Theology for the Curious: Recent Episodes
Pete Goulding
Debating theology that makes sense of life and faith. A team of regular people discuss issues of theology, faith and life. Uncovering bible thinking from cutting edge, to conservative, to all things in-between. A lively debate show that gets you thinking, challenging the relevance of God, scripture and faith to today's contemporary outlook.
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Do we actually need God, or have we simply learned to live without him? Is faith genuinely transformative, or is it merely a comforting story we tell ourselves? And if meaning matters, do we create it for ourselves or discover something that was already there? In this final conversation, Pete and Tony venture into some of life’s deepest and most uncomfortable questions: Why believe anything at all? Why this God and not another? Why should Christianity’s claims be taken seriously when so many religions make competing promises?
We also step into the questions that often stop people in their tracks. What do we make of difficult passages in the Bible that speak of violence, slavery, and divine judgment? Why does evil seem so persistent, and what do Christians mean when they talk about the devil?
And perhaps most personally of all, if God is real, why does he often seem hidden? Why do so many sincere people search for answers and feel as though they find only silence? This episode doesn’t claim to settle every question, but it does invite listeners into an honest, open, and thoughtful exploration of faith, doubt, and the search for meaning.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliment this episode….
https://podcast.gospelinlife.com/e/the-hiddenness-of-god/
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/life-without-god-weird/
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/the-problem-of-evil/
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Timothy Keller—
Making Sense of God
Paul Copan—
Is God a Moral Monster?
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
Who really wrote the Bible? Did God write it, did people write it, or is it somehow both? Can we trust documents that are thousands of years old, and why are there only four Gospels? Was Mary Magdalene a repentant prostitute, a devoted disciple, or have we misunderstood her altogether? And if Jesus is sovereign, good, and powerful, why does the world still seem so broken?
In this episode of God, Beer and the Meaning of Life, Pete and Tony explore the reliability of the Bible, the person of Jesus, and the biggest questions raised by our troubled world. We wrestle with history, faith, and doubt, asking whether Christianity offers compelling answers or simply more questions. If you’ve ever wondered whether the Bible can be trusted, who Jesus really is, and why God appears silent amid suffering and chaos, pull up a chair and join the conversation.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliment this episode….
https://www.solas-cpc.org/can-we-trust-the-gospels-in-conversation-with-peter-j-williams/
https://redeemingtruthmedia.org/why-doesnt-god-just-come-and-fix-the-world/
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Peter J Williams—
Can We Trust the Gospels?
Lee Strobel—
A Case for Christ
N T Wright—
The Resurrection of the Son of God
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Why is the Bible open to so many interpretations? Why do Christians only have these books in the Bible and not others? Is faith alone really enough—or is that just one religion’s claim among many? And what do we do with science, evolution, Adam and Eve, the flood, suffering, talking serpents, and people living for hundreds of years?
In this episode of God, Beer and the Meaning of Life, Tony and Pete from the Curious Team tackle the questions that many people quietly wonder about but rarely ask out loud. We don’t pretend to have every answer, and we’re not afraid of uncertainty. Instead, we explore why these questions matter, what Christianity has historically said, and why wrestling honestly with difficult issues can sometimes lead not to weaker faith, but to deeper curiosity. If you’ve ever thought, “I believe… but what about this?”, this conversation is for you.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliment this episode….
https://frame-poythress.org/does-science-really-contradict-scripture-eleven-principles-for-apparent-tensions/
https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/why-would-a-good-god-allow-so-much-suffering/
https://biologos.org/articles/evolution-and-original-sin-the-historical-ideal-view
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Rebecca McLaughlin—
Confronting Christianity
John H. Walton—
The Lost World of Genesis One
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
Why are we even talking about God? It’s a fair question. In a world of deadlines, distractions, and endless entertainment, why spend an evening discussing faith over a pint of beer? Yet despite all our progress and technology, the big questions refuse to disappear. Why are we here? Does life have meaning? Is there something—or Someone—beyond ourselves?
In the first episode of ‘God, Beer and the Meaning of Life’, Pete from the Curious Team sits down with his friend Tony, who isn’t a Christian but is curious enough to ask questions that many people think about but rarely say out loud. Together we explore where that curiosity comes from, whether belief in God is rational or merely emotional, and whether the God question actually matters at all. If God doesn’t exist, does it change anything? And if He does, could there be any more important question to ask? This isn’t a debate to be won or a sermon to be endured—it’s the beginning of an honest conversation about the questions that lie just beneath the surface of everyday life.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliment this episode….
https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/resources/what-scientific-proof-do-we-have-that-there-is-a-god/
https://activechristianity.org/from-atheism-to-christianity-how-i-know-god-exists
https://philosophynow.org/issues/99/Does_God_Exist
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
C. S. Lewis—
Mere Christianity
Timothy Keller—
The Reason For God
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
We have never been more connected, and yet many of us have never felt more distracted, hurried, and restless. Our phones sit beside our beds, our notifications interrupt our conversations, and our attention is constantly being pulled in a thousand directions. We can reach almost anyone at any time—but what might this perpetual connectedness be doing to our souls?
In this episode, the Curious team sit down with sociologist and author Dr. Felicia Wu Song to explore the promises and perils of life in the digital age. Together we ask some unsettling questions: How is technology shaping our understanding of personhood, presence, and community? Why do so many of us struggle to be still? What happens when there is never silence, never solitude, and never a moment when we are simply present before God? While recognising the remarkable benefits of digital technology—education, support, and meaningful connections—we also consider its hidden costs and the practical wisdom needed to reclaim attention, recover deeper relationships, and cultivate spaces where our hearts can once again hear the voice of God.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a cross section of articles here for further reflection;
https://www.christianitytoday.com/podcasts/viral-jesus/felicia-wu-song-perils-of-digital-discipleship/
https://publicchristianity.org/podcast/the-year-of-getting-off-your-phone/
https://youtu.be/J71qzk_wMd4?is=TCwnKvZUt1go1QSW
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Felicia Wu Song—
Restless Devices – Recovering Personhood, Presence, and Place in the Digital Age
Amy & Andy Crouch—
My Tech-Wise Life: Growing Up and Making Choices in a World of Devices
Samuel James—
Digital Liturgies: Rediscovering Christian Wisdom in an Online Age
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
Few theological labels generate as much heat—and as many misconceptions—as Calvinism. In this episode of Theology for the Curious, we sit down with historian and theologian Ken Stewart to discuss his insightful book Ten Myths About Calvinism and to separate fact from fiction when it comes to one of Christianity's most debated traditions. Is Calvinism simply whatever John Calvin taught? Must every Calvinist subscribe to TULIP as the ultimate test of orthodoxy? Does belief in God's sovereignty inevitably portray God as unloving, arbitrary, or selective in His affections?
Together we examine some of the most common objections levelled against Reformed theology and ask whether they genuinely reflect what Calvinists have historically believed. We explore the perennial questions of divine sovereignty and human responsibility, wrestle with accusations that Calvinism undermines free agency, and consider whether doctrines such as election discourage evangelism, missions, prayer, or personal holiness. We also discuss the pastoral concerns often raised against Calvinism: Does it produce spiritual anxiety, fatalism, or doubt about salvation? Or can it, rightly understood, foster assurance, humility, confidence in God's grace, and zeal for gospel ministry?
Throughout the conversation, Ken Stewart brings both historical depth and theological clarity, helping listeners understand how Calvinism has been caricatured, where legitimate criticisms should be acknowledged, and what a healthy, Christ-centred expression of Reformed theology should sound like in the church today. Whether you are convinced by Calvinism, sceptical of it, or simply curious about what it actually teaches, this episode offers a thoughtful and charitable exploration of one of the most influential streams within Christian theology.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliment this episode….
https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/what-is-reformed-theology
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/does-calvinism-discourage-evangelism/
https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-does-a-sovereign-god-love
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Kenneth J Stewart—
Ten Myths About Calvinism
R C Sproul—
Chosen by God
Michael Horton—
For Calvinism
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
Pornography is often spoken about as a problem "out there" in the culture, but what if the reality is much closer to home? In this candid and compassionate episode of Theology for the Curious, we sit down with sexual and relationship psychotherapist Paula Hall to explore one of the most significant yet often hidden challenges facing the modern church.
Drawing on years of clinical experience, Paula helps us understand why pornography use is as prevalent within Christian communities as it is outside them and why so many believers find themselves trapped in cycles of shame, secrecy, and repeated failure. We discuss the statistics that reveal the scale of the issue, challenge the assumption that this is a struggle limited to a small minority, and unpack the important distinctions between occasional use, problematic pornography use, compulsive sexual behaviour disorder, and addiction.
Along the way, we explore the psychological and neurological shifts that can move someone from recreational use to compulsive patterns, the role that emotional pain and coping mechanisms often play, and the profound tension many Christians experience between their values and their behaviour. Paula also helps us understand the difference between impulse control problems and genuine addiction, offering practical insight into how these issues can be identified and addressed.
We explore the often-overlooked impact on spouses and loved ones, discussing the pain, betrayal, and confusion that can accompany these struggles, and the liberating truth behind the "three Cs"—you can't control it, you didn't cause it, and you can't cure it. Yet this conversation is far from hopeless. We conclude by exploring Paula's framework for recovery and lasting change, offering a realistic but deeply hopeful vision for freedom, healing, and restoration.
Whether you are struggling personally, supporting someone who is, or simply seeking to understand this issue more clearly, this episode offers wisdom, honesty, and hope in equal measure.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliment this episode….
https://thelaurelcentre.co.uk
https://fightthenewdrug.org/#the-issue
https://www.covenanteyes.com
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Paula Hall—
Understanding and Treating Sex and Pornography Addiction
Jay Springer—
Unwanted: How Sexual Brokenness Reveals Our Way to Healing
Michael John Cusick—
Surfing for God
Patrick Carnes—
Out of The Shadows: Understanding Sexual Addiction
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
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Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
What happens to those who never heard the gospel? Is death the final boundary of human response to God, or might there be an opportunity for salvation beyond the grave?
In this fascinating episode of Theology for the Curious, we sit down with Professor Jim Beilby to discuss his thought-provoking book Postmortem Opportunity: A Biblical and Theological Assessment of Salvation After Death. Together we explore one of the most debated questions in Christian theology: whether there is any possibility of salvation after death and how such a view differs from both universalism and the traditional understanding of eternal judgment. We examine key biblical texts often cited in the discussion, including the difficult passages of 1 Peter 3 and 4, where Christ is said to have proclaimed a message to the spirits in prison, and consider whether these verses suggest a postmortem opportunity for faith. At the same time, we wrestle with passages that appear to teach the finality of death and judgment, such as Hebrews 9:27 and Luke 16. Along the way, we discuss the theological, pastoral, and moral implications of the debate: if another opportunity exists after death, what becomes of the urgency of repentance and evangelism today? How should Christians understand the reality of hell, divine justice, and eternal separation from God?
Whether you find Beilby's proposal persuasive or problematic, this conversation will challenge you to think deeply about the character of God, the scope of salvation, and one of the most profound questions facing Christian theology.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliment this episode….
https://www.equip.org/PDF/JAJ773.pdf
https://bibleq.net/answer/6803/
https://growrag.org/2019/03/28/a-brief-contra-to-the-possibility-for-post-mortem-salvation-with-reference-to-new-testament-teaching/
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
James Beilby—
Postmortem Opportunity
Ed: Stanley Gundry and Preston Sprinkle—
Four Views on Hell
D A Carson—
The Gagging of God
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
Few doctrines generate as much discussion, discomfort, and debate as the doctrine of reprobation. In this episode, the Curious team sit down with theologian Peter Sammons, author of ‘Reprobation and God’s Sovereignty’, to explore one of the most challenging questions in Christian theology: if God graciously chooses some unto salvation, what does that mean for those who are not chosen?
Together they discuss the crucial distinction between preterition and double predestination, wrestle with Romans 9 and the hardening of Pharaoh, examine divine love, justice, fairness, and human responsibility, and consider how concepts such as concurrence and compatibilism seek to explain God’s sovereignty without making Him the author of evil. Along the way, Peter offers both biblical and pastoral reflections on how Christians can approach these weighty truths with humility, confidence, and worship.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a cross section of articles here for further reflection;
https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/double-predestination-biblical
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/doctrine-of-reprobation/
https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/predestination-what-does-mean-non-elect
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Peter Sammons—
Reprobation and God’s Sovereignty
R C Sproul—
Chosen by God
John Piper—
The Justification of God
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
What does it really mean to be free? If God is sovereign over all things, are our choices genuinely ours? And if human beings are unable to choose God apart from divine grace, how can they be held responsible for their actions?
In this episode, the Curious team sit down with theologian and author Scott Christensen to explore some of the most challenging questions in theology and philosophy. Together they unpack the nature of the human will before and after the fall, the meaning of freewill, libertarian freedom, determinism and compatibilism. They discuss why we do what we do, whether our desires shape our choices more than we realise, and what it means to say that we are free to choose what we want, but we’re not free to choose what we choose! Along the way they tackle difficult questions about God‘s justice, human responsibility, and whether accountability can exist without ultimate self—determination.
Whether you are wrestling with these issues for the first time or have studied them for years, this conversation will challenge assumptions and deepen your understanding of one of theology’s most endurable debates.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a cross section of articles here, some of which may not fully capture the convictions of the Curious team, but in the interest of balance they are included;
https://www.renewingyourmind.org/2026/03/04/what-is-free-will
https://learn.ligonier.org/podcasts/ultimately-with-rc-sproul/do-we-have-free-will
https://www.christianity.org.uk/article/predestination-and-free-will
What we’re reading
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Scott Christensen—
What about Free Will? Reconciling Our Choices with God's Sovereignty
R C Sproul—
Willing to Believe: The Controversy over Free Will
Edited by David and Randall Basinger—
Predestination and Free Will – Four Views of Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
What do we do with a world that feels so full of beauty… and yet so marked by brokenness? In this episode of the Curious team sit down with Dr. James Anderson to explore one of the deepest and most personal questions we face: why does evil exist at all? Together, we gently unpack what we even mean by “evil,” where it might come from, and how it fits, or doesn’t seem to fit, with a God who is good, sovereign, and unchanging.
Along the way, we touch on big ideas in simple ways… free will, suffering, purpose, and whether evil is something God merely allows or somehow weaves into a greater story. But this isn’t just philosophy. It’s about the questions that surface in real life, in grief, in injustice, in the quiet moments when things don’t make sense.
We’re not offering neat answers or quick fixes. But if you’ve ever wondered whether the presence of evil means the absence of God… or whether there might be a deeper, redemptive thread running through it all… this conversation might open a door you didn’t expect.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a couple of articles that compliment this episode….
The Problem of Evil - TheGospelCoalition.org
The Problem of Evil - CSLewisInstitute.org
The Problem of Evil - WhyChristianity.org.au
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
C. S. Lewis — The Problem of pain
Alvin Plantinga — God, Freedom and Evil
Ed David and Jonathan Gibson — Ruined Sinners to Reclaim
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
What really happens after we die… and why do Catholics and Protestants see it so differently?
In part two of our conversation with Roman Catholic theologian Michael Barber, the Curious team move into some of the most profound and often misunderstood areas of Christian belief: death, judgement, and the afterlife. We explore the idea of an immediate judgement and a final judgement, and gently unpack the Catholic understanding of purgatory… not as a second chance, but as a process of being made ready for the fullness of God’s presence.
We invite into a thoughtful and honest conversation that doesn’t shy away from the differences, but also reveals surprising depth and nuance. Whether you’ve always been certain about what happens after death, or you’ve quietly wrestled with the questions, this episode invites you to listen again with fresh ears.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliment this episode….
Purgatory - Catholic.com
Is Purgatory in the Bible? - Catholic.com
What Does the Bible Say About Purgatory? - DesiringGod.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Joseph Ratzinger— Eschatology: Death and Eternal Life
John Blanchard — Whatever Happened to Heaven?
Loraine Boettner — Immortality
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
What do Catholics really believe about grace, faith, and salvation… and have Protestants sometimes misunderstood it?
In this two-part conversation, the Curious team sit down with Catholic theologian Michael Barber to explore some of the biggest questions at the heart of Christian faith: Is salvation by grace alone? What place do works actually have? How do we understand justification and can we have real assurance?
Together, we gently but honestly press into areas of tension and misunderstanding, asking the questions many people are already thinking. Whether you come from a Protestant background, a Catholic one, or you’re simply curious, this episode invites you into a thoughtful, respectful conversation that might challenge assumptions and deepen your understanding.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a cross section of articles here, some of which will not capture the convictions of the Curious team, but in the interest of balance they are included;
Catholic and Protestant Views on Justification and Sanctification - Catholic.com
Faith and Works - TheGospelCoalition.com
What Does the Roman Catholic Church Believe About Justification - Ligonier.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Michael P Barber — Salvation: What Every Catholic Should Know
Thomas Schreiner — Faith Alone: The Doctrine of Justification
John Piper — Counted Righteous in Christ: Should We Abandon the Imputation of Christ's Righteousness?
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
What if one of the most familiar ideas in Christianity… is also one of the most misunderstood? In this episode the Curious team sit down with professor Hans Madueme to explore the doctrine of original sin, not as a cold theological concept, but as something that quietly shapes how we see ourselves, others, and even God. Are we born guilty, or simply broken? Is sin something we inherit, something we imitate, or something deeper still? And how do we wrestle with the fairness of it all, especially when we think about children, responsibility, and what it means to be human?
This conversation doesn’t rush to easy answers. Instead, it gently holds together big questions about justice, freedom, and grace. If we are more flawed than we’d like to admit, does that make us less human… or does it open the door to a deeper understanding of mercy? And if we soften or reject the idea of original sin altogether, do we risk losing sight of just how profound grace really is?
Thoughtful, honest, and deeply relevant, this episode invites you to think again about what it means to be human… and why that matters more than we might realise.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a couple of articles that compliment this episode….
Original Sin: Biological or Spiritual Problem? - ChristOverAll.com
The Origin of Original Sin and the Fall - Biologos.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Hans Madueme — Defending Sin
Hans Madueme and Michael Reeves — Adam, the Fall, and Original Sin
Cornelius Plantinga Jr. — The Doctrine of Sin
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
What if one of the most debated lines in Scripture isn’t about silence, weakness, or control at all… but something far more radical? In this episode, Theology for the Curious, sits down with writer, speaker and CEO of Restored, Bekah Legg, an organisation committed to working to transform relationships and end violence against women.
Together we gently unpick the power and understanding (and misunderstanding) of Ephesians 5:22, reflecting on its original context, asking whether we’ve misrepresented both the call to submit and the call to love. Could it be that what felt restrictive is actually deeply freeing? And that what Paul asks of husbands might be even more confronting than we’ve realised?
If you’ve ever wrestled with this passage, felt uneasy about how it’s been used, or wondered where strength, voice, and equality fit in… this conversation might surprise you.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a couple of articles that compliment this episode….
Selfless Marriage: Ephesians 5:21-33 - CBEInternational.org
Ephesians 5:21-33: How Paul Turns Headship on its Head - JuniaProject.com
Guess What Paul Has in Mind for Marriage? - Blogs.Bible.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Beth Allison Barr — The Making of Biblical Womanhood
Sarah Ruden — Paul Among The People
Kristin Kobes Du Mez — Jesus and John Wayne
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
What if the questions we’ve been told not to ask are the very ones we most need to face?
In this episode, the Curious team are joined by pastor, gay writer, activist and TikTok influencer, Brandan Robertson, as together they step gently—but honestly—into the tension around Scripture, sexuality, and what it means to live faithfully. Is the Bible prescribing a fixed framework, or describing a world still unfolding? Are we reading these texts clearly—or through layers we’ve inherited without noticing?
We wrestle with Genesis, with friendship and covenant, with the language of desire and identity in a world that didn’t think in our categories. We talk about celibacy and commitment—not as abstract ideals, but as real callings that shape real lives. And we ask, quietly but directly: what does it mean for LGBTQ Christians to belong—not on the margins, but in the heart of the Church?
You may find yourself challenged. You may find yourself comforted. Our hope, as a team, is that you’ll find yourself listening.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a cross section of articles here, some of which will not capture the convictions of the Curious team, but in the interest of balance they are included;
Why All Christians Should Support LGBTQ Persons - WherePeterIs.com
How Can I Be an LGBTQ Affirming Christian? - ElaineKelly.ca
A Christian's Posture Towards Pride Month and LGBTQ People - TheGospelCoalition.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Brandan Robertson — Queer Christian
Sam Allberry — Is God Anti-Gay?
James V Brownson — Bible, Gender, Sexuality
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
This week the curious Team continue their conversation with Professor Tom Schreiner in reflecting on modern objections to classic Calvinism.
Something old is revisited. Something misunderstood is questioned. Something controversial refuses to go away. In this episode of Theology for the Curious, the Curious Team sits down with professor Tom Schreiner to explore one of the most debated ideas in Christian theology: justification. What does it really mean to be declared righteous? Why did the Protestant Reformation hinge on it? And why are scholars still arguing about it today?
Along the way we wander through the classic Protestant view, the Roman Catholic understanding, and the challenges raised by the New Perspective on Paul. Then the conversation turns to another set of ideas that spark strong reactions: the five points of Calvinism, captured in the historic acronym TULIP. The team will be challenging professor Schreiner, asking are these classic Dortian understandings biblical? Are they misunderstood? And do the common criticisms really land?
