InterChristianity

Recorded a week after the SBC's Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Angela, Isak, and Z discuss the controversial removal of Rick Warren's church, Saddleback, from the convention due to them having female pastors. Was this a justified removal? Are there good arguments in favor of allowing wider disagreement? How and when should Christians draw lines of distinction? Angela, who holds the title of an associate pastor at her church, also reflects on what this issue means for her personally as well as for her church. Feedback, disagreement, and other comments are always welcome at interchristianity@gmail.com and on the website at interchristianity.wordpress.com.

Angela, Isak, and Z return to wrap up the previous two counseling episodes and give our stances on both biblical and Christian counseling, processing the things our guests said as well as things that we have studied or experienced ourselves. Also, we discuss how we approach counseling as people in ministry and give some advice on how particularly Asian churches can change how they view and discuss counseling. It's always great to hear from listeners, so feedback welcome at interchristianity@gmail.com or interchristianity@wordpress.com. You can also respond to our Instagram feed.

In our second counseling episode, Angela, Isak, and Zephaniah interview Dr. Kelly Mark, a Christian psychologist who has her own private practice. We ask her how she responds to biblical counselors, how she seeks to help her clients, and how she thinks churches can do better to help people with mental problems in their midst. Is psychology ever necessary? Why isn't the Bible sufficient to tackle all mental issues someone may have? We ask these questions and more. Don't forget to subscribe, and questions or comments are welcome at interchristianity@gmail.com or interchristianity.wordpress.com.

Angela and Isak address the internal debate in the Church between "biblical" counseling and "Christian" counseling. To give the biblical counseling side first, we talk to a biblical counselor, John Rhee, and ask him why he lands on the side that he does despite having some experience going to a Christian counseling. What do "biblical" and "Christian" counseling mean? What's wrong with Christian counseling? In what sense is the Bible "sufficient"? We ask him these questions and more. We will be releasing an interview with a Christian counselor next to give that side of the debate, so stay tuned for that! Don't forget to subscribe. We welcome comments or questions at interchristianity@gmail.com or interchristianity.wordpress.com.

Angela and Isak are back to discuss how Christians should handle doubt with one of Isak's former professors, Dr. Travis Dickinson. Dr. Dickinson is a philosopher who specializes in epistemology and has done work on the topics of faith and doubt, including his newest book, Wandering Toward God: Finding Faith Amid Doubts and Big Questions. He joins us to share some of his own personal story of doubt as well as to tackle various questions such as how to define doubt and faith, how should churches help their people with doubts, and how to approach buzzwords like deconstruction. It's a must listen from an experienced teacher! Don't forget to subscribe or leave feedback at interchristianity@gmail.com or the website, interchristianity.wordpress.com.

Angela, Isak, and Z record a special episode discussing Halloween, a seemingly harmless holiday with a colorful history. Should Christians celebrate Halloween despite its pagan origins and current importance to witches? Is doing so unwise, ignoring the very real threat of demonic activity? Or is there a way to leverage Halloween for Christian purposes? Also, Isak confesses that he reads about serial killers, Angela confesses she is afraid of horror movies, and Z confesses that he played Pokémon behind his mother's back. If you want more context for that, give this episode a listen :). Questions and comments welcome at interchristianity@gmail.com and interchristianity.wordpress.com.

Angela and Isak talk to Dave Lee, a local pastor who is planting a multiethnic church. We discuss the theological basis for multiethnic church, what led Dave in this direction, and what the benefits and challenges are of multiethnic church. Should Christians abandon monoethnic church in favor of multiethnic church? How can Christians who are in multiethnic churches approach the significant differences in culture between different groups? We talk about these questions and more with Dave. Don't forget to subscribe, and questions and comments are welcome at interchristianity@gmail.com and interchristianity.wordpress.com.

Recorded a few weeks ago, Angela and Isak discuss the recent suspension of Matt Chandler, who was found to be having an "inappropriate" though non-romantic online relationship with a female friend. We talk about how The Village Church handled the matter and what "brother-sister" relationships are supposed to look like between men and women in the Church. Was what Chandler even did that bad? How cautious should Christians be with friendships with the opposite sex? We talk about these questions and more. Don't forget to subscribe! Questions and comments welcome at interchristianity@gmail.com and interchristianity.wordpress.com.

