Looking Over Life

This is part two of the conversation with Josh Nisley from Faith Builders.  In this episode, we go further into the pros and cons of higher education for Christians and consider how we can serve God with our minds. We'd like to hear from you. Please send us your feedback or suggestions or even your education story. Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com Culture Making by Andy Crouch Karen Swallow Prior Quote by Steven Brubaker Faith Builders Educational Programs

After Shawn accuses James of being a flaming liberal, they discuss the meaning and origin of the terms "conservative" or "liberal" and how they should or shouldn't apply to the Christian. Do some people naturally orient one way or another based on their personality or stage in life? How are conservative and liberals in the church to work together? Was Jesus a conservative or a liberal? And what does that mean for how Christians today should orient ourselves to the political and religious movements that categorize themselves as one or the other? Links ⁠Is the Christian believer conservative or liberal?⁠ ⁠Understanding Conservative Christianity: What is Means and How it Shapes Beliefs⁠ ⁠Liberal vs Conservatives: Meaning and Differences⁠ ⁠What Do Christians Mean When They Use the Word “Conservative”?⁠ ⁠Conservative or Christian?⁠ ⁠Encyclopedia Britannica: Conservatism⁠ ⁠What in the World is Fundamentalism? — Anabaptist Perspectives⁠ ⁠The root of the word radical⁠ ⁠Scientists Imaged and Mapped a Tiny Piece of Human Brain. Here’s What They Found⁠ What We're Reading ⁠Gospel Versus Gospel—Theron Schlabach⁠ ⁠The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness—Jonathan Haidt⁠ ⁠Why the Past 10 Years of American Life Have Been Uniquely Stupid⁠ ⁠After Babel—Substack⁠

Shawn learns what it's like to watch an eclipse, or at least James tries to convey his experience. It's an event that is not to be missed! James and Shawn also answer some questions from you, our listeners. Are we becoming more casual and losing our sense of etiquette and manners? How important it is to hold onto these things? What are "generational sins"? What did God mean when He said that the sins of the fathers will be passed on to the third and fourth generations? How do we deal with strong-willed people in our churches? What toilet paper orientation do you prefer, over or under? We also brought back a segment where we talk about a few books we are currently reading. James is reading productivity books and fantasy, while Shawn is being more righteous and reading books about church membership, discipling, and what our young people believe about God. Eclipse links ⁠Photos of the corona during the April 8, 2024 total solar eclipse⁠ ⁠XKCD: Eclipse Coolness⁠ Other Links ⁠Great Depression - Wikipedia⁠ ⁠Etiquette – Wikipedia⁠ ⁠Toilet Paper Orientation - Wikipedia⁠ What We're Reading ⁠Slow Productivity by Cal Newport⁠ ⁠LOTR⁠ ⁠Chronological Bible⁠ ⁠Almost Christian by Kenda Creasy Dean⁠ ⁠Discipling by 9Marks⁠ ⁠Church Membership by 9Marks

Shawn and James look over the Bible translations survey they sent out over a year ago. They look at what translations people use personally, what people’s “official” church translation is, and how open churches are to changing to a translation other than the KJV.The findings are interesting, though not completely surprising. People's personal beliefs and use of different Bible translations differ quite a bit from how they perceive others' beliefs or their church's willingness to switch from the KJV.YouTube – What Are Mennonites Like Today?YouTube – Useful Charts: History of Anabaptists & QuakersWebsite for contact information for Traditional Text Bible (not an official website)Anabaptist World article about the Traditional Text BibleLink to analysis of survey

James and Shawn dive deep into some of the questions that many families are confronting today: What should I allow my children to look at? When should I give them a smartphone? How can I protect them from ungodly online content? Should I let my child use social media?Parents are now dealing with a lot of pressures from the internet, social media, and smartphones that didn’t really exist a decade or so ago. How can we act wisely in an age that distracts us and tempts to fall prey to mindless consumption?Science CornerLucy spacecraft images asteroidLagrange pointsAsteroid facts from NASAJupiter Trojan asteroidsWikipedia - Tunguska EventWikipedia - Chelyabinsk MeteorFamily Technology PlanThe Tech-Wise Family by Andy CrouchJames’s articlesDigital DiscipleshipTechnology’s Road of DeathJonathan HaidtThe Anxious GenerationBook RecommendationPracticing the Way by John Mark ComerContact InformationEmail: ⁠lookingoverlife@gmail.com⁠ Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠James's blog: ⁠⁠Invisible Things

