This episode is a sister to Episode 126: Israel and Palestine. Many depictions of Muslims in the West picture Islam as a religion of violence, and in a post-9/11 world, it’s certainly not difficult to believe that this is true. But while there is certainly violence in its past, the vast majority of Muslims share with other humans a deep desire for peace and safety.

For Christians, being on guard against this false narrative is absolutely essential. St. Paul says in 2 Timothy 1 that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of self-control. Fear is what holds us back from loving each other and living out the Gospel for our neighbors. Specifically, fear saps the three gifts Paul identifies:

• Power: Fear keeps us from the strength it takes to live with selflessness and love in a broken world.
• Love: Fear keeps us from the love that’s needed to serve those who disagree with and maybe even dislike us.
• Self-Control: Fear prevents the kind of self-control needed to proactively, instead of reactively, respond to others with love.

Since Jesus has risen from the dead and won the victory over the world, we don't need to be afraid of or angry with anyone.

Hosts: Aaron Mueller and Chuck Rathert

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To comment on this episode, visit https://saintjamesglencarbon.org/cacg-ep131.

Many Christian church bodies in the United States have presidents or bishops that function as administrative heads or public faces of that particular church. But none of these quite matches up to the role of the Roman Catholic Pope—the Bishop of Rome. Does not having a single, strong authority open the door for theological and practical innovations in a church? This has not turned out, in practice, to be the case; single, powerful leaders have not historically been able to protect the church from error. The alternative, however—complete autonomy for all individuals—has also been fruitless. The solution is the Bible’s vision of the Body of Christ. Jesus has poured out his Holy Spirit and gifted his whole church with his Word, and God promises that his Spirit will lead and guide his Church into truth through the careful, communal study of the Bible, guided by trained leaders.

Hosts: Aaron Mueller and Chuck Rathert

Subscribe to the show at https://cacg.saintjamesglencarbon.org.

To comment on this episode, visit https://saintjamesglencarbon.org/cacg-ep130.

Many Christian churches avoid talking about biblical election - the teaching that those who are believers have come to faith because God chose them - because it seems exclusive and non-egalitarian. How can God love everyone but only choose some? But in the Bible, the historical foundation of this doctrine is God’s choice of Israel to be his chosen people - not so that they could have a special status but so that they could be his agents for bringing the blessing of his redemption to the rest of the world. And this is the meaning of election for God’s people today: God has chosen to save and rescue them so that they can be his agents to live and preach his love in Jesus to all the world. Far from being exclusive, the doctrine of election is a guarantee that God loves his world, wants to save it, and is actively sending his people out to that end.

Hosts: Aaron Mueller and Chuck Rathert

Subscribe to the show at https://cacg.saintjamesglencarbon.org.

To comment on this episode, visit https://saintjamesglencarbon.org/cacg-ep129.