Mere Fidelity

Matt, Derek, and Alastair discuss the recent scandal of Jerry Falwell Jr., former President of Liberty University, and what biblical and theological resources Christians have to view scandals in the church more broadly. Listen in to hear about the corporate implications of our sin, the difficulty and necessity to expose scandals, and how sin can take us from being Nathans one day to Davids the next.

What does it mean to be human? Who am I? and Why do I exist? Dr. Joshua Farris—Chester and Margaret Paluch Lecturer for 2019-2020 at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake and former assistant professor of theology at Houston Baptist University—joins Matt, Derek, and Alastair to discuss his new volume, 'An Introduction to Theological Anthropology Humans, Both Creaturely and Divine,' where he seeks to answer these questions using the vast tradition of Christian theology. Listen in to hear theological reflection on anthropological issues such as sexuality, gender, race, posthumanism, the image of God, vocation, the constitution of man, the beatific vision, and more.

What is the best polemical posture? Or are there ways to creatively rearticulate the truths of the faith that prevent the necessity of polemics in the first place? The full cast and crew of Matt, Derek, Alastair, and Andrew sit down to discuss these questions and a host of others about how to engage theological trends and care for those struggling in the church.

Matt, Derek, and Alastair discuss the passage in the gospels that depict Jesus's encounter with the Syrophoenician woman. At first, and perhaps even at a second, glance, this complicated passage appears to incriminate Jesus of some sort of racial prejudice. But is this the right reading of the text?

Dr. Harold Senkbeil joins Derek and Alastair to discuss his latest book, 'Christ and Calamity: Grace and Gratitude in the Darkest Valley.' Listen in to hear them discuss why mere ideas are not sufficient to help those who are suffering, why calamity is its own category of suffering, how to endure tragedy without immediately trying to fix it, and more.

The Imago Dei is one of the most used theological categories to argue why all humans deserve dignity and sanctity. However, is this all that the imago dei should be used for? The entire cast and crew of Matt, Derek, Alastair, and Andrew are here to discuss how to think and speak about the imago dei: was Barth right about the image, should it be used to describe human rights, and what are the actual contents of the imago dei? Listen in to hear all of these questions and more.

Matt, Derek, and Alastair take a respite from discussions surrounding current events to take up the biblical theological topic of the tabernacle. Listen in to hear how the tabernacle motif is carried throughout scripture and why it isn't merely a tool of foreshadowing or a recipe for aesthetics in churches today.

How should Christians think and act with respect to guns and gun ownership? Dr. Michael Austin (Professor of Philosophy at Eastern Kentucky University), joins Matt, Derek, and Alastair to discuss his recent book, "God and Guns in America." Listen in to hear questions like, are assault rifles necessary, why has owning a gun become a right of passage for some, and how do we steer clear from polarization on the topic of guns?

Tim Schultz, the president of the 1st Amendment Partnership, a partner of the Ethics and Public Policy Center's American Religious Freedom Program (ARFP), joins Matt, Derek, and Alastair to discuss the Bostock v. Clayton County ruling.

While formal religious adherence has decreased in the modern age, spirituality has not. To answer why intuitions seem to be replacing institutions, Dr. Tara Isabella Burton joins Matt, Derek, and Alastair to discuss her new book, Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World. Listen in to hear how millennials and GenZers are finding their religions in fan-culture, occultism, wellness and self-care, social justice activism, and the alt-right.

Matt, Derek, and Alastair sit down to discuss why people are attracted to conspiracy theories. Listen in to hear the difference between credulity and conspiracy, why fringe groups matter, and how to handle those in the church who embrace QAnon and conspiracy theories.

How have black protestant's responded to their lynchings through American history? Malcolm Foley (PhD Candidate in Religion at Baylor University)joins Matt and Derek to discuss his research on this issue and how it illumines some of the current events surrounding George Floyd, protests, unrest, and racism in America.

Justice issues are ever prevalent in modern society. Moreover, conversations around justice are often co-opted by overly simplistic solutions. Dr. Anthony Bradley joins Matt and Derek to get into the details of some of these issues and to share his insights from his book, "Ending Overcriminalization and Mass Incarceration: Hope from Civil Society." Listen in to hear questions on the flaws in the New Jim Crow thesis, what factor race plays in criminalization, and how the church should think theologically about its own task with respect to prison reform.

Matt, Derek, and Alastair discuss the struggles and misconceptions surrounding prayer: how prayer becomes burdensome, prayer has experiencing God in a veiled way, and what petitions in prayer should we not ask for? All of this and more.

What exactly is the gospel? Is it merely the message that Jesus is king, or is the forgiveness of sins and justification also constitutive to the gospel? The entire cast and crew are here to discuss the resuscitated debate between Matthew Bates, Scot McKnight and Greg Gilbert as to what the gospel truly is, pointing out strengths and weaknesses and political proclivities on both sides.