Expect a thoughtful, good-natured exchange where difficult questions are welcomed, assumptions are tested, and Scripture is brought to the centre of the discussion. If you have ever wondered whether justification is a settled doctrine… or an unfinished conversation, this episode might surprise you.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a couple of articles that compliment this episode….
What Are the Five Points of Calvinism? - ReformationBibleCollege.org
What We Believe About the Five Points of Calvinism - DesiringGod.org
The Five Points of Calvinism - Journal.rts.edu
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Tom Schreiner — Faith Alone
Michael Horton — For Calvinism
Timothy George — Amazing Grace (God’s Pursuit, Our Response)
Richard J Mouw — Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Something old is revisited. Something misunderstood is questioned. Something controversial refuses to go away. In this episode of Theology for the Curious, the Curious Team sits down with professor Tom Schreiner to explore one of the most debated ideas in Christian theology: justification. What does it really mean to be declared righteous? Why did the Protestant Reformation hinge on it? And why are scholars still arguing about it today?
Along the way we wander through the classic Protestant view, the Roman Catholic understanding, and the challenges raised by the New Perspective on Paul. Then the conversation turns to another set of ideas that spark strong reactions: the five points of Calvinism, captured in the historic acronym TULIP. The team will be challenging professor Schreiner, asking are these classic Dortian understandings biblical? Are they misunderstood? And do the common criticisms really land?
Expect a thoughtful, good-natured exchange where difficult questions are welcomed, assumptions are tested, and Scripture is brought to the centre of the discussion. If you have ever wondered whether justification is a settled doctrine… or an unfinished conversation, this episode might surprise you.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a couple of articles that compliment this episode….
What are the Five Points of Calvinism? - ReformationBibleCollege.org
What We Believe About the Five Points of Calvinism - DesiringGod.org
The Five Points of Calvinism - Journal.rts.edu
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Tom Schreiner — Faith Alone
Michael Horton — For Calvinism
Timothy George — Amazing Grace (God’s Pursuit, Our Response)
Richard J Mouw — Calvinism in the Las Vegas Airport
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
There is a courtroom at the end of the story. The Judge is not elected, but enthroned — the One whom the Psalms foresaw and whom the Gospel of Matthew portrays separating sheep from goats, whom the Epistles to the Romans and Second Corinthians declare will weigh every life. But what, exactly, is placed on the scales?
Are works the measure of reward but never the ground of salvation? Can a believer arrive saved, yet singed — secure in Christ yet emptied of treasure? Or do works function as the very criteria of destiny, as some traditions insist, grace enabling merit? Is faith alone the instrument, with works merely the pulse that proves the heart still beats — as the Epistle of James seems to press upon us? Between belief and behaviour, security and jeopardy, evidence and recompense, lies a tension as old as the gospel itself: Christ alone is enough — and yet nothing we do is forgotten.
In this episode, the Curious team seek to probe the difficult and somewhat unsettling question of will what I do determine where I’ll end up? Step into the conversation this week as the Curious team invite you to reconsider how your actions and behaviours come to bear on eternity!
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a couple of articles that compliment this episode….
Four Views on the Roles of Works at the Final Judgement - TheGospelCoalition.org
Final Judgement According to Works - DesiringGod.org
A Future Justification Based on Works? - Ligonier.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Editor Stanley N. Gundry — Four Views on the Role of Works at the Final Judgement
John Piper — The Future of Justification
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Sanctification may be the quiet crisis at the heart of the Christian life — the slow, stubborn miracle that hurts more than we expect and heals more deeply than we imagine. In Romans 7 we hear the very familiar groan of a divided soul; in Romans 8:4 we glimpse the promise of a law finally fulfilled within us. Is holiness a crooked line that bends through failure and longing, or can love be so perfected that the will itself is made whole, as John Wesley dared to suggest?
Is sanctification a crisis, a process, a gift already given, or a glory still unfolding? Between image created, image shattered, and image restored, we find ourselves caught in a work we cannot accomplish and yet cannot escape — a work at once positional and painfully practical, definitive and daily, wrought by another yet fought within our own trembling hearts.
This week the Curious team delve into the mystery, and the wonder of what is commonly understood as sanctification. Join the team this week for what promises to be a very enlightening and fascinating conversation.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included some articles that compliment this episode….
The Secret of Sanctification - Ligonier.org
Gospel-Driven Sanctification - ModernReformation.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
J C Ryle — Holiness
Michael Horton — Sanctification
Kevin DeYoung — The Hole in Our Holiness
Tim Chester — You Can Change
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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In this second of our two-part series with writer Kurt Parton, the Curious Team continue their intriguing conversation around the idea of Christian universalism, ultimate reconciliation. In this episode the team explore those biblical passages that seem to clearly indicate judgement, death and hell. They reflect together on the rich man and Lazarus in (Luke 16), and Jesus‘s warning of the ‘unquenchable fire’ and ‘undying worm’ in Mark 9. How are we to understand the ‘fiery furnace’ of Matthew 13? The narrow and a broad ways Jesus spoke of? And what are we to make of the graphic imagery both Paul and John employ when they speak of an ultimate accountability for all mankind, especially those who reject Christ? Is post-mortem repentance really a biblical possibility?
Join the team this week for what promises to be a second and final fascinating instalment into this highly controversial theme...
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a couple of articles that compliment this episode….
Book Review: The Evangelical Universalist - RethinkingHell.com
ChristianUniversalism.com
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Curt Parton — Until the Last One’s Found: An Introduction to Universal Reconciliation and Restoration
Ed. Robin Parry and Christopher Partridge — Universal Salvation?: The Current Debate
James B de Young — Exposing Universalism: A Comprehensive Guide to the Faulty Appeals Made by Universalists
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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What if the final word of history is not separation, but restoration? In this thought-provoking two-part conversation with writer Curt Parton, the Curious team step into one of the most daring and controversial theological questions in the Christian tradition: ‘ultimate reconciliation’.
Is it truly possible that no one is finally lost—that every prodigal, every rebel, every hardened sinner ultimately finds their way home? And what do we do with the sobering imagery of judgment woven through Scripture—fire, outer darkness, exclusion, destruction—especially in passages like Gospel of Matthew and Book of Revelation? Do these texts point to eternal conscious torment, annihilation, or something far more mysterious? Could divine justice and divine mercy converge in ways we have not yet imagined? And stretching the question even further—if reconciliation is truly ultimate, is it conceivable that even fallen angels, even Satan himself, could somehow be caught up in redemption? Or does such a vision compromise holiness and moral accountability?
This episode doesn’t settle for easy answers; it invites you into the tension—between warning and hope, judgment and mercy, freedom and sovereignty—and asks whether the story of salvation ends in everlasting division… or in a reconciliation so vast it reframes everything we thought we knew about hell, justice, and the heart of God.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a couple of articles that compliment this episode….
Book Review: The Evangelical Universalist - RethinkingHell.com
ChristianUniversalism.com
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Curt Parton — Until the Last One’s Found: An Introduction to Universal Reconciliation and Restoration
Ed. Robin Parry and Christopher Partridge — Universal Salvation?: The Current Debate
James B de Young — Exposing Universalism: A Comprehensive Guide to the Faulty Appeals Made by Universalists
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Two thousand years ago, a man from the margins of the Roman Empire stepped onto the stage of history—and somehow split time itself. Why has Jesus of Nazareth been singled out above every other prophet, philosopher, or spiritual guide? Why do Christians dare to echo his staggering claim—“I am the way”—as recorded in the Gospel of John? Is that conviction a mark of arrogance… or allegiance to something that actually happened?
In this episode, the Curious team are joined by prof. Stephen Wellum as together they seek to probe the unsettling possibility that the uniqueness of Jesus is not rooted merely in moral teaching, but in identity and action—that forgiveness required more than sentiment, that salvation required more than insight, and that pluralism, however generous, must still wrestle with a tomb that Christians insist was empty. Did humanity truly need a Saviour? Who was this first-century Jew who compelled worship rather than mere admiration? And what did he accomplish that no other religious figure even claimed to do?
Step into a conversation that doesn’t offer easy clichés, but instead invites you to reconsider whether the most controversial claim in history might also be the most consequential.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a couple of articles that compliment this episode….
The Uniqueness of Christ in a Postmodern World and the Challenge of World Religions - Lausanne.org
Is Jesus Really the Only Way to God? - CSLewisInstitute.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Stephen Wellum — Christ Alone: The Uniqueness of Jesus as Saviour
N T Wright — Simply Jesus
C. S. Lewis — Mere Christianity
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Did Adam actually exist? Were Adam and Eve literal people living in a literal garden of Eden? How do we understand the first 11 chapters of Genesis? How do they align with so many other origin narratives from the Sumerian King List to the Eridu Genesis and Gilgamesh? Does it really matter whether we literalise our Genesis understanding or not?
How does science on the other hand, understand the origins of human life? Is it possible that all humankind originated from the seemingly narrow gene pool of two people? How does modern genetics understand the biblical claim of an historical Adam and Eve? Could it be that Adam was alone in being created first, or was he simply a Chieftain representing a far larger number of people?
Understanding the historical and theological relevance of Adam has always posed a great struggle for Christian thinkers and theologians. This week the Curious team are joined by Professor Jack Collins as they reflect on his book, “Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?” Together they examine all the difficult questions from an historical Adam, confronting origin narratives, and the age of the earth. To how we understand monogenesis and the genetic challenge. They also reflect on the implications our conclusions bring to bear on the broader understanding of the fall, theology and redemption
Join the team this week for what promises to be a very enlightening and fascinating conversation.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included some articles that compliment this episode….
Understanding the First and Last Adam - Crossway.org
Four Views on the Historical Adam - TheGospelCoalition.org
Why I Think Adam was a Real Person - Biologos.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
C. John Collins — Did Adam and Eve Really Exist? Who They Were and Why You Should Care
Ed: Matthew Barrett and Ardel Caneday — Four Views on The Historical Adam
William Lane Craig — In Quest of The Historical Adam: A Biblical and Scientific Exploration
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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The believers relationship with Church is often fraught with great hazards and difficulties. Despite the friendship, use, joy and blessing that comes from connecting to a community; there is also the unfortunate experience of disappointment, manipulation and in some cases even abuse. There are Christians who love the church but will not attend, and those who have been hurt by the church who have found their way back. For all its greatness, and at times misery, the local church remains God’s idea, his ordain means of transforming lives, and his chosen vehicle through which He touches and revives a dying world.
This week the Curious team take an honest look at the place of church in the individual Christian’s life; it’s meaning, it’s struggle, it’s beauty and it’s significance. They explore how the church matters more than we think. That 2000 years of church history has shown that no individual Christian has ever thrived and developed in complete isolation. Yet they also recognise the failure and the abuse and the struggle that many have suffered at the hands of the church. In spite of remaining God‘s plan A, his divine intention; the church has nevertheless been placed into the hands of failing humans.
Join the team in this weeks episode as they explore the thinking of Christian writers and reformers, reflecting on the beauty as much as the ugliness of Church.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a couple of articles that compliment this episode….
Why the Church is Vitally Important for Every Christian - Crossway.org
Why God Made You for Membership - DesiringGod.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Barnabas Piper & Ray Ortlund — Belong: Loving Your Church by Reflecting Christ to One Another
Robert H. Thune — The Gospel-Centered Community
Megan Hill — A Place to Belong: Learning to Love the Local Church
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Every Christian knows the reality of the battle within. Paul defines as the flesh fighting against the spirit, the old you, combating with the new you, under grace. But how aware are we of the nature of this inner beast? How serious should we take it? How ferocious and proactive is our darker nature? What sinister potential does it hold of totally destroying us? And how are we to get any kind of guarantee that we will eventually end up on the winning side?
The battle of personal holiness is a lifelong struggle from which there is no relief. In this weeks episode the curious team take the unusual step of drawing wisdom from a 400 year-old book written by perhaps one of Britain’s most outstanding Puritans of the 17th century. John Owen was 40 years of age when he wrote, “The Mortification of Sin” in 1656, as a means of teaching young ministers. The great emphasis of this classic work was, in Owen’s words, “be killing sin , or it will be killing you”
In the four centuries that have passed since the book, there have been few if any that have rivalled Owen’s insight, pastoral observations and spiritual encouragement in terms of our battle with inner sin. Taking a number of principles from Owen’s thinking, the Curious team unpack what it means to understand sin, to renounce it, to develop a right perspective of it, and to embrace the power of God’s Spirit in the conquering of it. Join them this week for a very insightful and challenging episode.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a couple of articles that compliment this episode….
The Mortification of Sin - TheGospelCoalition
On The Mortification of Sin - DesiringGod.org
Mortification of Sin - APuritansMind.com
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy! (We’d strongly recommend all three of Owen’s outstanding trilogy below)
John Owen—
The Mortification of Sin in Believers
Of Indwelling Sin in Believers
Of Temptation
Kevin DeYoung—
The Hole in Our Holiness
J. I. Packer—
Rediscovering Holiness
Keep In Step With The Spirit
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
What happens when lines of communication break down between us and God? How do we reconnect when such lines die? Is there always a way to reconnect beyond our ability to discern such paths? What role does grace and God’s Spirit play in steering us back to a better understanding and commitment?
This week, the Curious team take a look at how we disconnect from God. Looking at the deteriorating effects of busyness, of , neglect, of the things we do not confess, of the unanswered and misguided reliances; all of which feed into separating us from the conscious awareness of God’s blessing. The team also take a deep dive into what Jesus meant when he said “abide in me”; and how that works out in day-to-day life. En route they also reflect on the difficulty and yet power of seasons of dryness that inevitably can lead to rediscovery.
Join the Curious team this week as they look at the dangers of disconnecting and some practical steps to reconnection and personal restoration
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliment this episode….
Strategies to Reconnect with God When You're Feeling out of Touch - Crosswalk.com
How I learned to Reconnect with God - IBelieve.com
How to Reconnect with God - AVirtuousWoman.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode… enjoy!
Matthew C. Bingham — A Heart Aflame for God: A Reformed Approach to Spiritual Formation
Dane Ortlund — Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers
Sinclair B. Ferguson — Devoted to God: Blueprints for Sanctification
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Resolutions and commitments are commonplace this time of year. But the idea of restarting, or starting over, is often a difficult one. Perhaps it is because it is never easy. Is progress in the Christian life really down to just trying harder, making better choices, and having a stronger willpower? Or is there an empowering and a shaping that grace offers to the individual life?
How do we understand the cultural myth of self reinvention in light of developing a better us? Can we start over from scratch? Is our identity self-made as opposed to inherited? Is transformation always and endlessly possible, and do we owe nothing to the old story about us? How does 2 Corinthians 5:17 feed into this understanding? What does it mean to say that the “old has passed” and the “new has come”?
In this episode, the Curious team examine what it means to restart and to get our lives back on track. They examine the understanding of ‘reset’, we can fix it; and ‘rebirth’, God remakes it. The discussion examines the role of repentance, of small acts of obedience, of God’s endless mercies, and the need to engage in the vital elements of grace’s provision.
Join the team this week as they examine kickstarting our spiritual journey for 2026
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliment this episode….
4 Ways to Approach the New Year with Jesus - TheGospelCoalition.org
New Year's Resolutions for God's Glory, Not Our Own - Ligonier.org
New Year's Bible Verses - ThePioneerWoman.com
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode… enjoy!
Jared C Wilson — Gospel Wakefulness
Kevin DeYoung — Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God’s Will
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Beyond the tinsel and the presents and the turkey and the mistletoe; beyond the wisemen and the Shepherds, the manger and Bethlehem; there lies a richer, deeper, and more mysterious message of Christmas. The Bible does not simply paint a picture of the first Christmas being for people then and now; book for the whole cosmic and natural world .
Incarnation lies as one of the great mysteries and profound truths of scripture. CS Lewis defined it as the, “central miracle” of scripture, while Dutch theologian Herman Bavinck referred to it as the “Central fact” in all revelation.
This week the Curious team go back before the manger, in an attempt to open up the cosmic and eternal reality of the Christmas story. Grappling with the profound nature of Colossians 1:15–20, defining Jesus as “the first born of all creation”, who was “before all things”; to the majestic Philippians 2 of Christ humbling and emptying himself, the team reflect on the cosmic ripple of Christmas
Join them this week as they reflect on the eternal and timeless value of the Christmas story
.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a couple of articles that compliment this episode….
The Christmas Miracle of the Incarnation of the Omnipresent Word - DesiringGod.org
The Miracle of Christmas - AnneGrahamLotz.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Timothy Keller — Hidden Christmas
Adam Hamilton — Incarnation: Rediscovering the Significance of Christmas
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Christian orthodoxy has insisted that it is a monotheistic faith. It believes in one God. And yet it speaks and holds to this one God as being three! If God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit, then how can Christians continue to insist He is but one God? Why is it that no other world religion adheres to such an understanding of God—even the traditionally monotheistic religions of Islam and Judaism! Where did this understanding of God come from? After all, we find no where in the Bible where the word “trinity” is mentioned; so how do we know it’s a Bible based truth? Has the church always believed this? What did the early church say about it?
In this weeks episode, the curious team dig in to what is meant by the “threeness” of God. Looking back into the earliest accounts of the church fathers, and the understandings of the various church councils over the centuries, and the Bibles own presentation of God and His salvific purposes; the team seek to define what is meant by a three in one God. Along the way, they touch on historical attempts to define this triune being, (modalism, subordinationism and tritheism) that ultimately proved to be faulty and were collectively rejected. They also explore the concepts of diversity, unity and perichoresis!
Join the team this week as they dig deep into this historically significant bedrock of Christian orthodoxy
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliment this episode….
The Holy Trinity - Christianity.com
Can We Explain the Trinity? - DesiringGod.org
Alister McGrath: Thinking About the Trinity - Christinity.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…(including Michael Gaitley’s from within a more Roman Catholic framework)…enjoy!
Robert Letham — The Holy Trinity
Edited by John Thompson — Modern Trinitarian Perspectives
Michael Gaitley — The One Thing Is Three: How the Most Holy Trinity Explains Everything
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
Can God really be pleased with me even if I don’t believe? If I live with good intentions, and perform good deeds, will it draw the favour of God to me? Does the Bible infer that one’s behaviour can draw the attention of heaven? What about Cornelius in Acts 10? Wasn’t he brought to God‘s attention through his good works? Is the goodness of God contingent on the level of acceptability he offers to individuals? How do we understand common grace in the broader context of the goodness and justice of God? Think about Matthew 25, the sheep and the goats. Doesn’t it teach us about the power of good actions? Can good works in of themselves create a space in which God reveals himself to people who may not explicitly believe? How does justice and mercy work together?
God’s salvific relations to faith and our good works is a complicated and complex issue that gives rise to multiple questions. This week the curious team examine the difficult and at times contentious place our behaviour and deeds take in the overall salvific purposes of God. Was James in his epistle, truly offering an alternative to Paul or merely addressing a balance? How important is what we do in connection to what we believe? These difficult issues and more, the team dig into. Join us this week in what promises to be a rather interesting conversation.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliment this episode….
How Are Faith and Works Related When it Comes to Salvation? - EPM.org
Faith and Works - TheGospelCoalition.org
Is My Salvation an Event or a Process - DesiringGod.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode…enjoy!
Thomas H. McCall, Caleb T. Friedeman & Matt T. Friedeman — The Doctrine of Good Works
Thomas R. Schreiner — Faith Alone: The Doctrine of Justification
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
It is fair to say that the person of Jesus has probably sparked more conversation, intrigue and controversy than any other person in history. But where did he come from? Did he have a beginning or, as an ancient writers teach, he simply always was! In this episode, we step back before Bethlehem—before manger, straw, shepherd songs, or even the name Jesus itself—to ask who the Christ truly was before he walked among us. Was his divine identity something he discovered, revealed, or always knew? What does the mystery of the virgin conception tell us, and what misunderstandings does it sweep aside?
Join the Curious team this week as they find themselves in conversation with American writer and theologian Stephen Wellum, around his fascinating book “God the Son Incarnate”. Together they explore the preexistence and uniqueness of Christ, pushing through the adoptionist and Arian detours to glimpse a deeper, older story—one that began long before the world did. Tune in to what promises to be a very thoughtful and enlightening episode
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliment this episode….
Before Time Began, Jesus Was - DesiringGod.org
Was Jesus Created? - Christianity.com
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode.
We’ve included two of Stephen’s books which we believe you’ll find wonderfully interesting…enjoy!
Stephen Wellum — God the Son Incarnate
Stephen Wellum — Christ Alone
Tom Wright — Simply Jesus
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
What did God do before He created anything? It’s a question that invites both wonder and mystery — and in this episode, we dive into how philosophers and theologians have wrestled with it for centuries. Is time something that flows on its own, as Newton imagined, or is it something that exists only in relation to God and creation? We explore whether God is timeless — dwelling in an eternal “now” as Boethius described — or everlasting, moving with time without being limited by it. Along the way, we consider what it means for God to sustain the universe, how divine immutability fits with action in time, and what “zero-time” might mean for a Creator who stands both outside and within His creation.
This week the Curious team dive into this mystery in the company of theologian and philosopher Alan Padgett. Relating to Alan’s book ‘God, Eternity, and the Nature of Time’; Alan and the team explore God’s relationship to time and eternity, and how God can remain changeless in an ever changing world. Join the team this week for a thoughtful and enlightening episode
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliment this episode….
