Author

  1. 452: Anonymous - Ars Moriendi

    book
    09/05/26
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Are You More Spiritual Than a Medieval Peasant? In this episode, we sit with The Book of the Craft of Dying to discuss how medieval spiritual warfare was explained in the 1415 text Ars Moriendi. What temptations do Christians experience in the midst of death? How do temptations to desperation, impatience, complacency, and concern about worldly matters seduce Christians? How do we distinguish between divine actions and nefarious powers at work? How many times can Gillespie interrupt and contradict Riley before he goes apoplectic? Are there patterns Christians can look for to recognize when temptations are approaching? Is there anything we can do to avoid temptations? Is being tempted the same as sinning? Why is so much of medieval piety and discipline no longer taught by the churches? This and much, much more on today’s episode of the podcast.
    452: Anonymous - Ars Moriendi

  2. 450: Table Talk on Suicide

    book
    08/20/26
    6 mins
    By Donavon Riley | Christopher Gillespie
    Suicide Solution. In this episode, we sit with Martin Luther and C.S. Lewis to discuss the topic of self-murder (“suicide”). We talk about focusing on higher truth, how individualism leads to harmful consequences, and how Christians and churches may discuss this with others.
    450: Table Talk on Suicide

  3. 449: Marquart - Luther and Theosis, part 2

    book
    08/15/26
    13 mins
    By Donavon Riley | Christopher Gillespie
    As Alive As You Need Me to Be… Again. In this episode, we continue our wandering through church history and doctrine, conversing with Kurt Marquart as he explains justification, sanctification, and theosis. Inside this is a layer of cultural criticism, and beneath that, a layer of pastoral debriefing — and a stained-glass viewing of Scripture, art, music, worship, and much, much more.
    449: Marquart - Luther and Theosis, part 2

  4. Christianity: Antidote to Progress with Eddie LaRow

    book
    08/04/26
    4 mins
    By Kelsi Klembara
    Kelsi chat with author and editor, Eddie LaRow, about his forthcoming book, After Progress: How an Ancient Faith Roots a Restless Generation, the needs of those of us living in a digital age, and how those needs are met time and again by Christ and the cross.
    Christianity: Antidote to Progress with Eddie LaRow

  5. 447: Forde - The Argument about Christ and Salvation

    book
    08/01/26
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Ride On… In this episode, we engage a listener question — is Lutheran teaching double predestination within his debate with Erasmus? How are we to understand arguments for the bound will, such as: “Man’s will is like a beast standing between two riders. If God rides, it wills and goes where God wills… If Satan rides, it wills and goes where Satan wills. Nor may it choose to which rider it will run, or which it will seek; but the riders themselves fight to decide who shall have and hold it”? And so, we discuss God’s will, divine necessity, predestination versus election, the preacher's vocation, the effects of free will theology on American churches, the scandal of arguing for a bound will in relation to Christ, and much, much more on this episode of the Banned Books podcast.
    447: Forde - The Argument about Christ and Salvation

  6. Why Women Need Good Theology with Mary Van Weelden

    book
    07/21/26
    5 mins
    By Kelsi Klembara
    Content Manager for Sola Media, Mary Van Weelden, joins Kelsi to talk about the importance of making sure Christian women receive sound theological teaching and training from the local church, especially in the digital age where Tiktok and Instagram influencers often serve as our guides to theology, life, and more.
    Why Women Need Good Theology with Mary Van Weelden

  7. 445: Peterson - Buying Passage to Tarshish

    book
    07/17/26
    14 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Run for the Hills! On this episode, we sit with Eugene Peterson and Jonah, listening to what they have to teach about God’s grace, death and resurrection, threshold experiences, believing Jesus is God versus encountering him, and much, much more! What does pastoral ministry look like in Jonah’s disobedience and obedience to God’s call? What would a “Church of St Jonah” look and sound like? What is it about God’s love for sinners that drives us away from God? When will this episode description end?
    445: Peterson - Buying Passage to Tarshish

  8. The Spiritual Search for More with Belle Tindall-Riley

    book
    06/23/26
    5 mins
    By Kelsi Klembara
    Kelsi talks with author and theologian, Belle Tindall-Riley, about her new book, The Sacred Ache, and Gen Z's search for the spiritual. Belle holds a Doctorate in Biblical Studies and her debut book, The Sacred Ache, was published in the UK June 2026. She is also editor-in-chief of The Mockingbird magazine.
    The Spiritual Search for More with Belle Tindall-Riley

  9. The CHA Weekend Edition Presents: Christianity and Time (Magazine)

    book
    06/06/26
    7 mins
    By Daniel van Voorhis
    Weekend Edition for June 6-7, 2026
    The CHA Weekend Edition Presents: Christianity and Time (Magazine)

  10. 442: Giertz - A Shepherd's Letter

    book
    06/05/26
    11 mins
    By Donavon Riley | Christopher Gillespie
    We’re in This Together. In this episode, we sit with Bo Giertz and read his open letter to the churches — A Shepherd’s Letter. As translator, Bror Erickson says of the opening section (we read on the show), “Crises and Sources of Strength”: “Christians had been systematically persecuted by the Nazis, and this systematic persecution continued in soviet countries. However, in Western Europe, church leaders like Bo Giertz saw how increasing industrialization was also assisting an increasing secularism. There were huge population shifts into the city, and people lost track of the church even as the church lost track of the people during these shifts. Some political parties were also actively hostile to the church. The trends toward secularism and atheism in the West have continued, of course, and have also become a point of consternation for believers even to this day. This age has not ceased to be evil since Paul designated it as such in Gal. 1:4. So the church continues and will continue to suffer crises, and so the essay “Crises and Sources of Strength” takes on a sort of timeless dimension that way.
    442: Giertz - A Shepherd's Letter

  11. How to be Human with Carl Trueman

    book
    05/26/26
    5 mins
    By Kelsi Klembara
    Kelsi talks with church historian, professor, and author, Carl Trueman about his newest book, ⁠The Desecration of Man: How the Rejection of God Degrades Our Humanity⁠.
    How to be Human with Carl Trueman

  12. 440: Heiser - Reading Your Bible Again... for the first time

    book
    05/21/26
    12 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    The Mosaic Word. In this episode, we sit with Michael Heiser's book, The Unseen Realm, on reading the Bible. What are the rules of engagement when one reads Scripture? What filters do we apply to the biblical texts, and are they helpful or do they blind us? What, then, are the obstacles that prevent us from enjoying the biblical narratives? What do we assume about the Bible that is true, and what is not? Have moderns been desensitized to the vitality and theological importance of the unseen world? Does modern Christianity suffer from two serious shortcomings when it comes to the supernatural world? Do we assume that a lot of things in the Bible are too odd or peripheral to matter? What if the weird parts of the Bible are the most important?
    440: Heiser - Reading Your Bible Again... for the first time