Podcasts about theologians

Professor Kimlyn Bender joins the podcast to share share about his farmers' town upbringing, how he first became interested in studying Karl Barth, and the importance of ecclesiology working out the tension between the academy and the church. Dr. Bender argues that Barth is the most important Protestant theologian to engage from the 20th century and that central to Barth's intent for the Dogmatics was that it would be a resource for pastors. With particular emphasis on volume of Church Dogmatics, Dr. Bender describes his project of helping pastors engage Barth and his work's relevance for the church today.

Father McTeigue begins a new series in Let's Talk About This, starting with a podcast-extended analysis of the "Open Letter From Catholic Women" theologians who advocate for abortion. What did they say, and more importantly what did they really mean? Father finishes with Weekend Readiness to help you prepare for the upcoming Sunday Mass. Open Letter from Catholic Women: Reclaiming Public Debates about Abortion & Reproductive Justice Let's Have a Grown-Up Conversation About One's Conscience Conscience Should Begin, Not End, Moral Discourse Conscience: You're Probably Doing It Wrong Real Philosophy for Real People: Tools for Truthful Living Evangelizing Our Reality-Denying Nonculture - Crisis Magazine Project Rachel Read Fr. McTeigue's Written Works! Questions? Comments? Feedback? Ask Father!

Did you know theology is the study of God and His relationship with humanity? Our theology shapes how we view God, ourselves & the world. As we delve deeper into understanding theology, we grow a deeper understanding of who God is.

Are you concerned about the state of the church today? In this video, Dr. T. Michael W. Halcomb and Dr. Matt O'Reilly discuss the issues of social identity, pastor-theologians, and the downfall of United Methodism. As respected theologians and biblical scholars, Drs. Halcomb and O'Reilly provide insightful analysis and offer practical solutions for those seeking to understand a variety of matters related to Scripture and culture. Watch now and join in the discussion about these critical issues. #SocialIdentity #PastorTheologians #UnitedMethodism #ChurchDivision #DrMattOReilly #ChurchCommunity #TheologicalAnalysis #ChurchReform #ChristianityToday #ReligiousDiscussions #GlossaHouse #ProveText Social Identity, Pastor-Theologians, United Methodism, Church Division, Church Reform, Christianity Today, Religious Discussions, Church Community, Theological Analysis, Dr. Matt O'Reilly, Church Crisis, Christian Theology, Contemporary Christianity, Religious Studies, Church Unity, Christian Community, Church Leadership, Christian Ethics, Church Renewal, Christian Unity, Religious Identity, Church History, Christianity and Society, Christian Culture, Church and Society, Church Conflict, Church and State, Christian Beliefs, Dr. T. Michael W. Halcomb, GlossaHouse, ProveText --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/glossahouse/message

Imagine building a cathedral with just a hammer and nails. How might theologians today continue to build the grand cathedral where human knowledge meets divine revelation by implementing the tools of psychological science? Experimental psychologist Justin Barrett joins theologian Miroslav Volf for a conversation on how psychology can contribute to theology. This episode is made possible by Blueprint1543.IntroductionTo a man with a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Yep, we've heard that before. But imagine trying to make that work. Imagine, for instance, the visionary builder of a medieval cathedral… building it only with a hammer and nails.And you know there's an analogy coming here. Suppose the cathedral you're trying to build is nothing less than the human inquiry into the nature of the cosmos and the nature of the God who created them—from the dark matter at the edges of the expanding universe, to the recycled space dust that's found its way into the pristine fingernails of a newborn baby.Artfully articulating the nature of reality with nuance and care—saying something true and meaningful about God, people, and thriving in the world we share—the task of theology could be just like that extravagant building project.But imagine if the theologian only had one tool.Experimental psychologist Justin Barrett tells a story like this to make a suggestion to theologians to consider how they might incorporate the tools of science—and psychological science in particular—into the building of their theological cathedral.Justin is long-time researcher in cognitive science of religion. He's author of a number of books, including Why Would Anyone Believe in God? and Born Believers: The Science of Childhood Religion. He just edited the Oxford Handbook of the Cognitive Science of Religion.And in 2019 he co-founded Blueprint1543, an organization that's bringing theologians and scientists together to accelerate better contributions to life's biggest questions.And today we're launching a series of episodes on For the Life of the World that will explore the tools of psychological sciences that might contribute to a deeper and greater theological understanding of the world. By bringing a science-engaged theology to bear on the most pressing matters for how to live lives worthy of our humanity.Throughout the series, we're featuring conversations with psychologists who can offer insightful tools for crafting the cathedral where human knowledge meets divine revelation.About Justin BarrettJustin L. Barrett is an honorary Professor of Theology and the Sciences at St Andrews University School of Divinity. An experimental psychologist by training, he is concerned with the scientific study of religion and its philosophical as well as theological implications. He is the author of a number of books including Why Would Anyone Believe in God?, Born Believers: The Science of Childhood Religion, and Religious Cognition in China: Homo Religiosus and the Dragon.Show NotesBlueprint1543.orgDownload your copy of Justin Barrett's A Psychological Science Primer for Theologians (2022)TheoPsych AcademyNormative vision the good lifePsychology as among the most secular of academic disciplinesPsychology's historical (but non-necessary) anti-religious tendenciesThere are plenty of Christian psychologists who are deliberate in thinking about the integration of Christianity and psychologyComparing instrumental, explanatory psychology and purposes, meaning, and teleology in theologyHow the purposes of our lives—normative visions—how do they then shape psychological inquiryAre questions of the good life matters for science to determine, or are religious and theological perspectives essential to thinking about the purpose and meaning of human life?When can theologians and philosophers be helped by psychological science?Theologians often make use of psychological claims fairly uncritically—how human minds work, how emotions work, how social relationships workMiroslav's book The End of MemoryIs the theologian making descriptive psychological claims?Are you the theologian making normative claims supported by descriptive psychological claims?Are you making claims about what affects texts and rituals and practices have on people?Are you constructing an argument that uses intuition as premises?Experimental philosophy: Are philosophers' intuitions universal?Can there be an “experimental theology”?Being careful about descriptive psychological claims—especially for practical theological questions or lived theologyPsychology needs to do its own inspecting“The science of psychology has a great self-awareness of how we can't trust ourselves. … The entire method is built around, to put it in theological terms, a conviction about total depravity.”Methodological rigor in sciences—checking findings with the communityCultural situatednessE.g., “How well do we know ourselves?”Ludwig Wittgenstein: “The world of a happy man is not the same as the world of a sad man.”“Affective states shape how we perceive the world.”Mary Magdalene's breaking a precious jar or oil on Jesus's feet—the smell is refracted through how Judas and Jesus see the world. Judas finds the smell a terrible waste, and Jesus finds the smell beautiful.“What we perceive in the world around us is set by our expectations.”“Every Christian is a theologian because theology accompanies the life and situatedness of each individual in the world.”Production NotesThis podcast featured cognitive scientist Justin Barrett and theologian Miroslav VolfEdited and Produced by Evan RosaHosted by Evan RosaA Production of the Yale Center for Faith & Culture at Yale Divinity School https://faith.yale.edu/aboutSupport For the Life of the World podcast by giving to the Yale Center for Faith & Culture: https://faith.yale.edu/giveAcknowledgementsThis episode was made possible in part by the generous support of Blueprint 1543. For more information, visit Blueprint1543.org.

