Distinctive Christianity

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Newell G. Bringhurst to discuss his book Harold B. Lee: Life and Thought, 1899-1973 . Master administrator and one who helped shape a new generation of orthodox LDS thought and leadership, Harold B. Lee served as the 11 th President of the LDS Church. Though only serving as President officially from July 1972-December 1973, the influence of President Lee far outweig...

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Matthew Bowman to discuss his book Joseph Fielding Smith: A Mormon Theologian . President Joseph Fielding Smith, tenth president of the LDS Church (from January 1970-July 1972), is “without question the most important Latter-day Saint theologian of the twentieth century”. Writing at least twenty-five books and pamphlets that touch upon every doctrinal subject, from...

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Michael Lawrence to discuss his book Conversion: How God Creates a People . What is conversion, and specifically – conversion to Christ Jesus, our unique Lord? Why did Nicodemus think being re-born from the physical womb was more reasonable than what Jesus was teaching? Dr. Lawrence takes us through distinctions between a “gospel” of nice and the true Gospel of new,...

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Elisa Eastwood Pulido to discuss her book The Spiritual Evolution of Margarito Bautista: Mexican Mormon Evangelizer, Polygamist Dissident, and Utopian Founder, 1878-1961 . Who was Margarito Bautista, and why does he matter? Sometimes called “the Lamanite Prophet”, Margarito Bautista went from faith healing and life in the Mexican colonies - to helping found the firs...

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Brandon Crowe to discuss his book The Hope of Israel: The Resurrection of Christ in The Acts of the Apostles . What is the Acts of the Apostles, and what is its unique place in the New Testament? To what degree, and in what manner should we view the events of Acts as either historically-unique versus programmatic and meant to be emulated going forward? What were the...

In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Lydia McGrew to discuss the historical reliability of The Acts of the Apostles. What is the book of Acts, and what is its genre? Is there evidence of dependence upon Josephus that necessitates a late date of composition? Is there evidence, both external and internal, of the reliability of the text? Listen in as Lydia takes us through several examples of undesig...

In this episode, we welcome Dr. J. Daniel Hays to discuss his book From every People and Nation: A Biblical Theology of Race . Starting with “the multi-ethnic, non-Caucasian cultural context of the Old Testament”, we start with focusing in on an important example: the Kingdom of Cush. Who were the Cushites, and what is some of their key place in history, and the text of Scripture? Why are they key...

In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Michael Haykin to discuss his article: “‘The brilliance of the rainbow’: Athanasius of Alexandria, the Cappodocian Fathers, and the defence of the doctrine of the Trinity” . What is the Scriptural basis, as well as historical development and defense of the Doctrine of the Trinity? Is this development primarily a philosophical enterprise, or is it rooted in the...

In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Yannick Imbert to discuss his book From Imagination to Faerie: Tolkien’s Thomist Fantasy . Who was J.R.R. Tolkien, and why does he matter today? What was Tolkien’s Roman Catholicism and his own view of theology, language, and myth? What is “faerie”? What is “subcreation”? Writing, “Tolkien’s theory of fantasy is essentially a theological one”, Yannick takes us...

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Bernard Aubert to discuss his article “J. Gresham Machen’s The Virgin Birth of Christ : Then and Now” . What is the context of Machen’s The Virgin Birth of Christ and why was the book so important? Taking us through the overlapping contexts of the Fundamentalism-Modernist Controversy, the Presbyterian Controversy, and a context in the academy where the Hellenization...

In this episode, Skyler flies solo with some thoughts on the contrast between The Gospel of Mark and Plato's Allegory of the Cave - specifically in regard to what the problem is, who and what the solution is, and what it means to "see". Instead of one's own acquisition of knowledge being a basis of the soul's ascent out of the world, perhaps the Gospel is Truth coming to us and...

In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Bill Dennison to discuss his article “The Christian Academy: Antithesis, Common Grace, and Plato’s View of the Soul” . Starting with the “tension between common grace and human depravity”, how do we understand the Antithesis in relation to subject-matter that seems like neutral ground for believer and unbeliever alike? Given the seriousness of sin upon our hear...

