Mere Fidelity

Send us Fan Mail When considering his numerous encounters with the ritually impure, many today depict Jesus as a prophet who, in his ministry, was against Jewish laws and purity rituals. However, does this telling of the gospel accounts do justice to Jesus's handling of the impure and the dying? Dr. Matthew Thiessen joins Matt, Derek, and Alastair to discuss his work, 'Jesus and the Forc...

Send us Fan Mail Matt, Derek, and Alastair discuss the recent scandal of Jerry Falwell Jr., former President of Liberty University, and what biblical and theological resources Christians have to view scandals in the church more broadly. Listen in to hear about the corporate implications of our sin, the difficulty and necessity to expose scandals, and how sin can take us from being Nathans one day...

Send us Fan Mail What does it mean to be human? Who am I? and Why do I exist? Dr. Joshua Farris—Chester and Margaret Paluch Lecturer for 2019-2020 at the University of Saint Mary of the Lake and former assistant professor of theology at Houston Baptist University—joins Matt, Derek, and Alastair to discuss his new volume, 'An Introduction to Theological Anthropology Humans, Both Creaturely and...

Send us Fan Mail What is the best polemical posture? Or are there ways to creatively rearticulate the truths of the faith that prevent the necessity of polemics in the first place? The full cast and crew of Matt, Derek, Alastair, and Andrew sit down to discuss these questions and a host of others about how to engage theological trends and care for those struggling in the church.

Send us Fan Mail Matt, Derek, and Alastair discuss the passage in the gospels that depict Jesus's encounter with the Syrophoenician woman. At first, and perhaps even at a second, glance, this complicated passage appears to incriminate Jesus of some sort of racial prejudice. But is this the right reading of the text?

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Harold Senkbeil joins Derek and Alastair to discuss his latest book, 'Christ and Calamity: Grace and Gratitude in the Darkest Valley.' Listen in to hear them discuss why mere ideas are not sufficient to help those who are suffering, why calamity is its own category of suffering, how to endure tragedy without immediately trying to fix it, and more.

Send us Fan Mail The Imago Dei is one of the most used theological categories to argue why all humans deserve dignity and sanctity. However, is this all that the imago dei should be used for? The entire cast and crew of Matt, Derek, Alastair, and Andrew are here to discuss how to think and speak about the imago dei: was Barth right about the image, should it be used to describe human rights, and w...

Send us Fan Mail Matt, Derek, and Alastair take a respite from discussions surrounding current events to take up the biblical theological topic of the tabernacle. Listen in to hear how the tabernacle motif is carried throughout scripture and why it isn't merely a tool of foreshadowing or a recipe for aesthetics in churches today.

Send us Fan Mail How should Christians think and act with respect to guns and gun ownership? Dr. Michael Austin (Professor of Philosophy at Eastern Kentucky University), joins Matt, Derek, and Alastair to discuss his recent book, "God and Guns in America." Listen in to hear questions like, are assault rifles necessary, why has owning a gun become a right of passage for some, and how do w...

Send us Fan Mail Tim Schultz, the president of the 1st Amendment Partnership, a partner of the Ethics and Public Policy Center's American Religious Freedom Program (ARFP), joins Matt, Derek, and Alastair to discuss the Bostock v. Clayton County ruling.

Send us Fan Mail While formal religious adherence has decreased in the modern age, spirituality has not. To answer why intuitions seem to be replacing institutions, Dr. Tara Isabella Burton joins Matt, Derek, and Alastair to discuss her new book, Strange Rites: New Religions for a Godless World. Listen in to hear how millennials and GenZers are finding their religions in fan-culture, occultism, we...

Send us Fan Mail Matt, Derek, and Alastair sit down to discuss why people are attracted to conspiracy theories. Listen in to hear the difference between credulity and conspiracy, why fringe groups matter, and how to handle those in the church who embrace QAnon and conspiracy theories.

Send us Fan Mail How have black protestant's responded to their lynchings through American history? Malcolm Foley (PhD Candidate in Religion at Baylor University)joins Matt and Derek to discuss his research on this issue and how it illumines some of the current events surrounding George Floyd, protests, unrest, and racism in America.

Send us Fan Mail Justice issues are ever prevalent in modern society. Moreover, conversations around justice are often co-opted by overly simplistic solutions. Dr. Anthony Bradley joins Matt and Derek to get into the details of some of these issues and to share his insights from his book, "Ending Overcriminalization and Mass Incarceration: Hope from Civil Society." Listen in to hear ques...

Send us Fan Mail Matt, Derek, and Alastair discuss the struggles and misconceptions surrounding prayer: how prayer becomes burdensome, prayer has experiencing God in a veiled way, and what petitions in prayer should we not ask for? All of this and more.

Send us Fan Mail What exactly is the gospel? Is it merely the message that Jesus is king, or is the forgiveness of sins and justification also constitutive to the gospel? The entire cast and crew are here to discuss the resuscitated debate between Matthew Bates, Scot McKnight and Greg Gilbert as to what the gospel truly is, pointing out strengths and weaknesses and political proclivities on both s...

Send us Fan Mail College debt, an economic crisis, and the potential problem of aristocratic elitism are just some of the issues facing Christian higher education today. Dr. John Mark Reynolds joins Matt and Derek to talk about these issues and shares the creative ways in how he is addressing them at St. Constantine's College.

Send us Fan Mail Amidst life's demands and pastoral burnout, how does a pastor care for a soul? Dr. Harold Senkbeil joins Matt and Derek to discuss his recent book, "The Care of Souls: Cultivating a Pastor's Heart," where he invites a new generation of pastors to form the godly habits and practical wisdom needed to minister to the hearts and souls of those committed to their ca...

Send us Fan Mail What kind of political theology do we need in an age after Christendom? Dr. David VanDrunen joins Matt and Derek to discuss his latest book, Politics After Christendom: Political Theology in a Fractured World, where he aims to answer this question in a way that prepares Christians to live in societies that are indifferent or hostile to the faith, and how our own political responsi...

Send us Fan Mail Matt, Derek, and Alastair discuss how they are celebrating Easter in the time of coronavirus, and how the Eastertide season looks to them in quarantine: How to celebrate the victory over death in the midst of suffering and death itself, how we are theologizing our current events, and how to cultivate joy, fear, and gratitude. All of this and more.

Send us Fan Mail While Matt, Derek, and Andrew practice staying in-place, they decide to take about the topic and question of who are the proper subjects of baptism? Derek argues for the legitimacy of paedobaptism, Andrew argues for the view of credobaptism, Matt moderates, and fun is had by all. Even amidst the pandemic that the world is experiencing, topics like the sacraments always remain sali...

Send us Fan Mail What hath St. Thomas to do with predestination? Dr. Taylor Patrick O'Neill joins Matt and Derek to discuss his recent book, "Grace, Predestination, and the Permission of Sin: A Thomistic Analysis," to examine the Thomist understanding of predestination and how it relates to Calvinism, concursus, and the difference between God's actions and permission of actions...

Send us Fan Mail The whole cast and crew of Matt, Derek, Alastair, and Andrew, are here to answer questions from listeners of Mere Fidelity: Where does one start reading the early church fathers, does the incarnation mean that God changes, how should one go about picking their denomination, and where exactly do theologians come from?

Send us Fan Mail Matt, Derek, and Alastair sit down to discuss COVID-19 and how the church can respond to the current global pandemic.

Send us Fan Mail Dr. Molly Worthen joins Matt and Derek to talk all things evangelicalism, not the least of which is her book, "Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism." As someone outside of the camp of evangelicalism, Dr. Worthen helps bring a new look at the many paradoxes in the evangelical movement.