Credo Podcast: Recent Episodes
Matthew Barrett
Welcome to the Credo Podcast where doctrine matters. Eavesdrop on conversations between Matthew Barrett and top theologians about the most pressing and important theological issues today.
Welcome back to the Credo Colloquy, where leading theologians delve into the pressing issues of theology in today’s church. In this ongoing series, Credo Editor-in-Chief Matthew Barrett sits down with… Download Audio
Christians believe the Bible is the Word of God. Naturally, when we read the Bible, we try to find not only the literal meaning, but also the spiritual meaning of… Download Audio
Many of us have benefitted from evangelicalism and had our faith formed by it. However, evangelicalism these days is in a crisis mode. It has fallen prey to the constant lust for power and dominion, both politically and culturally. Evangelicalism’s emphasis on conversion and winning souls has turned into an enterprise focused more on getting… Download Audio
We are living in a day when the Christian church faces challenges both inward and outward. Outwardly, we see Islam advancing as a world religion. Inwardly, we are experiencing a divisive period in our church regarding doctrine of orthodoxy like the Trinity. In this episode, Matthew Barrett and David and Jennifer McNutt, the authors of… Download Audio
We tend to have an ideal picture of the early centuries of the church. The early church was a period of flourishing and growth, but it was also a period of persecution. The early church had hardships both externally and internally. On the one hand, early Christians had to deal with a misrepresentation of the… Download Audio
What is the analogy of being and why is it so essential to the Creator-creature distinction? In Part 2 of this Credo Colloquy, James Dolezal and Matthew Barrett continue their conversation on the importance of Thomas Aquinas but this time talk about why our language for God is analogical rather than univocal. As it turns… Download Audio
Why do my favorite Puritans seem to with some frequency go back to Aquinas?” James Dolezal came to know Aquinas through the works of Reformed Scholastics (from Stephen Charnock to John Owen) who were appealing to Aquinas and commentators on Aquinas in their works. Once you read Aquinas and understand how he contemplates God and… Download Audio
What is the meaning of intellectual life? In modern education, educators and students alike are often disillusioned by the attitude prevalent in educational institutions that emphasizes usefulness and practicality rather than contemplating the meaning and purpose of life. Zena Hitz shares her own disillusionment and frustrations as an educator, and how she found the true… Download Audio
Isn’t being dogmatic a bad thing? On the contrary, dogmatics is the lifeblood of the church. In this episode, Matthew Barrett is joined by Reformed theologian Michael Allen as they unravel the task of sacred theology. Together, they explore the intricacies involved in writing theology, discussing the significance dogmatics plays in shaping our understanding of… Download Audio
Isn’t being dogmatic a bad thing? On the contrary, dogmatics is the lifeblood of the church. In this episode, Matthew Barrett is joined by Reformed theologian Michael Allen as they unravel the task of sacred theology. Together, they explore the intricacies involved in writing theology, discussing the significance dogmatics plays in shaping our understanding of… Download Audio
You’ve most likely been told that Thomas Aquinas is off limits, a theologian who will corrupt Protestants and turn them into Roman Catholics. And yet, Protestant history tells a different story: many of our Protestant forefathers did not merely retrieve Aquinas but thought of him as part of the same tradition they belonged to in… Download Audio
In this episode of the Credo Alliance, Credo Fellows John Fesko, Fred Sanders, and Scott Swain join Matthew Barrett to discuss the Holy Spirit and the eternal spiration of the Holy Spirit. They explore the historical and theological background of the Nicene Creed, and the implications of the Holy Spirit’s procession from the Father and… Download Audio
Why is Classical theology so important for the life and soul of the local church? This special episode of the Credo Podcast is from the 2023 Center for Classical Theology Panel Discussion moderated by Timothy Gatewood and featuring Carl Trueman, Kevin DeYoung, James Dolezal, and Matthew Barrett. The conversation revolves around the future of classical… Download Audio
Step into the world of classical theology with Carl Trueman. At the inaugural event for The Center for Classical Theology (CCT), Trueman delivered a captivating lecture called “Classical Theology and the Modern Mind,” demonstrating why a return to the orthodoxy of the creeds and confessions is the remedy to the challenges we face on this… Download Audio
Merry Christmas from Credo Magazine! To celebrate the birth of the Savior this week, we thought it apt to share a new conversation on the incarnation between Dominic Legge and Matthew Barrett. Oftentimes, theologians will approach the doctrine of Christology in an isolated way, rarely bringing the doctrine of the Trinity into the discussion. As… Download Audio
In an ongoing exploration of the theological giants who have shaped the Christian tradition, the Credo Podcast delves into the profound legacy of one of the most pivotal figures in the history of the church: Augustine. Matthew Barrett and Phillip Cary embark on a journey through Augustine’s transformative work, City of God. In Augustine’s day Rome was… Download Audio
This is the first episode in the brand new Biblical Theology podcast! We all use a theological key to interpret Scripture. The question is, is it a good one? John Calvin wrote Institutes of the Christian Religion, a summary of Christian doctrine, to give us a “key” to better read and understand the Scriptures. Drs. Bierig… Download Audio
Credo Fellow Gavin Ortlund tees up with Matthew Barrett for a special crossover episode between the Credo podcast and Truth Unites. Their goal is to root Protestants in the wisdom of scripture and the riches of the Great Tradition. In this episode, they talk to J. Todd Billings about union with Christ and its relationship… Download Audio
From Plato to Aristotle, Greek philosophy posits a transcendent view of reality often not appreciated by contemporary Christians living after modernism. But transcendence in Greek thought was not lost on the biblical authors. Narratives such as John 1 and Acts 17 reveal that the biblical authors understood and critically appropriated classical Greek philosophy into their… Download Audio