How Does God Relate to Time? - TableTalkMagazine
What is God's Relationship to Time? - Christianity.com
God and Time Theories - Reasons.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode.
We’ve included Alan’s book as well as a couple of others we think you’ll find interesting…enjoy!
Alan Padgett — God, Eternity, and the Nature of Time
Paul Helm — Eternal God: A Study of God Without Time
Edited by Gregory E. Ganssle — God and Time: Four Views
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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C. S. Lewis wrote, “No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good….”. Trying very hard to be good is a Christian’s preoccupation, and with that often comes a deep sense of anxiety and fear. Paul captured something of this anxiety autobiographically in Romans 7—“I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate”.
All of us as Christians struggle a great deal with the tension of knowing we’re called to be holy and Christlike, yet equally being painfully aware of our very evident humanness. We toy with such anxieties like will God bless me even though I do so many things wrong? How can I ever hope to meet the demand of holiness given my obvious weaknesses? The dutch theologian Herman Bavinck noted that the Christian’s dilemma lies in the fact that; “He knows that he must be holy, for without holiness no one will see the Lord; but he also knows that on this earth he will never attain to that holiness”, concluding, “His life is therefore a continual battle”.
This week the Curious team take a look at the age old tension between holiness and humanness. How we cope with the discouragement that comes when we feel we can never hit the mark or measure up. That we may forfeit blessing of one kind or another unless we get it together! The team examine what is meant by holiness, and how biblical understanding of holiness is enfolded into our union with Christ.
For all those who have struggled in this tension, this episode is for you! By looking through the practical power of confession, grace, community and sound practices; the team bring hope and strength to this difficult area. Join the team this week for an encouraging diagnosis of the holy/human dilemma!
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliment this episode….
Brothers and Sisters, Fight for Holiness! - TheGospelCoalition.org
An Open Letter to Those Frustrated by Their Progress in Sanctification - Crossway.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode. We’ve included 3 great titles below and would strongly recommend all of them!
Jared C Wilson — Imperfect Disciple: Grace for People Who Can't Get Their Act Together
Michael Yaconelli — Messy Spirituality: God’s Annoying Love for Imperfect People
Kevin DeYoung — The Hole in Our Holiness
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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In October 1991, Jerry Sittser and his family were returning from a time away when their minivan was hit head on by a drunk driver. Jerry lost his wife, his mother, and his four-year-old daughter in the collision. Jerry was to spend many years trying to rebuild his life whilst equally looking after his three other surviving children.
How do we cope when our world is ripped apart? Where do we go, emotionally, mentally, spiritually, when all we’ve loved and known is taken from us? How does profound loss and deep tragedy affect our understanding of life, people and family? How do such moments inform our belief in God? How do they shape, or reshape our understanding of a God of love and kindness?
This week the Curious team are in conversation with professor emeritus, theologian and writer Jerry Sittser. With touching honesty Jerry reflects on that dark moment all those years ago, and the journey since, speaking openly of pain, loss and faith. Jerry insists that you don't have to merely cope, but can grow in and through the dark and painful moments of life
For all those who have struggled making sense of their hurt; for those especially trying to come to terms with a God of love in the face of such overwhelmingly painful experiences; Jerry’s words will resonate in a very soulful way. Join the team this week for some very personal and honest dialogue.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….we’ve included a few articles that compliments this episode….
The Waves of Grief Will Give Way - DesiringGod.org
A Grief Observed - Ligonier.org
God's Purpose in your Pain - Plough.com
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode.
We’ve included below Jerry’s excellent and plain talking book, as well as a couple of other highly recommended ones….
Jerry Sittser — A Grace Disguised: How The Soul Grows Through Loss
C. S. Lewis — A Grief Observed
Tim Challies — Seasons of Sorrow: The Pain of Loss and the Comfort of God
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Is the bible opposed to same sex relationships? Don’t the texts (Leviticus 18 and 22, Romans 1, 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10), provide all the evidence we need to tell us that the Bible stands against all things LGBTQIA+? What about creation? Adam and Eve? Surely these passages in Scripture tell us all we need to know?
In this intriguing episode the Curious team are joined by minister, theologian and writer Jonathan Tallon reflecting on his book ‘Affirmative’. Together they traverse the thorny and all important scriptural references that are claimed to condemn any same-sex attraction. This episode pulls no punches, it deals with all the difficult passages in detail offering some surprising insights and drawing some interesting conclusions.
If you’ve ever found yourself wondering what God thinks of same-sex attraction, whether being gay is something that contradicts scripture, and how are we to think and address the LGBTQIA+ community, then this episode is a must listen. Join the team this week for an honest, hard-hitting, straight-talking episode!
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….please note, we’ve included articles supporting both traditional and progressive perspectives for the sake of balance..…
We recommend you take a good look at Jonathan’s website. Click the link below…
https://www.bibleandhomosexuality.org/about/
Has "homosexual" always been in the Bible? - UMInsight.net
How should Christians Respond to Gay Friends or Family Members? - Biola.edu
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve browsed related to this episode. For the sake of balance we’ve included those books that reflect both a progressive and traditional understanding of the subject…enjoy;
James V Brownson — Bible, Gender, Sexuality: Reframing the Church's Debate on Same-Sex Relationships
Jonathan Tallon — Affirmative: Why You Can Say Yes to the Bible and Yes to People Who Are LGBTQI+
Danny Brierly — To Inclusion and Beyond: Evangelical and Affirming LGBTQ+ Relationships and Equal Marriage
Robert A. J. Gagnon — The Bible and Homosexual Practice: Texts and Hermeneutics
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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October 7th 2023—marked the beginning of the latest in a decades-long conflict between Israel and Palestine. On that day, Hamas launched a coordinated attack on southern Israel which led to the death of civilians and the taking of hostages. Israel declared a state of war and their retaliation has, it is fair to say, shocked the global community. A UN‑body report, released 16th Sept 2025, officially concluded an act of genocide being committed in Gaza.
In this very unique episode the Curious team are joined by Dr. Ghada Karmi — a Palestinian writer, academic, lecturer, and one of the most powerful voices chronicling the ongoing struggle of the Palestinian people. Her book “Married to Another Man” explores —the roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, —the repeated failure of peace efforts, —and the realities of exile, dispossession, & resistance.
In this conversation, the Curious team will trace the history of the conflict — from the events of 1948 and the mass displacement of Palestinians, through the wars of 1967, the Intifadas, and the peace processes that repeatedly faltered; including the events since September 2023 that has occasioned a humanitarian crises in Gaza and the West Bank.
This episode reflects on Dr. Karmi’s personal story as a child forced to flee her home, (as told in her book, “In Search of Fatima”) and her lifelong commitment to justice and the right of return for the Palestinian people. Join the team this week for a very a difficult and sensitive episode
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….please note, articles are featured here for balance and provocation and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs and convictions of the Curious team.…
After the Israel-Hamas War: Palestinian Perspectives - Brandeis.edu
Palestinian-Israeli Relations - MyJewishLearning.com
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book(s) that we’d encourage a browse related to this episode. For the sake of balance we’ve included not only two of Dr. Karmi’s excellent books, but Daniel Gordis’s thorough history of Israel……enjoy;
Ghada Karmi - In Search of Fatima: A Palestinian Story
Ghada Karmi - Married to Another Man
Daniel Gordis - Israel: A Concise History of a Nation Reborn
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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It was John F. Kennedy who once famously said, “Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan”. Failure is a thing nobody wants to have or own. Another word the vast majority of Christian people are equally reticent to own, is the word ‘doubt’! Most find it very difficult to see any positive reason for its existence, we often feel weak and shameful when it characterises our Christian experience in any way. Most of us have come to see doubt as our enemy; we find it uncomfortable, disconcerting and frankly, embarrassing! But is doubt really something we ought to fear? Is it really our enemy? What if we came to understand doubt not simply as a distant friend, but a very necessary companion in the growth and development of our faith!
This week Pete and the Curious team not only unpack the stereotypical fears and struggles doubt brings, but seek to reframe and repurpose it, capturing it as something of a catalyst to igniting genuine, reinforced faith. The team express how doubt is not someone we ought to be reluctantly opening the door to, but rather one we ought to be enthusiastically offering entrance. Join the team this week as they repaint doubt and emphasise its place and significance in building strong faith.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….please note, articles are featured here for balance and provocation and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs and convictions of the Curious team.…
Faith and Doubt - PhilipYancey.com
Borrowing Faith when Doubt Creeps In - ChristianityToday.com
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’d encourage a browse related to this episode. So here goes…enjoy;
Craig Groeschel — The Benefit of Doubt: How Confronting Your Deepest Questions Can Lead to a Richer Faith
Todd Mullins — Don’t Let Doubt Take You Out: Replacing Fear and Doubt with Faith and Truth
Philip Yancey — Disappointment with God: Three Questions No One Asks Aloud
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Who was Jesus—and what did he look like? And more significantly, what colour was his skin? In this provocative episode, the Curious team are in conversation with professor Edward Blum who, alongside Paul Harvey, co-wrote the intriguing and highly informative “Color of Christ”. Together they unravel the centuries-long struggle over the colour of Christ.
From Warner Sallman’s iconic white Jesus to Black liberation theology’s reimagining of a Christ who shares the suffering of the oppressed, Professor Blum and the team explore how race, power, and identity have shaped - and been shaped by - the image of Jesus.
Drawing on Professors Blum and Harvey’s work ‘The Color of Christ’; this episode examines how art, theology, and politics have collided in the portrayal of the Messiah - from 1950s Sunday school cards to Mormon imagery, from ancient myths like the Letter of Lentulus to modern racial reckonings. This isn’t just about art history - it’s about who gets to see themselves in the divine.
Join the team this week as we traverse some controversial and at times, delicate terrain.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….please note, articles are featured here for balance and provocation and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs and convictions of the Curious team.…
What colour was Jesus? - Theologetics.org
Jesus is black. Get over it - PremierChristianity.com
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes…enjoy;
Prof. Edward Blum and Prof. Paul Harvey - The Color of Christ
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Power can be a very emotive word. How do we understand it? There is perhaps no such thing as a truly impotent individual, for everyone holds a degree of power whether they realise it or not. No one is immune from wielding a form of power. The question is not whether we have the power, but how we understand it and what we do with it and how we define it. This week the Curious team are joined by Restored CEO Bekah Legg, as they explore the meaning, layers, application and abuse of personal and corporate power.
Together Bekah and the team explore a theology of power. How scripture defines it. How God dispenses it. And how often the church can misuse it or even abuse it. This episode builds a case for what healthy, redemptive power looks like that brings wholeness into relational, familial and spiritual environments. Join the team this week as Bekah unpacks some much needed wisdom in a very sensitive and difficult area
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you… check out the Restored website for important information…
restored-uk.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes…enjoy;
Justin Humphreys and Dr. Lisa Oakley — Escaping the Maze of Spiritual Abuse
Natalie Collins — Out of Control
(See the Restored site above for more recommended reading)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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What do we mean by God’s presence? Are we always assured of its tangible reality? In spite of Jesus’s promise to never leave us or forsake us, we also understand the painful tension of scriptures like Psalm 13:1—“How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?” What does scripture mean when it speaks of God’s hiddenness within the reality of his permanent promise of presence? Many Christians believe that it is within themselves to determine God’s presence with them. If we behave, God walks with us, if we don't, he departs from us; but is that what scripture truly tells us, or is the picture very different?
This week the Curious team seek to lay a biblical foundation of divine presence, unpacking a threefold understanding of presence namely; God’s general omini-presence; his tangible, visceral presence; and his redemptive, saving presence. They’ll seek to more adequately define absence and hiddenness in the light of these three resounding truths of presence; before closing the episode with a number of practical understandings in how we better live with the absence/present tension.
Join the team this week as they uncover some rather significant and surprising aspects of God’s dealings with us
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….check out these articles around this weeks theme…
When God's Presence Feels Absent - TheGospelCoalition.org
When God isn't there - DesiringGod.org
Cultivating Attentiveness to God's Presence - CSLewisInstitute.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes…enjoy;
Francis A. Schaeffer — He Is There and He Is Not Silent
David Bowden — When God Isn’t There
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Despite the great value of individual quiet times, singular Bible reading plans, and personal commitments to church ministries; the great danger prevails that as Christians we are in danger of increasingly privatising our faith. Could it be that we are losing the edge to look outward towards the other as we become ever more preoccupied with looking inward toward ourselves?
The gospel has always historically been a gospel of the “we” as opposed to simply the “me“. The term “one another”, that so closely identifies the kernel of Kingdom understanding, is repeated over 30 times throughout the New Testament. The gospel did not simply come to save us, but to move us. To move us beyond simply my health, my joy, my spiritual life, and my Church position; to a servant like mentality of being bread, light, and salt to those in our lives and our world.
This week the curious team are joined by activist, speaker, writer and podcaster Lisa Sharon Harper whose book, “A Very Good Gospel”, makes a strong and biblical appeal for Christians to live with a wider focus and deeper perspective toward the other. Lisa has for many years advocated a gospel of the “we”, emphasising the great biblical, overarching understanding of creational, relational, and spiritual shalom. Join the team this week as Lisa both inspires and challenges us to become God’s shalom to a needy world
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you….check out Lisa’s website…
https://lisasharonharper.com
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes….here’s Lisa’s book;
Lisa Sharon Harper — A Very Good Gospel
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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What do we mean by “salvation by works”? What does Scripture say? What did the early christians believe? What about the medieval church? And how did the turbulent waters of the reformation confront that? Historically the good works that we do, the way we behave, has always been considered vitally and fundamentally important, irrespective of whatever denomination or persuasion one might represent be it hardcore Protestant or entrenched Roman Catholic.
Yet the controversy has persisted as to what role they play precisely in ones acceptance before God. Do our good deeds win us anything with God? Are they meritorious in any way? Could they be understood to be determinative, especially in regards our eternal state! If some imagine good works may not immediately be significant to our gaining favour with God, will they be ultimately?
In this second episode of our new series looking at contrasts and comparisons both theological and practical; the Curious team reflect on the age old dilemma of works and faith. Why are good works important? What role do they play? How are we to correctly understand their role in our ultimate salvation? Join the team this week as they get stuck into this perennial dilemma.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you that offers a cross-section of insight into this weeks theme…
Faith and Works - TheGospelCoalition.org
Catholic Belief on Faith and Works - Catholic.com
Will We Finally be Saved by Faith Alone? - DesiringGod.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes….here’s a couple of recommendations especially for this episode;
(Please be aware. Theology for the Curious do not endorse everything taught in the books they recommend. Often for the sake of balance and contrast, they will recommend opposing views to offer balance that may or may not reflect their own particular opinion.)
R. C. Sproul — Faith Alone: The Evangelical Doctrine of Justification
Robert A Sungenis — Not by Faith Alone: A Biblical Study of the Catholic Doctrine of Justification
Thomas Schreiner — Faith Alone: The Doctrine of Justification
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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What does a nineteenth century German philosopher, (Friedrich Nietzsche), a thirteenth century Italian theologian, (Thomas Aquinas), and a fifth century African bishop (Saint Augustine); all have in common? They all believed in the tension and contrast of original sin and original goodness. It seems of whatever theological persuasion, the general consensus of opinion over the centuries has been the understanding of humankind's origin of innocence and purity; marred, stained and distorted by sin.
Some would insist that sin only wounded the human character. That Eden reflected a dent in our nature and not a death-blow. How do we understand the garden? Sin? The fall? Is there a carry over from Eden or a very distinct disconnect?
In this opening episode of a brand new series looking at contrasts and comparisons both theological and practical; the Curious team reflect on the idea of Original Sin and Original Goodness (or ‘original blessing’ as it has been termed by some). Where do the two understandings differ? Where do they meet and agree? What do they tell us about humanity and how does it effect the way God deals with us if at all? Join the team this week as they embark on a new journey seeking to define some key contrasts of life and scripture
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you that offers some insight into this weeks theme…
Original Sin vs Original Goodness - WhiteHorseInn.org
Original Sin or Original Blessing - Impact360Institute.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes….here’s a couple of recommendations especially for this episode;
(Please be aware. Theology for the Curious do not endorse everything taught in the books they recommend. Often for the sake of balance and contrast, they will recommend opposing views to offer balance that may or may not reflect their own particular opinion.)
Edited by David & Jonathan Gibson — Ruined Sinners to Reclaim: Sin and Depravity in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective
Danielle Shroye — Original Blessing: Putting Sin in Its Rightful Place
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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What did the reformation teach us? There is no definitive answer to this question, largely because in asking it we are not simply zeroing in on a decade or two, but we’re spanning up to two centuries of significant history! The reformation reinforced key understandings of the believers position, the role of faith, the singular importance of God’s Word, as well as the rite of nations, the personal power of monarchs and rulers… individualism, nationalism and authentic spirituality
In this twelfth and final episode of our series, The Reformation Road, the Curious team reflect back on three months of doctrines, ideas, teachings and movements. Together they land on a few key aspects that emerged from those turbulent years, and discuss their impact then, and ongoing influence now. Join the team on this concluding episode as they attempt to draw together some significant lessons from the reformation
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you that offers some insight into this weeks theme…
3 Lessons I've Learned from the Reformation - TheGospelCoalition.org
What We Can Learn from the Reformation 500 Years Later - Crossway.org
Lessons from the Reformation - ChristianStudyLibrary.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes….here’s a list of the best we've come across on the Reformation;
Nick Page — A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation
Diarmaid MacCulloch — Reformation (Europe’s House Divided)
Richard Rex — The Making of Martin Luther
Andrew Pettegree — Brand Luther
Michael Reeves — The Unquenchable Flame
Peter Marshall — Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation
Bruce Gordon — Calvin
Jane Dawson — John Knox
In addition, check out this great podcast from our friend Matt White, delving into the life and thinking of John Calvin: Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
To many, the sixteenth century reformation conjures up almost romantic images of sacrifice, heroism and courage far beyond the call of duty. And yet there was a darker side to all the heroics and sacrifice. A side of brutal conflict, of hostile intolerance, and violent partisanship. The German Peasants Revolt of 1524, the horrors of the St Bartholomew’s Day massacre of 1572 and the thirty years Europe-wide war beginning in 1618; are just some examples of the darker, more distasteful realities of the European reformation .
This week the Curious team pause to reflect on the darker, less celebrated aspects of what was a deeply conflicted religious and political struggle. They will take a more thoughtful look at the peasants war, asking the question why the outcome succeeded in placing Luther in a less than favourable light. They will reflect on the atrocities of Paris in August 1572, and the prolonged conflict that swallowed up most of Europe in the decades between 1618 to 1648.
In this eighth episode of our series, The Reformation Road, the Curious team explore when Europe went to war and religion and politics showed their more troublesome sides. Join the Curious team this week as they walk the basement of reformation hostility
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you that offers some insight into this weeks theme…
German Peasants' War - WorldHistory.org
The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Day - HuguenotSociety.org.uk
The Thirty Years War - BBC.co.uk
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes….here’s a list of the best we've come across on the Reformation;
Nick Page — A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation
Diarmaid MacCulloch — Reformation (Europe’s House Divided)
Richard Rex — The Making of Martin Luther
Andrew Pettegree — Brand Luther
Michael Reeves — The Unquenchable Flame
Peter Marshall — Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation
Bruce Gordon — Calvin
In addition, check out this great podcast from our friend Matt White, delving into the life and thinking of John Calvin: Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
William Tyndale, Hugh Latimer, Nicholas Ridley, Anne Boleyn, John Jewel and John Foxe all carried one thing in common; they each became significant voices in the ongoing growth and development of the English Reformation. From the dogged tenacity of Tyndale, who spent the best part of twelve years on the run as a fugitive across Europe being declared Britains most wanted; to the studious balance of Jewel, and the bold abandon of Foxe, each of these characters stood for what they believed and in some cases would pay the ultimate price!
In this eleventh episode of our series, The Reformation Road, the Curious team embark on a glorious hike through the landscapes of six key figures who helped shape not only the English reformation of their time, but its future direction. They will ponder their great sacrifices, their formidable challenges, and their unspeakable courage; as well as highlight those friends and allies who offered much needed encouragement and support. Tune in this week as the team conclude this third and final part exploring the English reformation.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you that offers some insight into this weeks theme…
William Tyndale - Christianity.org.uk
The British Candle - DesiringGod.org
Anne Boleyn Facts - HistoryExtra.com
Bishop John Jewel - ElizabethFiles.com
John Foxe Biography - dhi.ac.uk
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes….here’s a list of the best we've come across on the Reformation;
Nick Page — A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation
Diarmaid MacCulloch — Reformation (Europe’s House Divided)
Richard Rex — The Making of Martin Luther
Andrew Pettegree — Brand Luther
Michael Reeves — The Unquenchable Flame
Peter Marshall — Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation
Bruce Gordon — Calvin
Jane Dawson — John Knox
In addition, check out this great podcast from our friend Matt White, delving into the life and thinking of John Calvin: Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
Elizabeth stands as the longest reigning Tudor monarch. From being crowned queen of England on the death of her half sister Mary I in 1558, she reigned a remarkable 44 years on the throne. Having no heir, Elizabeth I was not only the longest-reigning Tudor monarch, she was also the last reigning Tudor. Under Elizabeth, religion in England was transformed. Despite the fact that historians have pondered the depth and reality of Elizabeth’s faith, John Knox once describing her as; “neither a good protestant nor yet a resolute papist”! Anglicanism nevertheless strengthened and further defined under her reign, with further developments of the Book of Common Prayer and the Articles being trimmed down from 42 to 39. In addition to her reforms, Elizabeth also faced the national threat of the Spanish Armada under the Duke of Medina Sidonia, and the growing struggle with Mary Queen of Scots which would eventuate in her execution
In this tenth episode of our series, The Reformation Road, the Curious team take a close look at the Elizabethan years and their impact on England, its ongoing religious development, and its wider impact on the European reformation. Tune in this week as the team continue to uncover interesting and insightful aspects of Englands reformation .
