The Crowbar Massage Podcast: Recent Episodes
Eric Blauer
Forays into Culture, Politics, and Religion meant to provoke you to think deeper, expand your understanding, and better equip you to engage the world around and within you. It's commentary like an Eastern bloc massage, Olga is there to help you, but sometimes it hurts.
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My thoughts on being a pastoral presence with those who are turning to God, particularly LGBTQIA individuals. A look at Acts 15 and the implications on helpful and meaningful ministry with people moving from conversion into sanctification and discipleship.
In Dante's Divine Comedy there are people in hell and heaven who were involved in heterosexual and homosexual sin. Understanding what the Bible teaches about sexual sin is critical to living a flourishing and fruitful life. Our sexual choices and actions matter for time and eternity.
In this podcast I look at Act 10 and Acts 15 and how the Apostle's had to figure out how to handle all these pagans getting filled with the Holy Spirit and getting baptized. What now? How do you instruct them? What does a born again pagan do now? Stop fornicating and drinking blood was part of the answer!
Dante deals with homosexuality in The Inferno and Purgatory in surprising ways. In this episode I explore how his discussion about the sin, punishment and purification of sexual sin is refreshingly different than how most conversations on the subject go.
In Purgatorio Canto 19 there is a profound and provocative dream that Dante has that I think provides a lot of help to anyone struggling with the sins of the flesh, temptations, pornography, lust and the shame and slavery they create.
We make our way into the 3rd level of the Inferno and we encounter the mythic beast Cerberus who's an embodiment of the multi-headed sin of gluttony. Join me as we explore the many ways we give ourselves to the incessant barking and growls of gluttony of body and soul.
The second level of Hell is for those given to the sin of incontinence...no, it's not that, its the old world idea of those who have a 'lack of self-restraint' or allow their reason to be subject to their lusts, desires and passions.
Canto 4: I discuss the opening lines of the Canto that describe Dante's physical experience of the supernatural world. We dig into the citizens of the 'rim' of Hell or Limbo where the "good people" go that's neither punishment or paradise. I discuss the issue of babies in hell and what the NT teaches about the subject. We end on the subject of the ancient world and the place of the 4 cardinal virtues and the 3 theological virtues of the the Christian tradition.
The Sad Souls that we encounter just pass the Gates of Hell are those who were neither Rebels or Faithful. We live in an era where indecision is the preferred decision, the mushy middle. In this Canto Dante faces the gates of Hell, the boatman of the river Acheron and the Bad Seed of Adam.
Everyone who is called to some kind of adventure, challenge, change or new endeavor will wrestle with courage. Many come to this point and talk themselves out of following through on their vision, obedience or dream. Fear and anxieties can steal from us the new season God has for us. Trust in Heaven's Help is critical in the journey of faith.
Dante is lost in the dark wood of his midlife. He's facing beasts that want to devour him and he's in deep need of a help. So begins the epic journey of the Inferno. A poem that confounds many and is often misunderstood or never experienced with helpful guides. These podcasts hope to help you discover the meaning in the medieval macabre and see that the truths explored and experienced are true for us all in the many seasons of our lives.
LeeElla and I share our story about the challenges and opportunities discovered in parenting prodigal children. With the recent surrender of our eldest son to Jesus, we thought we would share our side of that decade plus journey. We hope to encourage friends and families who are working through these difficult chapters of life and see that God can do great things in us all, though it all.
This is a sermon I preached at the Union Gospel Mission Men's Shelter on April 11th, 2023. Aaron LeBlanc gives the intro reading. There's some significant keys to experiencing the freedom of Jesus in this message for anyone seeking breakthrough in this season.
Sermon Supplement: King Solomon's Alliances and how we get out of step with the Holy Spirit in our lives.
There's a lot of confusion about the work of the Holy Spirit in the Church and a lot of it comes from failing to talk about the work of the Spirit in biblically clear ways. In this episode I share some of my own journey with the Holy Spirit and give three explanations of the the work of the Spirit that might be helpful to people struggling to understand what has happened to them or what might be waiting for them.
