December 21, 2022 with Keith Foskey on “A Christian Approach to Comedy & Humor”

Live from historic downtown Carlisle, Pennsylvania, home of founding father James Wilson,

19th century hymn writer George Duffield, 19th century gospel minister George Norcross, and sports

legend Jim Thorpe, it's Iron Sharpens Iron.

This is a radio platform in which pastors, Christian scholars, and theologians address the burning

issues facing the church and the world today.

Proverbs chapter 27 verse 17 tells us iron sharpens iron, so one man

sharpens another.

Matthew Henry said that in this passage, we are cautioned to take heed with whom we converse and directed to

have in view in conversation to make one another wiser and better.

It is our hope that this goal will be accomplished over the next two hours, and we hope to hear from you, the listener,

with your own questions.

And now here's your host, Chris Arnzen.

Good afternoon, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, Lake City, Florida, and the rest of humanity

living on the planet Earth who are listening via live streaming at ironsharpensironradio .com.

This is Chris Arnzen, your host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, wishing you all a happy Wednesday on this

21st day of December 2022.

I'm thrilled to have back on the program an old friend and a returning guest, Keith Foskey,

one of three pastors of Sovereign Grace Family Church of Jacksonville, Florida, and the

host of the podcast, Conversations with a Calvinist.

Today we're going to be approaching a Christian approach to comedy and humor in

search of the very rare and nearly extinct smiling Calvinist, and it's my honor and privilege

to welcome you back to the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio program, Keith Foskey.

Yes, sir, Chris, I'm glad to be here as always, and thank you for having me on the show.

I always enjoy it.

Always enjoy having you on, brother.

And for the sake of our listeners who have not yet heard you on this program or are unfamiliar

with you from any other media, tell us about Sovereign Grace Family

Church of Jacksonville.

Sovereign Grace Family Church is a Reformed Baptist church on the north side of

Jacksonville.

We're about five minutes from the Jacksonville International Airport, so if you are anywhere in Jacksonville, you probably know

where the airport is.

We are only a couple of miles away from the airport, and just a

quick run from there.

We are committed to expository preaching.

We hold to the 1646 London Baptist Confession.

That's the first London Baptist Confession.

It predates the Westminster Confession.

It predates the Westminster.

Yes, and we're an elder -led church.

We have three ordained ministers, myself, Mike, and Andy serve as our elders,

and you are good friends with one of those, a former pastor of yours, I believe.

Not a former pastor of mine.

Andy Montoro was a former pastor of my late wife, Julie.

Andy Montoro and Dawn Blend were her pastors at First Baptist Church of Lindenhurst, Long Island, New York,

and had many great memories of fellowship with Andy, and both

laughter -filled and tear -filled, and a great brother in Christ, and I believe,

I like to take credit for things whenever I can.

I believe it was me that actually led him to your church, and which eventually led to him

becoming one of the pastors there.

Yeah, he had retired from being a pastor of a different church, and had come here

as a member, and after some time, became one of our elders, yeah, as one of our pastors.

So yes, absolutely, you were instrumental in that, so thank you.

And if I'm not mistaken, the first time I met you was when you had

invited Dr. James R. White of Alpha Omega Ministries to preach at Sovereign Grace Family Church of

Jacksonville, and I happened to be in Florida on, I think it was a speaking

tour that Dr. White was involved in, in different churches down in Florida, and

that's why, I believe that's the first time I met you, isn't it?

Yeah, we may have shook hands before that at a conference or two, but that was the time we spent some time together.

That was the time I got to hear you do your party -hardy Marty, Martin Luther, which I'll

never forget that, and for those who don't know, we're going to be talking about Christian

humor today.

People need to know Chris is a funny dude, Chris is a funny brother, and party -hardy Marty

needs to be resurrected every October 31st.

It needs to be something that we do on the annual basis.

Well, you know, I don't know if he still does it, but Bill Shishko, who was the pastor of

the Orthodox Presbyterian Church of Franklin Square in New York, he is now pastoring

an OPC church plant called The Haven in Comack, Long Island, New York, but when he was

pastoring at the OPC, for years they would have a Reformation

Day celebration, and they would always play the CD of that song.

So I was very honored by that.

Well now tell us about your podcast, Conversations with a Calvinist, which obviously reveals

that you are a theological bigot, because you're only having conversations with Calvinists.

Well, see that's the confusion, is I'm the Calvinist.

Oh!

See, I'm Keith Foskey, and I'm your Calvinist, is my sign -off.

That's every show, that's how I sign -off.

So you have conversations that you sometimes have non -Calvinists on.

Oh, absolutely.

In fact, I have a small group of guys who are regulars on the program, and one of them is

named Matthew Henson, and we all refer to him as our not -yet -Calvinist friend,

because he's not a Calvinist, but we just say that's just not yet, it's coming, it's

coming.

Well this is a controversial issue that we are addressing because

this issue, which should just be a time of reflecting on a

merry heart maketh like a good medicine and should bring smiles to our faces,

but there is a division in the body of Christ on humor.

We all should agree that filthy, coarse, vulgar jesting is always

wrong.

There are things that are unanimously held as being

improper, if not even seriously dangerous

in the spiritual realm when it comes to humor that is offensive to God and Christ.

But there are different views of humor, things that you and I

think are completely fine to laugh at and

cause others to laugh with.

Some people raise their eyebrows and think that we are being improper, and

I think that more than the other

theological camps, I think that Calvinists may be the most guilty of that kind of sour

reaction.

Although I do see a healthy rise of funny Calvinists

around the United States and perhaps other parts of the world, so perhaps things are turning around, but

tell us why humor is important to you and why you even wanted to discuss it today.

Well what brought up this topic is in the last couple of,

well it really has only been in the last couple of months, I have begun to produce and

distribute humorous videos which are

intended to address truthful things within the body of Christ, but to do so

in a somewhat satirical manner, and that's one of the things I did want to address today is the different

types of humor.

There's satire, there is things that are intended to be exaggerated and

hyperbolic, and all of those have use as tools, and I

do believe that truth that is conveyed through humor is

often some of the most memorable truth, and this is something my wife and I were talking about last night

as I was preparing what I wanted to say today.

If we think about the things that have been said by some of our most famous

Reformed preachers, the things that we tend to remember are the things that tend to make us, maybe not

laugh, but at least kind of strike us, like how many people repeat Votie

Bauckham saying, if you can't say amen, say ouch.

Well that's not a joke, but that's a humorous line, and how many times have people

repeated it because they remember him saying it, and I have a line that I say

in my church all the time, I say, and it was something I heard from a professor, I say, there's a Greek word for that,

and it's baloney.

Anytime I hear somebody say something untrue, I'll say, well the Greek word for that is baloney, and now

everybody in my church will make that joke, like we'll be out to dinner and we'll be talking about something that's

false or untrue, and they'll say, well you know what Pastor Keith says, there's a Greek word for that, and it's baloney.

Well I got that from Professor Jerry Powers, who was one of my school,

one of my teachers in seminary, and it's just those types of witty statements tend to

stick with us.

We tend to remember things that cause, that strike our funny bone, and even R

.C. Sproul, when he said, what's wrong with you people, I mean he was serious when he said

that, but if you listen to that recording, people laughed, because that was a funny thing, when he said,

what is wrong with you people?

And so I started creating videos that were intended to be truth

expressed in humor, and it all started with me recording, in my

office I recorded a conversation with myself talking about Calvinism,

and at the end of the conversation, the other guy who was the Arminian, he said,

well Calvin killed Cervetus, that was how he tried to win the argument, was like just yelling that out

of nowhere, because it shows the humor of when somebody doesn't have anything to say,

they'll just throw out anything, and so that one little video

got quite a lot of attention, and so I made another one, and I made another one, and now we have an entire

series that's been viewed over a million and a half times on

TikTok, it's been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on Twitter,

and YouTube hasn't been as much viewed, but it's got thousands of views

on YouTube, so my wife and I write these scripts, we

write the skits, if you want to call them that, and then we film them, she helps me,

she's my co -producer.

And unfortunately since Iron Sharpens Iron is solely audio, we can't even

play what you do as far as those skits are concerned, because most of the humor is in the fact that

you are every person, and it's showing you as four, five, maybe six

different denominational ministers that you are cutting from one to another

to another, reminiscent of Eddie Murphy's

version of the Nutty Professor, when he, of course he had multi

-million dollar prosthetics and everything on his face and body, but he was at a

classic scene at a dinner table, where he was every single person eating, and he was just made

up different, used different voices and so on, but they are hilarious, and by the

way, how do we get a hold of our listeners, because I failed to mention this,

Conversations with a Calvinist, how can they watch slash listen to that?

Okay, well, Conversations with a Calvinist, the easiest way to find is just to go to

calvinistpodcast .com, it's just that simple, calvinistpodcast .com will take you directly to our

YouTube page, which has all of our short videos and our long -form podcasts, and our podcasts are

very serious, people wonder sometimes, is the humor from the short videos, does that mean our

podcasts are comedic?

Well, our podcasts are funny, but they're not comedic, we address serious topics

on the podcast, and sometimes we do deep dives into Greek studies and things like that, so the

podcast is there, the short videos are there,.

And it's just calvinistpodcast .com.

