Mere Fidelity

Tim Schultz, the president of the 1st Amendment Partnership, a partner of the Ethics and Public Policy Center’s American Religious Freedom Program (ARFP), joins Matt, Derek, and Alastair to discuss the Bostock v. Clayton County ruling.

While formal religious adherence has decreased in the modern age, spirituality has not. To answer why intuitions seem to be replacing institutions, Dr. Tara Isabella Burton joins Matt, Derek, and Alastair to discuss her new book, Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World. Listen in to hear how millennials and GenZers are finding their religions in fan-culture, occultism, wellness and self-care, social justice activism, and the alt-right.

Matt, Derek, and Alastair sit down to discuss why people are attracted to conspiracy theories. Listen in to hear the difference between credulity and conspiracy, why fringe groups matter, and how to handle those in the church who embrace QAnon and conspiracy theories.

How have black protestant's responded to their lynchings through American history? Malcolm Foley (PhD Candidate in Religion at Baylor University)joins Matt and Derek to discuss his research on this issue and how it illumines some of the current events surrounding George Floyd, protests, unrest, and racism in America.

Justice issues are ever prevalent in modern society. Moreover, conversations around justice are often co-opted by overly simplistic solutions. Dr. Anthony Bradley joins Matt and Derek to get into the details of some of these issues and to share his insights from his book, "Ending Overcriminalization and Mass Incarceration: Hope from Civil Society." Listen in to hear questions on the flaws in the New Jim Crow thesis, what factor race plays in criminalization, and how the church should think theologically about its own task with respect to prison reform.

Matt, Derek, and Alastair discuss the struggles and misconceptions surrounding prayer: how prayer becomes burdensome, prayer has experiencing God in a veiled way, and what petitions in prayer should we not ask for? All of this and more.

What exactly is the gospel? Is it merely the message that Jesus is king, or is the forgiveness of sins and justification also constitutive to the gospel? The entire cast and crew are here to discuss the resuscitated debate between Matthew Bates, Scot McKnight and Greg Gilbert as to what the gospel truly is, pointing out strengths and weaknesses and political proclivities on both sides.

College debt, an economic crisis, and the potential problem of aristocratic elitism are just some of the issues facing Christian higher education today. Dr. John Mark Reynolds joins Matt and Derek to talk about these issues and shares the creative ways in how he is addressing them at St. Constantine's College.

Amidst life's demands and pastoral burnout, how does a pastor care for a soul? Dr. Harold Senkbeil joins Matt and Derek to discuss his recent book, "The Care of Souls: Cultivating a Pastor's Heart," where he invites a new generation of pastors to form the godly habits and practical wisdom needed to minister to the hearts and souls of those committed to their care.

What kind of political theology do we need in an age after Christendom? Dr. David VanDrunen joins Matt and Derek to discuss his latest book, Politics After Christendom: Political Theology in a Fractured World, where he aims to answer this question in a way that prepares Christians to live in societies that are indifferent or hostile to the faith, and how our own political responsibilities might look for sojourners and exiles.

Matt, Derek, and Alastair discuss how they are celebrating Easter in the time of coronavirus, and how the Eastertide season looks to them in quarantine: How to celebrate the victory over death in the midst of suffering and death itself, how we are theologizing our current events, and how to cultivate joy, fear, and gratitude. All of this and more.

While Matt, Derek, and Andrew practice staying in-place, they decide to take about the topic and question of who are the proper subjects of baptism? Derek argues for the legitimacy of paedobaptism, Andrew argues for the view of credobaptism, Matt moderates, and fun is had by all. Even amidst the pandemic that the world is experiencing, topics like the sacraments always remain salient for the church. And while it may be important for us to discuss and perhaps debate how to respond to our current public health crisis, it remains important to continue to discuss one of the things that only the church does and is marked by: baptism.

What hath St. Thomas to do with predestination? Dr. Taylor Patrick O'Neill joins Matt and Derek to discuss his recent book, "Grace, Predestination, and the Permission of Sin: A Thomistic Analysis," to examine the Thomist understanding of predestination and how it relates to Calvinism, concursus, and the difference between God's actions and permission of actions in history.

The whole cast and crew of Matt, Derek, Alastair, and Andrew, are here to answer questions from listeners of Mere Fidelity: Where does one start reading the early church fathers, does the incarnation mean that God changes, how should one go about picking their denomination, and where exactly do theologians come from?

Matt, Derek, and Alastair sit down to discuss COVID-19 and how the church can respond to the current global pandemic.

Dr. Molly Worthen joins Matt and Derek to talk all things evangelicalism, not the least of which is her book, "Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism." As someone outside of the camp of evangelicalism, Dr. Worthen helps bring a new look at the many paradoxes in the evangelical movement.

Nearly every Christian tradition has its own view on Christ & Culture; that is, how the Christian church relates to secular and political powers. Pater Edmund joins Matt and Derek to discuss the classic Roman Catholic view of Integralism.

God is all-powerful. God is all-knowing. God is ever-present. But is God humble? Dr. Matthew Wilcoxen joins Derek and Alastair to discuss his recent book, 'Divine Humility: God's Morally Perfect Being.' Listen in as he traces the theme of a doctrine of humility from Augustine to Karl Barth and more.

How do we pray to our Father? Dr. Wesley Hill joins Matt, Derek, and Alastair to discuss his latest book, "The Lord's Prayer: A Guide to Praying to Our Father." Is the prayer an exact model or more of a paradigm for Christians? What are the implications of spiritual warfare in the prayer? Will we not be forgiven unless we also forgive others? In conversation with the Christian tradition, Dr. Hill draws out the significance of Jesus' words to answer these questions and more.

Can science tell us how we should live or why we should be good and not evil? Paul Nedelisky joins Matt, Derek, and Alastair to explore this question and discuss his latest book (co-written James Davidson Hunter), "Science and the Good: The Tragic Quest for the Foundations of Morality."