Angela and Isak talk about online, virtual church with Zer, online pastor of Fielder Church in Arlington, TX. Online church was not new but became very common since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, and some argue that this is a positive development that shows that the church is utilizing the technology of the times. Others, however, disagree, and think that just like virtual reality is not the real thing, virtual church is not real church and should be avoided now that lockdowns have ceased. How should Christians think about online community, and in what ways can we use the benefits of modern technology while avoiding its pitfalls? Zer brings a wealth of experience and study to this topic for an enlightening discussion. Feedback and questions are always welcome at interchristianity@gmail.com and interchristianity.wordpress.com.

Angela and Isak come together to discuss the recent sexual abuse report about the Southern Baptist Convention. Since we both went to an SBC seminary and currently serve in SBC churches, we felt like this was an issue that deserved an episode to address. How systematic and deep is sexual abuse in the SBC, or has the issue been overblown? Is it a theological or cultural problem? And how can Christians identify sexual abusers in our churches and take steps to prevent them from abusing anyone? This is not a fun topic to discuss, but we hope to honor God and respect victims by honestly confronting sin in our midst. Feedback and questions welcome at interchristianity@gmail.com or at our website at interchristianity.wordpress.com.

Angela, Isak, and Z talk to one of Angela's friends, a medical student, about the legality of abortions. She actually argues that the wisest, most compassionate position for Christians to take is to be pro-choice and not seek any laws that restrict or prohibit abortions. We discuss her medical point of view on the topic and whether there can be a well-crafted abortion law that reasonably takes into account certain agreed-upon exceptions. Throughout the discussion, we try to model what it's like to have civil disagreement between brothers and sisters in Christ on such difficult topics. Subscribe, and questions and feedback are welcome at interchristianity@gmail.com or at our website at interchristianity.wordpress.com.

After a bit of a hiatus, Angela, Isak, and Z are back to talk about the difficult subject of Old Testament violence, particularly the conquest passages. We are joined by Isak's friend Theo who takes a bit of a different approach than we do in handling those passages, opting to deny that God really commanded such conquests and instead say that the inspired author of those passages may have made a mistake. Is this an acceptable view for Christians? If not, how can Christians approach such passages in a way that preserves the historical truth of Scripture while maintaining God's goodness? Don't forget to subscribe, and questions and comments are always welcome at our email at interchristianity@gmail.com or our webiste at interchristianity.wordpress.com

Angela, Isak, and Zephaniah are back to briefly discuss the recent resignation of Hillsong founding pastor Brian Houston amid his own controversy, joining Hillsong, NY former Carl Lentz as having to leave the ministry due to immoral behavior. Is there a cultural or theological problem in Hillsong, and if so, how should Christians approach the very popular megachurch? Should we use their catchy and moving songs and should we recommend their churches? We address these questions and more. Questions and comments welcome at interchristianity@gmail.com or interchristianity.wordpress.com.

Angela, Isak, and Zephaniah are back with another TikTok theology react episode! Since we picked on more non-Christians or progressive Christians last time, we decided to be fair and examine what other conservative evangelicals are putting out there. We even look at a couple of fundamentalists! We discuss how accurate we feel these videos are and if and how Christians can use a medium like TikTok to spread theology. This episode is better experienced as a video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5B3lblxc6M. But it is also available here as audio. Visit our website at interchristianity.wordpress.com or email us at interchristianity@gmail.com to ask questions and give feedback.

Angela, Isak, and Zephaniah are joined by Richard McKay, the mobilization pastor of Fielder Road Church, to talk about the accusation that missions has largely been a harmful, imperialistic, and colonizing force for "whiteness." We discuss the history of missions before tackling how it can be done well in the present and future, with an eye towards being Gospel-focused and culturally aware. Feedback welcome at interchristianity@gmail.com or the website at interchristianity.wordpress.com.

