Author

  1. What Is the Athanasian Creed, and Why Does It Matter?

    book
    05/30/26
    2 mins
    By John W. Hoyum | Caleb Keith
    Caleb Keith and John Hoyum discuss the content and purpose of the Athanasian Creed. What is this third ecumenical creed, and why do Lutherans still confess it today?
    What Is the Athanasian Creed, and Why Does It Matter?

  2. 441: Trueman - The Value and Role of Creeds and Confessions

    book
    05/29/26
    12 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    With Arms Wide Open! In this episode, on the eve of Trinity Sunday, we sit with Carl Trueman’s essay, "The Value and Role of Creeds and Confession.” Is there any usefulness of Creeds and Confessions at present? Are they important as historic documents? Are they authoritative for the churches? What are the biblical origins of the ecumenical creeds, and are they the rule of faith for contemporary Christians? What about contemporary churches that write their own creeds, confessions, or statements of faith — do they participate in the catholic faith, or are they confessing something separate from historic, orthodox Christianity? All that and much, much more on this episode of Banned Books.
    441: Trueman - The Value and Role of Creeds and Confessions

  3. Friday, May 22, 2026

    book
    05/22/26
    12 mins
    By Daniel van Voorhis
    Today on the Christian History Almanac, we remember the “dated” Creed of 359.
    Friday, May 22, 2026

  4. 437: John of Damascus - Apologia Against Those Who Decry Holy Images

    book
    04/26/26
    8 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Every Picture Tells a Story. In this episode, we sit with John of Damascus to listen to him teach us about the veneration of icons — what that means, why it’s a subject of dispute, how scripture distinguishes between graven images and god- pleasing icons, and how this all ties into worship and vocation. This and much, much more on this week’s episode.
    437: John of Damascus - Apologia Against Those Who Decry Holy Images

  5. 436: Schuldheisz - Luther and the Lion

    book
    04/17/26
    12 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley | Sam P. Schuldheisz
    The Lutherans, the Lion, and the gifts of Narnia. In this episode, we talk with Pastor Sam Schuldheisz about his forthcoming book, Luther and the Lion: A Narnian Catechism. We discuss how Lewis (and other Inklings) can help us catechize children and adults, how stories lead us deeper into the biblical narratives, and vice versa. How can great myths and stories be employed in Christian apologetics when seen through Christian liturgy and sacraments? Now is the best time to reintroduce great Christian authors, great myths, and great stories, and the best of all stories — the gospel of Jesus Christ — can carry us out of our churches into a world that’s wounded and can’t find true healing that only Christ can give.
    436: Schuldheisz - Luther and the Lion

  6. 428: Postman - A great narrative... has sufficient credibility, complexity, and symbolic power to enable one to organize one's life around it

    book
    02/14/26
    12 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    We Don’t Need No Education. In this episode, we read The End of Education by Neal Postman, discussing the mechanisms of public education, religious catechesis, the influence of the Enlightenment and psychoanalysis on contemporary learning, and what happens when fiction replaces truth as the basis of meaning. This and much, much more on today’s show!
    428: Postman - A great narrative... has sufficient credibility, complexity, and symbolic power to enable one to organize one's life around it

  7. 422: Post-Christmas and Post-New Year Debrief

    book
    01/03/26
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    What’s the Frequency, Kenneth? In this episode, we gather for a post-Christmas, post-New Year pastoral debrief. We talk about symbols and meaning, Christmas and holidays, signs and seasons, and how modern churches quietly cleared the path for culture to push Christ out of Christmas without much resistance. We explore the strange and largely arbitrary ways the world measures time, along with the old Adam’s never-ending pyramid project. That is, his need to build meaning upward by effort, progress, and control rather than receive it as a gift. From there, we return to symbol and meaning. We ask why ancient liturgy’s nostalgia or ornamentation, but the distilled shape of reality itself, why the Lord’s Supper isn’t a side practice, but the beating heart of the Church, of worship, and of the Christian life. And why stories’ decorations for faith, but the way truth takes on flesh and finds us where we actually live. This is a conversation about time, worship, memory, and why the Church invents meaning but receives it again and again at the table.
    422: Post-Christmas and Post-New Year Debrief

  8. How Education Problems Affect Handing Down the Faith

    book
    12/30/25
    4 mins
    By Caleb Keith | Scott Keith | Adam Francisco | Bruce Hillman
    Reading and education outcomes in the United States have been declining for decades. In this episode, the Thinking Fellows examine how these trends have impacted Christian education and what Christians can contribute to America’s education crisis.
    How Education Problems Affect Handing Down the Faith

  9. When Christians Contradict Themselves

    book
    12/01/25
    6 mins
    By Caleb Keith | Bruce Hillman | Adam Francisco | Scott Keith
    The Thinking Fellows examine the Ligonier 2025 State of Theology Survey. They identify a major recurring theme: Christians are contradicting themselves.
    When Christians Contradict Themselves

  10. 418: Luther - God will not deal with us except through his external Word and sacrament

    book
    11/28/25
    8 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Son of a Preacher Man. In this episode, we conclude our study of Martin Luther’s Smalcald Articles, discussing the office of the keys and confession. We go through and sum up the previous episodes — the gospel, the mass, repentance, sin, and the law — then sit with the function and power of the forgiveness of sin. What is the office of the keys for? Where does it come from? Who gets to use the keys? Then, we talk over confession and its consequences for pastoral care and its effect on the churches.
    418: Luther - God will not deal with us except through his external Word and sacrament

  11. 417: Luther - A deep, evil corruption of nature that reason does not comprehend

    book
    11/21/25
    8 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    How Deep Is Your Love! In this episode, we continue our reading of the Smalcald Articles, focusing our attention on sin and the law. What is sin? What does it do to us? What are its effects? And, in following, what is the relationship of the law to sin? Does the law empower us to sin less? Can the law produce good works and good fruits? What is the function of pastoral care in relation to sin and the law? All this and much, much more on this episode of the podcast.
    417: Luther - A deep, evil corruption of nature that reason does not comprehend

  12. 416: Luther - To this office of the law, however, the New Testament immediately adds the consoling promise of grace through the gospel

    book
    11/13/25
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Don’t Look Back in Anger. In this episode, we continue reading Martin Luther’s Smalcald Articles, focusing on contrition, repentance, and freedom. Why does the law need to terrify and leave us hopeless? How does attention to the self lead us into death and hell? What happens when belief is preached as something “we do” rather than something “done to” us? Likewise, when repentance is self-activated and self-actuated, what are the consequences for our daily lives? This and much, much more on this episode of the show.
    416: Luther - To this office of the law, however, the New Testament immediately adds the consoling promise of grace through the gospel