College debt, an economic crisis, and the potential problem of aristocratic elitism are just some of the issues facing Christian higher education today. Dr. John Mark Reynolds joins Matt and Derek to talk about these issues and shares the creative ways in how he is addressing them at St. Constantine's College.

Amidst life's demands and pastoral burnout, how does a pastor care for a soul? Dr. Harold Senkbeil joins Matt and Derek to discuss his recent book, "The Care of Souls: Cultivating a Pastor's Heart," where he invites a new generation of pastors to form the godly habits and practical wisdom needed to minister to the hearts and souls of those committed to their care.

What kind of political theology do we need in an age after Christendom? Dr. David VanDrunen joins Matt and Derek to discuss his latest book, Politics After Christendom: Political Theology in a Fractured World, where he aims to answer this question in a way that prepares Christians to live in societies that are indifferent or hostile to the faith, and how our own political responsibilities might look for sojourners and exiles.

Matt, Derek, and Alastair discuss how they are celebrating Easter in the time of coronavirus, and how the Eastertide season looks to them in quarantine: How to celebrate the victory over death in the midst of suffering and death itself, how we are theologizing our current events, and how to cultivate joy, fear, and gratitude. All of this and more.

While Matt, Derek, and Andrew practice staying in-place, they decide to take about the topic and question of who are the proper subjects of baptism? Derek argues for the legitimacy of paedobaptism, Andrew argues for the view of credobaptism, Matt moderates, and fun is had by all. Even amidst the pandemic that the world is experiencing, topics like the sacraments always remain salient for the church. And while it may be important for us to discuss and perhaps debate how to respond to our current public health crisis, it remains important to continue to discuss one of the things that only the church does and is marked by: baptism.

What hath St. Thomas to do with predestination? Dr. Taylor Patrick O'Neill joins Matt and Derek to discuss his recent book, "Grace, Predestination, and the Permission of Sin: A Thomistic Analysis," to examine the Thomist understanding of predestination and how it relates to Calvinism, concursus, and the difference between God's actions and permission of actions in history.

The whole cast and crew of Matt, Derek, Alastair, and Andrew, are here to answer questions from listeners of Mere Fidelity: Where does one start reading the early church fathers, does the incarnation mean that God changes, how should one go about picking their denomination, and where exactly do theologians come from?

Matt, Derek, and Alastair sit down to discuss COVID-19 and how the church can respond to the current global pandemic.

Dr. Molly Worthen joins Matt and Derek to talk all things evangelicalism, not the least of which is her book, "Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism." As someone outside of the camp of evangelicalism, Dr. Worthen helps bring a new look at the many paradoxes in the evangelical movement.

Nearly every Christian tradition has its own view on Christ & Culture; that is, how the Christian church relates to secular and political powers. Pater Edmund joins Matt and Derek to discuss the classic Roman Catholic view of Integralism.

God is all-powerful. God is all-knowing. God is ever-present. But is God humble? Dr. Matthew Wilcoxen joins Derek and Alastair to discuss his recent book, 'Divine Humility: God's Morally Perfect Being.' Listen in as he traces the theme of a doctrine of humility from Augustine to Karl Barth and more.

How do we pray to our Father? Dr. Wesley Hill joins Matt, Derek, and Alastair to discuss his latest book, "The Lord's Prayer: A Guide to Praying to Our Father." Is the prayer an exact model or more of a paradigm for Christians? What are the implications of spiritual warfare in the prayer? Will we not be forgiven unless we also forgive others? In conversation with the Christian tradition, Dr. Hill draws out the significance of Jesus' words to answer these questions and more.

Can science tell us how we should live or why we should be good and not evil? Paul Nedelisky joins Matt, Derek, and Alastair to explore this question and discuss his latest book (co-written James Davidson Hunter), "Science and the Good: The Tragic Quest for the Foundations of Morality."

Christians are told to love their enemies and pray for those who persecute them, but should we also pray for justice and judgment to befall our enemies? Trevor Laurence joins Derek and Andrew to discuss the imprecatory psalms and their implications in the Christian Life, their biblical-theological framework, and how they can and should be incorporated in our liturgy and worship.

Matt introduces the latest podcast at Mere Orthodoxy, "Sacred Season." Sacred Season is a new podcast hosted by Danielle Hitchen & Erin Morrow Hawley that covers the vocation of parenting. As Hitchen and Hawley talk about the season of life that is parenting, they do so by structuring and tying it into the church calendar. Listen in to this sample of the show, and as long as you are a subscriber to Mere Fidelity, please do subscribe to Sacred Season as well.

