Episodes

What really happened after Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit? Ed explains why their answers to God's questions mattered more than the fruit itself. Original Sin is usually defined as the eating of the Forbidden Fruit by Adam and Eve. But I would contend that what happened immediately AFTER they ate the fruit is much more important. Why? God did not immediately judge Adam and Eve after they ate the fruit. Instead, He asked them questions! Their responses to God’s questions were the determinin...

Why do we feel guilt, and why do we need justification? Ed explains how the guilt and justification cycle points to God's mercy for our sins. Our unconscious mind makes us feel guilt when we do an injustice. We don’t like feeling guilt, so we seek some kind of justification in order to settle the guilt-debt. But did you know that this thought process demonstrates God’s mercy for our sins? In this week’s podcast: - What is Justification and why do we need it? - Why do we feel guilt? - How our s...

Why does God hate religion? Ed explains how religion is rooted in pride, and why the only people Jesus confronted were the religious Pharisees. Religious acts you perform are not about God. They are actually all about YOU! God hates religion because religion is based on pride. When Jesus was on earth, the only people He had a problem with were the religious peddlers (Pharisees). So what is religion? Why do we perform it? And why do we think it’s from God? In this week’s podcast: - The definiti...

Can religious thinking cause literal brain damage? Ed explains how religion affects the mind, and why secular people are not immune. Brain damage is the hallmark of a highly religious thought process – and I’m not just speaking figuratively. Religion can cause actual physical damage to the chemical receptors in your mind! And don’t think you’re immune to this malady if you’re secular. ALL people practice religion to varying degrees because we ALL promote the ideas of absolute righteousness and ...

Why are Christians called hypocrites? Ed explains how trying to be "nicer" than Jesus warps the Gospel and can turn Jesus into a false idol. Hypocrisy from religious Christians is one of the main reasons that unbelievers are reluctant to embrace the Faith. Tragically, that hypocrisy comes from religious people trying (and failing) to be “nicer” than Jesus!! These attempts not only warp the image of Christians, they corrupt the message of the Gospels, AND they result in Idolatry! In this week’s ...

What does the Bible mean by life and death? If the forbidden fruit meant death, why didn't Adam and Eve drop dead? Ed explains the Biblical definitions. Being alive has to be more than just “not being dead”. Jesus said that He would make you “more alive” and give you abundant life. Those ideas would be impossible if life and death were just binary states of being. So what are the Biblical definitions of life and death? If eating the forbidden fruit meant death, then why didn’t Adam and Eve drop...

Can death be cured? Ed explains why the Bible calls blood the conduit of physical life, and words the source of spiritual life. Blood is the conduit of physical life according to the Bible. Jesus also stated that words (thoughts) are the source of spiritual life. We are born dead spiritually and we are dying physically because the blood and thoughts that are meant to nourish and repair us are corrupted due to our imperfect fellowship with God. But if we had access to perfect blood and perfect t...

What do good and evil actually mean in the Bible? Ed explains how Scripture links good to creation and evil to destruction. To create is good, to destroy is evil. When Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, they obviously gained knowledge of good and evil. But what does that mean? Our definitions of good and evil are often subjective and contradictory. The Bible links “good” to creation, and “evil” to destruction. But the Bible also says that God can do evil (destruct...

Does God need evil? Ed asks whether evil is a necessary part of God's plan of redemption, and gives a surprising Biblical answer. Does God NEED evil? That question may sound sacrilegious, but when you think about it, the entire Biblical plan of redemption was predicated on the fall of man and the subsequent plan for salvation (through which God showed us His love in the form of the sacrifice of His Son). If there were no evil, there’d be no sin and no need for salvation. So is “evil” a necessar...

What was the forbidden fruit, an apple or a fig? Ed explains what it was, why it gave knowledge of good and evil, and the curses of Genesis 3. The Forbidden fruit was the catalyst for Original sin, death, and the curses God placed on Adam, Eve, and the Nachash (serpent). But what was the forbidden fruit? Was it an apple or a fig (short answer: neither). And why did eating it give Adam and Eve knowledge of good and evil? Also, why did God render the specific judgments of Genesis 3, and what are ...

Why do we all long for Eden? Ed explains how every human desire points back to the perfect government, fellowship, and provision of the Garden. Longing for Eden is at the core of all of our desires. In Eden, mankind had perfect government, perfect fellowship, and perfect provision. Humanity was made for the perfection of Eden and nothing short of that perfection will ever satisfy us. But since we are subject to the pride of our fallen state, all of us, religious AND atheist, seek to recreate th...

Why did God send Noah's Flood? Ed covers where Cain got his wife, the Mark of Cain, long pre-Flood lifespans, and the Gospel hidden in Genesis 5. Noah and the Great Flood. Why did God flood the earth? Where did Cain get his wife? Is the “Mark of Cain” racial? Why did pre-Flood people live so long? Is the Gospel Message hidden in Genesis chapter 5? Why did Noah and his family escape judgment? What kept pre-Flood people from having faith? All these questions are answered in this week’s podcast! ...