“For from him and through him and to him are all things…” (Rom. 11:36) What does it mean to participate in God? In what ways do we share in Christ? Protestants today are oftentimes unfamiliar with or even suspicious towards the doctrine of participating in God. As some claim, does participation confuse the creation and… Download Audio
Theological convictions abound in matters of eschatology. But rather than focusing on secondary and often popular matters such as the rapture or the millennium, this episode of the Credo Alliance introduces listeners to the pinnacle of the Christian life: the blessed hope of the beatific vision. The doctrine of the beatific vision is often brushed… Download Audio
“Begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father.” With these words, the Nicene Creed sets the standard of Christian orthodoxy for pastors and church members. As Christians confess the creed today, they link arms with brothers and sisters throughout the ages in affirming their belief in the eternal generation of the Son. In… Download Audio
In the final episode of this Credo mini-series, Ronni Kurtz asks Matthew Barrett about his investigation of John Calvin in his new book, The Reformation as Renewal. They discuss Calvin’s juxtaposition of dead icons and living icons and his doctrine of participation. They also wrestle with misnomers over Calvin’s reformed understanding of the Lord’s Supper… Download Audio
Despite its polemic again the Roman church, the theological structures which emerged in the Swiss Reformation stood firmly on the traditional teaching of he church. This was achieved through a deliberate appropriation of the early church and a good deal of the medieval church. The Swiss reformers were grounded on historical continuity.” These words by… Download Audio
In episode 4 of this mini-series, Samuel Bierig asks Matthew Barrett, author of newly released book The Reformation as Renewal (Zondervan Academic), about the intense divisions over the Lord’s Supper during the Reformation and whether there is more than meets the eye. As Barrett moves below the surface he shows that at the root of the… Download Audio
In episode 3 of this mini-series, Samuel Bierig asks Matthew Barrett, author of the new book The Reformation as Renewal, to introduce us to another side of Martin Luther, that side of Luther often forgotten. Though the oppositional narrative claims Luther radically severed himself from tradition, Barrett shows there’s more to Luther than meets the… Download Audio
The Reformation has often been lamented, blamed for secularism, as if the Reformers cut the cord of participation in God by perpetuating the voluntarism and nominalism of their age. But in episode 2 of this mini-series, Sam Parkison asks Matthew Barrett, author of The Reformation as Renewal, to address the philosophical context of the Reformation.… Download Audio
The Reformation has often been lamented, blamed for everything from secularism to schism. Meanwhile, others celebrate the Reformation either as a modern liberation or a biblicist break from tradition. But in this new mini-series of interviews, Samuel Parkison asks Matthew Barrett what the Reformers themselves thought since he is the author of the soon-to-release book, The… Download Audio
In the second episode of The Credo Alliance, Credo Fellows Fred Sanders, J.V. Fesko, Scott Swain, and Matthew Barrett discuss the importance of theological method for classical theology. The method of modern theology will only take you so far with its allergy to reason and philosophy, but the classical approach reserves a judicious place for… Download Audio
In this special episode, Credo launches a new series called The Credo Alliance, which brings together today’s best theologians to unite around classical Christianity, collaborating for the sake of renewal in the church today. In this first episode, Credo Fellows Fred Sanders, J.V. Fesko, Scott Swain and Matthew Barrett share their stories, explaining how they… Download Audio
What did Augustine and Athanasius, Origen and the Cappadocians, Boethius and Aquinas all have in common? They all critically appropriated Platonism. Platonism was not a set of doctrines that proved convenient. Rather, Platonism was an epic, even revolutionary outlook on transcendent reality that defied a materialistic understanding of God and the world. For example, Platonism… Download Audio
Reformed and Scholastic are often considered antithetical to one another, as if the use of the scholastic method or the retrieval of its philosophy and theology is a betrayal of the Reformation. Such a popular narrative is more fiction than fact, a convenient caricature that misrepresents the Reformed heritage of the sixteenth through the eighteenth… Download Audio
Who was one of the great influences on today’s leading theologians and university presidents? James Montgomery Boice. Educated at Princeton Seminary, the late James Montgomery Boice was raised up for a lifetime of preaching at Tenth Presbyterian Church. Yet he also found himself at the epicenter of theological debate. He was committed to the authority of… Download Audio
The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but irrigate deserts.” With these words C.S. Lewis opened The Abolition of Man. Lewis spent his life standing against the modern approach to education, an approach that encouraged cynicism and skepticism, leaving a wasteland in its wake. On the basis of his own university experience Lewis… Download Audio
Many moderns constructed their doctrine of the Trinity according to Rahner’s rule, which says the immanent Trinity is the economic Trinity and the economic Trinity is the immanent Trinity. But should Christians even frame the Trinity in these terms? Are we conflating the Trinity with history itself by affirming this principle? But more broader still,… Download Audio
What are eternal processions? The language of “processions” may be foreign to some today, but the Great Tradition capitalized on this language to describe the Trinity and keep heresy at bay. From the church fathers to the medieval and Protestant scholastics, theologians used the language of procession to explain how the Son is eternally begotten… Download Audio
In celebrations of the Reformation Protestants have placed not little emphasis on prominent figures such as John Calvin or Martin Luther. Others such as Zwingli, along with the Swiss reformation, are often overlooked and considered inconsequential. Yet, Zwingli’s controversial legacy is foundational to the genesis of the Reformed church. Zwingli finds himself caught in between… Download Audio
