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. 1d ago

    A Calf By Any Other Name

    Show Notes Amity: (standard disclaimer) The views and opinions expressed by the prophet Moses and his interpretation of the Lord of Hosts, is his own and do not reflect the policy, position, or opinions of Without Works. 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: Fifteen feet tall, twenty-two if you include the plinth, bronze and covered in gold leaf referred to as Don Colossus - a statute of Donald Trump, raising a defiant fist to the heavens, commemorating the moment after a failed assasination attempt during the 2024 Presidential campaign has been erected at the Trump National Doral golf club in Florida  Mark Burns, “pastor,”  of Harvest Praise and Worship Center in South Carolina, was in attendance at its unveiling. He insisted that the installation of the statue was, “a celebration of life and a powerful symbol of resilience, freedom, patriotism, courage, and the will to keep fighting for America.”  Pastor Burns felt it was necessary, unprovoked, to inform his followers on X “Let me say this plainly: This statue is not a golden calf. We worship Jesus Christ and him alone. This statue is not about worship. It is about honor.” So let’s discuss the Golden Calf - what it is and what it isn’t Lemuel: The story of the Exodus from Egypt is central to world religion and culture. The Hebrew people, led by Moses, are liberated after four hundred years of captivity in Egypt. They follow Moses through the desert, through the sea, and through the desert again.  Moses is directed to return to Mount Sinai, where he had his original communication with God. He is to go alone to the mountain top, and receive directions for the future and the law to govern the hebrew people.  For forty days and forty nights, no one was allowed to go near the mountain. The people were told to wash their clothes and abstain from sexual relations on pain of death. God descends onto the mountain in a terrifying display of thunder and fire, and Moses goes up  to meet him.  The hebrew people, huddled in camp, wait for Moses' return. Days pass. Weeks pass. Some of the people gather together and demand that Aaron, Moses’ older brother and spokesman, make them a God they can see and worship. They believe that Moses, already elderly, may be dead. They want to appease this terrifying God who they believe has struck down their leader. Aaron asks for the gold earrings and jewelry they brought from Egypt. He melts these down and makes a golden calf.  The worship of this calf quickly turns from genuine adoration to revelry and this infuriates God. God commands Moses to return to his people, and in his wrath threatens to wipe them off the face of the earth, making Moses alone the father of the new Hebrew nation, the nation he had promised the patriarch Abraham. Moses is able to talk God out of this plan, and makes his way down the mountain. Moses, seeing the wild orgies carried on, becomes so furious that he shatters the stone tablets on which God had carved the ten commandments. Moses , anticipating God’s further anger, takes a terrible action. He separates the faithful from the idolaters, arms them, and insists:  **Amity: ** “ ... “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Each man strap a sword to his side. Go back and forth through the camp from one end to the other , each killing his brother, friend, and neighbor.’ The Levites did as Moses commanded, and that day about three thousand people died.” **Lemuel: ** The calf is melted, ground into powder, and the survivors are compelled to drink it. Even those survivors  are punished: God sends a plague.  Amity: Welcome to the Old Testament.  The first and second of the Ten Commandments are: ‘Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” and, “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.” This might seem strange when the high church, Catholic and Orthodox, use statues and icons as part of their worship.  Lemuel: Those images are used to focus worship. They are meant to anchor wandering minds during prayer. The use of the images as sacred beings  is what God objects too. Ascribing God’s plans and actions to an idol is also something God objects too. Representative sculpture is not.  God instructed Moses, for instance, to have two angels carved into the lid of the Ark of the Covenant.  Amity: The image of God has changed since Moses’ time. He is no longer seen as an impetuous mirror of our desires. At least he shouldn't be. The God who would insist on the slaughter of his own people in an effort to winnow the survivors to create a complaint remnant is no longer the God that true Christians worship. In that extremely black and white world, the worship of a God other than the one we are pledged to is infidelity. Oath breaking.**

