I BELIEVE

In our first lecture in the series, Dr. Nijay Gupta takes on the first word in the Apostles’ Creed: the first-person pronoun “I.” What does it mean to be a human being, a self, an “I”? What does the Bible have to say about the status of humans, and how might we grow up to become…ourselves? The first ten minutes of this audio feature the course directors, Dr. Brian Doak and Dr. Leah Payne, welcoming the class and explaining a little bit about our weekly rhythm in THEO 101-101 I BELIEVE, at George Fox University.

Our panel continues the discussion from this past Monday’s lecture on the first word of the Creed (“I”). We discuss the image of God, are humans “good,” “bad,” or something else, and how should Christians think about the environment in light of Genesis ch. 1.

Historian Dr. Leah Payne introduces the class to the "Wesleyan Quadrilateral," and ends with a story about belief and unbelief.

Our panel convenes to take up questions regarding the creedal world BELIEVE. Is the Wesleyan Quadrilateral (Scripture, Reason, Experience, Tradition) really helpful? Many Christians in our context agree that Scripture is valuable—but “tradition”? Isn’t tradition dead? We also talk about depravity and the problem of evil.

A special bonus interview, after the panel on August 30th, with Pastor Audra Mahoney.

Some thoughts from biblical scholar Dr. Nijay Gupta (Portland Seminary) on the question, What is the Bible?

We’re spending a second week on the creedal word “Believe,” because the concept of belief is so rich and important for Christians. What does it mean to “believe”? Do I have to understand what I’m believing? To what extent? And what kind of understanding, exactly?

We head back to the auditorium for our Friday panel, still dwelling on this concept of “believe.” Is “belief” the same as “faith”? And what about “knowledge”? Why doesn’t the Creed begin, “I know there is a God,” as opposed to “I believe in God…”? We also tackle a hard question about why some people seem to believe in hateful, horrible things, and whether it is possible to believe in something too much.

More from Father Sean Flannery, Church of the Vine (Newberg, OR), on Genesis ch. 15.

Today we’re hearing from Dr. Melissa Ramos (PhD, UCLA) on the Creedal phrase “in God.” Is God just whatever we want God to be? A totally subjective experience we have? Or something more concrete and specific? Does God have a name? And how do we know we’re experiencing “God”?

Dr. Melissa Ramos is back to field questions from her Monday lecture on the Creedal phrase "in God.” She’s joined by Pastor Renji Abraham (from Village Church in Beaverton, OR), Dr. Nijay Gupta, and Dr. Brian Doak. We tackle questions about “General” vs. “Specific” revelation, what it means to be made “in the image of God,” and a strange moment in the book of Genesis. (NOTE: Apologies for the recording problem with Dr. Gupta’s microphone—if you turn the volume up very loud when’s talking, you can still hear him!)

More reflections from Pastor Renji Abraham (Village Church in Beaverton, OR)

Because the Creedal phrase “in God,” as the source of belief, is so huge and important, we’re taking another week to tackle it! Dr. Javier Garcia (PhD Cambridge) delights us with metaphors about dance, community, and love as we think about what it means for God to be “one,” yet also “three persons.”

For this week’s panel discussion, we’re taking another shot at understanding the Creedal phrase “in God.” The panel attempts to take on some particularly hard questions about how God handles situations where people have dementia or other impairments that would seem to make active “belief in God” hard or impossible, as well as whether it might be the case that there are some things God simply doesn’t want us to know.

Another word from Pastor Aaron!

Pastor Dominic Done takes the stage to talk about the creedal phrase “the Father Almighty.” What do Christians mean when they call God a “father”? Is this language sexist, or altogether irrelevant, or can we adopt it if used in the right way?

In this wide-ranging panel discussion, we dive back into the creedal language of God’s identity as “the Father Almighty.” How can we call God a “Father” if we’ve had a bad experience with our fathers? Are those without traditional fathers doomed to misunderstand God? Does the Bible use the language or imagery of God as mother? Maybe we believe in God or maybe we don’t—but does God believe in us?

In the beginning, God created…what does it mean for us to affirm God as creator today? How does the creation story in Genesis ch. 1 compare with other creation stories ancient Israelites might have known about? Dr. Brian Doak asks us to consider creation not only in terms of the past, but also as relevant for thinking about our world today.

