Cultural Exegesis (12)
  1. UFOs are Rebel Angels. In this episode, we read Father Seraphim Rose’s “classic” text, Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future, about the true nature of UFOs and the nefarious origins of modern narratives about extraterrestrials, spaceships, what’s “out there” in the universe, and so on. What do Christians have to say to a culture that is awash with UFO sightings and prolifically promises to “reveal the truth about UFOS”?
  2. Money, Porn, and Godly Relationships In this episode, we answer emails from listeners that ask us to discuss the godly use of money and pornography addiction. How should Christians view the usage of money and possessions? How has the Church changed its view of money over time? What effect has the Industrial Revolution and the rise of therapy-speak had on churches as regards money, relationships, and what passes for a godly life? How do we view relationships, fidelity, and lustful attraction in relation to Jesus’ teaching on mammon and adultery? This and much, much more on today’s episode of the podcast.
  3. 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.
  4. 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!
  5. What Do You Mean, There’s More to This? In this episode, we answer a listener's question about Taylor Swift that leads us into a conversation about symbols and meaning, religious iconography, wild truth, and seeing reality through what’s occurring in the sacraments.
  6. I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm In this episode, we discuss how pre-modern church history, the Industrial Revolution, therapeutics, language, corporate culture, and the flight of heretics from Europe in the 17th-18th century affected contemporary Western churches.
  7. Reach for The Sky. This episode discusses the Augsburg Confession, the Church, and what makes a good fanatic. We dig into the Church's language, symbolism, meaning, and rites today. How can we best use narrative theology to catechize? Did Jesus have to die for your traditions and worship? Is there anyone in heaven that hasn’t fallen into sin? This and much more today on the show!
  8. It’s Hip to Be Square. In this episode, we discuss the errors of high anthropology, the kingdom of God, theology of glory, theology of the world, realized eschatology, adding “isms” to Christianity, the necessity of the embodied Word of God, John’s gospel, Colossians, and real antinomianism while reading False Presence of the Kingdom by Jacques Ellul.
  9. Everybody’s Working for the Weekend. In this episode, we continue our Lenten tradition of reading Luther’s Galatians commentary in March, discussing past and present idolatry and why we keep falling for the same sales pitches from the same gods.
  10. The world hates Jesus because he comes to lead us to love and forgive all, including our enemies.
  11. There is a time for justice. And there is a time for love. But love must always have the final word. Jesus must have the final word, because Jesus is God and God is Love.
  12. Our smartphones, tablets, and laptops tempt us to enter into a virtual world without flesh and blood. A world without concrete, real consequences. No real pain or suffering, and no actual death.