    26 min

  2. May 27

    Saint Columba Catholic Church

    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: ** Saint Columba Catholic Church was founded in 1898, the result of a collaboration between Sacred Heart Church, Oakland and Saint Joseph the Worker Church in Berkeley. The founding pastor was Father Martin Whyte, formerly Assistant Pastor of Sacred Heart. The original population of St. Columba Catholic Church was about 100 mostly Irish families. Following the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906  the parish became 35% Italian, while the Irish population decreased to 20%. In the two decades after that earthquake, the number of African American parishioners grew.  On September 1, 1981, Father Paul Ross Vassar was assigned as pastor.  His 13-year tenure was highlighted with a vision for liturgy that reflected the African American Catholic experience.  Fr. Vassar initiated the St. Columba Annual African American Celebration, in conjunction with African American History Month (February), drawing nationally renowned African American speakers.  Part of that celebration was – and continues to be—the Rawn Harbor Workshop Choir Experience; noted Catholic Liturgist Rawn Harbor would present a week-long workshop for choirs and singers from throughout the diocese. The church is well-known for its social justice advocacy, including "Black Lives Matter" signage and support for the LGBTQ community. Each year, since 2004, white crosses have been erected on site to commemorate homicide victims. There is a commemorative community service at St. Columba each December, in which family members and friends meet and remember those lost to gun violence.. Lemuel: Tuesday morning, May FIfth, Adian McAleenan, a pastor at Saint Columba, noticed the desecration before morning mass. Sixteen of the memorial crosses had been ripped up and broken, a memorial fountain for the victims of the balcony collapse that killed six Irish students, was knocked over, and an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe torn from place. No motive for the vandalism has surfaced, no manifestos were left behind.  Church volunteer Pam Sanchez Hernandez said of the vandals, "However deeply troubled they are, they need help. That's probably their way of saying I need help, by being destructive like this." Amity: This demonstrates the nature of Saint Columba; the attitude is service to the congregation and to community at large. We hear conservative voices complaining about the persecution of the Christian faith, and the erosion of Christian values, but when those values are expressed through compassion, mercy, and social justice, they are open to attack. Rather than asking for persecution, or even as some MAGA leaders have, the prosecution and or execution of the vandals responsible, they want to help restore that person or persons balance.    In Micah, Chapter 6: verse 8, the prophet describes the will of God towards his people:  “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And What does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Find us on Twitter: @WithoutWorksPod Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withoutworks Email @ withoutworkspod@gmail.com Our Internet home: www.withoutworkspodcast.com Amity: We are also reachable at withoutworkspod@gmail.com,  on twitter @withoutworkspod and on Facebook at Without Works podcast.  https://www.ktvu.com/news/columba-church-oakland-vandalized https://oaklandside.org/2026/05/07/st-columba-catholic-church-vandalism-oakland/ https://www.ktvu.com/news/columba-church-oakland-vandalized**

    5 min

  3. Mar 29

    Leading With Love

    Show Notes There are many things we could talk about these days. Today we choose the threats and hatred targeted at one seminarian by a “pastor” - James Talarico, senate candidate from TX vs. Brooks Potteiger The Hill The Seattle Times

    44 min

  4. Feb 17

    Church Protests

    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. Is it ever wrong to invade the sanctity of a church? We’re talking about the constitution and the actions of Jesus. And in this case, they are in sync.  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/withoutworks Email @ withoutworkspod@gmail.com Our Internet home: www.withoutworkspodcast.com**