We bring back Dr. Brian Doak from the Monday lecture and continue talking about our creedal word for the week, “Creator.” What does it mean to be a creator, to be creative? What do our own creative pursuits and appreciation of beauty tell us about God, if anything? Have we over-interpreted the Bible when it comes to creation, or any other theme?

More from Pastor Ashley Bell (Cedar Mill Church)!

God is indeed the creator—but what does this mean? We continue exploring aspects of this question. In this week’s lecture, Dr. Graedon Zorzi suggests that God’s activity as creator has serious implications for the way we go about our work in this world. Creation imposes upon us a duty—to cultivate the Garden, through excellent work, and also to keep it, through avoiding evil.

We welcome back our Monday lecturer Dr. Graedon Zorzi and two other wonderful panelists to engage with some very difficult questions about the Bible, science, dinosaurs, evolution, leaving church, suicide, and more.

More with Pastor Gabby Viesca!

We move forward in the Creed to the center of Christian proclamation: Jesus Christ (i.e., Jesus the Anointed One, i.e., “Messiah”). For the next three weeks we’ll be asking the question, Who is Jesus? and exploring different aspects of Jesus’s identity.

Dr. Garcia is back, along with a philosophy professor visiting from Notre Dame, our special guest pastor, and panel host Dr. Doak for the usual wide ranging discussion--this time focusing on the meaning and relevance of Jesus.

More from Pastor Hannah Souter!

Having professed belief in Jesus Christ, the Creed now asks us to affirm Jesus’s status as “his (God’s) only Son.” What does this mean? In this lecture, Dr. Melissa Ramos asks us to consider two dimensions of Jesus’s status: temptation and transfiguration.

Dr. Melissa Ramos is back with yet another unique cast of THEO panelists to discuss Jesus. Why did Jesus not show off his powers more clearly, and make his identity known in a different way? Are we in danger of over-emphasizing or under-emphasizing either Jesus’s divinity or humanity? How should we pray?

We spend another week on the creedal phrase “his only Son,” to continue talking about the identity of Jesus. This week, Dr. Sunggu Yang weaves together themes of love, marriage, and Jesus’s power to free us from oppression.

Dr. Sunggu Yang is back to defend and discuss his idea that Jesus had implications for patriarchy. And he’s joined by guest pastor Connie Armerding and professor Nijay Gupta! Hosted by Dr. Leah Payne. Could Jesus have been a woman? What does it mean that Jesus is God’s “son”?

Having professes Jesus as the Christ and God’s only Son, the Creed now moves us into the language of Lordship: Jesus is “our Lord.” What does this mean? Dr. Joseph Clair takes us on a journey to explore the background of lordship and kingship in the Old Testament, the idea of Jesus as king, and how we might begin to think about this in our lives today.

As we continue to think about the creedal phrase “our Lord,” we welcome back our Monday lecturer Dr. Joseph Clair with a cast of wonderful pastors and thinkers. Can we serve both Jesus and country? Should Christians be in the military? Is our God a God of paradox?

Our after-panel interview with pastor Kenji Yokoy, from the Japanese International Baptist Church (telling a prayer story)

Through Jesus, God had a mom. What does this mean? In this week’s lecture, Dr. Abigail Favale takes us on a journey through the story of the Annunciation, exploring what Mary’s reaction to God tells us about Jesus, how God works with humans, and how we respond to God.

We’re back to reflect on Dr. Abigail Favale’s moving lecture on the creedal phrase “who was conceived by the Holy Spirit” (Dr. Favale could not join us today on the panel). We discuss not only some points from the lecture and the virgin Mary, but also a “wild card” set of issues: How would Jesus respond to us if he walked in the door of this room, today? How can Christians love people with pure hearts and not just see sin everywhere? Should we be talking about whether or not God exists?

During this last week of classes for the fall semester, we approach Christmas: the Creed tells us that Jesus was “born of the Virgin Mary.” We’re used to asking and answering the question, “Why did Jesus have to die”—but Dr. Nijay Gupta asks us to consider this instead: Why did Jesus have to live?

Our final panel of the fall semester features Dr. Nijay Gupta, back to answer questions about his lecture on the creedal phrase “born of the Virgin Mary,” as well as our usual cast of guests. Was Jesus a “difficult child”? How do we keep Christmas sacred amidst the profane commercialism of the season?

