Podcasts about mere orthodoxy

Send us Fan MailMatt, Derek, and Alastair discuss the struggles and misconceptions surrounding prayer: how prayer becomes burdensome, prayer has experiencing God in a veiled way, and what petitions in prayer should we not ask for?Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, The Pursuit of Character: Recovering the Virtues, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelity

Produced by Coram Deo Church in partnership with Mere Orthodoxy.To follow along, please visit  https://mereorthodoxy.com/daily-liturgy.Ordinary Time - Genesis 37:1-28, Matthew 14:22-36, Psalm 14Writers: Mike Kresnik, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Tyler AndersonNarrators: Charlotte Bertrand, Gary Nebeker, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Kevin HuddlestonMusic: Lens Distortions -  https://lensdistortions.comProduction: Mike Kresnik, Bethany Gilbert, Zach LeeSources: The Worship Sourcebook; The Valley of Vision; The Book of Common Prayer; + original contributions by the authors.To follow along, please visit https://mereorthodoxy.com/daily-liturgy.

Produced by Coram Deo Church in partnership with Mere Orthodoxy.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.Ordinary Time - Jeremiah 23:1-8, Hebrews 11:1-28, Psalm 145:1-13Writers: Mike Kresnik, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Tyler AndersonNarrators: Charlotte Bertrand, Gary Nebeker, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Kevin HuddlestonMusic: Lens Distortions -  https://lensdistortions.comProduction: Mike Kresnik, Bethany Gilbert, Zach LeeSources: The Worship Sourcebook; The Valley of Vision; The Book of Common Prayer; + original contributions by the authors.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.

Produced by Coram Deo Church in partnership with Mere Orthodoxy.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.Ordinary Time - Isaiah 1, Ephesians 2:1-22, Psalm 89:19-27Writers: Mike Kresnik, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Tyler AndersonNarrators: Charlotte Bertrand, Gary Nebeker, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Kevin HuddlestonMusic: Lens Distortions -  https://lensdistortions.comProduction: Mike Kresnik, Bethany Gilbert, Zach LeeSources: The Worship Sourcebook; The Valley of Vision; The Book of Common Prayer; + original contributions by the authors.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.

Produced by Coram Deo Church in partnership with Mere Orthodoxy.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.Ordinary Time - 2 Samuel 7:18-29, Romans 9, Psalm 50Writers: Mike Kresnik, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Tyler AndersonNarrators: Charlotte Bertrand, Gary Nebeker, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Kevin HuddlestonMusic: Lens Distortions -  https://lensdistortions.comProduction: Mike Kresnik, Bethany Gilbert, Zach LeeSources: The Worship Sourcebook; The Valley of Vision; The Book of Common Prayer; + original contributions by the authors.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.

Produced by Coram Deo Church in partnership with Mere Orthodoxy.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.Ordinary Time - 2 Samuel 7:1-17, Luke 11:37-53, Psalm 33:13-22Writers: Mike Kresnik, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Tyler AndersonNarrators: Charlotte Bertrand, Gary Nebeker, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Kevin HuddlestonMusic: Lens Distortions -  https://lensdistortions.comProduction: Mike Kresnik, Bethany Gilbert, Zach LeeSources: The Worship Sourcebook; The Valley of Vision; The Book of Common Prayer; + original contributions by the authors.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.

Send us Fan MailWhat hath Enlightenment Liberalism wrought? According to Dr. Yoram Hazony, chairman of the Edmund Burke Foundation, it has led us to the place we are today where Neo-Marxism is ascendant and we cannot conceive a higher good than consent. What's the alternative? National Conservatism. Listen to this lively conversation with Derek, Alastair, Matt, and Dr. Hazony. Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, The Pursuit of Character: Recovering the Virtues, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelity

Produced by Coram Deo Church in partnership with Mere Orthodoxy.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.Ordinary Time - Genesis 32:22-31, Mark 6:30-52, Psalm 23Writers: Mike Kresnik, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Tyler AndersonNarrators: Charlotte Bertrand, Gary Nebeker, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Kevin HuddlestonMusic: Lens Distortions -  https://lensdistortions.comProduction: Mike Kresnik, Bethany Gilbert, Zach LeeSources: The Worship Sourcebook; The Valley of Vision; The Book of Common Prayer; + original contributions by the authors.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.

Produced by Coram Deo Church in partnership with Mere Orthodoxy.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.Ordinary Time - Genesis 15, Matthew 14:1-21, Psalm 17Writers: Mike Kresnik, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Tyler AndersonNarrators: Charlotte Bertrand, Gary Nebeker, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Kevin HuddlestonMusic: Lens Distortions -  https://lensdistortions.comProduction: Mike Kresnik, Bethany Gilbert, Zach LeeSources: The Worship Sourcebook; The Valley of Vision; The Book of Common Prayer; + original contributions by the authors.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.

Produced by Coram Deo Church in partnership with Mere Orthodoxy.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.Ordinary Time - Amos 7:7-15, Colossians 3:1-17, Psalm 119:25-48Writers: Mike Kresnik, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Tyler AndersonNarrators: Charlotte Bertrand, Gary Nebeker, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Kevin HuddlestonMusic: Lens Distortions -  https://lensdistortions.comProduction: Mike Kresnik, Bethany Gilbert, Zach LeeSources: The Worship Sourcebook; The Valley of Vision; The Book of Common Prayer; + original contributions by the authors.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.

Produced by Coram Deo Church in partnership with Mere Orthodoxy.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.Ordinary Time - Hosea 11:1-11, Ephesians 1, Psalm 105:1-22Writers: Mike Kresnik, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Tyler AndersonNarrators: Charlotte Bertrand, Gary Nebeker, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Kevin HuddlestonMusic: Lens Distortions -  https://lensdistortions.comProduction: Mike Kresnik, Bethany Gilbert, Zach LeeSources: The Worship Sourcebook; The Valley of Vision; The Book of Common Prayer; + original contributions by the authors.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.

