Douglas Jacoby Podcast

The Spirit: The Holy Spirit the New Testament

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

The Spirit: The Holy Spirit Miracles Today

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: How the Bible Came to Be, Part 5

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: How the Bible Came to Be, Part 4

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: How the Bible Came to Be, Part 3

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: How the Bible Came to Be, Part 2

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: How the Bible Came to Be, Part 1

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: Judging, Tolerance, & Exclusivism

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: Reaching A Postmodern World

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: Why We Can Trust The Bible

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: Do All Roads Lead to God

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: Messianic Prophecy

Evidences: Why Does a Good God Allow Evil

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: Triple Evolution

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: The Big Bang (Sten Johanesson)

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.  

Evidences: Why God Sent a Son (not a Daughter)

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. THE QUESTION: Why did the man Jesus come to earth? Why not a woman: the daughter of God—a female Messiah? JESUS CAME AS A SON NOT BECAUSE: Male is better -- Galatians 3:28 contradicts this. God is only analogically masculine, not sexually masculine. When we pray Our Father, it’s not because God is male – since he isn’t a sexual being. If this intrigues you, please hear the podcast on The Shack. Random genetics (50/50). LAME...

Evidences: Jesus, The Historical Evidence

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Historicity Three possibilities Mythological Existed, but the Bible has reinvented him Existed, portrayed accurately in the Bible Jesus (2 BC-33 AD) v. Tiberius (emperor 14-37 AD), within 150 years of their lives. Jesus: 42 sources – 9 secular + 33 Christian Tiberius: 10 sources, including Gospel of Luke. (To be fair, there are also dozens of coins of Tiberius, naming him or portraying his image.) Historical facts accept...

Evidences: Why Doubt is Good

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Cool quotes on doubt: The beginning of wisdom is found in doubting; by doubting we come to the question, and by seeking we may come upon the truth. -- Pierre Abelard There are two ways to slide easily through life: to believe everything or to doubt everything; both ways save us from thinking. -- Alfred Korzybski "... both the believer and the unbeliever share, each in his own way, doubt and belief, if they do not hide from th...

Evidences: New Testament Archaeology

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.  

Evidences: Old Testament Archaeology

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Evidences: The God of the Old Testament

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. In this podcast I am reading the original (pre-edit) draft of chapter 5 of A Quick Overview of the Bible: How All the Pieces Fit Together. The book was released in February 2012. Harvest House allows me to read aloud one chapter of any book I have written. Since what I read is not the final version, there may be some small differences between it and the published version. You can also read the first 10 pages or so at this link....

Evidences: Questions on Genesis

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. 12 questions are covered in this podcast. (The chapter has 27 questions and answers in all.) When was the earth created? Does the Bible tell us how old the world is? Is the Big Bang Theory compatible with the Bible? Was the world made in seven literal days? Are evolution and the Bible compatible? Did Adam have a belly button? Was Eve made from Adam's rib? If so, does this support make chauvinism? Who was Cain afraid of? W...

Evidences: Nietzsche-God is Dead, and other views

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Life of Nietzsche Born, 1844 in Röcken, Prussia. Father and both grandfathers clergymen. Father dies, after suffering mental illness, 1848. Leaves theology school, 1865. Physical and mental collapse, 1879. Writes The Antichrist (vitriolic anti-Christian polemic), 1888. Enters state of vegetative insanity, 1889. Dies, probably of syphilis, 1900. Nietzsche's better-known writings: The Birth of Tragedy (1872)       Medit...

Evidences: Why Atheism Fails

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. If you liked chapter 2, consider reading the previous chapter. The publisher has made chapter 1, "Clearing Away the Debris: Arguments Against the Reality of God," available to read at no charge: CHAPTER 1. To order the whole book, click ENTIRE BOOK. This includes 13 chapters, 3 appendixes, and further resources. (Since Compelling Evidence doubles as an evangelistic tool, why not order several copies?)

Church History: Persecution & Martyrdom

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. PERSECUTION Passages: 2 Tim 3:12; John 15:18-21; Matt 5:10-12; 1 Pet 4:3-4; Luke 6:22-23, 26; Heb 10:32-39 Examples: Verbal opposition (slander, mockery, abuse, misrepresentation, false accusation), confiscation, social exclusion, exile, being sent to the mines, torture, execution. MARTYRDOM   Scripture: Rev 12:11 Martyr < martus, witness Confessors were willing to die for their faith (refused to back down), whereas marty...

Church History: The Inquisition

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Most of us have heard of the Inquisition, but may be sketchy on the details. Yet this is important stuff - an aspect of history that we definitely don't want repeating itself. Definition According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the Inquisition is "An ecclesiastical tribunal established by Pope Gregory IX c.1232 for the suppression of heresy. It was active chiefly in northern Italy and southern France, becoming notorious for ...