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you that offers some insight into this weeks theme…
https://wou.edu/history/files/2015/08/Anna-Keaton-HST-499.pdf
Elizabeth I - bbc.co.uk
Elizabeth I - Royal.uk
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes….here’s a list of the best we've come across on the Reformation;
Nick Page — A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation
Diarmaid MacCulloch — Reformation (Europe’s House Divided)
Richard Rex — The Making of Martin Luther
Andrew Pettegree — Brand Luther
Michael Reeves — The Unquenchable Flame
Peter Marshall — Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation
Bruce Gordon — Calvin
Jane Dawson — John Knox
In addition, check out this great podcast from our friend Matt White, delving into the life and thinking of John Calvin: Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
Who was Henry VIII and how did he come to power? Why did his marriage to Catherine of Aragon get into to trouble? Who was Anne Boleyn and why did she become such a significant influence among the Protestants and yet simultaneously such a thorn in Henry’s side? How did Henry’s only son Edward influence the charge of the reformation, and what were the unthinkable consequences of his early death and the ascension of his half sister Mary to the throne?
The English reformation was beautiful, glamorous and intriguing whilst also exceedingly ugly, scary and brutal. Henry’s departure from the Roman Church was epochal. It changed everything. What he started would change the face of english religion, the monarchy and politics. When Edward succeeded his father, he would accelerate the reformation whilst becoming the Pope’s public enemy number one. With Edward’s unexpected premature death, came the arrival of his half sister Mary who promptly set about undoing everything Edward had built.
In this ninth episode of our series, The Reformation Road, the Curious team take a walk through the lives of three of the largest and most influential characters who shaped the English reformation. Henry, Edward and Mary. Looking at their ups and downs, their truths and contradictions. This week the team place the complexity and power of the English reformation under the microscope. Join the team this week as they traverse England’s part in the sixteenth century
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you that offers some insight into this weeks theme…
The Reformation in England and Scotland - Britannica.com
How the English Reformation Silenced a Noisy Generous Way of Life - ProspectMagazine.co.uk
The Reformation in England - StFrncis.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes….here’s a list of the best we've come across on the Reformation;
Nick Page — A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation
Diarmaid MacCulloch — Reformation (Europe’s House Divided)
Richard Rex — The Making of Martin Luther
Andrew Pettegree — Brand Luther
Michael Reeves — The Unquenchable Flame
Peter Marshall — Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation
Bruce Gordon — Calvin
Jane Dawson — John Knox
In addition, check out this great podcast from our friend Matt White, delving into the life and thinking of John Calvin: Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
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Scotland was a land of religious conflict and tension long before the sixteenth century reformation and the arrival of such thunderbolts as George Wishart and John Knox. As early as the late 14th and early 15th centuries, Scotland experienced heavy influence from the Lollards—followers of John Wycliffe—who questioned the authority of the Pope, the wealth of the Church, and promoted the translation of the Bible into the vernacular. But in the sixteenth century, the unashamedly, uncompromising Wishart served as a galvanising factor that would first awaken and then forcibly inspire a young Knox.
Known to many historians as the “Thundering Scot”, a man of whom Mary Queen of Scots once conceded she feared his prayers more than any army; John Knox became the single most influential voice of reformation in the mid sixteenth century. This week the Curious team unpack the life, thinking and impact of John Knox. His early role as priest and notary, to the heights of becoming royal chaplain to King Edward VI of England. Knox kindled a fire in Scotland that would not only transform Scottish religion and politics, but reshape its national identity.
In this eighth episode of our series, The Reformation Road, the Curious team take a walk in the footsteps of Knox. Form his early years in Haddington East Lothian, to his transformation alongside Wishart, to his time as a French galley slave, to national notoriety; this weeks episode will take a Scottish journey in discovery of the enigma that was John Knox!
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you that offers some insight into this weeks theme…
John Knox - ReformationHistory.org
John Knox - UndiscoveredScotland.co.uk
John Knox and the Scottish Reformation - ChristianHistoryInstitute.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes….here’s a list of the best we've come across on the Reformation;
Nick Page — A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation
Diarmaid MacCulloch — Reformation (Europe’s House Divided)
Richard Rex — The Making of Martin Luther
Andrew Pettegree — Brand Luther
Michael Reeves — The Unquenchable Flame
Peter Marshall — Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation
Bruce Gordon — Calvin
Jane Dawson — John Knox
In addition, check out this great podcast from our friend Matt White, delving into the life and thinking of John Calvin. Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
Accounts of the reformation are often wonderful, even glamorous, courageous and adventurous but predominantly centred around the rise and development of Protestantism. But what did that mean for the then established Roman Catholic Church? How did the Pope react to the burgeoning influence of Luther, Zwingli, Calvin and others? What measures did they take, what decisions did they come to that would ensure not only their survival, but their continued development and expansion?
This week the Curious team explore how the Pope and the church of Rome bit back and counteracted the Protestant tidal wave of advancement. They’ll be exploring why the Council of Trent became so important, and in what eat it became a major reformer of the Catholic Church. What role Ignatius of Loyola played, and how influential his newborn order of Jesuits were.
In this seventh episode of our series, The Reformation Road, the Curious team explore the reordering of the Church of Rome, and how it equipped itself to confront and counter the propelling force of Protestantism.
Join the Curious Team this week in what promises to be a very intriguing episode
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you that offers some insight into this weeks theme…
The Counter Reformation - NewAdvent.org
The Catholic Reformation - Christianity.org.uk
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes….here’s a list of the best we've come across on the Reformation;
Nick Page — A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation
Diarmaid MacCulloch — Reformation (Europe’s House Divided)
Richard Rex — The Making of Martin Luther
Andrew Pettegree — Brand Luther
Michael Reeves — The Unquenchable Flame
Peter Marshall — Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation
Bruce Gordon — Calvin
In addition, check out this great podcast from our friend Matt White, delving into the life and thinking of John Calvin. Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
One of the pondering questions that arose out of the reformation was that of the Anabaptist’s. Who were they? Why were they so vilified? What led both Catholic and Protestants alike to despise them as much as they did with equal animosity? Were they truly heretics or simply misunderstood?
This week the Curious team explore the birth and journey of the 16th century Anabaptist’s, looking at their founders, their particular beliefs and practices, the specific persecution brought to bear against them, the extremities they displayed at times, and the disastrous events of Münster!
In this sixth episode of our series, The Reformation Road, the Curious team explore the impact and influence of the Anabaptist’s and question whether the persecution they suffered was justified, or whether they were deeply misunderstood
Join the Curious Team this week in what promises to be a very intriguing and revealing episode
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you that offers some insight into this weeks theme…
Anabaptism: A Brief History - AMNetwork.uk
Anabaptists - Baptist.org.uk
The Origin of Anabaptist Churches - BaptistHistoryHomepage.com
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes….here’s a list of the best we've come across on the Reformation;
Nick Page — A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation
Diarmaid MacCulloch — Reformation (Europe’s House Divided)
Richard Rex — The Making of Martin Luther
Andrew Pettegree — Brand Luther
Michael Reeves — The Unquenchable Flame
Peter Marshall — Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation
Bruce Gordon — Calvin
In addition, check out this great podcast from our friend Matt White, delving into the life and thinking of John Calvin. Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
There has perhaps been no other figure more celebrated yet more vilified, more appreciated yet more misunderstood, more eulogised over and yet more criticised and condemned, than the controversial French born theologian John Calvin. To some Calvin is little more than the originator of the theological system we call Calvinism today, even though he had nothing to do with the formulation of such a system. To others he was the tyrant of Geneva, and yet others would see him as one of Europe’s most significant and impactful thinkers.
This week the Curious team have the great honour of interviewing Matt White, a keen observer and student of John Calvin. Together with Matt, Pete and the Curious team walk-through the life, thinking and influence of John Calvin, warts and all. They’ll be exploring Calvin the student, the person seeking asylum, the unwilling organiser, the gifted thinker and strategist, the father and husband, the leader, influencer and reluctant reformer. This episode will look at the high points of Calvin‘s life, his Institutions, his development of Geneva as a “school of Christ”, as well as his low points, his controversial run-in with Servetus.
In this fifth episode of our series, The Road to Reformation, the Curious team take a no-holds-barred dive into Calvin’s life and influence, asking why he has often been labelled a misery or a tyrant, and why perhaps such characterisations may not be particularly accurate.
Join the Curious Team this week in what promises to be a very intriguing and revealing episode.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you that offers some insight into this weeks theme…
The Life and Times of John Calvin - ChristianHistoryInstitute.org
Calvin: A Biography - TheGospelCoalition.org
John Calvin - Ligonier.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes….here’s a list of the best we've come across on the Reformation;
Nick Page — A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation
Diarmaid MacCulloch — Reformation (Europe’s House Divided)
Richard Rex — The Making of Martin Luther
Andrew Pettegree — Brand Luther
Michael Reeves — The Unquenchable Flame
Peter Marshall — Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation
Bruce Gordon — Calvin
In addition, check out this great podcast from our friend Matt White, delving into the life and thinking of John Calvin. Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
Who was Ulrich Zwingli? How does a priest, turned soldier, turned protester, turned reformer, end up dead on a field in a five kilometre square piece of land in the Swiss town of Kappel? What were the forces, the difficulties and conflicts, and the significant personalities that came to bear on Zwingli? Who were his supporters and how dangerous were his enemies?
This week the Curious team take a look at the phenomenon that was the Swiss reformation, reflecting on the significant role Ulrich Zwingli came to play in igniting, developing and establishing it.
In this fourth episode of our series, The Reformation Road, the Curious team launch into Zwingli’s life, influence and legacy. What impact the events in Switzerland came to have on the European reformation.
Join the Curious Team this week as they step in to the extraordinary events of Zwingli’s life.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you that offers some insight into this weeks theme…
The Life and Thought of Zwingli - ChristianHistoryInstitude.org
9 Things You Should Know About Ulrich Zwingli - TheGospelCoalition.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes….here’s a list of the best we've come across on the Reformation;
Nick Page — A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation
Diarmaid MacCulloch — Reformation (Europe’s House Divided)
Richard Rex — The Making of Martin Luther
Andrew Pettegree — Brand Luther
Michael Reeves — The Unquenchable Flame
Peter Marshall — Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation
In addition, check out this great podcast from our friend Matt White, delving into the life and thinking of John Calvin. Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
Few in church history could ever fully comprehend the enormity of impact the event of October 31st, 1517 in Wittenberg could produce on the global church. Martin Luther’s inquisitive protest against the machinery of indulgences, was launched initially as an invitation for clear and theologically intelligent minds to critically reflect on the validity and value of indulgences
This week the Curious them take a look at the enigma that is Martin Luther. What was his home life like? Was it overly strict? Was it supportive and loving? How did the University of Erfurt shape his thinking? How did Luther’s ‘lightening bolt’ experience recalibrate his perspective and values? What were the 95 thesis really all about? What was Luther really trying to achieve in making them public? And why was the Diet of Worms in May 1521, so incredibly significant for Luther and decisive for the Reformation?
In this third episode of our series, “The Road to Reformation”, the Curious team launch into Luther, his beginnings, his early convictions, his formulating discontent, and his eventual public display, challenging the might of the Holy Catholic Church!
Join the Curious Team this week as they step in to the extraordinary events of 1517 and it’s immediate aftermath on the European church.
Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you that offers some insight into this weeks theme…
Luther's Early Life - LutheranRefromation.org
Luther's Early Years - ChristianHistoryInstitute.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes….here’s a list of the best we've come across on the Reformation;
Nick Page — A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation
Diarmaid MacCulloch — Reformation (Europe’s House Divided)
Richard Rex — The Making of Martin Luther
Andrew Pettegree — Brand Luther
Michael Reeves — The Unquenchable Flame
Peter Marshall — Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation
In addition, check out this great podcast from our friend Matt White, delving into the life and thinking of John Calvin.
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
Some imagine that justification by faith, the great rallying cry of the reformation, was a specifically Protestant invention, and more particularly, a Luther invention! Yet as early as 1511 (6yrs before Luther), Cardinal Gasparo Contarini came to an understanding of justification by faith, and was desirous to debate it within the Catholic hierarchy.
That being said, the church collective, was not in a very healthy state in the fifteenth century. The corruptive systemic elements of simony (clerical offices for sale), immorality, and indulgences (purgatory for sale), were deeply entrenched in the Catholic Church. Humanism and the renaissance were question biblical interpretation under the cry; Ad fontes—“to the sources!” Whilst irritants like John Wycliffe and his Lollards, and Jan Hus and his Hussites were causing no end of friction!
In this first episode of our brand new series, The Reformation Road, the Curious team launch into faith in the fifteenth century. What were the influences, the burgeoning practices, the defective thinking that summoned the need for such a seismic change as a Europe-wide reformation ? Who were the instigators, the key personalities that caused many to look beyond the present to see alternative possibilities?
Join the Curious Team this week as they step back in history and seek to review pre-reformation forces that would herald irreversible change.
Further Reading
In an attempt to maintain balance, we have listed below brief overviews of the reformation from both Protestant and catholic perspectives…
The State of the Church Before the Reformation - ModernReformation.org
Searching for Gospel-Centred Theology Before the Reformation - TheGospelCoalition.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes. We’ve been getting stuck into the following;
Nick Page — A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation
Diarmaid MacCulloch — Reformation (Europe’s House Divided)
Richard Rex —The Making of Martin Luther
Andrew Pettegree — Brand Luther
Michael Reeves — The Unquenchable Flame
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
In his book A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation, writer Nick Page claims that the effects of the sixteenth century European reformation, created and defined denominational identities, changed our perspectives of God, living and the afterlife, reshaped the map of Europe, and hugely affected our present ideas of sovereignty, individuality, and democratic rights.
In this introductory episode to a brand-new series on the reformation, the Curious team speak with Nick Page about his book, God, history, and the key players and movers within the reformation. In an attempt to set the scene for the following episodes, Nick paints the landscape in broad brush strokes, attempting to define just what sixteenth century Europe looked like, and the significant players and their inevitable impact.
This stands to be a very different series for the Curious Team as they tackle the reformation, looking at it from an historical as well as theological perspective. Be sure to tune in to what will be a rip-roaring ride of facts, figures, key personalities and major movements
Further Reading
In an attempt to maintain balance, we have listed below brief overviews of the reformation from both Protestant and catholic perspectives…
Introducing the Reformation - TheGospelCoalition.org
The Reformation - Catholic.com
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes. We’ve been getting stuck into the following;
Nick Page — A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation
Diarmaid MacCulloch — Reformation (Europe’s House Divided)
Richard Rex — The Making of Martin Luther
Andrew Pettegree — Brand Luther
Michael Reeves — The Unquenchable Flame
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
Life consists of a number of markers that indicate whether we are doing life well. Those who are seen in good health, in reasonable wealth, and comfort, in plenty; or often a judged to being in a good place and doing something right. And yet in the upside down economy of the kingdom, these markers are seriously misleading. One can have all the wealth and health and happiness and yet be deemed as anything but wealthy, healthy or in a particularly happy place. The Laodicean Church were to experience two great shocks. The first was being told that all their markers that indicated them as a people of wealth, health and security; were misleading. They were in fact the complete opposite; poor, wretched, naked and blind. The second shock was that in spite of this deteriorating condition, this declared self deception, grace nevertheless, was to be extended to them
The church at Laodicea, remind us of the inexhaustible resources of grace. However for we fall, however self deceived we are, however many lies we believe or errors we commit; grace has big hands to catch us. Even though this Church, like that of Sardis, had nothing about it that was commendable, yet God was willing to rebuild and reconnect them.
This week the Curious Team take a look at the misguided, diluted understanding of the Laodiceans. How we can so easily fall into a false sense of security, believe ourselves to be holier and more effective than we actually are. Tune in this week for the final episode of this series, as the team seek to unpack the complex experience of the Laodiceans.
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
The Letter to the Church in Laodicea - Ligonier.org
What was the Message to the Church of Laodicea from Jesus? - Christianity.com
How to Avoid Becoming a Lukewarm Church like Laodicea - Crosswalk.com
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this episode. So here goes. We’ve been getting stuck into the following;
Jeffrey A D Weima—
The Sermons To The Seven Churches of Revelation (A Commentary and Guide)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
Sometimes one of the most difficult aspects of faith is when we appear to be doing everything right but things don’t appear to be getting any better. All too often we mistakenly assume that good behaviour invariably equates to an easier life! The church at Philadelphia learnt that in spite of their committed devotion, they were subject to the rejection of those around them, and the persecution from those above them in authority
And yet Jesus was extremely commendable of the Philadelphian church. Like the church at Smyrna, he hadn’t a single complaint to say about them. He acknowledged their vulnerability and weakness, yet celebrated their steadfast commitment to endure and persevere. And though they were presently under threat of excommunication and isolation, Jesus would one day publicly acknowledge them and express his deep love of them
This week the Curious Team take a look at the tough experience of the Philadelphians. How we sustain faith in the midst of pressure and rejection. How we must come to an understanding that our expressing real holiness of life, does not always result in a reduction of pressure and tough times. Tune in this week as the team seek to get under the surface of the Philadelphian understanding
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
The Little Church that Tried - RayStedman.org
To the Church in Philadelphia - Ligonier.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this episode. So here goes. We’ve been getting stuck into the following;
Jeffrey A D Weima—
The Sermons To The Seven Churches of Revelation (A Commentary and Guide)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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The Dutch philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard wrote; “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true”. The Sardinian church were guilty of both. First they believed that they were alive and thriving, something that wasn’t true. And second they dismissed any thought of being dead and weak, something Jesus was to remind them they most certainly were.
We are all in danger of developing an acute form of self deception. We like to think of ourselves as stronger, brighter and more spiritually mature than we often are. We tend to believe our own press. We take the best of what we hear and assume that it is the entirety of who we are. And the more we listen to that voice, the less likely we are to listen to the voice of truth, the voice of Christ
The church at Sardis was commanded to do three important things; to “wake up”, to “strengthen”, and to “reaffirm”. They were called to return to what truly mattered and to give their attention to what was deeply important
This week the Curious team take a look at the staggering self delusion represented by the church at Sardis. Jesus had some very straight and plain truths to tell them, and this week the Curious team unpack them, asking how their rebuke is still very relevant to today’s church. Be sure to tune in to this weeks conversation.
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder;
Lessons from Sardis: Finish What You Started - TheGospelCoalition.org
What Does Revelation Say about the Church at Sardis? - Christianity.com
To the Church at Sardis - Ligonier.org
What We’re Reading
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this episode. So here goes. We’ve been getting stuck into the following;
Jeffrey A Weima — The Sermons to the Seven Churches of Revelation (A Commentary and Guide)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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The one time professional cricketer turned missionary to China and Africa, Charles T Studd once declared, “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for him“. Total surrender is a richly understood necessity for those who engage Christ as saviour, but it is never without its struggles. Compromise continues to irritate and frustrate at every level.
The church at Thyatira was no exception. Commended for their love, faith, service and patient perseverance, they were nevertheless tolerating the festering influence of Jezebel and all that came with it. In the midst of an impressive dedication to Christ there resided a gaping hole of compromise.
This week the Curious team take a look at the contradiction that was Thyatira. How Jesus dealt with a church that could be both impressively committed in some areas whilst remaining mysteriously lapsed in others. Tune in this week as the team seek to unravel this perplexing yet all too common facet of the Christian’s experience.
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder;
What Does Revelation Teach Us about the Church at Thyatira? - Christianity.com
Poisonous Tolerance - DesiringGod.org
The Letter to the Church at Thyatira - Ligonier.org
What We’re Reading
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this episode. So here goes. We’ve been getting stuck into the following;
Jeffrey A Weima — The Sermons to the Seven Churches of Revelation (A Commentary and Guide)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
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One of the recurring problems that Israel faced in the subsequent immediate years following their Exodus from Egypt, was the infiltration of thoughts and ideas from non-Israelites travelling within their company. Sometimes they would encourage them to murmur and grumble. In later years, as that foreign element increased, they would be tempted to look elsewhere for other gods and forms of worship.
Compromise is always a dangerous element within any group, but especially within the church of God. The church at Pergamum was facing a very similar threat. Despite having those who were faithful and held fast to the truth, even to the point of death, as Antipas; yet there was a number among them who held to beliefs, ideas and convictions that were foreign to Christ and truth.
