Hello listeners!
January provided us listener an amazing amount of content, requiring a long newsletter from the listener’s corner. I’ve started making notes in my Bible for Ruth and Hebrews. This podcast is really helping me with my Bible studies. How about you? Feedback welcome Mary.BurrosofBerea@gmail.com! You can even fill my inbox with your complaints and compliments.
On January 3, Rick and Andy came together at Giraffe Studio aka Hotel California. This is part 2 of the introduction to the Hebrews series. The topic is protology, and Rick talked a lot about the Creation story and following the storyline of covenants. He expanded on the idea of relationship between Creator and created and how trust is necessary to fulfill covenants. God chose the bloodline of Abraham to fulfill his plans with man and eventually lead us to a savior who rights our relationship. I know that some people (myself included) can find the Tanakh overwhelming, but when you can follow storylines like covenants through it, the reading becomes richer and more rewarding. Towards the end, Rick mentioned how listeners have insulted Gary DeMar and sent Rick some not-so-nice messages. No one has everything right about the Bible and we all need to show and receive kindness and grace within the body of Christ.
Now that you have a warm fuzzy feeling hopefully, you can listen to the round table discussion hosted at Berean Bible Church in Virginia Beach. Our topic was moving forward in the preterist world view and the effect on society. In attendance were the Burros; Rick, Ralph, Andy, Cherrie and Charlton Carter. This was the biggest panel in the history of the podcast and included some folks we have met before: Pete Wrue, Bob Cruikshank, Pastor David Curtis, Gary DeMar, Jeff McCormick and Mike and Denise Sullivan. Within this group of people are decades of study, book authoring and debate. Moving forward, to get on board with this, we have to accept that dispensationalism has had a negative effect on society. Pete Wrue used the phrase “polishing brass on a sinking ship” comparing dispensationalists as just giving up and waiting for the return of Jesus. Pastor Curtis mentioned a book called “Blood Brothers,” written by a man who grew up in the Palestine region, and the topic of the constant conflict between Islam/Zionism in the region and how groups seem to be making things worse in the hopes of Jesus’ return. (The book “The Late Great Planet Earth was mentioned again. Gotta pick that up.) Mr. DeMar spoke of the importance of Christians getting involved in politics and the idea of putting government in its proper role. I believe he termed this Christian Federalism. Mr. Curtis and Mr. DeMar began speaking of cheating in the elections, etc. (I was getting really uncomfortable at this point as I just don’t believe all that rhetoric.) The concept of slave mentality in dispensationalism came up and Denise mentioned that we all need to wake up to what is going on around us with the globalist agenda and the “Great Reset.” (Not going to lie, I was getting further and further away at this point.) Andy finally chimes in in frustration as it would seem that the group implication would be that only right-leaning conservative Christians can have proper moral values, and that’s hard to swallow. At the end of the podcast we got to hear from Karen Rogers who came across to me as a beam of sunlight at that point as well as Rodney Lewis, Cherrie’s husband. Rick presented his wisdom in loving one another, both in the body of Christ and loving our neighbor. I am glad that he did because I was not identifying with the conversation anymore. Even though I personally am dispensationalist by tradition, I have always been taught that we are to be the hands and feet of Jesus on this earth, to give to the poor, to help the helpless, and to love as Christ did, whether he is coming back in our lifetime or not, this is our task, and it’s hard for me to accept that world views similar to mine are deemed responsible for the downfall of society. What do you think? I would love to get some conversation going in my inbox!!
Moving on to episode 92, Tiziana hosted Rick, Andy and Pastor Michael Miano from Blue Point Bible Church for part one of Notes from the Underground: a Study of Ruth. We started by talking about when Ruth was written and who wrote it and why ( side note: this is so helpful for developing context, right?). In the podcast we we learn about the Hebrew concept of chesed, the inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s plan, the relationship between Israel and Moab, and how intermarriage could have been inside or outside of God’s will. (As Andy pointed out, it would be worthwhile for you to listen to the Mary Magdalene Notes from the Underground series if you haven’t already as more cultural context is provided.)