Church History: The Crusades

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Definition: Simplified historical overview: 300s-600s -- Most of the Holy Land is part of the Eastern (Byzantine) Roman Empire. 600s -- this territory becomes part of the Caliphate (Islamic). 1000s-1100s -- Christian warriors and peasants (all strata of society participated) strive to take back the land, establishing Crusader States, along with multiple fortifications. 1200s -- Christians for the most part give up the dream...

Church History: Lessons from Church History

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.

Church History: Reformation Summary and Q&A

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Here are the links for the major classes given in the 2015 Biblical Study Tour. The theme was "Finding God When the Church is Adrift," and the teaching took place in the very cities where the early history of the Protestant Reformation played out. Our route took us from Wittenberg to Zurich to Geneva -- that is, from Luther to Zwingli & the Anabaptists to Calvin. Every Biblical Study Tour is designed to strengthen faith, build ...

Church History: Calvin-No Compromise (Joey Harris)

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Here are the links for the major classes given in the 2015 Biblical Study Tour. The theme was "Finding God When the Church is Adrift," and the teaching took place in the very cities where the early history of the Protestant Reformation played out. Our route took us from Wittenberg to Zurich to Geneva -- that is, from Luther to Zwingli & the Anabaptists to Calvin. Every Biblical Study Tour is designed to strengthen faith, build ...

Church History: The Radicals: Anabaptists (Steve Staten)

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Here are the links for the major classes given in the 2015 Biblical Study Tour. The theme was "Finding God When the Church is Adrift," and the teaching took place in the very cities where the early history of the Protestant Reformation played out. Our route took us from Wittenberg to Zurich to Geneva -- that is, from Luther to Zwingli & the Anabaptists to Calvin. Every Biblical Study Tour is designed to strengthen faith, build ...

Church History: Zwingli-The Limits of Compromise

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Here are the links for the major classes given in the 2015 Biblical Study Tour. The theme was "Finding God When the Church is Adrift," and the teaching took place in the very cities where the early history of the Protestant Reformation played out. Our route took us from Wittenberg to Zurich to Geneva -- that is, from Luther to Zwingli & the Anabaptists to Calvin. Every Biblical Study Tour is designed to strengthen faith, build ...

Church History: Luther: Man on Fire (Gilbert Kimeng)

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Here are the links for the major classes given in the 2015 Biblical Study Tour. The theme was "Finding God When the Church is Adrift," and the teaching took place in the very cities where the early history of the Protestant Reformation played out. Our route took us from Wittenberg to Zurich to Geneva -- that is, from Luther to Zwingli & the Anabaptists to Calvin. Every Biblical Study Tour is designed to strengthen faith, build ...

Church History: Flashpoint-Fuel For the Reformation (Rolan Monje)

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Here are the links for the major classes given in the 2015 Biblical Study Tour. The theme was "Finding God When the Church is Adrift," and the teaching took place in the very cities where the early history of the Protestant Reformation played out. Our route took us from Wittenberg to Zurich to Geneva -- that is, from Luther to Zwingli & the Anabaptists to Calvin. Every Biblical Study Tour is designed to strengthen faith, build ...

Church History: Introduction to the Reformation

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Here are the links for the major classes given in the 2015 Biblical Study Tour. The theme was "Finding God When the Church is Adrift," and the teaching took place in the very cities where the early history of the Protestant Reformation played out. Our route took us from Wittenberg to Zurich to Geneva -- that is, from Luther to Zwingli & the Anabaptists to Calvin. Every Biblical Study Tour is designed to strengthen faith, build ...

Church History: Evangelism in the Early Church - Part 2

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. EVANGELISM IN THE SECOND CENTURY Challenges to evangelism Apostles now gone – tendency to get more and more involved in disputes Persecution: from Jewish to Roman False teachers (Marcionites, Gnostics, Montanists) Evolving priesthood (spectator shift) Success! Other nations, but little work outside the bounds of the Roman Empire. Church of the East (per comments in previous podcast) Continued to reach all strata of soci...

Church History: Evangelism in the Early Church - Part 1

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. EVANGELISM IN THE FIRST CENTURY Introduction Definition of evangelism: spreading the good news 30—Pentecost, 200 – end of century of intense persecution. Will begin with Acts/NT, then move into 2nd C. Matthew 28: Every people, not every nation (in the modern sense of the term) Mission & purpose (Luke 10:20; Matthew 22:37-40). I have 2 impressions on reading Acts: (1) evangelism was not particularly organized, yet (2) it wa...