Did Noah's Flood really happen, and was it worldwide or regional? Ed looks at the evidence and what the earth may have been like before the Flood. Did the Great Flood of Genesis 6 really happen? If so, was it world-wide or regional? And do we have any evidence? Also, what might the earth have been like before such a cataclysmic event? I discuss these questions on this week’s podcast Faith By Reason exists to help you grow in your walk with God through logic, reason, and Scripture. ▶ New episo...

Is faith in God rational or blind? Ed explains why everyone lives by faith, and the difference between logical and irrational faith. Faith in God – Is it an irrational belief it something you can’t see? Or are there instances where faith is logical and reasonable? Which kind of Faith does God expect from us? The truth is that we ALL live by faith whether you are Christian, religious, or atheist. No one has knowledge of EVERYTHING, therefore some measure of faith is required no matter what your ...

What happens to people who never hear about Jesus? Ed explains why faith pleases God and whether it is fair to judge those who never heard. Why is faith important to God? The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God. Which means that WITH faith, it IS possible to please Him. But why does God desire our faith? Why does faith please Him? Also, if faith is a requirement of salvation, what about people in parts of the world that have never had a chance to hear about Jesus? Is it...

Why are some televangelists so far from Biblical faith? Ed explores fear vs. faith, Word of Faith preachers, and why God says fear only Him. Fear and Faith are opposites, in that one hopes for good, while the other expects evil. In this podcast, we will explore the dark side of faith, include so-called “Word faith” preachers who corrupt biblical faith to enrich themselves and mislead God’s people (and why I think they are the most committed atheists on earth). God commands us not to fear anythi...

Who were the sons of God in Genesis 6? Ed makes the case that they were fallen angels who fathered the Nephilim, not the sons of Seth. The Sons of God in Genesis 6 were NOT the “sons of Seth”. They weren’t even human! They were fallen angels who had intercourse with women to produce strange hybrids called Nephilim Giants. This view is HIGHLY controversial, but it is Biblically and logically accurate. And while the “sons of Seth” theory is accepted Christian orthodoxy, it is illogical, unbiblica...

Why do so many Christians struggle with hard Bible passages? Ed explains the supernatural worldview and why it is key to understanding Scripture. Having a Supernatural Worldview is vital to understanding many of the more challenging and difficult passages in the Bible. If you do not embrace a supernatural worldview, you will miss out on much of the richness of the scriptures and you will never fully understand the Bible. The supernatural worldview is: 1. The understanding that there exists an u...

Why was the Tower of Babel really built? Ed explains Bab-El, the "gateway to God," through a supernatural worldview. The Tower of Babel was not built because the post-Flood generation thought that God “lived in the sky” and if they make a structure tall enough, they could reach Him. Granted, that idea is the orthodox viewpoint, but if you have the supernatural worldview that we talked about during the last podcast, you understand that there is much more going on here. Bab-El literally means “ga...

Are all religions the same? Ed looks at why so many religions share creation, flood, and redemption stories, and gives the Biblical answer. Are all religions the same? Many people think so. And it’s almost understandable when you look at the fact that most religions share the same themes of “god(s)”, creation narratives, the fall and redemption of man, supernatural intervention, and apocalyptic judgment. Some of them even feature a “virgin birth”, and the death of a “god” in order to save manki...

Who was Semiramis, and how did false religion begin? Ed traces the Mother of Harlots back to the Queen of Babel and Nimrod. The Mother of Harlots is the title given to the original false religion which started at Babel (Babylon), and gave birth to all the false religions around the world. But in a denotative sense, the physical Mother of Harlots was the Queen of Babel – the mother/wife of Nimrod, known as Semiramis. Through her deceit, manipulation, deception, and lust for power, she created t...

Who really holds power behind organized religion? Ed explains the people he calls "Mystics," from Babel to secret societies and royal bloodlines. The leaders of organized religions are people I call “Mystics”. They stared at Babel, and have spread to every corner of the world, amassing power and influence by guarding access to their secrets. In the secular world, they exist in secret societies that influence governments. Or as members or hereditary priesthood and “royal bloodlines” that consoli...

Why does every human government fail? Ed explains how all governments depend on the impossible: perfectly moral human beings. Governments fail, and will ALWAYS fail, because they all rely on the existence of the impossible in order to function optimally. That impossibility is perfectly moral human beings! Human government is man’s attempt to recreate the perfection of Eden without God. But every government and societal theory, institution, entity, or structure; whether secular or religious, can...

Why do governments suppress greatness? Ed explains how your God-given uniqueness makes you great, and why that threatens human government. Your greatness is a HUGE threat to human governments! So much so that governments are designed to suppress it. Greatness comes from uniqueness, and when you operate in your uniqueness, you have the capacity to be great! And since we are ALL unique, we can all be great! The problem is that by its nature, the human government can only function if greatness (in...