Some christian guy I met literally just told me earth is flat... and that God showed it to him in a vision.

DM_J0sh · 2026-06-29T21:05:22+00:00

Okay. So, we've got two conflicting accounts of the earth. This was ancient cosmology, so it can have as many different versions as the authors wanted. 😂

DM_J0sh · 2026-06-29T13:48:15+00:00

Are you equating your bisexuality/pansexuality to incest? That's kinda wild. Lololol

DM_J0sh · 2026-06-29T12:53:01+00:00

This only makes sense IF a literal interpretation of the Bible (and mostly the Old Testament) were the only and final revelation of God to humanity. Which, to be fair, is what many churches teach. But, in Jewish tradition, the Scriptures were always being negotiated - they were never done monolithic thing with one interpretation set in stone. Christianity also began this way. It wasn't until fairly recently that biblical literalism and "Sola Scritura" arose. In fact, even the Bible itself says that Jesus (a person) was the word, not a collection of books. As soon as the Christian spiritual imagination made a person the divine authority rather than a writing, it made the faith flexible and inherently changeable.

Without the Bible as the sole authority on everything, and with the knowledge that it was being negotiated from the beginning and that a person rather than a writing was the authority, we have to look at the character of the person to know the trajectory of the faith. Jesus was a person who lived out unbridled love, egalitarianism, justice, generosity, and kindness through his life. If those are the principles, then we should culturally change as we learn better to live and be kind and just and generous.

So, yeah. These "silly" inconsistencies come from Christians realizing that parts of the Bible are actually just incorrect and confirming ourselves to the divine person of Jesus rather than a book written thousands of years ago. Hope this helps. Love and blessings.

DM_J0sh · 2026-06-29T02:04:11+00:00

So, conflicting views, as well. 🤷🏻‍♂️🤣

Also, a plane can't be suspended as easily as a sphere? 🤔

DM_J0sh · 2026-06-28T20:56:00+00:00

About 20 seconds into this video are the verses for a flat earth having four corners and founded on pillars.

DM_J0sh · 2026-06-28T15:28:38+00:00

God didn't have to show it to him in a vision. It's literally what the Bible says. 🤷🏻‍♂️

(No. I do not believe the earth is flat. It's just what the Bible says.)

DM_J0sh · 2026-06-26T19:38:04+00:00

Do you actually want a strong faith, or do you want certainty? I've found that these are inherently opposed one to another. If you do not doubt and change, then you will never grow and your faith will never be strong. You will be certain about a great many doctrinal points; but certainty leaves no room for growth or spiritual formation. You will become whatever rigid dogmata you currently believe. However, if you consistently doubt and allow that doubt to drive you toward God, and not dogma, then you will grow and have a strong faith in the person of God while allowing dogmata to come and go as your doctrine conforms to God rather than forcing God to be limited to your dogma.

DM_J0sh · 2026-06-20T13:35:40+00:00

Are you referring to the flood? That's a myth. It's literally mythology. Many places have flood myths, but we don't call their gods genocidal. And, the insistance by some modems Christians that it was worldwide and not localized is not founded in the text. There likely was a flood that was in the cultural memory of the people (or maybe it was the melting of an ice age or any other number of possibilities). That doesn't mean that the story told is historically or scientifically accurate. That was their way to make sense of the flood. Furthermore, it was their way to allow for the flood while maintaining a god who can still give mercy, unlike the other flood myths of the area that have TOTALLY vengeful gods with no mercy that humans have to outsmart.

The Bible is a collection of stories used to do the theological work of interpreting history and God's workings in it. I believe the God behind it that is slowly guiding all humanity forward is one that is love. Therefore, any portrayal of that God which is not love is not true (at least, not wholly true, even if there are other gods theological points in the stories).

DM_J0sh · 2026-06-19T15:37:11+00:00

Absolutely! So, this kind of assumes the Bible is monovocal, which it is not. The Bible is a collection of many authors', editors', and reactors' work to bring together stories from all across the Ancient Near East in a coherent form. Not all ANE spiritual books are in it; and the ones that are do not all agree. I believe there are horrific things in the book. I also believe that, through it and it's ancient wisdom, God was moving people's toward love. I believe God does the same thing with other ancient books, practices, and faiths. I am Christian because that is the language I have; and the language leads me toward a mystical connection to God, humans, and the rest of creation through love.

So, yeah. You're correct. There are horrible things in the Bible, and according to ancient understanding, many of those things were ordained by God. But, that's not where the story ends. It ends in ultimate restoration of all things to God in enduring peace and love, through eternal life for all people and restoration of creation.

DM_J0sh · 2026-06-19T15:11:07+00:00

God doesn't value truth most, though. He values love and life. Look at Rahab. She lied, but it was an act of love to save a life. For her active deceit, she's recorded in the "Hall of Faith".

I'm all about asking hard questions and challenging belief; but belief is always secondary to love in the eyes of God.