The doctrine of God’s impassibility may seem counterintuitive to many Christians today, but actually, impassibility is an essential belief of Christian orthodoxy. Impassibility was not only affirmed in the great confessions of faith throughout church history, but also defended as vital to the doctrine of God itself. But how does a theologian reconcile divine impassibility… Download Audio
Thomas Jefferson continues to elicit a wide-range of reactions. Jefferson had a brilliant mind and engaged with Christianity in ways that were both sympathetic and critical. Along with many others during his time, Jefferson was intrigued by several principles from the Enlightenment era, which influenced his perception of Christianity. Jefferson embodied a tension over issues… Download Audio
From his books to the chalkboard, R.C. Sproul communicated the deep things of God in an accessible way. When asked what the core of his legacy was all about he exclaimed, “Classical Theism!” But Sproul’s commitment to classical theism was foundational to his defense of the faith as well, which explains why Sproul was so… Download Audio
What should we think of Plato? Do his ideas have any profit for Christianity? Can the Platonic philosophical heritage serve Christianity as a handmaiden to biblical interpretation and theological construction? These questions concerning the relationship between philosophy and theology have been discussed and debated by Christians from the very beginning. At the heart of the… Download Audio
How can we hold our systematic theology in one hand and take seriously the exegetical task in the other? How do we interpret scripture in light of Christ’s two natures? Throughout the Great Tradition, biblical scholars and theologians alike have turned to partitive exegesis as an essential tool in the interpretive task. In light of… Download Audio
C.S. Lewis has become a household name in contemporary culture. While many appreciate Lewis for The Chronicles of Narnia or Mere Christianity, most don’t realize the reason these works are so magnetic. C.S. Lewis was a medieval man with a medieval mind who spent his entire life teaching students the medieval world. Throughout his life, Lewis… Download Audio
We often approach the Scriptures as if we must keep all that theology out. We might even read the Old Testament as if we should not look ahead to the New Testament, lest we introduce theological doctrines which prejudice our exegesis. But could this approach rob us of those many riches that the history of… Download Audio
John Webster is one of the most profound theologians in recent history. While some may not recognize the name, his works have set a trajectory for theology and dogmatics in evangelical scholarship. Webster not only had a great understanding of the Great Tradition and a deep grasp of exegesis, but he also summoned the next… Download Audio
The external works of the Trinity are undivided. Until recently, this statement was an uncontroversial affirmation of the doctrine of inseparable operations. In fact, for nearly two millennia, inseparable operations were simply assumed to be an integral premise of the Christian faith. Yet modern treatments of the Trinity have left the essential unity of the… Download Audio
In the 21st century Christians have proved one thing with their fiery rhetoric: we fear man instead of God. That misplaced fear has created extreme hostility towards others in society. That misplaced fear has been exposed lately when Christians engage controversial topics such as Christian America, cancel culture, martyr complex, LGBTQ+, racism, and more. Yet… Download Audio
Why are evangelicals so unfamiliar with one of the greatest theologians in the history of the church, Thomas Aquinas? Is Thomas a friend or a foe to evangelicals today? Was Thomas first and foremost a philosopher or a theologian? Was Thomas a rationalist as some would suggest? What advantages are there to embracing a Reformed Thomism?… Download Audio
Liturgy is to the church like oxygen is to the lungs. Unfortunately, churches today can be suspicious towards liturgy, as if it is devoid of the heart. But for most of history the church has turned to liturgy as a vital part of worship. As the Reformers considered how to reform the church, for example, they… Download Audio
The apostle John once wrote to the church and made a bold promise: “Beloved we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). What does John mean… Download Audio
Stephen King will go down as one of the greatest fiction writers of our time. Although his works are not often considered relevant to theological conversation or even unfriendly to the Christian faith by some, King offers Christians a window into the human experience with his deep sense of reality that is honest about the… Download Audio
But if his human nature is not present wherever his Godhead is, are not then these two natures in Christ separated from one another? Not at all, for since the Godhead is illimitable and omnipresent, it must necessarily follow that the same is beyond the limits of the human nature he assumed, and yet is… Download Audio
When Jesus washes his disciples’ feet he is not just giving them a picture of the type of salvation he has come to accomplish, but he is showing them the means by which he will accomplish that salvation as well. Moreover, Jesus commands his disciples to follow his example and sacrificially serve one another in… Download Audio
Is philosophy in conflict with Christianity? At its heart, philosophy is a love for wisdom that uses the mind with its reason as well as the heart to understand big ideas of reality. Who is God, who am I, and what is this world? These are questions that, universally, humans have asked from the very beginning. The… Download Audio
What should we think of Plato? Do his ideas have any profit for Christianity? Can the Platonic philosophical heritage serve Christianity as a handmaiden to biblical interpretation and theological construction? These questions concerning the relationship between philosophy and theology have been discussed and debated by Christians from the very beginning. At the heart of the… Download Audio
We often approach the Scriptures as if we must keep all that theology out. We might even read the Old Testament as if we should not look ahead to the New Testament, lest we introduce theological doctrines which prejudice our exegesis. But could this approach rob us of those many riches that the history of… Download Audio
