Ask with David Deane: Recent Episodes
David Deane
Ask with David Deane is a podcast exploring the contours of Christian beliefs in thought and practice, focusing on the big questions of life, faith, culture, philosophy, and theology. David is a Christian, a husband and a father, who likes to think, speak and write about the big questions we face in life. Do you have a question? Why not Ask! https://drcdeane.com/ask
What is the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil”? How have people understood it in the past? What does it represent? Does it mean anything for you and I today? These are some of the ideas we explore in this fascinating interview with Dr. Nathan French (Ph.D. Hebrew Bible and the ancient Near East) who is one of the few leading authorities on this subject!
Spoiler: Nathan helps us to see there is another dimension to this familiar story, which has a big impact on how we view the Bible as a whole.
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” 🔔🔔🔔Contradiction! Or is it? Critics of Christianity often argue that the Bible cannot be trusted as a reliable source of information – historical or otherwise – because it contains many contradictions. In this week’s episode of Ask I suggest there are at least three different elements we need to keep in mind when assessing apparent Bible contradictions.
"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.'" (Psa. 14:1; cf. Psa 53:1). What does this verse mean? Does the Bible teach that people who deny God's existence are... stupid?
In this week's episode of Ask, I take a look at these verses and their surrounding contexts to unpack some of the significance of this statement. And no - if you do happen to believe in God, you don't get a pass on this one.
Ariana Grande sings “God Is a Woman”… Bishops campaign for more “expansive language and imagery about God” that encompass feminine pronouns… Books and films like The Shack portray God as a woman… And at least one Rabbi has argued that the Hebrew Bible hints at God’s own transgenderism…
In this episode of Ask I take a deep dive into different angles on the question ‘Why do Christians refer to God as male‘? My conclusion is: I cannot see how the degenderfication of God-talk is needed nor wise. Ultimately, it stands as a move against the way in which God has chosen to reveal Himself, redeem us in the God-man Jesus, and relate as a Bridegroom to His Church, the Bride.
“Believe you deserve it and the universe will serve it.” #PositiveVibeTribe.
‘Name it and claim it’ teaching, also known as the ‘Word of Faith’ movement, is a phrase used in reference to popular teachings by some televangelists, faith healers, and other various Charismatic and Pentecostal preachers. For example, Word of Faith teacher, Kenneth Copeland, writes: “you can have what you say! … If you are living in poverty and lack and want, change what you are saying. It will change what you have… Discipline your vocabulary!”
In this episode of Ask I respond to the question ‘Is ‘Name it and claim it’ teaching Biblical? I argue that history says no, the Bible says no – and so should you. The best antidote to the ‘Word of faith’ espoused by the likes of Kenneth Copeland is ‘the word of God.’ Come and see!
Was Jesus a real historical person? Or do Christians live their lives for a copy, paste and compile of pagan antiquity? In a stunning survey from late 2021 here in Australia, only half of Australians (49%) view Jesus as a real person who actually lived. Nearly a quarter (23%) of Aussies see Jesus as a mythical or fictional character, while around one in three (29%) don't know.
In this week’s episode of Ask, I respond to the question ‘Did Jesus even exist?’ which has been submitted following a previous episode where I compared belief in Santa to belief in Jesus. But for the alarming statistics of the recent Aussie survey, I wouldn’t think this question needed much of a response, but I’ve decided to break my time-limit rules to weigh the claims of “Jesus Mythicism”. You be the judge.
Today, the word “faith” has come to collect so many connotations in all manner of contexts that it's not clear to me how many would recognise a Biblical denotation of faith if it were put before them. Often, this is case with religious critics who mock "faith" as an inadequate way of knowing. When Paul writes “we live by faith, not by sight…” (2 Cor. 5:7), he’s not making a statement of how believers are to think, he’s making a statement of how we are to live, which is no less than thinking, but so much more.
In this week's episode of Ask I consider a foundational question for Christianity - "What is faith?"