    45 min

  5. 12/25/2025

    Playing a Victim

    Show Notes Lemuel: Imagine for a moment that you are a junior psychology major at a 4-year university in an upper level psychology class called “Lifespan Development.” You are given an assignment. You are to read an article and write a 650 word reaction paper demonstrating that you read the assigned article and includes a thoughtful reaction to the material presented in the article. The rubric is specific. 10 points will be deducted if your paper is between 620 and 649 words and no credit will be given if under 620 words. There should be a thoughtful discussion of some aspect of the article such as a discussion of why you feel the topic is worthy of study, or not or an application of the study results to your own experiences. The best reaction papers illustrate that the students have read the materials and engaged in critical thinking about some aspect of the article. There will be three metrics evaluated: does the paper show a clear tie-in to the article, does it present a thoughtful reaction or response to the article and is the paper clearly written. The abstract of the assigned article is as follows:  The current study examines whether being high in gender typicality is associated with popularity, whether being low in gender typicality is associated with rejection/teasing, and whether teasing due to low gender typicality mediates the association with negative mental health.  being typical for one's gender significantly predicted being rated as popular by peers, and this relationship was moderated by gender. Finally, low gender typicality predicted more negative mental health outcomes for boys. These relationships were, at times, mediated by experiences with gender‐based teasing, suggesting that negative mental health outcomes may be a result of the social repercussions of being low in gender typicality rather than a direct result of low typicality. Amity: Now that you know your assignment, imagine that you submit the following essay as your reaction paper. “This article was very thought provoking and caused me to thoroughly evaluate the idea of gender and the role it plays in our society. The article discussed peers using teasing as a way to enforce gender norms. I do not necessarily see this as a problem. God made male and female and made us differently from each other on purpose and for a purpose. God is very intentional with what He makes, and I believe trying to change that would only do more harm. Gender roles and tendencies should not be considered “stereotypes”. Women naturally want to do womanly things because God created us with those womanly desires in our hearts. The same goes for men. God created men in the image of His courage and strength, and He created women in the image of His beauty. He intentionally created women differently than men and we should live our lives with that in mind. It is frustrating to me when I read articles like this and discussion posts from my classmates of so many people trying to conform to the same mundane opinion, so they do not step on people’s toes. I think that is a cowardly and insincere way to live. It is important to use the freedom of speech we have been given in this country, and I personally believe that eliminating gender in our society would be detrimental, as it pulls us farther from God’s original plan for humans. It is perfectly normal for kids to follow gender “stereotypes” because that is how God made us. The reason so many girls want to feel womanly and care for others in a motherly way is not because they feel pressured to fit into social norms. It is because God created and chose them to reflect His beauty and His compassion in that way. In Genesis, God says that it is not good for man to be alone, so He created a helper for man (which is a woman). Many people assume the word “helper” in this context to be  condescending and offensive to women. However, the original word in Hebrew is “ezer kenegdo” and that directly translates to “helper equal to”. Additionally, God describes Himself in the Bible using “ezer kenegdo”, or “helper”, and He describes His Holy Spirit as our Helper as well. This shows the importance God places on the role of the helper (women’s roles). God does not view women as less significant than men. He created us with such intentionally and care and He made women in his image of being a helper, and in the image of His beauty. If leaning into that role means I am “following gender stereotypes” then I am happy to be following a stereotype that aligns with the gifts and abilities God gave me as a woman. I do not think men and women are pressured to be more masculine or feminine. I strongly disagree with the idea from the article that encouraging acceptance of diverse gender expressions could improve students’ confidence. Society pushing the lie that there are multiple genders and everyone should be whatever they want to be is demonic and severely harms American youth. I do not want kids to be teased or bullied in school. However, pushing the lie that everyone has their own truth and everyone can do whatever they want and be whoever they want is not biblical whatsoever. The Bible says that our lives are not our own but that our lives and bodies belong to the Lord for His glory. I live my life based on this truth and firmly believe that there would be less gender issues and insecurities in children if they were raised knowing that they do not belong to themselves, but they belong to the Lord. Overall, reading articles such as this one encourage me to one day raise my children knowing that they have a Heavenly Father who loves them and cherishes them deeply and that having their identity firmly rooted in who He is will give them the satisfaction and acceptance that the world can never provide for them. My prayer for the world and specifically for American society and youth is that they would not believe the lies being spread from Satan that make them believe they are better off as another gender than what God made them. I pray that they feel God’s love and acceptance as who He originally created them to be.” Lemuel: Now imagine that you get a 0 and your non-binary teacher explicitly states that the failing grade was not based on your personal beliefs, but because the paper "does not answer the questions for this assignment, contradicts itself, heavily uses personal ideology over empirical evidence in a scientific class, and is at times offensive". A second instructor subsequently assesses the paper, and left comments agreeing, saying that the paper "should not be considered as a completion of the assignment" Now, imagine complaining that you were targeted and failed based on your personal beliefs and you are a victim of religious persecution.  Did I mention that your teacher is non-binary, the paper is only 3% of your grade, and that you went to Turning Point USA immediately after submitting your complaint to the school without receiving any feedback  The Paper In Question AP News The Oklahoman OU Statement KFOR

    25 min

  6. 10/30/2025

    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

  7. 09/16/2025

    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

  8. 08/18/2025

    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
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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 - 2026
  • Episodes
    80
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2019
  • Show Website
    Without Works