Tag: Deeper Waters

Needs For Deeper Waters

How can you help out what we do here? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Friends. After this semester, I have a year left to work on my Master’s, and while studying, I’m still trying to actively do what I need to do. I am reading through a number of different books, a little bit every day, doing my classwork, and even doing work right now for my Ph.D. I also work at the campus post office, though only part-time due to my class schedule. On Saturdays, I will be meeting my pastor for mentoring time for one of my classes and I am a research pastor there as well.

Like any ministry, we have a number of needs here. Right now, the main work I am doing is blogging and trust me, I want to do more than that. Some of you have liked my Gaming Theologian channel and I want to make more of those videos, but there’s a problem. My video editor had some problems and just can’t do it anymore.

I am looking to find someone who is willing to take videos that I record and then do some sprucing up of them and adding special effects. I was told by someone that since this is not something I am good at, it would be better to work with someone who is highly skilled at this to make excellent media. If that is you, please let me know. If you are capable enough that the channel starts producing income, I will be glad at that point to start working on getting you a share of that income and naturally, you can endorse yourself in the videos if you so desire at any time.

Then there’s just outright financial needs that we have. I know we’re all in a hurting economy right now, but just a little bit can make a huge difference. I have said before that if half of my Facebook friends gave a dollar a month even, I would be set easily. It would make it easier for me to also do other work I would like to do, such as writing ebooks.

I also definitely want to get the podcast up again. This semester will be awfully busy, but I am leaning heavily towards starting it up again next semester. I cannot promise as I do not know how my classes will be affecting me at that time, but rest assured, I want to be doing interviews again. At any rate, if you want to be a supporter of Deeper Waters, feel free to do so here. Unfortunately, I have no perks yet to being a subscriber as I honestly can’t think of anything I can do at this point. Suggestions are welcome.

I am working also on getting a Teespring shop set up. I have had plenty of people ask me about getting T-shirts on affirming the virgin birth, which I do affirm. I want to sell these and more. Please be watching for that.

Finally, something everyone can do is pray for me. I am in active therapy over here working on learning how to interact socially and form better relationships. It is still a pain to realize I am a divorced man every day. At least I still have Shiro to keep me company.

I really hate to advertise something like this, but the need is there and there’s no better way I can think of to get the message out. Please consider becoming a supporter today. Every bit gives me encouragement and hope.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

Moving On Out

What big change is coming? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

I am not going to be posting next week. Why is that? Because of the city in that picture. That is New Orleans, Louisiana. That is where I am going.

I have not said much about this aside from recently on Facebook, but it has been in the works and a few friends have known. One thing I decided shortly after my divorce was in moving on, I needed to finish goals I never had. That meant getting my Master’s and eventually going on to get a Ph.D.

I’m a member of a Southern Baptist Church and in talking to my pastor, he said that if I went to a Southern Baptist Seminary, I could cut 40-50% off of my tuition. I asked him to send me a list of such seminaries. One named stood out to me immediately. New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.

I had been there once before for a Defend the Faith conference and I did enjoy the city. I had many friends there, including Bob Stewart who I contacted immediately. He told me that I could do the program online from my parents’ house, but I would honestly finish the degree faster if I moved to New Orleans and did it on campus.

My Divorcecare leader and his wife came up to talk to my parents about it since my mother especially is concerned, as many mothers are. Still, it was enough to get them to realize this is what I need to do. My own personal mentor says that this is definitely the right path for me to take.

Today will be my last day at the Wal-Mart. This is a big move I am making and I won’t deny, I am awfully scared many times. I am putting a lot on the line. I do have likely a position as an intern for a pastor which could cover my tuition as well and give me a little bit more money each week. I also could be working at the campus post office part-time, but it is minimum wage.

I just know I don’t want to sit on the sidelines and recovering from my divorce has been hard and it has been hard to be passionate for something, but many times, I think about the salvation of New Orleans. Something I told Dr. Stewart when I visited in January was that I had two thoughts at one time. There’s no reason God can’t save New Orleans and there’s no reason He can’t use me to do it.

My pastor told me the anxiety is normal and many people who told me about making big changes in their lives have said the same thing. I get that it is normal and in some ways healthy, but it sure isn’t pleasant. I will likely have to stay at the guest place across the street from the seminary for a few days until the apartment is ready and my main concern with that is Shiro, will he be fine in a new place like that until we move into a regular one and then he has to make the switch again? It has to be this week though because my Divorcecare leader and his wife are going down there with my Dad and I to get me situated and they have a station wagon that can carry several boxes as well. My Dad and I will likely split up the driving between the two of us.

