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PODCAST

The Blue Collar Scholar

This podcast will cover the topics covered by the history lectures, sermons, and Bible/theology studies of Will Reitz.

history christianity

All Episodes

01:59:37

Comparing World Religions, episode 6: Protestant...

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/03/01

Since the professor and every member of the Comparing World Religions class in Christian, our sub-section over Christianity is several lectures long. Furthermore, since (I believe) we all come from Protestant traditions, I have set aside 2 full lectures to talk about Protestantism. In the previous episode, we took a historical deep dive into the Protestant Reformation. This episode is a broad survey of the most common denominations. By "most common," I am referring to the kinds of churches we see

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00:22:03

Sermon: God Does Not Change

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/28

One of the most important attributes of God is that He does not change. For if God can change, then He was either imperfect and has changed into perfection, or else He was perfect, and no longer is. Furthermore, if God can change, then we cannot trust His promises. And if an All Powerful Deity could change, even a little bit, then given enough time, His perfection would change so much that He would become an All Mighty Tyrant. But we can trust in God that He does not change (James 1:17). This

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01:51:29

WWII, episode 6 - 1941: Operation Barbarossa & Pearl...

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/26

1941 was the year when the final major chess pieces were put on the World War II chessboard. Neither the United States of America nor the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics were full participants in the Second World War when 1941 began, even though the war was in its second year in Europe and its fifth year (or so) in East Asia. But the Empire of Japan and Nazi Germany changed all that. First, Nazi Germany violated its own non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union and began the Summer of 1941 with

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01:51:51

Comparing World Religions, episode 5: The Protestant...

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/23

This episode goes into both reform and separatist movements in the Church going back long before Martin Luther. And, of course, we discuss the life and times of Luther, Zwingli, And Calvin. This episode briefly touches on Protestant theological developments, the disastrous Muenster Rebellion, and the Catholic Counter-Reformation.

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00:25:08

Sermon: The Lost Art of Giving & Receiving Correction

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/22

There is a word that pops up in Scripture from time to time: "rebuke." It is not a word that is part of the average American's vocabulary. A better term might be "correction." A fool hates being corrected and would prefer to go on believing that he is right, even when he is not. But a wise man accepts correction, not because it is pleasant (for neither giving nor receiving correction is pleasant), but because it is much preferable to be in the Truth than to continue in error.

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01:47:23

WWII, episode 5: The Battle of Britain

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/21

Following the miraculous British evacuation from Dunkirk, the UK stood alone as the sole major, unconquered nation standing in the way of Adolf Hitler. The United States, officially neutral, tried to help out, using a cash-&-carry policy to supply the Brits, then a destroyers-for-bases plan designed to arm the British Navy while remaining neutral, then finally stretching the definition of "neutral" to its breaking point with the Lend-Lease policy. Meanwhile, the Royal Air Force and the Luftwaffe

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01:50:08

Comparing World Religions, episode 4: The Roman...

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/17

I am no expert on the Roman Catholic Church, and I know even less about the Eastern Orthodox Church. (Note: This will be true for many of the world religions we cover this semester.) So consider this episode a history buff's (and a Protestant's) honest attempt to better understand these branches of Christianity with incredibly ancient roots.

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00:22:04

Sermon: Faith Is Intentional

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/14

He's a nice, short, sub-20-minutes sermon to enjoy on your Valentine's Day. I dusted off the oldest sermon notes I have, at least for any sermon that (apparently) was not recorded when I gave it in 2003. (A few older sermons are available elsewhere in the Blue Collar Scholar back catalogue, using the audio recording from that time.) So I smoothed out, edited, and updated the notes to bring you this 2026 version of this sermon I gave in college. In this message, I make the case that we have to be

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01:47:56

WWII, episode 4: Initial Nazi Victories

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/14

Blitzkrieg (German for Lightning War) is designed to move quickly, discombobulate your enemy, and achieve victory before they can properly counter attack. In the earliest stages of World War II in Europe, the Wehrmacht - exhibiting an incredible amount of speed and coordination between the Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy), and Luftwaffe (Air Force) - achieved an unprecedented series of conquests, conquering Denmark, Norway, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, and France (as well as a decisive

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01:40:27

Comparing World Religions, episode 3: Christianity

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/10

This will not be the only lecture on Christianity in the Comparing World Religions class this spring. This lesson mostly focuses on Christian teachings and theology that make Christianity different from other religions.