Stephanie welcomes fellow Gospel Spice team member Ros Evans for an in-depth conversation about taking Easter throughout the whole year. Easter is the most significant event of the Christian calendar--indeed of the world! How do we carry the meaning of Easter into all the other seasons of life? Why do we need the transformational power of Easter for 365 days a year, not just in March or April each year? How can we keep Easter fresh and new, and prevent the old stale flavors of Easters past to creep up in our passion for Christ? Ros has become an "everyday theologian," someone who is passionate to discover who God is and to enter ever more into deeper relationship with Him. But she was not always so. She shares her story of faith, from liturgical South African roots to vibrant American faith. She inspires us to never stop learning and growing, and role-models humble teachability. She explains how she used to think her faith was whole and full, only to discover there is so much more to fullness of life with Christ than she had ever dreamed to imagine. She chose to embrace the fullness of relationship with God over the last six years of her life, after a lifetime of real but lukewarm faith. She tells us how God met her, and how He is still today transforming her, by the power of His Spirit, into the person He created her to become. Ros invites us all to embrace our inner theologian and to dare to become more than we can imagine. In the course of the conversation, Stephanie shares a couple of illustrations to help us understand what it means to have the fullness of the infinite Spirit of Christ in us. Join us today! We invite you to check out the first episode of each of our series, and decide which one you will want to start with. Or, of course, you can start at the beginning with episode 1.  Season 1: the gospel of Matthew like you've never experienced it https://www.podcastics.com/episode/3280/link/ Season 2: Experience Jesus through the Psalms https://www.podcastics.com/episode/33755/link/ Season 3: the gospel of Luke, faith in action https://www.podcastics.com/episode/40838/link/ Season 4: Proverbs spiced with wisdom https://www.podcastics.com/episode/68112/link/ Season 5: Identity in the battle | Ephesians https://www.podcastics.com/episode/74762/link/ Season 6: Centering on Christ | The Tabernacle experience https://www.podcastics.com/episode/94182/link/ Season 7: Shades of Red | Against human oppression https://www.podcastics.com/episode/115017/link/ Season 8: God's glory, our delight |  https://www.podcastics.com/episode/126051/link/   The perfect gift for everyone - apparel, drinkware, stickers and more for all the women, men and kids in your life! https://www.gospelspice.com/merch Support us!

Welcome to Grace in Focus radio. Today, David Renfro and Bob Wilkin are entertaining a couple of questions on this episode. One is about the history of Free Grace theology. How long has it been around? Another is from Revelation 3:11 concerning the durability of eternal rewards. Can some rewards be lost? Which ones can't

“Balenciaga Pope!” That is what the internet is calling it.  Photos of Pope Francis wearing a luxury oversized, white puffer jacket, that sells for anywhere up to $6,000, went viral this weekend.  A single tweet of the pope's updated winter wardrobe invited 25,000 retweets, and Google Trends reported a dramatic increase in pope-related searches.  But, however realistic and convincing the photo might have appeared, it was a total fake, generated using an artificial intelligence platform.  On “Inside the Vatican,” this week co-hosts Ricardo da Silva, S.J. and Gerard O'Connell, look at why some tech bosses are turning to the Vatican for moral guidance as new and evermore sophisticated waves of artificial intelligence take hold. “What is the moral position on A.I.?”, Ricardo asks. “Has the Vatican said anything about the rapidly growing sophistication of algorithms and artificial intelligence, and the frightening capacity they have to deceive us?” Later in the show, we parse the revised “Vos Estis Lux Mundi,” Pope Francis' landmark instruction on the Vatican's procedural norms for dealing with the scourge of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church which goes into effect next month.  Until now, the instruction had been issued on an experimental three-year basis. On April 30, it will be promulgated definitively into official church law. Most of the document has remained the same but there are a few important changes, among them the fact that leaders of international lay movements can now be disciplined under church law for abuses committed against those in their care, and those to whom they minister “This is a work in progress,” Gerry says. “Nobody says the law as issued now is the final word. We may find that in another two years, Francis may well make another amendment to this law.” Links from the show: The Vatican is worried about artificial intelligence Should we be worried about A.I.? Theologians, philosophers and Catholic thinkers weigh in Pope Francis confirms ‘vulnerable adults' are covered by updated Vatican sex abuse law Pope Francis tells bishops of Latin America, where new sex abuse protections aren't in place, to make it a priority Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The seventeenth century Reformed Orthodox discussions of the work of Christ and its various doctrinal constitutive elements were rich and multifaceted, ranging across biblical and exegetical, historical, philosophical, and theological fields of inquiry. Among the most contested questions in these discussions was the question of the necessity of Christ's satisfaction. Joshua D. Schendel's The Necessity of Christ's Satisfaction (Brill, 2022) sets that "great controverted point," as Richard Baxter called it, in its historical and traditionary contexts and provides a philosophical and theological analysis of the arguments offered by two representative Reformed scholastic theologians, William Twisse and John Owen. Crawford Gribben is a professor of history at Queen's University Belfast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

The seventeenth century Reformed Orthodox discussions of the work of Christ and its various doctrinal constitutive elements were rich and multifaceted, ranging across biblical and exegetical, historical, philosophical, and theological fields of inquiry. Among the most contested questions in these discussions was the question of the necessity of Christ's satisfaction. Joshua D. Schendel's The Necessity of Christ's Satisfaction (Brill, 2022) sets that "great controverted point," as Richard Baxter called it, in its historical and traditionary contexts and provides a philosophical and theological analysis of the arguments offered by two representative Reformed scholastic theologians, William Twisse and John Owen. Crawford Gribben is a professor of history at Queen's University Belfast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

The seventeenth century Reformed Orthodox discussions of the work of Christ and its various doctrinal constitutive elements were rich and multifaceted, ranging across biblical and exegetical, historical, philosophical, and theological fields of inquiry. Among the most contested questions in these discussions was the question of the necessity of Christ's satisfaction. Joshua D. Schendel's The Necessity of Christ's Satisfaction (Brill, 2022) sets that "great controverted point," as Richard Baxter called it, in its historical and traditionary contexts and provides a philosophical and theological analysis of the arguments offered by two representative Reformed scholastic theologians, William Twisse and John Owen. Crawford Gribben is a professor of history at Queen's University Belfast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Theologians write about two kinds of evil in the world: natural evil like destructive tornadoes and moral evil like genocide. Evil poses the most often-asked question of Christians: if God is good, why is there evil in the world? How should we respond? Let's talk about it on this episode of #Wisdom828. Check it out!

Theologians love to philosophize about the darkness in the world because, like politicians, they fancy the work of their own hands as a city of light set upon a hill. They see themselves as the administrators of light in a world gone astray. Nothing could be further from the story of the Bible, which shines its powerful light to expose the darkness in each of us, unimpeded by our crafty designs on self-importance. When we are personally touched by the pain-filled light of Scripture, we find ourselves grappling with something we refuse to see—a darkness that fills everything we say, do, create, maintain and defend. In the case of Luke, the latter is represented by the Temple in Jerusalem. However, for the average listener who likes to complain about the hypocrisy of the local priest, ask yourself, how much do you spend on your house, your car, your entertainment, or your savings vs. the poor? How are your household, your family, or your friends any different than the Temple in Luke or any other institution? To the extent that any of these draw a line between you and the beggar, they're not. At this point, a flood of justifications and rationalizations enter your mind. If this were a sermon, you might take the message personally and lash out in some way. Why? Not because you love money and security, per se, or because you are sick of hearing the same message. You are, of course, but this is not the main issue. The real concern is: 1. You want to be right with God, or at least, you want to be right in general, and 2. The part of you that is honest knows that you are going to keep your house, buy the things that you want to buy, and you have no plans to invite a beggar to sleep in your spare room. So you are stuck. You either have to lie to yourself about the words of Scripture or accept your place among the brood of vipers hailed by John the Baptist in Luke 3. Another option, of course, is to complain that the Bible does not make sense—but this also is a lie. It does make sense, you just don't like what it says because the truth is, you can't do it. Few of us can—except the rare birds who give their life for the teaching, which presently excludes all of us. In the end, if you are an honest person, you can either bow down to Scripture, confess your sins, and learn from them, or you can walk away feeling justified. The choice, as they say, is up to you. Richard and I discuss Luke 3:10-14 (Episode 473) ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★

CPT fellow Jarrod Longbons joins the podcast to discuss his upbringing in the space between the Roman Catholic and Protestant traditions. He shares about his varied interests as a young person and how things like acting and theater connected to his pursuit of theological education and pastoral calling. He then shares his story of PhD with John Milbank, with specific emphasis on Maximus the Confessor's theology of the doctrine of creation. The conversation concludes with Jarrod's reflections on ministry and his unique angles to the discipline of theology through his temperament and experiences.

CPT fellow Dillon Thornton joins the podcast to discuss his story of life, faith, education, and ministry. How does an early calling into ministry unfold over the years of young adulthood? Why is it important for scholars and pastors to study the Pastoral Epistles? How can pastors deal with struggling to find time for writing projects they'd like to pursue? All this and more on this episode.

Eddie Cotter is the founder of the Dead Theologians Society, a Catholic apostolate for high school-age teens and college-age young adults. I had the opportunity to speak at a DTS meeting last month and am excited about the work they are doing in the lives of young people across the country.