Great, and you were just mentioning in one of your skits, how a non

-Calvinist just blurts out, well, Calvin killed for Cervetus, that was

basically all that an opponent of Dr. James R. White

had to say years ago, this would have been in the early 2000s, he debated

a Unitarian Pentecostal, a Oneness Pentecostal, Robert Sabin,

who is one of the most well -known defenders of the anti

-Trinitarian position, the Oneness Pentecostal position, and we were all waiting with bated

breath to hear Mr. Sabin's articulate biblical defense

that there is no Trinity, and basically he, for the

vast majority of the debate, eulogized Michael Cervetus, that's all he really did to try to

pull at the heartstrings of those in the audience, so it was a big letdown, because we actually didn't want to see a

challenging debate, but so when you do these

humorous skits and other things, when you use humor as a Christian pastor,

what goes into your mind before you do them, as far as now, am I gonna

offend this person, am I gonna offend that person, to give you an example, I

had a very long opening routine

recently, I was the master of ceremonies at a fundraising banquet for a

classical Christian school, Pete Hegseth of Fox News was the keynote speaker,

and when I was sitting there being, waiting to be introduced,

and I had all these jokes written out, and I'm looking around the audience, and I'm like, whoops,

well there are people wearing masks, got to take that out of the routine, whoops, there's that person that I didn't

know would be here, you know, that kind of thing, because I knew they'd be offended by what I was gonna say, so I

probably cut my whole routine in half, but what goes through your head, if at all, in

concerns over who you may offend, because you are poking fun at other

denominations, but I think in a light -hearted way, I can't even imagine that somebody would actually be offended by

what you do, and I think you also use, you

know, you're making fun of Calvinists too, on occasion, so tell us.

Yeah, I think that where the.

Fair game lies is, as long as you're willing to poke fun at yourself, then you can,

you know, then you can say things that might, other people might not get away with, because

people understand you're doing it with, in a sense of light -heartedness, you know, I'm not

coming in and smacking people around, there are times when I say things that are pretty rough,

but at the same time, I'm, you know, I would like to say equal opportunity offense,

you know, everybody gets it.

The one character that seems to be the most popular is the Presbyterian, and

I'm not Presbyterian, but I wear a big bowtie, and I wear a sweater vest, and some people have even accused me of

being Doug.

Wilson, that I'm trying to be Doug Wilson.

Well, you do call yourself a deepwater Presbyterian, I love.

That line.

Yeah, that's my, yeah, I got that, I don't remember what pastor said that years ago, but that stuck with me.

Again, that's a funny thing that stuck with me, and being a deepwater Presbyterian, meaning I'm a Reformed Baptist, I feel like

I can poke fun at Presbyterians in a way that's not mean, because the whole idea of the

Presbyterian character is that he thinks that his theology is the best.

Well, I've never met a Presbyterian who didn't think his theology was the best, you know, they're very

confident in the Westminster Standards, and so none of them seem to take issue with it,

because I'm exaggerating it, but it sort of does hold.

Now, the one I have gotten some grief over is I've been told I'm

unfair to Methodists, because I tend to make Methodists very liberal, and the argument is,

well, not all Methodists are liberal.

I say, yeah, I know, but they're all Arminian, and so I can,

that's my thing, I say I'm a Calvinist, I'm going to give the Arminian a hard time, and so that's,

again, just being fair, and I did one video one time very

early on, where I did a video where there were some ladies who were singing about being

pastors, like how God had ordained them as pastors, and I cut into the video some words.

Well, I thought they were Roman Catholics.

They weren't.

They were Anglicans, and that's the only video I felt bad about, because I said something about Roman Catholicism that was

incorrect, so as long as, if I say something wrong, I'll own it, but otherwise, it's just

humor, and so, you know, truth, you know, like I said, truth or humor, as long as what I'm saying is correct,.

I don't feel so, I don't feel bad about it.

So, go a little bit further into this whole concept of why it is

completely appropriate, acceptable, and even healthy and beneficial for Christians.

To be involved in comedy and humor.

Well, I think in a lot of ways

that when we hear the term sober

-minded, I think that we think that that automatically means that we have to be

always super serious, but at the same time, I don't think that

that's what that means.

I think sober -minded means that we have to be mature.

I think we have to be respectful.

I think we have to be godly, and yet, at the same time, I see a place for, again, even

in Scripture, a place for satire, a place for, I think Jesus used

sarcasm.

I hope people don't get offended when I say sarcasm, but I think there were times where he was sarcastic in the sense of

where he would say things to people that were intentionally to drive a point home.

I mean, when you say to Nicodemus, you know, you're the teacher of Israel and you don't know this, right?

I mean, like, there's a little bit of, you know, sanctified sarcasm.

Or how about the.

Account of Mount Carmel in the Old Testament, where God is saying, where is your

God?

Is he going to the bathroom somewhere?

Yeah, exactly, exactly, and that one, you know, I've heard that used to

defend crass joking, you know, people who use foul language and things like that.

I think we have to be careful.

I know that's not what you're saying, but I do think we have to be careful that we don't

oversell, you know, like say, well, he said your God's on the toilet, so that means I can use

whatever word I want to use.

I can say a curse word or something, and I'm very careful.

I don't use any curse language.

Obviously, I don't, as a pastor, I wouldn't want to do that anyway, and I try to always, you know,

I just present things in a way that I think are truthful and yet at the same

time funny.

You know, a pastor who, the thing about the firetruck baptism, I did my very first

denominations video, I talked, one of the guys was Big Eva.

Big Eva is the guy who is, you know, the multi -site campus church guy, and I said, you know, Big Eva was

talking about their 60 -foot water slide baptism and their firetruck baptistry for little kids,

and what's funny is both of those things, maybe not the 60 -foot slide, but I have seen

in churches where they have created these six flags over

Jesus atmospheres where everything is meant to be playful, and that was what the joke was

about, is churches have become six flags over Jesus.

So I think there's a place for truth or humor, and again, it seems to resonate with people, and it seems to

cause people to remember it, and that's, you know, part of what teaching does,.

Teaching that sticks, you know.

Who are some of your favorite comedians that you

promote and share their humor with your congregants and friends and so on?

I mean, immediately the person who comes to mind when it comes to specifically Christian

humor is Hans Feeney, and I am, or Feeney, please forgive me, Hans, if you're

listening, because I can't remember how to pronounce his name even though I interviewed him once, but he is the

genius behind Lutheran satire, and some of those videos are the funniest

things I've ever seen in my life, inside or outside secular comedy.

So who are some of your favorites?

Well, let me say this about that.

I'm glad you.

Brought that up, because Hans, if you're listening, two things.

One, I would love to do a collaboration with you, a Calvinist and

Lutheran do something funny together.

I think that would be awesome.

So Hans, if you're listening, if you're listening, I want to do something.

I don't do, I don't do the cartoons like you do, so I do all my own very cheesy

videos, but I'm putting it out there, because yes, you're right, Hans is brilliant.

So that's the first thing.

Second thing, he's got a video on how

Luther and Zwingli and Calvin, they do this little, Luther's like, I'm

starting my Reformation, and then Zwingli comes up and he goes, it is my

Reformation, and then Calvin comes in, no, no, it is my Reformation.

And that video is my favorite, even though I think his

Horace Ruins Christmas is probably the one I've shown people the most.

The video, I just want to say those two things.

So Hans, if you ever see this brother, I love you.

I think you're great.

So yeah, he's definitely a number one, for sure.

Anybody else?

Yeah, I've got a, I got a list.

I don't know how long before our first break, but I could,.

But I know about three minutes.

Okay.

All right.

Well, the first one on my mind is someone that maybe people have never heard of, but he's

an older Christian comedian, and his name is Dennis Swanberg.

He was known as the Minister of Encouragement.

That was what his title was.

And you can find his videos online, Dennis Swanberg, they called him the Swan, and

he was a Christian Impressionist, and he did impressions of Don Knotts,

and the guy from It's a Wonderful Life, Jimmy Stewart.

He did all these great old actors, and he was such a fine Impressionist, and I used to watch

his stuff for hours.

I could watch him do his Don Knotts impression just forever.

So Dennis Swanberg was a tremendous Christian comedian, and he would go to churches, and

he would put on Christian comedy shows, similar to Tim Hawkins today.

Tim Hawkins would be another Christian comic today, but Dennis Swanberg was the last generation of that,

from like the 70s, who did that.

And so I would say those two guys.

Another one would be Ray Stevens.

Ray Stevens was one of my favorite musical comedians.

You know, The Squirrel Went Berserk and The First Self -Righteous Church must be one of the greatest of all

times as far as poking fun at Christianity.

I mean, if you listen to The Squirrel Went Berserk, you know, that song pokes so much fun

at the church.

He's got the Sister Bertha Better Than You is a great line, you know, and so

those would be that.

And there's also a few secular comedians that I think are really funny.

Probably the guy who I like the most right now, who's very clean, his name is Nate

Bargatze.

He's a clean, secular comedian.

He has a podcast that he does with some other guys who are clean comedians,

and they are all known for that.

And I love clean stand -up guys that I can watch.

Dry Bar Comedy, which I think is actually put out by Mormon, so I have to be careful to promote that.

But Dry Bar Comedy is a group of clean, it's a clean comedy.

I've seen that.

I had no idea there was a Mormon connection.

I believe it's in, I actually think it's in Utah.

I think it's actually in Salt Lake.

But it's those, typically everybody on there is clean.

But Nate Bargatze had a, is a guy that I would say

is, you know, for the most part, I mean, he is secular.

I don't, he might be a Christian.

I think he's talked about that some, but he's not a Christian comic.

Guys, like I said, Christian comics would be Tim Hawkins, Dennis Swanberg, and then,

of course, Ray Stevens, who is, I know these are generationally, modern people don't know who they are.

Now, I have one for you that you might remember, Chris, because you go back a little ways,

like I do.

Do you remember Mike Warnke?

Oh, yeah, and he turned out to be a fraud.

He was,.

Yes, he was, he was telling people that he was in a satanic cult and witnessed

a human sacrifice and all kinds of things like that.

Yeah, well, Mike Warnke, you know, for all that he was, as far as his

falsehoods, I've never heard a better storyteller.

Mike Warnke, and again, he was, you know, it comes with the territory if you're telling falsehoods.

But, but Mike Warnke, I used to have all of his tapes, and I listened to them

growing up.