This week the Curious Team take a look at the strengths and weaknesses of the Pergamum Church. They examine the great strength of holding fast and persevering; whilst also unpacking the real danger of rooted compromise. Tune in this week as the team uncover the good and bad of church life
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
The Letter to the Church in Pergamum - Ligonier.org
Pergamos: The Compromised Church - LineageJourney.com
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this episode. So here goes. We’ve been getting stuck into the following;
Jeffrey A D Weima—
The Sermons To The Seven Churches of Revelation (A Commentary and Guide)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
It can be very easy to speak in terms of God‘s sovereignty and control over all things. Even when we see very difficult times inflicted on the world and others, it is not a huge stretch of faith to maintain the conviction of God‘s control of world events. However, when that suffering and pain impacts on our own personal lives and on the lives of those we love, it is considerably harder at that point to maintain a stubborn insistence on the sovereignty and governance of God over the events of life. The temptation is to rethink our understanding. To doubt that God is either all powerful or all good.
In this second episode of our new series ‘Seven Churches Speak’, Pete and the Curious team take a look at the Church in Smyrna. The Smyrnaean believers were being maligned and slandered, blasphemed and persecuted. And rather than being met with good news that their difficulties and pain was about to come to an end; they are told by John that persecution will not only continue but increase!
This week the Curious Team take a look at how this particular church in Smyrna managed not only to endure, but to thrive and grow in the most hostile of environments. Tune in this week as the team uncover some wonderful lessons from the church in Smyrna.
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
What does God say about the Church at Smyrna? - Christianity.com
The Letter to the Church in Smyrna - Ligonier.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book(s) that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this episode. So here goes. We’ve been getting stuck into the following;
Jeffrey A D Weima—
The Sermons To The Seven Churches of Revelation (A Commentary and Guide)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
Is it possible to be doctrinally astute, theologically correct, scripturally protective, and yet be displeasing to God? Is it possible that we can become so focused on making sure we are saying and believing the right thing that we become dislocated from doing the right thing? Is what we think always inevitably tied to what we do, or can we find ourselves believing one thing and doing another?
In this first episode of our new series ‘Seven Churches Speak’, Pete and the Curious team take a look at the Church in Ephesus. Ephesus was a church commended by Jesus for their dedication and commitment to orthodoxy. They guarded their pulpit with an impressive zeal. However, even amidst such pious and particular orthodoxy; these Ephesian believers let slip the most fundamental of necessities; the need to love God and loved one another
This week the Curious Team take a look at how this particular Ephesian problem can be an often is a universal church problem here in the 21st-century. Tune in this week as the team take a deeper look into the church Ephesus.
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
The Letter to the Church in Ephesus - WSCal.edu
What is the Significance of the Church of Ephesus in the Bible? - Christianity.com
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this episode. So here goes. We’ve been getting stuck into the following;
Jeffrey A D Weima — The Sermons To The Seven Churches of Revelation (A Commentary and Guide)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
What could seven churches, situated across Asia Minor, some 2,000 years ago, possibly have to say to individuals and the church in today’s twenty-first century? Why were they there, what did Jesus have to say to them, what can we learn former their successes, how do they serve as cautions to us?
Over the next seven episodes the Curious team will unpack the seven churches seeking to discover their meaning in the first century, and their relevance for today.
In this opening episode of our new series ‘Seven Churches Speak’, Pete and the Curious team interview writer and New Testament professor Jeffrey Weima over his book ‘The Sermons To The Seven Churches of Revelation’. In this episode Jeff provides a broad introduction to the context and purpose of the seven sermons and what their overall message included.
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
What is the Significance of the Seven Churches in Revelation? - BibleStudyTools.com
What do the Seven Churches in Revelation Represent? - Christianity.com
What we’re reading?
Jeffrey A D Weima — The Sermons To The Seven Churches of Revelation (A Commentary and Guide)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
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When many people look at all the evil, difficulty and suffering in the world, they almost instinctively ask; “where is God?” Another way of asking that question is to insist, how involved is God in this world? Is he an absent landlord, who only turns up very occasionally when there’s a serious problem? Or is he aware of what’s happening and remains in complete control and has a plan in spite of the fact we’re not always aware of it? Or is he aware but not in control and sits as a heavenly observer hoping that humankind will gets its act together?
How is divine providence relevant to all these dilemmas? What do we mean when we talk about divine providence? Is it that God sustains the earth and everything in it? Or is it that he not only sustains it, but orders and governs it? Does God macro-manage, or does scripture reflect more a micro-managing of the world and its course?
In this eighth and final episode of our series ‘Take Another Look’, Pete and the Curious team take a look at the classic understanding of divine providence. What was once a staple throughout the reformation years, has become something of a long lost cousin in todays culture with few if any pulpits teaching anything of divine providence. Tune in this week as the team debate and discuss the significance and impact of this expansive subject
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
The Providence of God - DesiringGod.org
What is Providence? - Ligonier.org
God's Providence Over All - ModernReformation.org
What we’re reading?
R C Sproul — The Invisible Hand
Paul Helm — The Providence of God
John Piper — Providence
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When it comes to the sin against the Holy Spirit, there has remained a great deal of confusion within some elements of the church. Some believe it is a sin impossible for a Christian to commit. Some confine it to the era in which it was written i.e: first century Palestine. Others believe it to be another form of apostasy. Whilst still others, even Christians, like Bunyan’s man in the iron cage, fear they may have committed it and are thereby bereft of any hope of repentance or salvation.
How are we to understand the sin against the Holy Spirit that we read of in Mark 3, Matthew 12 and Luke 12? Is it a sin that Jesus died for? Is it the only sin to be beyond redemption? Can a Christian actually commit it? And what is so unique about it that makes it so singularly condemning?
In this seventh episode of our series ‘Take Another Look’, Pete and the Curious team attempt to tease open this rather sensitive and controversial issue. They’ll be asking how have we traditionally understood it? What did Jesus mean by it within the context in which he said it? How are we to understand it today? Tune in this week as the team debate and discuss the significance and impact of this difficult subject
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
Can a Christian Blaspheme the Holy Spirit? - DesiringGod.org
What is Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit? - GotQuestions.org
What is Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit? - Tenth.org
What we’re reading?
Horatius Bonar ― The Sin unto Death and the Sin against the Holy Spirit
This little booklet is currently available on Amazon, Kindle Edition for 77p (link here)
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What was God’s intention in Genesis 2:3 when He instituted the Sabbath and ‘sanctified it’ and ‘set it apart’? In our present culture sabbath has been understood as addressing the work/life balance. The need to rediscover a restful rhythm to life. Certainly the rate of work is addressed in the sabbath, but does it simply stop there? Is the sabbath day a sacred 24 hours or could any day be taken as one’s sabbath?
Martin Luther referred to the seventh day as a ‘gift from God Himself’. Respected American historian Phillip Schaff, defined the sabbath as a “previous gift of grace, a privilege, a holy rest”; and John Newton remarked, “how dull the Sabbath day without the Sabbath Lord”!
In this sixth episode of our series ‘Take Another Look’, Pete and the Curious team take a deeper look into our understanding of the sabbath. When we are told that God specifically ‘blessed’ the sabbath day, how does that help us to define or re-define the day differently to any other? Abraham Heschel insisted that the Sabbath “is a day for the sake of life”, adding; “the Sabbath is not for the sake of the weekdays; the weekdays are for the sake of Sabbath. It is not an interlude but the climax of living”. Tune in this week as the team will discuss how the sabbath might be better understood as the ‘climax for living’.
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
What is the Sabbath in the Bible and Should Christians Observe it? - BibleProject.com
Should Christians Keep the Sabbath? - DesiringGod.org
What we’re reading?
Abraham Heschel ― The Sabbath
Iain H. Murray — Rest in God
Terry L. Johnson ― The Christian Sabbath
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From over forty years of Billy Graham crusades, to Bill Bright and the Campus Crusade For Christ and the ‘Four Spiritual Laws’, the sinner's prayer has remained a long established practice in calling the unrepentant to faith. Yet it has not been without its critics, who have labelled it anywhere from easy believism to false assurance. How have we arrived at it and can it be qualified in scripture?
Additionally, there has remained an even more complex problem in terms of those who have never heard the gospel in any clarity. How do we understand the plight of the newborn, or the mentally impaired?
In this fifth episode of our series ‘Take Another Look’, Pete and the Curious team attempt to tackle both of these controversial questions. Reflecting on advocates and critics of what’s come to be known as ‘the sinners prayer’; and unpacking the various views of exclusivism, inclusivism and universalism, in an attempt to take a closer look at some reasoning behind those who’ve never heard; this weeks episode will address a variety of delicate issues. Tune in this week as the team agree and disagree over this vital issue
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
What About Those Who Have Never Heard? - DesiringGod.org
What About Those Who Have Never Heard The Gospel? - Christianity.org
What Is The Sinner's Prayer for Salvation? - Crosswalk.com
Why The Sinner's Prayer Has Me Concerned and a Biblical Alternative - STR.org
What we’re reading?
Edited by John Sanders — What About Those Who Have Never Heard?: Three Views on the Destiny of the Unevangelized
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All of us as Christians can point to a moment in time when we found ourselves coming to Christ, praying for forgiveness, repenting, believing and becoming a Christian. But if we think that’s where God’s interest in us began, we are sadly mistaken. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that our individual salvation was not a thought in time, but a determination before time! Paul could write to Timothy for example, “Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (2 Tim.1:9). Our salvation is pretemporal, ‘before the foundation of the earth’ (Eph.1:4).
In this fourth episode of our series ‘Take Another Look’, Pete and the Curious team get controversial as they debate and disagree over the understanding of what has been classically understood as the doctrine of unconditional election! They will look at foreknowledge, sovereignty, human responsibility, prevenient grace, and more; as they contend over this difficult issue. Tune in this week as the team agree and disagree over this vital issue
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
TULIP and Reformed Theology: Unconditional Election - Ligonier.org
Ten Reasons You Need Unconditional Election - DesiringGod.org
An Arminian Understanding of Election - ThoughtsTheological.com
What we’re reading?
John Calvin — The Secret Providence of God ―
Robert A. Peterson ― Election and Free Will: God's Gracious Choice and Our Responsibility (Explorations in Biblical Theology)
R C Sproul ― Chosen by God
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For centuries debates have raged regarding the state of the soul after death. Some have argued for what has been termed psychopannychia, or put simply, soul sleep! That the soul remains unconscious and non-cognitive until the resurrection. Others, specifically more of the Roman Catholic understanding have advocated for a purgatory. A place where souls go immediately upon death to atone for sins that would forbid them immediate access to heaven. Others have taught a form of Sheol or Hades, a type of holding place for disembodied souls, whilst others have insisted on reincarnation.
In this third episode of our series ‘Take Another Look’, Pete and the Curious team encourage us to look at these understandings of the souls existence or not upon death. In this episode they discuss the various views including Paul’s intriguing words to the Corinthian Church that should one be absent from the body they would be at home with the Lord (2 Cor.5:8). Tune in this week as the team agree and disagree over this vital issue
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
What do you believe about the Intermediate State? - DesiringGod.org
The Intermediate State - TableTalkMagazine.com
What is the Intermediate State? - Ligonier.org
What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this episode. So here goes. We’ve been getting stuck into the following;
David Pawson ― The Road To Hell
Edward W. Fudge & Robert A. Peterson ― Two Views of Hell
Tom Wright ― Surprised by Hope
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How do we define hell? What is its purpose? Is there a possibility that there’s no such place? What does a twelfth century Irish knight, and Dante’s inferno got to tell us about hell? What exactly could Jesus have meant in speaking about a place, “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt.25:41)? When was such a place prepared and why? What does Matthew 25, and Jesus’ words about the sheep and goats, have to teach us about heaven, hell, and the afterlife if anything?
In this second episode of our series ‘Take Another Look’, Pete and the Curious team encourage us to look at understandings and possible misunderstandings about hell. On this mini tour of ideas the team reflect upon the traditional idea of an immortal soul in a conscious state in eternity, and that of conditional immortality and the ultimate destruction of the soul in annihilationism. Tune in this week as the team agree and disagree over this vital issue
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
Hell as Endless Punishment - TheGospelCoalition.org
Biblical Arguments for Eternal Conscious Torment - TheologyInTheRaw.com
Will Hell Really Last Forever? - DesiringGod.org
What we’re reading?
David Pawson ― The Road To Hell
Edward W. Fudge & Robert A. Peterson ― Two Views of Hell
Various (Keller, Mohler, Packer, etc)― Is Hell For Real or Does Everyone Go To Heaven?
Steve Gregg ― All You Want to Know About Hell
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The puritan John Owen offered three understandings of the extent of Christ’s atonement. Firstly that he died for all of the sin for all of the people. Second that he died for some of the sin of all of the people; or thirdly that Christ died for all of the sin for some of the people!
In this opening episode of our new series ‘Take Another Look’, Pete and the Curious team encourage us to look at understandings that we may have assumed have always been understood in one particular way, and ask the question could it mean something very different? This week the team look at the extent of Christ’s atonement, pondering the question, was the intent of God in the death of his Son, to fully redeem all people without exception, from all sin without exception, for all time? And if so, what sin would therefore serve to eliminate anyone from eternal bliss with the Father? Tune in this week as the team agree and disagree over this vital question.
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
TULIP and Reformed Theology: Limited Atonement - Ligonier.org
Defending Definite Atonement - BannerOfTruth.org
What we’re reading?
Authors various ― From Heaven He Came and Sought Her: Definite Atonement in Historical, Biblical, Theological, and Pastoral Perspective (The Doctrines of Grace)
John Owen ― The Death of Death in The Death of Christ (this link offers an updated version of this timeless classic in modern English… enjoy)
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What do we mean by the Spirit’s preservation? How sure can any believer really be that they will realise the great hope of salvation? How much is it down to us and how much does he intervene? Does our lack of perseverance cancel out his act of preservation? Is the ultimate preservation of the Spirit contingent on our faithfulness? How do we interpret the jeopardy of warnings against apostasy and backsliding?
In this final episode of the present series ‘God’s Special Agent’, Pete and the Curious team take a deep dive into the delicate balance between assurance and caution, between perseverance and preservation. What is the Spirit's role? Can he? Does he override our weaknesses and faithlessness or is he contained by them? Tune in for what promises to be an insight into this delicate subject and a resounding conclusion to the series!
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
Final Perseverance - Spurgeon.org
Perseverance of the Saints - DesiringGod.org
What we’re reading?
Abraham Kuyper ― The Work of The Holy Spirit
Sinclair B. Ferguson ― The Holy Spirit
George Smeaton ― The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
R. C. Sproul ― The Mystery of the Holy Spirit
J. I. Packer ― Keep In Step With The Spirit
John Owen ― The Holy Spirit (works vol.3)
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Can you be a believer if you’re not baptised in the Holy Spirit? Does the lack of the baptism experience impair your overall journey of faith? Does it impact on your relationship with God? How do we understand the Spirit’s baptism? Have the charismatics got it right? Where did the current thinking on the baptism of the Spirit originate from? How did a Methodist holiness movement, some 150 years ago, come to affect the way we see the Spirit’s baptism now? How did such significant movements, like that of the ‘Victorious Christian Life’, help shape today’s charismatic understanding?
In this weeks episode Pete and the Curious team examine the historically controversial idea of the baptism with the Holy Spirit. How are we to understand the occurrences of Acts 2, 8, 10 and 19? Where do such experiences connect to today’s twenty-first-century church? How significant is the gift of ‘tongues’? Is it to be taken as the dominant initial evidence of Spirit baptism? All this and more will be talked over in this week's episode. Have fun!
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read/view and ponder…
What is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit? - DesiringGod.org
The Holy Spirit Bapsitm - A separate experience - BornOfSpirit.net
Spirit Baptism and Filling - YouTube
What we’re reading?
Abraham Kuyper ― The Work of The Holy Spirit
Sinclair B. Ferguson ― The Holy Spirit
George Smeaton ― The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
R. C. Sproul ― The Mystery of the Holy Spirit
J. I. Packer ― Keep In Step With The Spirit
John Owen ― The Holy Spirit (works vol.3)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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How are we to understand the gifts of the Holy Spirit; from the spectacular and unusual (words of wisdom and knowledge, healings, working of miracles, etc), to the more comparatively normal and ordinary (administrations, helps, mercy ministries, etc)? What does our quest for the Spirit’s gifts (or lack of), say about us? What or who are the gifts for, and for what purpose have they been given?
In this week's episode, Pete and the Curious team examine the place and importance of the Spirit’s gifts. Together they tackle the critical question of cessationism alongside continuism. Are the gifts still relevant and operative for today, and why? They also take a run at the role of experience against scripture. Join the team in another thought-provoking episode
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
The Gifts of the Spirit - TheGospelCoalition.org
What are the Gifts of the Holy Spirit? - Christianity.com
What are Spiritual Gifts? - Crossroads.net
What we’re reading?
Abraham Kuyper ― The Work of The Holy Spirit
Sinclair B. Ferguson ― The Holy Spirit
George Smeaton ― The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
R. C. Sproul ― The Mystery of the Holy Spirit
J. I. Packer ― Keep In Step With The Spirit
John Owen ― The Holy Spirit (works vol.3)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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What do we mean by ‘fruit’ of the Spirit? How is the Spirit’s fruit any different to the better characteristics of people without faith? Is fruit the essential character God leaves us to get on with and develop, or does he engage in the overall process, and through His Spirit enable us to be more like Christ? Is fruit production a partnership between us and the Spirit? Why is that some fruit appears to wither and die whilst others blossom?
In this weeks episode Pete and the Curious team examine the place and importance of the Spirit’s fruit. By looking at each individually, they define how they are different to an unbeliever simply living a morally good life. Join the team s they continue with their series on the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
What is the Fruit of the Spirit? - Christianity.com
The Fruit of the Holy Spirit - TabletalkMagazine.com
What we’re reading?
Abraham Kuyper ― The Work of The Holy Spirit
Sinclair B. Ferguson ― The Holy Spirit
George Smeaton ― The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
R. C. Sproul ― The Mystery of the Holy Spirit
J. I. Packer ― Keep In Step With The Spirit
John Owen ― The Holy Spirit (works vol.3)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Is it true that the the ancient Babylonians were the first to celebrate New Year some 4,000 years ago? And in March? Were the Romans responsible for marking New Year as January 1st? What does the Jewish rite of circumcision and the 18th century understanding of the covenant service, inspired by Wesley, got to do with New Year? And where did the idea of resolutions come from, and do they really work?
In this weeks episode Pete and the Curious team take a look at the whole understanding and ritual that has become New Year. How have we arrived at resolutions, and are they an indication of the increasing secularisation of the whole Christmas season? Join the team in this episode who will unpack the place and value of resolutions and how we ought to reset our hearts and minds to a year of seeking God’s heart and will.
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Where did Christmas come from? Is it true that late night shopping was invented as far back as 1867? How did the Victorians influence our understanding of Christmas? And what exactly was a ‘blowout festival’? Did Oliver Cromwell really have a downer on Christmas? And is it true that the puritans actually sought to ban Christmas? Did Coca-Cola really invent Santa? And was Rudolph based on a real reindeer?
In this weeks episode the Curious team take a look at one of the worlds oldest festivals and asks the question “what’s it all about”? How does a Christian respond to the global commercialisation and the profit making machinery that has become Christmas? How do we connect simple faith into such an elaborate reconstruction of the first Christmas? And does it really matter? Join the team in reflecting on this important time of year.
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Is a holier life simply a matter of living your best life? Is it about trying to live as morally upright as possible? Or worst still, is it about trying our hardest to impress God, to gain His approval.
What the bible has classically termed ‘sanctification’, has become something of a complexing issue to many Christians. Legalists and liberals alike have redefined it to either threaten or relieve the tension of personal holiness within albeit, a warped biblical framework.
In this weeks episode the Curious team take a look at what the bible has to say about our growth in personal holiness. Taking a biblical framework, the team expound the idea of two states, two covenants, two forces and two governing principles that identify the Christian’s struggle, and how the grounding truth of the new principle of life within us not only secures great assurance, but also inspires great dedication and commitment.
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
Sanctification - Ligonier.org
Being Led and Transformed by the Holy Spirit - CSLewisInstitue.org
What is Sanctification? - Christianity.com
What we’re reading?
Abraham Kuyper ― The Work of The Holy Spirit
Sinclair B. Ferguson ― The Holy Spirit
George Smeaton ― The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
R. C. Sproul ― The Mystery of the Holy Spirit
J. I. Packer ― Keep In Step With The Spirit
John Owen ― The Holy Spirit (works vol.3)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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How do I know what God wants me to do? How can I be sure that my choices are in line with His? Can I ever truly know God’s will in any specific situation?
One of the most perplexing issues that has dogged many Christians is their inability to discover what God's specific will may be for their lives at any given point. Questions like which job should I take? Which person should I marry? Where should I live? Or what should I invest in? etc. have caused perennial headaches (if not heartaches) for many believers.
In this week's episode, the Curious team tries to unpack what it means to appreciate the Holy Spirit's leading in our lives. They reflect on the two levels of leading the New Testament maps out: the general, macro level alongside the specific, micro level. Avoiding the trap of assuming the Spirit’s leading to be some systemised formula, the team outline basic, biblically common-sense principles for discovering the Holy Spirit's leading.
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
What does it mean to be led by The Spirit? - Christianity.org
Being led and transformed by The Holy Spirit - CSLewisInstitute.org
What does the Bible mean by led by The Spirit?
What we’re reading?
