflicts around the world and heightened domestic unrest, why is this an issue? A task force to address the largely imaginary discrimination against the world's largest religion? We are subjected to a daily erosion of rights: the elimination of DEI programs, the curtailing of women’s reproductive rights, the curtailing of rights for trans people, and replaced them with a thing like, “Christian Acceptance Day,” and rhetoric about the place of Christian faith in American life. Trump argues that he wants his new task force to, “bring God back.” Lemuel: Bring God back from where? Where has God been? First I have to assert that this is not Christianity. It is not the job of the body of Christ to oppress the needy. The current evangelical church is embracing a counterfeit version of the Gospel, with the mercy, compassion and love of God excluded. Salvation, in Jesus teaching, is not easy to achieve. It requires sacrifice, and devotion. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives a chilling picture of the Christian, “Day of Wrath.” This is the judgement day when God sits as righteous judge over the quick and the dead. In describing the day of judgment, Jesus draws a parallel to sorting sheep from goats. He describes God as a king, sorting sheep to right and goats to the left. Amity: “Then the king will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my father ; take your inheritance., the kingdom is prepared for you since the creation if the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison, and you came to visit me.” Then the righteous will say, “Lord, when did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go and visit you? “ “The king will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” Matthew 25; 31-45 Lemuel: This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Immediately following this is the righteous king of the story condemns those on his left to a judgement prepared for, “the devil and his angel.” When those people ask what they have done to deserve this, Jesus starts with, “I was hungry and you didn’t feed me…” Jesus is not in the habit of condemning people to hell. In fact, he mentions damnation comparatively little. You will find more mentions of hell in any given church any given Sunday. Jesus brings it up to demonstrate what God values, and what earns salvation. He also makes it clear what demands damnation, and it is exactly what passes as Christianity in the conservative movement. Show compassion and mercy, humanity, and love. If you do not you are cursed to the eternal fires prepared for those beings who rejected God before the world began. Bring God back? God is everywhere. In the church, yes. In the homeless person. In the Trans Kid. In the unwed mother. In the convict. God is in your queer neighbor. You can’t bring God back; he hasn't gone anywhere. He’s starting you in the face. He’s been staring you in the face everyday. https://apnews.com/article/trump-national-prayer-breakfast-30ff6f55a2e3c7b8643a15e7b158537d https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-trump-signs-executive-orders-related-to-faith-announcement https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-eradicates-anti-christian-bias/

    20 min

  7. JAN 21

    We Didn't Start the Fire

    Episode Notes Lemuel: I am Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and along with Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, I invite you to find a place in the pew for today’s painless Sunday School lesson. Without Works. Amity: Fires are burning through Southern California. We don’t know how they started. Arson, fireworks, and unauthorized camping are potential causes. Driven on by hundred mile an hour winds, these fires quickly spread and devoured entire neighborhoods. There are currently three remaining active fire incidents remaining: Palisades, Eaton, and Auto with the latter being 100% contained. Over forty thousand acres have been burned. The Eaton fire has produced the largest number of fatalities. While the evacuated homeowners watch their homes reduced to ash, conservative politicians and commentators lay blame for the severity of the damage on California's “woke” policies. The suggestion being that in an effort to create a safe, inclusive environment for emergency services workers, incompetent people were hired for quotas and media appearances rather than merit. This from the same people supporting the wildly inadequate and unqualified choices of the current president elect. Beyond that there are outright lies congruent with conservative fantasies about the inability to stop the blaze. Blame is laid on Native Americans, the tiny Delta Smelt fish, and homosexuality. A few have even gone further, claiming that this is a divine punishment for the excesses and abuses of the entertainment industry and the moral values it spreads in the media. Lemuel: The fires in Southern California are not God’s retribution at a center of sin and vice. You can find examples in the Bible of God taking action against countries and kingdoms. The destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah provides an interesting example. Here the twin cities of the plain are to be destroyed for their population’s indifference to suffering, their misuse of prosperity, and mistreatment of foreigners seeking shelter for the night. These things are emphasized in Ezekiel 16:49 “‘Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. Even the Old Testament God was reluctant to destroy them. The Bible mentions a divine envoy being sent to investigate Sodom thoroughly before assigning destruction. Even then, God consults with his friend Abraham before making this decision. This is related in Genesis 18: 20-33. 20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous 21 that I will go down and see if what they have done is as bad as the outcry that has reached me. If not, I will know.” 22 The men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the Lord.[b] 23 Then Abraham approached him and said: “Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? 24 What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare[c] the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? 25 Far be it from you to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” 26 The Lord said, “If I find fifty righteous people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place for their sake.” 27 Then Abraham spoke up again: “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes, 28 what if the number of the righteous is five less than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five people?” “If I find forty-five there,” he said, “I will not destroy it.” 29 Once again he spoke to him, “What if only forty are found there?” He said, “For the sake of forty, I will not do it.” 30 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak. What if only thirty can be found there?” He answered, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” 31 Abraham said, “Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, what if only twenty can be found there?” He said, “For the sake of twenty, I will not destroy it.” 32 Then he said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak just once more. What if only ten can be found there?” He answered, “For the sake of ten, I will not destroy it.” 33 When the Lord had finished speaking with Abraham, he left, and Abraham returned home. Amity: The city of Los Angeles is not represented solely by an entertainment industry. Overall the city is very religious, with 1,700 Christian churches, 202 jewish synagogues, 145 Buddhist temples, and 48 mosques. The Los Angeles Diocese is the largest in the United States, with nearly five million members. There are two hundred and eighty Catholic parishes in the Los Angeles area. One hundred and fifty four Methodist churches. Five hundred and seventeen Baptist churches. Sixty five percent of the city claims Christianity as their faith. Lemuel: The fiercest and most wrathful interpretation of God is reluctant to bring punishment on his children, even when the deserve it. The seventy-five thousand persons displaced by the fire crisis are victims of an unforeseen disaster. Please Donate if you can - https://www.calfund.org/funds/wildfire-recovery-fund/ Amity: That brings us to the end of this week’s episode. If you like it, please subscribe and leave us a review - and share it with a friend. Lemuel: We have an internet home: withoutworkspodcast.com. Our show notes and links to stories we talk about can be found there. Email @ withoutworkspod@gmail.com Our Internet home: www.withoutworkspodcast.com

    25 min

  8. 12/19/2024

    Screaming into the Void

    Episode Notes On Tuesday, November fifth, convicted felon, rapist, and would be dictator Donald Trump was voted back into office. It is pointless to go into how this could have happened, as any excuses will not change the results.  The truth is that it is inexcusable. Despite the exposure of the man, and many of his crimes, he was put into power. Again. The following is fifteen minutes of screaming into the void. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withoutworks Email @ withoutworkspod@gmail.com Our Internet home: www.withoutworkspodcast.com

    21 min
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About

Lemuel Gonzalez, repentant sinner, and Amity Armstrong, your heavenly host, bring you a show of news and culture debunking the errors of fundamentalism and showing the progressive nature of Christianity.

Information

  • Creator
    Amity Armstrong and Lemuel Gonzalez
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2025
  • Episodes
    75
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2019
  • Show Website
    Without Works