And so that was the type of thing that somebody who could tell a good story was

what really got my attention.

So that was influences.

Yeah, yeah.

And the Jim Gaffigan had for years

made me split my gut and he never cursed or anything like that.

Then he started to let them fly once in a while during his routine unexpectedly more recently.

And then he became overly critical against conservatives.

And it started to get a little bit annoying to me.

And I don't, I don't enjoy him as much as I used to.

But I think that he made a fatal error in becoming overly

political, unnecessarily offending a huge portion of

his audience, no doubt, since he was clean.

But we have to go to our first break right now.

And if anybody has a question for Keith Foskey on comedy and humor in the Christian faith,

send it to ChrisArnzen at gmail .com.

C -H -R -I -S -A -R -N -Z -E -N gmail .com.

Give us your first name, at least your city and state of residence and your country of residence if you live outside the

USA.

Please only remain anonymous if your question involves a personal or private matter.

Don't go away.

We'll be right back with Keith Foskey right after these messages.

Such a blessing to hear from Iron Sharpens Iron radio listeners from all over the world.

Here's Joe Reilly, a listener in Ireland who wants you to know about a guest on the show

he really loves hearing interviewed, Dr. Joe Moorcraft.

I'm Joe Reilly, a faithful Iron Sharpens Iron radio listener here in Atai in County Kildare, Ireland.

Going back to 2005, one of my very favorite guests on Iron Sharpens Iron is Dr. Joe

Moorcraft.

If you've been blessed by Iron Sharpens Iron radio, Dr. Moorcraft and Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming,

Georgia are largely thankful since they are one of the program's largest financial supporters.

Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming is in Forsyth County, a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area.

Heritage is a thoroughly biblical church, unwaveringly committed to Westminster standards, and Dr. Joe

Moorcraft is the author of an eight -volume commentary on the larger catechism.

Heritage is a member of the Hanover Presbytery, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets,

Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, and tracing its roots and heritage back to the great Protestant

Reformation of the 16th century.

Heritage maintains and follows the biblical truth and principles proclaimed by the reformers, scripture alone,

grace alone, faith alone, Christ alone, and God's glory alone.

Their primary goal is the worship of the triune God that continues in eternity.

For more details on Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia, visit heritagepresbyterianchurch

.com.

That's heritage presbyterianchurch .com, or call 678 -954

-7831.

That's 678 -954 -7831.

If you visit, tell them Joe Reilly, an Iron Sharpens Iron radio listener from a tie in County Kildare,

Ireland,.

Sent you.

If you're near retirement or thinking about retiring, you probably have questions.

How do you make your savings last?

How much should you take out, and when?

You're ready for retirement, but are your finances?

Art Amundsen, an Edward Jones financial advisor, can help you build a strategy to help make sure your

finances keep up with your long -term needs.

Do what it takes to get there.

Now it's time to make the most of retirement.

Visit edwardjones .com.

That's edwardjones .com, or call 717 -258 -4688.

717 -258 -4688.

We here at Iron Sharpens Iron radio are forever grateful for the generous financial

support of Art Amundsen, Edward Jones financial advisor in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

Call 717 -258 -4688 today.

James White of Alpha Omega Ministries here.

If you've watched my Dividing Line webcast often enough, you know I have a great love for getting Bibles and other

documents vital to my ministry rebound to preserve and ensure their longevity.

And besides that, they feel so good.

I'm so delighted I discovered Post Tenebrous Lux Bible rebinding.

No radio ad will be long enough to sing their praises sufficiently, but I'll give it a shot.

Jeffrey Rice of Post Tenebrous Lux is a remarkably gifted craftsman and artisan.

All his work is done by hand, from the cutting, to the pleating of corners, to the perimeter stitching.

Jeffrey uses the finest in buttery soft imported leathers in a wide variety of gorgeous colors, like

the turquoise goat skin tanned in Italy used for my Nessie Allen 28th edition, with a navy

blue goat skin inside liner, and the electric blue goat skin from a French tannery used to rebind a

Reformation study Bible I used as a gift.

The silver gilding he added on the page edges has a stunning mirror finish resembling highly polished

chrome.

Jeffrey will customize your rebinding to your specifications and even emboss your logo into the leather,

making whatever he rebinds a one -of -a -kind work of art.

For more details on Post Tenebrous Lux Bible rebinding, go to

ptlbiblerebinding .com.

That's ptlbiblerebinding .com.

An Iron Sharpens Iron radio first launched in 2005.

The publishers of the New American Standard Bible were among my very first sponsors.

It gives me joy knowing that many scholars and pastors in the Iron Sharpens Iron radio audience have been

sticking with or switching to the NASB.

This is Darrell Bernard Harrison, co -host of the Just Thinking Podcast, and the NASB is my

Bible of choice.

I'm Pastor Tom Buck at First Baptist Church in Lindale, Texas, and

the NASB is my Bible of choice.

I'm Pastor Kent Keller of Faith Bible Church in Sharpsburg, Georgia, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.

I'm Andrew Rappaport, the founder and executive director at Striving for Eternity Ministries, and the

NASB is my Bible of choice.

I'm Mark Rimaldi, pastor of Sovereign Grace Church of Greenbrier, Tennessee, and the NASB

is my Bible of choice.

I'm Christopher Cookston, pastor of Prineville Community Church in Prineville, Oregon,

and the NASB is my Bible of choice.

I'm Matt Tarr, pastor of High Point Baptist Church in Larksville, Pennsylvania, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.

Here's a great way for your.

Church to help keep Iron Sharpens Iron Radio on the air.

Pastors, are your pew bibles tattered and falling apart?

Consider restocking your pews with the NASB, and tell the publishers you heard about them

from Chris Arnzen on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

Go to nasbible .com.

That's nasbible .com to place your

order.

Here at Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, praise God for the generous monthly.

Financial support of Royal Diadem Jewelers, educated by and affiliated with

the American Gem Society, Jewelers of America, and the Gemological Institute of

America.

For the perfect custom -designed engagement ring, or any one -of -a -kind piece of jewelry, created

exactly according to your imagination and specifications, Royal Diadem Jewelers

has you covered.

No matter where you live in the world, Royal Diadem will walk you step -by -step through every stage of the

process, and even hold a high -tech internet virtual visit using state -of -the -art jewelry design

technology to serve you.

They start by listening carefully to determine your needs.

They're interested in making what you want, not what they want to sell you.

From rough design to digital model, to photorealistic image, to wax prototype model, to

the finished product, they're continually listening to your input, likes and dislikes, making

any changes necessary along the way.

This will ensure that your custom jewelry will turn out exactly as you dreamed, and well beyond your

expectations.

Visit royaldiadem .com.

That's royaldiadem .com today.

Sterling Vandewerker, owner of Royal Diadem Jewelers, his wife, Bronnie, his business partner and

manager, Brian Wilson, and the entire family, thank you all for listening to, praying for,

and supporting the work of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

And don't forget folks, if you purchase anything from royaldiadem .com while

they are still extending this offer to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, we will receive

100 of the profits for any purchase of $100 or more to any Iron

Sharpens Iron Radio listener if you mention this program when making your purchase at

royaldiadem .com, whether it's just a piece of jewelry that they already have in stock at

royaldiadem .com, or if you're customizing a piece of jewelry, whether it's an engagement ring,

or taking your church logo, your denomination logo, your parachurch ministry

logo, your seminary logo, or whatever it is that you want to turn into a piece of jewelry, like a

pendant for a necklace, or a ring, or anything else, or anything else that your imagination can conjure up.

They will do an absolutely masterful job at creating this piece of

jewelry with you that is exactly according to your specifications and will

exceed your expectations.

Believe me, I've seen their work firsthand, and it is absolutely spectacular.

Go to royaldiadem .com while they're still offering this magnificent offer to Iron

Sharpens Iron Radio, and please mention Iron Sharpens Iron Radio when making your purchase.

That's limited time.

We will receive 100 percent of the profits from any sale.

We are now back with Keith Foskey, who is pastor of Sovereign Grace Family Church

in Jacksonville, Florida.

He's also the host of the podcast known as Conversations with a Calvinist, and if you have a

question for Pastor Keith, our email address is chrisarnsen at gmail .com, c -h -r -i -s

-a -r -n -z -e -n at gmail .com.

Give us your first name at least, city and state, and country of residence.

We are discussing a Christian approach to comedy and humor, and we already do have a question

for you from all the way over in Metro Manila in the Philippines, Keith.

We have Ramon who says, can you ask Keith.

What his favorite Bible verse on humor is?

I don't know if I've ever been asked that question, so I don't know that I can give a great answer.

Let's see.

We mentioned it earlier.

Proverbs 17 22 says, a merry heart doeth good like a medicine.

I'll tell you how that works out in real life for me.

I know that some of the most difficult ministry times that I have had to

be a part of were times where people were going through a tremendous amount of grief, and certainly

you don't want to be a clown or a fool when people are grieving, but sometimes a

word that is rightly spoken in a way that can bring a

smile to someone's face in a moment of difficulty can be

like a medicine, and I do think that when it says a merry heart doeth good like a medicine, I think that is

something for us to consider.

Again, not being a fool or being a jester, but our words can be

soothing, our words can be comforting, our words can be funny.

So I would say that.

I would say Proverbs 17 22, probably the one that I would point to the

most quickly.

And you know there is a verse that I'm probably

the only one on the planet who thinks it's funny.

I remember the first time I heard it as a new Christian.

I kind of chuckled, and I still chuckle when I

hear it, because it is to me

I don't know if Jesus was using a sense of humor here, but in

Matthew 21, it says when they approached Jerusalem and had come

to Bethpage at the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two

disciples saying to them, go into the village opposite you and immediately you will find a donkey tied

there and a colt with it.

Untie them and bring them to me.

And if anybody asks, if anyone says anything to you, you shall say, the Lord

needs them, and he will send them on immediately.