Abraham Kuyper ― The Work of The Holy Spirit
Sinclair B. Ferguson ― The Holy Spirit
George Smeaton ― The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
R. C. Sproul ― The Mystery of the Holy Spirit
J. I. Packer ― Keep In Step With The Spirit
John Owen ― The Holy Spirit (works vol.3)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Have you ever asked yourself as a Christian, “am I forgiven?”or “am I going to heaven?” or “does God love me?” or even “do I have eternal life?”―have you ever wondered whether you might be asking the wrong question? Is the validity of our Christian experience qualified purely on the basis of what we feel? And given the deceptive and fluctuating aspect of human emotion, will such an approach ever deliver the longed-for stability we desire?
Is being a Christian only about having our sins forgiven and the slate wiped clean? Is the assurance of receiving anything more from God purely contingent on our making a success of this Christian life thing? How sure can we really be as to whether we’re truly forgiven, or whether God really does like us, or even whether we’re certain that we’ll make it in the end?
In this fifth episode on our series on the Holy Spirt, Pete and the Curious team take a good look at what the bible means by defining our Christian experience as being united with Christ! How the Holy Spirit secures such a privilege, what it means for us as believers, and how it cements the greatest security for our lives and our futures.
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
What is Union with Christ? - DesiringGod.org
Union with Christ - TheGospelCoalition.org
Union with Christ - CSLewisInstitude.org
Union with Christ - Ligonier.org
What we’re reading?
We’ve been getting stuck into the following;
Abraham Kuyper ― The Work of The Holy Spirit
Sinclair B. Ferguson ― The Holy Spirit
George Smeaton ― The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
R. C. Sproul ― The Mystery of the Holy Spirit
J. I. Packer ― Keep In Step With The Spirit
John Owen ― The Holy Spirit (works vol.3)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
What is the exact role of the Holy Spirit in the life of a person who comes to faith? How much of the experienced change is down to him? How much is it part of our human will? What exactly does the Holy Spirit do at a person's conversion? How much do we cooperate in this momentous inner change?
One of the most incredible yet controversial aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit is within what we might call the soteriological framework. How is it that the Holy Spirit changes a human life from ignorance and resistance to God, to a full and meaningful embracing of the truth? Is the transformation, or another word scripture employs, the regeneration, of the human heart a joint act between our accepting, and the Spirit’s working? Or is it something that the Holy Spirit works profoundly within us in and of himself?
In this fourth episode of our series on the Holy Spirit, Pete and the Curious team take a deep dive into the unusual and profound involvement of the Holy Spirit in transforming the human heart from Christ-resistant to Christ-embracing and following. How does the Spirit work, what does he do? Why is “born-again” the most succinct and meaningful definition of the Spirit’s work in the human heart? How is it that such a work cannot be produced by human learning or experience, but is uniquely and solely a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit Himself? This and more occupies the thoughts of the team in this week's episode.
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
The Role of the Holy Spirit in Conversion - DesiringGod.org
The Gracious Work of the Holy Spirit
Conviction and Conversion - EvangelicalTimes.org
What we’re reading?
Abraham Kuyper ― The Work of The Holy Spirit
Sinclair B. Ferguson ― The Holy Spirit
George Smeaton ― The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
R. C. Sproul ― The Mystery of the Holy Spirit
J. I. Packer ― Keep In Step With The Spirit
John Owen ― The Holy Spirit (works vol.3)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
What relationship did the Holy Spirit have in relation to Jesus? How could it be said of the all-sufficient Son of God that he needed to be anointed? How could perfection be said to grow in stature, wisdom and favour with God (Luke 2:52)? Was Jesus self-reliant, or was he in need of the Holy Spirit’s help?
At various levels, Christians have struggled to try and understand the relation between the Holy Spirit and Jesus particularly during his years on earth. Some have suggested that the Holy Spirit only truly engaged him at his baptism with John; while others have insisted that the Holy Spirit was a constant companion from his birth. How are we to understand the role of the Holy Spirit in the earthly life of Jesus?
This week, Pete and the Curious team examine the Holy Spirit in connection to the life of Jesus. What it meant when the angel told a reticent Joseph that the child Mary was carrying was, “of the Holy Spirit” (Matt.1:20). How the Spirit anointed him, filled him, drove him into the wilderness, empowered him for ministry, delivered him to the cross, and gloriously partook in his powerful resurrection. Looking at the writings of both Scripture and the great saints, the team unpack the indispensable place of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus.
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
Why Jesus Needed the Holy Spirit - DesiringGod.org
The Spirit's Role: The Life of Jesus - PlaceforTruth.org
What we’re reading?
As a new little feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes. We’ve been getting stuck into the following;
Abraham Kuyper ― The Work of The Holy Spirit
Sinclair B. Ferguson ― The Holy Spirit
George Smeaton ― The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
R. C. Sproul ― The Mystery of the Holy Spirit
J. I. Packer ― Keep In Step With The Spirit
John Owen ― The Holy Spirit (works vol.3)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
Given the prolific attention to the Holy Spirit throughout the New Testament, it has led some to think that His activity was largely confined to that time and little to nothing is expressed in the Old Testament. Some have further imagined that the Holy Spirit’s work didn’t really begin until Pentecost and prior to that was largely dormant with the exception of a few sporadic appearances.
How are we to understand the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament time? Do we see his personality and identity coming through? Was he as prolific and as necessary as we understand him to have been in the New Testament?
In this second episode of our new series, the Curious team take a look back into the Old Testament to discover the regularity and prominency of the Spirit’s presence and activity. Beginning as early as the second verse of the opening chapter of the bible, as He broods over the waters at creation; the team take a potted tour of the Old Testament, cementing the truth of the Spirit’s continuous involvement in the developing purposes of God
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
10 Roles of the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament - Christianity.com
The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament - Ligonier.org
What we’re reading?
As a new little feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes. We’ve been getting stuck into the following;
Abraham Kuyper ― The Work of The Holy Spirit
Sinclair B. Ferguson ― The Holy Spirit
George Smeaton ― The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
R. C. Sproul ― The Mystery of the Holy Spirit
J. I. Packer ― Keep In Step With The Spirit
John Owen ― The Holy Spirit (works vol.3)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
In todays church culture there remains a fascination about the Holy Spirit. From traditional to the more charismatic, the church has long pondered over the identity, role and purpose of the Holy Ghost.
What are we to make of the Holy Spirit? Are we to understand him as a ‘he’ or an ‘it’? A force or a thinking, responsible personality? Is he equal in authority to God himself? Why did he come to us? What do theologians mean in assigning the understanding of ‘eternal procession’ to the Spirit? Why did the Sabellians of the second century and the Arians of the fourth, pose such a threat to the churches developing understanding of the Spirit?
In this opening episode of a new series, the Curious team take a look at why the Holy Spirit remains such a significant member of the trinity. They reflect on what the understanding of eternal procession implied about the Spirit, how we know his deity, what he came to do, and why he continues to be essential in our understanding of God and salvation. This episode marks the beginning of an eleven-part series. Be sure to catch them all here every Wednesday
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
The Holy Spirit is God - str.org
God the Holy Spirit - His Deity and Personhood - BaptistPress.com
Who is the Holy Spirit? - Ligonier.org
What we’re reading?
As a new little feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes. We’ve been getting stuck into the following;
Abraham Kuyper ― The Work of The Holy Spirit
Sinclair B. Ferguson ― The Holy Spirit
George Smeaton ― The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
R. C. Sproul ― The Mystery of the Holy Spirit
J. I. Packer ― Keep In Step With The Spirit
John Owen ― The Holy Spirit (works vol.3)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!
Love it or struggle with it, research suggests that the Bible continues to be the world’s best-selling book, registering around 100 million copies sold every year!
But what’s the attraction?
For millennia people of all walks and persuasions have wrestled with the bibles’s reliability. Who wrote it? Why were some books included and others rejected? What was the criteria and who got to make the decisions? How reliable is its content? Can we trust the authenticity of its characters and stories; weren’t they all just parables, examples, and metaphors?
And what about the various translations (last count listed some 4,000 translation projects in progress)? How reliably accurate are they, and how can we truly trust that key content hasn’t been altered or replaced?
In this final episode of the REALLY series, Pete and the Curious team are joined by Bill Mounce. Bill is a New Testament Greek scholar with over 40 years experience, who wrote the best-selling, ‘Basics of Biblical Greek’; and also worked as part of the team that crafted the very popular NIV and ESV versions of the bible.
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
How do we know we can trust the Bible? - EvangelicalMagazine.com
How accurate is the Bible? - Kenboa.org
Is the Bible Trustworthy? - Crosswalk.com
What we’re reading?
As a new little feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this episode. So here goes. This week we’ve been reflecting on;
William D. Mounce ― Why I Trust The Bible
(Bill’s book is a great way to launch into the subject)
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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One of the key leaders of the Second Great Awakening in America, was the Presbyterian Charles Finney. It is no secret he grappled with the idea of sin. In one of his notes he wrote; “Moral depravity does not consist in nor imply a sinful nature”
In contrast to Finney, Article 9 of the Church of England’s 39 Articles; ‘Of Original or Birth Sin’―identify’s how “every person born into this world..deserveth God’s wrath and damnation”, largely because man, “of his own nature” is “inclined to evil”.
The question posed is both theological and philosophical. Where did sin come from? Why do a hundred percent of the people sin a hundred percent of the time, without exception? Do we sin because we’re sinners, or do we become sinners because we sin? What are the origins of such inclinations, and why are they so patently evident from the very early months/years of a child’s life? Augustine and Pelagian, two monks, argued this out in a very public forum some fifteen centuries ago. Together they brought to the fore a theological labyrinth that has continued to baffle theologians and philosophers ever since
In this weeks episode Pete and the Curious team are joined by pastor, lecturer and theologian Ruth Gouldbourne, as together they take an honest and open look at Augustine, Pelagian, and the mystery that is original sin.
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
What is Original Sin? - Christianity.com
Original Sin - TheGospelCoalition.org
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Whether we understand it or not, statistically we live in a very religious-orientated world. Close to 85% of the global population, from around 188 countries, identifies with a religious group. This is close to 3.3 billion people (roughly 55%) of the world population. Of the 4,000 various religious groups, researchers often categorise them under five main headings; Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism and Judaism. Of these, only Christianity, Islam & Judaism would be monotheistic
There are those who would argue that given these various religions, especially the monotheistic religions, all worship a supreme God, wouldn’t it be fair to say they all worship a similar, if not the same, God? Does the Bible ultimately allow for such a multiplicity of expressions when it comes to the worship of a divine being?
This week, the Curious team ponders some hard and honest questions about the nature of monotheism and religion. They wonder whether the various world religions, especially those monotheistic religions, actually allow for similarity and whether Muslims, Hindus, Jews, and Christians define an identical God.
Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
Do All Religions Lead to God? - DesiringGod.org
Are All Religions Worshipping the Same God? - Christianity.org.uk
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Some years ago Time magazine featured a survey taken in the US in which 72% of the people believed in a literal heaven compared with 58% who believed in a literal hell. The most surprising statistic however was that of the 58% who believed in a literal hell, only 4% believed they were likely to go there.
Heaven and hell have been topics of perennial tension and misunderstanding. Some years ago in the Guardian newspaper, physicist Stephen Hawking defined heaven as little more than a “fairy story” for people afraid of death!
Is heaven real? Is it a geographical place where people actually go? Is there such a place as hell? Did Jesus teach it or was it added countless years later by over-enthusiastic theologians? And how, on the one side, do we understand a just God who might be willing to bypass sin and wickedness to allow all access to heaven? Or on the flip side; a loving God who seems willing to dole out an eternity of torment based on a few decades of sinful behaviour?
This week Pete and the Curious team are joined by pastor, writer, thinker Stephen Gaukroger as they attempt to level some very difficult and sensitive questions about our traditional understanding of heaven, hell and the afterlife!
Further Reading
We’ve listed two very different views below for you to read and ponder….
5 Misconceptions about Heaven and Hell (and 5 truths) - Crossway.org
What Jesus Really said about Heaven and Hell - Time.com
What we’re reading?
As a new little feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this episode. So here goes. This week we’ve been reflecting on;
Bart D. Ehrman ― Heaven and Hell: A History of The Afterlife
(for a touch more of a controversial perspective we list Ehrman’s book)
C. S. Lewis ― The Great Divorce
Editors Stanley N. Gundry & Preston Sprinkle ― Four Views on Hell
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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It seems outside the walls of the church, the intuitive understanding held by many is that heaven is a place where good people go. People who have lived well, treated others fairly and tried loved and look after their family and friends. A place where, dare we say it, they deserve to go!
But what is good? And how good do we need to be to possess an assurance that after we die we’ve done enough to impress God? And what if God has a very different understanding of essential goodness? And what if the criteria for entry into heaven, happens to be nothing at all to do with how good we are or aren’t? Will goodness be enough? Is the only requirement God has of each individual life, nothing more than they simply try to be as good as they can and when they die, hope against hope that they’ve done enough?
This week Pete and the Curious Team take a deeper look into goodness, asking: is there a difference between our understanding of human goodness and God’s? They’ll also be examining whether our ‘being good’ was ever the intention of God for humankind in the first place! And if not, then how can a person truly get to heaven?
Further Reading
We’ve listed a couple of interesting articles below for you to ponder….
Don't All Good People Go to Heaven? - FocusOnTheFamily.com
Why is being a good person not enough to get you into heaven? - GotQuestions.org
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Prior to the Enlightenment science and religion were never seen to be in any conflict, if anything they complimented one another. In more recent times however, that has not been the case. With the surge of new atheism, many have come to the conclusion that there is little to no point at which the two meet, and especially in regards the question of origins!
In this week's episode Theology for the Curious are in conversation with special guest, Professor Emeritus John Byl former Head of the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Trinity Western University, Langley, British Columbia, Canada. John has written numerous books and papers and reflects with the team on questions of origins, the Big Bang singularity, the age of the earth, time, eternity and the bible. Tune in for a fascinating conversation
Further Viewing/Reading
Creation, Big Bang & Evolution - Christianity.org
https://www.youtube.com/live/z6kgvhG3AkI?si=5b8Fyhu5EeDDzLL_
https://youtu.be/fSYwCaFkYno?si=AK4FgpckLJ3LumTl
What we’re reading?
As a new little feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this episode. So here goes. This week we’ve been reflecting on;
Prof. John Byl ― God and Cosmos: A Christian View of Time, Space and the Universe
Stephen C. Meyer ― The Return of the God Hypothesis
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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In the current climate of controversial debate regarding the church's response to same sex relationships, the intuitive and considered compassionate response from traditional churches has become; 'We’re accepting but not affirming'.
In this week's episode Theology for the Curious are in honest conversation with special guests Meka and George. Together they will explore how the church connects (or doesn’t) to the gay community. How does a gay person feel stepping into church for the first time? What are the hidden danger signs? What does accepting really mean if it's not affirming? And what does truly affirming really look like?
This episode offers an open and honest response to church and Christian’s from the perspective of those within the LGBTQIA+ community.
Further Reading
We’ve listed two opposing views below for you to read and ponder….
Serving the Church by Talking about Same-Sex Attraction: An Interview with Sam Allberry - TheGoodBook.co.uk
Brief Biblical Case for LGBTQ+ Inclusion - ReformationProject.org
What we’re reading?
As a new little feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this episode. So here goes. This week we’ve been reflecting on;
Sam Allberry ― Is God Anti-Gay?
James V. Brownson ― Bible, Gender, Sexuality: Reframing the Church's Debate on Same-sex Relationships
Charlie Bell ― Queer Holiness: The Gift of LGBTQI People To The Church
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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The intuitive reasoning amongst many in the church is that God longs to save you but will never violate your free will. As long as you resist and reject him, his hands are tied. He will always respect your free will. He has chosen to limited himself, only doing that which you freely allow him to do!
This week Pete and the Curious team ask the question; is this intuitive understanding of how God works on us, really biblically accurate? Does the human will hold a force independent of God’s sovereign, loving intentions? How much freedom do we actually hold as humans, and does divine sovereignty truly end where human freedom begins? Stay tuned as the Curious team battle it out with what has historically been a highly controversial subject
Further Reading
Does God interfere with our free will? - SpiritualDirection.com
Is God Sovereign over my free will? - DesiringGod.org
What we’re reading?
As a new little feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this episode. So here goes. This week we’ve been reflecting on;
Scott Christensen ― ‘What About Free Will?’
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Many people hold intuitively to an understanding that whoever you are, God loves you equally as much as he does every other human being. That divine love carries no distinction or particular preference. That he longs over every human, breaking his heart to help them if they would only just let him. But is that what the Bible really portrays?
This week Pete and the Curious team examine the controversial idea that God may not love every human being with exactly the same fervour and intent. How do we understand the idea that God singularly chose Israel above any other nation, and dispensed particular favour on them (Duet 4:7/7:7-8)? How do we reconcile Jesus saying that he did not pray for the world but specifically for a certain people (Jn.17:9)? And what of those perplexing texts that speak of God’s hatred for the evil-doer (Ps.11:5/26:5)? And how do we understand the word, ‘Esau have I hated’ (Rom.9:13)?
Tune in as the Curious team attempt to come to grips with these conflicting thoughts.
Further Reading
Is it Biblical to Say that God Loves Everyone? - Ligonier.org
Does God Love Everybody the Same? - TheologyAndLife.com
What we’re reading?
As a new little feature to our notes, we are adding the book(s) that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this episode. So here goes. This week we’ve been reflecting on;
D A Carson― ‘The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God’
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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The new covenant was not simply another covenant in the line of covenants. The new covenant was not only the climatic and concluding covenant, but it was the culminating covenant toward which every other covenant, from the pre-creation covenant of redemption, through the Adamic, Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic and Davidic; was foreshadowing and pointing. It was God’s crowning accomplishment, it was covenantal history's climatic event. Everything that had been expressed and promised throughout the various covenants came to completion and fullness in the new covenant of grace.
This week Pete and the Curious team conclude their series of “Covenant: God’s Relationship To Us”― by taking a look at the many-faceted wonder of Christ’s obedient life and sacrificial death captured in the new covenant.
Further Reading
New Covenant - Ligonier.org
The New Covenant - ChristOverAll.com
What we’re reading?
As a new little feature to our notes, we are adding books that we have been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes. We have been delving into the following;
Michael Horton― ‘Introducing Covenant Theology’
Peter Gentry & Stephen Wellum― ‘Kingdom Through Covenant’
W J Dumbrell― ‘Covenant and Creation’
John V Fesko ― ‘Adam and the Covenant of Works’
John V Fesko ― ‘The Trinity and the Covenant of Redemption’
Harrison Perkins― ‘Reformed Covenant Theology’
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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What is the covenant God made with David? How does it connect with that made to Abraham, to Adam? How does the events of 2 Samuel 7 connect in with Genesis 17:6? How did the kingly significance of David reflect the kingly office of Christ, and how does it speak into our understanding and daily lives as believers today?
This week Pete and the Curious team continue their exploration of covenant by unpacking the life, call and importance of King David, both for his time, as king of Israel, and looking forward to Christ. What christological realities does God’s covenant with David reveal?
Further Reading
God's Covenant with David - DesiringGod.org
What is the Davidic covenant? - Christianity.com
What we’re reading?
As a new little feature to our notes, we are adding books that we have been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes. We have been delving into the following;
Michael Horton― ‘Introducing Covenant Theology’
Peter Gentry & Stephen Wellum― ‘Kingdom Through Covenant’
W J Dumbrell― ‘Covenant and Creation’
John V Fesko― ‘Adam and the Covenant of Works’ & ‘The Trinity and the Covenant of Redemption’
Harrison Perkins― ‘Reformed Covenant Theology’
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Why was God’s covenant with Moses important? What did it tell us about ancient Near Eastern practices of suzerain and vassal nations? What does this covenant tell us of God’s character? And where does it fit into God’s developing purposes for his people?
In this week’s episode Pete and the Curious team reflect on the mosaic covenant asking what relevance does it play into today’s world. They look over the Decalogue and other periphery laws seeking to unlock what God continues to say to us through these words.
Recommended Reading:
God's Covenant through Moses - DesiringGod.org
Mosaic Covenant - Study.com
What we’re reading...
For those reading addicts amongst us, as a new little feature to our notes, we are adding books that we have been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes. We have been delving into the following;
Michael Horton― ‘Introducing Covenant Theology’
Peter Gentry & Stephen Wellum― ‘Kingdom Through Covenant’
W J Dumbrell― ‘Covenant and Creation’
John V Fesko― ‘The Trinity and the Covenant of Redemption’
Harrison Perkins— 'Reformed Covenant Theology’
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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Who was Abraham? Why did God single him out? What did the covenant mean to him? To his family? To the newly formed Israel? To the world? What significance did God’s covenant with Abraham bear on the overall biblical picture and on Jesus especially? What relevance was the particular promise of land and how ought we to understand that today?
In this week’s episode, the Curious team reflect on Genesis 12 and God’s groundbreaking words to Abraham. How they not only signified a new covenantal development within the overarching covenant theme of scripture but revealed a central truth of the character and ultimate purpose of God for humankind and his church in particular.
Recommended Reading:
God's Covenant with Abraham - ChristOverAll.com
What We’re Reading...
For those reading addicts amongst us, as a new little feature to our notes, we are adding books that we have been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes. We have been delving into the following;
Michael Horton― ‘Introducing Covenant Theology’
Peter Gentry & Stephen Wellum― ‘Kingdom Through Covenant’
W J Dumbrell― ‘Covenant and Creation’
John V Fesko― ‘The Trinity and the Covenant of Redemption’
Harrison Perkins— ‘Reformed Covenant Theology’
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
What was God saying through Noah, through the flood, and through the subsequent deliverance of Noah’s family and the animals? How did it parallel Eden and Adam? It what sense did the events around Noah and the flood mirror those around Adam and the garden? What significance does the events around the flood hold for us today?
