Posts with content related to historical events and perspectives on those events.

Tag Archive for: History

Podcast 82: Was the British Empire the Worst Ever?—with Mr. Mark Sandor!

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With special guest Mr. Mark Sandor, we look at a poll that claims the British Empire was the worst empire in history. Weighing facts with a clear head is an important part of thinking critically—and biblically! Listen in and learn with us.

P.S. For some reason, one was a special challenge to finalize in GarageBand, as one of the tracks kept getting randomly muted. We think we figured out a way around it, so if there are any audio difficulties, just let us know at [email protected].

Podcast 59: Is God a Socialist or a Capitalist?

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There is a war going on for your mind, seeking to conscript you into various ideological crusades and conflicts. These days—at least in the U.S.—one of the most passionate is taking place between defenders of capitalism and advocates of socialism. It might seem rather abstract, but yesterday’s boring academic debates are turning into today’s street fights and riots. And drafting young minds is the key, both sides seem to think, to winning the battle for their side.

So, if they are fighting for your mind, you should be ready to defend it. And we do that by (cue theme behind this podcast’s entire existence) thinking biblically. Because what Jesus Christ and His Father think in such things is, fundamentally, all that really matters.

This topic ended up being a big one, so this episode is part one of two. With a homework assignment at the end! Who doesn’t like homework?!? (Optional, of course! No, there will be no quiz…) We hope you’ll join us as we tackle the topic and set the stage for part two.

How Unique Geography Gives the U.S. Superpowers

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We often emphasize in the Church that the United States and Great Britain did not become great because they are somehow “better than everyone else” and that the source of their abundant blessings is God’s unconditional promise to their physical descendant Abraham. Continuously enjoying those blessings is very conditional, but that’s a story for another time!

(Though, if you’ve never studied why all of this is the case and proven it for yourself, you will find our booklet on the United States and Great Britain in Prophecy a worthwhile Bible study.)

This means, for example, that although the U.S. is the most powerful single nation in the world (for now!), we should see elements that represent God’s divine blessing on the nation in ways that the people themselves had little to nothing to do with. That is, things that make the country great that the people had no control over.

With that in mind, the video below is one we stumbled upon recently, and it does a marvelous job of explaining how the unique geography of the U.S.—something that the original colonists and citizens of the nation could not have “created” or established for themselves—is one of the key reasons behind its greatness and power in the world. So, we thought that it would be worth passing along for those who might be interested! (And, frankly, we’re just fond of calling things “OP”—it makes us feel hip.) It’s below.

A Couple of Tips on Meditation

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Here’s a basic question for you: How do you draw close to God? 

If you’ve heard that one before, you might know some of the answers. The Church of God helpfully focuses on four big actions we can take to draw close to God: Christians can pray, study their Bibles, fast, and meditate.

It can be a little tricky to start doing these things regularly. Thankfully, the Church provides plenty of help on how to get the most out of prayer, study, fasting, and meditation. When I tried to start doing these activities regularly, it was a slow process, but I gradually felt myself get better at prayer, study, and fasting. Little by little, I felt like I was getting more out of these things. Some days were better or worse than others, but generally, these practices seemed to be going in the right direction in my life. 

Meditation was different—I rarely felt like I was getting much better at it. I knew the basics: think about a godly concept deeply. True meditation is not emptying one’s mind, as some religions teach. Philippians 4:8 tells us that “whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” That’s a great list, but what does it mean practically? How exactly are we supposed to think deeply about those things?

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Podcast: Christians and the Constitution

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Many in the world want to distract you from what God wants you to do with your life by pointing you to their political causes, and some of those causes can seem attractive and can pull us away from Jesus’ standard, stated when He explained “My kingdom is not of this world.” People are throwing around words like “freedom” and “liberty” out there, but how do you think about those words and ideas biblically? We hope this episode of the podcast can help with that.

On this second podcast recorded during Mr. Mark Sandor’s visit (well, second attempted, first recorded), we spend time reflecting on the U.S. Constitution, our relationship to it as Christians in America [which is hopefully helpful to our non-American brothers and sisters, as well!], whether “getting back to the Constitution” is really sufficient to save the country [Spoiler Alert: It’s not. But why not?], and viewing the freedoms we have through the lens of our responsibilities before God.

As mentioned in the podcast, part of the spur for this discussion was Mr. Gerald Weston’s excellent article “The Bible vs. the U.S. Constitution” in the March-April 2022 Living Church News. If you don’t have the print version, you can click on the title there to read it.

Podcast: Studying History with Your Brain Turned On

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Why are there four gospels? How do you study history? How do you even read history, especially the history of the Bible? What should teens and young adults keep in mind as they study history in school and at a university? And just what is the name of the last king of Judah, anyway? (We know it starts with a “Z”…)

Join us on the podcast as we talk with Area Pastor and admitted history nerd Mark Sandor about keeping your brain turned on when reading or studying history, biblical or otherwise.

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Blubber Rain: Lessons from an Exploding Whale Carcass

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Bone fragments, chunks of rotting whale meat, slabs of stinking blubber, droplets of liquids, and a fine mist of various carcass fluids all rained down from a clear sky. Over the ocean? On a deserted beach? No. On a crowd of 75 fleeing spectators and their cars filling makeshift parking lots outside of Florence, Oregon, in 1970.

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