Now that just seems like you know, if anybody's asking you while you're doing something, and you just say, oh the

Lord needs them, and they're going to be satisfied with that.

That just always has struck me funny, but it might be because I'm a bit mentally ill.

I don't know why.

And by the way, thanks Ramon for for sending in the question, and keep listening to Iron Radio,

and spreading the word about the show in the Philippines and beyond.

And there is a point where if we

are consumed with never offending anyone with humor, we may never use humor at

all, or never enjoy it.

Aren't certain things worthy of of mockery even from a

Christian?

Things that are so heretical, so

beyond what a Christian should be teaching and participating

in.

You know, Martin Luther was a champion at this with, you know, we've seen some of the famous woodcuts of

Luther that have sometimes include earthy humor, to put

it lightly.

But you know, his mockery of the papacy and so on.

Now I'm not saying that that gives a green light to be openly offensive to our

Catholic friends, and there's a time and a place for certain things like that.

You don't want to be unnecessarily harsh at your Christmas dinner table with

people who hold the different faiths.

But you know, there are certain things, in the Word of Faith movement, and some of their heroes

like Kenneth Copeland, that they're just begging for mockery.

What do you think about that?

Because there are Christians who have chastised me very sternly

for using humor about any of those things.

Well, again, going back to what we talked about in the first segment, and that is there do seem to be

those who think that all humor is bad, or that it's in somehow being

less than sober -minded.

You know, if you use humor, then you're not fulfilling the command to be sober -minded.

But I will tell you this, it takes a pretty sober -thinking mind to

be able to come up with stuff that's truly funny and truly mocking, and

that actually nails it.

And that's probably the

best compliment I have received, whether it be on Twitter or other places where people have seen my material,

is they'll say, this guy nails it.

This guy is nailing this.

This is true.

This is, you know, it's exaggerated, it's hyperbolic, but it's still, it's

nailing it.

And there are a few things that I miss, like I mentioned the Lutherans and a Jesse tree.

I had a few Lutherans come after me because they'd never heard of a Jesse tree, and I said, well, that's a whole long story.

But the point is, if we want to

address something, we have to address what's really there.

You just mentioned mockery.

Yeah, if there's anybody in the world that needs to be mocked, it's the false teachers.

It's the people who, you know, that are injuring

the flock, and we are pointing to them, and we're saying, look at the foolishness that these people are doing,

and doing it in a way that shows how absolutely and utterly

ridiculous that it is.

So no, I, again, I understand, and I don't want to just simply say, well, some people don't have a sense of

humor.

That is true.

I've met people that don't have a sense of humor, but I also think there are some people who, for some reason, think that

humor is somehow bad, and therefore, it shouldn't be used.

Now, I do want to add a caveat, and I don't want to go too long before you get to

speak again, Chris, but I do have a thought that I want to clarify.

I do think that when we deal with the preaching of the Word,

that that is not a place for a man to be trying to be a comedian.

I don't think that that's a place for a man to be trying to be, to just get people to laugh,

and I have seen that.

I've seen pastors who seem like they would be more comfortable

at the chuckle palace than they are in the pulpit, and that's inappropriate.

So I think also knowing the time and place and the avenue for humor

is, I mean, again, I have shown Hans' Lutheran satire video

so many times on the subject of Christmas because he nails this

whole Horus and Mithras and all this and how Christmas is just pagan,

and he nails it in a two -minute video.

He says more than I could say in a 20 -minute conversation, and so I think humor

has a place.

Again, it sticks with us.

It's truth through humor, and I think it's a good thing.

I think it's a helpful thing.

Yes, and I'm assuming that also, having said what you said, you don't

think it's always wrong for a preacher during a sermon to use

appropriately humor, and as long as it does not dominate the message.

I know that one of my own pastors, actually both of them, from time to time, they're teaching something as serious

as a heart attack, but then they'll say something.

It's usually something that is unplanned because just something pops in their head, or

it could be involving a child crying in the congregation in one of the pews.

It could be anything like that that just sparks a joke in their mind, and they tell it, and it's funny.

Somebody who does this every time I see him preach or hear him preach is Steve Lawson.

He's a very serious preacher, but then he has said some things in the

midst of serious sermons that made me explode with laughter.

So, I'm assuming that it's okay.

It's completely acceptable as long as it doesn't dominate a message.

Yes, and that's what I meant.

I guess what I'm saying is when it comes to, I don't want somebody to see

me doing these videos and think, well, this guy just is a comedian, and therefore, when he preaches, he

preaches like Jerry Seinfeld or with that attitude.

There's a sober -mindedness in the pulpit that's different, but yeah, no, there are things that I say in the pulpit.

The things that people tend to remember, again, are the things that cause them to have a sense of pause

or sometimes humor.

As I said earlier, Bodie Backham, if you can't say amen, say ouch.

Steve Lawson has said, like you just said, several things that were just pointed and funny.

So, no, I'm not saying that humor is wrong in the pulpit.

I'm saying we shouldn't be trying to be stand -up comics in the

pulpit, and that was my only point, is that I think

there's a line where if a man is just pushing for laughter rather than pushing

for the truth of the text, that's where the issue would lie.

Well, we've got to go to our midway.

Break.

Please be patient with us.

It's always a bit longer than the other breaks in the show,

and please send in your questions to chrisarnson at gmail .com if you have any.

Chrisarnson at gmail .com.

As always, give us your first name at least, your city and state, and your country of residence if you live outside the USA.

Please only remain anonymous if the question involves a personal and private matter.

Use this time wisely, folks.

Please write down as much of the contact information provided by our advertisers as you can

so that you can more frequently and successfully contact our advertisers

and patronize them whenever possible, but when you can't, please

at least, at the very least, contact our advertisers to thank them for sponsoring this show

if indeed you do love the show and you want it to continue, and you're

thankful to God that there are people who use their hard -earned

money.

They share some of their hard -earned money with us so that we can continue to exist.

Please at least thank them and send in your questions to chrisarnson at

gmail .com.

That's chrisarnson at gmail .com.

Don't go away.

We're going to be right back, right after these messages from our sponsors.

I'm Dr.

Joseph Piper, President Emeritus and.

Professor of Systematic and Applied Theology at Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary.

Every Christian who's serious about the Deformed Faith and the Westminster Standards should have and use

the eight -volume commentary on the theology and ethics of the Westminster Larger Catechism

titled Authentic Christianity by Dr. Joseph Morecraft.

It is much more than an exposition of the Larger Catechism.

It is a thoroughly researched work that utilizes biblical exegesis as well as historical and

systematic theology.

Dr. Morecraft is pastor of Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia, and I urge everyone

looking for a biblically faithful church in that area to visit that fine congregation.

For details on the eight -volume commentary, go to westminstercommentary .com,

westminstercommentary .com.

For details on Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia, visit

heritagepresbyterianchurch .com, heritagepresbyterianchurch .com.

Please tell Dr. Morecraft and the saints at Heritage Presbyterian Church of Cumming, Georgia.

That Dr. Joseph Piper of Greenville Presbyterian Theological Seminary sent

you.

As host of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, I frequently get requests from listeners for church recommendations.

A church I've been strongly recommending as far back as the 1980s is Grace Covenant Baptist

Church in Flemington, New Jersey, pastored by Alan Dunn.

Grace Covenant Baptist Church believes it's God's prerogative to determine how he shall be worshiped and how he

shall be represented in the world.

They believe churches need to turn to the Bible to discover what to include in worship and how to worship

God in spirit and truth.

Grace Covenant Baptist Church endeavors to maintain a God -centered focus.

Reading, preaching, and hearing the Word of God, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs,

baptism, and communion are the scriptural elements of their corporate worship, performed with faith, joy,

and sobriety.

Discover more about Grace Covenant Baptist Church in Flemington, New Jersey at

gcbcnj .squarespace .com.

That's gcbcnj .squarespace .com.

Or call them at 908 -996 -7654.

That's 908 -996 -7654.

Tell Pastor Dunn that you heard about Grace Covenant Baptist Church on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

If you love Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, one of the best ways you.

Can help keep the show on the air is by supporting our advertisers.

One such faithful advertiser who really believes in what Chris Arnton is doing is

Daniel P. Patafuco, serious injury lawyer and Christian apologist.

Dan is the president and founder of the Historical Bible Society.

Their mission?

To foster belief in the credibility of scripture as the written Word of God.

They go to various churches, schools, and institutions to publicly display a rare

collection of biblical texts, along with a fascinating presentation by Mr. Patafuco,

demonstrating the reliability of scripture.

To advance the cause of the gospel, they created a beautiful, perfect facsimile of the

genealogy of Jesus Christ from the original engravings contained in a first edition

1611 King James Bible.

This 17th century hand -engraved chart shows the family tree of Jesus Christ,

going back to Adam and Eve.

This book is complete with gorgeous full -size illustrations of Noah's Ark and the Tower of

Babel, and an explanation of why the genealogy of Jesus is so important for his claims

to the throne of the universe.

Originals of this work are in museums and nobody has ever made it accessible to the public

in a large book form before.

You can have your own copy of this 44 -page genealogy book for a donation of $35

or more.

Visit historicalbiblesociety .org.

That's historicalbiblesociety .org.

Thanks for helping to keep Iron Sharpen's Iron Radio.

On the air.

Getting a driver's license, running a cash register, flipping burgers, passing sixth grade.

Do you know what they all have in common?

They all require training, assessments, and certifications.

But do you know what requires no training at all?

Becoming a parent.

My name is A .M. Brewster.

I'm the president of Truth, Love, Parent and host of its award -winning podcast.

I've been a biblical family counselor since the early 2000s, and what I've discovered is that the majority of Christian parents have

never been biblically equipped to do the work of the ministry in their homes.

That's why Truth, Love, Parent exists.