This week Pete and the Curious team take a look at Noah, the flood, the words and events around it; looking to understand what it tells us about God, humanity, and God’s greater purpose for the world.
Recommended Reading:
Noahic Covenant - Ligonier.org
God's Covenant with Noah - TheologyOfWork.org
What we’re reading...
As a new little feature to our notes, we are adding books that we have been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes. We have been delving into the following three;
Michael Horton - ‘Introducing Covenant Theology’
Peter Gentry & Stephen Wellum - ‘Kingdom Through Covenant’
W J Dumbrell - ‘Covenant and Creation’
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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What is the covenant of works? What really happened in the garden? What did God establish with Adam and Eve? Was there an agreement in place that would rebound to universal repercussions? How do we understand Adams actions?
This week Pete and the Curious team take a look at the age old claim that God’s promise of life and His prohibition of eating from the tree of knowledge, was a form of conditional covenant that would be reflected in the later Mosaic covenant and for all humankind.
Recommended Reading:
The Covenant of Works - Ligonier.org
What is the Covenant of Works? - GotQuestions.org
What we’re reading...
As a new little feature to our notes, we are adding books that we have been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes. We have been delving into the following four;
Michael Horton― ‘Introducing Covenant Theology’
Peter Gentry & Stephen Wellum― ‘Kingdom Through Covenant’
W J Dumbrell― ‘Covenant and Creation’
John V Fesko― ‘Adam and the Covenant of Works’
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
What did Jesus mean in Luke 22:29 when he said; “and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me a kingdom”? What do we mean by covenant of redemption? Was there a plan made amongst the trinity prior to time and creation that would ultimately determine what was done in time and creation? Where in the bible does it speak of our salvation as a covenant? Does the idea of a covenant, an agreement, reduce God to a cold, clinical contractual businessperson? Is love compatible with obedience?
This week the Curious team will be continuing their exploration of covenant and looking into where the bible speaks of a uniquely eternal, pre-time covenant that was made amongst the members of the trinity for the ultimate benefit of humankind. They will reflect on the profound thought that all that we see worked out in time is part of an eternal plan set in motion amongst the trinity.
Recommended Reading:
Covenant of Redemption - Ligonier.org
Jesus and the Covenant of Redemption - CambridgePres.org.uk
What we’re reading...
As a new little feature to our notes, we are adding books that we have been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes. We have been delving into the following four;
Michael Horton - ‘Introducing Covenant Theology’
Peter Gentry & Stephen Wellum - ‘Kingdom Through Covenant’
W J Dumbrell - ‘Covenant and Creation’
John V Fesko - ‘The Trinity and the Covenant of Redemption’
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious
This week the Curious team begin a brand new series! We're investigating the covenant themes throughout the bible, otherwise known as covenant theology. What is a covenant? Why is it important? Why is it in the bible? What do covenants tell us about God? and about humankind?
Stay tuned to unravel this incredibly interesting topic that is weaved throughout the bible.
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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What happens when we die? Where do we go, and for how long? What does the bible mean when it speaks of believers experiencing a sense of glorification? When does that happen and by what means?
This week the Curious team unearth some of the biblical understanding of the afterlife. Facing up to such questions as; what happens when we die? Where do we go? Can we occupy heaven or hell prior to an ultimate judgment? Will there be time as we know it in eternity? Will we know people? Will we be mindful of the hurtful and wrongful actions and thoughts we exercised towards others whilst on earth? How accurate will be our recall? Will the good things we did in life serve to influence God’s ultimate assessment of our lives?
These questions and more will be the heartbeat of this week’s episode as the team take a dive into scripture to find some concrete answers!
Recommended Reading:
Glorification - Liognier.org
Glorification - BibleStudyTools.com
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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When Jesus said of his church, “I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand” (John 10:28); what level of assurance was he expecting us to live with? How safe is safe?
This week the curious team examine the pro’s and con’s of the doctrine historically known as, ‘the final perseverance of the saints’ (or in more recent circles; ‘once saved always saved’).
If we’re so completely safe, does that mean that it doesn’t matter how we live or what we do? Does it imply that all of scriptures admonitions and prohibitions are relatively meaningless? (What has been classically understood as ‘antinomianism’—lawlessness)
In this week’s episode the team discuss and reflect on whether the tension represented in scripture of behaviour and consequence, nullifies the overarching assurance and security Christ promises to his people. By identifying and walking through various problem texts and ideas, the team try to capture a balanced biblical perspective on the believers future security.
Recommended Reading:
Perseverance of the Saints - DesiringGod.org
TULIP and Reformed Theology: Perseverance of the Saints - Ligonier.org
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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The need for and process of change, especially for the better, has become something of a universal fascination the world over. But when we speak about sanctification is that all we are really emphasising? Is sanctification nothing more than a theological word for ‘changing for the better’? Is faith a means of climbing the ladder of self-improvement rung by rung to be more like Jesus?
This week Pete and the Curious Team reflect on the biblical understanding of sanctification. Although it entails the need to live holier and more Christlike, it also carries the deep assurance of a work that is not contingent on how successful we are at this ‘becoming-more-like-Jesus’ thing. There is a sense in which we are urged to lay hold, put off, put on, etc; but also a profound sense in which Christ’s finished work has already perfected those for whom it was accomplished (Heb.10:14).
In this week’s episode, the Curious team reflect on these truths, incorporating the covenantal repercussion of holiness!
Recommended Reading:
What is Sanctification? - Seminary.grace.edu
The Doctrine of Sanctification - TheGospelCoalition.org
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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What does the Bible have to say about sonship? What does it mean to be part of the family of God? What are the differences between general, national and particular sonship? What does the New Testament say about our being adopted? What does it say about our status before God? How does it affect our future? And what does it say about our ongoing relationship with the try God?
This week, Pete and the Curious Team will dig deep into the New Testament’s understanding of adoption. Taking a look at how it affects who we are, where we are going and how we live our lives in the here and now.
Recommended Reading:
Adopted Into God's Family - AnswersInGenesis.org
Adoption: The Heart of the Gospel - DesiringGod.org
Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com
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What do we mean by justification? Why was it such a contentious issue in the reformation? Does justification put anything in us or does it simply declare something about us? Is justification a permanent thing or is it a gradual thing? Do we become something in justification or are we declared to be something?
This week the curious team will take a long hard look at the biblical understanding of justification by faith. What does it mean to be justified? What does the Bible say about those who are justified? What does it mean to receive the imputed righteousness of Christ? How is Jesus’s passive and active obedience relevant to our justification? These questions and many more will be discussed and debated as the team seek to arrive at what they consider to be the New Testament perspective on this vitally important truth.
Recommended Reading:
The Doctrine of Justification by Faith - DesiringGod.org
Justified by Faith - Ligonier.org
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When Jesus spoke of conversion as a ‘turning’ (Matt. 18:3), what was he implying? What does it mean to turn, change, convert? Is it turning over a new leaf, starting over, making new commitments or better decisions? How does conversion happen and why is it so fundamentally essential?
This week the Curious team examine the place, nature and importance of conversion. How can we identify counterfeit conversion and is there such a thing as temporary conversion and how does that work? What is the difference between habitual (passive) conversion, and actual (active)? What are the stages and steps of true conversion? This week the team explore all these various aspects and more.
Recommended Reading:
What is True Conversion? - Ligonier.org
Conversion - TheGospelCoalition.org
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How do we consider faith? Is there a difference between general faith, believing faith, and in particular saving faith? How do we identify real faith from counterfeit? Does everybody have faith, and is it sufficient to transform their lives?
This week the Curious team take a look at the understanding of faith. What is ‘saving’ faith? Is it something we inherently possess or is something gifted to us by God? Does faith save us? What do we mean when we speak about being saved ‘by faith’? The Curious team discuss this and more in seeking to better clarify what faith really is.
Recommended Reading:
The Doctrine of Saving Faith - TheGospelCoalition.org
What is saving faith? - TheologyForYou.com
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What do we mean by repentance? Is there a sorrow which doesn't save? Is there such a thing as sincere but counterfeit repentance? Why does our human nature find repentance so difficult? What does God need to do insider to bring us to a place of genuine, salfivic repentance?
This week Pete and the Curious team will discuss the place and significance of repentance in our spiritual transformation. What components come into play if genuine repentance is to be operated. They will reflect on what it is and where it comes from. Whether we naturally carry a dormant sense of repentance ready to be activated by grace at an opportune time, or whether it is in fact a gift of God that can only be held and used by his grace.
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How irresistible is God's calling? What does it involved and how does it impact our lives? Why is it effectual? What does it say about each of us as individuals. What do we mean by having a natural ability without a moral ability? Why is calling more than simply God's invitation? In what way does it portray the power of God?
This week the Curious team look into God's effectual, powerful call that brings us out of unbelief, resistance and death to supernatural life! They reflect on what that says about us and about God, and why it is so fundamentally important
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How do we understand regeneration? How much in our life experiences real change? How complete is that change? Why do some things feel as if they never change? What does the Bible mean by new birth? Is it more than simply turning over a new leaf or developing a fresh commitment? What is the New Testament idea of regeneration?
This week the Curious team ponder and discuss the profound and wonderful truth of personal regeneration. Looking into voices from both scripture and history, they try to define what it is and what it isn't. And how much we have to do with it if anything at all!
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The Curious team preview their new upcoming series 'The Greatest Journey' - uncovering the elements of life's greatest journey, the journey of salvation.
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The return of Jesus is an understanding that has tested theological minds down through the centuries. Dividing thinkers in terms of premillennialists, dispensationalists, postmillennialists, and armillenialists. But what the Bible is never divisive or uncertain about, however, is the fact and surity of Jesus's return.
In this week's episode, the Curious team examine the various historical perspectives of Jesus's return. And celebrate the solemn yet wonderful truth that he will one day bring all things to a glorious culmination
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What do we mean by the two states of Jesus? How do we define both his humiliation and exaltation? What has the resurrection of Jesus got to say about the covenant promises of God? How is it relevant to our salvation? How does it impact the end times? and what does it say overall about the present and future government of God?
The resurrection of Jesus remains one of the single most fundamental and foundational declarations of the gospel. Without it, everything else crumbles. Everything that we experience, live, and hope for, is encapsulated in the reality of the physical resurrection of Christ.
In this week’s episode the Curious Team will seek to explain not only the unprecedented power of the resurrection, but also the biblical framework through which to better understand it. They will seek to open a fresh appreciation of the relevance both to Jesus’s resurrection and subsequent ascension.
Recommended Reading:
The Resurrection of Christ - Ligonier.org
10 Things you should know about the Resurrection - Crossway.org
The Resurrection of Jesus - ReasonableFaith.org
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In this episode the Curious team continue their examination and reflection on the atonement; with particular reference to what is understood as Christus Victor and Penal Substitutionary Atonement. They will take on the misunderstandings of both, outlining the place of the devil and the dark spiritual powers within the atonement, as well as the many misinterpretations of the penal element within penal substitution. Is God a monster? Does he take some kind of sick pleasure in punishing his unwitting and innocent Son? Can the innocent die for the guilty? How can a few hours of painful crucifixion answer for a lifetime of sin and rebellion? Doesn’t it fracture the trinity? Does the Father really need appeasing?
These questions and challenges as well as many more will be looked into and reflected upon as the team seek to align themselves with what they consider to be a clearer biblical perspective
Recommended Reading:
We would recommend our listeners to browse the notes of our previous podcast, Atonement (Part 1) for an extended list of some excellent titles that cover various views of the atonement. Enjoy!
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From the atonement understanding of recapitulation propounded by Irenaeus the second century Bishop of Smyrna, to the theory of satisfaction expounded in the eleventh century by Anselm of Canterbury, the biblical understanding of atonement has not been without its fair share of exponents. In the ensuring years from Irenaeus, there has been theories of ransom, moral influence, governmental, healing and kaleidoscope; including major debates centred around christus victor and penal substitution. Where does the common ground lay if any, and does it really matter?
This week Pete and the Curious Team will be diving into the various views of the atonement, seeking to draw the essential truths to the surface. Despite the many opinions and emphasis, the atonement remains a rich and wonderfully powerful truth of scripture. In this weeks episode the team seeks to cut through the multiple ideas to land on some central elements key to every atonement theory
Recommended Reading:
The Curious team have sifted through a heap of reading on the atonement. Not all the following titles express the individual views of the team, but provide a cross section of opinion. Here are a few of their recommendations;
The Cross of Christ - John Stott
The Mediator - Emil Brunner
The Crucifixion - Fleming Rutledge
Pierced For Our Transgressions - Steve Jeffery, Mike Ovey and Andrew Sach
Atonement - Eleonore Stump
In My Place Condemned He Stood - J I Packer and Mark Dever
The Death of Christ - James Denny
The Work of Christ - P T Forsyth
Where Wrath and Mercy Meet - David Peterson
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What was the significance of death on a cross? Could Jesus have equally been stoned or beheaded? What does the New Testament mean when it speaks of Jesus “bearing our sins”? How are we to understand Jesus’s sense of dereliction on the cross as he cried; “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”—how could God have forsaken himself? Did a fracture occur in the divine essence? In what sense did God himself suffer in the person of Jesus, and did the Apostolic Creed have it right when it stated that Jesus did in fact ‘descend into hell’?
This week, the Curious team will be digging into these difficult and controversial topics, as they seek to answer the question; “what was really happening on the cross?”
Recommended Reading:The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ - Christianity.com
Digging deeper into the meaning of Jesus' crucifixion - ntwrightonline.org
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What do we mean when we talk about the Kingly office of Jesus? How do we understand the authority and rule of Jesus? How is the resurrection connected to that? What does the governance of Jesus look like in our day-to-day living? How does his Kingly office relate to his prophetic and priestly office?
This week Pete and the Curious team will take a look into what we mean when we talk about Jesus’s kingly office, and especially how we understand power in relation to Jesus. When Jesus announced in Matt.28:18 that “all power” had been given to him following his resurrection, did that imply that he hadn’t all power prior to it? Power is often perceived as egocentric and abusive in our current climate. In the late 19th century, the British historian, Lord Acton was the one attributed with that well known line, included in a letter sent to a friend; “power corrupts, and absolute power, corrupts, absolutely”. In the light of this, how are we to define Jesus, whom scripture tells us possess ‘absolute power’? This and more will occupy the Curious team in this weeks episode…
Recommended Reading:The Offices of Christ - Waynegrudem.com
The Threefold Office of Christ - Ligonier.org
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What is meant by classifying Jesus as priest? Does he understand our shortcomings and problems? Is he still in touch with all the difficulties we experience? How is the idea of priesthood relevant to my life now and my continued daily walk in faith?
This week Pete and the Curious team investigate the priestly office of Jesus. How it relates to the priestly idea of the Old Testament, how its relevance speaks powerfully today, the comfort it brings to our battle with sin and failure, and how we are to understand the bible’s teaching of Jesus’ intercession; the fact that somewhere Jesus continues to pray for us!
Recommended Reading:Christ as Mediator: The Offices of Christ - TheGospelCoalition.org
What does it mean that Jesus is Prophet, Priest and King? - Crossway.org
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Is the teaching of Jesus only to be found in the gospels? What differentiated Jesus from the prophets? Why was his teaching so unique above that of any others? Why can we never simply take or leave Jesus’ teaching, what makes it so compelling?
This week the Curious team will be reflecting on the teachings of Jesus. They will be broadening the net as they contemplate how we ought to understand not simply the gospels as containing all that Jesus said and taught, but every expression of revelation we come across in scripture, even throughout the Old Testament. By his Spirit, Jesus has and continues to communicate his truth to our hearts.
Recommended Reading:Jesus’ Threefold Office as Prophet, Priest, and King - Ligonier.org
The Threefold Office of Christ - Monergism.com
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Books have been written and lectures given in an attempt to describe just what exactly happened in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. Some say that a boy named Jesus came into existence, but is that exactly true? Some say it was God becoming human, but did he? Some say Mary gave birth to a remarkable amalgamation of divine and human, really? Where others insist it was a simple case of a normal child being born but, almost immediately, being endowed with some form of supernatural power, like a divine superman! Sounds fascinating, but honestly?
The birth of Jesus has captured, fascinated and equally frustrated theologians, thinkers and philosophers for many a century. This week the Curious team take another look at this fascinating and profound truth. What happened in Bethlehem? What do we mean by incarnation? How was Jesus’ birth different to any other great leader or extraordinary historical figure?
Further Reading
10 things you should know about the incarnation - TheGospelCoalition.org
What is the incarnation - DesiringGod.org
Or for those looking for a far deeper dive into this, we highly recommend the 600+ pages of;
“The Virgin Birth of Christ” by J Gresham Machen (Available on Amazon)
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The Curious team preview their new upcoming series 'The King' - looking at the nature and work of Jesus Christ.
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What did Jesus mean when he said, “before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58)? How was Jesus different to angels, divine beings, anointed prophets? Why did the Arian’s cause so much trouble back in the fourth century? And what did Athanasius insist upon that turned him into the worlds most wanted man at the time?
This week Pete and the Curious Team unpack history, to take a deeper look into Jesus and why the first believers insisted that his existence did not start in a stable in Bethlehem! They will look at what theologians and scripture mean when they speak of Jesus as the ‘pre-existent son’ and the ‘eternal generation’ from the Father
Further Reading
Christ's Pre-existence and Deity - Bible.org
The Eternality and Pre-existence of Christ - IsraelMyGlory.org
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There are those who think that possessing faith is little more than wishful thinking. A nice, hopeful, positive thought to a reality very unlike what it represents.
If wishful thinking amounts to little more than the imagining of unlikely events, of things that might possibly one day happen; thinking founded on no objective truth, historical accuracy or experiential reality; then the whole of Christendom is little more than an elaborate, well orchestrated, deftly executed scam!
In this weeks episode Pete and the Curious team examine the idea touted by Sigmund Freud of God being little more than an ‘infantile neurosis’! A father figure created by those seeking to alleviate the fears and disappointments of real life. The team debate this idea as well as reflecting on the objective foundation of a real world faith.
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How are we to understand the idea of a personified evil? Is the devil merely a principle of evil, an ideology, an historical manufactured being? Or is he something far more tangible and scarily realistic? In this episode the Curious team span through the medieval writings, from the hugely influential Dante’s Inferno from the twelfe century, to the Islamic understanding of ‘shaytan’, and the Buddhist explanation of Maara!
The team will unpack what Jesus had to say about the figure of the devil, what the first Christians thought; why we must not simply dismiss the devil as ‘dark philosophy’, and the weighty implications of reducing the devil to anything other than a personified individual.
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What exactly is prayer and why is it so important? Is it really heard by a personal God, or is it simply some form of therapeutic exercise, a cathartic activity? And if God already knows what I am asking for, what is the point of praying for it? Equally so, does God need my prayers? Is his will and intentions frustrated if I forfeit praying? And what role does faith play in my praying, and how much do I need to cause God to do something?
These and many more questions will occupy Pete and the Curious team in this weeks episode. Often prayer is seen as relatively fruitless at best, pointless at worst. The team take time drawing from scripture, history and human experience to define the and importance of prayer, as well as it’s essential and effective nature.
Recommended Reading:
Why Prayer Changes Things - TheGospelCoalition.org
Does Prayer Change Things? - R.C. Sproul
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With so much injustice in the world, coupled with the prevalence of crime and the ascendancy of war, how can we really speak of a God who is just and fair? Why do we suffer what feels like meaningless tragedy and pain? Why can’t God just do something to lessen its intensity or dominance?
Fairness is a complex issue. Asking how we might define ‘fair’, and whether it looks the same to God as it does to us, is just some of the difficulties the Curious team will be looking into. Taking their lead from the parables of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matt.20:1-16), and the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32); the team will reflect on the delicate and often controversial understanding of fairness .
Recommended Reading:
Is God Fair? - Christianity.com
God Is Not Fair - LivingTheologically.com
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As much as we would like, we cannot escape the negative press that emerges about the church. Time and again we read articles of adultery, abuse, embezzlement and so on. It leads many outside of the faith to condemn Christians as hypocrites!
This week the Curious team will be trying to come to terms with the hypocritical aspect of Christianity. Who do Christians profess to be? What relation does sin bear to the believer? What does authenticity look like? Is all failure synonymous with rooted hypocrisy? And what role does God and grace play in it all?
Recommended Reading:
Why are Christians such hypocrites? - ChristianityExplored.org
Why are Christians so hypocritical? - ExploreGod.org
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When we consider the rising tide of evil and destruction; the constant presence of wars, and pressures of crime, alongside the violence humanity inflicts on itself; is it only fair to ask, is God really in control? Wouldn't things be different if he was? And if he is not, then where does that leave us as a planet?
In this episode the Curious team will consider what we mean by control, and how are we to understand God's controlling of events? This episode will reflect on the difficulty of human freedom in the light of God's sovereignty, and the inevitable fallout on either side of the debate.
Recommended Reading:
The Sovereignty of God - DesiringGod.org
The Attributes of God with Steven Lawson - LigonierMinistries
God's Sovereignty and Our Responsibility - Ligonier.org
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How can a document that is thousands of years old, has been through countless translations, and carries some 400,000 variations, truly be trusted, let alone claimed to be the sacred, holy, infallible Word of God?
