The Blue Collar Scholar

This is part of a 10-part Sunday School series on the Book of Daniel. Note: This teaching was recorded on 14 February 2021.

This is part of a 10-part Sunday School series on the Book of Daniel. Note: This teaching was recorded on 7 February 2021.

This is the first in a 10-part Sunday School series on the Book of Daniel. Note: this teaching was recorded on 31 January 2021.

Happy Mother's Day! This one is for any mother who fears that she is not a good mom. Statistically-speaking, it is unlikely that you are a failure as a mom. To illustrate this point, allow me to introduce you to three bad moms from the Bible: Sisera's mother, Athaliah, and Herodias. In these women, we see what it looks like to be a bad mom by instilling the value of violence into your son, or by c...

This is the final lecture of the 1960s class. This is a summary of many of the main themes. But this episode also digs into some topics - such as sports and entertainment - that we have not yet dealt with over the course of the semester. We conclude by examining how the Sixties are remembered.

Sixties Playlist:  All Along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix (1968)   For What It’s Worth by Buffalo Springfield (1966)  Fortunate Son by CCR (1969)  The Sound of Silence by Simon & Garfunkel (1964)  Turn, Turn, Turn by The Byrds (1965)  Lil’ Red Riding Hood by Sam The Sham & The Pharaohs (1966)  In My Room by The Beach Boys (1963)   Harper Valley PTA by Jeannie C. Riley (1968)   Unchained Melody b...

Yes, I know that the Watergate break-in and resulting scandal happened entirely in the early 1970s. But I contend that the Watergate scandal is the loss-of-innocence moment that represents the social/cultural shift from the Sixties to the Seventies, at least in the United States. This episode presents a timeline of events and examines the causes of Watergate, the events in question, the cover-up a...

The United States and the Soviet Union engaged in a fierce rivalry in the 1950s and 1960s called the Space Race. Both the US & the USSR each achieved a variety of accomplishments in space travel, starting with the the successful orbit of the Soviet Sputnik satellite and culminating with the United States Apollo 11 program successfully putting 2 men on the moon. Of course, humanity would continue t...

This episode follows the various American women's rights movements back to the early 1800s up to the Women's Liberation Movement. From Suffrage to the Equal Rights Amendment, we examine the women who fought hard for women's rights in America, and how the women's rights movements intersected with other movements, such as the slavery abolition movement, alcohol temperance and prohibition, and the Ci...

The Civil Rights Movement is a part of history so substantial, interesting, and important that it deserves its own class, or at least several lectures of a class. Foolishly, however, I will try to cover the entire Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. in a single lecture because we have so much in the 1960s to cover and so few remaining lectures to do so. To survey the Civil Rights Movement, we will t...

Four men occupied the Oval Office in the 1960s. Dwight D. Eisenhower held it for the first year and three weeks of the 1960s. Then John F. Kennedy served from 1961 to 1963. This episode of the pod focuses on the other two: Lyndon B. Johnson & Richard M. Nixon. This brief history will explain how each man's experience - including their humble childhood, education, limited WWII experience, extensive...

This episode is a closing argument for faith in Christ. I begin by assuring the doubter that doubt is normal, and that there are healthy and unhealthy ways to address doubt. The second half of the pod recaps some of the arguments for Christian faith that I find most persuasive. (Note: This teaching was recorded on 1-24-2021.)

For me, the argument against the existence of God that hits the hardest is the "Hiddenness of God." In other words, if God really exists, He seems to be trying to remain hidden, and that the universe that we live in is exactly the kind of universe that one would expect if there is no God. In this podcast episode, we will break down that argument, and show that God is not hidden, but rather Holy! (...

In our Church-in-Quarantine series from last summer (recorded Spring 2020), we dug into church history. This episode of the pod is much more of an brief overview. This episode lists a handful of aspects of church history that are shameful, and another list showing the immense positive value that the church has provided to human history. So, for those who object to Christian faith because of the hi...

Hell is easily one of the most controversial and off-putting doctrines in all of Christian theology. In fact, the reality of hell is an objection that many use to reject Christian faith. Is this a valid criticism? Do we even understand what heaven and hell really are? Dig in to this episode to find out. (Note: This teaching was recorded on 1-3-2021.)

This sermon was delivered right after Christmas 2020 and talks about the visit of the Magi in Matthew chapter 2. From that passage we learn that (1) God works through tragedy, (2) God intervenes to prevent tragedy, & (3) God’s plan is always pushing forward. (Note: this teaching was recorded on 12-27-2020.)

Yes, Christianity is an exclusive claim that can not countenance rival truth claims that deny that Jesus Christ is THE singular Savior. And yet, Christianity is the most inclusive faith, open to every single human who draws breath and bows the knee to Jesus as Lord. (Note: This teaching was recorded on 12-27-2020.)

All roads lead to Heaven, or so we have been told. Yet, when Jesus talks about this, He says that He is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life (see John 14:6). So, we need to talk about the exclusive claims of Christianity. Is this a dealbreaker? Or is exclusivity proper for such a meaningful truth claim? (Note: This teaching was recorded on 12-20-2020.)

This episode is a presentation of the Gospel in short story form. The short story was written by Will Reitz, the teacher and the host of this podcast. I hope that you like it. (Note: This teaching was recorded on 12/6/2020 & 12/13/2020.)

Can we trust that the testimony of Scripture accurately describes the historical events that it reports? And are there any considerations we should apply when interpreting Scripture so that this ancient text can speak to us today? In this pod episode, we will ask if the Bible is historical reliable and how to apply it. (Note: this teaching was recorded on 11-29-2020.)

If the Bible that we hold in our hand cannot be trusted, then the entire Christian faith falls like a house of cards. But the contention of this episode of the pod is that you can trust the reliability of the Holy Bible. (Note: this teaching was recorded 11-22-2020.)

When we read the Book of Joshua, passages about wiping out entire cities and villages really bother us. And these passages should bother us. But are there any aspects of these passages that we are missing? Are there any extenuating circumstances that make these passages easier to accept? Check out this episode and we will look into it. (Note: This teaching was recorded 11-15-2020.)

This episode closes our discussion on evolution on what I tried to make a conciliatory note, admitting much strength in the theory of evolution, and preaching an abundance of caution when discussing the subject. *** An editor’s note on the issue of evolution. This teaching that you are about to listen to was delivered in church during the late fall of 2020. This is why I occasionally talk about th...

In this episode, I highlight a few of the biggest weaknesses in macroevolutionary theory. *** An editor’s note on the issue of evolution. This teaching that you are about to listen to was delivered in church during the late fall of 2020. This is why I occasionally talk about the pandemic and the upcoming presidential election. My attitude toward evolution has always been a moving target, and any t...

The debate between "evolution" and creationism is often heated, with far more heat than light. As I begin to address the issue of evolution, I present a series of "rules of engagement" for how to discuss the subject fairly for all parties. *** An editor’s note on the issue of evolution. This teaching that you are about to listen to was delivered in church during the late fall of 2020. This is why...