AFTER PANEL INTERVIEW. With Pastor Trisha Welstad (The Leadership Center)

We’re back for the spring, continuing our lectures through the Apostles’ Creed! This week Dr. Brian Doak takes on the phrase, “…suffered under Pontius Pilate.” Did Jesus really have to suffer? How should Christians think about suffering—indeed, the larger “problem of evil”—in the world today in light of our profession that God is “good” but also “all powerful”?

We’re back with a new format for this spring—DEBATE! Dr. Brian Doak and Pastor Dominic Done take up two different approaches to the problem of evil and duke it out: Is the problem of suffering more like a school or a battle? Is suffering primarily for teaching us lessons, or primarily to be fought against?

Jesus not only suffers—he also dies. Why does he have to die, though? Why would God allow his only Son to be tortured and abused in such a way? Dr. Melissa Ramos takes us on a journey into God’s love, as strong as death…

Our panel convenes to discuss the creedal phrase “crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead.” We reflect on Jesus’ betrayal by Judas and numerous other things. Dr. Gupta recommends a song.

Death, be not proud—Christ is risen! Dr. Nijay Gupta talks about four serious implications of the resurrection.

Jesus rose again—does it matter? What is God’s problem with death? Are we trying too hard to figure theology out? And what about people who have been treated horribly in colonial situations in order to “spread the Gospel”?

Today we’re talking about Jesus’ death and resurrection by thinking about ATONEMENT: All Christians must agree that Jesus reconciles us to God; but how did Jesus reconcile us to God, exactly? Dr. Garcia talks about three major models for thinking about this question.

“Jesus saves”—yes, but how? Today we have a DEBATE, between Dr. Javier Garcia and Dr. Nijay Gupta on the question of “atonement.” How does God become “at one” with humanity? How can Jesus save us? Dr. Garcia promotes an idea called “penal substitution,” and Dr. Gupta promotes a “participatory” model that leads to “theosis.”

“…and he will come to judge the living and the dead.” Despite being a massively frequent biblical theme, God’s judgment sometimes gets little airplay in Christian circles today. Why? And what does judgment entail and require? What does it look like in the Bible? Dr. Doak takes us through several scenes of Judgment, from the book of Genesis through the New Testament.

Hell: Will it be eternal conscious torment, or will God eventually redeem everyone somehow? All Christians must affirm the words of the Creed, believe that Jesus will come and be the judge. Sin and punishment are very real and have serious consequences in the Christian vision. But what will that look like, exactly? Dr. Joseph Clair and Dr. Brian Doak duke it out in this week’s debate.

Finally: the third member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit! Dr. Sarita Edwards gives us a whirlwind tour of some Holy Spirit basics, teaching us where the Holy Spirit appears in Scripture and how we might think of the work of the Spirit today.

How active is the Holy Spirit in our world today? What should Christians expect—in terms of gifts, miracles, and even people being raised from the dead? Our two course directors, Dr. Leah Payne and Dr. Brian Doak, clash on this topic! Moderated by our Monday lecturer Dr. Sarita Edwards.

Do you believe in the Church? Should we believe in the Church? Dr. Joseph Clair asks us to consider the meaning of “church,” thinking about the metaphors this element of Christian faith requires and what gifts we have received from the “Early Church” (roughly 100-500 AD). This is the first in a four-part series we’re calling our “Church History Bootcamp,” which will narrate what happened after the New Testament and why the Church is what it is today.

What is the Church, exactly? Is the Church corrupted by money? Should ministers be paid? Should anyone profit off of working at a Christian institution of any kind? Would Jesus have approved of our churches? What is “low church” and “high church”? Dr. Joseph Clair, our Monday lecturer, along with Pastor Lydia and Dr. Garcia are back as panelists to tackle these questions—and, as always, much more.

We continue with the creedal phrase, “the holy catholic church,” with an incisive whirlwind tour through 1,000 years of church history by friend of the class and GFU alum Fr. Stephen Kenyon, a Catholic priest in a parish near Medford, OR. Listen to learn about how themes of UNITY, EVANGELISM, and MONASTICISM were expressed in the medieval Church.