We serve God by equipping dads and moms to be the ambassador parents God called and created them to be.

We produce free parenting resources, train church leaders, and offer biblical counseling so that the next generation of

dads and moms can use the scriptures to parent their children for life and godliness.

Please visit us at.

Truthloveparent .com.

When Iron Sharpen's Iron Radio first launched in 2005, the publishers of the New American

Standard Bible were among my very first sponsors.

It gives me joy knowing that many scholars and pastors in the Iron Sharpen's Iron Radio audience have been

sticking with or switching to the NASB.

I'm Dr. Joe Moorcraft, pastor of Heritage Presbyterian Church in Cumming,

Georgia, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.

I'm Anthony Uvino, founder of the.

Reformrookie .com and co -founder of New York Apologetics, and the NASB is my Bible of

choice.

I'm Pastor Tim Bushong of Syracuse Baptist Church in Syracuse, Indiana, and the NASB is my

Bible of.

Choice.

I'm Eli Ayala, founder of Revealed Apologetics and staff member with the Historical Bible Society, and the NASB

is my Bible of choice.

I'm Pastor Josh Miller of Grace Bible Fellowship.

Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.

I'm Joe Bianchi,.

President of Calvi Press Publishing in Greenville, South Carolina, and the NASB

is my Bible of choice.

I'm Pastor Jake Korn of Switzerland Community Church in Switzerland, Florida,.

And the NASB is my Bible of choice.

Here's a great way for your church to help keep Iron Sharpen's Iron Radio on the air.

Pastors, are your pew Bibles tattered and falling apart?

Consider restocking your pews with the NASB, and tell the publishers you heard about them

from Chris Arnzen on Iron Sharpen's Iron Radio.

Go to nasbible .com, that's nasbible .com to place

your order.

I'm Dr. Tony Costa, professor of apologetics and Islam at Toronto Baptist Seminary.

I'm thrilled to introduce to you a church where I've been invited to speak and have grown to love, Hope

Reformed Baptist Church in Coram, Long Island, New York, pastored by Rich Jensen and Christopher

McDowell.

It's such a joy to witness and experience fellowship with people of God, like the dear saints at Hope Reformed Baptist Church

in Coram, who have an intensely passionate desire to continue digging deeper and deeper into

the unfathomable riches of Christ in his holy word, and to enthusiastically proclaim

Christ Jesus the King and his doctrines of sovereign grace in Suffolk County, Long Island, and

beyond.

I hope you also have the privilege of discovering this precious congregation and receive the blessing

of being showered by their love, as I have.

For more information on Hope Reformed Baptist Church, go to hopereformedli .net,

that's hopereformedli .net, or

call 631 -696 -5711, that's 631 -696

-5711.

Tell the folks at Hope Reformed Baptist Church of Coram, Long Island, New York, that you heard about them from Tony Costa

on Iron Sharpens Iron.

Here's what Gary DeMar, president of American Vision, had to say about Iron Sharpens Iron.

Radio recently.

Good to be back.

Chris, I always enjoy our time.

You, I have to say, you're one of the better interviewers out there, and I've been doing this for 30,.

More than 30 years.

Wow, that's some compliment.

How much joy are you for that?

You don't have to tell me anything.

We're in good shape.

I'm glad you said it on the air, so I don't have to brag about myself.

Tell your friends and loved ones about Iron Sharpens Iron Radio, airing live Monday through Friday, 4 to

6 p .m. Eastern Time, at ironsharpensirneradio .com.

Hi, this is John Sampson, pastor of King's Church in Peoria, Arizona, taking a moment of your

day to talk about Chris Arnzen and the Iron Sharpens Iron podcast.

I consider Chris a true friend and a man of high integrity.

He's a skilled interviewer who's not afraid to ask the big penetrating questions, while always defending the key

doctrines of the Christian faith.

I've always been happy to point people to this podcast, knowing it's one of the very few safe places on the internet

where folk won't be led astray.

I believe this podcast needs to be heard far and wide.

This is a day of great spiritual compromise, and yet God has raised Chris up for just such a time.

Knowing this, it's up to us as members of the body of Christ to stand with such a ministry in prayer and

in finances.

I'm pleased to do so, and would like to ask you to prayerfully consider joining me in supporting Iron

Sharpens Iron financially.

Would you consider sending either a one -time gift or even becoming a regular monthly partner with this ministry?

I know it would be a huge encouragement to Chris if you would.

All the details can be found at ironsharpensironradio .com, where you can click support.

That's ironsharpensironradio .com.

Every day at thousands of community centers, high schools, middle schools, juvenile institutions,

coffee shops, and local hangouts, Long Island Youth for Christ staff and volunteers meet with young people

who need Jesus.

We are rural and urban, and we are always about the message of Jesus.

Our mission is to have a noticeable spiritual impact on Long Island, New York by engaging young people in the lifelong

journey of following Christ.

Long Island Youth for Christ has been a stalwart bedrock ministry since 1959.

We have a world -class staff and a proven track record of bringing consistent love and encouragement

to youths in need all over the country and around the world.

Help honor our history by becoming a part of our future.

Volunteer, donate, pray, or all of the above.

For details, call Long Island Youth for Christ at 631 -385

-8333.

That's 631 -385 -8333.

Or visit liyfc .org.

That's liyfc

.org.

Charles Haddon Spurgeon once said,.

Give yourself unto reading.

The man who never reads will never be read.

He who never quotes will never be quoted.

He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains proves that he.

Has no brains of his own.

You need to read.

Solid Ground Christian Books is a publisher and book distributor who takes these words of the Prince of Preachers to heart.

The mission of Solid Ground Christian Books is to bring back treasures of the past to minister to Christians in the present and

future, and to publish new titles that address burning issues in the church and the world.

Since its beginning in 2001, Solid Ground has been committed to publish God -centered, Christ -exalting

books for all ages.

We invite you to go treasure hunting at solid -ground -books .com.

That's solid -ground -books .com, and see what priceless literary gems from the past to

present you can unearth from Solid Ground.

Solid Ground Christian Books is honored to be a weekly sponsor of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

And remember, folks,.

Please make solid -ground -books .com your very first stop for all your gift -giving needs, no

matter what the season, no matter what the occasion.

Solid -ground -books .com makes for a perfect gift for those you

love, because they bring back into print and publish books that are gospel

-based and Christ -centered.

So therefore, gifts that you give from solid -ground -books .com can lead the lost to

Christ, and they could powerfully impact the lives of believers as well.

So please go to solid -ground -books .com and purchase frequently and purchase generously.

And always remember to mention Chris Harnson of Iron Sharpens Iron Radio when making your purchase.

Before we return to our discussion with Keith Foskey on Christian and

the use of humor, we have just a couple of more announcements to make.

Please, folks, if you love the show and you don't want it to disappear from the airwaves, go to ironsharpensironradio

.com, click support, then click, click to donate now.

You could donate instantly with a debit or credit card in that fashion.

If you prefer snail mail, sending in a physical check to a physical address, there will also be a

physical address that appears on your screen when you click support at ironsharpensironradio .com, where you

can mail your checks made payable to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

If you want to advertise with us, please just send me an email to chrisharnson at gmail .com

and put advertising in the subject line.

I was just thrilled while conducting this live interview to get an email from Anthony in

Phoenix, Arizona, who says that he loves the show and he wants to advertise with us,

and I am looking forward to having a discussion with you very soon, Anthony.

You are our godsend because we are in urgent need of advertising dollars in addition to our

donations.

As long as whatever it is you folks want to promote is compatible with what I believe, then I would love to help

you launch an ad campaign as soon as possible.

Also, remember folks, I never want anybody listening to give their own church where they are a member less money than

they would be accustomed to giving your church in order to give to Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

Please never do that.

Don't cut into the money that you have set aside for your local church every week in order to give

a gift financially to us.

And also, if you're really struggling to survive and make ends meet, please wait until you are back on your feet and more stable

financially before you send us a gift.

Two things that are clear in the Bible about finances are that you have to support your local church and you have

to support your family.

Those are commands.

Supporting my radio show is not a command, obviously, but if you love this show, you don't want

it to go away, you have extra money in the bank collecting interest, you have extra money for benevolent and

recreational and trivial purposes, please share some of that money with us if you don't want us to go off the air.

Please help us with ironsharpensironradio .com and click support, then click to

donate now.

Last but not least, if you are not a member of a biblically faithful, Christ -honoring, theologically sound,

doctrinally solid church like Sovereign Grace Family Church in Jacksonville, Florida,

no matter where you live on the planet Earth, I may be able to help you fund a church.

I have extensive lists spanning the globe of faithful churches and I've helped many people in the Ironsharpensironradio audience

find churches in all parts of the planet Earth, sometimes within just a couple of minutes from where they live.

So if that's your situation, you need a good solid church, send me an email to chrisarnson at gmail

.com and put I need a church in the subject line.

That's also the email address where you can send in a question to Keith Foskey, pastor of Sovereign Grace Family Church of Jacksonville, Florida,

on a Christian use of humor.

That's chrisarnson at gmail .com.

Give us your first name at least, your city and state, and your country of residence.

And we do have another question for you, Pastor Keith.

We have an anonymous listener and the anonymous listener

says, please believe me, when it comes to blaspheming God,

I am the first one to recoil in horror when I hear it.

But sometimes I have heard people say things that make them overly strict when it

comes to the use of humor and I think they are improperly attaching

blasphemy to the charge against me or someone else when they

make a certain kind of joke.

What do you think constitutes blasphemy.

When it comes to humor?

That is not necessarily an easy question.

I mean, wow.

I want to make sure that I'm clear.

Let me give you an example of something that just.

Came up that kind of puts it into this realm, I think.

Something that just came up a couple of days ago.

A friend of mine sent me a video of a woman holding a dog

in her arms and she started singing Silent Night

and she or whoever created the video dubbed

the dog singing Silent Night along with her, but horribly.

