194b: Luther - Our knowledge of God is merely passive
Just Sit Back and Let It Happen. In this episode, we continue our reading of Martin Luther’s Galatians lectures. This week, passive faith, internalizing virtue, and the law of the jungle.
Contributors
Donavon Riley
Donavon Riley is a Lutheran pastor, conference speaker, author, and contributing writer for 1517, Christ Hold Fast, and LOGIA. He is also a co-host of Banned Books and Warrior Priest podcasts. He is the author of the book, "Crucifying Religion." He is also a contributing author to "The Sinner/Saint Devotional: 60 Days in the Psalms" and "Theology of the Cross".
Banned Books
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194a: Luther - God’s will is to bless all nations... through Christ
Free Will Isn’t All It’s Cracked Up to Be. In this episode, more from Luther’s Galatians lectures. This week, God’s will, free will, identity, and taking the moral low ground.
193b: Luther - Christ has made us free, not civilly, not physically, but divinely
Free For It All.This week on the podcast, we continue our Lenten series on Christian freedom in Martin Luther’s Galatians lectures. In this episode, Gospel, Satan, and competing freedoms.
193a: Luther - It is for freedom that Christ has set us free
Lent Is About Freedom.In this episode, we read Martin Luther’s 1525 Galatians commentary. Why is freedom a vulgar word to the old Adam? And we consider why freedom must be Lent's primary focus for Christians.
How to Be Human Again
Jesus Christ is our peace because he doesn't criticize us. He declares us freed from our perceptions to accept the truth about ourselves.
192b: Solzhenitsyn - Never knowingly support lies!
A spirit of timidity and a Spirit of courage. In this episode, we conclude our reading of Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s Live Not By Lies. What happens when the church chooses a spirit of timidity in order to spare itself affliction? Also…
192a: Solzhenitsyn - “I am Violence! Make way, step aside, I will crush you!”
How Quickly They Forget. In this episode, we continue to read Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s Live Not By Lies. What happens when the church takes the easy path of learned helplessness?
Liberated to be Excitedly Ordinary
We can celebrate what others consider mundane and ordinary because it's miraculous. After all, it's God-given.
191b: Solzhenitsyn - We lie to ourselves for assurance
Gag me with a spoon. In this episode, part two of Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s essay, “Live Not by The Lies.” We consider herd mentality, our fear of standing up to unjust authority, and the secular indoctrination that infects the church.
191a: Solzhenitsyn - Things have almost reached rock bottom
Lies Taste Like Wonder-bread. In this episode, part one of Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s essay, “Live Not by The Lies.” We discuss the two kingdoms, the need for Christ alone with no additives, and the importance of having an ethos.
A Christian is Pulled Between Two Extremes
Our anxiety about the future is a consequence of our old self’s attempts to achieve freedom for himself apart from Christ Jesus.
190: Kennedy - The Gospel deals with all of life, because it comes to heal the whole man
Keep it Spiritual, Keep it Safe. In this episode, the conclusion to our discussion of Gerald Kennedy’s sermon, Communism in the Churches. Should churches mind their own business in regards to social and cultural matters? What happens when churches and…
Catching Jesus' Ear
As a parent listens for the cry of a hurting child, our heavenly Father waits for our cry of weal and woe.
His Face Shines On Us
For God to shine his face upon us is the same as saying, “Christ Jesus is with us.”
189: Kennedy - A Christian stands for truth even when it hurts the most
White Bread with Bologna and Propaganda Spread. In this episode, we continue reading a sermon preached by Bishop Gerald Kennedy, on Communism in Churches (c. 1960). The discussion focuses on whether propaganda is more important than the truth.
188: Kennedy - This communist doctrine that God is something we can take or leave
Religion is Extra Important. In this episode, is religion an extra? How has the communist doctrine on religion influenced our society and the churches? When is it time for churches to preach against society, and to what end?
187: Gerald Kennedy - Contentiousness is not listed as Christian virtue
Red Dawn in the Church. In this episode, a sermon by Bishop Gerald Kennedy on communism in the churches. What did it mean in 1960, and what does it mean today, that religion is an opiate?
The Mystery of God's Incarnation
Christmas-time is the bold proclamation that God was born to save sinners.
Are You the One Who Is to Come?
People do not seek the gospel because they want to, but because God’s Word drives them to it.
186: Christmas During the Civil War
Can We Just Have A Civil Christmas? In the episode, what was Christmas like during the Civil War? Puritans, holiday traditions, and why the Church is an incarnate Church.
An Advent Ransom Note
Advent is not a call to prepare to engage in a transaction with God.
185: Christmas after the Enlightenment
Have Yourself A Very Enlightened Christmas. In this episode, an examination of the impact of the Enlightenment on the Church, especially the preaching and traditions of Advent and Christmas.
The Message of Advent Never Changes
The proclamation of Christ's coming is for all people, at all times.
184: Bowler - Christmas in Nazi Germany
It’s Christmas in Germany for Hitler. In this episode, a historical examination of Christmas in Germany during the Nazi regime, including new hymns, advent calendars, the emergence of Wotan, and Hitler’s Silent Night.
Advent Time
To a world enslaved to time (because it has no future), the Church's disregard for clocks and calendars is ridiculous.
Featured Resources
Banned Books
Welcome to Banned Books, where we read and converse with the rebel children, the holy mischief-makers of God, who fight against the kind of useless religious, spiritual, and moral methods of life improvement that seek to smother the glory of…
Crucifying Religion
Jesus is the end of all religion. He did not come to tweak Judaism or create a new religion. When the nails were driven into his hands and feet, when the spear pierced his side, when he said, “It is…
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