Truthspresso

This episode was inspired by something my wife showed me from a campaign called "One Planet One Child." From Thomas Malthus in the 1790's to Paul Ehrlich in the 1960's and beyond, some economists and scientists have feared the doom of humanity. This doom is mass suffering and starvation of millions of people ever at the door. The cause? Overpopulation. We look at Paul Ehrlich's predictions in the...

This is part 2 of an interview with Jamal Bandy, host of the Prescribed Truth podcast. Jamal explains what "social justice" and "critical theory" are as elements of Marxist philosophy. The word "race" has been added to make "critical race theory" an issue of U.S. history. Jamal gives some heartfelt and keen insights into misunderstood realities of both the present and the past that are often fuel...

This is part 1 of an interview with Jamal Bandy, host of the Prescribed Truth podcast. Jamal tells his story of how he was involved in an Apostolic Oneness church and how unexpected events led him to question what he was taught. Jamal learns the truth about God as Trinity and that the Oneness teaching is wrong. He also learns that works don't save him and don't keep him saved, because the Father a...

This episode continues from the topic of the last one by discussing actual problems with democracy. We answer the following questions: What are the problems of democracy? It is not based on absolute, unchanging truth. Eligibility to vote is not certain. A simple majority is not really "the will of the people." 51% can plunder the 49%. It encourages factions to develop. Defensive voting is a consta...

There is a lot of hoopla about the state of democracy in the United States and around the world. Many citizens value the ideals of democracy as sacred and best. Christians should be willing to examine democracy itself and ask some important questions. We ask and answer the following questions: What is democracy? We define the term and compare it to other types of government. Why is democracy appea...

This is part 2 of the last episode. We continue to examine the mindset of war from a Christian perspective by asking questions. This episode asks the last two questions: What about the wars that God commanded? (Gen 50:19; Rom 12:18-21) How should we view our enemies now? (Mat 28:18-19; Mat 5:43-47) We conclude with Psalm 120:2,6-7 to ask the question, "Are we for peace, or are we for war?" Podcast...

We move from the wisdom of the world that war benefits an economy to ask us Christians how we should view war. The Bible gives us some guidance. We ask these four questions: What are human beings? (Gen 9:6) What causes wars? (Jas 4:1-5) When is war justified? (Psa 7:3-5) What is the mindset of war? ("us" vs. "them") I recognize that I presented this episode a little passionately and that it might...

We continue with Paul Krugman's suggestion of a fake threat of aliens invading to stimulate a depressed economy. We look at a blog post he had written for the New York Times where he revealed his inspiration for the blessings of fear and destruction: World War II. Unfortunately, even many conservatives and Christians think like Krugman that war spending helps an economy grow or get out of a slump....

We springboard from Nobel Laureate economist Paul Krugman's wrong idea about babysitting the economy to an even stranger idea: the threat of an alien invasion would be good for a depressed economy. Krugman thinks its better for people to stop saving money to pay off their debts and squeeze even more money toward building bunkers for a fake threat that aliens would take over. We listen to Krugman h...

Dr. Paul Krugman, world renowned winner of the Nobel Laureate in economics, often appeals to babysitting when trying to explain things in his post-Keynesian way. He seems obsessed with the story of the Capitol Hill Babysitting cooperative because he thinks it proves that printing more money is the cure for recessions. When we look at his own favorite story, we see that it clearly proves the opposi...

My wife Chelsea returns to Truthspresso to continue a series discussing abortion. We talk about how the wrong of abortion is clear, even if some people refuse to accept it. Is the problem really a lack of evidence, or is it that hearts can be hardened to the truth? We talk about the presuppositions of an atheistic worldview vs. a Christian worldview, and how the Bible and the gospel are necessaril...

My wife Chelsea returns to Truthspresso to continue a series discussing abortion. We have emphasized how abortion takes the life of a human being made in the image of God. Unfortunately, the effects of abortion don't stop there. We discuss several of the physical and psychological/emotional effects that the abortion industry tries to suppress. Chelsea holds a B.S. in Nursing from Regis University,...