And it was hilarious.

I didn't find it blasphemous at all.

This friend was concerned after sending it to me.

Oh, do you think that was blasphemous?

I said, no, because it wasn't mocking the name of Christ.

It wasn't mocking Christ at all.

It wasn't using the name of the Lord in vain.

So I don't know, maybe you would think that video is blasphemous if you saw it.

I don't know.

But that just kind of, I think that's in the orbit of what the.

Question is.

Sure.

And that makes sense.

I'll tell you one that I recently did an episode of my show on

second commandment violations, and that is those who would see any image of

Jesus as being a violation of the second commandment.

I had a friend who's a Presbyterian who came on the show with me and I took

one position, he took the other, and we had a friendly conversation about what constitutes a

violation of the second commandment.

And so one of the things that I would say is off

and off limits for me is I won't post anything that has a

picture of Jesus on it just for that reason, not because I necessarily think it's a violation of the

second commandment, but because I know there are people who do.

And so like there's a very famous meme that goes around frequently that has a picture

of Obi -Wan Kenobi on it, and it's got people saying, you know, this man died for your sins.

It's not Jesus, it's Obi -Wan Kenobi and, you know, the Ewan McGregor who played

the part.

And so I don't share that.

I think it's one of those things where it's like somebody may see that, think that I'm promoting an image of

Jesus.

So I'm careful about that because I don't want to violate someone else's conscience on

that issue.

I'm very careful about that kind of stuff because even though I may not hold the same position in regard

to images, I'm more along the lines of where R .C. Sproul was.

I do think there can be artistic expressions of the image of Christ that are not violations of the

second commandment.

But in general, that's an area that I'm careful

with.

And as far as what you said about the dog singing Silent Night, I can see where that might offend someone.

It wouldn't offend me.

I think that I don't necessarily—I wouldn't count that as blasphemy.

I do know, again, ugly language, and when I say ugly language, words, you

know, that are curse words that invoke the name of God.

That's obviously something that would be wrong.

So I would, you know, that would be my simple answer to a complex question because

I would have to see something.

It's almost like, you know, they say when you're discerning something that's beautiful, it's like, I

don't know how to define it, but I know it when I see it.

And that same thing can be said of blasphemy.

It's like, I don't always know exactly how to define it, but I know it when I see it.

And so it's a little hard to put into words how—I just know that

I try to be very careful with that kind of thing.

One last thought on that.

One of my videos, or on several of my videos, my denominational videos, I have

included Roman Catholics.

And I had somebody ask me, well, do you believe that Roman Catholics are a legitimate denomination?

And I said, no.

I said, I think the Roman Catholics have abandoned the gospel.

And I think that, you know, as far as a legitimate denomination, that's why

I'm Reformed, is I think that Roman Catholics have a misunderstanding of the gospel of justification

by grace alone, through faith alone, and Christ alone.

But that's very offensive, but I do believe that.

But I include them in the video for the purpose of pointing that out.

Every time there's Roman Catholic in the video, it's pointed out that there's something like a misunderstanding of the

sacrament or something like that.

So I know that may have went off of what the person was talking about, but the point is,

there are things that somebody might say, well, including a Roman Catholic is blasphemous.

Well, no, it's not, because I'm doing it to make a point.

And so, yeah, that would be a simple or difficult answer

to a complex question.

And of course, if there's even a doubt in your head in regard to you, either

making a statement or telling a joke or sharing a video

that you think might be blasphemous, the better thing is to just don't show it.

Don't say it, you know, don't share it, because if you're not certain, just like with anything in life,

if you think you may be offending God and you do something that you

actually are offending God, because things that are not sin that

we do while thinking they are sin become sin.

Am I right?

I mean, if we violate our conscience and

do something that even though God is not innately offended by it, if we do it thinking.

He is, then we are sinning.

Yeah, Romans 14, I think, can be invoked in that regard.

And to simply say this, you know, that which is not of faith is sin.

And if you can't do it in good faith, if you can't do it with a good conscience, don't do it.

Don't say it.

I think what you just said.

Is very true.

Absolutely.

And of course, we have to always be mindful about not offending brethren.

I mean, that is always a tricky

issue, because if we are constantly consumed by offending

our brethren over everything, we would just keep ourselves locked in our houses.

But at the same time, especially when we are in the presence of people, we

have to be very careful about not offending them.

This is a little word of loving chastisement to my brethren,

especially Reformed brethren, who are too free, in my opinion, with their liberty to drink

alcohol.

I am completely abstaining from alcohol in my life because I used to abuse it very

badly, very horribly, very wickedly.

But I can't impose that on other people because I don't think there is a biblical prohibition

from all consumption of alcohol.

But at the same time, some of our Reformed brethren can be too flippant

about it and not even be concerned in the least bit about those who are hearing them push

alcohol consumption and watching them drink it and so on.

I think that could be considered in the same realm of even humor.

I mean, what is your take on that?

Yeah, it is interesting.

I have a personal anecdote that goes with that same thing you just said.

Back earlier in December, I posted on Twitter, I said

it was the anniversary of the lifting of prohibition.

And I just posted a post that said, today is the anniversary of the

lifting of prohibition.

And I said, and all Reformed people said, amen.

It was just a joke, right?

It was just to say, because of what you just said.

Well, I got lit up on Twitter.

A lot of people were coming and saying, alcohol is terrible, alcohol

destroys families.

Well, just what you just said.

There are people that alcohol has destroyed their lives.

And my point was to simply say, kind of what you just said.

Within the Reformed community, there's this sort of humorous head nod towards

alcohol and the freedom to imbibe alcohol.

And so I was just saying, look, it's the day prohibition was lifted, and all Reformed people said, amen.

I was just trying to be funny.

Some people did not think that was very funny.

And I get it.

I get that that was maybe for some people a bridge too far.

And so I wasn't intending to be offensive.

I was just making light of something that is the case within the Reformed community.

The picture of a pastor with a cigar and a beer, it's always going to be the Reformed guy.

That's why in my videos, the Presbyterian always is chewing on a cigar,

because that's the

stereotype is that he's got great theology and is always

chewing on a cigar.

And so it's just a stereotype.

Yes.

And the mafia definitely was not laughing at the end of prohibition, because

that's when they made their fortunes during prohibition, because they were the only place people could get their

alcohol.

But tell us about some reasons why you think humor

and comedy are valuable in.

The lives of Christians.

Well, I don't want to be overly repetitive, but I will say

that comedy has a tendency to stick with us in a way that is

different.

We talk about catechism and catechizing our children, and we do.

And some of the ways that we catechize are through just the straight memorization of catechistic

material, which is the questions and answers.

But the other ways that we catechize people is we catechize people through music.

Music has a catechistic quality because we sing it, we repeat it, we remember it, and people will

remember something in a song that they won't necessarily remember in a sermon.

Well, I think humor has that same effect.

Humor is something that sticks with us, and it's something that we will remember.

Again, I can almost quote verbatim the Lutheran satire, Horace

Ruins Christmas, interaction between the false god Horace and the Lutheran pastor from

that cartoon, because it was so funny, and it was so true, and it was so absolutely

nail -on -the -head accurate.

And I said, in fact, he talks about Gerald Massey, who was a failed Egyptologist, which is

something I didn't—that's gold, and that's

a piece of good information that's couched in a comedic

sense.

And like I said, I still remember it because it was that way.

So I think that there's value there.

I also think that there's value in simply

giving folks clean content.

This is something else I wanted to point out, and maybe this might drive a longer conversation.

When we go to YouTube and we go to Facebook or even TikTok—and I know some people question being on TikTok because there's a lot

of bad on TikTok.

I try to be a light in a dark place when we talk about TikTok, because there is a lot of bad out there.

But I am producing content that's intended for Christians to enjoy

so that they have positive things to look at rather than all of the negative that's out

there—the bad language comedy, the terrible comedy, all of those things.

I'm producing something that is a positive

version of something they're already doing.

Christians are watching YouTube.

They're watching Twitter.

They're looking at Twitter.

They're watching Facebook.

They're seeing these things.

I'm just producing stuff that is positive and encouraging and funny, and

it's a better alternative to a lot of what's out there.

So that's a different way, I guess, another way of looking at it.

Yeah, and let's face it.

It can be mentally, emotionally, and physically

such a blessing to someone.

No matter what they may be going through, whether they are depressed or whether they are physically ill, when they start

laughing, there's something very cathartic about that.

There is something about bringing joy to someone to

the extent that they began laughing.

When you're laughing, you're not thinking about those things that are dragging you down into depression.

And I think it can be a blessing, as long as the nature of what is

making you or someone else laugh is not offensive to God or is not vulgar

or blasphemous or heretical.

I think that it can be a very helpful thing.

Any comments on that?

Yeah, absolutely.

Well, I was going to say, you mentioned depression.

You and I have done a previous episode where we both talked about our own

battles with darkness.

And I know that in my own life, I have suffered at times in the past

with anxiety and depression.

And I've overcome those things through Scripture and God's Word and been

very thankful for God saving me through those things and not allowing me to fall into the

deep pit of despair that those things can often lead to.

And I will say this, sometimes the best humor comes out of those dark places

where you're down and then something

brings a smile or a laughter.

And you just said it, a good belly laugh is one of the best feelings that you can have.

If someone gets you to laugh in your stomach, where you really are doing the whole Santa

Claus, ho, ho, ho, just really letting it out, that can be one of the most cathartic

feelings in the world.

Oh, by the way, I have to say something.

My wife texted me, she's listening to the program, and she said, because we talked about

funny verses of Scripture, and she said, don't forget to mention when John wrote that he outran

Peter to the tomb.

She said, that's what she thinks is the funniest, that he included the fact that he outran

him and that always makes her.

Happy.

