Truth Be Told

What's That Foot-Washing Thing All About Anyways?

With the topic of foot-washing entering the public eye with the "He Gets Us" campaign Super Bowl commercial, it felt appropriate to look into the topic to clear away some of the wrong ideas surrounding the practice. 

Who did it? To who? For What?

Often, the people that actively perform foot-washing as a Christian practice either think that it's a generic act to be done for anyone in order to show yourself a servant to all OR see it as some sort of rededication or recommitment to God.

This second mentality is closer to the truth but still glosses over the important fact that your commitment to God happened at baptism. Once you've entered into that relationship, you can recall, reflect, and refocus on that commitment, but you can't enter into it again. To quote Jesus, "the one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean."

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDUkiQvCEF8Rc4TzjyBMsxg

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

When They Call You Names

Those who worship Jesus Christ have been called all kinds of derogatory things since biblical times. We're told this is expected to continue as we get closer and closer to the time of Jesus' return. 

In this episode we look at 4 names leveled against people of the faith during the time of the New Testament and the responses of the ones facing the criticism. Modern aggression towards Christianity hasn't changed all that much and some of the names are still in use today! By looking at what early believers did when they were called names, we can be informed about how we can handle some of the same attacks.

The 4 Names included here are: Nazarene, Seedpicker, Disturber of the Peace, and Christian.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDUkiQvCEF8Rc4TzjyBMsxg

 

Russ Ramsey Interview: Why Does Beauty Matter?

Russ Ramsey is a pastor and author from Tennessee with a vested interest in art and how it communicates to us on a fundamental level. In this interview we use his fantastic book, "Rembrandt Is In The Wind," as a jumping off point to discussing the broad topic of beauty.

In a world that is obsessed with image, are we overvaluing beauty or are we just using an improper definition? What is the balance a Christian might want to aim for when considering beauty versus aesthetic obsession?

We also discuss a few specific paintings and artists to reflect on a variety of questions. Idolatry and religious images, Catholic and Protestant tendencies, as well as the morality (or lack thereof) of some of the world's most well-known religious painters. 

If you love art or discussions on faith - you'll love this episode. If you hate art or hate discussions on faith - you'll love this episode. Russ Ramsey has an incredible way of analyzing some of the most polarizing topics (art and religion) through the universally loved language of story which is sure to increase your love and appreciation for art, artists, history, faith, and beauty itself.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDUkiQvCEF8Rc4TzjyBMsxg

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCn-rlo-ORHtatIPjGmtZm-w

 

Russ Ramsey Information:

Rembrandt Is In The Wind Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Rembrandt-Wind-Learning-through-Faith/dp/0310129729

Instagram: @russramsey1

God Works In Mysterious Ways - Or Does He?

The phrase, "God works in mysterious ways," is so commonplace in Christian circles that it often gets mistaken for a Bible verse. Any time we perceive that God has worked in a way we don't expect, we might shrug our shoulders and say this. However, should His workings be mysterious to us?

Of course, God is all-powerful, all-knowing, omnipresent, etc. His ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. We're SUPPOSED to look at the work that God does and marvel at it, but this doesn't mean we should be surprised at it. 

God has given us a deep text FILLED with examples of the myriad of ways He can and has worked. If we study His word, not only will we begin to understand more clearly how God does and can work, but we'll feel much more free to ask for His guidance and blessing in our lives when we see just how unrestricted He is.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDUkiQvCEF8Rc4TzjyBMsxg

 

Is the Bible TOO Perfect, or Too IMPERFECT? Textual Analysis of Eyewitness Accounts

The Bible is a complex series of books. It bears the marks of God in its cohesiveness across time, cultures, and personalities foretelling the end from the beginning and it bears the marks of humanity in its reflection of circumstances, periods in history, and perspectives. It wasn't perfectly understood at the times it was written and it isn't perfectly understood now because it is a book meant to gain clarity as times and seasons come into fulfillment.

As we continue to search the Scriptures to gain clarity, we can be faced with the predicament of not understanding how God's perfect Word was transmitted through His imperfect servants across imperfect media. Skeptics will raise interesting points about various perceived contradictions. Apologists will defend eyewitness discrepancy claiming that, if they were any more perfect they would be exhibiting signs of collusion. On top of this, we have the question of literary license by the authors. Sometimes the Bible seems TOO perfect almost as if it were fabricated by authors rather than recounted by historians.