In this episode, we welcome missionary and a church planter Lauren Montenegro to discuss her chapter in the recent book The Nicene Creed titled: “The Virgin Mary”. What is Mariology, and what are the four Marian dogmas? What is the basis and defining logic of Mariology, and does Protestant have one? What is the Rosary, and do Roman Catholics worship and pray to Mary? Listen in as Lauren takes us i...

In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Leonardo De Chirico to discuss his book A Christian’s Pocket Guide to Mary: Mother of God? . Is Mariology simply an accretion, and what is at stake for those who hold Scripture is the Word of God, the Gospel is essential – and that history matters? Who was Mary, the Mary of history and of Scripture? What does it mean for her to be called by the angel Gabriel “f...

NOTE: There is a lengthy set of clips at the outset that highlight Bruce R. McConkie's teachings that will be covered in this episode. While we encourage you to listen to them in their entirety, the actual interview starts around 00:11:54. In this episode, we welcome back Bill McKeever of the Mormonism Research Ministry to discuss LDS Apostle Elder Bruce R. McConkie and his legacy. Who was Eld...

In this episode, we welcome Devery S. Anderson to discuss his book Bruce R. McConkie: Apostle and Polemicist, 1915-1985 . Who was Elder Bruce R. McConkie, what is his lasting influence and why? What has made Bruce R. McConkie stand out, especially when one engages Mormon Doctrine and theology? From his many books, conference talks, firesides, and even private correspondence – McConkie has had incr...

In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Joshua Mitchell to discuss his book Plato’s Fable: On the Mortal Condition in Shadowy Times . What is Plato’s Republic, and why does it matter? What is “the Good”, and why is philosophy “bound up with things divine”? How and why does Plato connect the condition of the soul with the condition of the city? Dr. Mitchell takes us through highlights from this founda...

In this episode, we welcome Dr. David Talcott to discuss his book Plato . Who was Plato (427-347 BC), and why does he matter? From his “theory of Forms”, to his “Divided Line” and even his famous Allegory of the Cave – Plato has been one of the most influential thinkers and writers in Western Civilization. British philosopher Alfred North Whitehead famously stated that the “safest generalization o...

In this episode, we welcome back Dr. John Oswalt to discuss his wonderful new commentaries 1 Kings and 2 Kings (EEC). What is 1-2 Kings, and what can we say about how it was compiled? Indeed, what is the difference between simply chronicling the history of the Kings, and the historical writing we see in these texts, prophetically interpreted? From the wisdom Solomon sought to the question of King...

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Mitchell Chase to discuss his paper “A True and Greater Boaz: Typology and Jesus in the Book of Ruth” . What is the Book of Ruth, and where does it fit within the larger Old Testament story? How does the Book of Ruth both continue and develop threads of theology – including God’s purpose in suffering, survival, law-obedience, gratitude and generosity, as well as an...

In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Paul Gottfried to discuss a chapter in his book Revisions and Dissents : “Defining Right and Left”. What is the classical or essentialist Right? And how is this to be distinguished from “conservative,” historically? Similarly, what is the Left and how is this to be distinguished from what is considered “liberal” today? Paul takes us through this and more. From...

In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Mark David Hall to discuss his book Who’s Afraid of Christian Nationalism?: Why Christian Nationalism is Not an Existential Threat to America or the Church . What is “Christian Nationalism”, and was it truly behind January 6 th ? What is the actual data, a proper definition – and the correct perspective that can distinguish actual Christian Nationalism from the...

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Marcus Mininger to discuss his book Uncovering the Theme of Revelation in Romans 1:16-3:26 . What have been the standard interpretive paradigms of this text about what Paul is arguing – and why he is arguing it? How has Romans 2 fit or has not fit exegetically and logically within those paradigms? Dr. Mininger takes us through highlights of both the traditionalist v...

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Clinton Arnold to discuss his book The Colossian Syncretism: The Interface between Christianity and Folk Belief at Colossae . The apostle Paul’s epistle to the Colossians was written at a time and to a place, in history – and as “documents of history, they give us the obligation of interpreting them historically”. That being the case, there has been much question an...

In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Stephen Haynes to discuss his book Noah’s Curse: The Biblical Justification of American Slavery . What is Noah’s Curse, especially in regard to the supposed “Curse of Ham”? When did this curse become race-based in the history of biblical interpretation and reception? How did American clergy develop this tradition? And how prominent was the kind of reading in wh...