Ezra Institute Podcast for Cultural Refromation: Recent Episodes
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The Ezra Institute was founded in 2009 by Joseph Boot as an evangelical think-tank and worldview training organization, after years of traveling globally in the work of Christian apologetics and significant research in the areas of cultural and mission theology and philosophy. It was during this period that Joe also planted Westminster Chapel in downtown Toronto.
This week in the thought of Thomas Aquinas, we examine the idea of natural law, and conclude that, as articulated by Aquinas, it is an idea that gives unwarranted scope to human reason, and effectively makes God equal with His law. In contrast, Scripture teaches that God is the source of all definition, and that human law must be positivized in an historical context.
We could have also titled this episode How the Reformation delivered us from ecclesiocracy. Here we discuss Aquinas’ political philosophy, the problem with his adoption of Aristotle’s teaching that man is a political animal, and the need for an utterly transcendent authority.
Get Joe Boot’s book Ruler of Kings.
Register for the Mission of God Canada conference
There is a common assumption in Christianity that at the fall, man lost a supernatural gift of grace, but retained his natural faculties intact and unscathed – including the faculty of reason. In this episode, Joe Boot explains that the biblical distinction is not nature and grace, but wrath and grace: those who belong to Christ and those who war against Him.
Read Joe’s recent Jubilee article on Reformed Scholasticism and Reformational Thinking.
Get tickets for the Mission of God Canada conference, December 10.
Ezra Institute Fellow Andre Schutten talks about Canada’s newest Federal Action Plan to spend $100 million to advance a postmodern, secular worldview in the area of sexuality. He reinforces how Christians must stand firm on God’s eternal Word and not be taken captive to contemporary godless rhetoric and talking points like ‘love is love.’
Read about a Christian worldview as applied to civil government in For Government.
We have new music and a new theme as we get rolling in Season 6. In this episode we begin a short series on the life, thought, and influence of Thomas Aquinas, the medieval scholastic philosopher and theologian, introducing his person and major works, and considering why there seems to be a recent revival of interest amongst Reformed Protestants in this Roman Catholic thinker.
American listeners! We now offer domestic shipping rates from Ezra Press!
Aaron Rock joins the podcast this week to discuss the scheduled expiry of Canadian border restrictions and the ArriveCan app. We also discuss Canada’s latest Federal Action Plan to advance LGBTQ rights, and the inescapability of religious commitments.
The Christianity and Culture Colloquium is coming soon! Register here.
Listen to Aaron’s podcast, Leadership Now.
In this episode Joe Boot reflects on the funeral ceremonies of Queen Elizabeth II, the historic role of the English monarch as “Defender of the Faith,” and the error of contemporary Two Kingdoms thinking.
Get Joe Boot’s book, Ruler of Kings, at Ezra Press.
Read The Servant Queen
In this episode we reflect on the legacy of Elizabeth II, the role she played in influencing culture, and the Christian virtue she exhibited as a monarch who was self-consciously under the authority of God. Scripture has much to say about thrones and kingdoms, and Joe Boot discusses some of the major passages for how a king is to rule.
We're back with a brand-new season of the Podcast for Cultural Reformation! Joe, Nate, and Ryan discuss the recently published Frankfurt Declaration of Christian and Civil Liberties, and the relationship of the Cultural Mandate and Great Commission. In its most basic formulation, we tend to see Christians desiring to conform to culture or to escape culture, though the biblical calling is for God's saints to transform and build culture.
Read and consider signing the Frankfurt Declaration.
Get the new book, Failed Church, at Ezra Press.
Ezra Institute Fellow Andrew Sandlin responds to listener questions on prayer: why it is difficult to develop a habit of prayerfulness, how to pray boldly and faithfully, and what happens when we pray.
A distinctly Christian way of thinking means returning to the Word of God as the source of all true knowledge and insight, and building an understanding of the world from that foundation. It is our starting point that makes all the difference.
Register for the Christianity and Culture Colloquium, October 18-21.
This episode originally aired September 29, 2021. We’re revisiting it for all our new listeners this summer.
Jacob Reaume, pastor of Trinity Bible Chapel, joins us to talk about an upcoming documentary he is producing, Antichrist and His Ruin, dealing with the life and witness of John Bunyan, the biblical teaching on the doctrine of antichrist, and the call to the church for courage and faithfulness.
Learn more about the documentary and how you can be involved.
