Helping believers think Christianly about theological and cultural issues by engaging in curious conversations with a diverse range of thoughtful people.
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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...
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 Prest...
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...
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...
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...
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 ...
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 Chris...
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,...
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 ...
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...
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 See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-...
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...
Dr. Heiser discusses the divine council, demons, giants, and other often misunderstood aspects of the Bible. He explains the context of these topics within the ancient Near Eastern worldview. The conversation highlights the importance of understanding the Bible within its historical and cultural context, rather than through modern interpretations, to grasp its true meaning.
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...
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 ...
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...
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 ...
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 i...
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 th...
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...
Lisa Fields is the founder and director of the #Jude3Project, which helps the Christian community know what they believe and why they believe it, with a strong emphasis in equipping those of African descent in the United States and abroad. In this conversation, Lisa unpacks the #blacklivesmatter concept and movement and how it relates to the #gospel. "Black lives matter to God," Lisa says is the most important thing for people to understand. Lisa clears up some misunderstandings surrounding #BLM...
Madison Pierce is a New Testament scholar and professor at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. She did her Ph.D. on the book of Hebrews under Francis Watson at Durham University. In this conversation, we talk about various things related to her specialty in the book of Hebrews, specifically how the author (and we don't know who it is, by the way) weaves together Trinitarian thought throughout his quotations of Scripture. We also discuss what it's like being a female in Evangelical academia. Con...
Lore (pronounced Lor-ee) Ferguson Wilbert just released her provocative book Handle With Care: How Jesus Redeems the Power of Touch in Life and Ministry. And it addresses lots of questions that are on peoples’ minds these days—especially men. Can I hug a woman? Side hug or full frontal? Is “the Billy Graham Rule” a good thing or an insulting thing—or a bit of both? How can Christian men avoid affairs and sexual temptations without giving the impression that every woman he’s alone with in the ele...
Becket’s story is absolutely incredible. He has one of those stories you hear from a distance and think, “this can’t be true.” But it is. Jesus is real and he is that powerful. Becket has an amazing story and he also has an amazing passion for an amazing savior. Becket shares his story in this podcast; he and Preston also dig into what it means to “leave homosexuality,” the controversy over gay identity (Becket is adamantly opposed to it), and what it was like hanging out with Katy Perry, Prince...
Spencer is a longtime friend, former boss, and the president of Eternity Bible College. We first met way back in Seminary nearly 20 years ago and have been friends ever since. Spencer is known for his towering height, shiny head, inability to be outwitted, but most of all for his imaginative and integrative approach to Christian education. In this episode, we talk about some of the things that are broken in our current models of education and explore fresh avenues for education which will be esp...
I've tried taking several Enneagram tests but I can never finish them. I hate the binary answers they give: When you walk into a room, do you want to dominate everyone or hide in the corner?" Ugh! What if it's neither!? That's why I reached out to my buddy Jeff Cook to have him give me a personal and conversational evaluation of my Enneagram score. Wait, is it a "score?" Or a number? I'm not a number, I'm a person! Don't put me in a box!! Whatever the Enneagram is, Jeff Cook is an expert in it. ...
The death of George Floyd has sparked many questions related to race relations, systemic racism, the use and abuse of force and power among the police force, faith and politics, partisanship, and many other questions. To help us think through these questions, I recently interviewed Justin Giboney from the AndCampaign in a live YouTube conversation, and this podcast is the audio version of that conversation. Justin Giboney is an attorney and political strategist in Atlanta, GA. He is also the Co-...
Chris Wienand is like the master Yoda of church planting. From planting churches in South Africa to Los Angeles, to mentoring dozens of leaders around the globe, Chris has gained much wisdom about church and the gospel over the years. In this episode, we talk about what it means to be the church and the role that meals and organic gatherings should have in the life of the community. Chris believes that the table should be the heartbeat of our churches. Support Preston Support Preston by going to...
Due to the incredible response I got from John’s first appearance on Theology in the Raw (Ep. 788), I had to have him back on! John is an infectious disease expert at the University of Chicago and he gives us an update on the virus. We talk about lockdown versus reopening, the probability of a second wave, the politicalization of the whole mess, what churches should do as they reopen, and much much more. John has over 15 years’ experience working in high containment laboratories (BSL3) with high...
Sharon is a passionate follower of Christ who’s got a sharp mind and humble heart. Preston and Sharon talk about lots of things related to being a woman in pastoral and theological ministry. Sharon Hodde Miller leads Bright City Church in Durham, NC alongside her husband, Ike. In addition to earning her PhD, Sharon has blogged at SheWorships.com for nearly ten years, making God's Word accessible to women everywhere. Author of Free of ME: Why Life is Better When It’s Not About You, she has been a...