If anything also gives me anxiety, it’s money. Now I have a sizable portion in the bank because I have been saving up money from my job. I really don’t spend a lot, though while with my parents I have been covering my own bills. Also, Shiro is a non-negotiable with me. I will only stay a place that allows him. He’s an older cat and I’m the only person he really trusts and I’m not going to abandon him again, especially after the fact that my ex did just that.

Friends. Please do what you can to help out. Here is a list of all the things I will have to provide for and I do need your support.

Rent.
Electricity.
Internet.
Cell phone service.
Gas.
Health insurance.
Auto insurance.
Groceries and day-to-day supplies.
Care for Shiro.
Books for research.
Medications and Doctor Visits.
Traveling expenses, especially to see family on Christmas as I plan on flying back for such events and for other conferences like Evangelical Theological Society.
My own personal tithes to my new church and any charitable giving of my own I choose to do.
Unless I get it all covered, tuition.

I can assure anyone I try to be as frugal as possible. I regularly go to apps on my phone to get the best deals at places like restaurants. When I am grocery shopping, I go and check out the clearance sections immediately. I don’t want to make a dishonest penny. I do programs that are free to try to earn free gift cards also for places like Amazon. My entertainment expenses are also slow and one such as Audible is also educational for me.

Please be praying for me and please be a regular donor. This site includes at the bottom of every post how to be a donor through Patreon. Please do consider it. Every donation gives me more hope and encouragement. I have been praying at night for God to provide as I take this step even if I don’t know where every dollar to provide for me will come from. Please consider becoming one of those suppliers to help me on the journey. I also hope that if enough comes in, that i can start the Deeper Waters Podcast once more which I have missed greatly.

Thank you and I hope to write to you the week after next with good news.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

ETS 2021

What did I think of the conference this year? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

So the reason there wasn’t a blog last week is that I was at ETS and way too busy to do a blog. ETS is the Evangelical Theological Society and they have a meeting every year. This year, it was held in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. This was the second time I had ever gone to ETS and the first time I had gone to Texas.

So at the start, what I saw of Texas, I loved. The people were really nice and the layout of the area I was in was beautiful. I could walk down the streets and feel very safe and there was not really a lot of traffic either. If things in our country get really bad, I wouldn’t mind moving to Texas someday.

On a historical note, the hotel we stayed at was also the last place JFK stayed at before he was assassinated. The area of the convention also used to be known at the start of the last century as Hell’s Half-Acre. It was called such because there were several businesses allowed to run that shouldn’t have, but they supported the economy so the law was more lenient. Gamblers like Bat Masterson and Wyatt Earp came through, but so did villains like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and it was referred to as a Den of Sin. Now here we are over a century later and evangelicals have redeemed it for a conference.

Also, when I said we stayed at a hotel, I shared a room with Mike Licona. My former father-in-law thought it would also send a good message to the society that there’s no bad blood between us. We got along well, although we did have to get used to him being an early bird and my being a night owl, but we managed to adapt well and I slept fine through the night.

Now a benefit of ETS is certainly getting to hear great talks. I really liked one I heard on the resurrection and does the body keep score. Could we have disabilities still have the resurrection? Will we remember the evils that we went through in this life? That might be a theoretical question for some of you, but for someone like myself on the spectrum, it isn’t. If anything, I would hope I can keep some of my Aspie traits even in a new and glorified body. I also went to a panel discussion Mike was part of on the minimal facts and talks on Aquinas and on Muslim relations and one on if Christ knew He was impeccable.

The bookstore is also a great place to go there as many books are there and on sale. I also had a good friend of Deeper Waters who showed up and told me to go to the bookstore and buy what I wanted. Even then, I tried to not get a whole lot. I didn’t want to take advantage. He also provided to have them FedExed back to my house and they were waiting when I got here.

That brings me to the best thing about ETS. The people. I found it easy to interact in the crowds of others and to chat. Many of my Aspie traits were just not as relevant then as they normally are. There were plenty of people on a humorous note who came up to me and told me that they affirm the virgin birth, which I do affirm, and several have started saying that. On a more personal note, many people also came up to me and told me they were praying for me and sorry about all that I went through with the divorce and am going through. Two of them prayed right there with me.

Every day was a blessing to be there and when Thursday night came that matters were wrapping up, I started to have the sadness come to me. It’s like the letdown you have when you’re a kid and you wait for Christmas so eagerly and after it’s gone, you miss that time. I really do. Saturday when I was back here in Tennessee and back at work, I was already hating it again. It’s again why I would love to be doing the kinds of things I was doing at that conference full-time. (Although, Shiro has had a talk with me about how he never wants to see me leave for that long ever again)

Now as for the people, I know I will leave some out, but I remember being at the bookstore and seeing Mike Winger and getting to talk to him about how much I appreciated his video series on divorce. Bob Stewart and I had several interactions and I always told him how handsome he is. I don’t remember how that joke got started, but I remember Mike sharing it with me and I don’t forget a joke.