We're continuing our summer series with an episode about the state of the church, highlighting favorite conversations from The Bulletin archive. Daniel Silliman, Russell Moore, and Mike Cosper discuss trends in Americans' religiosity and spirituality from a 2025 Pew survey. Then, Beth Moore joins the show to talk about the importance of Sunday School for adults, and why small groups may not be meeting the same needs. Finally, church planter and author of the book The Reason for Church Brad Edwards sits down with Mike to talk about why he encouraged his congregation to briefly stop inviting others to church, the danger of viewing church as a vehicle for Christian self-actualization, and why physical participation in the gospel narrative is vital. REFERENCED IN THE SHOW: The Hartford Institute for Religion Research's report on congregational health since the pandemic. GO DEEPER WITH THE BULLETIN: Join the conversation at our Substack. Find us on YouTube. Rate and review the show in your podcast app of choice. ABOUT THE GUESTS: Daniel Silliman is a journalist and a historian. He is the news editor for Christianity Today, the author of a religious biography of Richard Nixon, and a teacher of humanities at Milligan University. Beth Moore is a dynamic teacher whose conferences take her across the globe. She has written numerous best-selling books and Bible studies. She is also the founder and visionary of Living Proof Ministries, based in Houston. Brad Edwards is the lead pastor and church planter of The Table Church in Lafayette, Colorado. He is a regular contributor to Mere Orthodoxy and The Gospel Coalition, and he cohosts the podcast PostEverything. He is Christianity Today's 2025 Book of the Year winner for his book The Reason for Church. ABOUT THE BULLETIN: The Bulletin is a twice-weekly news analysis podcast from Christianity Today, with editor-at-large Russell Moore. Each episode offers commentary on current events and headlining news with a roundtable of premier guests, and shares a Christian perspective on issues that are shaping our world The Bulletin listeners get 25% off CT. Go to https://orderct.com/THEBULLETIN to learn more. “The Bulletin” is a production of Christianity Today Host: Alexa Copeland Associate Producer: Alexa Copeland Editing and Mix: Kevin Morris Graphic Design: Rick Szuecs Music: Dan Phelps Executive Producer: Erik Petrik Senior Producer: Matt Stevens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Produced by Coram Deo Church in partnership with Mere Orthodoxy.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.Ordinary Time - Ecclesiastes 2, Romans 8:26-39, Psalm 71:1-16 Writers: Mike Kresnik, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Tyler AndersonNarrators: Charlotte Bertrand, Gary Nebeker, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Kevin HuddlestonMusic: Lens Distortions -  https://lensdistortions.comProduction: Mike Kresnik, Bethany Gilbert, Zach LeeSources: The Worship Sourcebook; The Valley of Vision; The Book of Common Prayer; + original contributions by the authors.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.

Produced by Coram Deo Church in partnership with Mere Orthodoxy.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.Ordinary Time - Ecclesiastes 1, Luke 11:14-36, Psalm 49:13-20Writers: Mike Kresnik, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Tyler AndersonNarrators: Charlotte Bertrand, Gary Nebeker, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Kevin HuddlestonMusic: Lens Distortions -  https://lensdistortions.comProduction: Mike Kresnik, Bethany Gilbert, Zach LeeSources: The Worship Sourcebook; The Valley of Vision; The Book of Common Prayer; + original contributions by the authors.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.

Produced by Coram Deo Church in partnership with Mere Orthodoxy.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.Ordinary Time - 2 Samuel 6:1-19, Mark 6:14-29, Psalm 49:1-12Writers: Mike Kresnik, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Tyler AndersonNarrators: Charlotte Bertrand, Gary Nebeker, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Kevin HuddlestonMusic: Lens Distortions -  https://lensdistortions.comProduction: Mike Kresnik, Bethany Gilbert, Zach LeeSources: The Worship Sourcebook; The Valley of Vision; The Book of Common Prayer; + original contributions by the authors.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.

A serial Guinness World Record holder from Idaho just balanced 195 rolls of toilet paper on his forehead for 30 seconds — and Brian From is genuinely impressed by the teamwork involved. From there, a rich and timely piece from Mere Orthodoxy on rest: Americans have accepted a mindset where busyness is the norm and vacation is the only escape valve, but that's not what Jesus modeled or taught. Sabbath isn't a two-week getaway once a year — it's a regular rhythm woven into the week, the month, the season. Brian challenges listeners to identify where rest actually fits in their daily lives, not just when they can afford to disappear. Then a meditation on Romans 11:33-36 and the great "therefore" of Romans 12:1 — in view of God's mercy, offer your bodies as a living sacrifice — unpacking what it means that our entire response to the gospel is worship, not performance. A pointed segment on the fine line between conviction and condemnation, and why so many Christians live under shame that scripture never intended for them to carry. And a closing devotion from the late Dr. Charles Stanley on loneliness — drawing on Elijah on Mount Sinai, Jesus praying alone in Gethsemane while his disciples slept, and the handoff from Moses to a terrified Joshua — with a single, grounding promise underneath all of it: His companionship is real, present, and enough.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Produced by Coram Deo Church in partnership with Mere Orthodoxy.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.Ordinary Time - Genesis 29:1-28, Matthew 13:44-58, Psalm 24Writers: Mike Kresnik, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Tyler AndersonNarrators: Charlotte Bertrand, Gary Nebeker, Bob Thune, Darby Whealy, Kevin HuddlestonMusic: Lens Distortions -  https://lensdistortions.comProduction: Mike Kresnik, Bethany Gilbert, Zach LeeSources: The Worship Sourcebook; The Valley of Vision; The Book of Common Prayer; + original contributions by the authors.To follow along, please visit https://dailyliturgy.com.

Send us Fan MailOne of conservatism's brightest policy minds, Yuval Levin, joins us to talk about his book *The Fractured Republic.*—Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, The Pursuit of Character: Recovering the Virtues, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelity

In this episode, I'm joined by Rev. Hannah Miller King to discuss how understanding the Eucharist can change how we see the entirety of the Christian life. We talk about grief, community, and divisions in the church along the way as we explore what the Eucharist really means. Join Me on the Camino!: https://www.gospelsimplicity.com/pilgrimagePre-order my novel, The Long Road to Holy Island: https://amzn.to/4sISAC9Get access to my book club, one-on-one office hours, show notes, and more:  https://patreon.com/gospelsimplicity Make a one-time donation: https://paypal.me/gospelsimplicityBook a meeting: https://calendly.com/gospelsimplicity/meet-with-austinRead my writings: https://austinsuggs.substack.comAbout the Guest: Hannah Miller King is a priest and writer in the Anglican tradition. She has been a campus minister among conservatory musicians, an apartment minister in downtown Dallas, and a parish pastor in Northern Virginia and South Carolina. She currently serves as the Associate Rector at The Vine Anglican Church in Western North Carolina. She is a contributing writer for Christianity Today and Holy Post Media, and her work has appeared in Fathom Magazine, Mere Orthodoxy, The Living Church and Smoky Mountain News.  Her first book was published by InterVarsity Press in February 2026. Hannah holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Westminster Choir College and a Master of Arts in Religion from Redeemer Seminary. She is currently being schooled in the minutia of Star Wars (and other galactic battles between good and evil) by her three kids. Find Rev. Hannah on Substack: https://hannahmillerking.substack.com/?utm_campaign=profile_chipsSupport the show

In this episode, Soren speaks with Nadya Williams, author of Christians Reading Classics: An Introduction to Greco-Roman Classics from Homer to Boethius, about the importance of reading the pagan classics through a Christian lens. They explore how slow, attentive reading of ancient texts can shape moral imagination and civic virtue.Nadya is Books Editor at Mere Orthodoxy and Interim Director of the MFA in Creative Writing at Ashland University. Be sure to grab a copy of Christians Reading Classics wherever books are sold!

Send us Fan MailHow often do you think about denominations? Is this the way Jesus meant for the church to be? Are we actually united without realizing it? Derek, Brad, and Alistair examine the pros and cons of denominations, poke at Rome a little, and pursue authentic catholicity.  —Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, The Pursuit of Character: Recovering the Virtues, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelityRegister for Beeson Divinity School's 2026 Preaching Conference, July 14-16 in Birmingham, Alabama: https://www.samford.edu/beeson-divinity/preaching-institute/preaching-conference?utm_source=Mere+Orthodoxy&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=Preaching+Conference+2026

Can having a hobby help you connect more to the heart of God? In this episode, Barb is joined by author Brianna Lambert to talk about her book Created to Play and how our hobbies can become meaningful expressions of worship. They explore why play is often misunderstood in Christian culture, how it forms us spiritually, and the unique roles we step into through our hobbies—from creator and curator to restorer and connector. Brianna also invites us to see play not as a distraction from purpose, but as a pathway to delight, community, and deeper connection with God. If you've ever felt guilty for enjoying your hobbies or wondered how they fit into your faith, this conversation will give you a whole new perspective on joy, rest, and worship.   RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE Connect with Brianna on Instagram Created to Play: How Taking Hobbies Seriously Grows Us Spiritually Visit Brianna's Website   ABOUT OUR SPECIAL GUEST Brianna Lambert is a writer and author from a rural community outside Indianapolis. Her articles and essays have appeared in Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, Common Good, Mere Orthodoxy, and elsewhere. Brianna also serves on staff at Gospel-Centered Discipleship and writes for the women's ministry at her local church. You might find her backpacking, camping, waterskiing, or starting a brand-new hobby with her husband and three children.  

Send us Fan MailIf you only read what you know you'll agree with, how will you learn? But if you read something from another theological tradition, do you risk weakening your faith? In this episode, James Wood and Joseph Minich explore the importance of reading widely across Christian traditions, the role of ecumenism, and how to deepen your understanding within one's own tradition while remaining open to others. They discuss the value of tradition, truth, and the future of the church in a divided world.—Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, The Pursuit of Character: Recovering the Virtues, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelityRegister for Beeson Divinity School's 2026 Preaching Conference, July 14-16 in Birmingham, Alabama: https://www.samford.edu/beeson-divinity/preaching-institute/preaching-conference?utm_source=Mere+Orthodoxy&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=Preaching+Conference+2026

Send us Fan MailDerek and Brad interview each other about their foundational theological influences. Which thinkers gave them that spark? How did looking at footnotes lead to unexpected discoveries? What surprising influences led to drastic decisions? By looking at twists and turns that God used to bring them to the understanding they have now, you will be able to examine better what God is doing in your own life. —Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, The Pursuit of Character: Recovering the Virtues, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelityRegister for Beeson Divinity School's 2026 Preaching Conference, July 14-16 in Birmingham, Alabama: https://www.samford.edu/beeson-divinity/preaching-institute/preaching-conference?utm_source=Mere+Orthodoxy&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=Preaching+Conference+2026

Send us Fan MailLast month Pope Leo XIV published his first encyclical, titled Magnifica Humanitas, which addresses generative AI and the challenges it raises for human dignity, education, just war, good work, and much more. On this episode guest Brad Littlejohn joins regular co-hosts Derek Rishmawy and Brad East to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the encyclical as well as a host of other related questions.—Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, The Pursuit of Character: Recovering the Virtues, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelityRegister for Beeson Divinity School's 2026 Preaching Conference, July 14-16 in Birmingham, Alabama: https://www.samford.edu/beeson-divinity/preaching-institute/preaching-conference?utm_source=Mere+Orthodoxy&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=Preaching+Conference+2026

S10 E5—Where does racism come from? Many of us assume it's rooted in hatred or fear, but what if it's actually rooted in greed? As we approach Juneteenth, a day that commemorates freedom while reminding us of the work still before us, pastor and historian Malcolm Foley, PhD, joins Amy Julia Becker to talk about his book The Anti-Greed Gospel. He traces the roots of racism to economic exploitation and invites the church to respond with solidarity, truth-telling, and tangible love.00:00 Introduction to the Link Between Greed and Racism10:56 Ida B. Wells and the Power of Economic Appeals18:11 The Cycle of Exploitation and Status22:54 Creative Resistance to Exploitation, Violence, and Lies29:05 Economic Solidarity in Contemporary Church35:23 Examples of Creative Anti-Violence in ActionMENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:The Anti-Greed Gospel: Why the Love of Money Is the Root of Racism and How the Church Can Create a New Way Forward by Malcolm FoleyBook of RevelationMatthew 6:24Acts 2 and 4Philippians 2_SUBSCRIBE to Amy Julia's Substack: amyjuliabecker.substack.comWATCH this conversation on YouTube: Amy Julia Becker on YouTubeJOIN the conversation on Instagram: @amyjuliabeckerLISTEN to more episodes: amyjuliabecker.com/shows/_ABOUT OUR GUEST:Malcolm Foley (PhD, Baylor University) is a pastor, historian, and speaker who serves as special adviser to the president for equity and campus engagement at Baylor University. He has written for Christianity Today, The Anxious Bench, and Mere Orthodoxy. Foley copastors Mosaic Waco, a multicultural church in Waco, Texas, where he lives with his wife, Desiree.Insta & threads: @revdocmalc@BrazosPressWe want to hear your thoughts. Send us a text!Connect with me:InstagramFacebookYouTubeWebsiteThanks for listening! 

Richard Weaver was a twentieth century American scholar and rhetorician whose writings were praised by the likes of Russell Kirk, William F. Buckley, Willmoore Kendall, and Frank Meyer.  But nowadays Weaver is either derided as a racially charged Southern sympathizer or accused of preparing the way for the MAGA movement and authoritarianism.  If he's discussed at all. Joining Saving Elephants host Josh Lewis is Michael Lucchese, whose latest essay in Law and Liberty defends Weaver's contributions to the intellectual Right and argues his writings are still instructive for the conservative today.  This episode explores Weaver's actual views on the South and racism, his battles with the neo-gnostics of his day, his peculiar admiration for libertarians and Abraham Lincoln, and his greatest foe, William of Occam. Check out Michael's essay on Weaver, Turning the Clock Back Also, check out the book he edited compiling a collection of Russell Kirk's observations on America's founding, On America: How to Understand the Legacy of 1776   About Michael Lucchese From Pipe Creek Consulting Michael Lucchese is the founder and CEO of Pipe Creek Consulting, a communications firm based in Washington, D.C. He is also an associate editor of Law & Liberty and a contributing editor to Providence. He has been elected to membership in the Academy of Philosophy and Letters, the Ciceronian Society, and the Philadelphia Society, and serves on the board of the Institute for Christianity and Common Life, which publishes Mere Orthodoxy. Previously, he was a Krauthammer Fellow with the Tikvah Fund, a visiting scholar at Liberty Fund, and an aide to U.S. Senator Ben Sasse. His writing on national security, the conservative movement, and the American Founding has been published widely at outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, National Review, and the Washington Examiner. He graduated from Hillsdale College with a B.A. in American Studies, and is an alumnus of the Hudson Institute Political Studies Program.

Send us Fan MailA lot of us want institutions to be clean, brave, and instantly fixed and then we join one, try to lead, and discover the painful math of limited power, limited time, and real people. We take that tension head-on by talking about what we're calling the “Elijah syndrome”: the outsider's sense that the whole system is compromised and that faithfulness can only exist at a distance.-Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, The Pursuit of Character: Recovering the Virtues, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelityRegister for Beeson Divinity School's 2026 Preaching Conference, July 14-16 in Birmingham, Alabama: https://www.samford.edu/beeson-divinity/preaching-institute/preaching-conference?utm_source=Mere+Orthodoxy&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=Preaching+Conference+2026

Send us Fan Mail1776 gets treated like a patriotic shorthand, but it also works like a master key for the modern world. We sit down with Andrew Wilson to talk about Remaking the World and why one crowded year can illuminate the rise of the post-Christian West better than a thousand hot takes about the last decade.We unpack Andrew's “WEIRDER” framework (Western, educated, industrialized, rich, democratic, ex-Christian, romantic) and trace the seven shifts that propel it: globalization, Enlightenment thought, the Industrial Revolution, the Great Enrichment, democratic revolution, attempts to sideline Christianity while keeping its moral capital, and the spread of romanticism into everyday life. Along the way, we wrestle with a question Christians feel in their bones: how can a culture be shaped by Christianity and still try to move past it?—Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, The Pursuit of Character: Recovering the Virtues, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelityRegister for Beeson Divinity School's 2026 Preaching Conference, July 14-16 in Birmingham, Alabama: https://www.samford.edu/beeson-divinity/preaching-institute/preaching-conference?utm_source=Mere+Orthodoxy&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=Preaching+Conference+2026

Send us Fan MailIdolatry is one of those Bible words that can feel obvious until you try to use it carefully. We live far from Baal temples, yet we still talk about idols constantly and sometimes we label everything as an idol until the word loses its bite. Derek and Alastair slow down and rebuild the category from the ground up, starting where Scripture starts: the Ten Commandments, the golden calf, and the question of what it means to worship the true God rather than a controllable substitute.—Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, Classical Theism: A Christian Introduction, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelityApply for fall 2026 admission to Beeson Divinity School's MDiv and be considered for a full-tuition scholarship. https://bit.ly/beesonscholarships

Christina Hello, everyone, I'm Christina Darnell, the managing editor of MinistryWatch. Welcome to the MinistryWatch podcast. In today's extra episode, I talk with Warren Smith about some news items that are slightly (even significantly) outside of our normal charity and philanthropy “beat.” So, Warren, what's up first? Warren Fidelity Charitable has released an interesting study.  Among the findings: “Most pre-retiree and retiree givers (ages 50-80) are committed to giving and avidly supporting their favorite causes. Of the donors surveyed, over half of pre-retirees (56%) and retirees (59%) gave $1,000 or more—and 17% of all donors gave $5,000 or more—to IRS-qualified charities in 2023.” Christina Fidelity Charitable may think that level of support is “avid,” but it sounds pretty anemic to me. Warren It is. Retirees and so-called “pre-retirees” both give far less than the biblical tithe, or 10 percent of their income, taken in the aggregate. That said, working people in their 50s and 60s are often in their peak earning years, and often have their home paid for and their kids through school, so there is some evidence that they are giving more, just not a lot more relative to their income. Christina Any other interesting findings in this study? Warren The Fidelity study found that “more than three-quarters of these pre-retirees and retirees (78%) say that charitable giving plays a significant or pretty important role in their lives” and “almost one-quarter of pre-retirees and retirees (24%) say charitable giving is much more important than other financial priorities.” Christina Retirees are also spending more time as volunteers. Warren “In the last year, over two-thirds of pre-retirees (71%) and over half of retirees (55%) volunteered,” the report said. “Nearly 9 in 10 retired respondents who currently volunteer agree that volunteering is a way to remain active (88%) and connected (91%).” Christina Let's shift gears. The Anglican Church in North America has been in the news lately because of its chaplain corps. There was an ugly split a few months ago. But today, some good news. Warren Rear Admiral Carey H. Cash, an ACNA (Anglican Church in North America) chaplain, is the new Chief of Chaplains for the United States Navy Chaplain Corps. Rear Admiral Cash will provide spiritual leadership and pastoral oversight for Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard personnel and their families, strengthening spiritual readiness, moral resilience, and compassionate care in the midst of the unique challenges and demands of military service. Christina Warren, I already know that you are sucker for data and lists. Forbes magazine has a new list out, its annual list of billionaires. What can that list say, and what does it mean? Warren The new annual list from Forbes says there are now 3,428 billionaires on Earth. In 1987, the year Forbes started keeping track, the list had 140 names. The list included more than 400 new entries to the list. The growth of rich and super-rich motivated Washington Governor Bob Ferguson to sign into law the state's first income tax of any kind — a 9.9% “millionaires' tax” on income over $1 million. Christina And even some Christian groups are chiming in the subject. Warren The Christian online journal Mere Orthodoxy has an interesting analysis of the list. Its conclusion: the current wealth inequality is unjust. Christina But you disagree with most of the conclusions of this article. Warren I do. Most of the billionaires are rich because of their ownership in companies that create tens of millions of jobs. And there is that most important and overlooked fact of all in this conversation, and that is that we all die, and none of us take it with us. Most if not all the billionaires on the Forbes list got there because they built companies and stewarded them over time. Their personal wealth is usually incidental to the wealth they have created for others. Now, don't get me wrong. I think – as the Bible teaches – that those with wealth have much greater responsibilities. To whom much is given, much is expected. And the Bible has special condemnation for those of us who have wealth and yet ignore the poor, or structural injustices. But to make a blanket statement about the inherent injustice of wealth are painting with too broad a brush, and are ignoring many wealthy yet honorable people of the Bible. But, in a spirit of equanimity, here is the article. You can decide for yourself if its arguments hold water. Christina I also know you cover the world of journalism. And there have been some changes in the conservative journalism space. Warren The Daily Wire, after having its day in the sun, appears to be on the decline. The online magazine Puck recently reported a “sudden, precipitous decline of Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire,” with “sweeping layoffs and a steep drop-off in audience.” Christina On the other hand, the more even-handed Dispatch seems to be thriving. Warren I was particularly pleased to hear that The Dispatch had promoted my friend Michael Reneau to Executive Editor. According to a statement from The Dispatch, “Michael got his start in local journalism in East Tennessee, rising through the ranks to serve as editor of The Greeneville Sun before moving to national journalism, and eventually serving as editor of WORLD Magazine.” Christina You wrapped up your Signs and Wonders column this week with a few statistics from THINQ. Warren I was stopped in my tracks by some recent factoids from my friends at THINQ, the Nashville-based ministry led by Gabe Lyons. Among their gleanings: 23.7% of all Christian clergy in the U.S. are women, up from 2.3% in 1960. (Axios). And almost a quarter of American women aged 60 and over (24.3%) are on antidepressants. (CDC) You can sign up for THINQ's email bulletins here. Christina You're recording today from Dallas. That's the latest stop in what seems to be a lot of travel this spring. Warren I have had a lot of travel, but I'm not suffering. It has been tiring, but a lot of fun. It was a delight to meet with about 25 MinistryWatch supporters in Dallas this week. It is always fun to tell our story, but to tell it to such an enthusiastic and knowledgeable audience is even more fun. We will be doing similar events in upcoming weeks in Knoxville, Denver, and Colorado Springs. Let me know if you would like to join us. My email is wsmith@ministrywatch.com. Christina That brings to a close this EXTRA episode of the podcast. The producer for today's program is Jeff McIntosh. I'm Christina Darnell, along with Warren Smith. Until next time, may God bless you.

Send us Fan MailKelly Kapic's The Christian Life — the newest volume in the New Studies in Dogmatics series — frames Christian living as a response to divine love, arguing that human agency is always Christological and ecclesial before it is personal. With Derek Rishmawy, Alastair Roberts, and James Wood.—Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership.Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, Classical Theism: A Christian Introduction, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelityApply for fall 2026 admission to Beeson Divinity School's MDiv and be considered for a full-tuition scholarship. https://bit.ly/beesonscholarships—00:48A Summit Work04:01False Dichotomies in Evangelical Thought08:19Anthropology and Life11:33A Little Summa12:32What's New About the Christian Life?14:35Forgiveness vs. Reconciliation15:42The Response to the Love of God19:20Christ's Vicarious Love and Agency24:44Understanding the Law and Gospel Distinction29:58Capital 'S' Sin37:11Obedience to the law41:38The Role of Liturgy in Corporate Worship49:42Living Out the Christian Life in Community

Carl Trueman joins Mere Fidelity to discuss his book The Desecration of Man: How the Rejection of God Degrades Our Humanity. They examine why "desecration" captures something "disenchantment" misses — the frenzied, ecstatic violation of what is still recognized as sacred — and trace its implications for abortion, gender, technology, and end-of-life ethics. Trueman argues the church's answer is consecration: creed, worship, and a code of hospitality that restores genuine personhood. With Derek Rishmawy and Alastair Roberts. — Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership. Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, Classical Theism: A Christian Introduction, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelity Apply for fall 2026 admission to Beeson Divinity School's MDiv and be considered for a full-tuition scholarship. https://bit.ly/beesonscholarships — Chapters 00:00 - Introduction 01:10 - Why "Desecration" and Not Just "Disenchantment" 06:16 - The Pleasure of Desecration and Alternative Sacralizing 10:07 - Is This a Perennial Problem or Something New? 14:27 - Power, Impotence, and Promethean Shame 17:35 - Dizziness, AI, and the Nothingness of Radical Freedom 22:41 - Nietzsche, Nature, and the Denial of the Given 28:42 - Consecration as Response: Creed, Cult, and Code 33:14 - The Church and End-of-Life Ethics 39:18 - Vitalism, False Friends, and the Logic of the Cross 45:38 - Two Cheers for Christianity and the Opportunity Before Us 48:51 - Freedom, Belonging, and the Gospel

Was the Apostle Paul Torah-observant — not just before the Damascus road, but throughout his apostleship to the nations? Brad East stakes out a thesis drawn from Messianic Judaism and the Paul Within Judaism school: that Acts 21 should be read straight, that James is telling the truth about Paul, and that Genesis 12 and 17 still bind Jewish believers. Derek Rishmawy and Alastair Roberts push back hard, working through Galatians 2, 1 Corinthians 9, and the question of whether the law's force after Christ is divine command or Hookerian adiaphora — with the future of Jewish identity in the church in view. — Get the free ebook Spiritual Formation for the Family at http://mereorthodoxy.com/family. Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership. Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, Keeping Kids Christian: Recovering A Biblical Vision For Lifelong Discipleship, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelity Apply for fall 2026 admission to Beeson Divinity School's MDiv (or M.Div., your choice) and be considered for a full-tuition scholarship: https://bit.ly/beesonscholarships — Chapters 00:00 - Welcome and the Disclaimer 01:00 - The Thesis: Paul Remained Torah-Observant 01:34 - Messianic Judaism and Paul Within Judaism 04:29 - Acts 21: Is Paul Lying or Walking the Law? 08:04 - Alastair's First Move: Affirming, Not Practicing 10:33 - A Law You Need Not Obey Is Not a Law 12:17 - Law as Covenant vs. Law as Instruction 15:34 - Circumcision as the Test Case 16:13 - Adiaphora, Hooker, and Binding Authority 17:40 - 1 Corinthians 9 Enters the Conversation 18:08 - The Halakhic Question: Should Elders Discipline? 21:11 - Acts 15 and Internally Differentiated Norms 23:13 - Alastair on Existing Authorities and Custom 26:36 - The Canonical Vision: Revelation 7 29:50 - Adiaphora's Sociological Problem 33:22 - Galatians 2: What Was Peter Doing? 38:18 - Permission vs. Prohibition 41:04 - Why Reduce Genesis 12–17 to Local Custom? 44:02 - Baptism, Circumcision, and Covenant Signs 47:55 - Does God Want Jews in the World? 50:10 - Providence and the Future Conversion 56:42 - One Body in Christ and the Complementarian Parallel 57:08 - Reinterpreting "Under the Law" 1:01:18 - Difference Without Division 1:04:13 - The Empirical Problem for Both Views 1:07:51 - Reading Our Situation Back into Paul 1:10:46 - Closing

How do we hold together confidence before God and a proper sense of his holiness? Derek Rishmawy, Alastair Roberts, and Joe Minich take up a pastoral question at the heart of Christian worship and prayer. Working from the Lord's Prayer, the Psalms, Job, and John 8, they discuss the dangers of both presumption and paralyzing anxiety, the relationship between knowledge of God and knowledge of self, and why assurance is less a fact we verify than a relation we inhabit. Along the way: Isaiah's vision, Calvin on "stupid" prayer, and what Alcoholics Anonymous teaches about showing up. — Spiritual Formation for the Family ebook: http://mereorthodoxy.com/family Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership. Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, Keeping Kids Christian: Recovering A Biblical Vision For Lifelong Discipleship, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelity Apply for fall 2026 admission to Beeson Divinity School's MDiv (or M.Div., your choice) and be considered for a full-tuition scholarship: https://bit.ly/beesonscholarships — 00:00 - Introduction 01:17 - Confidence and holiness: the central tension 02:52 - The Lord's Prayer and the dynamic of approach 04:48 - The honesty of the Psalms and Job 09:16 - Boldness in prayer: the unjust judge and friend at midnight 11:11 - Hebrews and the two mountains 13:45 - Name-it-and-claim-it vs. petitionary prayer 14:45 - Being seen by God rather than seeing God 16:50 - John 8 and the woman caught in adultery 19:50 - Owen, Calvin, and "hard thoughts about God" 23:51 - "There is forgiveness with you, that you may be feared" 24:34 - Judgment and absolution in forgiveness 29:13 - The joy of approach and the glory of God 31:13 - Calvin, Isaiah, and the knowledge of God and self 33:58 - The erasure of sin in Waugh and Eliot 36:25 - Assurance as relation, not calculation 39:13 - Adoption, marriage, and secure identity 41:11 - Two kinds of self-absorption 45:48 - Alcoholics Anonymous and staying in the game 50:10 - Distorting the game itself: Jeremiah and the den of thieves 52:30 - Pastoral wisdom: who needs what 55:05 - Closing

Festival of Faith & Writing: biennial festival at Calvin Univ (Gr Rapids, MI) … GUEST Dr Nadya Williams … Books Editor at Mere Orthodoxy, Interim Director of the MFA in Creative Writing at Ashland University … author of 3 books, incl “Christians Reading Classics” The Pittsburgh Christian Prom … GUEST Lemuel Wilson. The President v the Pope… GUEST Dr Charles Camosy … Prof at the Catholic Univ of America in the nation’s capitol … Charlie taught at the Creighton Univ School of Medicine and in Fordham Univ’s theology department, & is author of “Beyond the Abortion Wars,” and “Resisting Throwaway Culture” … his most recent book is “Living and Dying Well: A Catholic Plan for Resisting Physician-Assisted Killing” … Charlie advises the Faith Outreach office of the Humane Society of the US & the pro-life commission of the Archdiocese of NY.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this episode of Mere Fidelity, historian of history Paul Gutacker joins Matt, Derek, and Alastair to talk about the changing and sometimes fraught relationship that Protestants have had with the notions of "history" and "tradition." Paul's book, The Old Faith in a New Nation, particularly examines how nineteenth century debates about slavery, etc., influenced our ideas about the roles of Scripture and Church in regard to history.  — Get the free ebook Spiritual Formation for the Family at http://mereorthodoxy.com/family. Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership. Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, Keeping Kids Christian: Recovering A Biblical Vision For Lifelong Discipleship, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelity Apply for fall 2026 admission to Beeson Divinity School's MDiv (or M.Div., your choice) and be considered for a full-tuition scholarship: https://bit.ly/beesonscholarships — Timestamps: Neo-Calvinism [0:30] My Fellow Subjects [2:08] Meta-history [3:22] What is Biblicism? [4:37] Misusing History [9:54] Scripture's Changing Role [14:42] Tradition or History [18:41] Church Disputes [23:36] Foreigners [27:06] Spirit and Letter [29:35] Hermeneutical Precedent [42:42] How should pastors use history? [46:05]

Derek Rishmawy, James Wood, and Joe Minick trace the nature-grace debate from de Lubac's challenge to neoscholastic "pure nature" through Blondel, Bavinck, and Betz's Christ the Logos of Creation — asking what's actually at stake: the gratuity of grace, the coherence of theological anthropology, and the twin dangers of secular dualism and pantheist collapse. — Get Spiritual Formation for the Family ebook for free at http://mereorthodoxy.com/family. Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership. Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, Keeping Kids Christian: Recovering A Biblical Vision For Lifelong Discipleship, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelity Apply for Beeson Divinity School's Ph.D program by April 1 for Fall 2026 admission here: https://bit.ly/BeesonPhD — Chapters 00:00 - Introduction: Why Nature and Grace? 02:30 - The Debate in Context: Neo-Calvinism, Catholic-Protestant Dialogue, and David Bentley Hart 05:00 - James on De Lubac: Challenging Pure Nature and Extrinsicism 08:30 - Blondel, Desire, and the Political Consequences of Separation 11:30 - Derek's Five-Year-Old Explanation: What Is Actually at Issue 13:30 - Joe: Natural Ends, Supernatural Ends, and the Beatific Vision 16:00 - Steel-Manning the Two-Tier View: Gratuity of Grace 18:30 - Bavinck, the Donum Superadditum, and Terminological Convergence 22:00 - The Neo-Calvinist Peril: Immanentizing the Eschaton 24:00 - Reception History: Did De Lubac Get Thomas Right? 27:00 - Betz, Chavarra, and Philosophy's Openness to Theology 31:00 - Participatory Metaphysics and Non-Competitive Freedom 33:30 - Derek's Worry: The Pantheist Ditch 36:00 - Horton's Trilogy and the Irenaean/Origenist Distinction 39:00 - The Two Ditches: Extrinsic Dualism vs. Pantheistic Monism 43:00 - Desire, Idolatry, and the Hook Into the Real 47:00 - Was the Incarnation Part of the Plan? Creation in Christ 50:00 - Closing Thoughts: Bavinck's Affirmations and Where to Go Next

When students started turning in papers written by artificial intelligence, educators were caught flat-footed. We knew that machines would replace many human tasks, but we thought the humanities were immune to that. Have our writing standards fallen so low that we can no longer write better than computers? Or are we about to experience the awakening of Artificial Consciousness? Matt and Alastair discuss this situation with Jason Thacker, the Chair of Research in Technology Ethics at the ERLC. — Get the ebook Spiritual Formation for the Family at http://mereorthodoxy.com/family. Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership. Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, Keeping Kids Christian: Recovering A Biblical Vision For Lifelong Discipleship, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelity — Timestamps: Written by a Bot [0:00] The ChatGPT Panic [2:45] What is human? [6:48] Is intelligence important? [11:09] Going Full Hobbit [20:57] Did we do this on purpose? [28:00] Inevitable Arms Race [34:44] Covid Tech-lash [45:20] AI(dolatry) [52:34]

Are ornate church buildings sinful? Are they better than meeting in a strip mall downtown? Are we as a church "missing something" by not owning our own church building? In this episode, we discuss church buildings and their impact on us as embodied creatures based off Marc Sims article, 12 Theses on Church Buildings.Resources12 Theses on Church Buildings by Marc Sims312 - The Formative Power of Physical Space266 - The Room Matters109 - How to Come to ChurchConnect With Usprovidenceomaha.org | Instagram | FacebookEmail Usformation@providenceomaha.org

What if death's presence in the cosmos is not native to creation but a wound running all the way down to its foundations, inflicted before Adam ever reached for the fruit? Philip Porter joins Derek Rishmawy, Alastair Roberts, and Brad East to discuss his new book, which retrieves Augustine, Aquinas, Milton, and Tolkien to argue that the angelic fall precedes and precipitates every other form of evil, and that contemporary theology has been too quick to make peace with death. —— Hosts: Derek Rishmawy, Alastair Roberts, Brad East Guest: Philip Porter, assistant professor of theology at Saint Louis University (Madrid) and author of Unnatural Death: Creation, Sin, and the Angelic Fall. He completed his doctoral work under Paul Griffiths at Duke Divinity School. —— Get the free ebook Spiritual Formation for the Family at http://mereorthodoxy.com/family. Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership. Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, Keeping Kids Christian: Recovering A Biblical Vision For Lifelong Discipleship, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelity Apply for Beeson Divinity School's Ph.D program by April 1 for Fall 2026 admission here: https://bit.ly/BeesonPhD —— Timestamps 0:00 - Intro 3:50 - Porter's thesis: why death as enemy matters and what contemporary theology gets wrong 8:40 - Augustine's rationes seminales: the seed-like reasons at the heart of creation 10:15 - Angels as administrators of creation and how their fall wounds the cosmos 13:30 - Tolkien's Silmarillion, Melkor's discord, and the felix culpa logic 17:30 - The conditio and administratio: God's atemporal creation vs. its unfolding in time 20:00 - Three false paths: Kelsey, McCabe, and Darwin 27:00 - Does scripture naturalize death? The grain of wheat, 1 Corinthians 15, and Alastair's question 39:10 - The double fall: Romans 5, the angelic fall, and how they fit together 42:00 - Satan's envy of the hypostatic union: what Lucifer saw and why he turned 52:00 - Refracted and diffracted light: a metaphor for holy and fallen angels 1:01:40 - Deep time, hominins, and what it means for Adam to be unfallen in a devastated cosmos 1:05:05 - The Johannine thread: destroying the works of the devil and what the devil actually wants 1:12:30 - Universalism, David Bentley Hart, and the problem the angelic fall poses for it 1:20:35 - Supralapsarianism and the incarnation-anyway position Books Mentioned Philip Porter, Unnatural Death: Creation, Sin, and the Angelic Fall Paul Griffiths, Decreation David Kelsey, Eccentric Existence J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion David Bentley Hart, That All Shall Be Well Ambrose of Milan, On the Good of Death

Derek Rishmawy, James Wood, and Alastair Roberts welcome Dr. Lyndon Jost, author of Transfiguring Headship: A Figural Theology of Gender. Jost argues that headship is rooted in Old Testament figural theology rather than Greco-Roman culture, that it fundamentally means representation rather than authority, and that this reframes debates between complementarians and egalitarians alike.  — Get your copy of our free ebook, Spiritual Formation for the Family, at http://mereorthodoxy.com/family. Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership. Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, Keeping Kids Christian: Recovering A Biblical Vision For Lifelong Discipleship, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelity Apply for Beeson Divinity School's Ph.D program by April 1 for Fall 2026 admission here: https://bit.ly/BeesonPhD — Chapters 01:15 - Overview of Transfiguring Headship 03:06 - Headship as Representation, Not Authority 06:09 - Critiquing Complementarian and Egalitarian Readings 10:32 - Figural Theology and the Fourfold Senses of Scripture 17:05 - Against Greco-Roman Readings of Headship 20:13 - 1 Corinthians 11:3 and Trinitarian Headship 25:35 - Ivan Illich, Gender vs. Sex, and Vernacular Gender 32:48 - Headship, Marriage, and the One-Flesh Union 43:23 - Essentialism, Gender Realism, and Minimalist Claims 50:36 - Headship as Unity, Not Opposition 55:59 - Male Responsibility and the Final Account 58:28 - Headship, Creation Order, and External Representation 01:02:14 - Closing Remarks  

Derek Rishmawy and Alastair Roberts explore the Ten Commandments — their structure, their two tables, the bookending parallel between the first and tenth commandments, and how the law is always oriented toward delight rather than mere prohibition. The law shapes the Christian life, testifies to Christ, and reflects the character of God. — Get the free ebook, Spiritual Formation for the Family, at http://mereorthodoxy.com/family. Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership. Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, Keeping Kids Christian: Recovering A Biblical Vision For Lifelong Discipleship, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelity Apply for fall 2026 admission to Beeson Divinity School's MDiv (or M.Div., your choice) and be considered for a full-tuition scholarship.: https://bit.ly/OurRisenLord   —   Chapters 00:00 Exploring the Ten Commandments 04:48 The Structure and Order of the Commandments 08:35 The Heart of the Commandments: Internal Motivation 12:38 Positive and Negative Aspects of the Law 18:08 The Law as a Source of Delight 23:03 The Law in the Context of Freedom 29:51 Navigating Ethical Dilemmas in Ministry 32:10 Understanding the Nature of God's Law 36:07 The Role of the Ten Commandments 40:20 The Law as a Reflection of Christ 44:45 The Law and Holiness in Christian Life 46:50 Delighting in the Law of God

Derek Rishmawy, Alastair Roberts, and Brad East consider what Christian theology actually has to say about aliens — from the populated Christian cosmos to the angelic fall, demonic deception, and the Christological anthropocentrism that runs through Lewis, Edwards, and Aquinas. Are UFO encounters spiritual phenomena in disguise? And does any of this unsettle orthodox faith? — Get the ebook, Spiritual Formation for the Family, by going to http://mereorthodoxy.com/family. Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership. Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, R30 Key Moments in the History of Christianity: Inspiring True Stories from the Early Church Around the World, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelity Apply for Beeson Divinity School's Ph.D program by April 1 for Fall 2026 admission here: https://bit.ly/BeesonPhD — Chapters 00:00 Aliens Are In The Air 06:38 What Counts As Alien? 12:22 The Nature of Alien Phenomena 19:08 Close Encounters of the Heavenly Kind 25:40 Lewis vs. L'Engle 32:52 Testimony 39:37 The Uniqueness of the Incarnation 45:30 Angels, Humanity, and Salvation 50:48 Christological Considerations 53:07 Be Fruitful and Explore Space!

Derek Rishmawy and Alastair Roberts take up the problem of Christian doomerism in an age of AI development, geopolitical instability, and algorithmic anxiety — diagnosing why our moment feels uniquely threatening, then building a theology and practice of realistic hope from the Sermon on the Mount, the Psalms, eschatology, and the concrete habits (prayer, scripture, crocheting) that keep despair at bay. — Get your copy of Mere Orthodoxy's ebook, Spiritual Formation for the Family, by going to http://mereorthodoxy.com/family Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, R30 Key Moments in the History of Christianity: Inspiring True Stories from the Early Church Around the World, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelity Apply for fall 2026 admission to Beeson Divinity School's MDiv (or M.Div., your choice) and be considered for a full-tuition scholarship: https://bit.ly/beesonscholarships — Chapters 00:00 – The Problem of Living in Interesting Times 05:05 – I Call All Times Interesting 11:52 – Agency 17:34 – Hope at Rock Bottom 28:03 – The Benefits of Apocalypse 32:39 – Eschatology 36:13 – Practically Constructing Hope 42:03 – Investing in Future Generations 49:06 – Back to Basics  

