The Blue Collar Scholar

Living Hope Southern Baptist Church of Parsons, Kansas, does something called Bite-Sized Theology. These are 5 minute (or so) lessons/sermons that are designed to be meatier but much shorter than the average sermon. Our church did not record every single one of these lessons, so this presentation is a bit random. Nevertheless, here is a random selection of the Bite-Sized Theology lessons I preache...

Benedict Arnold. What a tool! ... Except, we've discussed him before in this class. Thus far, he's been a positive figure, an asset to the American cause, one might even call him a war hero. So, what changed? How did Benedict Arnold become one of history's worst traitors?

There are few women who have significant political power in the Bible. The few who do have such power in the Bible are either seen as villains (see Athaliah), or she has power because of her marriage (see Esther), or both (see Jezebel). But in Judges, we are introduced to Deborah. She is the only judge of Israel who is female, and is also the only judge whose reign actually looks more like a "judg...

A rag-tag collection of young men went into Valley Forge for the winter of 1777-8. An army walked out of Valley Forge. But at least 2000 men died at the Valley Forge winter encampment - a place where no battle was fought - because of disease, malnutrition, and clothing so inadequate for the winter that the relatively mild winter of 1777-8 is still remembered in the American subconscious as the wor...

Revelation tells us that worshipers of the Lord will include those from every tribe, tongue, and nation. Ethnic diversity is a wonderful thing, and should be a goal that we attain to. In the first chapter of the New Testament, Matthew includes a few women in the genealogy of Jesus Christ, which is radical enough, but a majority of those women are not ethnic Jews. In this episode, we will look at e...

After early successes, the American Continental Army faced nearly a whole year (1777) of defeat and retreat, including the fall of Philadelphia to British forces, necessitating the Second Continental Congress' move from what was then the national capital. Despite these being "the times that try men's souls," the British were unable to force an American surrender. And the Americans were able to sec...

This episode explores the women who appear in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. As it turns out, female characters only really factor into the narratives of Exodus and Numbers. This episode explores those characters, especially Miriam, the prophetess and sister of Moses. We will also take a look at a short list of laws that deal directly with women's issues.

This is the episode upon which this semester turns (in our The American Revolution class). All that we have discussed thus far has led the Founding Fathers up to the point where declaring independence from Great Britain was the only move that made sense. In this episode, we will go through each word of the Declaration, discuss the non-war-related aspects of the Second Continental Congress' busines...

In May 2023, I was a guest on my friend Aaron & his sister Rori's pop culture podcast "Trying to Like It." In this episode, we select five bands from any point in history to headline our summer music festivals. If you enjoy this episode, consider liking and subscribing to "Trying to Like It" on Apple Podcasts, Simplecast, Spotify, or your favorite podcast distributor.

The timeframe of Genesis 12-50 is often referred to as the Age of the Patriarchs. Well, let's flip the script. We're here to talk about the ladies whose stories are vital to understanding the patriarchs. Some are heroes, some are villains. Some are triumphant, while others suffered under oppressors. But all of these ladies' stories deserve to be told.

The American Revolution was a process that went on for decades. In the midst of the evolving political revolution, a war broke out. The British government was not interested in letting their colonies be self-governed, rebellious, or independent. So, when the "redcoats" rolled out of Boston to capture rebellious legislators and colonial weapons stashes in Concord, Massachusetts, the "minutemen" res...

In this episode, we look at the women who appear in the text of Genesis 1-11. These chapters cover over a thousand years of narrative history, giving minimal details and skipping many details as this section lays out a trim and streamlined foundation for the line of Abraham, whose family story is the origin story of the Jewish people.

It took a while for the American colonists to begin thinking of themselves as colonies that could bond together to resist British imperial policy, let alone rallying together for the purpose of independence. But, before we can get to July 4, 1776, we have to understand all of the British policies and American reactions that built momentum that would eventually become the American Revolution. This...

The prophet Jeremiah makes several references to a "Queen of Heaven" that was being worshipped by some Jews of his generation. God, through Jeremiah, condemns this blatant act of polytheism. But this raises two questions: Who or what is this "Queen of Heaven?" And why was the attraction to worship her so powerful in a culture that was supposed to be devotedly monotheistic? Note: Roman Catholics so...

Why and how did England plant its flag on the Eastern Seaboard of North America? What was the purpose of the 13 colonies? Were the colonies established for different reasons and purposes? What role did religion, business, and war play? We will explore these and other similar topics that lay a foundation of British colonization of the East Coast of North America.

The Fall 2023 class for the NCCC Lifetime Learning program was called "Women in the Bible." Over the next few weeks, this podcast feed will provide lecture audio for that class. But before we can dig into individual women in the Bible and their stories, we need to back up and look at the entire Bible's timeline from a bird's eye view. From the earliest days of prehistory in Genesis to the height o...

This episode launches our Spring 2024 class: The American Revolution. Join us as we travel back to the birth of democracy in ancient Athens, the Magna Carta in 1215 England, the Protestant Reformation, and the Age of European exploration and colonization in the Americas. We also, admittedly, chase a few bunny trails about WWII, Jewish history, the 27th Amendment, etc.

This episode is the finale that closes out The World Wars class. We will briefly cover the rapid growth of the American and Soviet nuclear programs after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as the beginning of the Cold War.

The development of the atomic bomb remains one of the greatest scientific achievements of all time, as well as one of the most controversial tools of death ever used against other human beings. This episode digs into the origins of the Manhattan Project, which saw the United States & Allies invest billions of dollars into a project that made sure that the Allies got the A-Bomb before Hitler or Imp...

The Second World War in the Pacific hinges on Midway. Before Midway, Japan found unbelievable success. After Midway, Japan lost territory, as well as their necessary manpower to hold all that they conquered. But Midway was in the first year of the Pacific war. Japan fought tooth-&-nail to hold their conquests, and made the Allies fight with all that they had for another 3 years. In this episode, w...

Imperial Japan had an incredible undefeated streak that went a half of a year after their attack on Pearl Harbor. The US, the UK, Australia, the Netherlands, and the other Allies were unable to stop Japan as they spread their Empire over many islands and peninsulas all over the Pacific Ocean and coastal Asia. But Imperial Japan met their match when they went toe-to-toe with the US Navy at the tiny...

Why did Japan attack Pearl Harbor? How did they do it? What military moves did Imperial Japan make immediately following their successful first strike? Download, listen, and find out!

This episode explains the history of Japan, from the origins of the Emperor's Chrysanthemum Throne, to the rise of the shoguns, to rise of late-19th Century and early-20th Century Japanese militarism. We will examine Japan's multiple military successes from the late 1890s to the early 1940s, the atrocities of the Rape of Nanking, and the military reasons for attacking the United States.

As you can see on this podcast page, The Blue Collar Scholar has been on hiatus for some time. However, we are back! This episode attempts to get caught up a bit. This podcast episode covers the lecture notes for four different lectures, all related to WWII in Europe: (1) The Battle of Britain & Operation Barbarosa, (2) The Holocasut, (3) D-Day, & (4) Allied Victory.

This sermon draws on the story of King David bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem to illustrate four lessons for Christians today.