Many view evangelicalism only in the political sense of the term, which may overlook and even diminish the rich theological tradition that is evangelical theology. Whether you joyfully consider yourself an evangelical or prefer to ditch the term altogether, evangelicals continue to work together with a steadfast commitment to primary doctrines of the faith despite secondary differences. To… Download Audio
The external works of the Trinity are undivided. Until recently, this statement was an uncontroversial affirmation of the doctrine of inseparable operations. In fact, for nearly two millennia, inseparable operations were simply assumed to be an integral premise of the Christian faith. Yet modern treatments of the Trinity have left the essential unity of the… Download Audio
John Calvin was an influential figure of the Reformation, but have you ever considered some of the events, enemies, friendships, relationships, and influences that shaped Calvin, as well as monumental works such as his Institutes and biblical commentaries? What inspired Calvin to write these works and what was the context in which they came to… Download Audio
It’s all in Plato, all in Plato: Bless me, what do they teach them at these schools? ― C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle If you are doing theology, you are seeking an understanding of the truth. In the ancient world, few claimed the title of truth-seeker more wholeheartedly than Plato. Though he lived before Christ… Download Audio
“I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel…” ― Mary Shelley, Frankenstein Can regular encounters with the Great Books shape us in ways that mere information intake cannot? Matthew Barrett and Karen Swallow Prior believe classical literature possesses a special magic that can help us develop Christian virtues, such as… Download Audio
The tyranny of the present is a cruel evil. For many, the routine to-do’s and the barrage of breaking news renders us numb to anything outside our immediate field of vision. While the present moment is indeed important, we must remember that it is still merely a moment. As moments come and go, the future… Download Audio
There’s been a drastic shift in the understanding of the self over the last 200 years. We now tend to think of ourselves as unencumbered, expressive individuals who are most authentic when we are able to act outwardly on those things that really define us, our inward feelings and our inward desires. Additionally, our imaginations… Download Audio
Why does contemporary theology display a historical amnesia towards medieval philosophy? Medieval philosophy is sometimes neglected altogether and where medieval philosophy is discussed today, it is often misunderstood or caricatured in negative ways. One of the more common mischaracterizations is that Thomas Aquinas is a pure rationalist who subverts the Scriptures at the expense of… Download Audio
You are good and do good; teach me your statutes (Psalm 119:68). When we read, sing, and meditate on the Psalms, we are confronted with an abundance of references to God’s goodness. But it seems that today many find it all too easy to overlook the goodness of God. Yet the constant echoes of God’s goodness… Download Audio
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork (Psalm 119:1). With this reverberating tribute to God’s design, we learn that David, a man who had the special revelation of God through Moses, can also appreciate what it is that the natural order teaches about God. Many Christians today acknowledge God’s… Download Audio
In his Proslogion, Anselm famously contemplated God as “someone than whom none greater can be conceived.” If mere human beings, in their limited capacities, could think of something greater than God, that thing would not be worthy of worship. This concept is something the medievals took for granted. For them, the God of the Bible was… Download Audio
Debates over free will typically occupy Calvinists and Arminians. But did you know that even within the Reformed camp there has been recent debate over how to define free will? In this podcast, J. V. Fesko and Matthew Barrett discuss the relationship between God’s sovereignty and human free will with philosophical theologian, Paul Helm. Helm graciously… Download Audio
This is a series of conversations between major theologians and Matthew Barrett on the doctrine of the Trinity based on his new book, Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son, and Spirit (Baker, 2021). In this podcast, Kelly Kapic and Matthew Barrett invite Puritan John Owen to help listeners better understand the implications behind inseparable operations.… Download Audio
This is a series of conversations between major theologians and Matthew Barrett on the doctrine of the Trinity based on his new book, Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son, and Spirit (Baker, 2021). In this podcast, Ryan Hurd and Matthew Barrett explain why it is so essential to confess the doctrine of inseparable operations. The external works… Download Audio
This is a series of conversations between major theologians and Matthew Barrett on the doctrine of the Trinity based on his new book, Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son, and Spirit (Baker, 2021). In this podcast, Haykin and Barrett take an honest look at the history of biblicism, showing that evangelicals who embrace biblicism unwittingly adopt the… Download Audio
This is a series of conversations between major theologians and Matthew Barrett on the doctrine of the Trinity in view of Barrett’s new book Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son, and Spirit. The trinitarian view known as Eternal Functional Subordinationism (EFS) has become a popular position over the last several decades. In this view, the Trinity… Download Audio
This is a series of conversations between major theologians and Matthew Barrett on the doctrine of the Trinity. The trinitarian view known as Eternal Functional Subordinationism (EFS) has become a popular position over the last several decades. In this view, the Trinity is defined as a type of society, a society or roles and relationships.… Download Audio
What is eternal generation? At one point terms such as “generation,” “begetting,” and “Sonship” were at home in a Christian’s vocabulary. Today, this is no longer the case. Typically, when we discuss concepts such as generation and begetting, we are making a statement concerning origin. A Son is from his Father. However, in order to… Download Audio
