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In this episode John and Gregg discuss the fact that they, and particularly Gregg, are viewing and responding to the material that they are working with in a very different way from many other reviewers (such as their responses to Kyle Idleman’s Not a Fan and Darin Hufford’s Misunderstood God).

John reflects on how his discomfort level with these “differences” is much lower than when he first began discussing these topics.  John also notes that a listener sent him a book (Surrender to Love, by David Benner) that reinforces some of Gregg’s perspectives and the things he and John and have been discussing.  John also notes the rigor of the presentation of Benner’s book offers a degree of credibility that far outweighs what they’ve seen in the other books they’ve discussed so far.
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In this episode John and Gregg discuss an article from the Biola University alumni magazine purporting to identify a “crisis of biblical illiteracy” within evangelical churches.  The author, Kenneth Bearding, holds a Ph. D. in hermeneutics and biblical interpretation, and targets biblical illiteracy.

John sees the article as “click bait”: dramatizing an issue in order to curry readership.  Gregg found one of the comment to the article very helpful, which stated that in the author’s examples the people seemed not so much biblically illiterate as historically and culturally under-informed.

Similarly, John wonders if this article is not proposing a “cure” without having accurately diagnosed the problem!  In other words, by presenting a loaded topic that has only one ‘acceptable’ answer (e.g., no good Christian would approve of biblical illiteracy).
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In this episode John begins by considering which is more important: “seeking” God’s kingdom or loving God?  In doing so John considers how Gregg speaks of loving God as a very intense involvement with God that seems to be oriented around feelings and emotion.  Yet what about the command to love?  Is God really “commanding” us to love God?

Gregg responds by noting that many Christians seem to need to emphasize that love is (or starts with) something one does rather than something that one experiences or feels.  Instead, Gregg pushes back against this by indicating the importance of both one’s feelings about / toward God and one’s actions for / in light of God.  In other words, love always begins as an emotional response that is awakened (and can be dimmed).
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In this episode John and Gregg discuss Chapter 8 of Darin Hufford’s The Misunderstood God. John notes Hufford’s lack of scriptural references is both refreshing and problematic (as Hufford globalizes his own experience to his readers).  Gregg replies that, in contrast to Kyle Idleman’s Not a Fan (where Gregg and John were able to evaluate Idleman’s views based on the scriptural texts from which he drew them and how Idleman interpreted them). The validity of Hufford’s positions (on God and Christianity) are harder to evaluate because they aren’t based on biblical texts and the only sources cited to establish their validity are Hufford’s experiences.

Gregg  notes in Chapter 7 how, in contrast to the notion that God created humans to “worship God and enjoy God forever,” he finds Hufford’s notion far more compelling: God created humanity “because love requires expression” (p. 76).  In other words, we are created to be in a love relationship with God.  John resonates with Hufford’s comments about being far more deeply complimented / appreciated by those who know him best.  For Gregg this co-incides with his own personal emphasis on truth and love being at the core of one’s relationship with God where one is truly known and deeply loved.
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