Ed Komoszewski and Rob Bowman and I had several interactions. Ed and I have talked multiple times together about the divorce. It was also good to meet Sam Shamoun and I ran into David Wood and Tim Stratton. Speaking of Tim, Tim McGrew and I met one time and he greeted me with a big hug, one of few people I would allow to do that without reservation. I also had some time with Paul Copan. On the plane to Dallas/Fort Worth, I sat next to Christian Cuthbert who I had never heard of before but saw he had a theological book and asked if he was going to ETS. He’s a scholar on Jonathan Edwards so I pried him with several questions before our plane took off. Matt Jenson gave the talk on the resurrection body and he and I and a couple of others went to lunch together after to talk about it and to affirm the virgin birth, which I do affirm. I also saw Craig Blomberg, Ken Wolgemuth, Hugh Ross, Greg Koukl, Brett Kunkle, and got to meet others like Robert Plummer, Bill Mounce, and Jonathan Pennington. I am sure I left some people out. Please don’t take offense at that if you were one.

Next year it will be in Denver with the theme of holiness. I am planning on submitting a paper on divorce and the spectrum. Why don’t you consider coming to? It would be great to meet you as well.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

The Choice

How do you respond to divorce? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

When I heard the news that Allie wanted to file for divorce, I was devastated, as you can imagine. It happened when I was working at my job at Kroger at the time. Allie contacted me and I was sure I knew what it was about. I called her to just get it over with then and I only had an hour in my shift, but I talked to my manager and was still crying and said “I can stay at work, but please don’t put me in front of people.”

He was the only one then who knew what happened.

For my last day in Georgia, I had a friend who stopped by and I then realized I had misread a text from Allie and had to clear out. Thankfully, he was there as I couldn’t stop crying my eyes out. I didn’t really want to have this be happening. When my family came over the next day to pack up my stuff, I was so distraught I was of very little help.

Yet when I got back to my parents’ house, I knew I had to make a choice and I honestly don’t know when I realized it or how I did it, but I didn’t want to be constantly bawling in front of my parents for one thing. Sympathy from friends is one thing, but from parents, it’s another. At the same time, I can say as a man nearly 41 years old, I love my parents, but I do want to live on my own instead.

So I had to make a resolve. I could either be defeated, or I could win. As a gamer, I have a rule. When you play, you play to win. I decided I could either live my life in defeat or do nothing or choose to look in the face of adversity and take it on full throttle.

That doesn’t mean I do perfect. There are still times I can have hard days and hard nights where it is hard to sleep. There can still be times of intense depression. Overall though, that isn’t happening. If anything, I am just resolved.

I do still talk to the therapist I talked with in Georgia on the phone on a weekly basis. He is still guiding me. We talk about dealing with divorce, my work and living situation, and my plans to remarry. He even still recommends me marriage books and many times I still buy some and read them as remarriage is part of my plan for life.

Perhaps what you go through right now isn’t divorce, but there could be something. For me, it’s the power of choice. It’s kind of like how if two patients get a cancer diagnosis and one says “I’m going to beat this diagnosis and come out on the other end” and the other says “Woe is me”, the former is far more likely to survive based on the power of the will.

I have been given much advice on this and tried to follow it. My therapist said if I want to date again, I need to update my wardrobe, so I have already talked to my sister who is a beautician and asked for her help with this. Some have said I need to work on learning etiquette, so I am looking for resources on that too. I have got books on learning how to interact with women and read body language.

For example, as an Aspie, eye contact is extremely difficult, but I have read to just try to briefly glance into someone’s eyes. For this one, let it be both men and women. Get used to this. Then for women, when it is appropriate, smile at them. That doesn’t mean you ask them out or anything, but it does mean I work on building up my confidence there. It’s really fascinating to me how many smiles back I get.

I did say I share my Patreon more often. I really haven’t liked doing that, but I have to work to reach my own goals. I am also trying to build up my YouTube channel which can be found here, which means making videos and getting more subscribers. I work five days a week, so I try to make one on my day off.

My goal is first to move out. I either need to earn enough so that I can afford rent and everything else here, or else find a roommate, which is difficult since so many of the guys I know through DivorceCare also have kids which could make it difficult to have room for us to stay. They will also have to be someone who is friendly to cats since Shiro being with me is a non-negotiable.

Once I am out, that is when I really plan to start dating again. It is the therapy and the reading I am doing to work on my character and everything about me to make sure I am the husband I really am supposed to be someday. I also have a rule that I won’t be alone in a place I live with the girl or alone in the place she lives with her until marriage. I don’t want to risk temptation.

