Banned Books
Welcome to Banned Books, where we read and converse with the rebel children, the holy mischief-makers of God, who fight against the kind of useless religious, spiritual, and moral methods of life improvement that seeks to smother the glory of God in Jesus Christ. We want to introduce you to those who forgot everything except Jesus Christ and him crucified. We all struggle with fear of being last, lost, least, littlest, and dead, and so we are here to encourage, challenge, provoke, and maybe even offend you by introducing you to theologians who at one time or another were banned by their church, declared dangerous, or simply vilified for daring to confess that Christ alone is the way, truth, and life. Welcome rebel children, holy mischief makers, and fools for Christ. This podcast is for you.
Episodes
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 w...
Talk of the Town
In this episode, we discuss Christian conversation — cultural, institutional, and in our encounters with the living God. Our guide is Prof. Robert Kolb, who wrote about the 'Art of Christian Conversation' in his book, "Speaking the Gospel Today." What is Christian conversation, and what is its purpose? On the other side of the table, what is a worldly conversation, and what is its ultimate purpose? Is there a...
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 th...
Featured text: "Prescription against Heretics" — Tertullian
The Times They Are A-Changin'. In this episode, we sit with Tertullian's writing on "Prescription against Heretics." What is "the rule of faith"? What constitutes a proper seeking after divine knowledge? What does Tertullian mean by "Heretics Encourage and Perpetuate Thought Independent of Christ's Teaching"? What does he mean by "Restless Curiosity, the Feature of H...
Featured text: "Introduction to A Memoir of Mary Ann" — Flannery O'Connor
Pretty Girls Make Graves. In this episode, we sit with Flannery O'Connor's introduction to A Memoir of Mary Ann, a memoir of a little girl who lived for 12 years at the Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cancer Home in Atlanta, Georgia. Written by the nuns at the home, with a substantial introduction by Flannery O'Connor. This is a deeply moving meditation on p...
Featured text: "A Shepherd's Letter" — Bo Giertz
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: crises in the church, sources of strength in Christ, and the living hope that endures every age of the evil world.
SHOW NOTES:
Featured text: "The Value and Role of Creeds and Confessions" — Carl Trueman
With Arms Wide Open! In this episode, on the eve of Trinity Sunday, we sit with Carl Trueman's essay, 'The Value and Role of Creeds and Confession.' Is there any usefulness of Creeds and Confessions at present? Are they important as historic documents? Are they authoritative for the churches? What are the biblical origins of the ecumenical creeds, an...
Featured text: "The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible" — Michael Heiser
The Mosaic Word. In this episode, we sit with Michael Heiser's book, The Unseen Realm, on reading the Bible. What are the rules of engagement when one reads Scripture? What filters do we apply to the biblical texts, and are they helpful or do they blind us? What, then, are the obstacles that prevent us from enjoying the bibl...
Featured text: "Orthodoxy and the Religion of the Future" — Seraphim Rose
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 si...
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? What is the godly response to pornography addiction for both the husband and the wife? These and more listener questions answered on this week's episode.
SHOW NOTES:
Using Your Money To Be Happier https://youtu.b...
Featured text: "Apologia Against Those Who Decry Holy Images" — John of Damascus
Every Picture Tells a Story. In this episode, we sit with John of Damascus to listen to him teach us about the veneration of icons — what that means, why it's a subject of dispute, how scripture distinguishes between graven images and god- pleasing icons, and how this all ties into worship and vocation. This and much, much more on this week...
Featured text: "Luther and the Lion" — Sam 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...
Featured text: "In Defense of Christian Ritual" — David Andersen
The Power of Ritual! In this episode, we learn from David Andersen about Christian ritual. What's the purpose and goal of ritual? How does Christian ritual differ from other religious rituals? Where do we find ritual and ceremony outside "religious" observances? When we forget or ignore ritual and ceremony, what is the effect on individuals, groups, and societie...
Featured text: "The Music of Creation" — Malcolm Guite
Where do the Children Play? In this episode, we read an Easter message from the Patriarchs and Heads of the Churches in Jerusalem. Then we read Malcom Guite's Lenten meditation on creation, the embodiment of heavenly music, and why J.R.R. Tolkien expressed a profound, deep truth through not-so-fictional fiction stories. This and much, much more in this episode of the Bann...
Featured text: "The Presence" — Berthold von Schenk
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 i...
Featured text: "The Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church" — Ælfric
Went to a Garden Party. In this episode, we read a homily by St. Aelfric of York for Midlent Sunday. Aelfric sermonizes about the earthly and heavenly meaning of Jesus' feeding of the five thousand — its symbolism, historical import, and how loaves and fishes exegete the Old Testament books themselves. This and many, many wilderness wanderings in this epis...
Featured text: "The Mystery of Christ and Cosmic Restoration" — John Kleinig
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 ...
Featured text: "Tolkien's Liturgical Imagination" — J.R.R. Tolkien
Lent in Middle-earth. In this episode, we discuss the Lenten subtext, language, and images in J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Return of the King." What can Christians learn from fiction authors about the faith, devotional reading, understanding the world outside the churches through the view of the cross, and how all of reality is bent towards Easter at all times, in al...
Featured text: "The Discarded Image" — C.S. Lewis
A Church as Big as the Cosmos! In this episode, we enter into Lent with a reading from C.S. Lewis' The Discarded Image. We discuss the medieval understanding of life, the universe, and everything— how it can help the churches today deepen their "vision" of how God orders the universe, the church, and the human being. We converse about the Grail legend, how God's Word enc...
Featured text: "The End of Education" — Neil Postman
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!
SHOW NOTES:
The End of E...
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