Rev. Dr. Jacob Rodriguez joins the podcast to share his story of life, faith, and education. He reflects on his feelings of rootlessness and how transience theologically shaped him. He also shares his early exposure to theology and ancient languages that created an early passion for careful study of the biblical texts. Jacob spent time as a missionary in Ethiopia, and in this conversation he notes how Western Christians can learn from the long tradition of faith in Ethiopia and that church's recent experiences of persecution. Finally, we discuss his PhD research on gospel writing and what makes the canonical gospels unique among the other stories about Jesus that emerged in the first centuries of Christian history.

On this episode the CPT staff discusses a new grant initiative from the CPT in partnership with the Lilly Foundation. We discuss the evangelical theology of preaching, the place of the sermon in ecclesial theology, and a preview of what we'll be up to at the CPT for the next three years.

We've been in the letter of James the last few months—a letter written to us to underscore the difference that faith makes. James is incredibly practical. He insists that faith is more than merely head-bobbing—something we confess we believe but otherwise makes little difference practically in our lives. Instead, James gets disturbingly real with us. He assumes we will face problems and won't know what to do. But then he doesn't tell us how to live trouble-free, but how to live when troubles come. Do we bitterly complain? Or do we use them as an opportunity for growth? It depends on our faith. He figures we'll sweat out temptations that may often get the better of us. But our faith will expose the temptation and teach us better ways in the future. He knows we'll say things we don't mean and shouldn't express, and likely will burn others with our tongues, but our faith will convict us of the evil and change our conversations to more constructive and healing interactions. He understands the pull of money and status and how it affects how we see and treat those who have it and those who lack it; but our faith redefines for us what matters most and reshapes how we see every other person who steps in front of us. Today we come to another way that real faith shapes us: it alters how we plan our lives. We all have plans. We live today, but we want to tinker with tomorrow. When tomorrow comes, we want to be ready––we want to shape our days to accomplish our dreams & goals. And there's nothing wrong with that! If you don't plan, you won't get assignments done, or pay bills on time, or make & keep appointments. Without planning, your vacation might turn into a disaster, or your job might turn into a permanent vacation. It's God who tells us to take one day in seven off—and if you don't plan, you won't even do that! Obviously, planning is important––probably more than we realize. James tells us that it is one of the places in our lives where our faith is most needed, and most tested. Your plans reveal more about you than you know: what you plan and how you're planning reveals what you think about life, and ultimately what you think of God.   [THE PROBLEM]4:13-14 [A. We Make Plans] (vs. 13) 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— To get their attention, he begins abruptly: “Hey! Listen up!” At this time in century one, towns were springing up everywhere due to relative peace, a common language and good roads. Jews saw an opportunity to make money, so many traveled to growing cities, making deals and selling goods, and returned much richer in a year or two. The opportunities were like plump, ripe clusters of grapes on the vine. James is quoting the typical businessmen's plans; lit. are saying—i.e. this is how they operate! They've got it all figured out: The Time: “Today or tomorrow” (their departure date); The Location: “This or that city”;       The Duration: “spend a year there”; The Activity: “carry on business”; The Goal: “make money”––they're confident in the outcome! Planning is not wrong, nor is making an honest living. In fact, planning for the future is admirable. One of my favorite cartoon strips is Zits—about the misadventures of 17 year old Jeremy Duncan. In one of them, Jeremy is talking with his fuddy-duddy dad. Good planning is a good idea. And there's nothing wrong with what they were saying; But it's what they didn't say, what they failed to take into account that isn't right. God plays no part in their thinking. They're self-assertive in their travel plans, & self-confident in their time schedules, & self-centered in their goals. Operating as though God doesn't exist or doesn't care. This is part of the worldliness that James has spoken so forcefully against! But James says what we believe ought to make a difference in how we plan; our faith should practically affect our future. They should listen to King Solomon: [Prov. 27:1].  James corrects them: We make plans: [B. But life is unpredictable]  (vs. 14a) 14a yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. i.e. [1. The future is uncertain.] Do you know for sure what will happen tomorrow? “I'm getting up at 6 a.m., getting ready for school; I'll go to this/that class, turn my homework in, eat lunch at MacDonald's with my friends, flirt with that cute guy/girl, be home by 2:30...” Wait! Are you sure? Tomorrow will be the same as every other Monday: in to work, plow through the hours, take a lunch break—dig out from under the pile, get over the hump on Wednesday and look forward to next weekend when I can...” Wait! Tomorrow is promised no man. The future is a complex interaction of people, timing, events, and opportunities all controlled by (not us, but) God. A few summers ago, we were floating in kayaks on the Deschutes River; it was hot, and we weren't moving very fast. Two large inflatable boats of teens, passed us––and we laughed and joked with them as they quickly slid by. Ten minutes later on an open stretch, we saw they were out of their boats, and jumping off a large rock next to a rope swing––it was about 30 feet up. I felt uncomfortable about it––but there was an adult on shore, so I kept quiet. About half an hour later we came to our port of exit, but as we pulled our kayaks in, we heard people crying and screaming. Apparently one of the teen boys jumping from the rock hit the water wrong, went under, came up for a moment, submerged again, and never again surfaced. He was found hours later drowned. As we had passed him by, none of us––not even he–-knew that he was living the last twenty minutes of his life. The heart of the problem is not that they had a faulty time-management technique, but that they possessed a faulty understanding of themselves. Not only is the future uncertain, my life is too: (vs. 14b) 14b What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time then vanishes.             [2. My life is fragile.] What's our life like? When James searches for an apt picture of life, he pulls no punches: you are a fog, a mist, vapor. Something hardly substantial. Life isn't solid, sure, secure, guaranteed; it's fragile. Every day, we assume the one thing that we clearly cannot assume: that we will be alive tomorrow. The only certainty about life is that it will end sooner or later. And it may come at a time unexpected & in a manner unforeseen. We don't know when or how we will die. Just that each of us will. So if the solidness of our lives is like a mist which so quickly dissipates—if weare like that, think how uncertain our plans really are! So does that mean we don't plan? No.  James' offers a correction(vss. 15-16): 15Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.  So here is: THE CORRECTION [A. Factor in God's providential will] His what? His providential will. Providence? Q: What shapes your life? Coincidence or Providence? Before you answer, think about each of those ideas: [Coincidence is the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident, but seem to have some connection.]They really don't. It just appears that way. But it's actually just random. The connection is in your mind, but there's no real purpose or reason or guiding hand behind it. The exact opposite of coincidence is Providence. Providence is divine guidance and care; God's power directing and using every event in human history. God is in control, even when we're not! James insists we should factor that into our plans. He isn't discouraging or forbidding planning. In fact, he assumes we will: But instead of brashly and thoughtlessly saying, “we will leave and go here/there, do this/that...”, we should say, “if it is the Lord's will…” In other words, [1. We should express our dependence on God.]  What these planners lacked was a sense of God's providence that rules our lives. James implies we don't know for sure what the Lord's will is. Theologians rightly divide God's will into two aspects: [Deut. 29:29] his [secret (providential) will] which He always carries out, which no one can thwart. There are things that God allows or does that are His will—including things He won't allow or do. So it's secret in the sense that he doesn't necessarily reveal why He is doing it or why he allows it, or why He isn't doing it or allowing it. It is His, not ours, to know. But there are things He very much wants us to know—i.e. His [revealed will]—and it is found most clearly in the Bible. The Scriptures give us guidance and direction––and express God's clear will for us. Do we always do it? No. Does God make us do it? No. But it is His desire/will for us. So there are things we do know and things we don't know. And in fact, we don't even know what we don't know. It all should humble us. So James is doing more than just inserting the right words into our mouths: “if the Lord wills...” He's trying to correct our perspective and shape our hearts. What we ought to say aloud sometimes, and whisper often, and never forget is that God's providence rules our lives. We are dependent upon God for more than we think—even for our next breath. Paul's awareness of the uncertainty of plans, but the certainty of God's providence: [Acts 18:21, 1 Cor. 4:19, 16:7/x]. We ought not take for granted some very basic things: that the Lord is willing for this to happen (e.g. business trip, a vacation, even a trip to Costco), and that we will be alive, and that the Lord will order the opportunities and give us strength to take advantage of them. The key to avoiding sinful self-sufficiency is maintaining a godly perspective: that God is in the backdrop of every human life. But: [2. If we don't, we cultivate arrogance.]  Not taking God into account with our plans is both unrealistic & foolish. We can't control all the variables of life. We can't even be sure of life. But not figuring God into the picture is not only off the mark, it's evil:  The Apostle John warns us: [1 John 2:15-17]. The word pride here is the same word arrogance here. Does it mean being really full of yourself? A bragger with a big head? Maybe. But not necessarily. It could sound like this: “Look, I don't really care what God says. I can do whatever I want. It's my life. I've got plans. Nobody has the right to tell me what I can and can't do, or what they think I should do.” That's not only proud and wrong, it's evil.  But it doesn't even have to sound that defiant. For it to be arrogant, all you need to do is say... 13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”—(vs. 13), and mean it. Period. Nothing more, nothing less. And your thoughts may be god-less. Godless.   But don't picture God as some grump/control freak who doesn't like anyone else to assert any control. eg “Hey Gabriel, you see that guy down there? He's getting a little big for his pants. Let's take him down a notch or two...” He then uses his providence to pull the rug right out from under us. NO! When we plan, factoring in God's providence doesn't mean that we've just got to take into account that God might thwart us. Instead, it puts a wonderful spin on anything that happens. We know God loves us and uses his providence to do good for us in every situation. So when something happens that we didn't expect, or when what we did expect doesn't happen—we can trust God's providence to get us through. When we plan, and at the last second our plans fall apart, we know that God is working to do good for us, and we can rest. His timing may not be ours, and time and again we should ask ourselves, Where is God in all this? I've learned that there's a reason. Even if we can't figure it out. Factoring in God's providence to our plans eases our disappointments, opens our eyes to a larger perspective, and comforts us with hope—God is at work even when circumstances take a turn we hadn't seen coming.   Not only should we take into account God's providence which shapes our days, and someday calls us home, we should also focus on God's revealed will: 17So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.  So:   [2.  Focus on God's revealed will] (vs. 17) James points out that the sin isn't just that we do something we are forbidden to do; but that we fail to do what we ought to do. And what ought we to do? What God has told us. i.e. all our planning, we ought to concentrate on God's revealedwill for us, not just on our own schedules and goals and plans. Our focus should shift: We all have many plans that may or may not happen; but there are some things we ought to make certain do happen—those things which God clearly tells us to do in Scripture. If we don't do what God has told us to do, we are sinning, even if we have planned to do a lot of other things that aren't sinful. Like what? Like this: [Micah 6:8/x]. God does have plans for you and me.  Point is to keep our focus always on what God has revealed for us, and to factor into all our plans what he hasn't revealed—what He providentially will do with us. When the Jews were taken captive to Babylon, when their homes were destroyed and their land full of smoldering rubble, God spoke to them through the prophet Jeremiah. They saw their lives as having taken a terrible turn; they hadn't planned to live out their lives in a foreign land. God counseled them to settle down and build houses & be a light to their Babylonian neighbors; and to focus on principles and promises in Scripture. Then he reminds them: [Jer. 29:11/x]. Factoring in God's providential will gives you perspective & hope; focusing on God's revealed will gives you guidance and direction. III. YOU HAVE A CHOICE In discussing the uncertainty of the future, my sixth grade teacher rammed the point home: “Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring. Some of you probably won't live to be 40.” (which seemed to be an ancient age to me at that time). In fact, some of you might not live to graduate from high school. In fact, someone sitting in this classroom might not see 7th grade.” We all were looking at each other like deer caught in the headlights. (“Not me!?”) About a month later, the girl who sat next to me was returning from a neighborhood market on her bicycle. At dusk. In the fog. And because Gretchen lived in Ridgewood, she had to cross the country road. And in the twilight, and the fog, an oncoming car did not see her, and hit her—and she died. I'll never forget that empty desk. It so unnerved us, the teacher finally moved it, leaving an empty space. The lesson we're to learn is not an easy one. The point isn't that we need to make a choice between living a self-sufficient life and a God-dependent one. Instead, the lesson is that we are not self-sufficient; that we in fact do live in dependence upon God, whether we are aware of it or not. Every person is at God's mercy. His providence rules every life. In light of that, we ought to be humble, and factor that in to every dream, every decision, every plan, every schedule. And we ought to focus on God's plan for our lives that he has made clear to us in the Scripture. “If it is the Lord's will” should make us humble. And “Because it is the Lord's Will” should shape our plans. We should plan to do God's will. God providentially used that empty desk to bring me to Christ. It brought home to me how fragile life is. How badly I longed to have certainty about what happens after death. Over the years I've learned to plan to do God's will. And if I don't get to see the next decade, or next year, or even next month, it will be OK. Because I know I'll see the One who has providentially shaped my life all the way through. (Pray)   O God, My life is in your hands! You order my steps and determine my days, and someday, you will call me home. Help me see just how dependent I really am on you, and help me remember what you've clearly given me to do. I want to live my days to honor and glorify you. Amen