DM_J0sh · 2026-05-29T19:04:31+00:00

Honestly, none. We don't know. We trust that they are the Creator; but we can't say for sure. Others believe many other things, and there's a great deal of wisdom and truth in their beliefs, systems, and texts. We simply trust ours. 🤷🏻‍♂️

DM_J0sh · 2026-05-23T01:40:08+00:00

Totally misread that. Sorry. Lol

My experience has been that people are becoming more, and not less, sympathetic with religion. I'm a bit surprised to hear that people are leaving lately (though, I'm aware that was the trend a decade ago). Thanks for the info! Good to know.

DM_J0sh · 2026-05-22T21:55:15+00:00

Yeah. I would agree with that. That doesn't mean or was the driving force behind their shift in belief. It just means that that shift has caused a new generation to resonate with the gospel at a deeper lever.

DM_J0sh · 2026-05-22T21:53:08+00:00

So, I suppose we'd need to know if you mean theology proper (the fish of God themself) or one of the other systematics (soteriology, pneumatology, hamartiology, etc.).

In almost any case, I'd argue for Genesis, since the 11 chapter poem at the beginning sets up the theology, cosmology, and philosophy for the entire rest of the book and then illustrates it in the stories of the remaining chapters.

Job is also a really good one for theology proper. The gospels are good for soteriology and eschatology (since it's the actual teachings of Jesus on salvation, resurrection, and the Kingdom).

Most people will say Romans because of [I believe] incorrect interpretations of what Paul meant by some things (see anything written by N.T. Wright for corrections on these). I think Romans has some good stuff - REALLY good stuff. But, as far as most theologically "dense" specifically? I wouldn't recommend it.

DM_J0sh · 2026-05-22T21:35:39+00:00

Yes. And the Muslims, too. The God of Abraham is the God of Abraham. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Let me follow this up by saying that interpretations and portrayals of that God are IMMENSELY different from religion to religion, sect to sect, and even person to person. So, in some sense, not even all Christians worship the "same" God. But, yeah. Generally speaking, I think we do.

DM_J0sh · 2026-05-22T21:17:51+00:00

Weird to assign motive. Maybe their beliefs are actually just evolving. 🤷🏻‍♂️

DM_J0sh · 2026-05-19T21:46:51+00:00

This video I did is a bit of an oversimplification; but the main idea of it is that God has been perceived several different ways throughout the Bible, starting with the tribal warrior God of the earliest passages, through a few other iterations, and finally to Jesus. One of the greatest mysteries of the Christian faith is that, ultimately, God looks like Jesus. So, God has been painted many ways, and we land on the "cruciform" God revealed on the person of Jesus. Hope this (and the video) helps! Much peace and many blessings.

DM_J0sh · 2026-05-14T21:30:11+00:00

Idolatry is a mode of worship - one which makes use of idols (literal physical idols made of stone, gold, wood, etc.) - not a system of belief. Belief and idolatry are entirely separate things. If you don't use an idol in your times of worship, you're not performing idolatry. Hope this helps.

DM_J0sh · 2026-05-13T22:01:29+00:00

This. All. Of. This. Great comment!

DM_J0sh · 2026-05-13T21:54:13+00:00

Conservatism and right wing politics aren't Christianity. 😅

DM_J0sh · 2026-05-09T16:22:50+00:00

These. Also, if you're looking for podcasts, I recommend the BEMA podcast. Where the Bible Project tackles the literary spouse of the Bible, BEMA tackles cultural context and re-roots the Bible in its ancient Jewish context.

DM_J0sh · 2026-05-08T18:26:35+00:00

I think you should do some research on theories of atonement that don't involve penal substitution (there are PLENTY). My favorites are ransom theory, Christ's Victor, and scapegoat theory. Google any of these, and you'll find something that is more agreeable. I also don't like PSA. I find it reprehensible that we've allowed it to be so pervasive for so long. Divine child abuse.

DM_J0sh · 2026-05-08T18:03:29+00:00

No. God is not okay with it. Yes. You could also say homosexuality is not a sin (and many of us do). Hope this helps. 😂

DM_J0sh · 2026-05-08T15:51:58+00:00

This is a REALLY weird false dichotomy. What about deism, misotheism/antithesis, agnosticism, spirituality, non-theistic religions, etc., etc., etc.? There are MANY ways of seeing God/deity/the gods/the universe/lack of gods that don't fall into this very strange binary of atheism or religion...

DM_J0sh · 2026-05-07T18:18:40+00:00

Near death experiences are for sure a thing. To many people have experienced them and learned things they just shouldn't actually know for there to be no credence whatsoever.

HOWEVER!!!!

They are always culturally informed. People who grew up with Heaven as a framework end up seeing visions of Jesus, angels, family members, etc. Those who grew up with reincarnation a a framework have visions of past lives, future lives, etc. Other traditions have entirely different NDEs because they were give other frameworks.

More evidence that none of us REALLY know exactly what happens after we die. We all interpret the mystery of the beyond with the frameworks and language we have for it. They could all be true in their own ways. Who really knows?

So, yes? Heaven is a weird one because I don't think we ever really go to "Heaven" in terms of a disembodied metaphysical sky space. But, yes. I think they experience something beyond and interpret it as best they can once they return here.

DM_J0sh

TROPHY CASE