Angela, Isak, and Zephaniah are back to discuss the touchy issue of abortion. What can we glean from the Bible on this topic, and what distinctions should we make between our moral and political views on abortion? Should we call it "murder"? Is there room for Christians to disagree with each other on abortion? And what can the church do to better minister to mothers and reduce the number of abortions, regardless of laws in the books? Don't forget to subscribe, and feedback and questions are always welcome!

We're back to discuss the theological system of Calvinism, particularly its doctrine of salvation that is summarized in the popular acronym of TULIP. What is it, and how strong are the arguments for it? Must Christians be Calvinists to be biblical? And what difference can such a theological debate make for practical ministry? Listen to Isak play the part of the Calvinist in explaining the doctrines while Angela and Zephaniah present opposing opinions. Subscribe, and questions and comments are always welcome at interchristianity@gmail.com and interchristianity.wordpress.com!

Angela, Isak, and Zephaniah are back to react to some viral TikTok theology videos! This is actually a video episode, so while you can listen to the audio here, you can also check out the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/zKk_xTay_3w. If you have any more videos that we can react to, let us know! We hope you have a Merry Christmas this year and a good start to 2022. Questions and comments welcome at our website (interchristianity.wordpress.com) and our email (interchristianity@gmail.com).

Angela, Isak, and Zephaniah are back to discuss our experiences as Asian-Americans in Asian immigrant churches, Asian-American ministries, and "white" or multicultural evangelicalism as a whole. Is there an Asian-American identity that needs to be specifically ministered to? Should Asian-Americans have their own churches or seek to integrate in either the immigrant church or the American church? What role do Asian-Americans have in a primarily white Western Christianity moving forward? We discuss these questions and more, and we hope it is an encouraging episode to our Asian-American listeners as well as informative for those who are not Asian. Subscribe, and also leave feedback at interchristianity@gmail.com or interchristianity.wordpress.com.

Angela, Isak, and Zephaniah are back to talk about the difficult topic of hell. The doctrine of hell is often cited as a clear indication that the Christian God cannot be good, but is such a criticism correct? We address this criticism and also talk about whether alternative views of hell other than the traditional one are acceptable for biblical Christians to hold. We then discuss how Christians can talk about hell effectively and graciously while sharing the Gospel. Please subscribe and send questions or comments to interchristianity@gmail.com or on the site at interchristianity.wordpress.com.

Angela, Isak, and Zephaniah are back to discuss the hot topic of transgenderism. They first discuss the ideas of sex and gender biblically and theologically before moving on to transgender arguments and practical matters of ministry. Is there a hard divorce between sex and gender? Did God leave room for a third sex in Genesis? Why are redheads being brought up? And should Christians use people's preferred pronoun if it differs from their biological sex? We address these questions and more. Please subscribe and give feedback or ask questions at interchristianity@gmail.com or interchristianity.wordpress.com!

Angela, Isak, and Z are back to discuss how we think Christians should approach politics in a way that is more informed, charitable, and civil. We talk about having a kingdom-minded general approach to government and partisan politics before discussing how to have better dialogue regarding politics as Christians. We then talk about a few specific issues like the recent Texas abortion law, vaccine mandates, gay marriage, and Donald Trump. Feedback and questions always welcome at interchristianity@gmail.com and interchristianity.wordpress.com.

After a bit of a hiatus, Angela, Z, and Isak are back to discuss evangelical "purity culture" and the criticisms of it that it is legalistic and sexist. Discussion on purity culture increased last March when self-professed Christian Robert Aaron Long open fired on an Asian spa in Atlanta, citing his own struggle with sexual sin as the reason he was targeting the women there. Critics argued that this showed that Christian purity culture absolves men of responsibility while placing it on women. Is this true? What are we to make of the apparent double-standards of modesty and behavior between men and women? What's the distinction between biblical purity and purity culture? We discuss these topics and more. Feedback and questions welcome at interchristianity@gmail.com as well as on the website at interchristianity.wordpress.com.

