Presence: A Global Conversation for a New Earth.

We wrap up the first 9 verses of Romans 9 in this episode. Paul sets the stage for how Israel is saved. His teaching on salvation is consistent throughout his letters. Salvation is not of the flesh or human doing. Paul starts chapters 9-11 by clarifying how Israel is saved by God or Spirit as source and not through their attempts to keep the Law. While this seems obvious to the gentiles, Paul will...

Paul is concerned with the saved/lost paradigm of the gentiles in Rome. He knows that God's work in Christ was to deliver humans from judgment — not set up humans as judges. He begins by going back to the roots of this story and the role of the fathers. The fathers were foundational to religion — the religion of Moses. But Paul starts with the promises made to the fathers. Promises of deliverance...

This episode wraps up our first look at the critical passage in Paul's letter, Rom. 11:26,27. We'll return to it later but these 2 verses have found themselves in the middle of numerous interpretations. We continue to use the Social Science model of Spiral Dynamics along with an in depth study of the Narrative. The problem revolves around a 2000 year old paradigm of saved/lost. The gentiles did no...

In this episode we begin doing an exegesis of Romans 9-11. Paul reminds his Gentile audience of his own ties to Israel in the days when he was known as Saul of Tarsus. Paul connects his past beliefs and understanding with the ones of Israel who were currently standing against Christ. Why would God call someone like this to be the apostle to the Gentiles? Thanks for joining our discussion. 

We continue discussion of Romans 11:26,27. Paul explains the source of deliverance comes from Zion. Zion is a symbol of 2nd tier space. It is the space of spirit and being. Sinai is a symbol for human doing and that space creates bondage. Thanks for joining us in this look at one of the most controversial passages in the Narrative.

We focus on the problematic verses of Paul's Romans 9-11 section. It's chapter 11:26,27. Today we discuss the universal understandings of Paul when he tells the Gentiles that ALL Israel will be saved. He goes further by saying that God will turn away ungodliness from Jacob. Jacob is another way of saying ALL Israel because Jacob is inclusive of all 12 tribes. And as Cody notes, God turns away ungo...

The 90 verses of Romans 9-11 are a great example of why an integral approach to the Narrative is so important. There have been so many differing/conflicting views on Paul's work because he has been interpreted through a 1st tier lens by those attempting to make Jesus a religion. We are at a time in history that now provides models of integral thinking. That perspective makes all the difference. Th...

Welcome to the start of our series on the new book by Max King, "Irrevocable." We actually go completely off script in this first episode when Cody begins asking questions about the life work of Max that lead to this publication. We intended to go directly into Romans, but as you will hear we talk at length about one man's life-long journey in pursuit of answers to some of theology's most perplexi...

In this final episode, we approach Integral Theology through the lens of a Venn diagram. Through a trajectory of form, transform, and formlessness we begin to see how we can all evolve towards an Integral perspective. We also share some upcoming news regarding a book, summer break, and what's coming this fall.

What does an Integral spiritual collective look like? Are there examples of Integral communities in the biblical narrative? How can spiral leaders navigate their collectives into an Integral framework? Today, we answer your questions about the future of spiritual collectives, the difficulty of navigating them, and the external qualities that reflect an Integral landscape.

What does an individual at an integral stage of consciousness look like? What's the difference between IQ and Integral? Are there individuals in the biblical narrative who reflect an Integral stage of consciousness? In this episode we examine the individual and discover some common qualities.

Can religions be Integral? Is there something on the other side of inter-faith? What is the future of spirituality? In this episode we will respond to those questions and begin to see the evolutionary shift we find ourselves in.

In this episode we make clear distinctions between traditional theology, modern theology, post-modern theology, and integral theology. We run a myriad of theological issues through each lens.

In this podcast series we explore the landscape of Integral. What is Integral? What are its origins? What is Integral Theology? What is the future of spirituality? This is a great starting place for those wanting clarity on what Presence is all about. Resources: Don Beck - Spiral Dynamics   Ken Wilber - A Theory of Everything   Steven McIntosh - Integral Consciousness   Rob Bell - Love Wins

In this episode we discuss both the resurrection of Jesus and the resurrection of the dead. We examine both through the traditional, modern, and post-modern lens and discover an Integral perspective of Resurrection.

The human ego understands identity through attachment to form. Examples of this would be, " I am a ---Father, Husband, Accountant, American, Heterosexual etc. In fact, those labels are not definitions of identity but rather serve as types of roles or functions. The foundations of God identity began with Adam and his attempt to be like God by grasping the knowledge of good and evil. Good and Evil b...

The human ego understands identity through attachment to form. Examples of this would be, " I am a ---Father, Husband, Accountant, American, Heterosexual etc. In fact, those labels are not definitions of identity but rather serve as types of roles or functions. The foundations of God identity began with Adam and his attempt to be like God by grasping the knowledge of good and evil. Good and Evil b...

We wrap up our Faith episodes (for now) and discuss justification. The other side of justification is condemnation. But neither justification nor condemnation are the final outcome of the story. Salvation from God the Deliverer is the final outcome. As the old age comes to an apocalyptic end with the destruction of the Temple, Priesthood, Genealogy, and the city of Jerusalem itself, there are 2 ty...

Today we look at the term "much more" as used by Paul to show the relationship of faith to salvation. Faith comes from human beings. Salvation comes from God. Faith is that which points to God as the source of our identity. By faith we walk in the confidence and assurance of our God-given image. Thanks for joining!

In Faith episode 5 we discuss more about the faith of Christ. Christ is uniquely God's manner of fulfilling all the promises made to the Fathers. Christ alone was crucified and raised and it was His faith alone that pointed to God as the only power of life--even life from the dead. All first century followers were imitating the faith of Christ. Their faith, therefore, was not to point inwardly as...

In Faith Part 4 Cody and I continue to trace the evolution of faith through the entire old covenant period. Their faith was associated with promise. Next week we'll discuss the faith of Christ which fulfills the promises. Thanks for hanging in there with us!

The evolution of faith went from Abraham through Moses and on into the arrival of Christ. We have studied the Narrative from the point of view illustrated in the Spiral Dynamics model. Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets were evolving within a 1st tier world. 1st tier faith is related to Promise. 2nd tier faith will move into fulfillment. What does that mean? Thanks for joining us today!

What is the role and function of faith in the Narrative? The writer of Hebrews points out that faith was not enough to fulfill the promises to the Fathers. Why not? We'll talk about that in this episode and begin to deconstruct definitions of faith that have been handed down over the centuries. Then we can look through an integral lens to find the meaning of faith in God's universal plans for His...

We begin a study of Faith by going back to the beginning of the story. In the Genesis of creation the source of all things was God. The human response to God began with Adam and Abraham. While Adam's consciousness attempted to be like God, Abraham's consciousness moved him to depend on God. We look at the Genesis of faith as a concept whose trajectory will find fullness in Christ.

We wrap up our discussion of Salvation --for now. These 8 sessions provide a good introduction to Salvation and at the same time the stage is set for our next topic--Faith. Thanks for joining the conversation!