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What is a good life? The answer is as old as the world itself. We were made to love God and our neighbor, to learn wisdom, and to be good stewards of our gifts. Here we’ll talk with everyday people who have thought and written about these topics.
Episodes
Friday Apr 21, 2023
Friday Apr 21, 2023
How did Evangelicalism become the cultural force that it is? How did it come to be associated with conservatism? What role does money play in the growth of religious consciousness in America? These are just some of the questions I discuss with today's guest, Jake Nelson. Jake has an M.A. from the University of Tennessee and has written on the rise of Evangelicalism in the early 1900s. If you're interested in the relationship between money, politics, and Christianity, this is a podcast for you.
- One Nation Under God - Kevin Kruse
- Anointed with Oil - Darren Dochuk
- American Apocalypse - Matthew Avery Sutton
- God's Own Party - Daniel K. Williams
Tuesday Mar 07, 2023
Tuesday Mar 07, 2023
How do we serve God and live in the world? What relationship should the church have with the state? My guest today, Joel Biermann, answers those questions and more in his book, Wholly Citizens. Joel is a professor at Concordia Seminary, where he teaches systematic theology. Our discussion features a two-kingdom approach, but nothing like the two-kingdom view many of us have heard. He emphasizes the Reformation view of Martin Luther, as well as that of Calvin, in illustrating the robust relationship between church and state.
- Wholly Citizens
- The first of 3 Lectures on the Wholly Citizens, delivered at Concordia Seminary (to see lectures two and three, click "Next" at the top right-hand corner).
Wednesday Feb 22, 2023
Wednesday Feb 22, 2023
Why do some Christians observe Lent? What is the point of fasting/asceticism? In this podcast, I talk briefly about the purpose of Ash Wednesday/Lent in the Church calendar and how it can help us become more like Christ.
Thursday Feb 02, 2023
Thursday Feb 02, 2023
Today I am joined by Joy Clarkson. You may recognize her last name (she's the daughter of Sally Clarkson), but her writing stands on its own. She's written a wonderful book by the title of, Aggressively Happy. In this episode, we discuss why she would call her book such a unique name, the necessary role of sadness in pursuing a happy life, and why living with the end of the world in mind is a good thing. Joy recently graduated from St. Andrews in Scotland with her Ph.D. in theology and will soon take a job teaching in London.
- Aggressively Happy
- A collection of Joy's articles can be found here.
- Her podcast, Speaking with Joy
Thursday Dec 29, 2022
Thursday Dec 29, 2022
What is a reactionary and why would anybody claim to be one? That's the question I discuss today with Michael Warren Davis, author of The Reactionary Mind: Why Conservative Isn't Enough. Michael has written for Crisis, The American Conservative, and many other magazines. He describes a reactionary not as one pining for a return to a pristine order, but who purposefully reorients one's life toward what is eternal. We discuss the Middle Ages, Savonarola, the Puritans, and others who teach us how societal blessings come to those who pursue eternal things.
Articles at The American Conservative
Saturday Dec 24, 2022
Saturday Dec 24, 2022
In this bonus episode, I read an article by David Frost, entitled, "Christmas Offers a Glimpse of a World That is Lost" from The Telegraph, a UK newspaper. He tells the story of a Christmas carol written in 1400 and later lost but was rediscovered in the mountains of Appalachia. There is a deeper meaning behind the story as well.
Merry Christmas!
Wednesday Dec 14, 2022
Wednesday Dec 14, 2022
Rod Dreher joins me for a wide-ranging discussion of his previous book, The Benedict Option , and his most recent book, Live Not By Lies. We talk about what changed between his writing the two books, how Christians choose to sleepwalk through much of the cultural onslaught, and what we should do in preparation for what is coming.
Books:
Blog
Monday Dec 05, 2022
Monday Dec 05, 2022
In our recent paideia sermon series, we looked at many passages that give us wisdom when training our children. This article by John Stonestreet at the Colson Center speaks to that topic. He contrasts inoculation with indoctrination as two methods of preparing our children to be "in the world but not of it." In this episode, I cover the article's highlights and offer some brief commentary on why parents should guide their kids through cultural questions rather than pretending those questions don't exist.
A Practical Guide to Culture - John Stonestreet and Brett Kunkle
Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
Wednesday Nov 23, 2022
These are just a few thoughts on the need to cultivate gratitude since it doesn't come naturally. I read a brief article by my friend Brandon Meeks on showing God's love to the least around us and talk about our responsibility to look beyond ourselves and see how we too can show God's grace to others.
Brandon Meeks' Substack Newsletter
Monday Nov 21, 2022
Monday Nov 21, 2022
My guest today is Dr. Scott Masson, a professor of literature at Tyndale University in Toronto. We talk about the origins and growth of cultural Marxism in North America, how ancient and medieval writers approached literature, and the importance of the liberal arts in fortifying our children against cultural corrosion.
Dr. Masson is a gifted lecturer and publishes his lectures freely on Youtube. You can find his channel here.
His excellent lecture on cultural Marxism can be found here.
His Paideia Today podcast can be found here.