Continuing our Testimonies series, Episode 93 was the testimony of Pastor Michael Miano. Mike had a rough childhood, passed around to various family members, entering the foster care system, and eventually finding his “family” in gang life. This association led to his frequent incarcerations. However, after seeking for a bit, Mike was introduced to a man named Paul who would lead him to Christ. Mike identified as a Watcher from the Tribe of Dan, which seemed to work well in jail but not so much on the outside. Mike got his GED in prison and when he was released, he eventually enrolled in a Bible college and was doing an internship there. Eschatology was a main interest for Mike, and was speaking on preterism using his social media. The church at which he was interning was said to be Pan-Tribulationist (me too. It will all pan out in the end. That’s not what they meant though.) Pastor Miano had to learn how to be more humble over time. At some point, the discussion turned to how he believed the church should be rebuked for improper eschatology, and that went over like a lead balloon with Sarita. Me too. Anyway, Pastor Miano felt more in line with an Assemblies of God church in Florida and developed The Preterist Power Hour on YouTube as well as other channels. He was invited to pastor Blue Point Bible Church in New York, accepted the job and has recently married, and they are expecting a child.
Part 3 of the Prep for the Hebrews study aired on January 20th. I found this episode extremely valuable as Rick broke down eschatological views in a concise and clear way. (The notes I took will be referred to in the future!) Andy was of course there as well as that little furry ball of trouble Greg. Rick also hit on the progression in the Bible from the Tabernacle to Jesus and how Christ related to others through sacrifice and service. He reminded us that we are called to love each other, not to point fingers, scream “heretic,” call names nor fling poo. Touching back to the round table discussion, Rick expressed that the real problem with state-supported Christian ethics is that we don’t get along within the body of Christ! (I would agree wholeheartedly. The “Christian Federalism” concept to me seems like theonomy which seems like Christian Nationalism which is a buzzword for bad, right? I don’t know enough about how one differs from the other.) Jesus said “if you are for me, then you are not against me” and we need to remember that as the global Church, lending grace and acceptance to those who see differently what is in the Bible and how they live out their lives accordingly. Also, I have never heard of Keith Green before so I have no idea what they are talking about with this guy, I have to look that up too.
Episode 97 kicked off the Hebrews study entitled “It’s Time to Grow Up.” Aside from Rick and Andy, Cherrie, Sarita, Ralph and Charlton “Electric Rickaloo” Carter were in attendance. Rick has been working on this study for 4 years! We started with the basics about Hebrews; the fact that no one really knows who wrote it and how it was a disputed text or “Antilegomena.” The gang read through a long lists of creeds (religious statements of belief) to drive home the fact that obviously no one person or group is accurate on everything they believe about how to live out our faiths. We are all seeking the One whom the Bible is written about! I am a huge fan of The Chosen, and Rick is too. He revealed that Turhan Troy Caylak, who plays Alphaeus, and Steve Shermett, who is a Pharisee on the show, will be upcoming guests. Somehow the topic veered off to armed Mormons. In the little after show segment, Rick asked everyone if they knew who Tim Mackie is. (I sure do!! I’m a huge fan, I listen to Bible Project stuff a lot and Dr. Mackie’s in-depth teaching on Genesis literally changed me. If Dr. Mackie is going to be a guest I will literally sleep in my car outside Giraffe Studio.) MUCH to my chagrin, Rick never mentioned Dr. Mackie again. They instead talked about Tim Martin, the author of “Beyond Creation Science” which sounds fascinating. Then to Jordan Peterson. WHAT ABOUT TIM MACKIE RICK???
February brings more study of Ruth and Hebrews as well as the testimony of Dr. Lynn Hiles. If you haven’t listened yet, spend some time listening to January’s episodes. I laughed, I gasped, I felt the feelings and I learned a lot. If you have listened, let me know what you think! And of course, thank you for supporting the podcast! If you would like to become a Patreon supporter of the Burros of Berea, opportunities are available starting as little as $3 per month. Please visit the webpage at BurrosofBerea.com for more information. And, thank you for reading the newsletter!
Sincerely,
Mary McLeod
The Burros of Berea Podcast