Our church history bootcamp continues, picking up in the year 1500 with the so-called “Protestant Reformation.” What were they reforming, and what were they protesting? How can the church have unity when it is so divided, and truly become a “communion of saints” together?

Should the Protestant Reformation have occurred? That is our question for today! A Protestant theologian and a Catholic theologian try to persuade us of their respective visions.

We're sticking with "the communion of the saints," to continue understanding what happened to the Church throughout history. This week, we're taking it all the way up to the year 2020!

Do we have too many churches? The debate is on!

What is more central to Christian practice and belief than our creedal phrase for this week, “the forgiveness of sins”?

We bring back Pastor Dom and let him have it with some of the most difficult questions we can think of regarding the issue of forgiveness!

What do Christians believe about the resurrection? What does this doctrine matter? Are we really going to keep our bodies?

Is “the Rapture” a thing? We debate!

We continue with themes of the body and resurrection with our next-to-last Creedal phrase: “the life everlasting”!

Are Christians supposed to see the material world as lower than or subordinate to the spiritual realm? Two scholars debate. Over Zoom. Dr. Joseph Clair, Dean of the College of Christian Studies, versus Dr. Abigail Favale, Director of the William Penn Honors Program, George Fox University.

Dr. Nijay Gupta brings it in for a landing: more content on "the life everlasting" and the final Amen!

The crew gets back together one more time for a final Amen.

Welcome to our end-of-week teaching and podcast element! We’re calling it the “THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN.” Each week, we’ll debate a different topic at the intersection of (a) our week’s topic, (b) pop culture, and (c) the Bible and faith. This week: it’s Dr. Payne vs. Dr. Doak on the question: Are “specialty Bibles” good or bad for faith? Here are some examples of the “speciality Bibles” we’re talking about: New Everyday Life BibleThe Athlete’s BibleTim Lahaye’s Prophecy Study BibleFaith Girlz

For this first in the series of “I Need to Know More” weekly podcasts, your four teaching professors all get together to kick things off! We discuss this week’s main video lecture by Dr. Brian Doak on the BIBLE. What is the text, physically? How does it get presented to us? How do Christians uphold their view that the text is sacred and holy? Dr. Doak gives another shot at going deeper on some concepts around canon and translation. These “I Need to Know More” podcasts are predicated on listeners have already watched the corresponding main lecture video for the week! Here is the YouTube playlist with all of those videos: https://bit.ly/2CpgYEI.

Should readers of the Bible expect to find Noah’s ark, in reality, on top of a mountain in the Middle East? What might be the advantages and disadvantages of such a quest? Dr. Payne and Dr. Doak debate. Our artifact for the week is the “Ark Encounter” exhibit in Kentucky: https://arkencounter.com/And also related phenomena, like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-kAgfh_-oSY

Dr. Doak and Dr. Payne follow up on this week’s lecture, which covers Genesis chs. 1-11. In particular, they read Genesis ch 3, verses 1-7, in search of knowledge about the snake, gender, and who is at fault for humanity’s first sin.

This week we’re discussing one of the most dreaded and revered concepts at Christian colleges: the “ring by spring” phenomenon. Students talk about it at George Fox. They talk about it at Gonzaga. And it is apparently also the title of a Hallmark movie. We use the concept as a bridge to thinking about the romantic relationships between the ancestors in Genesis chs. 12–50: Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob and Rachel and Leah, Joseph and Asenath. And…others. Were these marriages “good” marriages? What should we make of their methods of engagement (often in arranged marriages)? Dr. Doak and Dr. Payne debate.

This week we bring Dr. Sarita Edwards into the studio to discuss the ANCESTORS in Genesis chs. 12-50. How do we feel about the notion that God chooses some people…and not others? Do you have more sympathy for Sarah or Hagar in their dispute in Genesis chs. 16 and 21?

Should the 10 Commandments from Exodus ch. 20 be displayed in public spaces in America today? WE DEBATE.This week’s artifact: The story of a Montana man who took down the 10 Commandments. Here is one version of the storyAnd here is another

This week we’re tackling two topics and lectures! First, the EXODUS, the story of Moses and the freeing of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. Second, the LAW, the set of commandments the people receive at Mt. Sinai. Dr. Payne and Dr. Doak engage in an extended close reading of a strange ritual. Here is the lecture on the EXODUS that you need to watch first, and here is the one on LAW.

