In the previous episode, I talked about the 3 different views of hell that have been taught throughout church history. In this episode, I briefly discuss why I used to hold to the eternal conscious torment view of hell but have come to believe that the annihilation view of hell is the most biblical. You don’t need to agree with me! But, if you claim to be a Christian, you do need to make sure your view of hell is based on Scripture and not just your church’s doctrinal statement or your tradition...
Dec 07, 2020•47 min•Ep. 831
Most people assume that “hell” means “eternal conscious torment forever and ever.” But the doctrine of hell has actually been widely disputed throughout church history. There are actually three quite different understandings of hell that have been believed and taught in the historic, orthodox Christian church: eternal conscious torment, annihilation, and ultimate reconciliation. In this first (of two) videos on hell, I lay out these three different understandings of hell. I try to do so in an un...
Nov 30, 2020•45 min•Ep. 830
BJ and I sat down to have a conversation with no agenda in mind. We start by talking about his work as a life-coach and leader at #BuildaBetterUs, we quickly move into talking about church, church structure, and money. Then, we move into talking about the topic of race in Evangelicalism and we pretty much camped out there for the rest of the time. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Nov 23, 2020•38 min•Ep. 829
Laurie is attracted to women. And Matt is also attracted to women. Both Laurie and Matt love Jesus. They’re in what’s called a “mixed orientation marriage” and they talk about how that “works” in this fascinating episode. Their marriage is incredible. Not perfect. No marriage is. But their marriage truly does exemplify the honesty, difficulty, beauty, and meaningfulness that every marriage is supposed to embody. Laurie and Matt have written an amazing book called “An Impossible Marriage” and thi...
Nov 16, 2020•59 min•Ep. 828
In this episode, Benjamin and I talk about what happened at Evergreen and some of the cultural implications of these events. We then talk about the so-called “evergreening of America.” In many ways, what went down at Evergreen in May 2017 has become a proleptic microcosm of what’s going on today in 2020. Benjamin Boyce is a popular YouTuber and podcaster. He was a senior in college at Evergreen University when the campus experienced an interesting upheaval that had to do with racial tensions. Or...
Nov 09, 2020•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 827
Editors note: We had some technical difficulties during the recording. The audio is not to our standards, but we felt the podcast was too good to throw away. Greg and I recorded this conversation in late August but I deliberately wanted to have him speak into our current cultural moment--on the eve of the election. Because sometimes you can think a little more clearly when you’re not pressed in a moment of frantic urgency. Anyway, Greg and I discuss how Christians should think through issues of ...
Nov 02, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 826
Jane Wheeler is the founder and President of Rethink Medical Identity Ethics (https://rethinkime.org), which is a a non-profit research and education organization dedicated to improving and optimizing ethical long term care and treatment for gender variant children, adolescents and youth. Jane practiced law for many years as a corporate regulatory healthcare attorney in licensing, standards of care and informed consent. She was a board member of Lawyers for Human Rights (now the Los Angeles LGBT...
Oct 26, 2020•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 825
Bill Henson is the founder and president of Lead Them Home, creator of Posture Shift, and author of Guiding Families of LGBT+ Loved Ones. Bill trains national, regional and local ministry teams across America to extend Christ to LGBT+ persons within a biblical framework. Bill guest lectures at Gordon College and has presented Posture Shift at Denver Seminary and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Bill has been a friend and mentor to me for several years and is my #1 go to person when I h...
Oct 19, 2020•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 824
Lesli has been a great friend and mentor over the years. We talk about all things trans*, gender, church, Jesus, pronouns, and all that fun stuff. Lesli is the Gender Identity Ministry Director for Posture Shift and a contributor to the highly acclaimed resource "Guiding Families." Learn more about Lesli here Check out Guiding Families Lesli currently serves as Gender Identity Ministry Director for Posture Shift. They mentor youth and adults seeking God’s will in their gender identity. They are ...
Oct 12, 2020•54 min•Ep. 823
Sean and I talk about his new book "Chasing Love" which is due to come out in Dec 2020. We focus largely on the contents of this book but we also dive deep into the so-called purity movement and clear up some misunderstands. We also weigh the pros and cons of that movement and try to construct a positive way forward. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Oct 05, 2020•58 min•Ep. 822
A.J. Swoboda a brilliant thinker, a relational pastor, and possesses an uncanny ability to think critically about the intersection of faith and culture. In this conversation, we talk about a lot of things related to his own journey of deconstruction and reconstruction, progressive vs. conservative Christianity, politics, and our cultural moment. A.J. has a Ph.D. from University of Birmingham (U.K.) and currently serves as Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies and World Christianity at Bushnell...
Sep 28, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 821
My buddy Ed joins me on the show to talk about Critical Theory and race relations in America. Ed has a Ph.D. in American Cultural Studies from Bowling Green University and basically spent most of his doctoral work interacting with Critical Theory. Ed also has lots of thoughts about the race conversation and race relations inside and outside the church. Heads up: this conversation is super raw, super honest, and a bit of a "rough draft." Watch this episode of the podcast on YouTube Support Presto...
Sep 21, 2020•1 hr 42 min•Ep. 820
John is back for the 3rd time to give us an update on where we're at with all things Covid-19. Wearing masks, the future vaccine, what should churches do, where will this whole thing end up? John is a Senior Biosafety Officer for The University of Chicago – Howard T. Ricketts Laboratory, a Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, as well as a Registered Biosafety Professional with ABSA International (American Biological Safety Association). John was a lead trainer with the Duke Infectious Disease Res...
Sep 14, 2020•47 min•Ep. 819
Whenever people consider the reliability of the Bible, they usually look to historical or archaeological evidence. And indeed, I covered that in the previous video. But in this final video of our 3 part series on the reliability of the Bible, I want to consider the message of the Bible itself as evidence for its authenticity. The Bible critiques power, humanizes women (compared it its surrounding culture), has a deep concern for the poor and marginalized, and exhibits many other values that go a...
Sep 10, 2020•41 min•Ep. 818
Does archaeology prove or disprove the Bible? What about ancient historical records? Do they correlate or conflict with the biblical account? Is the Bible historically accurate or inaccurate? In this talk, I discuss the reliability of the Bible in light of ancient historical and archaeological records. As we'll see, the Bible actually has a very good track record when it comes to history and archaeology. Watch this episode of the podcast on YouTube Support Preston Support Preston by going to pat...
Sep 07, 2020•44 min•Ep. 817
The Bible didn't just fall from heaven. There was actually a rather complex and sometimes messy journey from writing the biblical books to putting the "Bible" into your hands. In this episode, I discuss the so-called Canonization of the Old and New Testaments, asking questions like: why are these books included in the Bible--no more, and no less? What about the Apocrypha? What about other books like the Didache or the Gospel of Thomas--who decided that those books shouldn't be in the Bible? And ...
Sep 03, 2020•38 min•Ep. 816
Tony Scarcello is a friend, pastor, and the author of the forthcoming book: "Regenerate: Following Jesus After Deconstruction" (Oct 2020) Tony is also attracted to other guys and is married to a woman. How does that work? We talk a lot about this in our conversation. Their marriage is actually one of the most vibrant and healthiest marriages I've ever seen. Because marriage is so much more than a place to satisfy your sexual desires. We also talk about his journey in and out and back into Christ...
Aug 31, 2020•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 815
Dr. Sandy Richter is LEGIT!! In this fascinating conversation, Sandy helps us understand the alleged "marry your rapist" law in Deuteronomy 22:28, which has been mistranslated as you'll see. She also walks us through the "marry your conquered enemy's wife" allowance in Deuteronomy 21. These texts have troubled me for YEARS and have raised questions in my own mind about whether the Old Testament dehumanizes women. Actually, it does the opposite. When you understand it in its own cultural context,...
Aug 27, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 814
The Rev. Canon #EsauMcCaulley, PhD is a New Testament scholar and an Anglican Priest. He completed his doctoral studies at the University of St Andrews where he studied under the direction of N.T. Wright. His research and writing focus on Pauline theology, African American Biblical interpretation, and articulating a Christian theology of justice in the public square His doctoral dissertation, called Sharing in the Son’s Inheritance, was published by T & T Clark in 2019. Sharing in the Son’s ...
Aug 24, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep. 813
I asked THE Dr. John H. Walton to come on my YouTube channel and talk about the Bible and science, and I can't believe he say "yes!" This dude is LEGIT! I mean, this scholar is very qualified to speak into this topic with much wisdom and sound biblical knowledge. Anyway, in this episode, we talk about the biblical creation account and science, the historicity of Adam and Eve, the meaning of the tower of Babel, and much much more. Watch this episode of the podcast on YouTube Support Preston Suppo...
Aug 20, 2020•56 min•Ep. 812
Mike Austin is the author of the book "God and Guns in America" Mike navigates this super touchy subject with grace and wisdom, not coming down hard on either extreme: "Take away all the guns!" or "More guns = less crime!" Mike is a philosopher, so he carefully considers all sides and arguments of the gun debate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 17, 2020•47 min•Ep. 811
Heather Skriba has experienced #genderdysphoria most of her life and transitioned from female to male a few years ago. But after encountering Jesus, she heard God telling her that she was "daddy's girl" and that God desired her to live as the female He created her to be. Filled with compassion, truth, and authenticity, Heather Skriba helps us understand her transgender experience, gender dysphoria, and what role the church can play in helping people who are wrestling with their gender identity a...
Aug 13, 2020•46 min•Ep. 810
Dr. Michael Heiser is a biblical scholar with a Ph.D. in Semitic Studies, and he's the author of many scholarly books related to the spiritual realm, including the best-selling book The Unseen Realm. In this challenging conversation, we talk about the divine council that informs God's decisions, the meaning of "Elohim," the origin of demons, the nephilim, the anakim, other giants in the Bible, and lots of other "strange things" in the Bible that are only strange to modern readers. Support Presto...
Aug 10, 2020•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 809
The Bible seems to say that God created on man, Adam, and the rest of humanity sprang from his loins. (Creepy image, I know.) But the science suggests otherwise. In this conversation, Old Testament scholar Dr. Tremper Longman helps us navigated the thorny issue of the Bible and science as we consider both the biblical and scientific evidence for the historicity of a historical person named "Adam." Support Preston Support Preston by going to patreon.com Venmo: @Preston-Sprinkle-1 Watch the podcas...
Aug 06, 2020•34 min•Ep. 808
Tremper is one of the top evangelical Old Testament scholars alive today, and he's an evolutionary creationist. In this conversation, Tremper explains why he believes that the science clearly shows that the universe and the earth are old and that this fits perfectly fine with Genesis 1-2. Genesis is simply uninterested in the age of the earth. We discuss the meaning of "day," the phrase "evening and morning," the problem of the sun and moon being created on the 4th day (i.e. how do we determine ...
Aug 03, 2020•41 min•Ep. 807
GregColes is back! Actually, he never left. We just split our conversation into two parts. In our first conversation, Greg shared about his coming out story and what advice he'd give to parents with gay kids, and to gay Christians who are thinking of coming out. Speaking of "gay Christians," that phrase is super debated, misunderstood, and has become the subject of much turmoil in the evangelical community. Greg helps us understand what people mean and don't mean by the phrase. We also talk abou...
Jul 30, 2020•48 min•Ep. 806
My good friend Dr. Greg Coles hangs out with me in my basement and we talk about faith, sexuality, and what it was like to comeout as gay. Greg gives some fantastic advice to Christian parents with gay kids and how to respond well when they come out. He also helps those who are wrestling with their sexuality to consider the right context, time, and person to come out to. Greg has an awesome book titled "Single, Gay, Christian," which you can buy here: Support Preston Support Preston by going to ...
Jul 27, 2020•45 min•Ep. 805
Evan Wickham is a pastor, church planter, song writer, and worship leader. He's the pastor of Park Hill church in San Diego (https://www.parkhillsd.church) and has been wrestling with how to handle CA governor Gavin Newsom's order against indoor church gatherings. Should Christian churches obey or disobey this order? How essential are large indoor gatherings for "being" the church? Are Christians being persecuted? We also discuss the weirdly controversial topic of wearing masks. Should we do it?...
Jul 23, 2020•51 min•Ep. 804
My friend #SamAllberry joins me to talk about the perennial question: "Is God Anti-Gay?" Many people think he is, that the Christian God has it out for gay people. But, as someone who experiences #samesexattraction and who also loves the Christian God with all his heart, Sam begs to differ. In this conversation, we talk about some pushbacks to the traditional sexual ethic, what the church can do better, the meaning of the term #gay, and how teenage Christians who experience #SSA should think thr...
Jul 20, 2020•45 min•Ep. 803
Tyler Burns is the vice-president of The Witness, which is a black Christian collective that engages issues of religion, race, justice, and culture from a biblical perspective. Tyler is also the co-host of "Pass the Mic" podcast. In this extra raw conversation, Tyler helps us understand current race conversations from a black perspective and educates white evangelicals on our own blind spots and how we can embody Christ in our culture moment. Two things from this convo that really stand out. Fir...
Jul 16, 2020•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 802