The principle without principle. Unbegotten. These are theological and philosophical titles applied to the first person of the Trinity. The biblical authors refer to him most commonly as the Father. The heavenly Father, however, is different from human fathers in many ways. He has never been a son, and he was a Father long before… Download Audio
The ascension of Christ is often given far too little attention. What is the ascension for? Is it a minor detail tacked onto the end of the story of Christ’s resurrection? And what is Christ doing in his ascended state now? Far from passively waiting for the moment of his return, Christ is interceding for… Download Audio
This is a series of conversations between major theologians and Matthew Barrett on the doctrine of the Trinity. According to philosopher Ronald Nash, the doctrine of divine simplicity has a PR problem. However, contrary to the claims of its opponents, the belief that God is one is essential to biblical Christianity and classical theism. Quite… Download Audio
This is a series of conversations between major theologians and Matthew Barrett on the doctrine of the Trinity. In this episode, Fred Sanders and Matthew Barrett discuss chapter 4 of Barrett’s book, Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son, and Spirit (Baker, 2021). Sanders and Barrett explore the way the missions reveal the processions of the Trinity, and… Download Audio
This is a series of conversations between major theologians and Matthew Barrett on the doctrine of the Trinity. In this video, Craig Carter and Matthew Barrett discuss chapter 3 of Barrett’s book, Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son, and Spirit (Baker, 2021). Carter and Barrett discuss topics such as the legacy of Nicaea in light of the… Download Audio
This is a series of conversations between major theologians and Matthew Barrett on the doctrine of the Trinity. In this video, James Eglinton and Matthew Barrett discuss chapter 2 of Barrett’s book, Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son, and Spirit (Baker, 2021). Eglinton and Barrett engage the Nicene Creed, explain why the Fathers chose certain words and… Download Audio
This is the first of a series of conversations between major theologians and Matthew Barrett on the doctrine of the Trinity. In this first video, Thomas Kidd, professor at Baylor University, and Matthew Barrett engage topics like: evangelicalism’s suspicion towards history and creeds, recent drift away from Nicene trinitarianism, the rise of social trinitarianism, the need… Download Audio
In this episode of the Credo Podcast, Matthew Barrett fields questions from Samuel Bierig about his new book, Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son and Spirit (Baker). They consider what it means for the Spirit to “proceed” eternally from the Father and Son, and how appropriate it is, in light of divine appropriations, to identify the… Download Audio
In this episode of the Credo Podcast, Matthew Barrett fields questions from Ronni Kurtz and Samuel Parkison about his new book, Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son and Spirit (Baker). They tackle the question: “Is the Son eternally subordinate to the Father?” Many of our listeners will be familiar with the debate over the novel position… Download Audio
In this episode of the Credo Podcast, Matthew Barrett fields questions from Ronni Kurtz and Samuel Parkison about his new book, Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son and Spirit (Baker). They continue their discussion of the novel position known as Eternal Functional Subordinationism (EFS), this time evaluating its narrow biblicist method. They also warn against EFS… Download Audio
In this episode of the Credo Podcast, Matthew Barrett fields questions from Samuel Parkison about his new book, Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son and Spirit (Baker). They discuss how central the doctrine of divine simplicity is for a proper doctrine of the Trinity. Along these lines, Barrett defines eternal generation and shows why the Son’s eternal generation… Download Audio
In this episode of the Credo Podcast, Matthew Barrett fields questions from Ronni Kurtz about his new book, Simply Trinity: The Unmanipulated Father, Son and Spirit (Baker). They discuss how, despite appearance, the glut of twentieth century literature about the Trinity does not constitute a Trinity resurgence, but rather a Trinity drift. They observe the ways… Download Audio
Who was Anselm of Canterbury? Those who have never read Anselm often caricature the medieval theologian as an esoteric logic chopper. A careful read of Anselm, however, reveals a different story. Anselm’s “perfect being” theology was not only the apologetic grounds of his ontological argument, but an entryway into his affirmation of both faith and… Download Audio
Have you ever wished you could eavesdrop on the divine Persons of the Trinity as they speak with one another? In this episode of the Credo Podcast, Matthew Barrett and Matthew Bates explore prosopological exegesis. They discuss this ancient reading technique employed by the biblical authors and then picked up by the early church fathers.… Download Audio
Why did God become man? Surely this is one of the most important questions of the Christian faith. Athanasius answered this question not only to help us understand the incarnation of the Son, but who the Son is from all eternity. Over against Arians in his day who subordinated the Son, Athanasius argued that unless… Download Audio
What kind of book is the Bible? If, as some suppose, the Bible is simply the product of human ingenuity, then we must read it like we read any other book. The meaning of any particular passage is limited strictly to the intention of the human author who wrote it. Questions pertaining to historical context,… Download Audio
How should Christians think about the past? Of course, some historical events are unavoidably important for the Christian. Our faith is, after all, a historical faith, hinging ultimately on the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ—the historical figure. But what about other events in history? Is the past worth consulting for the future?… Download Audio
It is not uncommon to hear some Christians today pit the God of the Bible against the “god of the philosophers.” It is assumed that the philosophers reasoned their way to a cold, inert, static, indifferent, and impersonal Being who resembles little the loving, covenant-making God of the Bible. They are distinct, and never the… Download Audio
