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. All Apologies. In this episode, we respond to another listener question. What does it mean to “sit with a text” and yet be prepared at all times to give an apology for the hope that is in us? How does the Holy Spirit work in and through believers to testify to the truth about Jesus? Does the Spirit work through non-Christians, and if so, how and to what purpose? How has modern Christian evangelism differed from pre-modern evangelism and apologetics? What do the gospels teach us about the character of evangelism? This and much, much more in this week’s episode.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.