Also, I have plans to get my Master’s in Practical Apologetics at Colorado Christian University. I just have to pay off a class I took at Johnson University that I never finished paying for to get my transcripts. It’s going to be about $1,000. I plan to pay it by December if I have to so I can start my Master’s work. I can cover it now if I have to, but I’m still trying to save up money, especially since a financial advisor has plans for investing once I get to $10,000 in my account. After that Master’s though, I hope to get my PhD.

For fun meanwhile, I also have a friend who donates to me and part of the requirement is that some of that goes every month to cover a subscription to Final Fantasy XIV. Online gaming like this helps get my mind off of things going on and I play with many friends. If you are on there, I am Phoenix Skywing. A friend for my upcoming birthday this month also gifted me the latest expansion coming out in November.

Having these goals is important also because it means I have a plan to where I’m going. Even if I’m not sure how I will get there, I have some reason to get up every day and live my life. I want to embrace it as a gift. Attitude greatly matters.

Do I have hatred towards Allie in this? No. Sometimes, I do have anger, but I really do want the best for her. What good would it be to live with anger and hostility like that, which can be difficult sometimes? If I am seething with anger, for example, what is it doing to her? Nothing. What is it doing to me? It’s damaging me.

Instead, I try to live with the following rule in mind. The best revenge is a life well-lived. So I get divorced and it’s a horrible pain and I wish it hadn’t have happened this way. Sure. Yet if I just roll over and die and sulk in bed all day, I accomplish nothing. I might as well get up and continue the battle every day and in the end, I want to stand before God with a clear conscience.

I can also say that there have been times of wrestling with God and trying to understand what is going on, but I have nowhere else to really turn. I honestly think that if I didn’t have my knowledge of what I know through years of apologetics, I might not have made it through this or be making it through this. No doubt also, the great circle of friends I have is extremely supportive.

For all wondering also, I am on good terms with Allie’s family. I will be at ETS this year as I think I need to get myself out there and get recognized so that is a worthwhile financial investment and this year, I will be rooming with Mike. Of course, I made mistakes as any husband does. None of us are perfect spouses and as Lewis says, “We are all very hard to live with.” Still, my former in-laws know about the love that I had for Allie and that I did treat her well.

And oh yes, while I do take delight in being on the spectrum, like I said, I am working on things like eye contact more and more. I know some traits could be very annoying in a way I don’t want to a woman. Some could be hard to change and might need that female help. Allie did more to change my diet, for example, than anyone else ever had.

This is my battle and the cross I have to carry for now. It is not yours and even if you are going through a divorce, my divorce is different from yours still. However, I think my general outline of what I am doing can still apply to you whatever your cross is. Basically, it’s just choosing to live and overcome and work hard at it. It’s having some goals so that you have a reason to wake up in the morning and do something. It’s trying to say that your life is a gift and you want to live it and to enjoy the good things of this world. It’s still as a Christian embracing Jesus Christ and being faithful even when you can feel like you’re being given a raw deal.

I am not saying it is easy, but I am saying it is possible. It is your choice. I have made mine.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

Support Deeper Waters

Why should you give to Deeper Waters? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

I don’t normally do a post like this, but I have had Mike Licona and Ed Komoszewski share their request that people support Deeper Waters, so I would like to throw in my own request. This is a presentation as to why you should support. Some estimates of our needs are ballpark estimates and how much I can do is based on how much you give.

To start with, basic living expenses. As you know if you read my newsletter, my living situation has changed. Since that is in limbo, my hope right now is to get a decent apartment. I need nothing extravagant, but just a simple one can cost around $1,000 a month.

I do not want to assume that anything comes with it. Sometimes they do provide internet and utilities and electricity. I will be going with the worst-case scenario and assuming nothing is included. If any of the above are, then that leaves more for other investments. I think water doesn’t cost that much, but electricity and internet could cost around $100 a month or so each. Again, I’m not sure.

That would also be the same for items like health and auto insurance. My phone service also costs about $90 a month. Fortunately, with that I also get Disney+, Hulu, and some channel called ESPN+. I’m still trying to figure out what that last one is. As for other entertainment, I play Final Fantasy XIV online with some friends and the only streaming services I could consider adding now are DC Universe and Netflix for some specialized programs.

As for groceries, if you have ever seen me in person, you know I am not a heavy fellow. I think saying I spend $100 a month on groceries for food is quite likely. Mike and Debbie Licona can also tell you I am very frugal. I am always shopping for bargains and using digital coupons. I am not the best at cleaning so cleaning supplies are taken at a minimum.

I very rarely eat out. Back in September for my birthday, my parents and sister gave me a combined $45 in gift cards for Subway. I still haven’t used all of them. I would love to be able to eat there more often or even get a fancy tea from time to time at Starbucks, but I hold back for money. Even if I play a video game, I am awfully careful with how I spend my money.

