Becoming Christian: Faith is a Journey not a Destination
What if Christian faith is less about having all the right answers and more about learning to live as human beings? What is God’s purpose for our lives is not to have it all together, but to lean into our finite, messy, lives? Join me as we explore the heart of the Christian life as we engage important questions about God, the bible, salvation, and what it means to follow Jesus.
Episodes
Too often Christian faith and evolutionary theory are viewed as incompatible. Fundamentalists on BOTH sides refuse to recognize the touch points between the two. This episode explores this false binary and how we can overcome it. The point isn't that people need to all think the same way, but we must be willing to understand each other.
Any discussion of theology needs to start with the conditions of our belief. When we read Augustine or Aquinas, it’s very clear there are linguistic and philosophical building blocks that help us make sense of reality. Charles Taylor describes this as “social imaginary”. Making sense of social imaginary is an important first step in theology.
The sources of Christian theological reflection include the bible, tradition, and personal...
In this episode we focus on the meaning of Christ's ministry, teaching, death, and resurrection. What does it mean to say that Jesus came proclaiming the Kingdom of God? How can we understand the death and resurrection of Christ in the context of exile and alienation?
What are the themes of John's gospel? How does John frame the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus in the context of the Exodus? This episode will focus on the themes of John's gospel, showing how it presents Jesus as leading the new people of God through the wilderness.
This episode will focus on the relationship between faith, finitude, and the eternal in an attempt to answer this question: What is Christian faith for the contemporary Western world?
Matthew's gospel has a specific objective--to convince you that Jesus is the fulfillment of the promises of the Old Testament. This episode focuses on the themes of Matthew's gospel, why he has Jesus giving a sermon from a mountain, and how Jesus fulfills the hope of the Israel.
Mark's gospel is focused on action. Jesus is in a hurry, and he is headed to Jerusalem where he is going to die. Mark's gospel is also full of questions. Different groups are trying to figure out who Jesus is. All of this culminates in the question Jesus asks his disciples: Who do you say I am? This is the question Mark wants everyone who reads his gospel to answer. This episode explores the themes of Mark's gospel, setting the sta...
What is the "good news" of the Gospel? For many contemporary Christians the good news is understood to be personal--Jesus died to save me from sin. While this is true, this isn't the whole picture. The gospel is much bigger than this! To understand the good news we need to place it in the context of the Old Testament: What were they waiting for? What was their hope? This episode provides an introduction to the gospels—what type of ...
How do we make sense of books like Proverbs, Ecclesiastics, and Job? Is the creation ordered by God? Or is everything meaningless? Are those who listen and obey God blessed and the foolish cursed? Or does God send rain on the just and unjust? This conversation will explore these questions as well as a brief discussion of the writings of the Old Testament.
When it comes to controversial issues in the church there are some who claim wanting to dialogue is a bad thing. As if having conversations and trying to understand another person’s point of view leads to compromising your faith. St. Benedict begins his rule with the word “Listen”. Of course, he’s talking about listening to God, and to him as he writes the rule, but there’s also a case to be made that he’s talking about listening t...
This episode focuses on the prophetic writings of the Old Testament, and how they speak to Israel’s exile and hope of restoration. By speaking to Israel, they connect to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.
Get full access to The Reformational at reformational.substack.com/subscribeThis episode focuses on the story of Israel being given the land, and the rise of the Davidic monarchy. (As well as a guy getting what’s coming to him with a hammer and tent peg.)
Get full access to The Reformational at reformational.substack.com/subscribeThe Old Testament law is part of God’s covenant with the people of Israel. How do we make sense of the strange laws and prohibitions in books like Leviticus? This episode will explore the purpose and function of God’s law.
Get full access to The Reformational at reformational.substack.com/subscribeThe Exodus is the story of God’s deliverance of the Israelites through the water. This episode explores the theological implications of this event as the pattern of God’s action throughout the biblical story.
Get full access to The Reformational at reformational.substack.com/subscribeThis episode explores the call of Abraham and the covenant God makes in Genesis 15 and 17. We will also talk about Ishmael and Isaac, and how Abraham demonstrates Israel’s role as a priestly nation.
Get full access to The Reformational at reformational.substack.com/subscribeIn this episode we explore the biblical story as it moves from Adam and Eve to Abraham through Cain and Abel, Noah, and the Tower of Babel. The focus will be on the impact of human sin as it reverberates out into the world, and on the corresponding acts of grace that culminates in the call Abraham.
Get full access to The Reformational at reformational.substack.com/subscribeTaken together, Genesis 2 & 3 provide the pattern of the Old Testament. God creates a priestly people who give in to temptation, disobey God’s Word, and end up in exile. This episode unpacks this pattern that moves from Adam and Eve, to Israel, to Jesus Christ.
Get full access to The Reformational at reformational.substack.com/subscribeIn How to Read the Bible for All it’s Worth, the authors focus on the need to determine the “plain meaning” of the biblical text. This is the task of interpretation. What makes this difficult is the difference between the culture in which these texts were written, and our contemporary world. Our tendency is to bring our own presuppositions and worldviews to these ancient texts. So what does Genesis 1 say about God, humanity, and cr...
I’ve heard people say they don’t interpret the bible, they read it. I think I know what they mean, but it’s not a good understanding of biblical interpretation. In this episode, I explore basic principles of biblical hermeneutics that help us get to the meaning of the text.
Get full access to The Reformational at reformational.substack.com/subscribeWhat does it mean to say the bible is God’s Word? What is the relationship between the text and event? Is there a way out of the conservative / liberal polarization of biblical interpretation? This episode explores these questions and much more. Give it a listen!
Get full access to The Reformational at reformational.substack.com/subscribePopular Podcasts
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.
A straightforward look at the day's top news in 20 minutes. Powered by ABC News. Hosted by Brad Mielke.