The Good Life

Against the World - For the World

How should Christians treat the world? Are we against it, for it, or something in between? In this episode, I discuss the two views and who from Scripture successfully achieves both. 

Life in Old Ireland with John Waters

My guest today is Mr. John Waters, a journalist and Christian convert in Ireland. He has written several books, the most recent being Give Us Back the Bad Roads, which tells the story of how Ireland changed from being the most conservative country in Europe to one of the most liberal in a period of several decades. He wrote for a major newspaper until he was removed due to his stance against homosexual marriage and abortion. We talk about Irish history, economics, government, and literature.

Books

Give Us Back the Bad Roads

Was it For This? Why Ireland Lost the Plot 

Articles

The End of Pseudo-Liberalism

Broken Family, Broken Country

 

The Best Folk Tale in Scripture with Pastor Rich Lusk

Most people approach the book of Ruth with simplicity, thinking they already know it. In my interview with Pastor Rich Lusk, we discuss the beauty, wisdom, and delight to be found in this little book. It is a folk tale, a love story, and a picture of the gospel spreading to the nations, all wrapped in four short chapters. His book, Ruth: Under His Wings, breaks through the normal things we think we know about Ruth and gets to the message at the heart of God's revelation: God never leaves His people. 

Looking Into the Cosmos with Edgar Allan Poe - Dr. Harry Poe

Today I had the privilege to speak with Dr. Hal Poe, a professor at Union University in Jackson, TN. Dr. Poe is a distant relation to Edgar Allan Poe, the poet and short story writer. Dr. Poe is the author of Evermore, a fascinating book about his older cousin. Today we discuss the wide-ranging talent of this often-misunderstood writer. There are so many interesting things about Poe that it's hard to know where to begin. For instance, did you know that:

• Edgar Allan Poe wrote more humorous stories than horror stories.
• Dorothy Sayers considered him the father of the mystery story.
• Poe's life closely parallels that of C.S. Lewis leading up to Lewis's conversion.
• He wrote a book about the cosmos where he explains a general theory of relativity, one hundred years before Einstein produced it.

If your view of Edgar Allan Poe was only formed by your public school literature class, after you listen to this interview you'll never see him the same way again. 

 

• Evermore: Edgar Allan Poe and the Mystery of the Universe
• Bonus Article: C.S. Lewis Was a Secret Government Agent

 

Money, Politics, and the Rise of Evangelicalism with Jake Nelson

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

Wholly Citizens with Joel Biermann

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). 

The Season of Lent

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. 

Becoming Aggressively Happy with Joy Clarkson

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

The Reactionary Mind with Michael Warren Davis

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.

The Reactionary Mind

Articles at The American Conservative

 

The Gift of Christmas

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!