Join us for a special episode where Angela interviews her friend Leah about Leah's experience in a church where the pastor committed spiritual (and sexual) abuse (1:47). She talks about how she got into the church, how she got caught up in the culture, and how she ultimately processed her faith after the pastor's scandal came out. Afterwards, Z, Isak, and Angela discuss our reactions to the interview (30:43): What is spiritual abuse, what signs are there of it, and what can be done to combat it? We also talk a bit about Covenant Fellowship Church (CFC) in Chicago and the spiritual abuse accusations surrounding their former pastor, Min Chung. Subscribe if you haven't already and leave any feedback or questions at our website at interchristianity.wordpress.com or email address at interchristianity@gmail.com!

Angela, Isak, and Z return for an additional episode addressing the issue of homosexuality and the church, responding to feedback for Part 1 and focusing more on practical questions such as identity, singleness, community, and outreach. Should Christians with same-sex attraction call themselves "gay Christians"? How can the church foster a better sense of family overall for singles, especially gay brothers and sisters? Should Christians attend gay weddings? We address these questions and more. Feedback is always welcome and we do take it seriously! You can email us at interchristianity@gmail.com or comment at interchristianity.wordpress.com.

Angela, Isak, and Zephaniah return to talk about what the Bible says about gay relationships. There is no question that the Church has largely failed to effectively and lovingly minister to gay people, but does avoiding bigotry require abandoning traditional sexual ethics? Do relatively new arguments, such as the popular 1946 argument, succeed in refuting historical interpretations of the Bible on homosexuality? How do we balance speaking truth with civil dialogue? We talk about the biblical arguments and then offer some practical advice as we tackle this touchy subject. Feedback and questions welcome at interchristianity@gmail.com as well as on the website at interchristianity.wordpress.com.

In this episode, Angela, Isak, and Z discuss what the Bible says about women in leadership positions in the church and family and whether one's position on that subject has implications for potential abuse and misogyny in the church. They also talk about what conservative churches can do to curb bad attitudes towards women that might arise out of a simplistic understanding of complementarianism. Subscribe and leave feedback! We'd love to hear questions and comments.

Angela, Isak, and Z are back to discuss the controversial issue of critical race theory (CRT), a philosophy that has influenced academia, business, art, and movements like Black Lives Matter. It has also been influential in the church, particularly among the younger generations. Is CRT compatible with biblical views of justice and identity? Does it have any useful insights about race? How should Christians approach racial issues? We talk about these questions and more, aiming for charity but also clarity and truth.

Angela, Isak, and Z get together again to discuss the phenomenon of Christian apostasy, Christians who walk away from the faith. In recent years, there have been several semi-famous Christians who have publicly renounced the faith due to various reasons, so we talk about whether true apostasy is possible, whether one's position on the subject makes any practical difference, and what churches can do better to combat this problem.

This podcast strives to be "biblical," so it's worth asking what is meant by that going forward. In this episode, Angela, Isak, and Z discuss how they approach the Bible, what difference it makes compared to how other Christians approach the Bible, and how they account for interpretive differences.

Progressive Christianity is a movement or branch in Christianity that has gained popularity over the last few years, especially through its proliferation on social media. In this episode, Angela, Isak, and Zephaniah define, summarize, and evaluate progressive Christianity and discuss its approach to Scripture and salvation juxtaposed to an evangelical approach. Be sure to subscribe!

Recorded in late February, Angela, Isak, and Z discuss their reactions to the Ravi Zacharias scandal, how to view his works, whether there is a general attitude problem towards women in evangelicalism, and how Christians can avoid such major sin in the first place. This episode was Part 2 of another episode that talked more about Carl Lentz, the former pastor at Hillsong, NY, (which is referenced in this episode), but that episode will not be uploaded due to sound issues.

Isak, Angela, and Z discuss the recent rise of Asian hate crimes and how Christians can evaluate and respond to them differently than the typical political narratives from both sides of the aisle.

Come listen to meet the hosts of this podcast! You'll hear a little bit of background for Isak, Zephaniah, and Angela, and you'll also hear the motivations for starting this podcast.