Very little is needed for me along those lines for entertainment. I do pretty much every program I can to get free Amazon credit and if I want to buy a new game, I often do it from there. If someone wants to be generous and buy me a game, that is something excellent to receive. Many of my books come directly from publishers and I try to get others at the library if I can.

Pre-Corona, I would normally see a movie only about four times a year. I would like to have enough to be able to do something enjoyable for myself every now and then, such as if people from church want to go out to eat, I could go and join them. I would rather have my money go towards programs for Deeper Waters.

I got my computer years ago after Allie and I moved to Tennessee. I don’t know when I will need a new one again. I have had to get a new keyboard recently and items like that could be regularly needed. I would like to get enough to be able to do the podcast again. I also hope to find someone who can teach me how to make better YouTube videos.

Not only this, but I need enough to cover my own taxes, to which Debbie as an accountant does those for me, to cover being able to give to the church, and I would like enough on the side to also be generous to others. I don’t remember the last time I was able to buy a Christmas gift for someone besides Allie.

Why should you give? When you give, you set me free to do more research and study. You pay your pastor not because he gives a sermon and does hospital visitation and all the other jobs he does, but so that he can freely do those jobs. The same with an apologist. Giving like this is also a shot in the arm to me. When you give, it motivates me to do further research and study so I can be there to do what needs to be done.

Don’t think you can give a lot? No problem. For example, I have over 3,500 friends on Facebook. If all of them were to give a dollar a month even, I would consider myself rich. I have no delusions everyone will do that, but everyone who gives a little even is helping out.

Please consider making a donation to Deeper Waters. I dream of being free to do more and more for the Kingdom in apologetics. I definitely have no wish to misuse any money you send my way. I strive to be a man of honor in all that I do.

You can also give through a tax-deductible way by going to RisenJesus.com. When you do that, just include in the submission form a note that it is for me or else contact me or Mike or Debbie and tell one of us about that. We will make sure I get the tax-deductible donation.

If you want to donate via Patreon, please check the link at the bottom of this post. Thank you again.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)
Support my Patreon here.

Book Plunge: How To Survive A Russian Fairy Tale

What do I think of Nicholas Kotar’s book published by Waystone Press? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

So we’ve all had it happen to us before. You wake up one day and realize that you’ve found out you’re in a Russian fairy tale. Yep. Happens to everyone at one time another. How do you make it? How do you survive?

Nicholas Kotar is an accomplished novelist who is going to explain this to us. It is quite surprising because many of us have never read a Russian fairy tale before. I know I certainly haven’t. I have read Russian literature, but not the fairy tales.

Kotar goes through many of the characters that you will find in such a fairy tale. The interesting thing to me at this point is that there are recurring characters that show up in these stories. In our fairy tales, there may be recurring themes, but it looks like in Russian fairy tales, the same characters are the villains and the heroes and the aids.

Nothing is as it seems in a Russian fairy tale. The grandmother could be the villain. The idiot could be the one who’s the hero. Many of us might be surprised that the female warrior might be the one who is really the more powerful, and this before any idea of women’s equality.

The themes are also the same in many tales. The hero does meet a character with whom he will have to undergo some trial to demonstrate he’s worthy. Only then can he go on to face the villain and save the princess or do whatever is needed. It’s not always a romantic thing either. One such story involved a boy who was just twelve going and rescuing his mother.

Also, many of these tales do see an influence of Christianity in them. This is interesting since we don’t know exactly when these tales appeared. It could be Russian had no pagan past before their conversion to Christianity that was recorded so they decided they needed to correct that and made one.

Finally, why do these tales matter? That’s the last section of the book and likely the most important one. It’s actually important that fantasy be a part of our reality. Chesterton and Lewis both spoke very approvingly of fairy tales. Maybe we should take them seriously too.

In closing, this is a genre many of us aren’t familiar with, and now I’m left considering maybe I should get familiar with it. Maybe you should too.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

Deeper Waters Podcast 8/8/2020

What’s coming up? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

It’s been said that the Shroud of Turin is the most studied artifact ever. This could be so and it would be a fascinating relationship. Jesus Christ is the most written about and talked about figure ever in history so what is claimed to be His burial shroud would be the most talked about item in history as well.

But is the Shroud the real deal? It’s certainly an impressive work, real or not, but hasn’t it already been shown to be a fake? Didn’t we do tests to demonstrate that the Shroud actually originates in medieval times? For many people, that’s a done deal. For some, perhaps there were some problems with the test.