Herman Bavinck has become a household name for many in the reformed, evangelical world. But who was he? How did he conceptualize his role as a theologian in the 19th and 20th centuries? What goes into making the renaissance man that was the enigmatic Herman Bavinck? In this episode of the Credo Podcast, Matthew Barrett… Download Audio
It was the church father Tertullian who famously quipped, “What hath Athens to do with Jerusalem?” Many Christians today have joined Tertullian in pondering this question, and have concluded that the answer must be “nothing.” Greek Philosophy, it is assumed, offers nothing whatever to Christianity, and the Christian faith is obscured and tarnished by the… Download Audio
How can the church fathers, who lived so long ago and in such a different context, benefit twenty-first-century Christians? Surely, we might be tempted to think, the world of the early church is too alien to inform those of us who live today, especially on topics such as corporate worship and Christian living. In this… Download Audio
What is the best starting point for developing a theology of humanity? Should we begin with the secular sciences? What about the creation narrative, especially when that biblical narrative points to Christ, the image of the invisible God? If he is the Second Adam and true and perfect humanity, might we begin with him? In… Download Audio
If it is true that the average evangelical suffers from an anemic theology, then it is equally true that the average evangelical suffers from an anemic imagination. Too often Christians, particularly those burdened with a desire for more theological precision, think that reading classic works of literature is at best a waste of time and… Download Audio
Have we left out important facets of the Lord’s Supper, like its present and future components? How is Christ’s presence manifested in the Lord’s Table? What is the role of faith in receiving the Lord’s Supper as a means of grace? How does the Lord’s Supper communicate our Pneumatology as well as Christology? Why is… Download Audio
What does philosophy have to do with theology? Isn’t Christianity a faith of the heart, and not a faith of the head? And for that matter, isn’t philosophy an impractical discipline, completely unrelated to everyday life? In this episode, Matthew Barrett talks with Nicholas Wolterstorff about his journey into academia as a philosopher, as told… Download Audio
Why are evangelicals so unfamiliar with one of the greatest theologians in the history of the church, Thomas Aquinas? Is Thomas a friend or a foe to evangelicals today? Was Thomas first and foremost a philosopher or a theologian? Was Thomas a rationalist as some would suggest? What advantages are there to embracing a Reformed… Download Audio
Did the Gospels get Jesus right? Are the sayings of Jesus invented or fabricated? Why are there differences in the Gospels? How should we respond to claims like that of Bart Ehrman? Why is divine authorial intent crucial for understanding what Jesus is claiming and what the Gospel writers believe? In this episode, Matthew Barrett… Download Audio
Can God still be loving and personal if he is not susceptible to emotional change? How are we to think about God’s impassibility in light of his immutability? How can God be impassible if Christ has suffered on the cross? In this episode, Dr. Matthew Barrett is joined by Dr. Thomas Weinandy to discuss the… Download Audio
How did turmoil in Cuba lead Justo Gonzalez into the strange new world of church history? How does Justo Gonzalez balance cultural insight and biblical fidelity? How did Augustine’s background affect Gonzalez’s insights into the Donatist and Pelagian controversies? What motivated the Reformers to go back to the sources to reconceive theological education? Can the past help… Download Audio
How do biblical theology and dogmatics relate? What is the relationship between canon, covenant, and christology? How does Jesus fulfill the Scriptures in word and deed? What is sensus plenior? What is the relation between typology, biblical theology, and divine authorship? In this episode, Brandon D. Smith interviews Matthew Barrett on his recent book Canon, Covenant… Download Audio
What do the Simpsons have to do with the book of Revelation? What role does the Old Testament play in Revelation? How does Christology come into focus and frame the entire book of Revelation? What is a literal-figurative hermeneutic? What should be the end goal of reading Revelation? In this episode, Matthew Barrett talks with… Download Audio
Why must we not collapse the immanent and economic Trinity? How does the triune God reveal himself in the economy of salvation? What does the Triunity of God have to do with our communion with God? What does John Owen mean by communion with God? What’s the difference between union and communion, and why is… Download Audio
How should we interpret, preach, and apply the Scriptures? What are the challenges historical criticism and postmodernism pose to the unity of the Bible? How does the unity between the testaments oscillate on the person and work of Jesus Christ? How is the Christ event eschatological? What is the rule of faith and how should… Download Audio
What does the fulfillment theme in Matthew say about the canon as a whole? Why does John use of Old Testament imagery to capture who Jesus is and what he came to accomplish? What does eschatology have to do with the relationship between Israel’s Scripture and the coming of Christ? Does Christ’s covenant obedience to… Download Audio
What were Matthew Barrett’s motivations for writing Canon, Covenant and Christology? What is divine authorial intent and why does it expose a contradiction in evangelical hermeneutics? Why is sensus plenior essential to reading scripture like a Christian? Why is typology so critical to the unity of the canon? Why is Christ the hinge of the canon? Why is the… Download Audio
What kind of hermeneutic did Martin Luther apply to scripture? Why did Luther believe the presence of God was so important for a right interpretation of scripture? What is the relation between the cross and the canon for Luther? What does Luther mean by sola scriptura and what place does reason have in biblical interpretation? Has Neo-Orthodoxy… Download Audio
Who was Michael Servetus and what was Servetus’ view of the Trinity? How does Servetus’ biblicism lead him to reject Nicene and scholastic trinitarianism? How does the sixteenth century historical context shed light on the execution of Servetus? How are we to understand Servetus last words? What role did Calvin play in the Servetus affair…and… Download Audio