In this episode Pete and the Curious team take a deep dive into the validity of the Bible. What does the history say? How did we get our Old and New Testaments? How can we trust their authenticity? And how exactly did God inspire humans to record the text?
Recommended Reading:
Are Biblical Manuscripts Reliable? - CSLewisInstitute.or
Is the Bible Trustworthy? - Crosswalk.com
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What lies at the heart of the Christmas story? Who was Jesus? Was he the product of Joseph and Mary coming together or was he something far more profound? What do we really mean by incarnation? And how are we to understand Jesus as both God and man?
In this festive episode, Pete and the Curious team ponder the message, the theology and the deeper, richer meaning of Christ being born in Bethlehem. How could Jesus be fully man yet fully God in one and the same person? And how are we to better appreciate his assuming a human existence?
Recommended Reading:
10 things you should know about the incarnation - Thegospelcoalition.org
What is the incarnation? - DesiringGod.org
Incarnation - Ligonier.org
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What is the church? Why is it important? Can you be a Christian and not go to church? What are the real benefits of being part of a church? Has Christianity always been intrinsically linked to church attendance?
These are just some of the many questions that are asked whenever we think about the church. They are questions that come from either side of the fence. For those who profess not to be Christians, they wonder what is the point, or even the relevance of the church? And for those who are Christians, they wonder whether attending church is that essential. Increasingly more people are of an opinion that you do not necessarily need to be regularly attending a church in order to be a Christian. How do we understand these various elements?
This week, Pete and the curious team will be asking the question — “Is Attending Church Important?”— They will look at what the church is, why it is so important to Faith? And what are the benefits and drawbacks of embracing or ignoring Church?
Recommended Reading:10 Reasons to go to Church - Crosswalk.comWhy is it important to go to Church? - Christianity.com
Why Attending Church is Important - ThinkE.com
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How do we understand the term Christian? Does it relate to something that you believe strongly, or simply in living a good life? Is there an element of exclusivity about it? Or is it more true that everyone in one Way Or Another, is Christian? How does the church define what a Christian is? How does the secular culture define what a Christian is? Is there a true abd definitive answer to the question? Are there common denominators that are true of every authentic Christian?
This week the curious team will be looking into the question of what is a Christian? Is it possible to define such a thing or is it purely a subjective opinion? What does the Bible itself say about those who believe it? What did Jesus himself require? These and many more questions will be the subject of this episode
Recommended Reading:
What is a Christian? - BillyGraham.org
What is a Christian? - Crosswalk.com
What is a Christian? - DesiringGod.org
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Exclusivity! Arrogance! Superiority! Is just some of the accusations that believers of other religions have leveled against Christians. Somewhere near 90% of the world population fall into either Christian, Islam, Hindu or Buddhist. How is it that Christians claim that Jesus can be the only true way?
In this week's episode Pete and the Curious team will be taking a look at some of the statements of Jesus and asking the question is he the only authentic way to God? Why is it that Jesus, above any other religious or historical figure, provides us with the most accurate understanding of God, and the only means through which we can know him?
Recommended Reading:
Inclusivism vs Exclusivism, Is Jesus the only way? - The Gospel Coalition.org
Why Jesus is the Only Way - str.org
Is Jesus the Only Way to be Saved? - Desiring God.org
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What is omniscience? How do we understand God’s all-knowingness? Does God know everything there is to know irrespective of it being present or thousands of years into the future? Does He know what we think and what we’ll do before we even think our do it? And if that is so, how does He know it? Is it because he simply foresees what we will do years, decades from now, or is it because he orders and governs all things and thereby creates what we’ll do?
This week the Curious team will attempt to throw around some pretty difficult aspects of this complex attribute. They’ll be discussing the likes of God’s sovereignty, molinism, and limited foreknowledge…
Recommended Reading:Is Middle Knowledge Biblical? - Reformation21.orgWhat is Omniscience and What Does It Mean for Me? - Crosswalk.com
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How do we define sovereignty? What kind of power does God hold, and is He really in control? What is the difference between God’s absolute and His ordinate power? When we look at all the evil and sin in the world, and the constant presence of wars; how can we really have confidence in divine sovereignty? Does God’s sovereignty stretch to the choices and actions of men, how much control does God really have over the chosen actions of individuals? Is there things God cannot do?
These and many more complexities about God’s sovereignty will be the topic of this weeks episode as the Curious team seek to debate and reflect the deep difficulties of a God who is understood to be in absolute control.
Recommended Reading:The Sovereignty of God - DesiringGod.org
The Sovereignty of God by Arthur Pink - (Pink’s book written during the chaos of the First World War, has remained a perennial classic on the subject of God’s sovereignty. For those wanting a solid initial grasp of this subject…look no further)
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Is God truly present everywhere at all times? And is his whole presence fully present in every moment and place of time? What do we mean by when we speak of God being immense and incorporeal? What do we make of classic statements of misdirection when it comes to God’s Omnipresence? Such as ‘diffusion’, ‘location’, ‘division’ and ‘mixed’?
This week Pete and the Curious team will be opening up the complex and wonderful biblical truth of God’s omnipresence. Discussing what it means for God to be spaceless and immense. To be fully and essentially present at every moment in every space, not simply to observe and monitor, but to engage and direct.
Recommended Reading:Divine Omnipresence - Ligonier.org
The Omnipresent God - ReformedForum.org
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Isaiah announced God as the ‘everlasting God’ (40:28). Paul likewise described God as ‘immortal’ (Rom.1:23) and ‘eternal’ (Rom.16:26). Theologian Paul Helm described God as existing as a “timelessly eternal being”. The sixth century Roman philosopher Boethius, classically defined God’s timeless eternity as, “the complete possession all at once of illimitable life”.
That God has no beginning and no end, but simply is; has sparked debate amongst thinkers, theologians and philosophers the world over. In this weeks episode the Curious team will be looking at the thoughts of some of these thinkers (Aquinas, Anselm, Bavinck, etc), asking the question, how are we able to understand a timeless, eternal God?
Recommended reading:‘None Greater’ by Matthew Barrett
‘Eternal God’ by Paul Helm
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What are we talking about when we talk about impassibility and passibility? What is meant be saying God feels things; be it love, pain, anger, compassion? Does God suffer like we suffer? How are we to understand God’s internal emotions? Did God really suffer on the cross? Can an immutable, perfect God be said to suffer and experience emotions like humans do?
This week the Curious team will unravel the deeply intricate issue of God’s impassibility/passibility. To what extent does God feel and how and in what way? And how do we deal with text that speak plainly of God’s emotions? And in what way are we to understand the sufferings of Jesus in the context of God’s essence? All this and more will be the focus of this week’s episode!
Recommended Reading:‘None Greater’ by Matthew Barrett
‘Does God Suffer’ by Thomas G Weinandy
‘The Crucified God’ by Jürgen Moltmann
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The nineteenth-century Dutch Theologian Herman Bavinck wrote that the, “very distinction between Creator and creature hinges on the contrast between being and becoming”. Concluding that our reliance on God “depends on his immutability”; but what does it mean to have an unchanging God? Immutability is not the argument that God ‘will’ not change, but that He ‘cannot’ change!
In this week's episode, Pete and the Curious team will take a deep dive into immutability. They will seek to address the conundrum of whether God can change, whether he changes himself, or is changed from without himself? Does God’s perfection defy the necessity of change, or is complimented by it? What of those texts that seem to suggest God can change? Where it seems he repents or opts for an alternative way of handling a situation? Join the team this week as they seek to answer these and other difficult questions…
Recommended Reading:'None Greater' by Matthew Barrett
'The Immutability of God' by Charles Spurgeon
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Is God truly one? What do we mean by ‘oneness’? Does the different reflections and operations of God imply a God of many sides, of different parts? Can he simultaneously be love and wrath, mercy and justice, and yet retain his absolute oneness?
In this episode, the Curious team will be reflecting on the theological position of God’s simplicity. What it means to understand that God is not a God of parts! They’ll be unpacking the historical opponents of Socinianism and Marcionism, and reflecting on Augustine who declared that God himself was not, “one thing, and what He is and has another thing”.
Recommended reading:
‘None Greater’ by Matthew Barrett
‘All That Is In God’ by James E Dolezal
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Anselm believed that God is that of which nothing greater can be thought. God is unique. As William Lane Craig writes; ‘He is not dependent upon any other being for his existence; rather, he exist independently of everything else’. Does that mean that God has no real need of people, of his church?
This week Pete and the Curious team will be diving into the depths of divine aseity, what it means for God to be self-existent, independent. What is meant by ‘perfect being theology’ and God as a ‘necessary’ being, whilst skirting the borders of Aristotle’s ‘unmoved mover’!
Recommended reading:'None Greater' by Matthew Barrett
'God All Over' by William Lane Craig
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This week marks the first episode of a brand new series THE BOSS; the incomprehensibility of God! Athanasius spoke of God as one who, “transcends all being and human comprehension”. That being so, how could anyone hope to understand GOD? Isaiah declared, “Canst thou by searching find out God?” (Job 11KJV). Furthermore, Paul refers to God as the one "no one has ever seen nor can see".
Seeing as Scripture captures God as one who has no equal and cannot be compared with anything or anyone known to us, the question arises, ‘how could any individual know God?’
In this opening episode the Curious team look at how we might come to understand God. What philosophy has sought to answer, and how theology unwraps something of a possibility of finite beings knowing an infinite God!
Recommended Reading:‘None Greater’ by Matthew Barrett
‘The Identity and Attributes of God’ by Terry J Johnson
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The Lords Supper, Communion, the Eucharist, under whatever name you’re familiar, has been a source of difficulty and deep contention historically in the church. From the days of the Reformation to present debates, just what Jesus meant by ‘this is my body’, and the reality of the bread and wine, has continued to occupy serious thinking minds within the church.
This week the Curious team will take a deep dive into three classic understandings of the Lord’s Supper, whilst considering a fourth alternative. With an introduction into the historical tensions, the team will seek to draw clarity for the modern-day Christian in terms of this very significant sacrament.
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In more recent times tension has arisen over what has become known as Lordship Salvation, the possibility of living a Christian experience where Jesus may be Saviour and yet not be Lord! What is surrender without submission? Can we have belief without obedience? Can we live with Jesus as Saviour whilst not living with Jesus as Lord?
This week Pete and the Curious team will be tackling the elephant in the room by asking the frank question; ‘can you ever have Jesus as Saviour and not as Lord?’ Does this represent confused sanctification? Can you be partially saved or have we processed something that was never meant to be processed?
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Historically over the years a great deal of confusion has arisen in terms of correctly understanding Law and Gospel. Some understand Law as strictly Old Testament, and gospel as New. Others imagine the law was originally given for the purpose of bring us back to God, whilst others insist only the gospel can do that!
In this weeks episode the Curious team will be defining what exactly we mean by the terms law and gospel. They will discuss the three classic uses of the law, and clarify the tendency of some parts of the church to confuse law with gospel and gospel with law. They will seek to qualify the claim that there is not a single individual church going christian who is immune from the law/gospel issue! Can I have your full of soap please podcast
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Does God still heal, miraculously, today? How do we cope with those incidences where, despite much prayer and belief, those we love fail to get any better? Is a failure to be healed always a sign of a lack of faith? Is relying on medicine a lack of reliance on God?
So much conversation and difficulty has surrounded the issue of divine healing. Many have been left feeling rejected or impoverished in their faith. While some have even died having misread divine healing. How ought we to understand God’s miraculous involvement in our lives today?
This week Pete and the Curious team take an honest, no-holes-barred look into the quandary of divine healing. By asking some very direct questions, they seek to get to the bottom of the issue and arrive at a biblical perspective
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Historically the church has maintained one of two positions when it has come to baptism. On the one side, there are many who defend the position of infant baptism (paedobaptism). Many denominations today hold to the validity of baptising infants in keeping with the covenantal equivalent of Old Testament circumcision.
On the other side, there are those who believe that the only valid, New Testament baptism, is that of believing adults (credobaptism).
This week the Curious team are joined by special guest Rev. Paul Robinson of St. Ambrose Church of England church in Leyland, Lancashire, to share his story, and more specifically, his understanding on classic paedobaptism.
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The church’s attitude to alcohol has historically been contentious to say the least. In some denominations today alcohol of any kind is strictly forbidden. In others, the attitude is far more relaxed. Who is right? Who is biblical? And does it matter and to who? This week the Curious team will sketch the historical journey of alcohol, reflecting on the monks and reformers, as well as current modern-day thoughts and attitudes to alcohol and its use.
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The Curious gang kick off a brand new feature dealing with current affairs with particular reflection on theology and the Christian world.
This week, they look at the controversy that has arisen over the Rev. Wendy Dalrymple, the new Precentor Residentiary Canon Designate and Head of Worship and Events at Canterbury Cathedral. She has come into criticism for the bearing of tattoos.
The team take a deep dive into the church's issue not only with tattoos but also with how they perceive appearance and apparel overall...
In addition, they will also be reflecting on the current crisis surrounding illegal immigrants. And asking the question, where does the value of human worth land in this debate?
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The issues surrounding same-sex relationships have become an extremely difficult and much talked about subject in society today, and especially within the church. What does the Bible say? How does God, Scripture, church and religion as a whole relate to the gay community? Are we watering down the Word, liberalising scripture? Or are we weaponising the Word and applying it through heavily biased and historically affected lenses? This week Pete and the Curious team take an honest, no-holds-barred look at this very sensitive and delicate issue.
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How does something so good, namely a desire for holiness, a zeal for God and a passion for obedience, become so bad? How do we change the desire for duty, passion for obligation, love for legalism and piety for pietism? This week Pete and the Curious team will examine what happens when good desires turn toxic; when the church tries to step and assist God in growing and forming true believers; when the Bible is reinvented as a set of rules and regulations; when holiness becomes more about impressing others than seeking God!
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What is the Bible’s relationship with money? What does the gaining and using of it say about our spiritual status? Is our attitude toward money a true barometer of our spiritual temperature? Is our money really ours to do with as we please? In this week's episode Pete and the Curious team will be examining God’s attitude to stuff and the deceptive manipulation of materialism. Wealth is not our enemy as much as the covetous heart that places a value on it above what God assigns to it. The materialistic heart can be as rampant in the poor and needy as it is assumed in the rich and plentiful. This week's episode asks and seeks to answer some of the tough questions on how we see and use our money.
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How a person becomes acceptable to God has been an age-old conflict since Jesus began teaching, a conflict that heated up especially around the time of the reformation in the early 16th century. From that day to this, it has been increasingly contested. On one side, we're accepted by faith alone, and it doesn't matter what we do! On the other side, what we do is precisely the road to acceptance. Our actions gain us merit with God.
In this week's episode, the Curious team take a deep dive into this timeless controversy seeking to address the opinions and debate what might be the overall biblical position...
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Why do bad people prosper? Why do atheists and God-rejectors seem to experience so many benefits in life? Why hasn't God historically not taken more drastic action against those who have so violently opposed him?
These and many such questions always pose a mystery. ‘God is good to all’ the psalmist tells us, but there is a reason for that! In this week’s episode, Pete and the Curious gang take a look at the doctrine known as ‘common grace’. Looking at it from different perspectives, they debate its validity, use, and place in life and scripture.
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This week Pete and the Curious gang continue their discussion around the controversial and delicate issue of the human will. Taking a deeper look at libertarianism and compatibilism, as well as much more...
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For centuries since the Protestant Reformation in the early 16th century, the debate about the condition and place of the human will following Adam and Eve’s fall from Eden, has been a giant hot potato! From the first tensions of Pelagius and St. Augustine back in the fifth century to the debates of the Remonstrance at Dort in the 17th century, to the present-day ongoing discussion between Arminian Wesleyans and Methodist, and reformed Presbyterians and Baptists; the debate has raged on. This week Pete and the Curious team will attempt to dip their toes into these ancient murky waters to debate and discover what the Bible says from both sides of the argument.
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Who are angels? Are they real persons? Do they have intelligence, will and emotion? The media has courted an almost intoxicating relationship with the subject of the supernatural, angels and demons. They have been depicted as anything Adonis-like gladiators, to the classic serene English vicars! But is anything of that accurate? What does the Bible say of them and how does it define them? And furthermore, what does it say of their purpose in our world and God’s redemptive plan? This week the Curious team will be offering up the inside scoop on angels!
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Old Testament Scripture is full of divine theophany’s; experiences, occurrences and encounters that reflect something of the nature and character of God. In this weeks episode the Curious team take a look at a number of Old Testament passages resplendent of God’s character, passages that offer insight into the heart and ways of God.
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Increasingly Christian writers, thinkers, and theologians are appreciating that the words “God is love”, as D. A. Carson once observed, often sit in a matrix very different to that of biblical theology. Is the church in danger of collapsing all of God’s attributes into the single attribute of love? Or is talking about God in any other way but love, a distorted portrayal of him? This week Pete and the curious team will seek to address some form of balance in examining the nature of God
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The new atheist have described God as a moral monster, based on some very difficult & controversial passages in the Old Testament. In particular those passages where God is seen to wipe out entire nations in an almost genocidal way. How do we reconcile these passages with a God of Love and Mercy? Pete and the curious team will be seeking to tackle and discuss this sensitive issue.
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Did Adam & Eve possess eternal life inherently? Were they reliant on the ‘tree of life’ to sustain that quality of life? Did the tree have life in and of itself, or was it merely a sign, a sacrament to that true, eternal life in God? Did the threat of ‘death’ upon eating the fruit, imply physical death or more spiritual death….or both?
This week Pete and the curious team will be examining the unusual topic of the Tree of Life. Considering exactly what role did it play in the garden, and was it an inevitable part of the eternal life that Adam and Eve were to enjoy?
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Who is said to occupy heaven? Who are the ‘heavenly hosts’? Are these heavenly beings divine? Is God ever advised?
This week, Pete and the curious team look at the unusual topic of the divine counsel. Asking the question as to whether or not a heavenly counsel implies that somehow God takes advice, or is in conversation as he executes his purpose.
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In this second part of looking at the biblical picture of Satan, the Curious team reflect on his mission and work in the world and his ultimate destiny.
Who is Satan? Where did he come from? Is he a person or an ideology? This week, Pete and the Curious team will be delving into the first of a two part exploration of what the Bible really has to say about the devil.
Is everyone due to end up in heaven? If not, is that due to our choice or God's? This week, Pete and the Curious team will dive into what has traditionally been a highly controversial subject, whether God chooses to pass by certain people!
Pete and the Curious team continue this week where they left off last episode, taking a closer look at the Bible's message about hell.
From the varied ideas of hell, many influenced by Dante's graphic depiction in his fourteenth-century novel, 'The Divine Comedy'; to modern-day denials of there being any such place, what does the bible really say about this controversial subject? Pete and the Curious team endeavour this week to offer some ideas and thoughts on the Bible's teaching on hell.
Does the Bible speak of a definite, certain final judgement? Will believers, as unbelievers, have a difficult day of accounting coming? What is the nature and purpose of judgement? In this episode, Pete and the Curious team debate the importance and place of judgement throughout the Bible.
What is death? Is it the end, and if so, of what? What carries over, and what stays? Why is it so feared yet fascinated over? This week, Pete and the Curious team unpack the difficulty of death and how we ought to understand it and respond to it as believers.
Continuing on from last week's episode, the Curious team takes a more particular look at the mystery of evil. Its origin, nature, and relationship to a holy God.
What is evil? To what extent does it capture our wills? In this week's episode, the Curious team examines the quandary - if God is all-good, then why does he allow evil? (Is he not all-powerful?) And if God is all-powerful, then why does he not bring evil to an evil? (Is he not all-good?)
In this week's episode, Pete and the Curious team examine the sweeping context of sin in scripture. What is it? Where did it start? How does it impact us? This episode takes a look at the understanding behind original sin, defining it and reflecting on the consequences of sin in our lives
In this week's episode, Pete and the Curious gang look at where sadness comes from. What we've done. What we've lost. Who we are. Who we're not. What we've missed... Is sadness always a result of sin? Can it coexist with joy? Is sadness redemptive? The team will be looking at all this and more...
Where does guilt come from? Did it start in Eden? Do we bring it upon ourselves? What does the Bible say about guilt and it's consequences? In this fourth part of our Offensive Words series, Pete, Brian, Susan, Donald, Stew and Nige, reflect on everything from the concept of original guilt, to the temporal and eternal implications of our actions
Does the Bible give us permission to doubt? Does the church ever support doubt or give it credible space to be explored? Is doubt ever helpful, is it an inevitable but necessary element of faith? How is doubt misunderstood and is it something that is critical for strengthening Faith? In this episode, Pete and the team will discuss and reflect on all of these significant questions and seek to unpack the place of doubt in the dynamic of faith.
One of the great quandaries of faith is why there is so much suffering in the world given that God is all good and all-powerful! In this episode, Pete and the team discuss the pressure and problem of the pain issue. How do we understand pain as Christians? Why is it necessary? Is it the result of sin? Is there some redemptive quality in our pain that is necessary for our growth and progress?
Why is theology important? Is being certain and convinced the right way to go, or does the Bible encourage a more open minded approach? In this episode Pete and the team discuss the importance of theology, its relevance to our spiritual lives and its place in our faith journey.