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.
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.
SHOW NOTES:
Tolkein - The monsters and the critics, and other essays https://archive.org/details/monsterscriticso0000tolk
Little Willy Plays in Duty. In this episode, we read Steven Paulson’s Outlaw God, discussing the appeal of the Law (in the abstract), why old Adam loves pretending he has free will, the Ninevite Conundrum, Jonah’s wormy preacher, and our obsession with placing therapy alongside Christ as a means of grace.
SHOW NOTES:
Steven Paulson - Outlaw God https://amzn.to/4kHmP8s
The Long and Winding Road.
In this episode, we answer another listener's question about civil disobedience, understanding the tension for old Adam that’s inherent within the two kingdoms doctrine, and we go down a bunch of alleyways picking through conspiracies, immigration, war, colonialism, and ice cream coveting.
SHOW NOTES:
The Night Manager https://www.amazon.com/The-Night-Manager/d...
All That and A Bag of Chips.
In this episode, we return to Steven Paulson’s book, The Outlaw God. We discuss law and Gospel, why God sends a preacher, why we hate Christ preached, and what therapy can do for the walking dead.
SHOW NOTES:
Steven Paulson - Outlaw God https://amzn.to/4kHmP8s
Just Answer the Question. In this episode, we answer listener questions, specifically active and passive choices, active and passive righteousness, election and the bondage of the will, addiction, the limits of Alcoholics Anonymous, and the ultimate Good we all seek, and much, much more.
More from 1517:
Strong Words for a Strong Word.
In this episode, we read Steven Paulson’s book, The Outlaw God. We discuss preaching, doing God’s Word to listeners, calling out curses and blessing confessions, using strong words to expose and condemn the devil and the world, and much, much more.
SHOW NOTES:
Steven Paulson - Outlaw God https://amzn.to/4kHmP8s
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.
SHOW NOTES:
The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age https://amzn.to/43cElvv
Come Together, Right Now… In this episode, we read from Tim Keller’s sermon, which asks, “What is the Church?” We discuss the relationship between churches and culture, what the church is and isn’t, where we locate faith, whether Christian faith changes one’s values, and much more.
SHOW NOTES:
A Vision for a Gospel Centered Life by Dr. Timothy Keller https://www.monergism.com/thethresho...
Burning Down The House.
In this episode, we continue our discussion of election, addressing the certainty of election, how we are chosen, the human limits of perseverance in faith, why the pope is a bad example of Christian piety, and how old Adam tries to invert election by burying it in our sacrifices and pious morality.
SHOW NOTES:
Somebody Told Me.
In this episode, we read the Book of Concord on election, and discuss why God chooses to forgive all people on the cross, why some reject the gospel, why Lutherans reject double predestination, what the consequences are to trust that we are always justified for Christ’s sake, and much, much more.
SHOW NOTES:
The Book of Concord (New Translation): The Confessions of the ...
Over And Done With.
In this episode, we read Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope and discuss the validity of the papacy’s claims to divine authority, the response of Lutherans and Protestants to the death of Pope Francis, how to love one’s neighbor while disagreeing them, the distinction between heterodoxy and heresy, and much much more.
SHOW NOTES:
Sunday Bloody Sunday
In this episode, we read Martin Luther’s sermon for Maundy Thursday (1534), discussing the Lord’s Supper, polity, sacramental piety, fellowship, election, and all the rabbit trails we follow…
SHOW NOTES:
Complete Sermons of Martin Luther - Klug https://duckduckgo.com/?q=complete+sermons+of+martin+luther+klug&t=osx&ia=shopping&iax=shopping
Can’t You See.
In this episode, we read the Lutheran theologian Matthias Flacius, and discuss inter-church debates, the Lord’s Supper as ground zero for most church conflicts, the consequences of compromise in matters of faith, the limits of love, and when it’s time to push away from the table and go into prayer.
SHOW NOTES:
Adiaphora and Tyranny https://amzn.to/4iSmFKN
Kick Out the Jams.
In this episode, we focus on the raw, real work of life in the parish—the ordinary burdens, the hidden insecurities, and the quiet faith that holds it all together. We explore the distinction between philosophy and theology and why attempts to fuse them often leave both diminished. There’s talk of reformation—its drama, its necessity, and its cost. We reflect on the pervasive victim-perpetrator dynamic that shape...
Hey, Hey, What Can I Do?
In this episode, we read Lucas Woodford’s book, Great Commission, Great Confusion, or Great Confession? and discuss the Great Commission, evangelism, the radical gospel, the purpose of the church’s preaching about Jesus, post-modern consumerism, and many, many rabbit trails into uncharted topics.
SHOW NOTES:
First It Giveth. In this episode, we discuss Jonah’s vocation, gospel imagination, dogmatic materialism, spell casting, the contemporary effects of the Industrial Revolution, and God’s preference for wasted places while reading Eugene Peterson's Under the Unpredictable Plant: An Exploration in Vocational Holiness.
SHOW NOTES:
Eugene H. Peterson (1932–2018) was a longtime pastor and profe...
And so it begins. In this episode, we read the letters of J.R.R. Tolkien for Lent. We discuss sin and mercy, Eden and scientific materialism, ecumenism and cults, and much more!
SHOW NOTES:
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien https://amzn.to/3FbRqLS
Shelby Foote https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shelby_Foote
Phrygian Mode https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P...
The Impossible Prize In this episode, we explore The Impossible Prize: A Theology of Addiction, a forthcoming book that examines addiction not just as a habit or illness, but as a form of misplaced worship. We discuss how addiction draws us toward false gods, demanding our devotion and shaping our lives in ways we barely recognize. More than a personal struggle, addiction weaves itself into families, communities, and churches—warpi...
Who Made Who?
Today, we read an essay by Rev. Dr. John Kleinig about what makes a theologian. Dr. Kleinig explains Martin Luther’s threefold description of how the master of theology, the Holy Spirit, makes one a theologian through contemplative prayer, meditating on Scripture within the communion of saints, and being translated into the kingdom of heaven by God’s Word—all this and much more on this week’s episode of the podcast.
S...
You May Be Right… In this episode of Banned Books, we read Anselm of Canterbury’s Meditation on Sin and Penance. We discuss the consequences of sin, the Fountain of Mercy, Jesus’ excuses, the doctrine of simul iustus et peccator, theological presuppositions, and how we speak influences our behavior.
SHOW NOTES:
St. Anselm’s Book of Meditations and Prayers https://www.documentacatholicao...
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