Joel Lawrence and Felicia Wu Song discuss the sociological, cultural, and theological issues around technology and spiritual formation in the 21st century. What fractures in our society were revealed by Covid? How has the pandemic shifted our thinking around community and embodiment? How does the pervasive presence of technology re-arranged our pastoral and discipleship priorities?This conversation is occasioned by the release of the CPT's new edited volume Techne: Christian Visions of Technology and Song's Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence, and Place in the Digital Age.

In this episode Ted and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety of sports topics: Tony Romo hatred (that escalated quickly) Which theologian would Andy Reid and Nick Siriani be? Who is the coolest white dude in sports and why is it Christian McCaffery? QB movement fits and predictions Manning fatigue Super Bowl predictions For more ranting, conversation, and cultural analysis check out our book, The Happy Rant: Wandering To and Fro Through Some Things That Don't Matter All That Much (and a Few That Really Do) at https://thehappyrant.com/book/Visit our show store where you can find shirts, notebooks, bags, and more. Our merchandise makes great gifts and is an ideal way to look cooler than all your friends too at https://thehappyrant.com/shop/Check out our sponsor:Visual Theology (https://visualtheology.church) and use the code “happyrant” at checkout for a 20% discount!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

CPT Executive Director Joel Lawrence interviews Dr. Justin Bailey, Professor of Theology at Dordt University. They discuss Dr. Bailey's story of faith, education, and ministry. They also discuss his new book Interpreting Your World: Five Lenses for Engaging Theology and Culture. How do we define culture? What are shortcomings of existing book-treatments? What does non-anxious cultural engagement look like? All this and more on this episode.

The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi Germany (Princeton UP, 2010) documents the process, and relative ease, with which institutions of higher learning and the religious establishment, can be corrupted by political ideology and power. In Germany of the 1930's the thin cloak of religion covered and sanitized the murderous evil of Naziism. Was Jesus a Nazi? During the Third Reich, German Protestant theologians, motivated by racism and tapping into traditional Christian anti-Semitism, redefined Jesus as an Aryan and Christianity as a religion at war with Judaism. In 1939, these theologians established the Institute for the Study and Eradication of Jewish Influence on German Religious Life. In The Aryan Jesus, Susannah Heschel shows that during the Third Reich, the Institute became the most important propaganda organ of German Protestantism, exerting a widespread influence and producing a nazified Christianity that placed anti-Semitism at its theological center. Based on years of archival research, The Aryan Jesus examines the membership and activities of this controversial theological organization. With headquarters in Eisenach, the Institute sponsored propaganda conferences throughout the Nazi Reich and published books defaming Judaism, including a dejudaized version of the New Testament and a catechism proclaiming Jesus as the savior of the Aryans. Institute members--professors of theology, bishops, and pastors--viewed their efforts as a vital support for Hitler's war against the Jews. Heschel looks in particular at Walter Grundmann, the Institute's director and a professor of the New Testament at the University of Jena. Grundmann and his colleagues formed a community of like-minded Nazi Christians who remained active and continued to support each other in Germany's postwar years. The Aryan Jesus raises vital questions about Christianity's recent past and the ambivalent place of Judaism in Christian thought. Renee Garfinkel, Ph.D. is a psychologist, writer, Middle East television commentator and host of The New Books Network's Van Leer Jerusalem Series on Ideas. Write her at reneeg@vanleer.org.il. She's on Twitter @embracingwisdom. She blogs here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi Germany (Princeton UP, 2010) documents the process, and relative ease, with which institutions of higher learning and the religious establishment, can be corrupted by political ideology and power. In Germany of the 1930's the thin cloak of religion covered and sanitized the murderous evil of Naziism. Was Jesus a Nazi? During the Third Reich, German Protestant theologians, motivated by racism and tapping into traditional Christian anti-Semitism, redefined Jesus as an Aryan and Christianity as a religion at war with Judaism. In 1939, these theologians established the Institute for the Study and Eradication of Jewish Influence on German Religious Life. In The Aryan Jesus, Susannah Heschel shows that during the Third Reich, the Institute became the most important propaganda organ of German Protestantism, exerting a widespread influence and producing a nazified Christianity that placed anti-Semitism at its theological center. Based on years of archival research, The Aryan Jesus examines the membership and activities of this controversial theological organization. With headquarters in Eisenach, the Institute sponsored propaganda conferences throughout the Nazi Reich and published books defaming Judaism, including a dejudaized version of the New Testament and a catechism proclaiming Jesus as the savior of the Aryans. Institute members--professors of theology, bishops, and pastors--viewed their efforts as a vital support for Hitler's war against the Jews. Heschel looks in particular at Walter Grundmann, the Institute's director and a professor of the New Testament at the University of Jena. Grundmann and his colleagues formed a community of like-minded Nazi Christians who remained active and continued to support each other in Germany's postwar years. The Aryan Jesus raises vital questions about Christianity's recent past and the ambivalent place of Judaism in Christian thought. Renee Garfinkel, Ph.D. is a psychologist, writer, Middle East television commentator and host of The New Books Network's Van Leer Jerusalem Series on Ideas. Write her at reneeg@vanleer.org.il. She's on Twitter @embracingwisdom. She blogs here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/german-studies

