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Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Much less so is tomorrow guaranteed to be the same as yesterday. And yet we, as human beings, have a tendency to think of the world as a sort of constant or given — we do not by nature adequately assess the likelihood of catastrophic or even merely significant change.

This is not to say that we should be pessimists, alarmists, or paranoiacs; it is, however, to say that we should spend more time thinking about the information we encounter in our lives and what it means for us, for those entrusted to our care, and for our collective future. As men — specifically men, not just the generic sense — it is our duty to protect those whom God has entrusted to our care, and part of this is having an appropriate and accurate view of the world.

In today’s episode, we discuss normalcy bias — what it is, why it matters, and how to counteract it. Everything, ultimately, is in God’s hands, but much work remains for us while it is still day.









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Show Notes



James Stockdale (including his paradox) [Wikipedia]













See Also



Black Starting the Power Grid



Practical Engineering [YouTube]

Wikipedia

NREL















Further Reading



I, Pencil by Leonard E. Read













Parental Warnings

None.

The Sacraments are a key — a central — part of the Christian life. And yet there are disagreements about the nature of the Sacraments — what they are and what they do. As Christians, when disagreements about doctrine, dogma, or theology arise, we turn to one source — God’s Word.

In today’s episode, we go over the theology and the doctrine of the Sacrament of Holy Baptism. We do so from an admittedly and unashamedly Lutheran position; however, we ground everything we say in the Word of God. In essence, today’s episode is a Bible study. Undoubtedly, some of you (or your traditions) will disagree with some of the things we say, but listen carefully to the passages of Scripture and make sure that you are disagreeing with men and not with God.









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Show Notes



The Small Catechism: Baptism

The Large Catechism: Baptism

Christian Basics: The Solae [YouTube]











See Also



Stone Choir: “Hebrews, Israelites, and Jews”













Further Reading



The Smalcald Articles: Baptism

The Book of Acts



Acts 2:37–39

Acts 8:12–13

Acts 8:36–39

Acts 9:18–19

Acts 10:44–48

Acts 16:14–15

Acts 16:30–34

Acts 18:5–11

Acts 22:16















Parental Warnings

None.

If you are in Christ, then your sins are forgiven. Yes, Christ paid the price for all sins on the Cross, but it is only those who are in Christ — those who have faith — who benefit from this forgiveness. And this forgiveness is total, God promises not only to forgive, but says that He will forget our sins — a total erasure.









‘As far as the east is from the west,

so far does He remove our transgressions from us.’







As Christians, we are called to turn and show the same forgiveness and mercy to our brothers and sisters that God has shown to us in Christ. Forgiveness is part of the Christian life with regard to the Christian’s relationship to God and also with regard to the Christian’s relationships with others. The Law accuses us — it reveals our sins —, but we are not called to despair, but to repent and rejoice. God has already forgiven all of your sins; in the words of Christ:

“It is finished.”









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Show Notes



Psalm 139 (ESV)













See Also















Further Reading















Parental Warnings

None.

The modern world presents many challenges for and to the young man, particularly the young man who would be a Christian. Often men, and particularly young men, may feel that they have been forgotten or written off by society. In today’s episode, we focus on the issues that concern young men — here and now.

As Christians, we must contend with the fact that, although we are sons of God and predestined for glory, we yet live in a fallen world plagued by sin, temptation, and suffering. The promises of God always come true, but they do so in His perfect time, not our imperfect one. And so, for the Christians, the question must be twofold: What does God say about these matters? What is our role in these matters?

The world offers terrible advice to young men, and so do many of those who not only should know better but also have a duty to offer sound advice. We will try to undo some of that terrible advice and replace it with advice that is both consonant with God’s Word and with the reality of the world we all inhabit. The answer for the Christian man is not withdrawal or despair, but engagement and perseverance.

God calls us to be men, so that is what we must do.









