Author

  1. 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

  2. 444: Tertullian - A Proper Seeking After Divine Knowledge is Always Within the Rule of Faith

    book
    06/19/26
    13 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    The Times They Are A-Changin’. In this episode, we sit with Tertullian’s writing on “Prescription against Heretics.” What is “the rule of faith”? What constitutes a proper seeking after divine knowledge? What does Tertullian mean by “Heretics Encourage and Perpetuate Thought Independent of Christ's Teaching”? What does he mean by “Restless Curiosity, the Feature of Heresy”? Should heretics not to be allowed to argue out of the Scriptures?
    444: Tertullian - A Proper Seeking After Divine Knowledge is Always Within the Rule of Faith

  3. 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

  4. Free Faith Not Free Will (HWSS 25)

    book
    03/19/26
    4 mins
    By Steven Paulson
    In this episode, Dr. Steven Paulson speaks at the most recent Here We Still Stand Conference on Martin Luther’s teaching in The Bondage of the Will.
    Free Faith Not Free Will (HWSS 25)

  5. 432: Ælfric - Homily for Midlent Sunday

    book
    03/14/26
    12 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Went to a Garden Party. In this episode, we read a homily by St. Aelfric of York for Midlent Sunday. Aelfric sermonizes about the earthly and heavenly meaning of Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand — its symbolism, historical import, and how loaves and fishes exegete the Old Testament books themselves. This and many, many wilderness wanderings in this episode of the podcast.
    432: Ælfric - Homily for Midlent Sunday

  6. 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

  7. Monday, December 15, 2025

    book
    12/15/25
    12 mins
    By Daniel van Voorhis
    Today on the Christian History Almanac, we head to the mailbag to answer a question about Hanukkah and Christianity.
    Monday, December 15, 2025

  8. Why is Luther's Bondage of the Will Ignored?

    book
    10/27/25
    6 mins
    By Scott Keith | Caleb Keith | Adam Francisco | Steven Paulson
    In this live episode of the Thinking Fellows, Caleb, Scott, Steve, and Adam discuss why Martin Luther’s The Bondage of the Will is one of the most important yet most overlooked works of the Reformation.
    Why is Luther's Bondage of the Will Ignored?

  9. 413: Debrief on the Bondage of the Will

    book
    10/24/25
    12 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    The Never-Ending Story of our Bound Will & Election. In this episode, we write an epilogue —so to speak— to our series on the Bondage of the Will and wrap up our thoughts about the Here We Still Stand Conference 2025. We ask, “From whence comes a preacher?” Where does one go for gospel-comfort and the gifts of salvation? What is the Gospel? What is the purpose of the Church? What are the practical consequences of having a will that is bound up to sin, the world, and the evil one? What happens when the churches reject the “hinge” upon which all doctrines turn? And we talk about fantasy and science-fiction writing, 80s children’s movies, and other pop culture nostalgia.
    413: Debrief on the Bondage of the Will

  10. Free Will is a Fiction: An Introduction to the Bondage of the Will with John Hoyum

    book
    10/21/25
    11 mins
    By John W. Hoyum | Kelsi Klembara
    Kelsi is joined by Pastor and 1517 contributor, John Hoyum, to discuss Martin Luther's Bondage of the Will.
    Free Will is a Fiction: An Introduction to the Bondage of the Will with John Hoyum

  11. The Bondage of the Will: A Simple Overview

    book
    10/14/25
    5 mins
    By Scott Keith | Caleb Keith | Steven Paulson
    What led Martin Luther to write The Bondage of the Will? This podcast explores the historical background and central message of one of Luther’s most significant works.
    The Bondage of the Will: A Simple Overview

  12. 412: Forde - The gospel, and only the gospel, spells the end of the hidden God

    book
    10/11/25
    12 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    For What It’s Worth. In this episode, we conclude our reading of Gerhard Forde’s "Captivation of the Will." We discuss the conclusion of Luther’s treatise on the bound will, arriving at Christ and election, which reveals Erasmus’s fundamental error — his argument for the human will is actually the original sin, choosing between good and evil.
    412: Forde - The gospel, and only the gospel, spells the end of the hidden God