Your professors gather around the podcasting table to discuss this week’s topic, LAND (please watch the lecture on this topic before listening to this podcast!). We ask Dr. Edwards to say more about some specific points in the lecture, Dr. Doak offers alternate ways to think about the justifications for war in the book of Joshua, and we engage in a close reading of a strange little story.

Does God have a favorite place on earth? Are some places more holy than others? Is the land of Israel still God’s “chosen land,” today? Join us for a civil discussion. Our artifact—which we failed to mention in the podcast itself!—is: Basically any story about the land of Israel over the past several decades! You can easily find all kinds of material about this all over YouTube, the news, etc. So we’re going to let you fill that in on your own. You can do it.

Following up on Dr. Doak’s lecture, KINGDOM, we take another shot at summarizing and discussing this wide range of materials, all telling the story of Israel once they enter the land in 1 Samuel all the way through the demise of the kingship and the nation at the end of 2 Kings. And then there are a lot of books authored or spoken by “prophets,” also. Our close reading engages with a classic prophetic scene. Join us.

There are prophets in the Bible—many of them. Christians today claim the Bible is their authoritative book, setting a pattern for life and practice. However: Are there prophets today, in the Biblical sense of the word “prophet”? How would we know? Why would there be? Why would there not be? Some Christians think yes, others, no. Our artifact for discussion: A story in the Washington Post from 2020 featuring a man who claims he is, in fact, a “prophet” today. If you browse around on the internet for a while, you can find many more examples, too.***Episode note: For reasons we don’t understand, this episode gets cut off at the end, just before Dr. Doak reveals his true view! We have no clue how it happened and our original recording file itself gets cut off at this point. Super weird, and we apologize. For the record, Dr. Doak’s view on this is similar to (even if not exactly like) the view he argued in the debate portion.

Dr. Joseph Clair joins us for a rousing lecture on POETRY in the Bible, following his lecture on this very topic. Why does God seem to love poetry so much? We discuss, with a close reading of Psalms 1 and 2.

Is the Song of Songs supposed to be Rated R…or Rated A(llegory)? We argue about it. The artifact in question? A book by a Christian megachurch pastor called Sexperiment: 7 Days to Lasting Intimacy. Listen at your own risk, away from the kids.

Dr. Doak and Dr. Payne sit down to talk about how they felt when they first left home for college, and imagine, inspired by our material from the Bible this week, what it might be like to experience EXILE (be sure to watch the main lecture video on EXILE before listening to this podcast!). We discuss numerous texts and issues, haggle about the politics of people left in the land vs. people taken away from the land, converse about the tears that flow when the new Temple construction begins, and read a provocative text loaded with double entendre.

Why do people suffer? The painful problem of the exile raises this question in numerous ways. See the video lecture on EXILE for this week. Do people suffer because of their own actions, or are there other mysterious forces at work? Is the “act-consequence nexus” the best way to think about morality? Dr. Doak and Dr. Payne debate, and we provide a bonus discussion at the beginning about the issue of how and why Christians can debate with each other. Our artifact for the week: “Five natural disasters God sent to punish us,” an article discussing different times Christians and others have affirmed the “act-consequence nexus” as a way of understanding God’s activity in the world and our suffering.

Should Christians be getting hard-core into politics? How or why would we do that? It’s a constant hot topic. Perhaps people are even debating this now. Our pop culture artifact: Christian worship music empire and popular Australian church group “Hillsong” tweets out some politically charged comments about U.S. politics and then deletes the tweet and apologizes.

We’re all about the gospel of Mark this week. In this episode, we unpack Dr. Payne’s lecture, CHRIST, in which she takes us on a tour through Mark. We talk about the surprising political background behind terms such as “savior” and “good news” (gospel) in Jesus’ time, and we engage in a reading of a series of stories in Mark that display one of Mark’s most frequent literary devices (“intercalation”).

“Jesus saves”—OK, but what does that mean? And what is the role of doubt? We go deeper, building on Dr. Doak’s lecture, SAVIOR. We read a famous and often misunderstood text. Join us.