This episode started out with John Cooper asking Joe Boot about pacifism, and became a wide-ranging dialogue on what it means to be an image-bearer of God, and the implications that reality has for war, self-defense, and living in a state that is hostile to God. We also discuss the descriptions of God in Scripture as a warrior and the fact that the obligation to give honour and obedience is always qualified except when it is due to God.
Get Joe’s book, Ruler of Kings, at Ezra Press.
This episode was produced in partnership with John Cooper and the Cooper Stuff Podcast. Hear more from John here.
In this episode, we discuss Edmund Burke and the origins of modern conservative ideology; we consider the validity of the sentiment that there is a crisis in conservatism, as well as the historic connection between conservatism and Christianity. Joe Boot explains how the contemporary attempt to distinguish between fiscal and social conservatism is a practical impossibility.
Get Joe Boot’s book, For Government, at Ezra Press.
Dale Partridge joins us as a guest this week to discuss how his organization is working to fulfill the Great Commission on a national and international scale. We also discuss the masculinity of Jesus, and the eschatological hope that motivates our evangelistic efforts.
Find out more at www.mailthegospel.org.
Get Joe Boot’s book, For the Hope that is in You, at Ezra Press.
What does the recent Dobbs decision of the US Supreme Court mean for the practice of abortion? We discuss why it’s fitting for Christians to loudly celebrate this ruling, as well as the reason we must approach issues related to life in terms of God’s standard, for any other standard is ultimately arbitrary and subject to change.
Get “For Life: Defending the Unborn” at Ezra Press.
Andrew Sandlin joins us from the Runner Academy to talk about the nature of God’s covenant with man, how the new covenant relates to earlier covenants, and what the covenant has to do with our responsibilities as citizens of the kingdom of God.
Andrew’s new book, Failed Church, will be available soon from Ezra Press.
Andrew Sandlin joins us from the Runner Academy to talk about the nature of God’s covenant with man, how the new covenant relates to earlier covenants, and what the covenant has to do with our responsibilities as citizens of the kingdom of God.
Andrew’s new book, Failed Church, will be available soon from Ezra Press.
Andrew Sandlin joins us from the Runner Academy to talk about the nature of God’s covenant with man, how the new covenant relates to earlier covenants, and what the covenant has to do with our responsibilities as citizens of the kingdom of God.
Andrew’s new book, Failed Church, will be available soon from Ezra Press.
At the conclusion of the 2022 Runner Academy, Joe Boot explains why the Ezra Institute exists and why we run training programs. We explore what it means for man to be made in the image of God, and how we are to steward creation and build culture for the sake of the kingdom of God.
Get Joe’s book, Gospel Culture, at Ezra Press.
Andre Schutten, Ezra Institute Fellow for Law and Civil Discourse, joins us to talk about how the idea of constitutional government arose, and how, from King Alfred to Charles I to Justin Trudeau, societies have benefited from checks and balances on the power of their leaders. He also illustrates recent cases where our constitutional heritage has been threatened, and some ways we can work to involve ourselves in our society as Christians and citizens, for the good of the nation.
Get Joe Boot’s book, For Government, at Ezra Press.
In this episode, we investigate the worldview and origins of proto-feminism as well as first-wave feminism. This movement often gets tacit approval from Christians because of things like universal suffrage, but at its root, this movement, led by figures like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Stanton, and Margaret Sanger, is a self-centred, resentful ideology that opposes the family and fosters a bigger state.
Tickets are still available for the Mission of God West conference in Edmonton, June 18.
Get Ezra Institute Fellow Peter Jones’ book, Whose Rainbow, for a thorough treatment on biblical sexuality.
In this week’s episode, we dive into a few recent news stories as we work to discover meaning in a world that has increasingly abandoned truth and reason. We consider some of the causes and responses to the recent Texas school shooting, as well as the growing realization that the biggest victims of the Sexual Revolution have been women.
We conclude our introduction to Critical Theory by identifying some of the key personalities responsible for this school of thought and their major ideas. You may have heard of some of these men: Georg Lukacs, Antonio Gramsci, Herbert Marcuse, Wilhelm Reich, and Erich Fromm. From their own writing, it is clear that Critical Theory is more than an analytical tool, but is in fact a self-consciously religious worldview, complete with doctrines of sin, justice, and salvation.
We have a new shipment of Ruler of Kings available now!
Register for the Mission of God West conference in Edmonton, June 18.
Many Christians have heard of Critical Theory, but are unclear what it is and what it entails. In this first episode of a short series, we introduce the nature of Critical Theory, its Marxist origins in the Frankfurt School, and how it uses language to set itself up in opposition to the Christian worldview of the Bible.