Yeah, and isn't it interesting that Spurgeon, whose sermons are filled with

very serious content, life and death content, heaven and hell

content, very stern rebukes at times,

while he was preaching them, the listener, but today we have his sermons and writing.

And yet, he was a very humorous man.

And if you research Spurgeon enough, you will find yourself laughing a

lot.

One of the favorite things that I have heard that Spurgeon has

said, Spurgeon, I don't know if you knew this, but he did not believe in musical instruments and worship.

Yes, interesting fact, yeah, absolutely.

And someone apparently approached Spurgeon and says, Pastor

Spurgeon, is it appropriate for a church to have an organ?

And Spurgeon said, it is completely acceptable for a church to have an organ, as long as its pipes are filled with cement.

And if you, as I said, if you research Spurgeon, if you go to Spurgeon .org or anywhere else where

there is filled with Spurgeon's writings, you will definitely find a lot of humor.

In him.

Yeah, there's a great story where he was visited by an evangelist.

And I don't remember who it was, may have been D .L. Moody, but I could be wrong on that.

But he was visited and when he knocked on the door, Spurgeon opened the door and he's smoking a cigar.

And the guy said, oh, Pastor Spurgeon, I can't believe that a holy man like you would be smoking a cigar.

And Spurgeon took his fingers and he poked him in the guy's belly.

And he said, I can't believe a holy man with you like you would have a belly that big.

So, yeah, that's pretty witty.

Yeah, when Moody visited Metropolitan

Tabernacle with Ira Sankey, who used to accompany him and he had

some kind of an accordion or something that he used to play.

He, Spurgeon, said that Pastor Moody is more

than welcome into the pulpit of Metropolitan Tabernacle, but Mr. Sankey must leave his

music box in the basement.

Yeah, that's great.

But we have to go to our final break.

It's going to be a lot more brief than the other breaks.

So, if anybody has a question, there are a couple of people waiting to have their questions asked and answered, and we'll get to you as soon

as possible.

But if anybody else wants to get in line, it's ChrisArnson at gmail .com.

ChrisArnson at gmail .com.

Give us your first name at least, city and state and country of residence.

Don't go away.

We're going to be right back after these messages.

If you love Iron Sharpen's Iron Radio, one of the best ways you can help.

Keep the show on the air is by supporting our advertisers.

One such faithful advertiser who really believes in what ChrisArnson is doing is

Daniel P. Patafuco, serious injury lawyer and Christian apologist.

Dan is the president and founder of the Historical Bible Society.

Their mission, to foster belief in the credibility of scripture as the written word of God.

They go to various churches, schools, and institutions to publicly display a rare

collection of biblical texts, along with a fascinating presentation by Mr. Patafuco,

demonstrating the reliability of scripture.

To advance the cause of the gospel, they created a beautiful, perfect facsimile of the

genealogy of Jesus Christ from the original engravings contained in a first edition

1611 King James Bible.

This 17th century hand -engraved chart shows the family tree of Jesus Christ,

going back to Adam and Eve.

This book is complete with gorgeous full -size illustrations of Noah's Ark and the Tower of

Babel, and an explanation of why the genealogy of Jesus is so important for his claims

to the throne of the universe.

Originals of this work are in museums and nobody has ever made it accessible to the public

in a large book form before.

You can have your own copy of this 44 -page genealogy book for a donation of $35

or more.

Visit historicalbiblesociety .org.

That's historicalbiblesociety .org.

Thanks for helping to keep Iron Sharpens Iron Radio on the air.

When Iron Sharpens Iron Radio first launched in 2005, the publishers of the New American

Standard Bible were among my very first sponsors.

It gives me joy knowing that many scholars and pastors in the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio audience have been

sticking with, or switching to, the NASB.

I'm author Gary DeMar, president of American Vision, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.

I'm pastor Dan Lebenek of West Hills Baptist Church in Huntington Station, New York, and the NASB

is my Bible of choice.

I'm Justin Peters of Justin Peters Ministries, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.

I'm Reverend Buzz Taylor, author of God's Lawson, and the NASB is my Bible of choice.

I'm Dr. William Webster, pastor of Grace Bible Church in Battleground, Washington, founder

of the ministry Christian Resources, and the NASB.

Is my Bible of choice.

I'm pastor Ryan Galan of Central Islip Community Church in Central Islip, New York, and the

NASB is my Bible of choice.

I'm pastor Brandon Smith of Trinity Reformed Baptist Church in Jackson, Georgia, and the

NASB is my Bible of choice.

Here's a great way for your church to help keep Iron Sharpens Iron Radio on the air.

Pastors, are your pew Bibles tattered and falling apart?

Consider restocking your pews with the NASB, and tell the publishers you heard about them

from Chris Arnzen on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

Go to nasbible .com.

That's nasbible .com to place your order.

Special guests because you're in your car or still at work.

Just subscribe on the iTunes app and listen to the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio show at any time day or night.

Please be sure to also give it a good review and pass it along to anyone who would benefit from the teaching and the many

solidly reformed guests that Chris Arnzen has on the show.

Truth is so hard to come by these days, so don't waste your time with fluff or fake news.

Subscribe to the Iron Sharpens Iron Radio podcast right now.

And while you're at it, you can also sign up for the reformrookie .com podcast and visit our website and the YouTube

page.

We are dedicated to teaching Christian theology from a Reformed Baptist perspective to beginners in the faith, as

well as seasoned believers.

From Keech's Catechism and the Doctrines of Grace, to the Olivet Discourse and the Book of Leviticus, the Reform

Rookie podcast and YouTube channel is sure to have something to offer everyone seeking biblical truth.

And finally, if you're looking to worship in a Reformed church that holds to the 1689 London Baptist Confession

of Faith, please join us at Hope Reformed Baptist Church in Coram, New York.

Again, I'm Pastor Anthony Avenio, and thanks for listening.

Have you noticed the gap that exists between the Sunday morning sermon and the Sunday school classroom or the small

group study?

So often we experience great preaching from the pulpit, but when it comes time to study God's word in those

smaller settings, well, let's be honest, it leaves a lot to be desired.

It seems like it is nearly impossible to find good curriculum out there today that is true to the word of God and is

built upon sound doctrine, much less it's hard to find curriculum that will actually teach people how to

study the Bible.

Hi there, my name is Jordan Too, and I am the Executive Director of the Baptist Publishing House.

Our ministry is dedicated to providing local churches with sound Bible study

resources.

Our quarterly curriculum is titled The Baptist Expositor, and for good reason, we are Baptist

and we exegete the scriptures.

If you want to have a curriculum that teaches your people how to study the word of God, I invite you, go to our website,

download a free study, baptistpublishinghouse .com.

May God bless you.

James White of Alpha Omega Ministries here.

If you've watched my dividing line webcast often enough, you know I have a great love for getting Bibles and other

documents vital to my ministry rebound to preserve and ensure their longevity.

And besides that, they feel so good.

I'm so delighted I discovered Post Tenebrous Lux Bible rebinding.

No radio ad will be long enough to sing their praises sufficiently, but I'll give it a shot.

Jeffrey Rice of Post Tenebrous Lux is a remarkably gifted craftsman and artisan.

All his work is done by hand from the cutting to the pleating of corners to the perimeter stitching.

Jeffrey uses the finest and buttery soft imported leathers in a wide variety of gorgeous colors like

the turquoise goat skin tanned in Italy used for my Nestle All in 28th edition with a navy

blue goat skin inside liner and the electric blue goat skin from a French tannery used to rebind a

Reformation study Bible I used as a gift.

The silver gilding he added on the page edges has a stunning mirror finish resembling highly polished

chrome.

Jeffrey will customize your rebinding to your specifications and even emboss your logo into the leather,

making whatever he rebinds a one -of -a -kind work of art.

For more details on Post Tenebrous Lux Bible rebinding, go to

ptlbiblerebinding .com.

That's ptlbiblerebinding .com.

Getting a driver's license, running a cash register, flipping burgers, passing sixth grade.

Do you know what they all have in common?

They all require training, assessments, and certifications.

But do you know what requires no training at all?

Becoming a parent.

My name is A .M. Brewster.

I'm the president of Truth Love Parent and host of its award -winning podcast.

I've been a biblical family counselor since the early 2000s, and what I've discovered is that the majority of Christian parents have

never been biblically equipped to do the work of the ministry in their homes.

That's why Truth Love Parent exists.

We serve God by equipping dads and moms to be the ambassador parents God called and created them to be.

We produce free parenting resources, train church leaders, and offer biblical counseling so that the next generation of

dads and moms can use the scriptures to parent their children for life and godliness.

Please.

Visit us at truthloveparent .com.

Welcome back, Pastor Keith.

We have Arnie in Perry County, Pennsylvania, who says, isn't it always wrong

to use humor when it is solely used to hurt the feelings

of another person?

Are you there, Keith?

For some reason, I don't have Keith here.

Yes,.

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry.

I had accidentally muted myself.

I'm sorry, brother.

Okay.

Yeah.

Yeah.

No, I would say that if the only intention

is to hurt someone's feelings, then that would be a form of bullying, and I don't think that we

are to do that.

A simple answer is if the only intention that I'm being

humorous is to hurt someone, then that's bullying that person, and I don't think that that's appropriate.

I don't think that's what we're called to do.

Now, that is not to say that someone might not be offended by what I say, and I shouldn't say it because somebody might get offended.

I can't live my life always being so concerned that I'm going to

accidentally step on someone's toes that I'm going to be afraid to say the truth, but

again, if I'm just poking specifically to hurt somebody, I think

that that's a form of bullying.

Yeah, I would agree with that in that sense.

One thing that.

I believe would reveal that someone is using humor improperly is if it's making

a light of making something frivolous that

is intensely, deadly serious.

If you are making a joke over something that is

just too serious a command of God to

disobey, or whatever the case may be.