My guest thinks so. He began his walk not really caring so much about religious questions until he came upon a book about the Shroud. From that point on, he was inherently fascinated with it and even joined a monastery where he became an authority on the Shroud and began lecturing on it and attending every conference he could on it.

His path actually got stranger still when he encountered a lady who was interested in the Shroud and thinking they had a destiny together, he ended up leaving the monastery life and marrying her. Together, they did research and spoke on the Shroud. I have even been told that they were instrumental in raising up concerns about the veracity of the Carbon-14 tests.

His name is Joseph Marino and he’s my guest this Saturday.

So who is he?

According to his bio:

Joseph Marino has a B.A. in Theological Studies from St. Louis University
and is a long-time sindonologist (one who studies the Shroud of Turin). He has researched, written and lectured extensively on the Shroud since 1977. He currently works at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.


In 1977, he saw a book on the Shroud of Turin, which he had never heard
of before, even though he was raised as a Catholic. He read the book in one
sitting and became fascinated by the subject and proceeded to collect any
material on it that he could find. In January 1980 he started living at the
Benedictine monastery St. Louis Priory, which later became known as the St. Louis Abbey. In 1986, he attended his first Shroud conference and met for the first time, many of the top scientists and researchers involved. In the early 1990s he felt drawn to the priesthood and was subsequently ordained in 1994.


In 1997 Marino received a call from M. Sue Benford who informed him of
her spiritual insights about the Shroud. After many discussions via phone and emails about the Shroud and other spiritual matters, he began to experience God in a whole new way. Joseph felt powerfully drawn to leave the monastery to pursue Shroud research and other spiritual paths with Benford.

Marino believes the Shroud can be shown to be the burial cloth of Jesus,
then it would be an interesting archaeological object, however he believes that it’s more important for the spiritual message it can bring. As a former Benedictine monk, and Catholic priest Joseph believes that organized religion has often depicted Jesus as an unreachable deity, whose standards we can never reach. With his work he hopes to show that the Shroud represents a more human Jesus, who is someone we can not only approach, but, as indicated in the Gospel of John, a person we can even surpass in doing great things.


”It is my hope and desire that our work can get this message across, and,
it is my belief that this is the destiny to which I’ve been called, which is why I have been given the passion I possess for the Shroud.”

Again, we are catching up on past shows. I hope you’ll be watching your podcast feed. Please also keep supporting the Deeper Waters Podcast any way that you can.

In Christ,
Nick Peters
(And I affirm the virgin birth)

Deeper Waters Podcast 7/18/2020

What’s coming up? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

We’ve all had events that changed our lives forever in a bad way. A wife could tell her husband she’s been having an affair or he could tell her he’s an addict to porn. A doctor could say the word “cancer” to patients. A son could die in a car accident.

These events shatter everything we know and require so much to recover from. Another one is a huge accusation of moral turpitude. My guest had just such an event happened. While he had been teaching journalism and living the life of an investigator, he had been accused suddenly of sexual misconduct and the #MeToo movement jumped in. Sadly, after Kavanaugh, I do have suspicions about what happened. My guest lost everything for the time and had nowhere to go.

But then, he used this to start asking bigger questions about life and especially started looking into the story of Jesus. As a result, he became a Christian. Now he’s telling his story in his book about how it happened. The book is Aftermath and my guest is Alec Klein.

So who is he?

According to his bio:

Alec Klein is a bestselling author and award-winning investigative journalist formerly of the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal. His groundbreaking investigations have uncovered a wide array of wrongdoing, leading to significant reforms, congressional hearings, changes in federal law, criminal convictions and more than half a billion dollars in government fines. His investigations have also set free several prisoners who were wrongfully convicted of murder and accused of other crimes. And Klein has helped dozens of excessively sentenced women gain their freedom and regain their lives through parole, commutations and pardons.

His first book, Stealing Time: Steve Case, Jerry Levin, and the Collapse of AOL Time Warner, was a national bestseller published by Simon & Schuster. The book was translated into Japanese and Chinese, excerpted in Great Britain and selected as one of the “Best Business Books” by Library Journal and Strategy + Business.

His second book of nonfiction, A Class Apart: Prodigies, Pressure, and Passion Inside One of America’s Best High Schools, also published by Simon & Schuster, was named “One of the Best Education Books of the Year” by the American School Board Journal and translated into Chinese, where it went through several printings.

His memoir, Aftermath: When It Felt Like Life Was Over, was published in 2020 by Republic Book Publishers. It is a story about faith, forgiveness and redemption.