James and Shawn talk about whether the rise of smartphones and computers will make handwriting unnecessary. But before attempting to answer that question, they make a diversion into Bible design and how it can affect your reading experience. They discuss fonts, typefaces, leading, and whitespace, so beware if you aren't a typography nerd. They then address the main topic and talk about whether we should make students learn cursive and whether we lose something if we don't. Is handwriting an essential skill that we should keep teaching even if we eventually never use it in real life? Should we be worried that we will lose the ability to write by hand, or are rumors of the death of handwriting greatly exaggerated? Show Links ESV Single-Column Heritage Bible ESV Heirloom Bible, Heritage Edition Typography Why Bible Typography Matters Lexicon Typeface Comic Sans Criminal The Origin of Bible Chapter and Verse Numbers Wiki - The D'Nealian Method Cursive in California Schools Is Cursive Going Extinct? Cursive Helps Brain Connectivity Cursive and Brain Connections Passionate Outcry Against the Lead-in Stroke Wikipedia - Ebook Ars Technica - Lp Sales Overtake Cd Sales Contact Information Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ James's blog: ⁠Invisible Things

Shawn and James talk about the bad things that happen in the world. We look at questions like, "How can a good God let bad things happen?" We discuss whether or not God is responsible for the bad things that happen in our lives. Did God cause your loved one to die? Did He direct in those events? What about when your child spilled his breakfast cereal? Did God direct in those events? How does God's sovereignty work? What have you seen in your experience? Why do bad things happen? Send us an email. Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠Invisible Things blog The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis Why Bad Things Happen by Michael Martin Wikipedia - 1931 China floods Wikipedia - 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami Wikipedia - Hurricane Katrina Wikipedia - List of natural disasters by death toll

James and Shawn consider a recent loss and what it means to grieve. We also look at some tough questions, like, "How can a good God allow bad things to happen?" We're sure that your life has been touched by loss. We'd like to hear from you. How did you—or are you—dealing with that loss? How do you reconcile a good God and bad things? Send us an email. We also discuss the idea of preparing for our own eulogy. How will people be able to say nice things about us at our funeral? What are we doing to make it easy for them to do so? Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Invisible Things blog Unique death rituals around the world Christian Light Keith Crider obituary LOL: Episode 10: Community or Society? Living Forward by Michael Hyatt and Daniel Harkavy Full Focus: Creating a Life Plan

Shawn and James go over their yearly themes—together in a van! We reviewed the themes for 2023 (Year of Appetite and Year of Key Actions) and looked at our themes for 2024 (Year of Devotion and Year of Family). If you use a yearly theme, we'd like to hear about it. How do you make it work for you? What have you learned? Send us an email! Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Shawn and James talk about crossing the milestone of 10,000 listens on the podcast. They also talk about the future of the podcast and give a sneak peek at the topic of a future episode. Shawn is heading to the States with family in tow while James and his wife recently added another son to their family. Both of us have big dreams for what we hope to accomplish in 2024. Will we be successful, or will our dreams fall apart like a sagging snowman on a 70-degree day in March? Thanks to everyone who has listened so far and has shared the podcast with friends and family. If you enjoy the podcast, the best thing you can do is to let more people know about it. Links Almost Christian: What the Faith of Our Teenagers is Telling the American Church Faith Builders Educational Programs Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Shawn and James talk about whether Christians should be willingly ignorant about some things in the news and how the tsunami of information from the Internet is affecting us. How much are we responsible to know about what is happening in the world? What global issues should Christians feel compelled to address? What does Jesus call us to? How much information consumption is too much? We talk about these questions as well as a few others related to consuming news and dealing with information overload. We'd love to hear if you have any thoughts on these topics. Please send us an email. Invisible Things blog post: Light and High Beauty Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠

James and Shawn try to figure out what modern idolatry looks like. Do you have a temple in your town that holds the idol that all your neighbors worship? Who is the patron saint of your community? Of your culture? Or maybe there really aren't idols in our modern, enlightened world. We'd like to hear from you. What do you think about modern idolatry? Send us an email. Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Invisible Things Blog⁠⁠⁠⁠ Modern Idolatry - Invisible Things Blog

Shawn and James are back to put to rest the debate for or against a Creator. Did you know that Cristians believe in the Big Bang Theory? What can you answer someone who tells you there is no way to prove God's existence through science? How can we talk about the Anthropic Principle in the Walmart aisle? These and more questions are pondered in our episode that is rapidly becoming a series. What are your thoughts? Send us your feedback. Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠Invisible Things Blog⁠⁠⁠⁠ Wikipedia - The Anthropic Principle Why Creation Makes Sense - Invisible Things Blog Scientists look for space dust on cathedrals How far is the earth from the sun?