If you receive the Holy Spirit when you are born again should you expect anything more from the Spirit after salvation? What is the baptism of the Spirit? Does the Spirit come upon us today? Why did the disciples need to wait for the Spirit in Jerusalem for the power of the Spirit if they were believers, trained by Jesus, did miracles in His name, had experiences of Divine encounter on the mount of transfiguration and had Jesus "blow upon them to receive the Holy Spirit" before Jesus Pentecost? Listen for more on this subject.
The Levites slay 3000 of their own people at God's command, is it moral and just? Let's talk.
This podcast digs deeper into the subject of slavery that teaching on Exodus called for in light of our past, present and future as American Christians.
When I was preparing for my sermon on the life of Joseph, I came to the place in Genesis 37:23-28 and 39:1 where he was sold into slavery. I realized that such a word demanded additional commentary than the sermon I was preparing. So this is a supplement to that sermon where I talk a bit about Joseph, Frederick Douglas, the letter to Philemon and a few stories from our journey living and pastoring in East Central Spokane.
On this episode we delve into the dark and macabre histories, stories and possible explanations given around the tales, trial accounts and mysteries surrounding Werewolves.
We believe there are truths to learn in revisiting the tales of myths and monsters. This podcast is our musings on Vampires from various cultures, literature and popular culture. We hope you find this conversation as interesting and meaningful as we did, enjoy! Podcasts hosts: Jonathan Brodhagen and Eric Blauer with special guest Anah Brodhagen
The prophet Ezekiel had a vision of the eternals where Christ dwells and in that vision He experienced a fantastical tour of the “living beings” that make up the throne of God. In his wild descriptions we find some archetype-like imagery that Christ himself embodied and all men can look to as a template to think about how they are living out four different spheres of the masculine life.
In episode one of the podcast series: The Last Adam: Christ and the New Paradigm of Masculinity I discuss how Jesus modeled a counterculture masculinity that made all relationships subservient to the Kingdom of God. This new order of man is both liberating and challenging when it pushes back against the demands and desires of our covenants and commitments but Jesus calls us to put Him first.
We believe there are truths to learn in revisiting the tales told of myths and monsters. This podcast is our musings on Sirens and Mermaids from various cultures, literature and popular culture. We hope you find this conversation as interesting and meaningful as we did, enjoy! Podcasts hosts: Jonathan Brodhagen and Eric Blauer
The Man and His Mother. Every man has to leave the house of his mother but that leaving is far more deep and complicated than it may appear. In this episode I look at some of these challenges and opportunities as they are touched on in the Fisher King story and the Christian Scriptures.
In this episode we are introduced to the holy Grail in the story. I discuss four elements of the story that compel men to live a life worthy of the King's choice.
The Prince becomes the king and what has happened to him begins to impact the kingdom. This episode is packed full of searching questions about what keeps a man back from becoming the man he wants to or needs to be. What is holding you back? You may be surprised with the answers. Take a listen and hopefully you will discover the way to rule with wisdom born from the wound.
A deep and rich prayer from the The Book of Common Prayer. I wanted to make this available for people to reflect upon the many important parts of life that are included in this prayer. I hope this prayer will become another tool in people's toolbox to help them build a simple and meaningful life of prayer.
We continue our ManClan Tale series looking at The Fisher King from the Arthurian Legends. In this episode we dig into the part of the tale where the young Prince receives his 'wound'. All men face moments in their lives where they have received a wound. How we get to those moments, how to avoid them or how to heal from them is critical in growing into a healthy and helpful man.
On this episode I discuss the power of the woodlands to provoke men to listen to their own souls, one another and even the voice of their Creator. Profound opportunities await men who will dare to explore the world around them. Let's go adventuring!
A series of podcasts discussing the Legend of the Fisher King for the ManClan Summer Gatherings.
Commentary on possible nudity and sex in the new Amazon series based on the Lord of the Rings, review of the HBO show Raised by Wolves, pontifications about our Governor, Biden on guns and judges, Gang shootings in our neighborhood, and the relevancy of the book of Leviticus.
Men's Work with Beowulf, first Presidential debate recap, a few short movie reviews, and little more.