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00:40:19

Sermon: A Brief Overview of the Book of Job

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/09

The Book of Job is a fascinating case study in human suffering. In it we see an extremely righteous man suffer, and we see his well-meaning friends misunderstand, thinking that only a wicked person would suffer so. But that is not what the Bible teaches. In fact, sometime people suffer because of the good that they do, or because of the purity and excellence of their faith. In this sermon, we will draw five lessons that we learn from the Book of Job.

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01:58:13

WWII, episode 3: The Wars that Became WWII

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/09

Even though World War I was supposed to be "The War To End All Wars," there were several major and minor wars that ravaged the world between World War I and World War II. The way World War I ended caused many of these conflicts, and each and every one of these conflicts affected how, why, and who fought in World War II. This lecture will briefly touch upon the Spanish Civil War, the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, the Winter War between the Soviet Union and Finland, the Japanese occupation of Korea,

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01:45:07

Comparing World Religions, episode 2: Judaism

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/03

Our survey of world religions begins with Judaism. With a common Tanakh (Old Testament) tradition shared with Christianity, Judaism has an impact on history way beyond their numbers. This episode - and each Comparing World Religions lecture to follow - is intended to increase understanding for those who may not belong to that religion. If any listener would like to critique my take on Judaism, or any religion to follow, I welcome your feedback. I, too, would like to grow in knowledge,

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00:38:50

Sermon - The Heaven Series: Ambassadors of the...

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/02/01

This is the conclusion to the Heaven series. Since we learned about Heaven in the previous three sermons, we now examine what it looks like to be an ambassador for the Kingdom of Heaven, for Christians are called to be ambassadors in 2 Corinthians 5:20.

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01:50:13

WWII, episode 2: After WWI

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/01/30

This episode jumps right into the the end of World War I and the Paris Peace Conference & the Versailles Treaty. We take a quick survey through the technological and cultural advances and trends in the 1920s and 1930s. This episode also covers the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. At this point, we discuss the "Okies" who became migrants from one part of the nation (Oklahoma Panhandle and the surrounding region) to another part of the nation (California). While referencing the Grapes of Wrath, we

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01:43:11

Comparing World Religions, episode 1: What Is Religion?

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/01/26

This Spring, I will be teaching a World War II class and a Comparing World Religions class for the Lifetime Learning program at Neosho County Community College. The first lecture in the WWII class dropped a few days ago. This is the first lecture in the Comparing World Religions, as we explore how different religions answer ten questions very differently.

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00:29:35

Sermon - The Heaven Series, part 3: New Heavens and...

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/01/25

The Heaven Series now focuses on the last few chapters of Revelation and asks important questions about what the eternal Kingdom of Heaven, called "New Heavens and New Earth," will be like.

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01:49:12

WWII, episode 1: World War I

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/01/24

The Spring 2026 Lifetime Learning classes kick off with our World War II class. This episode analyzes World War I with special emphasis on how the Great War influenced World War II.

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01:51:34

WWII, episode zero: The Leadup to The Great War (WWI)

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/01/22

NOTE: This is a re-broadcast of an episode from August 28, 2025. ... This lecture was intended to be a World War I lecture, but the lion's share of the lecture ended up being all the relevant history leading up to the "Great War." So, for our Spring 2026 Lifetime Learning "World War II" class, this will function as the background to Episode 1, which will be released as soon as it is edited.

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00:32:12

Sermon - The Heaven Series, part 2: Heaven

The Blue Collar Scholar ·

2026/01/18

The Heaven series continues into the next logical topic: Heaven itself. In this sermon we will explore what the Scriptures say that Heaven is and what it is like, and we will try to shed a few common misconceptions that culture and entertainment have given us about Heaven.

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263 results

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