Is it a sin to yell "Jesus Christ!" when I stub my toe? Or if I retweet an amazing footy try with the hashtag “OMG” for ‘oh my god’? What does it mean to 'take the Lord's name in vain'? I mean, which 'name', right? El? Elohim? Jehovah? Yahweh? Jesus? The "Lamb"? The "Rock of Ages"?
These, and more, I consider in this week's episode of Ask.
The end of the calendar year brings with it all sorts of traditions. Interestingly, the tradition of making New Years Resolutions spans back in the East to ancient Babylon, and in the West, to ancient Rome. In fact it was the Romans who kicked off the year by making promises to the god Janus, from where we derive the name of ‘January’.
But should Christians make ‘New Years Resolutions’? That's the question for this week's episode of Ask!
“Santa is a fairy tale for children, God is the same thing but for children and adults.” How would you respond?
This week's question has come in response to a previous episode where I begged the question for someone to ask how belief in Santa is different to belief in Jesus. Implicit in this question is the view that belief in Jesus is tantamount to believing in Santa Claus. I'm thankful for the opportunity to respond to this, with three lines of argumentation in today's episode.
In the final months of every calendar year, we find ourselves bombarded by colours, carols, characters and smells associated with Christmas. In particular, there’s always one reoccurring fellow that makes an appearance on the TV, billboards, ads, front lawns, email signatures, websites, shopping malls, and, well, just about everywhere you turn your head: yep, the big red ‘n white: Santa Claus. And now we find ourselves with this question: Should Christian parents encourage belief in Santa Claus?
In this week's episode of Ask I give a longer-than-usual personal response, and even take a moment to consider what Bishop Nicholas himself might think of the now ghostly legend of his name.
The Bible contains all sorts of different teachings and instructions on all sorts of different issues for different people in different times and different places for different purposes. Some of those instructions are still relevant today, some of them are not. The tension comes, then, as a consequence of how we understand this progression, and whether we think God's teaching is for our good.
In this week's episode of Ask, I respond to a personal question about the law, sin, and specifically, the area of sexuality.
After his resurrection from the dead, Jesus appeared to his disciples. In John chapter 20 we read of one disciple who was a little late to the party; his fellow disciples say to Thomas – “we have seen the Lord” but Thomas says, “Unless I see in his hands the marks of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe…” (John 20:25) Can you relate to doubting Thomas?
In this week's episode of Ask, I respond to perhaps the most important question anyone could ever ask: 'How can I know God?'
Have you ever been in a classroom or a bible study, reading a text, and had the teacher or leader go around the room asking ‘what does this text mean to you’? Before you know it, the text can mean as many different things as there are people in the room! We all come from unique backgrounds, with different personalities, preunderstandings, presuppositions and assumptions affecting the way we read and interpret the meaning of words. But does that mean we are locked out of ever knowing the objective meaning of what's been written?
In this week's episode of Ask, I respond to a question about objectivity in interpretation, specifically interpretation of God's word, the Bible.
Throughout the gospels Jesus says things like "your faith has made you well" and even in the Old Testament, we have prophetic words about Jesus, like Isaiah 53 which says “He would wounded for our transgressions… by his stripes we are healed…” Do passages like this teach a connection between our faith in what Jesus has done for us in salvation to our physical health?
In this week's episode of Ask, I respond to a personal question about the relationship between saving faith and physical healing.
The late evangelist Billy Graham – who is sometimes held up as the quintessential evangelical – was once asked 'what is evangelicalism?' In response, Graham said: "Actually, that’s a question I’d like to ask somebody too… The lines [have] become blurred… You go all the way from the extreme fundamentalists to the extreme liberals and, somewhere in between, there are the evangelicals.”
The disparate nature of evangelicalism makes the movement and it's members difficult to define. In this episode of Ask I take a little extra time to canvas different ways of looking at "evangelicalism" before providing some brief commentary on the current state of the evangelical church, broadly considered.