With every head bowed, and every eye closed…just raise your hand… In this episode of the Smackdown, we’re discussing the idea of a “sinner’s prayer.” Is this the way into faith? For our artifact: We started the podcast with numerous artifacts actually unrelated to this week’s debate, such as the Phil Collins album that is considered one of the worst of all time (“Testify”), the Phil Collins song “Hero,” and Christian appropriations of pop songs (such as this Christian version of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep”……). However, here are examples of an artifact on the topic of the sinner’s prayer, all images drawn from the internet—some serious, some satirical: Sinner’s prayer art on PintrestSinner’s prayer cardSinner’s prayer cartoonBook: J. D. Greear, Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart

The book of Acts and the story of Philip is our focus in this week’s podcast. We invite Dr. Sarita Edwards into the studio to follow up on her lecture, SPIRIT, and we discuss what inspires us, the meaning of eunuchs, missionary activity, and more. Also: Can people be teleported?

All Christians believe that God is present and active in the world today. But how active, and in what ways? Should we be praying for miracles constantly? Just sometimes? What would be the Christian case for not seeking miracles or seeing God as normally intervening in our world? We debate in front of a live audience, from the Spring 2020 THEO class in Bauman auditorium! Moderated by Dr. Sarita Edwards. THE ARTIFACT: from Buzzfeed news, “The Evangelical Parents of a Young Girl Who Died are Using Social Media to Ask for Her Resurrection”

Here is an important affirmation for Christians: Jesus Saves. But an important question arises: How? This week, we go into the THEO archives for a live debate in Bauman Auditorium in front of hundreds of students on the question: Is the “penal substitution” theory of the atonement the best way to answer this question of how Jesus saves? GFU professors Dr. Javier Garcia and Dr. Nijay Gupta take the stage in a spirited exchange. IF YOU WANT MORE BACKGROUND ON PENAL SUBSTITUTION, here you go. (Dr. Garcia begins his part of the debate mostly assuming you already know what it is.)OUR ARTIFACT: “Jesus Saves” bumper stickers

Dr. Sarita Edwards is back into the studio to talk about the LETTERS of Paul in the New Testament. We talk about some of the locations where people lived who first received these letters, and we engage in a reading and discussion of an intriguing passage for Christian decision making in the first century AD—and today. Also: Was the Apostle Paul cranky?

We take up a topic Christians have debated for centuries: hell. Should we think of hell as “eternal conscious torment,” that is, unbelievers tossed head over heels into the fire to suffer forever, or is hell…something else? Is hell temporary? How might we think about the ethics of hell in light of a loving God? Artifact for the week: “Farewell Rob Bell” (a tweet by Pastor John Piper, condemning Rob Bell and his book Love Wins)

We invite Dr. Joseph Clair into the podcasting bunker because we need to know more about his lecture on the topic of Christian PRACTICE as it appears in the New Testament. We think together about the concept of Christian ethics and moral behavior. Dr. Payne asks an uncomfortable question which Dr. Clair and Dr. Doak struggle to answer.

Jesus returns to defeat evil: it’s the book of Revelation, our stunning last stop on this tour through the Christian Bible. Whose name is written on your head?

Have you heard of “the rapture”? Maybe, maybe not! But we’re going to tell you all about it, and then debate it. A fitting end to our journey through the Bible, arriving, finally, at the APOCALYPSE. Our artifact: A poster Dr. Doak saw at Fred Meyer, for a rapture-themed paintball contest

This week, we talk about why learning about the Bible is just the starting point for understanding the depth and breadth of Christianity. WHY we should study the history of Christianity and why we should think about big theological ideas? And what sorts of things were some of the earliest Christians in Syria thinking about in the first century? Listen here to find out!

Just google “Christian sandwich board” and you’ll see a lot of pictures of Christians standing with giant signs proclaiming a version of the Christian message. But should they? Most Christians agree that getting the good news out to the world is important. How should evangelism be done? Public preaching like in the book of Acts? Or should we let our actions speak first? Dr. Doak and Dr. Payne take up the question of getting the news about Jesus out in the world - one way or another!

This week we are learning about how Christians worshipped in the Middle Ages, and the important role that the church played in the daily lives regular people. This week, Drs. Doak and Payne talk about their favorite sacraments, how Christians read the Bible in the Middle Ages, and the writings, art, and theological visions of Hildegard von Bingen!