Music has a power which logic and rationality do not - the power to tap into the human emotional experience. This experience is no less spiritual than understanding and reflecting on the truth of the gospel intellectually, merely different. Music evokes memories that mere words cannot, connecting us to our experience of God in worship from the past. Music taps into our creativity, allowing us not merely to participate in worship but become authors and creators of Christian worship ourselves. And music fires our imagination, allowing us by faith to experience the universal church on heaven and earth as we sing and aids us in longing for the eternal worship of new creation. Chuck and Aaron call the Christian church back to its heritage of strong and heartfelt congregational singing.

Hosts: Aaron Mueller and Chuck Rathert

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What makes the books of the Bible sacred scripture is that they were written by prophets (Old Testament) or apostles (New Testament). The books of the New Testament bear witness to the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth, either as a first-hand account of his life, death, and resurrection (we call these the four Gospels) or by reflecting on and applying this Gospel to the life of the Christian communities of the first century (these are the epistles written by Paul, Peter, and others).

These books were not “decided upon” by anyone; instead, the earliest Jesus followers recognized that they were about the historical Jesus and carried his continuing power in the reading of them. Only later, in the fourth century, did the church feel the need to put down on paper an official list of the books they had already recognized as scripture.

Hosts: Aaron Mueller and Chuck Rathert

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After a discussion about how it’s impossible to prove things like whether spirits exist or not, Chuck and Aaron talk about how the Bible describes the spiritual world.

The existence of angels - powerful, supernatural beings whose job it is to serve God - is assumed by the Bible, and there are times when angels interact with humans. Most of us have never had an experience of an angel, but the Bible says that sometimes humans can interact with them without being aware they are talking with an angel. The Bible also describes fallen angels, or demons. These beings have rebelled against God and are determined to do harm to humanity.

Chuck and Aaron discuss the possibility that “hauntings” are actually the work of demonic forces. Ghosts, on the other hand, if they are to be understood as the souls of deceased people, don’t typically inhabit this universe, since the Bible says that it is appointed to each human being to die and then face the judgment. In other words, the souls of the deceased either go to hell or into the presence of Christ. Interacting with spiritual forces under the misconception that they are harmless wandering souls can therefore be a very dangerous thing.

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-ep92.