James and Shawn wrap up the series about evidences for Creation. In this episode, we look at some of the more difficult questions against creationism and offer some ways to think about them. We tried to give some answers that you can use in the check-out at the grocery store, but we're not sure how well we did with that. What do you consider a difficult question about Young Earth creationism and similar topics? What are some answers that have helped you in those tough conversations? Send us an email! Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Invisible Things Blog⁠⁠⁠⁠ Science vs. Bible? 5 Arguments for and Against Creationism From the Ken Ham, Bill Nye Debate | U.S. News (christianpost.com) Wikipedia - Young Earth creationism Wikipedia - Epigenetics Wikipedia - Charles Darwin PubMed Central - Studies about lungs in the Andes Darwin’s Black Box by Michael J. Behe Wikipedia - Radiocarbon Dating Wikipedia - Radiometric Dating Wikipedia - List of nearest bright stars

Shawn was surprised by an idea James came with about the invention that had the most fundamental change to humanity. What do you think about topic? What would you describe as the most important invention or development in history? Is it ChatGPT? The wheel? We'd really enjoy hearing your thoughts, so send us an email! Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Invisible Things Blog⁠⁠⁠⁠

James and Shawn finally get to this long-awaited topic! And Shawn learns just how dangerous it is to use the phrase "only a theory" with James! Is there truly a conflict between science and religion? Or is that just an idea that should be de-bunked? Well, we certainly try to show another point of view on the topic. We really want to hear from you. Do you agree with what we shared? Did we change your views? Did we get some things wrong? Send us an email! Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Invisible Things Blog⁠⁠⁠⁠ Do Science and Faith Conflict? - Invisible Things Blog “God’s Undertaker” John C. Lennox The Soul of Science Nancy R. Pearcey and Charles B. Thaxton When Science Meets Religion Ian Barbour

Shawn and James enjoy recording a podcast in person in Peru! This time we talked about how we keep our devotional lives alive. What even is devotion? How do we cultivate a genuinely close relationship to God? What happens when we fall off the wagon? If you have any ways that you keep you private times with God vibrant, please send us an email with your tips. Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Invisible Things Blog⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Juan David, a blog⁠⁠

James and Shawn share another FWIW episode with the LOL audience. We look at the seventh and final habit of the book and close out what was a rather long book review. In this habit, we discuss how important it is to take care of oneself before being able to do the important things in life. We looked at the four categories Covey gives of Physical, Mental, Social/Emotional, and Spiritual care. How do you find balance in taking care of yourself, considering these categories? Do you have any specific advice or tips? Please send us an email. Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife⁠ ⁠Invisible Things Blog⁠⁠ ⁠⁠Juan David, a blog⁠ ⁠The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey ⁠“On Slow Productivity and the Anti-Busyness Revolution” by Cal Newport Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts—Becoming the Person You Want to Be Marshall Goldsmith H.I. #3: Four Light Bulbs - Hello Internet Podcast

Shawn and James have another Q&A conversation. We talk about how James isn't really a science person after all and why Shawn decided to move to Peru. James also teaches us how to make and Indian dish. Please be sure to share this episode with a friend. It really helps us out. And if you have any questions for us, send us an email! Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com  Website: ⁠⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠⁠  Patreon: ⁠⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife Invisible Things Blog⁠ ⁠Juan David, a blog Chicken Tikka Masala Chicken Pathia

James and Shawn talk about death and separation and the feelings that go with it. James recently experienced a loss in his family and was pondering thoughts of death and life, so we decided to take some time to talk about it together. We hope this conversation can be meaningful to you, as well. If you have any thoughts you could share with us, please send us an email. We'd love to hear from you. Email: lookingoverlife@gmail.com Website: ⁠lookingoverlife.com⁠  Patreon: ⁠patreon.com/lookingoverlife ⁠"Would We Truly Long for Heaven" by Elizabeth Drudge⁠ ⁠"A Psalm of Life" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow