Today's episode was recorded live at The Creamery in Ottertail, Minnesota as part of an annual festival called "The Gathering" hosted by Firestarters Ministries. In this live event, I shared for a bit on the connection between "Spirit, Aesthetic, and Labor" (covered in more detail in Episode 29 ) or the connection between our art, our work & relationships, and the God or gods we worship. Then we had a live panel discussion with some leaders in the Charismatic tradition who specialize in area...
Aug 19, 2019•2 hr 5 min•Ep. 35
Do you have questions about the theological compatibility of the Christian message with evolutionary science? Dr. Jim Stump is the Vice President of BioLogos, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping "the church and the world to see the harmony between science and biblical faith as we present an evolutionary understanding of God’s creation." In this episode, I talk with Dr. Jim Stump about the common theological questions people have about "evolutionary creationism." Some of these question...
Aug 12, 2019•1 hr 53 min•Ep. 34
Artificial intelligence, gene editing, robot companionship & many more technological changes in our near future present challenges to Christian theology and what it means to be a human. My guest, Micah Redding is attempting to bring Christian theology into conversations that have seemed to many to be largely anti-religious. Micah is the Executive Director of the Christian Transhumanist Association. What is "transhumanism"? Micah explains & lays out a theological case for Christians to be...
Aug 05, 2019•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 33
Today's episode is our first ever Q & A episode! These questions come from members of the Deep Talks Patreon community, and they are some BIG questions! Some of the questions I respond to involve: -the origins of sin and evil -predestination & prayer -the role (if any!) of Mary in prayer & worship Plus a whole bunch of fun theological rabbit trails! To become a Deep Talks Patreon member and support this podcast go to: https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast Listen/Subscribe ...
Jul 30, 2019•1 hr 54 min•Ep. 32
What if our entire lives were affected by the outcome of a battle of the gods? Invisible "spirits" have always been on top of a hierarchy of culture dictating our entire way of life. From ancient Babylon to modern-day America, we'll explore the fascinating connection between the domain of "spirit" and how this spiritual realm is made manifest in our art, movies, music, economics & politics. Plus: -The connection between national flags and ancient idols -Why early Christians didn't understand...
Jul 17, 2019•1 hr 34 min•Ep. 31
NOTE: WHEN THIS WAS ORIGINALLY UPLOADED THERE WAS AN ERROR THAT SHORTENED THE FILE TO ONLY 29 MINUTES. THE FULL EPISODE is 1 HR 4 MINUTES. CHECK TO ENSURE YOU'VE GOT THE FULL EPISODE. YOU MAY NEED TO RE-DOWNLOAD or REFRESH YOUR PODCAST PLAYER. _____ This is PART TWO in a series entitled "Christ & Culture". If you haven't already, you may want to listen to Episode 27 (which is part 1) first. In today's episode, we'll explore three options for how Christians may relate to culture. These three ...
Jul 03, 2019•29 min•Ep. 30
Did you have to listen to D.C. Talk growing up because your church didn't let you listen to Nirvana? Why do some churches hang gay pride flags in front of their building while other churches preach that homosexuality is a sin? Did the author of John's Gospel do something wrong when he borrowed an idea from Greek philosophy and applied it to Christ? How could German Christians in the 1930s ever become Nazis? Answering these kinds of questions requires us to answer even deeper questions- how shoul...
Jun 25, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 29
The "afterlife" is one of the most misunderstood topics in all the Bible. In today's episode, we'll explore the afterlife terminology of the Bible and address some of the common misconceptions most people have about what these words mean. We'll try to understand the original context and culture of the Scriptures and see how different the original audience would have understood stories like the parable of "Lazarus and the rich man" or Jesus' warnings about the fires of "hell" compared to our comm...
Jun 18, 2019•48 min•Ep. 28
Many people report to having dreams that have accurately predicted the future or given them insights into situations they should have no natural knowledge of. I've experienced many "prophetic dreams" over the course of my life, so this subject has always fascinated me. In today's episode we will explore: - some of the biblical precedents for prophetic dreams throughout the Scriptures - the science of dreaming, ranging from early psychological theories from Sigmund Freud & Carl Jung to the di...
Jun 10, 2019•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 27
Dr. Glenn Packiam is a pastor, theologian, and author. He has a Doctorate in Theology and Ministry from Durham University in the UK and is currently the lead pastor at New Life Downtown in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Glenn's new book Blessed, Broken, Given: How Your Story Becomes Scared in the Hands of Jesus lays out a wonderful vision of what "sacramental theology" is all about (which I've talked about several times in past episodes, most prominently in Episode 17: Understand Our Meaning Crisis...
Jun 03, 2019•58 min•Ep. 25
This week my friends at The Ferment Podcast released an interview they did with me a few weeks ago where I got to share with their host, Adam Russell, the story of my life from growing up as a kid that went to Benny Hinn Crusades, to my young adult ministry years where my first month on the job was burying a close mentor who died of cancer in his early 50's, to my own journey of deconstructing and finding a more holistic and historic Christian spirituality in the process. This was a really speci...
May 28, 2019•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 24
Dr. Clay Routledge is a brilliant psychological scientist who's primary area of research explores the psychological needs of humans to find and meaning & purpose. He's published over 100 scholarly scientific papers, several books, and has written for the New York Times and Quillette Magazine. His work has been all over the media including CNN, BBC News, CBS News, Men's Health Magazine and more. In this conversation, we'll explore subjects like: -why America is experiencing a meaning-crisis w...
May 20, 2019•1 hr 52 min•Ep. 23
Dan Kent is an author and theologian with degrees in Psychology and a Master’s in Christian Thought from Bethel Seminary. For 20 years he’s worked in Crisis Mental Health services, he’s also authored 5 books, and is currently the Editor in Chief for Reknew.org and co-host of Greg Boyd’s podcast Greg Boyd: Apologies and Explanations. He’s even owned successful local businesses here in Minneapolis. Dan’s got a brand new book coming out entitled “Confident Humility: Becoming Your Full Self Without ...
May 13, 2019•1 hr 35 min•Ep. 22
When I recorded with Dan Kent for Greg Boyd's Apologies & Explanations , the primary focus they wanted to bring me on for was to discuss my perspective on the meaning-crisis & science/faith issues, but Dan had a bunch of other great questions for me too. Some of them were on the more speculative side of theology including questions about consciousness & this thing called panpsychism, open theism, and other fun stuff. We went for about 2 hours together talking about all this fun and i...
May 06, 2019•45 min•Ep. 21
Today's episode is actually from Greg Boyd: Apologies & Explanations where Paul was invited to fill in on an episode for Greg to discuss the meaning crisis, science and faith issues, and so much more! You can listen to more episodes of Greg Boyd: Apologies & Explanations at: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/f7vvk-41807/Greg-Boyd-Apologies--Explanations-Podcast You can read more from Greg and other's (like his co-host Dan Kent) over at Reknew.org: https://reknew.org/ Consider becomi...
Apr 29, 2019•48 min•Ep. 20
Paul Vander Klay was a simple pastor of a small church in California. Now he's considered the pastor of the Intellectual Dark Web. His Youtube talks about Jordan Peterson, Christian theology, and what's happening in our present-day meaning-crisis started drawing tens of thousands of views, and even garnered the attention of Jordan Peterson himself who came on Paul's program to talk about these deep ideas. In our conversation together, we discuss the rise of the Jordan Peterson phenomenon, why pe...
Apr 22, 2019•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 19
In the second part of "Understanding Our Meaning Crisis" we'll explore how in a secular age, with more and more people claiming to have no religious affiliation, people are actually just as religious as they've ever been. We'll talk about why no one is actually an atheist, and how an NFL game might not be all that different from an ancient pagan ritual. Are things like Comic Con, Politics, & Netflix actually religious experience? Have we confused worshipping God with worshipping our country ...
Apr 10, 2019•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 18
Is it possible that we've completely misunderstood the Apostle Paul...and perhaps even the entire Bible as a result? What do these ideas like "faith and works" or "grace vs. the Law" really mean? Did even Martin Luther and John Calvin misunderstand them? Our guest in today's conversation is Dr. Matthew J. Thomas. Matthew has Doctor of Philosophy in Theology from the University of Oxford and is an expert in New Testament and early church history. He's written a book that Scott McKnight awarded as...
Apr 02, 2019•1 hr 43 min•Ep. 17
My guest today is Dr. Preston Sprinkle. Preston is a New York Times Best Selling Author, professor, and the President of The Center for Faith, Sexuality, and Gender. He has a PhD in New Testament from Aberdeen University in Scotland. He’s authored books including Fight: A Christian Case For Non-Violence , Erasing Hell co-authored with Francis Chan, and People to Be Love: Why Homosexuality Is Not Just an Issue. In today's episode, Preston joins me for a conversation about moving beyond what we be...
Mar 27, 2019•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 16
We're in the midst of a massive meaning crisis. Suicide is the SECOND leading cause of death among Americans under the age of 35. Church attendance is in decline and there is a significant rise in the "nones"- those who claim to have no particular religious adherence. But how did we get here? And are people actually less religious than they were 500 years ago, or has "religion" just evolved into something different in this secular age? You can support this channel and podcast here: https://www.p...
Mar 14, 2019•42 min•Ep. 15
Hey everyone, Just wanted to give everyone a short update on some stuff happening with the podcast. First over the last couple of weeks, we've put out 2 short videos on the "6 Biggest Meaning-Making Questions." I didn't turn them into an audio podcast, because they really need to be seen in order to have the proper effect. So you can check those out here on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLudgMWgrpr-g-w9FwkRDPnNs4uyYMsWGe Also, we've got a Patreon page that is now liv...
Mar 07, 2019•5 min•Ep. 14
Understanding Interstellar in a Secular Age. How can philosophy and theology help us understand what makes Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" such a compelling movie? What does longing for transcendence and meaning in our modern, secular age look like? Does Nolan's answer ultimately satisfy us? In this episode, we'll talk about one of Christopher Nolan's best films and use it to explore: -the philosophy of Charles Taylor and James K.A. Smith -Soren Kierkegaard - Naturalism/Materialism - Christia...
Feb 15, 2019•25 min•Ep. 13
In our follow up to Episode 11 where we examined the philosophical ideas embedded in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight , we take a deeper look at the six big questions people have about life, God, reality, and meaning and examine the answers that could easily lead someone to a Joker worldview. We'll also explore how Christianity and other theistic worldviews may answer those same questions. Finally, we'll talk about why nihilistic comedies like Seinfeld , Bojack Horseman , and Rick and Morty s...
Feb 04, 2019•55 min•Ep. 12
As storied creatures, humans search for meaning and purpose in their life and the world through stories. In many ways, modern cinema has replaced traditional religious institutions as the primary location people go to in order to find stories that will help them make sense of their lives. Some of the great movies of our time are deeply embedded with profound theological and philosophical ideas. In this series, we'll explore the deep ideas and questions embedded in popular films. First up, is Chr...
Jan 30, 2019•23 min•Ep. 11
In our first interview of 2019, Paul talks with singer-songwriter Andy Squyres about what happens when our particular set of beliefs and experiences within our unique "stream" of faith brush up against suffering or doubt and create questions that we don't have easy answers for. In this conversation, Andy also shares about his unique upbringing in Charismatic churches, why he thinks the Church is the best place to wrestle with God, and why we need room for honest lament to stay spiritually health...
Jan 22, 2019•1 hr 29 min•Ep. 10
Along with our regular full-length episodes and series, I will also be producing this year some shorter episodes that we'll affectionately call Shower Thoughts. These shorter episodes will be an opportunity to have some fun wrestling with some of the more speculative ideas and hypotheses in the world of theology and meaning-making. Today's episode is all about Christianity & evolution. Living things are fundamentally driven to survive and procreate. They adapt features that best help to ensu...
Jan 16, 2019•19 min•Ep. 9
Does God sanction "holy war?" What disagreements have Christians had about war and violence over the past 2,000 years? Are common American attitudes towards war compatible with following Jesus? In this episode we'll tackle these questions (and much more!) and explain the 3 most common perspectives Christians have had on the subject of war & violence.
Oct 29, 2018•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 8
In part 4 of our series surrounding issues relating to Christian theology and science, we'll explore why there is no such thing as "theology-less" science. Despite the claims of many naturalists to the "objectivity" of science, we'll discuss why there is no "neutral" position when it comes the subject of God and science. We'll also explore the theological influences on Charles Darwin and try to understand why Darwinian language isn't theologically neutral. Finally, we'll consider why humility, h...
Aug 29, 2018•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 7
In part 3 of our series exploring issues relating to science and the Christian faith, we analyze Genesis 2-3 and explore common misunderstandings of this creation story and tackle some questions that have perplexed many Christians such as: Is the one called "Adam" in this story the first and only human being on the planet? Was everything on earth perfect, free of evil, with no animals even eating other animals until Adam & Eve messed it up? How would the ancient Israelites, to whom this stor...
Aug 08, 2018•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 6
In the second part of our series exploring issues relating to theology and science, we dive deep into chapter one of the book of Genesis. Some have searched Genesis 1 to find answers to questions about the age of the earth or have looked to this story for scientific descriptions of the origins of creation, while others feeling faced with what they presume to be an either/or choice between science and Genesis 1 have simply discarded the Biblical text as irrelevant. But what if we're asking all th...
Jul 25, 2018•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 5