The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi Germany (Princeton UP, 2010) documents the process, and relative ease, with which institutions of higher learning and the religious establishment, can be corrupted by political ideology and power. In Germany of the 1930's the thin cloak of religion covered and sanitized the murderous evil of Naziism. Was Jesus a Nazi? During the Third Reich, German Protestant theologians, motivated by racism and tapping into traditional Christian anti-Semitism, redefined Jesus as an Aryan and Christianity as a religion at war with Judaism. In 1939, these theologians established the Institute for the Study and Eradication of Jewish Influence on German Religious Life. In The Aryan Jesus, Susannah Heschel shows that during the Third Reich, the Institute became the most important propaganda organ of German Protestantism, exerting a widespread influence and producing a nazified Christianity that placed anti-Semitism at its theological center. Based on years of archival research, The Aryan Jesus examines the membership and activities of this controversial theological organization. With headquarters in Eisenach, the Institute sponsored propaganda conferences throughout the Nazi Reich and published books defaming Judaism, including a dejudaized version of the New Testament and a catechism proclaiming Jesus as the savior of the Aryans. Institute members--professors of theology, bishops, and pastors--viewed their efforts as a vital support for Hitler's war against the Jews. Heschel looks in particular at Walter Grundmann, the Institute's director and a professor of the New Testament at the University of Jena. Grundmann and his colleagues formed a community of like-minded Nazi Christians who remained active and continued to support each other in Germany's postwar years. The Aryan Jesus raises vital questions about Christianity's recent past and the ambivalent place of Judaism in Christian thought. Renee Garfinkel, Ph.D. is a psychologist, writer, Middle East television commentator and host of The New Books Network's Van Leer Jerusalem Series on Ideas. Write her at reneeg@vanleer.org.il. She's on Twitter @embracingwisdom. She blogs here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi Germany (Princeton UP, 2010) documents the process, and relative ease, with which institutions of higher learning and the religious establishment, can be corrupted by political ideology and power. In Germany of the 1930's the thin cloak of religion covered and sanitized the murderous evil of Naziism. Was Jesus a Nazi? During the Third Reich, German Protestant theologians, motivated by racism and tapping into traditional Christian anti-Semitism, redefined Jesus as an Aryan and Christianity as a religion at war with Judaism. In 1939, these theologians established the Institute for the Study and Eradication of Jewish Influence on German Religious Life. In The Aryan Jesus, Susannah Heschel shows that during the Third Reich, the Institute became the most important propaganda organ of German Protestantism, exerting a widespread influence and producing a nazified Christianity that placed anti-Semitism at its theological center. Based on years of archival research, The Aryan Jesus examines the membership and activities of this controversial theological organization. With headquarters in Eisenach, the Institute sponsored propaganda conferences throughout the Nazi Reich and published books defaming Judaism, including a dejudaized version of the New Testament and a catechism proclaiming Jesus as the savior of the Aryans. Institute members--professors of theology, bishops, and pastors--viewed their efforts as a vital support for Hitler's war against the Jews. Heschel looks in particular at Walter Grundmann, the Institute's director and a professor of the New Testament at the University of Jena. Grundmann and his colleagues formed a community of like-minded Nazi Christians who remained active and continued to support each other in Germany's postwar years. The Aryan Jesus raises vital questions about Christianity's recent past and the ambivalent place of Judaism in Christian thought. Renee Garfinkel, Ph.D. is a psychologist, writer, Middle East television commentator and host of The New Books Network's Van Leer Jerusalem Series on Ideas. Write her at reneeg@vanleer.org.il. She's on Twitter @embracingwisdom. She blogs here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history

The Aryan Jesus: Christian Theologians and the Bible in Nazi Germany (Princeton UP, 2010) documents the process, and relative ease, with which institutions of higher learning and the religious establishment, can be corrupted by political ideology and power. In Germany of the 1930's the thin cloak of religion covered and sanitized the murderous evil of Naziism. Was Jesus a Nazi? During the Third Reich, German Protestant theologians, motivated by racism and tapping into traditional Christian anti-Semitism, redefined Jesus as an Aryan and Christianity as a religion at war with Judaism. In 1939, these theologians established the Institute for the Study and Eradication of Jewish Influence on German Religious Life. In The Aryan Jesus, Susannah Heschel shows that during the Third Reich, the Institute became the most important propaganda organ of German Protestantism, exerting a widespread influence and producing a nazified Christianity that placed anti-Semitism at its theological center. Based on years of archival research, The Aryan Jesus examines the membership and activities of this controversial theological organization. With headquarters in Eisenach, the Institute sponsored propaganda conferences throughout the Nazi Reich and published books defaming Judaism, including a dejudaized version of the New Testament and a catechism proclaiming Jesus as the savior of the Aryans. Institute members--professors of theology, bishops, and pastors--viewed their efforts as a vital support for Hitler's war against the Jews. Heschel looks in particular at Walter Grundmann, the Institute's director and a professor of the New Testament at the University of Jena. Grundmann and his colleagues formed a community of like-minded Nazi Christians who remained active and continued to support each other in Germany's postwar years. The Aryan Jesus raises vital questions about Christianity's recent past and the ambivalent place of Judaism in Christian thought. Renee Garfinkel, Ph.D. is a psychologist, writer, Middle East television commentator and host of The New Books Network's Van Leer Jerusalem Series on Ideas. Write her at reneeg@vanleer.org.il. She's on Twitter @embracingwisdom. She blogs here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/genocide-studies

Mere Simulacrity, Session 2 Throughout the ages, theological and philosophical movements have been advanced based upon half-truths, false rhetoric, and equivocations championed as axiomatic principles. Theologians and philosophers, whether they are evangelical or non-evangelical, still use similar rhetorical devices to champion claims that undercut the concept of a universally valid approach to knowledge. They will say things such as: People have different perspectives, right? Clearly your background and personal biases influence your reading of the Bible or any other text, right? It would be overly prideful to claim that anyone particular person has the correct interpretation of the text, so why don't you take a humbler approach? Fundamental to these questions is a half-truth; namely, the fact that people do approach events, texts, or situations from different vantage points. However, underlying this approach is a philosophical commitment to the belief we cannot have universally valid frameworks of understanding. Many believe any commitment to a universally valid framework of understanding ought to be considered arrogant, white, western, patriarchal, or racist. Essential to this line of reasoning are one of many philosophical approaches to reality known as idealism, subjectivity, relativism, perspectivalism, or any other “ism” that affirms all we have are interpretations, not knowledge. Dr. Bill Roach traces the rise of different idealistic revolutions up to the present day embrace of the existential method by evangelical scholars and pastors. He addresses Plato's metaphysical idealistic, Kant's epistemological idealistic revolution, Schleiermacher's hermeneutical idealistic revolution, and Post-Modernism's linguistic idealistic revolution. Special emphasis is placed upon leading figures in philosophical hermeneutics and the various ways present-day scholars, whether secular or evangelical, have embraced one or more of the various expressions of philosophical idealism. Dr. Roach concludes with a call to embrace philosophical realism as a corrective to the varying idealistic revolutions throughout the history of ideas. https://sovereignnations.com Support Sovereign Nations: https://paypal.me/sovnations https://patreon.com/sovnations Follow Sovereign Nations: https://sovereignnations.com/subscribe/ © 2023 Sovereign Nations. All rights reserved. #sovereignnations #williamroach #hermeneutics

In this episode Ted, Ronnie, and Barnabas wander to and fro through a variety ion topics: What new things do we still try to keep up with? The performative aspects of keeping up with new things Fullbacks and casseroles Extricating ourselves from awkward conversations Names that will not work for theologians For more ranting, conversation, and cultural analysis check out our book, The Happy Rant: Wandering To and Fro Through Some Things That Don't Matter All That Much (and a Few That Really Do) at https://thehappyrant.com/book/Visit our show store where you can find shirts, notebooks, bags, and more. Our merchandise makes great gifts and is an ideal way to look cooler than all your friends too at https://thehappyrant.com/shop/Check out our sponsor:Visual Theology (https://visualtheology.church) and use the code “happyrant” at checkout for a 20% discount!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's About Time: Part 2 – Overstressed, Overloaded, and Maxed Out Lives MESSAGE SUMMARY: Following Jesus brings peace into our lives even though we may face great trials and tribulations. In John 16:33, Jesus tells us: “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”. However, when observing the lives of modern-day Christians, we don't find many of their lives saturated with peace. God has given each of us a capacity for our lives with His expectations for living as Jesus described in John 10:10: “. . . I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.". The difference between what would be considered our lives' capacity and our lives being filled to overflowing is our lives' margin. God desires to bless us and to have our lives filled with His presence through the Holy Spirit. Often, technology and the other worthwhile benefits of this age bring the stresses of time, making wimps of us in the management of time in our lives. In Ecclesiastes 3:1, God tells us: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:". As we manage the elements and demands of time in our lives, we must manage time for ourselves and our kids. Kids spell love as “time” – be present in their lives, mentally and emotionally. Indifference can be interpreted as a lack of genuine affection and esteem. Also, we need “God time”, a time to nurture and deepen our relationship with Jesus. Without margin, we have built our life-foundations on sand and not on the rock of Jesus' teachings. Ways we can build margin back into our lives is by: 1) having a weekly Sabbath; building back into our lives a time alone with God every day; 3) expecting that the unexpected will happen; 4) learning to say “no”; 5) using technology wisely; 6) pruning our activity branches; 7) prioritizing our calendars; and 8) giving thanks to God.     TODAY'S PRAYER: Keeping the Sabbath, Lord, will require a lot of changes in the way I am living life. Teach me, Lord, how to take the next step with this in a way that fits my unique personality and situation. Help me to trust you with all that will remain unfinished and to enjoy my humble place in your very large world. In Jesus' name, amen.    Scazzero, Peter. Emotionally Healthy Spirituality Day by Day (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. TODAY'S AFFIRMATION: Today, I affirm that because of what God has done for me in His Son, Jesus, I AM RIGHTEOUS IN GOD'S EYES. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 SCRIPTURE REFERENCE (ESV): Ecclesiastes 3:1-8; Exodus 20:8-11; Mark 1:35; John15:1-11; 1 Theologians 5:16-17. SCRIPTURE REFERENCE SEARCH: www.AWFTL.org/bible-search/ WEBSITE LINK TO DR. BEACH'S DAILY DEVOTIONAL – “Jesus Followers' Righteousness Will Flow, with the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit, from Their Heart Through Their Personal Relationship with Jesus”: https://awordfromthelord.org/devotional/ A WORD FROM THE LORD WEBSITE: www.AWFTL.org. DONATE TO AWFTL: https://mygiving.secure.force.com/GXDonateNow?id=a0Ui000000DglsqEAB

FEATURING: (00:03:20) Listener Mail - Because you have played Tuk Tuk Extreme... (00:33:04) What would go into a Baten Kaitos remake? (00:54:14) Can Mario cry? (01:26:37) Mario + Rabbids - Mario. (01:52:21) Theologians react to games.

*This episode was originally published on 2/21/22 This week I am delighted to welcome Dr. Carl Trueman to the podcast. Dr. Trueman serves as Professor of Biblical & Religious Studies at Grove City College. He is an accomplished author having published many works including Luther's Legacy; Histories and Fallacies, The Creedal Imperative, and his 2015 contribution to the Theologians on the Christian Life Series centered on Martin Luther.

Ugandan theologian and humanitarian, Fr Alex Ojacor, discusses with Fr Stan Chu Ilo on why he thinks 2023 will be a great year for Africa and her peoples. They discuss the role of faith, the church, and politics in turning Africa's possibilities and hopes into reality for the flourishing of Africa and spreading prosperity for Africans in 2023.

On this week's episode, Zach Wagner is joined by Gerald Hiestand and Eric Redmond to discuss their contributions to a newly published volume of essays on racial injustice. These chapters were adapted from the presentations at the CPT's 2021 theology conference.The book can be purchased here:https://wipfandstock.com/9781666737349/confronting-racial-injustice/And here:https://www.amazon.com/Confronting-Racial-Injustice-Theory-Theologians/dp/1666737348

Full Text of ReadingsThe Epiphany of the Lord Lectionary: 20The Saint of the day is Saint Angela of FolignoSaint Angela of Foligno's story Some saints show marks of holiness very early. Not Angela! Born of a leading family in Foligno, Italy, she became immersed in the quest for wealth and social position. As a wife and mother, she continued this life of distraction. Around the age of 40, she recognized the emptiness of her life and sought God's help in the Sacrament of Penance. Her Franciscan confessor helped Angela to seek God's pardon for her previous life and to dedicate herself to prayer and the works of charity. Shortly after her conversion, her husband and children died. Selling most of her possessions, she entered the Secular Franciscan Order. She was alternately absorbed by meditating on the crucified Christ and by serving the poor of Foligno as a nurse and beggar for their needs. Other women joined her in a religious community. At her confessor's advice, Angela wrote her Book of Visions and Instructions. In it she recalls some of the temptations she suffered after her conversion; she also expresses her thanks to God for the Incarnation of Jesus. This book and her life earned for Angela the title “Teacher of Theologians.” She was beatified in 1693, and canonized in 2013. Reflection People who live in the United States today can understand Saint Angela's temptation to increase her sense of self-worth by accumulating money, fame or power. Striving to possess more and more, she became more and more self-centered. When she realized she was priceless because she was created and loved by God, she became very penitential and very charitable to the poor. What had seemed foolish early in her life now became very important. The path of self-emptying she followed is the path all holy men and women must follow. The liturgical feast of Saint Angela of Foligno is celebrated on January 7. Saint of the Day, Copyright Franciscan Media

January 2: Saints Basil the Great and Gregory Nazianzen, Bishops and DoctorsSt. Basil: 329–379; St. Gregory: c. 329–390Memorial; Liturgical Color: WhitePatron Saints of Russia, monks, hospital administrators, and poetsObvious truths are hard to explain, but smart theologians can explain themThe persecution of the Church in the first few centuries, sometimes aggressive, more typically passive, starved her skinny biblical frame of nourishment. When the Emperor Constantine legalized Christianity in 313 A.D., the Church's bones finally stretched, grew, and added muscle on muscle. Churches opened. Bishops preached. Schools taught. Theologians wrote. And, most significantly, Councils met. Three hundred years after Jesus Christ ascended into heaven, these large gatherings of bishops and theologians sought to end theological confusion, to settle thorny questions, and to establish a standard Christian doctrine. In the vast halls and churches of these councils, the great cast of theologians of the fourth century put their prodigious talents on full display. We commemorate two of the greatest of these bishops and theologians in today's memorial.Saints Basil and Gregory lived so long ago, were so prolific, and played such crucial roles in so many areas of Church life, that they could each be remembered for any number of contributions to liturgy, theology, ecclesiology, Church history, monasticism, and even popular customs, especially in the Orthodox East. Yet perhaps their greatest contributions were as theologians who defined, fundamentally and decisively, what the word Trinity actually means; how Jesus is both fully God and fully man; and how the Holy Spirit is related to God the Father. Such definitions and distinctions may seem technical, abstract, or remote. But it is always the most obvious things—the most necessary things—that are the most difficult to explain. Why do things fall down instead of up? Why does the sun rise in the east instead of the west? Why are there seven days in a week instead of nine?The most fundamental doctrines of our faith, understood now as perennial, were not always perennial. They originated in the minds of certain people at certain times in certain places. To today's saints we owe the decisive words that the Holy Spirit “proceeds” from the Father and the Son. These words fall simply and familiarly from our lips. But the word “proceeds” was the fruit of intense thought and prayer. The Father generated the Son, but the Holy Spirit “proceeds” from them both. Interesting. Dozens of millions of Catholics say reflexively every Sunday that the second Person of the Trinity is “consubstantial” with the Father. Not equal in origin. Not equal in role. But “consubstantial,” or equal in nature. Thank you, Saints Basil and Gregory! Thank you, great Bishops and Doctors of the early Church! Thank you for pulling aside the veil of mystery for a peek into the Godhead. Without the teachings of the fourth century on the Trinity and Christ, there would be no Christmas trees. Think about that. Why celebrate the Christ child if He were not God? But He is God. So carols are composed, mangers are set up, lights are hung, and gifts are exchanged. Culture happens, culture flourishes, when theology makes sense. Thank you, Saints Basil and Gregory, for… everything!O noble Bishops and Doctors Basil and Gregory, we ask for your continued intercession to enlighten our minds and to remove the dark shadows that cause confusion. Assist us to recognize that good theology understands God as He understands Himself. When you gave us good teaching, you gave us God. We seek nothing more.

On our final episode of 2022 the CPT staff has an extended conversation about some of our top books from our reading in the past year. 

At Christmas we celebrate that Jesus chose to be born in the body of a tiny baby. The infinite God became an infant! Theologians call this the incarnation. The Son of God assumed a human body and a human nature. 100% God, but also 100% man. This is a display of true humility, which is the quality of lowering oneself in the service of others. Jesus literally chose to leave Heaven to come to Earth to save you. The great message of Christmas is that Jesus chose to humble himself to serve us. While on Earth, he fed the hungry, healed the sick, comforted the hurting, cared for the disabled, and washed the feet of His disciples. And then He gave his life for us: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” -Mark 10:45. In this message from Pastor Tim Lucas, we learn about the beauty of humility - it's not thinking of yourself less. It's thinking about others more. Watch and learn how to walk humbly with God this Christmas! Christmas Eve 2022 | Pastor Tim Lucas | Liquid Church #Humble #Humility #Pride #Christmas #Jesus #Christianity #ChristianChurch #LiquidChurch

For this Advent/Christmas episode, we are featuring a sermon given by CPT fellow Cory Wilson at the beginning of the season of Advent. Merry Christmas, everyone!

What do Charles Spurgeon, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and R.C. Sproul have in common? Today on our journey back through the archives, Dr. Stephen Nichols explains the love for Christmas that these gifted theologians shared. Read the transcript: https://www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/313-theologians-who-love-christmas/ A donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Donate: https://www.5minutesinchurchhistory.com/donate/

 Expecting a Kingdom Various passages  December 18, 2022     Introduction: This Christmas we are looking at the rest of the story of Christmas as we learn that Jesus came for more reasons than just to die for our sins!  Last week we learned that Israel was waiting for a king whom they called “Messiah,” the New Testament calls him the “Christ.”  Even getting a bit closer to home with our personal lives, we call him Lord! You cannot have a king without a kingdom  A kingdom is simply made up of a territory or realm, and people over whom a king rules.    That means the kingdom of God is simply the territory, the realm and the people over whom Jesus rules as king.   Therefore, at the first coming of Christ Israel was not only waiting for a king but a kingdom that he was going to set up as well! Today I want to try to better understand what the kingdom is turn to Matthew 3 The kingdom is at handJesus and John the Baptist both began their preaching with the same message:  the “kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Read Matthew 3:1-2; 4:17.  Jesus and John were saying that the kingdom of heaven was so close to appearing that they could reach out and touch it, they could smell the aroma of it like a fine cooked meal in the next room.  It is interesting to note also that neither one of them felt a need to explain just what that kingdom was or what it would be like That is because when they heard John and Jesus preach about the kingdom of heaven the Jew could not help but think about God's covenant promises and what the prophets said in the Old Testament.    The one that Daniel 2 would simply summarize as a kingdom that would crush all the other earthly kingdoms!   Read Daniel 2:44  (note heaven)People try to make a distinction between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God –  I think that is reading our current theology into the text rather than letting the text inform our theology! What they would have known is what we learned in the series of the people of promise and particularly the sixteen promises we summarized for you on the handout we gave you.  Review quickly:Abrahamic a land forever innumerable descendants that would be  blessings in his seed all the nations will be blessed God will be their God forever Deuteronic future repentance of Israel restoration to the land regathered from dispersion nation converted Israel's enemies will be judged nation receive full blessings in the land Davidic king forever kingdom forever reign forever New covenant  Spiritual blessings – forgiven, new heart, the Holy Spirit.  Abiding material blessings in the land This is the nature of the kingdom that John the Baptist and Jesus were offering, this is the kingdom the Jews were looking for but something significant happened in Matthew 12 The kingdom has come upon youTurn to Matthew 12:28.  Context is that Jesus had just cast a demon out of a man and the Pharisees said, “He cast out demons by Beelzebub the ruler of the demons.” Listen to Jesus' response.  Read v25-28No longer is the kingdom at hand but now it has come upon them. Jesus said when he cast out the demon by the Spirit of God, and then the kingdom has come upon you. The Old Testament taught that during the kingdom the Holy Spirit would be doing extra ordinary works. Right here is one display of that.   Listen to Luke 17:20-21 when the Pharisees were questioning Jesus as to when the kingdom of God was coming.  Listen to what he said.  Read Luke 17:20-21 The word “in your midst or within you” cannot be referring to the fact the kingdom is residing in their hearts because Jesus was talking to a largely unbelieving group who rejected him! What Jesus was saying is that the kingdom of God is in your midst.  The kingdom of God is standing right here, right now, right in the middle of all of you.  The king and the kingdom go hand in hand.  Where King Jesus is, the kingdom is. In the parables Jesus teaches them and us the …  Mysteries of the kingdom Read Matthew 13:10-11 A mystery is something that has not been revealed before but now is going to be.  New revelation comes in light of the fact that the religious leaders have just rejected and denounced Jesus, their Messiah.  The parables are the mysteries of the kingdom!   Jesus is going to tell them and us something new about the kingdom of God, and it is much different from the kingdom they expected and learned about in the Old Testament.   The parables teach us the nature of God's kingdom from the time of Israel's rejection of him as their king until the time he returns to set up his kingdom here on earth, the kingdom they expected from the Old Testament. I will only read a summary of what the parables teach us about the kingdom, as it would take a whole series to understand it all.  See passages in the notes!The parables teach us new features of the kingdom that have been in operation from the rejection of Jesus as Messiah by Israel and will continue until the judgment at the end of this age (Matthew 12:28; 13:30, 39-40, 49).  During this time the righteous and wicked will co-exist (Matthew 13:24-30) and Satan himself will be very active (Matthew 13:39).  At the end of this age, no one else can enter the kingdom (Matthew 25:10-13) and there will be judgment for the wicked and rewards for the sons of the kingdom at that time. (Matthew13:30, 40-43, 47-50; 20: 1-16; 25:14-30).  The kingdom will start very small but powerful and will grow and advance until it surpasses all other kingdoms (13:31-33).  But it is a kingdom of supreme importance and value, worth everything a person has (Matthew13:44-46).  Because Israel rejected Jesus as Messiah /King, the kingdom is taken away from them and given to a people producing its fruits ( Matthew 21:33-44; Luke 13:28-29)  the invitation to this kingdom will now go out beyond the people of Israel to many others (Matthew 22:1-10).   People will respond differently to the word of this kingdom (13:18-23), since many are called but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14).  Entrance into this kingdom will not be based upon bloodline or religious heritage but rather upon repentance and belief (Matthew 21:28-32).  This kingdom will be an internal invisible powerful spiritual kingdom. It is a kingdom of receiving and giving forgiveness (Matthew 18:21-35).  Where Jesus is, the kingdom is, because the king and the kingdom go hand and hand. (Matthew 12:28; Luke 17:20-21).  Because no one knows the day or hour when Jesus will return and bring a close to this age, everyone should be prepared, watching, and serving the Master by doing his will until he returns (Matthew 25:1-30) Jesus told his disciples that his literal earthly kingdom would not be right away but in the future, after the king takes a long journey and they will be rewarded according to their faithfulness during that time. (Luke19:11-27) Simply stated, the kingdom of God during our time is the rule of God by his Spirit over the hearts and lives of men and women.  I believe the visible manifestation of this kingdom during this time that Jesus must be in heaven is the church.  In reality, the kingdom has already begun but it is not fully here yet!   Theologians call this already but not yet!The “already” part is the fact that since the kingdom is where the king is and the Spirit of Christ dwells in our hearts right now, then he is king over a group of people who have been born again by the Spirit of God.  It is a spiritual kingdom “right now” where Jesus rules as king over his people. The “not yet” part is the fact that when Jesus returns to earth, he is going to set up a literal earthly, kingdom where he will be king over all the earth from Jerusalem.   Application   As believers, we are not just waiting for a kingdom but we are a part of God's powerful invisible kingdom right now with our King Jesus ruling over his church as its head and over his people as their lord!   Here is the reality that we live in.  We live in the midst of two kingdoms, each with their own kings – the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan- the god of this world. Each kingdom has its own program/system, ways, pattern, mold, basic principles, standards, philosophy, values, goals, methods, wisdom, viewpoint, loves, and use of its money. etc.The world puts constant pressure on us to squeeze us into the mold of the world we live in buying into its ways and values God's kingdom is seeking to transform us into the mold of Jesus Christ.  Each kingdom is vying/competing for our allegiance to its ways and its king While we are in the world, we are not of the world as God transferred us out of the kingdom of Satan and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved son.Read Colossians 1:12-13  Believers – which kingdom are you living by?  Which one reflects more of your thinking, values. loves and lifestyle?This is not about how many Bible studies you go to, how many times you go to church or even how much worship music you listen to! This is about who really is your king and which kingdom is influencing your life.   If you do not know Jesus, today you can transfer your membership from the kingdom of Satan to the kingdom of Jesus!Turn and listen to what Jesus said in John 3:3  You must be born again!  Born again by the Spirit of God.   Read John 3:7-8  Turn to John 1 and listen to what John the apostle said in v11-13Note what it is not – read 13b It is by God through faith in Jesus.  Read 12b Simple as ABC and invite

“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” dates back more than a thousand years to the Monastic movement and reflects the prophecy written in Isaiah 7:14. “O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL” LYRICS… “O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel, that mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appears. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.” “O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free thine own from Satan's tyranny; from depths of hell thy people save, and give them victory o'er the grave. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.” “O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high, and cheer us by Thy drawing nigh; disperse the gloomy clouds of night, and death's dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.” ISAIAH 7:14 “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” THE THEOLOGY OF “O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL” The theology of this hymn is almost entirely from the Old Testament Jewish prophecies related to God's promise of a Savior – Immanuel, which means “God with us.” Christianity is rooted in Judaism because God promised a Savior King that would emerge through the Jews and the nation of Israel. John 4:22 says, “…salvation is of the Jews.” Isaiah 11:1 says, “There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.” God promised Abraham, the father of the Jews, that through his seed all the people of the earth would be blessed. Theologians call this the Abrahamic Covenant found in Genesis 12:1-3, 15:5-21, 17:1-8. Luke 1:78-79 says, “Through the tender mercy of our God, with which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; to give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” Emmanuel is the Dayspring – when He comes, a new Day will dawn. The night will soon be over! He will chase away death's dark shadows! Join Pastor Phil Hopper as he reveals… A hidden message in the text of the seven original stanzas of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” Don't forget to click the “bell” to SUBSCRIBE to get more videos like this to grow your faith! Connect with us on Social Media ↴ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/abundantlifels/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/abundantlifels Connect with Pastor Phil ↴ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PhilHopperKC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philhopper_kc/ Web: https://livingproof.co/about-us/pastor-phil/ Prepare your heart for Christmas with this Christmas devotional video series: https://livingproof.co/preparing-your-heart-for-christmas-a-christmas-devotional-video-series/ More information on our sermons: https://livingproof.co/sermons/ Do you want to see your life changed by Jesus? Visit our website: https://livingproof.co/

BORN IN THE SECOND CENTURY presents the first installment of a trilogy of shows on the Great Montanist "Heresy." Host Chris Palmero examines the tremendous impact that the second century religious movement of Montanism had on Christianity actually becoming a distinct religion. At the same time, Montanism will be revealed to be a heretical Jewish movement that originally had nothing to do with Christianity.For the first time ever on this show, we find ourselves in "Ordinary Time," surveying a historical narrative from the late 100's AD. This is the dividing line between Christian history and pre-history, and we are at the very moment when the Church first found it necessary to create a backstory for itself. Anyone who listens to this episode can learn about the theologian's explanation of Montanism and the flaws inherent in that explanation; about the oracles of the three mad prophets Montanus, Maximilla, and Priscilla; about the suspicious lack of connection between Montanism and Christianity; about the possible true date of this movement's origins; about the uncanny links between the New Prophecy and Blade Runner; and about a possible alternate history in which women led Christianity throughout history, Bene Gesserit-style. A new segment is introduced in which a history of the 1980's AD is given, but as if written by Eusebius.Opening reading: A Montanist prophetess delivers a fiery exhortation to her fellow women, in a passage that has ironically been preserved by Schmucko Supremo Tertullian.Patreon: www.patreon.com/borninthesecondcenturyWebsite: facebook.com/BornInTheSecondCenturyE-mail: secondcenturypodcast@gmail.comMusic: Pompeii Gray on Apple Music, Spotify, SoundCloud00:47 - Reading: ANONYMOUS PROPHETESS, De Fuga in Persecutione.04:33 - The Theologians' MASTER NARRATIVE about Montanism.09:07 - The PROBLEMS of the Master Narrative.15:16 - Montanism is BLADE RUNNER.20:29 - Let the Women Be VIOLENT.32:42 - OPENING Remarks.49:06 - Reading: TERTULLIAN, De Anima.50:45 - MODERN Relevance of Montanism.54:41 - The Oracles of MONTANUS.1:06:14 - The Oracles of PRISCILLA.1:11:05 - The Oracles of MAXIMILLA.1:19:17 - Calculating the DATE of the New Prophecy.1:30:13 - Shit My Eusebius Says: On the 1980's.1:34:07 - CLOSING Remarks.Support the show

CPT fellow Cory Wilson joins the podcast to share a bit about his life and ministry. At City Church, a diverse and eclectic congregation on the east side of Cleveland, he and his ministry team have sought to use liturgical and church calendar rhythms in service of congregants' formation into Christlikeness for the sake of others. How can Christian traditions learn from one another? What is the significance of liturgical practices during the season of Advent? All this and more in this episode.

CPT Fellow Neil Martin rejoins the podcast to discuss his newly release book Galatians Reconsidered: Jews, Gentiles, and Justification in the First and Twenty-First Centuries. This conversation also includes an overview survey of trends in Pauline scholarship over the past 50-plus years. What was the key insight Luther offered about Paul's gospel? What things might have been skewed in Luther's perspective? How does understanding Paul's 1st-century pagan context help pastors minister in the 21st century?

We are joined on this episode by Rev. Dr. Neal Presa, who is a member of the CPT's St. Augustine Fellowship. We hear from Neal about his life of faith, education, and how he discerned a call to ministry as he grew and matured. Neal also shares about his ministry experiences and his current work with the World Council of Churches, including how the evangelical church can engage in and learn from ecumenical movements for the good of the world.

How does the incarnation relate to our theology of gender? What does it mean that we describe God as "Father" and "Son"? What significance, if any, do we assign to Jesus' maleness? How should orthodox Christians engage with critical and post-Christian feminist scholarship? What can we learn about masculinity and femininity from the biblical narrative?Amy Peeler joins the podcast again, this time with Gerald Hiestand, to discuss her new book Women and the Gender of God.

Professor, pastor, and author Robert Moore-Jumonville talks with Nathan Foster about Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton.Show Notes[0:57] What do you like about Chesterton?[5:09 ] How would you describe Orthodoxy to someone?[7:32] I'm struggling with the term “dense,” because it's not boring...[12:41] For some reason I hear Kurt Vonnegut in Chesterton – the satire, the unexpected. Chesterton surprises me.[16:40] It seems like a cultural commentary that has a lot of relevance for today.[18:45] What are one or two significant impacts Chesterton has had on your life?[23:46] How do you think Chesterton would like to be remembered?[24:51] Can you tell us a little about your book?Resources Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton Chesterton and Tolkien as Theologians, Alison Milbank The Kingdom of God in America, Richard Niebuhr Jogging with G.K. Chesterton: 65 Earthshaking Expeditions, by Robert Moore-Jumonville