If the Bible is TOO perfect - we feel we can't trust it. If the Bible is not perfect enough - we feel we can't trust it. 

Through this message we'll analyze three stories in the Bible that bear the marks of God's amazing work through imperfect people to bring about historical events in a symmetrical and poetic way and the marks of human perspective writing in such a way to impress a deeper truth behind the historical facts.

Hopefully, by the end, we'll see that while the biblical authors were exercising literary license in how they retold historical accounts, it doesn't negate the factual nature of their writings.

Rather than skepticism, through deeper study, this can become an incredible proof of God's sovereignty to preserve perfect truth through imperfect people.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com 

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

Should Christians Be Team Life or Team Death?

The Stoic philosopher, Seneca, offered a lot of wisdom on the topic of death - how to die well, how not to fear death, and how to live more fully in light of the knowledge that death is inevitable. Some, however, accused Seneca of being "obsessed with death," to which he might say, "No! You are obsessed with life!"

Which team should the Christian be on? Though so many want to paint the Old Testament as a collection of harsh, judgement books with no mercy in view and the New Testament as one of compassion, when considering the Bible through the lens of the story of life and death, the opposite picture is drawn.

The Old Testament draws clear lines between life and death and strongly exhorts the follower of God to choose life. In the New Testament, however, Christ and His followers are consistently found discussing the topic of death to self, death on behalf of others, and death by persecution as a very probable outcome for Christians. Paul even says, often, that he would PREFER to die rather than continue to live. So which is it?

In this grand story of life and death, where do we fit in and which side should we choose; Team Life or Team Death?

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

The Uncomplicated Connection Between Doom and Hope

There is a constant debate going on regarding the Church's messaging to the world. Should we "cry aloud and spare not" reflecting the sins of the world back at them, hoping to convict the world of its evil, and drawing hard lines in the sand about moral rightness? Or, should we recognize the broken state of the world and try to share the hope that surrounds what Jesus Christ has done, is doing, and will do in the future in an effort to toss a life raft to those who appear to be drowning?

Doom or hope? This is the question but, are these things as disconnected as we think? How can you refrain from calling out evil for what it is - an affront to God? How can you withhold hope from those desperate for it? Both can be accomplished.

Just like our actual, physical sight, we can only focus on one plane of perspective at a time. If we focus on what's right in front of us, everything else becomes periphery. If we focus on something far away, the things closest to us lose clarity. If we focus on the sin and corruption in the world, we bring clarity to it but lose sight of the Kingdom of God. If, however, we focus on the Kingdom, the sin of the world is seen for what it is - a blurry and uncertain mess.

In this message, given immediately after returning from Israel and experiencing some of the horrible things that happened on October 7th, 2023 first hand, we outline the connection between sin and death to show that Jesus Christ did not just die to forgive us of sin but to walk back what is done in the process of sin. The Way, the Truth, and the Life took on the life of sin, the path of corruption, and the end of death to give us the promise of healing in the future.

This promised healing isn't just one of the removal of physical ailments but a restoration of immortality AND incorruption. Sin brings a lot more than death - it also brings suffering, pain, and decay as a consequence. Even more powerfully, the forgiveness and healing that Christ brings eclipses all of that by bringing restoration, life, and purity from the corruption of sin.

 

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

Trip to Israel: Days 15a and b, 16a, 17a, b, and c, and 18: Leaving Israel, Border Crossing, Petra, Mt. Nebo, Tel Al Hammam (Sodom), and Amman, Traveling Home

THE FINAL EPISODE!

This episode clips along at a pretty good pace - a lot to see and hear about, but this recounting of events matches the feeling of trekking across Israel, barely making it into the country of Jordan, and seeing all there is to see before getting out of the country. It all blurred together and happened so quickly that, despite having 3 days in Jordan, it felt more like wandering in the wilderness trying to make our way home, just like the Israelites did thousands of years before.

The border crossing was a nightmare but I got a good story out of it. Jordan itself didn't exactly endear itself to me despite the fact that I am, genuinely, glad that I went. Some of the hostility we came across was, no doubt, due to the recent aggression towards Israel and the long-held aggression between Islam and Judaism, but some was just indicative of a terse and aggressive people. 

Petra was all that it's hyped up to be. Stunning formations built right into the sandstone from an ancient peopled called the Nabateans, possibly related or allied with the Edomites of the Bible. 

Mt. Nebo was surreal, to survey the promised land with a longing for it as we also felt like strangers in a strange land, drew me closer to Moses than I've ever been up to this point. 

Tel Al Hammam seems to be the more scientifically verifiable site of Sodom. Even though it didn't seem to fit the picture I had in my head, scholarship seems to be working its way towards a consensus that this is the correct historical site. 

After a long few days of wandering through the desert, seeing some of the most incredible things on Earth, staying in amazing hotels, and trying different food, we had rebooked our flights out of the modern city of Amman and made it out safely. Though so many had difficulty getting out of the Middle East, my dad and I were so fortunate to have even better flight plans open up to us than the ones we had originally booked. 

All in all, this trip to Israel and Jordan was absolutely life changing. I hope by listening through this series you're motivated to travel there yourself or study the Biblical text through the lens of the land of the Bible which offers so much clarity to the stories it contains. Thanks so much for listening!

 

Pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zlyZDyWOWUf8rumN2_YW2jW3FpVOkXXN?usp=drive_link

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDUkiQvCEF8Rc4TzjyBMsxg

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

Trip to Israel: Days 13 a, b, c, d, and 14: Church of the Holy Sepulcher, Shopping in the Muslim Quarter, The Garden Tomb, October 7th Attack on Israel

OUR FINAL DAYS IN ISRAEL!

I am feeling almost as sad about this as I was at the time of actually leaving Israel. However, all good things must come to an end and this is no exception.

Of course, this series won't be over with this episode because we still traveled into Jordan and there's a lot to talk about there that I'd be remiss not to mention.

On Day 13 in Israel we visited the two primary proposed sites of Jesus' crucifixion, burial, and resurrection: the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Garden Tomb. Despite the Church of the Holy Sepulcher being steeped in mystical, Catholic tradition (contrary to my upbringing and Western mindset) and my bias being against it as the actual site of Jesus' death, the evidence was fairly strong in favor of it. Interestingly, my bias was, originally, leaning towards the Garden Tomb, but I had a change of heart after visiting each site. Which of these two, if either, do you see as the most likely site?

We also had a few hours to have lunch and do some shopping in the Muslim Quarter of Jerusalem which led to me being absolutely duped out of about 5 bucks from a young kid named Ryan and his brother Abu. I may come out looking ridiculous from this exchange but, overall, I count it as a positive experience.

Day 14 saw the horrific attacks on Israel by Hamas that had us all on edge but never feeling exactly unsafe. It was surreal to be witness to some of the conflict that goes on in Israel by virtue of them being surrounded by people with antithetical beliefs, cultures, and views and my heart still goes out to them as they continue to struggle against terrorism in their nation.

 

Pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zlyZDyWOWUf8rumN2_YW2jW3FpVOkXXN?usp=drive_link

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDUkiQvCEF8Rc4TzjyBMsxg

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly

Trip to Israel: Day 12a, b, c, and d: Temple Mount, Pool of Bethesda, Shiloh, and City of David Light Show

The temple mount was a surreal experience. To have stood closer to the proposed spot of the Holy of Holies than most of my biblical heroes could have in their time was humbling. Being there while it was almost deserted was ethereal. Picturing the layout of the first century scenery was enlightening. Standing at the Dome of the Rock, facing the Mt. of Olives, and looking up at the sky where Jesus says He'll return from was amazing.

We continued this slower-paced, contemplative day by walking to the pool of Bethesda where Jesus healed a lame man, stopping by at the Church of St. Anne to sing a song and speak with the attending priest on the way. The pools are all dried up now, but the porches can be made out affirming the biblical account.

A few of us had the opportunity to drive deeper into the West Bank to see the biblical city of Shiloh. Fairly incredible to, in one day, see Israel's two primary capital cities where the ark of the covenant was housed. We also were fortunate enough to get a behind the scenes look at the red heifers being kept for a potential, future purification of a priesthood in the event that a third temple is built.

To round out the day, several of us were dropped off at the Jaffa Gate to see a lightshow telling the story of King David projected onto the walls of the City of David itself. We didn't quite know what to expect from this going in but, considering the night was cool and pleasant and the story was incredibly relevant to the setting, it was an awesome way to spend an evening before walking back through Jerusalem to our hotel.

 

Pictures: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zlyZDyWOWUf8rumN2_YW2jW3FpVOkXXN?usp=drive_link

Email: truthbetoldbiblepodcast@gmail.com

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDUkiQvCEF8Rc4TzjyBMsxg

Logo: Matt Hernandez

Music: Acoustic Indie Folk Years By MarkJuly