As a consultant since 2018, Klein helped to create and launch an Oklahoma nonprofit that assists wrongfully convicted and excessively sentenced prisoners in regaining their freedom. He devised a system that has helped free dozens of women through parole and commutation, including some who had been sentenced to life in prison. He also helped to create a drug treatment program at a nonprofit in New York to give people a second chance at employment after failing drug screens. Over the past two years, Klein has worked on a pro bono basis to help several other prisoners regain their freedom, while he has consulted on various writing and media projects. He is also the creator and host of the podcast series, Life On The Other Side: stories from prisoners, their families and those helping them find justice and redemption.

From 2011 to 2018, Klein ran The Medill Justice Project, a national investigative journalism center at Northwestern University. A full, tenured professor from 2008 to 2018, Klein led an investigation that discovered exculpatory information, prompting a federal judge to release an Illinois prisoner a decade before her release on a first-degree murder conviction, which was overturned. Other investigations Klein oversaw led to the exoneration of a Miami man who had been convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Klein also directed a probe that freed an Oregon mother who had faced more than 30 years in prison. In addition, Klein led an investigation in which a Louisiana inmate was released from solitary confinement after more than 36 years. Over the years, Klein has fought and won Freedom of Information Act appeals and access to records in state and federal courts as part of his investigations.

Under Klein’s guidance, The Medill Justice Project earned recognition nationally and internationally for its investigations, photography, videos, podcasts and website, including nearly 100 awards in seven years. Among them was a national Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, the first in Medill’s history, an Investigative Reporters & Editors award, a Sigma Delta Chi award and a Sunshine Award from the national Society of Professional Journalists. Klein also oversaw investigations that were honored with a regional Edward R. Murrow Award, Peter Lisagor Awards, local Emmy nominations, Eppy Awards from Editor & Publisher as well as awards from the National Association of Black Journalists, the Online News Association and others. Klein was also named to the Northwestern University Associated Student Government’s annual Honor Roll after being selected from a campus-wide nomination process and chosen from nearly 1,200 nominations of faculty and administrators. He was also recognized as one of six Medill faculty members by the Multicultural Student Affairs for being significant and influential people in their lives, based on an annual survey.

As a Washington Post investigative reporter from 2000 to 2008, Klein wrote a groundbreaking series on the little-known but widespread practice of reusing single-use medical devices in the United States. The stories documented patient injuries and device malfunctions and showed how the industry has eluded comprehensive oversight and is comprised of several entrepreneurs who have run afoul of federal authorities. The series, which won the Society of American Business Editors and Writers award for special projects, prompted an investigation by the Government Accountability Office, Congress’s investigative arm, congressional hearings and industry reform.

Klein also wrote a three-part series for The Washington Post about the world’s big three credit-rating firms, showing how they dominate an important part of global finance with little oversight or accountability, how the rating system is subject to manipulation and conflicts of interest, and how the credit raters use strong-arm tactics to generate business. His series, a first-place winner in Washington’s Society of Professional Journalists, prompted an investigation by the New York attorney general, congressional hearings and the passage of federal law to strengthen government oversight of the industry.

Among his other stories at the Washington Post, Klein conducted a yearlong investigation of AOL’s takeover of Time Warner. His investigation, based on hundreds of confidential AOL documents, showed how AOL secretly inflated its revenue to pull off the largest merger in U.S. history to create the biggest media company in the world. His investigation sparked investigations of AOL by the U.S. Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission. Klein’s series also prompted the company, then called AOL Time Warner, to launch its own internal investigation of its accounting, which led the company to admit that it had improperly reported at least $190 million in advertising revenue, causing it to restate two years of financial results. The company agreed to pay $510 million to settle criminal and civil allegations that its AOL division improperly pumped up revenue before and after its merger with Time Warner. In the wake of Klein’s investigation, several top AOL executives were forced to resign, several business partners involved in AOL’s schemes were indicted and convicted on fraud charges and the AOL division that was the focus of his investigation was disbanded. For his coverage of AOL, Klein won the Gerald Loeb Award, business journalism’s highest honor. He also won awards from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in project reporting and the Virginia Press Association in news writing.

Klein has won a number of other awards and fellowships, including at the East-West Center and the Poynter Institute. Klein, who also worked as a reporter at the Baltimore Sun and Virginian-Pilot, is a frequent guest speaker, having presented at the National Press Foundation, the American Press Institute, the Society of Professional Journalists, Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, the Asian American Journalists Association, the South Asian Journalists Association, Unity: Journalists of Color, and various newspapers and other media outlets, schools, associations, clubs, conferences and education groups throughout the country and the world, including Japan, France, Canada and South Africa. Klein has been a guest lecturer at several colleges, including the University of California at Berkeley, George Washington University and New York University. He was also selected as a business writer-in-residence at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Klein has given a series of Webinars to professionals throughout the country and abroad. Klein has served as a judge for the Society of American Business Editors and Writers awards and other journalism contests and has appeared on several television and radio programs, including CNN, CNBC, CBS and NPR as well as the BBC and TV Asahi. .