Is the Pope the Antichrist? How is the threefold office of prophet, priest, and king applied in a Roman Catholic context? How do we as Protestants engage Roman Catholics with the authority of the Bible? How should we interpret Matthew 16:18 and the idea of papal succession? How does a Roman Catholics view Mary and how… Download Audio
What is the covenant of redemption? Why must the covenant of redemption be intra-Trinitarian? Does the covenant of redemption lead to a social trinitarianism? Does the covenant of redemption span across the Testaments? Why is the covenant of redemption essential to a right understanding of the history of salvation and the application of salvation? In… Download Audio
Who were some of the key figure-heads of Old Princeton and why are their contributions worth retrieving for contemporary evangelicalism? Were Princetonians like Charles Hodge and B. B. Warfield rationalists as so many have assumed today? Did they care at all about faith and piety or were they concerned only with right doctrine? Why did… Download Audio
In the past, Reformed thinkers taught that God has two kingdoms. What are these two kingdoms and how does God exercise his lordship in both differently? What is the difference between our responsibilities as citizens of this world and our mission as Christians in the church? Is there a Christian way to go about commerce, music,… Download Audio
In what ways have the disciplines of biblical theology and historical theology been key to the task of systematics? How are we to understand Luther’s doctrine of Scripture? Are we in danger of losing the clarity of Scripture? How does the doctrine of God affect our doctrine of Scripture? How can scripture be clear when… Download Audio
What theologians have influenced Gerald Bray? In what ways has his ability to read theology in other languages affected his own beliefs? How have the 39 Articles been instrumental in his theological development and can these articles create reform today? As an expert in patristic thought, does Bray think the fathers believed in justification by… Download Audio
Why is biblical theology essential to a proper understanding of systematic theology? How does inspiration and divine authorial intent safeguard the unity of the Bible? Should we interpret the Old Testament like Jesus and the writers of the New Testament? How do we trace the story of the Bible with an eye to an inaugurated… Download Audio
Does God’s immutability need to change? What problems follow if we try to modify God’s unchanging nature? Why do some pit God as a living being and God as an immutable being against one another? Can God be immutable in his essence but mutable in his relationships? How does divine simplicity buttress our doctrine of… Download Audio
Why should we frame our doctrine of Scripture through the biblical imagery of light? Is God the source of Scripture and why should all Scripture be called God’s word? In light of Karl Barth, can we still say that that Scripture itself is the word of God? How can the doctrine of providence help our… Download Audio
Are theology and leadership irrelevant to one another? What challenges do evangelical colleges and seminaries face today? How has theology affected Dockery’s role as University president? What was it like at Southern Seminary during the years of theological liberalism? What role did Carl Henry play in Dockery’s life? How important are friendships to the development of one’s own theology? In this… Download Audio
What drew Michael Haykin toward an intellectual neo-marxism? Why did the resurrection of Christ convince Haykin to leave neo-marxism and eastern religions for the Christian gospel? What persuaded Haykin to become a historian? Why has he devoted his life to studying the church fathers and Baptists like Andrew Fuller? In this new episode of the Credo… Download Audio
What were the early days at Harvard Divinity School like for Timothy George? How did Heiko Oberman and George Huntston Williams influence George? Why is it that the Reformers were the focus of George? What was at stake for the SBC while George was at Southern Seminary and how did it play out in his… Download Audio
What does it mean for systematic theology to be reformed? Why is it important that we understand reformed systematic theology as creedal in nature? Why is covenant so critical to how we do systematic theology? Is systematic theology antithetical to spirituality? Why is anti-intellectual biblicism not helpful to systematic theology? In this new episode of… Download Audio
Why did Kevin Vanhoozer become a theologian? What is theo-drama and why did it prove to be the model Vanhoozer needed for his students? Is doctrine a guide for right performance of our holy script? Why is it so critical that theologians see every doctrine of the faith through a trinitarian lens? How should theology… Download Audio
How does Augustine retrieve and build upon the Trinitarian theology that came before him? How does Augustine’s understanding of the Trinity set the trajectory in the west for all theologians who come after him? How do we articulate the Trinity without compromising the one essence? How do we understand the three persons in relation to… Download Audio
How sovereign is God’s grace? Is grace a gift we cooperate with or an unconditional act that we undeservedly receive? What’s the difference between grace that is sufficient versus effectual for our salvation? Is regeneration monergistic or synergistic? In the order of salvation, does regeneration precede faith? In this new episode of the Credo podcast, Matthew… Download Audio
Why must we not just think of God in terms of what he does in history but also who he is in himself? What are negative consequences to limiting ourselves to the history of redemption rather than also drawing theological conclusions about who God is in eternity? What is the relationship between biblical and systematic… Download Audio
Where is justification visible in the Old Testament? Why is Genesis 15:6 such a pivotal text in understanding justification? How should we think about the connection between faith and works in the life of Abraham? Should we consider Abraham a type of new Adam and if so, how does he point us forward to Christ… Download Audio
What does it mean for God to be the perfect being? How can we discuss individual attributes of God when God is simple–identical with his attributes and undivided in his essence? What are the consequences for the Christian life if we reject God’s impassibility? How do we interpret scripture when it says God repents? How can… Download Audio