In this Replay episode, Matthew Lee Anderson, Derek Rishmawy, and Alistair Roberts are joined by Andy Crouch — Partner for Theology and Culture at Praxis — to examine what the data on social media and video games reveals about the diverging formation of young men and women. The conversation turns on a pointed question: what happens when the skills adolescence develops are simulations rather than realities? And what does that mean for formative communities — home, school, and church — that bear responsibility for shaping persons, not just managing behaviors? - Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership. Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, R30 Key Moments in the History of Christianity: Inspiring True Stories from the Early Church Around the World, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelity Apply for a full-tuition scholarship for Beeson Divinity School's M.Div program that begins Fall 2026 here: https://bit.ly/beesonscholarships - Chapters 2:00 — Guest Introduction: Andy Crouch 3:00 — The Tweet: Social Media, Video Games, and Diverging Outcomes 5:30 — Why We Now Have Reliable Data 7:00 — Social Media's Harm to Girls 8:30 — Why Boys Seem Fine (At First) 11:00 — The Idolatry Framework: Things That Work at First 17:00 — Pornography as Formation Failure 19:00 — The Feminization of Internet Culture 25:00 — The Algorithmic Turn: From Chronological to Algorithmic Feeds 31:00 — The Algorithm Catches You at Your Worst 33:00 — Mobile Devices and the End of Distance 36:00 — Practical Applications: Give Resistors an Off-Ramp 40:00 — Banning Phones in Schools: A Framework 44:00 — "But They Need to Prepare for the Real World" 46:00 — Instruments vs. Devices: A Distinction 48:00 — Closing & Patron Teaser

Derek Rishmawy and Alastair Roberts host Jake Meador for a wide-ranging conversation on why evangelical institutions struggle with leadership transitions and long-term succession. They explore how evangelicalism's emphasis on discontinuity, charismatic personality-driven leadership, and brand-over-institution thinking undermines durability. The discussion touches on the boomer generational bottleneck, the producer-consumer framework shaped by technology, and what healthier models—like RTS or long-tenured churches—might teach us about building things that outlast their founders. — Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership. Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, R30 Key Moments in the History of Christianity: Inspiring True Stories from the Early Church Around the World, by going to: http://bakerbookhouse.com/pages/mere-fidelity Apply for a full-tuition scholarship for Beeson Divinity School's M.Div program that begins Fall 2026 here: https://bit.ly/beesonscholarships — Chapters 00:00 – Introduction & Framing the Problem 02:48 – Evangelicalism's Built-In Bias Toward Discontinuity 06:34 – Charisma, Personality, and the Exoskeleton Problem 08:46 – Brands vs. Institutions 11:22 – RTS as a Positive Case Study 15:24 – Market Forces and Media Adaptability 17:33 – Long-Tenured Churches and the Mold vs. Platform Distinction 24:18 – The Boomer Generational Cliff 30:16 – Carson, Piper, Keller, and Golden Age Expectations 39:23 – Evangelical Anxiety About Institutional Betrayal 43:31 – Technology, Formation, and the Performing Self 51:26 – Birth Rates, Legacy, and Thinking About Succession

Derek Rishmawy, Alastair Roberts, Brad East, and James Wood trace the evangelical spiritual formation movement from Richard Foster through Dallas Willard to John Mark Comer. They explore why disciplines resonate today amid technological distraction and desire for embodied faith, while navigating tensions between individual and communal formation, liturgy's role, and concerns about practices becoming self-optimization divorced from gospel foundations. — Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership. Get 30% of the Baker Book of the Month, 30 Key Moments in the History of Christianity: Inspiring True Stories from the Early Church Around the World, by going to  Apply for a full-tuition scholarship for Beeson Divinity School's M.Div program that begins Fall 2026 here: https://bit.ly/beesonscholarships — Chapters 00:00 – Introduction 01:06 – Tracing the Spiritual Formation Movement 08:35 – Why Spiritual Disciplines Resonate Today 19:45 – Technology, Attention, and the Appeal of Forms 25:00 – Critiques: Self-Optimization and Theological Drift 33:12 – The Role of Set Prayers and Liturgy 44:50 – Inhabiting Forms vs. Formalism 53:00 – Suffering as Spiritual Formation 58:47 – The Danger of Christian Elitism 01:12:54 – The Parable of the Three Bricklayers

Hosts Derek Rishmawy and Brad East are joined by Myles Werntz to discuss his Christianity Today Award of Merit-winning book, Contesting the Body of Christ: Ecclesiology's Revolutionary Century. Rather than systematic argument, Werntz uses narrative case studies examining how diverse Christian communities—from African Pentecostals to Korean Presbyterians—have embodied and contested the classical marks of the church. His starting premise: assume the Holy Spirit is at work in churches confessing Christ, then investigate what's happening. The conversation tackles tough questions about theological boundaries, ecumenical charity, and faithful disagreement when salvation is at stake. — Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership. Get 40% of the Baker Book of the Month, Reading The Psalms As Scripture by James Hamilton and Matthew Damico, by using the promo code MEREFIDELITY at checkout. Get the book here: https://bakerpublishinggroup.com/products/9781683597766_reading-the-psalms-as-scripture — Key Topics Why the 20th century was revolutionary for the church (Vatican II, Pentecostalism, decolonization, ecumenical movement) Contestation as intrinsic to ecclesial life, not a bug but a feature Theological guardrails: the Nicene Creed, Scripture, faith-hope-love Limit cases: when does disagreement become denial of God's work? How to argue faithfully in a non-Roman Catholic ecclesiology Guest Myles Werntz, Professor of Theology at Abilene Christian University A podcast from Mere Orthodoxy

Derek Rishmawy, Alastair Roberts and Brad East talk with Dr. Jason Staples about his book 'Paul and the Resurrection of Israel.' The discussion explores the themes of restoration eschatology, the role of Gentiles in Paul's theology, and the nature of Israel's restoration. Staples argues that Paul's understanding of Israel is broader than just ethnic Jews, emphasizing the inclusion of Gentiles in the restoration narrative. The conversation also touches on the concept of infectious holiness and the church's role as the assembly of Israel, highlighting the theological implications of these ideas for contemporary Christianity. — Mere Fidelity is a podcast from Mere Orthodoxy and is listener-supported. If you would like to support this work, become a Mere Orthodoxy Member today at http://mereorthodoxy.com/membership Get 40% of the Baker Book of the Month, Reading The Psalms As Scripture by James Hamilton and Matthew Damico, by using the promo code MEREFIDELITY at checkout. Get the book here: https://bakerpublishinggroup.com/products/9781683597766_reading-the-psalms-as-scripture — 00:00 Introduction to the Conversation   01:30 Not All Israelites Are Jews   09:47 Restoration Eschatology Explained   18:00 They're ALL Coming Back   26:08 Infectious Holiness   30:28 Reassimilation of the Other Tribes   40:15 Symphonic Gospels   47:27 The Transformation of Jews and Gentiles   01:02:51 Cut Off and Grafted In   01:09:13 Nations Qua Nations