Klein, a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Brown University, is the author of several staged plays, a novel and the foreword to an edition of Show Me The Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication, a textbook adopted at universities across the nation.

Born in Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., and raised in New York City, Klein is the son of a Japanese artist and an American journalist.

We have also caught up on some more shows and I have uploaded them. More will be coming very soon. Thank you for listening.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

Deeper Waters Podcast 7/11/2020

What’s coming up? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

The Trinity is one of those doctrines that Christians get out when they need to deal with Jehovah’s Witnesses, but they don’t pay much attention to elsewhere. It’s a shame because the Trinity is a birthright of Christians. It is a teaching that can change everything for us if we let it.

While Jehovah’s Witnesses will say it is a late development, it is all over the pages of the New Testament. One such place is in Romans. Paul moves back and forth from the Father to the Son to the Holy Spirit. Does a Trinitarian understanding help us in any way here? What difference does it make?

To discuss this, I have brought on a friend of mine who got in touch with me who recently wrote a book on this topic. He is a New Testament scholar and very well informed and also known as the Greek Geek. I can also assure listeners that if for some reason we cannot do the show, it will indeed be his fault. (Inside joke for those who understand it.) His name is Ron C. Fay.

So who is he?

According to his bio:

Ron C. Fay did his undergraduate work at Calvin College (now Calvin University), where he majored in Physics/Math and Classical Greek. He earned his M Div and PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS), where he was the New Testament Department Scholar. He has taught at both TEDS and Liberty University, at the School of Divinity, as part of the New Testament faculty. He has taught from Junior High to doctoral level courses. He spent 7 years in the pastorate as well. He currently teaches for both Liberty and the Stony Brook School. He has published on Paul, Greco-Roman Backgrounds, John, and Luke-Acts and is coediting the series Milstones in New Testament Scholarship with Stanley E. Porter. His book Father, Son, and Spirit in Romans 8: The Roman Reception of Paul’s Trinitarian Theology was just released. 

Romans is a great treasure for Christians and we will be diving into it. Prepare yourself to see the Trinity in the book through new eyes. We have also recently uploaded several episodes and are catching up on others so hopefully, we will be up to date soon.

In Christ,
Nick Peters

Deeper Waters Podcast 6/27/2020

What’s coming up? Let’s plunge into the Deeper Waters and find out.

Superheroes are really popular in our culture. While Batman and Superman and others have been around for decades, they still have new fans coming up every single day. New movies featuring them are constantly coming out and television series have been produced regularly.

These aren’t the only ones certainly. There are many more heroes such as the Avengers and other members of the Justice League and then the Justice Society and plenty of heroes that stand alone in their own right. I grew up also watching Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers and those series have stuck with me to this day.

We live in a culture that loves superheroes. We want someone to come in and right the wrongs and stop evil and for many of them, we also like the moral compass they live with. Batman has a rule of not killing and in the second season of Arrow, the Green Arrow also took on that rule. If anything disappointed me severely in Man of Steel, it was when Superman killed Zod. The Superman I always knew did not kill, at least directly.

Yes. Superheroes can do many things, but unfortunately, they are also fictional so they can only do so in a fictional universe, even if that universe is meant to be ours. However, with all the things that they can do, there is one thing they cannot do.

Superheroes can’t save you.

Many superheroes despite having qualities that are Christlike, cannot provide salvation. If we looked to superheroes like they were the Messiah, we would believe many false things. What if our idea of Jesus was like superheroes? What if we formed our Christology that way? This Saturday, my guest will be someone who has considered that and written a book on Christology using superheroes to illustrate his point. The book is Superheroes Can’t Save You and the author is Todd Miles.

So who is he?

According to his bio:

Todd Miles has been a follower of Jesus from a young age. A native of Oregon and resident of Portland, he is married to Camille. They have six children, Natalie, Ethan, Levi, Julius, Vicente, and Marcos. Todd is a Professor of Theology at Western Seminary where he teaches Theology,
Hermeneutics, Biblical Theology, Church History, and Apologetics. He currently serves as an Elder at Hinson Church. Prior to working at Western Seminary, he was employed as a research engineer at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Todd is an alumnus of Oregon State University (BS and MS in Nuclear Engineering), Western Seminary (MDiv), and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (PhD in Systematic Theology). Todd enjoys “all-things athletic,” “all-things Oregon State,” and reading military history and biographies. Todd is the author of many published articles and books, including Superheroes Can’t Save You: Epic Examples of Historic Heresies and A God of Many Understandings?

We’re still working on getting caught up on shows. I plan to upload several of them soon. Thanks for your patience and I hope this episode will greatly help you.

In Christ,
Nick Peters