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Show Notes



“On the Nature of Woman”

“On Sexual Immorality, Temptation, and Marriage”

Donate to Stone Choir











See Also



“Birth Control Pills Affect Women’s Taste in Men”

“Abortion”

Episode 22: “On Women: Scripture and Ontology”

Episode 23: “On Women: Feminism”

Episode 30: “Against the Clockwork Universe”

Watch Some Chickens











Further Reading



Proverbs 31 (ESV)

Matthew 6 (ESV)

The First Commandment, the Large Catechism











Parental Warnings

These is some frank discussion of sexual matters in this episode, but not in explicit terms.

There is a brief discussion of the mechanics of hormonal birth control.

The State is the left hand of Christ; it is that final prepositional phrase — that imports so much of the meaning — that is often ignored. As Christians, the ‘political’ realm is not a realm of indifference or adiaphora — and this is particularly true for Christian men. We are not called to separate ourselves from the world (except with regard to righteous behavior), but to be engaged in the world — put another way: to be in the world but not of the world.

Where Christians retreat, Satan advances. The times are evil and the Church must respond accordingly. It is incumbent on the Christian man to do his duty, and such duty most certainly includes a political dimension.

So what may Christians do with regard to the kingdom of the left hand? What must we refrain from doing? What is merely permissible? In this episode, we lay the foundation for a series on government, on the political, on the left-hand kingdom.









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Show Notes



Gottesdienst: On Resisting the Government:



Part 1

Part 2

Part 3















See Also



The Magdeburg Confession













Further Reading

















Parental Warnings

We discuss capital punishment — primarily in the context of Scripture — in this episode.

The ‘scientific’ consensus is that the Earth is some billions of years old (on the order of four-and-a-half billion years old) and that the Universe is some fourteen or so billion years old. But Scripture paints a different picture. Which may, should, or must the Christian believe?

Is the contention of the so-called ‘scientific community’ even reasonable? Which is to say: Does it stand up to scrutiny? Knowledge is warranted true belief, and so it is vitally important to ask upon what warrant the scientists base their beliefs.

As we will show in this episode, the Christian position is — unequivocally — that the Earth is ancient in terms of created age and young (some six thousand or so years) in terms of chronological age and that God created all things in six literal, twenty-four-hour days. As to the supposedly ‘scientific’ position? Well, it does not stand up particularly well under scrutiny.









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Show Notes



Hexameron [Wikipedia]













See Also



“Geochronologically Speaking”

“James Tour: The Origin of Life Has Not Been Explained” [YouTube]

“James Tour & Stephen Meyer Bring Clarity to the Origin of Life Debate (Ep. 1)” [YouTube]

Discover Science [YouTube Channel]

“Copying and Pasting Passwords”



(Relevant for the math involved in the latter part of the episode.)





Creation.com

CreationWiki.com











Further Reading



Cosmic background radiation [Wikipedia]

DNA [Wikipedia]

RNA [Wikipedia]

mRNA [Wikipedia]

Chirality [Wikipedia]



“The Significance of Chirality in Drug Design and Development”

“Nature’s mirror: The code for chirality”

“Understanding the Thalidomide Chirality in Biological Processes by the Self-disproportionation of Enantiomers”





Amino Acid [Wikipedia]

Abiogenesis [Wikipedia]

Neo-Darwinism [Wikipedia]

Modern Synthesis [Wikipedia]

Hard Problem of Consciousness [Wikipedia]

Qualia [Wikipedia]

Probability [Wikipedia]

Blood Clotting



“How it all starts: initiation of the clotting cascade”

“Coagulation Cascade”

Coagulation [Wikipedia]





Vision



Visual Phototransduction [Wikipedia]

“Phototransduction”





Labeling of Fertilizer [Wikipedia]



Deoxyribose [Wikipedia]

Organophosphate [Wikipedia]







Books



Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution by Michael Behe

Theistic Evolution: A Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Critique edited by J. P. Moreland, et al.



Also available on ChristinBook.com.















Parental Warnings

None.