Author

  1. 458: Prenter - Fundamental Difference Between Luther and the Enthusiasts

    book
    10/30/26
    20 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    The Long and Winding Road. In this episode, we sit with the Holy Spirit to discuss moral law, free will, Christ crucified, and one of the longest rabbit trails we’ve ever been on; tracking two medieval scholastics to God’s bathroom window. We ask questions of those who edit Jesus’ words, question the benefits of not declaring the forgiveness of sin, and look at what happens when the Holy Spirit is sent into exile. All this and much, much more on this week’s episode of the podcast.
    458: Prenter - Fundamental Difference Between Luther and the Enthusiasts

  2. 454: Elert - Church Fellowship in the Local Congregation

    book
    09/19/26
    8 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Let’s Stay Together. In this episode, we sit with Werner Elert’s study of Eucharist & Church Fellowship in the First Four Centuries. We discuss ecumenism, fellowship, communion, church polity, and what constitutes “koinonia” in the New Testament and the early church. This and much, much more on this week’s episode of the podcast.
    454: Elert - Church Fellowship in the Local Congregation

  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. 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

  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. Blaise Pascal: Faith, the Self, and Our Modern World with Graham Tomlin

    book
    04/13/26
    5 mins
    By Kelsi Klembara
    Graham Tomlin joins Kelsi to discuss the influence and faith of 17th-century polymath, Blaise Pascal, based on Tomlin's most recent book, "Blaise Pascal: The Man Who Made the Modern World."
    Blaise Pascal: Faith, the Self, and Our Modern World with Graham Tomlin

  7. Thursday, April 2, 2026

    book
    04/02/26
    11 mins
    By Daniel van Voorhis
    Today on the Christian History Almanac, we take a look at the history of Maundy Thursday.
    Thursday, April 2, 2026

  8. Christ in the Cleft

    book
    04/02/26
    5 mins
    By Steven Paulson | Caleb Keith
    In this episode of Outlaw God, Caleb Keith and Dr. Steven Paulson return to Moses in the cleft of the rock to clarify what Scripture means by the glory of God.
    Christ in the Cleft

  9. David's Last Words

    book
    03/26/26
    4 mins
    By Steven Paulson | Caleb Keith
    In this episode of Outlaw God, Caleb Keith and Dr. Steven Paulson explore the unity of Scripture and the proper distinction between Law and Gospel.
    David's Last Words

  10. 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)

  11. 433: Von Schenk - The Crucifixion

    book
    03/19/26
    8 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    What’s Love Got to do With It? In this episode, we read Berthold von Schenk’s The Presence, discussing sacrifice, sacrament, human will, anthropology, the cross, Lent, Easter, Love, and the consequences of the crucifixion for worship, faith, and Christian living. Why does our focus determine how we view these things? What is the “telos” of the Lord’s Supper, and where does it lead us? How does it change us?
    433: Von Schenk - The Crucifixion

  12. 431: Kleinig - The Mystery of Christ and Cosmic Restoration

    book
    03/06/26
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Cosmic Debris. In this episode, we read Dr. John Kleinig on Christ and cosmic restoration. We then discuss how and why Christians confuse mysteries with secrets, what happened to the mystagogues, and why the mystery of the Christian faith has to do with the hidden presence of Christ with us here on earth and our restoration by his restoration of all creation. This episode, as Kleinig himself writes, is about how we can best commend the Christian faith to post-modern people, which is when we ourselves are captivated imaginatively by the wonder of it and live in the mystery of it.
    431: Kleinig - The Mystery of Christ and Cosmic Restoration