Contact us to help beta test the forthcoming Ezra Learning Portal.
Register for the Mission of God Conference East, or West.
Apply for the Runner Academy.
Our newest Fellow, Dr. Ben Merkle, joins us on this week’s episode. Dr. Merkle is President of New Saint Andrews College, and we talk about the current state of higher education, the need for foundational worldview formation in critical thinking, and the fact that half the students in universities don’t need to be there.
Tickets are on sale for the Mission of God conference East, happening May 21 in Niagara, and Mission of God conference West, June 18 in Edmonton.Learn more about New Saint Andrews.
On this episode we conclude our overview of Joe Boot’s newest book, Ruler of Kings, and explain how the concept of heresy applies to political and social life outside of the church. We also lay out the difference between theocracy and ecclesiocracy, and describe how every society, from revolutionary France to modern North America, has a god-concept that demands ultimate allegiance.
Visit Ezra Press and save 20% off Ruler of Kings until next Wednesday.
Get tickets for the Mission of God conference East, and West on the Ezra Institute website.
We’re live-testing the Ezra Learning Portal now! Drop us a note at the Ezra Institute website if you’d like to be a tester and help improve this brand-new service.
On this episode we discuss Joe’s newest book, Ruler of Kings. Joe explains why he felt compelled to write such a book at this time, and what the reign of King Jesus means for the way we understand and relate to civil government.
Get Ruler of Kings at Ezra Press. Use code PODCAST to save 20% off.
Register for the Mission of God conference! We have one in Ontario on May 21, and one in Edmonton on June 18.
Reflecting on the Easter season we’ve just come through, Joe Boot discusses the significance of the garden theme throughout Scripture, pointing to Christ as both the gardener and the king, and to the calling of his people to live in submission to him, holding forth dominion over the created world to tend and keep it. And if you’ve ever been unsure what Joe means by vice-gerent, we clarify it today!
We discuss the following Ontario provincial legislation: Bill 100, about expanding police and emergency powers, and Bill 67, about neo-Marxist racism training in public education.
We have two Mission of God conferences this spring! May 21 in Niagara, and June 18 in Edmonton.Apply for a position in this year’s Runner Academy.Don’t forget to subscribe for regular emails and ministry updates.
On this week's episode we're joined by Ezra Institute Fellow for Biblical Economics, Graeme Leach. Graeme explains why the realm of economics is frequently neglected or misunderstood by Christians, how a biblical vision for economic life, that emphasizes property rights, proportional taxation, and voluntary welfare, leads to a more free and prosperous society, and how Christians can take action to order our economic lives to the glory of God.
As we wrap up the third chapter of a discussion on theonomy, law, and the Kingdom of God, we look at some historical cases where biblical law was applied to and positivized in the laws of the nations other than Israel, including Britain, the United States, and Canada. Because law is an inescapable condition of life, if we will not be governed by God’s law, we must necessarily be governed by some other law. Which one do we want for our nation?
We resume the conversation from last week on the place of God’s law in society, and interact with listener questions. We also examine the New Testament teaching on the law of God, and address the reality that all law is coercive, by its very nature.
The literal meaning of theonomy is simply the law of God. However, it has come to be used as a pejorative term by many who have not interacted with or understood the work on the subject. Pastor Norm Millar of Redemption Bible Chapel in London raised some common objections to theonomy in a recent sermon, and we respond to some of them in this episode.
After a stretch of current events commentary, we return to the main themes of this season: worldview and informational thinking. As the world around us seems to devolve at an accelerating pace, it’s important to think and act from a principled and self-consciously Christian perspective.Also, we share some big news about the growth of the ministry of the Ezra Institute, and Joe Boot’s book, Ruler of Kings, is finally in print!
Last week we talked about the nature, origins, and features of totalitarian states, and ended with a promise to discuss practical tactics for Christians to use in response. This episode highlights some of those responses, beginning with the often overlooked and undervalued weapon of prayer.
In this episode we examine and define totalitarianism- its meaning, origins, and some historic examples. We look at the ancient roots of this ideology as expressed by Aristotle and implicitly adopted by Thomas Aquinas and the Roman Catholic church. As we witness the continued push toward totalitarianism in Canada in particular, what were the assumptions and commitments that brought us to this point?
John Cooper of Skillet joins us to talk about their recent album, Dominion, about the experience of writing music in a dark and confused cultural moment, and about the importance of Christians participating in civil life.
Get John Cooper’s book Awake and Alive to Truth, at Ezra Press.