SkyPilot: Faith Quest

In 1965, Charles Schultz, the creator of the Peanuts comic strip, released the television show A Charlie Brown Christmas . Most of the show was about Charlie Brown feeling out of sync with the rest of the world around him during the Christmas season and his trying to figure out what “Christmas is really all about. “ In the end, he comes to a breaking point, and literally yells, Isn't there an...

If you live in the United States, like I do (even if you didn't grow up religious) you probably feel like you have a pretty good mastery of the Christmas story. And yet, there are elements of the story that we learned as children, that are assumed as factual, but which some Biblical scholars now argue may not be correct. None of these challenges the core of the Christian faith, but some of th...

A viewer wrote to me and said, if only believers could prove their faith and prove the existence of God, then he, and many others, would not only take them seriously but believe in themselves. This episode is my response.  ———————————————————————————————————————.  Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question you would like me to tackle? Contact me via email:     Dan@SkyPilot.zone And be su...

Running is one of those pastimes where most of us feel like there are "real" runners, and then there are just those who run. “Real” runners are the dedicated...the special...the elite. I watched a half marathon run by our home on Thanksgiving Day and it caused me to wonder, what exactly makes someone a “real” runner? ———————————————————————————————————————.  Have a spiritual, theological...

This episode was sparked by quotes from two famous people.  One is Steve Jobs, the billionaire entrepreneur. The other is Brandon Saunderson, the prolific fantasy author. The first quote was said by Steve Jobs at a college commencement as he shared his thoughts about the best way to approach every day in life. The other quote was written by Sanderson but not spoken by him.  It was spoken by a char...

I was scrolling through my social media feeds when I came across a quote from Neil deGrasse Tyson in which he describes the nature of philosophy, theology, and science. I was so intrigued, that I  began to research the quote as well as Dr Tyson's beliefs.  This episode is the result of that quest.   ———————————————————————————————————————.  Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question...

This episode starts by quoting Colin Cowherd as he talks about the problem with the Dallas Cowboys. It then talks about who does or doesn't have the best coffee. We go in search of the best city in the world to live in - and then tie all of this together in hopes of living with a more healthy faith and practicing a healthier religion - regardless of your faith.  ——————————————————————————————...

The question for this episode is so simple: what is Jesus' name? And yet, the vast majority of Christians probably couldn't come close to answering this question. Check out the latest episode!  Test your knowledge!  Be the first on your block to actually know his name! ———————————————————————————————————————.  Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question you would like me to tack...

While some within Christianity debate whether or not Jesus had siblings, there are others who believe that he had nothing less than a twin brother! And, the person they believe to be his twin, is someone you have heard of.  ———————————————————————————————————————.  Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question you would like me to tackle? Contact me via email:     Dan@SkyPilot.zone And be s...

There has been a great deal of effort amongst those who study the Bible and ancient history, to peel away the opaque layers of centuries and get closer to understanding the historical Jesus. But what about his mother,  Mary? What do we know about her? And, how has the church tried to shape our understanding of her through the 2000 years since she lived?  ———————————————————————————————————————.  H...

Jesus says that if we have faith, any faith - even if it is as small as a mustard seed - we can achieve amazing things. But what if you don't have any faith?  What if you desperately want to have faith, but you have none? Can you borrow someone else's? ———————————————————————————————————————.  Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question you would like me to tackle? Contact me vi...

179 previous episodes and every single one has a question for the title.  The very first time we break with that tradition is to tell everyone NOT to buy a Bible!?!  And you know the reason? It wasn't intended for you.  Really.   This episode really does suggest an alternative to owning a Bible, and more importantly, tells you the reason why.  ———————————————————————————————————————.  Have a...

I recently overheard someone tell a total stranger about the troubles in his life. The stranger's response was to say that she would pray for him. Upon hearing this, he suddenly switched from wanting to share to being obviously uncomfortable by her offer.  This podcast explores an important question: Should we tolerate the prayers of people whose faith doesn't match our own?  ———————————...

This episode looks at the intersection of the time-travel science fiction sub-genre, created by H. G. Wells,  and the more modern idea of Chaos Theory.  How are they related, and what can knowing more about their intersection do to inspire us to be better people today? ———————————————————————————————————————.  Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question you would like me to tackle? Contac...

Have you lived a life in which you, at times, feel thankful for the blessings you have received?  This is a good thing, right? Well, oddly enough, it can also be manifested by something I call Plantation House Theology. I invite you to list and then tell me what you think. ———————————————————————————————————————.  Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question you would like me to tackle? Co...

There is a rabid fascination, and even obsession, in our culture today with the growing field of artificial intelligence (A.I.). Today's podcast is as unusual as it is simple: I asked an A.I. to write an episode arguing in favor of the existence of God. The results were different — very different —than I expected.  Check it out! ———————————————————————————————————————.  Have a spiritual, theo...

An incantation is the performance of words that are believed to have a magical effect when spoken or sung. A prayer, on the other hand,  is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. But,  are these two descriptions really saying the same thing...or are they something quite different? And, is there any overlap between the two?...

There is a growing belief within modern Western Christianity that the Biblical teachings of Jesus just don't cut it anymore. You may be thinking, “yeah, yeah, liberals are always trying to remove Jesus and His teachings from mainstream Christianity.”  But this Jesus-is-out-of-touch mentality is coming from the other end of the spectrum -  the conservatives.  This episode wonders if this is an...

Two people's dramatic stories intersect on one of the world's highest and most difficult mountains. The result? Questions.  Questions about what happened, questions about what should have happened, and most importantly, questions about if, and how we see ourselves in this story.  ———————————————————————————————————————.  Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question you would like...

We Christians share the Ten Commandments with Judaism.  Except they call them something different., they don’t have all the same commandments that we do,  and they interpret them differently, also.  And, wait until you hear how they understand the commandments were written on the stone tablets!  Once you listen to this episode,  you may be thinking about the commandments in totally new ways.  ————...

Ever wondered to yourself if there is any overlap between an Orson Wells movie and what we call Jesus? No?  Okay, how about this: have you ever wondered about the things within Christianity that are so commonly said  we cease to think about where they came from or what they originally meant? No again? huh. Well...listen to this podcast anyway. Things are not at all what they seem. ————————————————...

The idea for this episode came as I was writing the podcast on being silly.  It dawned on me that,  in all the stories we have about him, Jesus never laughs.  I'm not saying that Jesus never laughed.  I assume that he did.  But, it is disappointing, to me, that scripture never mentions it. That got me thinking about other thing that are not in the Bible, but I wish they were.  ———————————————...

Winding its way from Veggie Tales to court jesters, to Peter Pan, and then finally ending with the wisdom of C. S. Lewis, this episode makes a case for the sacredness of silliness. ———————————————————————————————————————.  Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question you would like me to tackle? Contact me via email:     Dan@SkyPilot.zone And be sure to check me out on Facebook:  https://w...

Simple question, followed by a simple straightforward answer.  This is one of those episodes in which the answer may be controversial for some, but is vitally important for the health of our nation and  the grounding of our own spiritual lives. ———————————————————————————————————————.  Have a spiritual, theological, or religious question you would like me to tackle? Contact me via email:     Dan@S...

When interpreting the Constitution, there is a great deal of discussion around the original intent of our Founding Fathers. So it seems appropriate to look at their personal beliefs when we attempt to answer the question: Was our country founded as a Christian nation?  So, lets begin this journey with Benjamin Franklin.  ———————————————————————————————————————.  Have a spiritual, theological, or r...