Derek and Alastair sit down with pastor and theologian, Dr. Jeremy Treat to talk about his latest book on the Kingdom of God, 'Seek First: How the Kingdom of God Changes Everything.' Treat helps the guys work through the Christianese that surrounds discussions of "the kingdom," clarifies supposed dichotomies between the kingdom and the cross, and shares pastoral insights from this salient topic.

Matt and Derek are at ETS in San Diego and are joined by friends of the show, Dr. Fred Sanders, Dr. Gavin Ortland, and Dr. Matthew Emerson. Banter aside, this episode gives a great look at what kind of fun and rich conversations take place at ETS. Today's episode ranges from discussions on John Webster's trinitarian theology, evangelical theological retrieval, and Jesus' descent to the dead.

Derek, Alastair, and Matt catch up and talk about the miscellaneous issues they are seeing and experiencing today. Kid's sports on Sundays, Kanye West, the problem of over-booked and busy schedules, the death of New-Atheism, and more.

Is there a theological system that includes future promises regarding Israel that is not dispensational? Dr. Gerald McDermott is here to introduce Derek and Alastair to 'New Christian Zionism.'

Break out your bibles and join Alastair, Derek, and Matt for an old fashion bible study of Genesis 32:22-32, the story of Jacob's name change. Why does Jacob demand the name of the one he wrestles? Why do the Psalms refer back to Jacob as 'Jacob,' and not 'Israel'? What do wrestling and blessing have to do with each other? Listen to Alastair explain all this and more.

Andrew, Matt, and Derek sit down to discuss the phenomenon of multi-site churches. Andrew argues for the soundness of such an ecclesiastical practice and Matt and Derek aren't so sure.

Who is an evangelical? Dr. Thomas Kidd joins Matt and Derek to discuss this pertinent question which is also the title to his recent book. Listen in on why Dr. Kidd does not include activism as an identifiable factor for evangelicals, why evangelicals are susceptible to politicization, and if being "born again" unmoors evangelicals from historical institutions?

Jemar Tisby joins Derek and Alastair to discuss the history of racism in the American church. Listen in as they discuss everything from the theological importance of "remembering" to why today's political issues are often framed differently for black demographics and how our theology helps us to respond to issues of racism today.

The entire cast and crew are together to discuss Jesus' temptation in the Garden of Gethsemane. What is the nature of temptation, what are the Christological distinctions to be made in these passages, and how are Jesus' temptations different from our own?

Dr. Tara Isabella Burton joins the crew to discuss why occultism, astrology, tarot cards, folk religion, and New Age spirituality are all the rage and why this phenomenon is not particular to religious "nones."

Matt, Derek, and Alastair dive into the difficult and unsettling text of Jephthah's vow in Judges 11. The crew covers recent and old interpretations of the troubled passage, asking if certain texts can or should be "smoothed over" with typology, how we should handle texts with seeming contradictions, and how to poise ourselves in the face of scripture's ethical dilemmas?

How can Christians fulfill the Law of Love and be good neighbors in a fragmented age? Jake Meador contributes to answering this question in, "In Search of The Common Good: Christian Fidelity in a Fractured World." Jake joins Matt and Derek to discuss his recent book and untangle some of the modern presuppositions that have been found a home in the church today.

Chris Arnade joins Andrew, Derek, and Alastair to talk about his new book, "Dignity: Seeking Respect in Back Row America," where he tells the stories of how America's poor find dignity and identity in their forgotten communities.

Matt, Derek, and Alastair mull over the "boring" parts of scripture to see how these monotonous passages can be more greatly appreciated and share advice and resources that everyday Bible-readers can use. Matt also shares why Derek and Alastair are wrong for suggesting any book but John as the first book of the Bible a new Christian should read.

Matt, Derek, and Alastair sit down with Joe Carter to discuss the ongoing cultural theme of online radicalization and how the church can respond.

Matt and Alastair sit down with Dr. Justin Holcomb to discuss the difficult topic of sexual abuse in the church and how to identify and prevent it.

Sam Allberry joins the crew to discuss his new book, 7 Myths about Singleness. Sam helps to unravel some of the modern assumptions around being single and share his experience of being a single minister.

Why are more people foregoing religious affiliation in favor of the term "religious nones"? Here to help Matt, Derek, and Alastair wrestle with this subject is Dr. Tricia Bruce. Dr. Bruce is an accomplished sociologist of religion, award-winning author, an affiliate with the University of Notre Dame. Join the crew as they seek to understand the shifting cultural and religious ground in our current context.

Is it possible for one to know all there is to know about theology by just reading the Bible for themselves? Join Andrew, Alastair, and Derek as they deal with the idea of Biblicism and balance between isolated readings of scripture and implicit faith in church traditions.

Should individual Christians be politically active or should the church as an institution be politically active? Join the whole cast and crew as they discuss (and debate) the doctrine of the Spirituality of the Church.