Did you know that the number of social media users equates to almost almost 57% of the world’s total population? And despite all the political hype about ‘fake news’ and social media censorship, that number has jumped by more than 13% from this time last year - we're talking half a billion new users in a 12-month period!
In this week's episode of Ask, I consider whether Christians should use today's Roman Road - social media - to do evangelism. There's so much more to say about the topic of social media in general, and as it relates to evangelism specifically. While I barely scratch the surface in this episode, I trust it will provide some food for thought.
It’s something of an Australianese to say ‘no worries’ or ‘she’ll be right…’ but … there are worries, and she won’t always be right. In fact, the Australian Bureau of Statistics records that, in 2018, 13% or 3.2 million Australians had an anxiety-related condition, a number which has surged during the course of COVID.
In this weeks episode of Ask, I explore the idea of worry from a Christian point of view; a timely question for our times.
Many people leave church for many reasons. Whatever the scenario, I think the decision to leave a church and go elsewhere is a weighty one, and I explore some reasons why in this week's episode of Ask.
This question has come in response to a recent episode where I emphasised the importance of Christian unity, and I welcome the opportunity to clarify some thoughts from the other side about when breaking fellowship may be appropriate.
When I say "knock knock", you say ________ ? Why do you say that? Well - two sentences in, and I've already asked you two questions! What does that say about me? What does it say about you?
In this week's episode of Ask, I explore some brief thoughts about what question asking tells us about ourselves. This was a fun one; it's not every day you get a question about questions!
An idea rejected for most of Church history is seeing a resurgence today. Universalism: the doctrine that all human beings will receive salvation and so spend eternity with God in heaven regardless of their belief in or love for Jesus. But what does that mean, exactly? More importantly, is it Biblical? That's the question I explore in this week's episode of Ask.
If this is an area of interest to you, I highly recommend the recent two volume publication, The Devil’s Redemption: A New History and Interpretation of Christian Universalism, by Michael McClymond. The two volumes are very dense, but represent an immensely important contribution on the subject (unmatched in my opinion).
When everything is going great, and ‘life is good,’ would you think to stop and ask: ‘Are we living in the last days?’ My guess is you probably wouldn’t (unless you're in an eschatology class and these kinds of questions just excite you!). The very asking of this question tells us something about 'the last days,' which I explore in this week's episode of Ask.
In this episode, David Deane responds to the question "How important is Christian unity?"
In this episode, David Deane responds to the question "Does the Bible condone slavery?"
In this episode, David Deane responds to the question "Why are there so many different Bible translations?"
In this episode, David Deane responds to the question "Is God explained away by science?"
In this episode, David Deane responds to the question "If God exists, why isn't He more obvious?"
In this episode, David Deane responds to the question "Is hoping for heaven just a form of escapism?"
In this episode, David Deane responds to the question "How should Christians respond to conspiracy theories?"
In this episode, David Deane responds to the question "If God is in sovereign control over all, how do I have freewill?"
In this episode, David Deane responds to the question "Why do Christians celebrate death?"
In this episode, David Deane responds to the question "Will the government of heaven be democratic, communist or a dictatorship?"
In this episode, David Deane responds to the question "What was the original purpose of the tree of life in the garden if there was no sin or death?"
In this episode, David Deane responds to the question "Do you seriously believe people can walk on water?"
In this episode, David Deane responds to the question "Is religion the leading cause of violence?"
In this episode, David Deane responds to the question "What is the basis of human rights?"
In this episode, David Deane responds to the question "Can we trust God with our suffering?"
In this episode, David Deane responds to the question "What can we learn from Coronavirus?"
Welcome to Ask with David Deane! In this episode, Aaron Brown from Rhema FM 99.7 Newcastle interviews David about Ask, which is a podcast focusing on the big questions of life, faith, culture, philosophy, and theology. David is a Christian, a husband and a father, who likes to think, speak and write about the big questions we face in life.
Do you have a question? Why not ASK!