Do you see where I'm going there?

Do you have any comments on that?

Yeah, I think that it's

often said that you can't go too far.

Yes, you can go too far.

There are jokes that go too far.

There are lines that need not be crossed.

As I said earlier, just even the image of Christ, things like that, there's lines that we should not be crossing.

So yeah, when somebody says, oh, there's nothing off limits for comedy.

Well, there's nothing off limits for worldly comedy.

Worldly comedy makes fun of everything from abortion to

rape, but those subjects aren't funny.

And so I would say, yeah, do worldly comics get a laugh when they

make fun of babies being aborted?

They do from the world, but that's not the kind of comedy I think we should promote that makes light

of the murder of children.

So yeah, I think that there are lines we don't cross.

We have an anonymous listener who says, a friend of mine says that

humor is inappropriate for Christians because we have no evidence in the scripture that

Jesus ever laughed.

How do you.

Respond to that?

I want to respond in a way that's funny, but might be offensive.

Because there's a lot of things that we don't have evidence that Jesus ever did that doesn't

mean that he never did them.

We don't have any evidence that Jesus ever went to the restroom.

I mean, there's no mention of that.

And again, I hope nobody finds that terribly offensive, but that's the point I'm making is there's a lot of

things that we don't know.

And to say Jesus never laughed, I don't believe that's true.

But I hope I didn't just turn off all of your listeners by referencing

that.

Well, as I know, I'm never having you back on the show.

I drew my line.

You can email me at calvinispodcast at gmail .com.

Don't send it to Chris.

I'm just saying the same argument is made.

People say, well, Jesus never said anything about you know, directly regarding

certain sins.

Okay, yeah, but he did address sin in general.

So anyway, I just don't find that argument very—the Bible

says God sits in the heavens and he laughs.

So, you know, now that's a laugh of derision.

But again, what is it saying?

It's God looks at the works of men who are trying to

make a name for themselves and he looks on us and he laughs.

And so, yeah, so God laughs.

Well, before I go to any more listener.

Questions, I want to make sure before we run out of time that you have several minutes uninterrupted where you

can summarize what you most want etched in the hearts and minds of our listeners regarding.

This topic before they leave.

Okay, well, I do want to say this.

Thank you, Chris, for having me on.

As always, I appreciate it.

I want to also offer a word of thanks to some of the men that helped me in my ministry, those who

are part of my crew that helped.

We call it the CWAC crew, the Conversation with the Calvinists, and the network that I'm a part of, which is the Truth and Love Network.

We were talking about Claude Ramsey earlier.

Claude is a dear friend of mine.

He's part of the network and it's truthandlove .com if anybody's interested in seeing some other men who are doing some of the

same things that I'm doing.

So thank you for that.

And as far as the main takeaway from today, I would hope would

be that there are things that humor can do for us.

Humor can expose truth in a way that is unique and is memorable and will stay

with us.

And so that's what I want what I'm doing to do.

I want it to be truth, which is expressed in a humorous way so that people will

maybe get a laugh out of it, but at the same time, maybe have something pointed out that they hadn't thought about.

I've had people see my Calvinist arguments because I do a skit called Arguing with

a Calvinist, and I've had people say, okay, that's an argument I hadn't thought about.

And so it provides a different way of looking at truth.

And so I would hope that people would understand there is value in this.

And if people keep enjoying the content,.

I'm going to keep creating it.

So thank you.

One of the realms

where humor has proven, I think, to be beneficial to me

in things that I have been regularly involved in over the years is

when I have orchestrated debates, especially between Dr. James R.

White of Alpha and Omega Ministries, who's a Reformed Baptist, and he has debated Roman Catholics, and he has

debated people who are representatives of cults, and he

has debated liberals, and he's also done in -house debates with

friends and brethren.

One in particular is Bill Shishko, a dear friend of both of ours, who's a Presbyterian, and they had a

debate on infant baptism.

But before these debates that I've orchestrated, going all the way back to 1996,

is I knew that there was going to be, especially when my very first debate was a

debate between James White and Jerry Matytix, a Roman Catholic apologist,

and I knew there was going to be a lot of tension in the room between the two

members of the audience, the side that would be Evangelical Protestant and the side that would be

Roman Catholic.

And the first debate that we orchestrated, we had

over 500 people there.

I was blown away by the number of people, and it seemed to be, from what I can remember when

we were asking for a show of hands, seemed to be pretty equally divided.

But for years, I have been hearing from both

Evangelicals and Roman Catholics about how much they appreciated the humor I used

in the beginning of the event, because it did

bring a different frame of mind into many who were there present.

They weren't there gritting their teeth anymore, and I'm not saying that

it completely dissipated any measure of hostility or anger in every

single person in the audience, but for the most part, it seems to be something that has been well

received for many years, for decades, when people have

approached me, and people that I don't even know, I've never met before when I go to conferences all over the United

States, they've approached me and they've told me that those

stand -up routines that I did in the beginning of the debates really

did a lot to put them at ease, and some of them even said it was the best part of the debate.

But it can be used greatly to

cut through the tension in a situation, and even in some

way bring a bit of humility to you as you're laughing at yourself.

Am I making sense here?

No, absolutely.

And again, I can't tell you how many people have reached out to me who are

from different theological stripes, from Methodists to Presbyterians,

everything else, even some Roman Catholics who have left comments on my videos and have said, hey man,

I appreciate what you're trying to do, trying to make light of some of these things, and they've been

encouraging.

Like I said, I don't agree with them on a lot of things, and I point those out in the videos, but at least I'm trying to do so

in a way that's humorous.

And like you said,.

It often takes that wall down, all of division.

Well, before we go, I wanted to leave our audience with, especially for the sake of

those who have never heard it before, my parody of Martin Luther, party, hearty, Marty, and

the protesters singing the Great Reformer.

But before I do that, I want to make sure that our listeners have your contact information

and want to make sure that if you have anything coming up, a special event that you want to promote or anything

like that, you can let them know.

The website for Sovereign Grace Family Church in Jacksonville, Florida is

sgfcjacks .org, sgfcjacks .org,

and you can look up Conversations with a Calvinist on YouTube and

other places.

What would be the best one in your mind, Keith, to direct our listeners to?

Calvinistpodcast .com will take you directly.

To our YouTube page.

And from there, if you want to get ahold of me directly, it's Calvinistpodcast at gmail .com.

So just think Calvinist podcast.

And I'm Keith Foskey, and I've been your Calvinist.

That's my Twitter handle.

Is your Calvinist.

And anything going on in the near future that.

We should know about any kind of special event?

I'll throw this out there for anybody listening.

I'm hoping to attend at least one or two conferences next year to promote the podcast.

So if anyone has a conference where they are looking for vendors and they have a table that they might be interested in having me come fill,

to reach out to me.

And if it's close to the southern, eastern, southern United States, somewhere I could drive.

I don't fly well.

I just don't enjoy flying.

And we do have a newborn, so I don't want to be too far away.

But if it's in the southeast, if anybody's interested, I would love to come and do.

I would do interviews there and be able to promote there.

So I hope that Atlanta isn't.

Too far from you because I'm going to the G3 conference.

It'd be great to have a booth near you.

Yeah, absolutely.

I'm hoping for that as well.

And I believe that's in the fall.

Well,.

Keith, if you could hold on, because I want to say a proper goodbye to you after the program's over.

But here is Party Hardy Marty and the protesters.

During the 16th century, the Church of Rome.

Reached its height of power as well as its depth of debauchery, greed and corruption.

One of the most vile and greedy puppets of the papal throne was a member of the Dominican Holy

Order named Johann Tetzel.

Tetzel sold indulgences to the spiritually ignorant and enslaved laity, warning

them that this was a necessary means to purchase the souls of their deceased loved ones out

from the torments of purgatory.

A limerick became popular in that day's advent when a coin in Tetzel's coffer rings a

soul from purgatory springs.

This abuse of papal power through pilfering the poor, pious and peasant people did not go unnoticed by a

young German Augustinian monk who was once one of Rome's most faithful and loyal subjects.

Outraged by the level of greed and wickedness that the Church sank to, this monk nailed his protest to

the practice of indulgence selling to the door of the castle church in Wittenberg, hoping to spark a

debate with the intelligentsia of Rome.

The hammer blows as these 95 theses were nailed to the church door were like cannon fire

heard round the world and ignited the blaze of a holy inferno that is still burning

brightly today.

This holy inferno is the Protestant Reformation.

That Augustinian.

Monk who ignited it was me.

Hello, I'm Martin Luther and this is my story.

Oh yeah, I'm the great.

Reformer, reforming the churches that I'm known for.

I made my protest before Zwingli and all of the rest, nailed it

up to the Wittenberg door.

Oh yeah, I'm the great reformer.

Reforming the church was my goal, but

the Pope threw me out like some bad sauerkraut, flushed

me right down his Vatican hole.

I would not indulge that dirtbag Johann Tetzel, so

they threatened to twist my spine up just like a pretzel.

Yeah, I'm the great reformer.

The Pope put a price on my head,

but while out on the run, I married a nun.

Sure beats living with guys who bake bread.

That's very bold guys, they're in robes baking bread.

My lady, sweet Katie, gave up her old habit.

She once dressed like a penguin, now multiplies like a rabbit.

Yeah, I'm the great reformer.

I turned Tetzel's church upside down.

Tell those greaseballs that Trent, centuries after they came and went,

I'll be dead, but that won't keep me down.

They wanted to slice me and dice me and feed me to the papal palace puppy.

Dogs, but I'll bet you that in the 21st century that I'm sick.

Well, I want everybody to always remember for the rest of your lives that Jesus Christ is a far greater

savior than you are a sinner.

I look forward to hearing from you and your questions for our guests on Iron Sharpens Iron Radio.

May the Lord richly bless all of you.