1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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?
  4. 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.
  5. Fight the Power! In this episode, we learn from pastor and theologian Helmut Thielecke about the gods we worship, the God that encounters us, and what technology actually does to us. What do Satan’s temptations teach us about Jesus, God’s Word, piety, and making sense of mystery? Is Christianity supposed to be a sensible religion? What kind of “opium” does the evil one offer us to lead us away from the Truth? What is distinctive about the worshippers of the God of power? What happens when technology becomes a means of power rather than merely a tool? What does God’s fight for the world look like, and how does it conclude?
  6. Kelsi is joined by data analyst, Ryan Burge, to discuss the current American Religious Landscape as well as his newest book, The Vanishing Church: How the Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations Is Hurting Democracy, Faith, and Us.Dr. Ryan Burge is an associate professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University.
  7. Has Lutheranism Failed? In this episode, the Thinking Fellows discuss the purpose and aim of the church to examine if Lutheranism in America has failed.
  8. 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.
  9. In this episode of the Outlaw God, hosts Steven Paulson and Caleb Keith delve into the theological implications of the law before sin, exploring Luther's perspective on prelapsarian law and its distinction from postlapsarian law.