My wife Chelsea returns to Truthspresso to continue a series discussing abortion. Sci-Fi author Patrick S. Tomlinson wrote a series of tweets in October of 2017 that attracted media attention. News articles boasted that Tomlinson's "burning fertility clinic" thought experiment "shut down" "anti-abortion" arguments. Does Tomlinson's argument pose a challenge to the Pro-Life view? We don't think so....

My wife Chelsea returns to Truthspresso to continue a series discussing abortion. Many abortion advocates now appeal to philosophy to argue that "bodily autonomy" proves that abortion on demand should be legal for any reason, even if the unborn are fully human and have a "right to life." Chelsea and I discuss Judith Jarvis Thomson's "unconscious violinist" thought experiment and the case of McFall...

My wife Chelsea returns to Truthspresso to continue a series discussing abortion. Abortion advocates often bring up rape and incest as exceptional cases to defend abortion. We analyze these hard cases to see if abortion really should be justified. Perhaps adding abortion to the trauma of a crime is not the ideal solution. Chelsea holds a B.S. in Nursing from Regis University, a Masters in Nursing...

My wife Chelsea returns to Truthspresso to continue a series discussing abortion. We ask and answer challenges from the pro-abortion side about when abortion is justified. Using Scott Klusendorf's "SLED" model we explain why questions about size, level of development, environment (or location) and degree of dependency cannot justify killing the unborn or consider them less human or have a lesser r...

My wife Chelsea returns to Truthspresso to continue a series discussing abortion. We begin by talking about the tragedy of George Floyd's murder. We analyze the issue of "racism" and how the definition has changed over time to include political ideologies. From the standpoint of recognizing the battles that exist over the value of human lives, we examine the issue of the unborn. Chelsea presents t...

My wife Chelsea returns to Truthspresso to continue a series discussing abortion. We discuss what abortion advocates can miss from the pro-life movement: that we understand why people believe they need abortion. No one, including the pro-life movement, can discount the stressful and difficult situations many young people face as abortion is offered as a desperate and quick fix. Chelsea explains di...

My wife Chelsea and I discuss an overview of the topic of abortion. We open with an article about the CEO of Planned Parenthood in Colorado being happy that Texans are coming to Colorado to get more abortions during the pandemic. Chelsea explains different types of abortion procedures from "chemical" in early weeks of pregnancy to "surgical" in later weeks, and how women are exploited by the abort...

Welcome to volume 2 of The COVID Files! Just what are "The COVID Files"? Well, this is where we narrate and document (somewhat playfully) some instances of strange, goofy, or hypocritical actions that have made the news during these "uncertain times" of which we are constantly reminded. In volume 2 of The COVID Files we file these three stories: A Farewell to Arms--and Legs and Cardio  (Matth...

Welcome to volume 1 of The COVID Files! Just what are "The COVID Files"? Well, this is where we narrate and document (somewhat playfully) some instances of strange, goofy, or hypocritical actions that have made the news during these "uncertain times" of which we are constantly reminded. In volume 1 of The COVID Files we file these four stories: Can You Afford to Hoard? (James 4:13-14a) Finger Lick...

We take a break from our series on economic topics to honor mothers for yesterday's Mother's Day. We look at three role models of mothers from the Bible: Eve - the mother of all progeny Hannah - the mother with a promise Jochebed - the mother with protection ***** Like what you hear? Donate to Truthspresso and give a shot of support! *****

I was privileged to interview Dr. Shawn Ritenour on the topic of how the Austrian School of economics correlates to the Bible. Dr. Ritenour shares his Christian testimony that brought him from an eclectic background to an elder in the OPC. As a young man he stumbled on a book entitled Human Action by Ludwig von Mises that opened his eyes to a passion for economics. Dr. Ritenour gives his insider e...

Interest on savings accounts and loans seems like a simple concept. Yet, the powers-that-be can simply fiddle with certain interest rate numbers and bring whole countries to their knees! Understanding interest rates can be vital both to our individual financial health as well as a large economy. Let's answer some questions: What is interest? What should normally determine the rate of interest? Is...

What is inflation? Is it rising prices? Or is it something that actually causes prices to rise? Even Presidents of the USA get this wrong! Hey, almost everyone now gets this wrong! Historically, and even just a few decades ago, inflation was always an increase in the supply of money. In this episode we trace how the definition changed and why. We examine what real inflation is and how it affects t...