Books & Movies: Harry Potter

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. "The most successful book series in history: approximately 450 million copies sold internationally. Translated: 67 languages. The film series by Warner Bros.: $7.7 billion worldwide...." -- from magazine.pepperdine.edu, May 2013. Why Potter? Writers like C.S. Lewis (Narnia), J.R.R.R. Tolkien (Lord of the Rings), and many others aim to awaken a sense of the spiritual in young readers. They also help secular thinkers discover th...

Books & Movies: The Hunger Games

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Suzanne Collins' trilogy The Hunger Games Catching Fire Mockingjay About Panem Panis et circenses (Latin for bread and circuses), coined by Juvenal, c.100 AD. Note: circuses refer to (extremely violent) chariot races, gladiatorial spectacles, and so forth. Iam pridem, ex quo suffragia nulli uendimus, effudit curas; nam qui dabat olim imperium, fasces, legiones, omnia, nunc se continet atque duas tantum res anxius optat, pan...

Books & Movies: The Book of Eli – Review by Joey Harris

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.  

Books & Movies: Pride & Prejudice

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. To listen to a biblical exploration of Jane Austen's classic Pride and Prejudice, click on the link. I hope you'll enjoy my short podcast (14 minutes). Note: If you haven't read the novel, or watched any of the various film productions of the book, you will probably want to skip this podcast. Themes commented upon: human nature, truth-telling, judging, conceit, parenting, characters, manners, conceit, romance, change... Script...

Books & Movies: Noah (The Movie)

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website.  

Books & Movies: Divergent

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Christian should be engaging culture Divergent is the first novel in Veronica Roth's trilogy: Divergent (2011), Insurgent (2012), Allegiant (2013). Although it is not an explicitly Christian book, in the acknowledgments Roth writes, "Thank you, God, for your Son, and for blessing me beyond comprehension..." The author is inviting us to think biblically about the important themes treated in her novel. Thinking Christians need ...

Books & Movies: The Matrix Podcast (Joey Harris)

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Download the PDF of the notes for this podcast.

Books & Movies: Heaven is for Real (Or Is it?)

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. This podcast is a book review, examining Todd Burpo's Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2010), 162 pp. Why the story seems genuine The credibility of the author is enhanced for three reasons. 1. The author (Colton Burpo's father) is a Christian pastor. 2. The writer is highly personable, and shares a lot from his own life. 3. He repeatedly emphasizes ho...

Books & Movies: Yeshua

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Ron Moseley’s book, Yeshua: A Guide to the Real Jesus and the Original Church (Clarksville, Maryland: Messianic Jewish Publishers, 1996) is an interesting read. I have met representatives of this movement before, and read a number of their books, especially once I came into direct personal contact with this school of thought on my first trip to Israel. This school of thought is well described by the term Messianic Judaism, a mov...

Books & Movies: The Doctrine of Non-Accumulation

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. The book critiqued in this podcast is Through the Eye of the Needle: The Doctrine of Non-Accumulation, by Roger Hertzler. The basic idea Our society and the church are materialistic. Christians have ignored the clear teaching of Christ that we are not to store up treasure on earth (Matthew 6:19-21). "Christ says that nothing on earth has any real value except that which can be converted into Heavenly treasure before we die" ...

Books & Movies: Avatar

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Avatar is a term from Hindu theology, though it is also common in computer and virtual reality applications. Click here for the origins of the word. "Jake" visits Pandora through an avatar, a 10-foot tall blue-skinned alien, though in fact it is Jake and his American friends who are the real aliens! The plot centers around the exploitation of a pristine planet by Americans, and how their efforts are ultimately thwarted, but onl...

Books & Movies: Zealot

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. I. THESIS Jesus was a zealot, advocating violence to overthrow the occupying Romans as well as the corrupt priesthood. For Jesus, the Kingdom of God is very much of this world [144]. John 18:36 has been totally misunderstood [117]. The kingdom is political. Jesus intended that the twelve tribes be reconstituted for a single purpose: war [123]. Jesus was a violent man. The God of violence is “the only God that Jesus knew and ...

Books & Movies: Risen (Joseph Fiennes)

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas’ website. Great lines: "The gods are angry" [Lucius]. -- "One of them is [Clavius]." "Did he say anything?" [Clavius] -- "It is finished [centurion]." "I believe Yeshua will embrace you (Clavius) as a brother, even as you slew him" [Joseph of Arimathea]. "I pray not to thee today, divine Mars, but to the God of the Hebrews, Yahweh. Hear me. Take back your favor in defense of these people I seek, and relinquish them to me. If you do th...