Donavon Riley

  1. 408: Nestigen - Luther and Erasmus on the Bondage of the Will

    book
    09/12/25
    8 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Dazed & Confused. In this episode, we continue our series on The Bondage of the Will (1525), by Martin Luther. We read Dr. James Nestingen’s historical introduction to the treatise and delve into the ways two theologians differed in their exegesis of Scripture, their interpretation of Christian doctrine, and the early and medieval church-theological traditions that influenced Erasmus and Luther as they engaged in a back-and-forth.
    408: Nestigen - Luther and Erasmus on the Bondage of the Will

  2. 407: Paulson - The free will is demonstrably not Jesus Christ

    book
    09/06/25
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley | Steven Paulson
    In this episode, we begin our series commemorating the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s treatise, de Servo Arbitrio — The Bondage of the Will. We begin by reading Dr. Steven Paulson’s theological analysis of what’s at stake in Luther’s treatise, as well as its sharp-edged consequences for churches today. As it was received then, so it is now by dedicated students of this work: it cleaves those who seek Jesus plus philosophy, ideology, or personal interests from those who insist on Christ alone in all things relating to matters of salvation, faith, etc.
    407: Paulson - The free will is demonstrably not Jesus Christ

  3. 406: Giertz - The Parish Church

    book
    08/30/25
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Take Me to Church. In this episode, we read Bo Giertz’s "Christ’s Church: Her Biblical Roots, Her Dramatic History, Her Saving Presence, Her Glorious Future." The Church, who is she? What kind of life is present within the church walls? Who wants to understand that life better and know more about it? We read Christ's Church and take you on a walk from her biblical roots toward her glorious future.
    406: Giertz - The Parish Church

  4. 405: Barfield - Myth is the Ghost of Concrete Meaning

    book
    08/22/25
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Little Plastic Castles. In this episode, we read the first Inkling, Owen Barfield, as he defends the use of old words, old stories, and old ways of expressing what’s good, beautiful, and true against modern proponents that argued for more modern “scientific” ways of judging language, esp., poetics and myth, as well as religion and culture.
    405: Barfield - Myth is the Ghost of Concrete Meaning

  5. 404: Auden - A Litany and the Horae Cononicae

    book
    08/16/25
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Liturgy Amongst the Rubble. In this episode, we read poems by W.H. Auden about pulp fiction, ancient myths, conversion, liturgy, poetics, and how industrialization and corporatism build a new Babel inside and around the churches.
    404: Auden - A Litany and the Horae Cononicae

  6. 403: Morales - Remembering Your Baptism

    book
    08/08/25
    8 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley | Kathy Morales
    Wetly All the Way. In this episode, we visit with author Kathryn Morales about her new book, Remembering Your Baptism. We discuss who should be baptized and why. How many times does someone need to be baptized? Can someone fall away from baptism, and what if someone doubts that baptism saves them from judgment and death? This and much, much more on today’s episode of the podcast.
    403: Morales - Remembering Your Baptism

  7. 402: Tolkien - Certainly there was an Eden on this very unhappy earth

    book
    07/31/25
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Got A Machine Head. In this episode, we read J.R.R. Tolkien’s letter to his son, Christopher, about a question of Genesis’ unfashionable status amongst Christians and those who value beautiful ‘stories.’ He also discusses Eden as it was, as it is to faith, and will be on the last day, the war of the machine, its triumph, and the consequences for modern man.
    402: Tolkien - Certainly there was an Eden on this very unhappy earth

  8. 401: Q&A on Christian Success

    book
    07/26/25
    8 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    The Secret of My Success. In this episode, we answer a listener's question about success and the Christian life. How does one measure success? What about when we fail? Is that God’s will? How does the cross inform the Christian definition of success? This and much, much more on today’s Christian podcast!
    401: Q&A on Christian Success

  9. 400: Paulson - The Hidden Life of Christians

    book
    07/17/25
    8 mins
    By Donavon Riley | Christopher Gillespie
    You’ve Got to Hide Your Love Away. In this episode, we read the Outlaw God and discuss the hidden life of a Christian. How are Christians to understand the living Word, or Christ crucified before Adam and Eve, or being called into vocations that serve the kingdom of life rather than a culture of death?
    400: Paulson - The Hidden Life of Christians

  10. 399: More Questions Answered - Myth and Taylor Swift

    book
    07/11/25
    8 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    What Do You Mean, There’s More to This? In this episode, we answer a listener's question about Taylor Swift that leads us into a conversation about symbols and meaning, religious iconography, wild truth, and seeing reality through what’s occurring in the sacraments.
    399: More Questions Answered - Myth and Taylor Swift

  11. 398: Paulson - A Preacher like Jonah

    book
    06/28/25
    8 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Little Willy Plays in Duty. In this episode, we read Steven Paulson’s Outlaw God, discussing the appeal of the Law (in the abstract), why old Adam loves pretending he has free will, the Ninevite Conundrum, Jonah’s wormy preacher, and our obsession with placing therapy alongside Christ as a means of grace.
    398: Paulson - A Preacher like Jonah

  12. 397: Q&A Episode - Civil Disobedience

    book
    06/21/25
    7 mins
    By Donavon Riley | Christopher Gillespie
    The Long and Winding Road. In this episode, we answer another listener's question about civil disobedience, understanding the tension for old Adam that’s inherent within the two kingdoms doctrine, and we go down a bunch of alleyways picking through conspiracies, immigration, war, colonialism, and ice cream coveting.
    397: Q&A Episode - Civil Disobedience