Why was Matthew Barrett surprised by the God of Augustine, Anselm, and Calvin? Have we domesticated God, so that he looks a lot more like the creature than the Creator? If we understand God as the perfect being, what perfect-making attributes must be true of God? In this episode of the Credo podcast, Matthew Barrett is… Download Audio
Why has there been a reformed resurgence among evangelicals and how have Baptists, in particular, recovered their theological heritage on the doctrine of Scripture and the doctrines of grace? Which Baptist figures does Tom Nettles return to regularly in light of the theological needs of the church today? What is doctrinal preaching, and how is… Download Audio
What does it mean to be made in the image of God? How was the image meant to function within the temple context of the garden of Eden? Why is Christ the true image of God and how does he image God in a way we do and do not? How does a biblical understanding… Download Audio
Are philosophy and theology antithetical or compatible? What is the proper relationship between faith and reason? How do the tools of philosophy equip theologians to articulate and defend the Christian faith? Is Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae a good example of how theology should interact with philosophy? How is John Calvin a model to theologians and… Download Audio
Have we left out important facets of the Lord’s Supper, like its present and future components? How is Christ’s presence manifested in the Lord’s Table? What is the role of faith in receiving the Lord’s Supper as a means of grace? How does the Lord’s Supper communicate our Pneumatology as well as Christology? Why is… Download Audio
In what sense is God mystery? How is his transcendence and immanence displayed when he hides? Are there negative consequences to reading Christology back into the doctrine of God? How does God’s power, simplicity, and aseity relate to his incomprehensibility? Why is maintaining the distinction between the Creator and creature of such importance, particularly in framing… Download Audio
Why must Christ obey the law? What have the categories of active and passive obedience of Christ traditionally meant? Why is active obedience so essential to imputation and union with Christ? Why has the death of Christ overshadowed other indispensable aspects of his work? What are some of the practical and pastoral implications of Christ’s… Download Audio
What’s gone wrong with biblical interpretation? Why does the doctrine of God matter for hermeneutics? If we reject classical theism and adopt theistic personalism, how does that change our view of inspiration? Can we follow the example of the apostles in their Christological interpretation? How has the enlightenment and methods of higher criticism affected hermeneutics… Download Audio
What is the doctrine of union with Christ, and how does it relate to justification and sanctification? Does union with Christ encompass the entire order of salvation or only refer to a specific stage in the redemption process? How should we distinguish redemption accomplished and redemption applied? What eschatological aspects are present in justification? How does… Download Audio
Is it possible to approach the text of Scripture neutral, without a theological framework? What dangers exist in neglecting theology in the exegetical process? Should creeds and confessions throughout the history of Christianity play any role in biblical interpretation? What are appropriate ways to utilize dogmatic categories in exegesis? Why are the disciplines of theology… Download Audio
How did John Frame first discover theology? How was his time at Princeton and Yale instrumental to his theological journey? What influence has Cornelius Van Til had on Frame and how does Frame differ in his presuppositional approach to apologetics? What does it mean to be winsomely reformed? In this episode of the Credo podcast, Matthew… Download Audio
Is Thomas Aquinas a friend or foe to evangelicals? Why are evangelicals so unfamiliar with one of the greatest theologians in the history of the church, Thomas Aquinas? Download Audio
Is western atheism a novel movement? How has the atheism of today misunderstood the metaphysics of the doctrine of God? Is the classical understanding of God articulated by Eastern and Western Fathers a better antidote to contemporary atheism than the modern, relational view of God? Why is the Christian God the first cause, that being who… Download Audio
Is western atheism a novel movement? How has the atheism of today misunderstood the metaphysics of the doctrine of God? Is the classical understanding of God articulated by Eastern and Western Fathers a better antidote to contemporary atheism than the modern, relational view of God? Why is the Christian God the first cause, that being who… Download Audio
How can Christ have two natures? How do these two natures relate to one another in the one person of Christ? What is the communication of attributes and Calvin's "extra," and why do these concepts advance our understanding of the hypostatic union? In this episode of the Credo podcast, Matthew Barrett and Stephen Wellum dare to enter into the mystery of the person of Christ, deciphering how Christians should and should not describe the incarnation. Barrett and Wellum demonstrate why a biblical and theological understanding of Christ's person is essential to the Christian faith and provide much needed wisdom on how to avoid Christological heresies. Download Audio
Is the high view of Jesus really a minority view in the first two centuries of the church? Download Audio
Thomas Schreiner describes his time at seminary and how first became interested in New Testament scholarship. Download Audio
Can God still be loving and personal if he is not susceptible to emotional change? How are we to think about God’s impassibility in light of his immutability? How can God be impassible if Christ has suffered on the cross? In this episode, Dr. Matthew Barrett is joined by Dr. Thomas Weinandy to discuss the… Download Audio
What does it mean for God to be unity as opposed to a God who is compounded of parts? Are God’s attributes and essence identical? How are immutability and eternity compromised if we reject simplicity? In this episode, Dr. Matthew Barrett is joined by Dr. James Dolezal to discuss divine simplicity, the attributes of God, the importance of… Download Audio