The Good Life

It was a delight for me to talk today with Dr. John Cuddeback, a man who greatly influenced my thinking of what it means to be a good parent. Dr. Cuddeback is a philosophy professor at Christendom College and he has written an excellent book titled, The Intentional Household . He also developed free courses for fathers and mothers at his LifeCraft website. Our discussion today centers around  The...

Today I read and elaborate on an article by the late Dr. Gary North titled, "The Little Things in Life." He wrote this in 1979 but it is as relevant today as when he wrote it. In it he talks about the often overlooked foundation for the cultural growth of the Medieval era (500 A.D. to 1500 A.D.): God's law. Although not perfect at all, it was a time of flourishing after the fall of the Roman Empir...

On this episode I spoke with Mr. Thomas Fickley and Fr. Mark Perkins, the founders of St. Dunstan's Academy in Virginia. St. Dunstan's is an Anglican boarding school for your men that started three years ago. They emphasize helping young men grow spiritually, intellectually, and physically through daily prayer, classical education, and the physical labor of working with their hands.  We talked abo...

My guest today is Ross Byrd , a writer, musician, surfing instructor. Recently he wrote a series of articles called "On Moving Mountains: Why Miracles are Not What We Think." It captured my imagination and I have been meditating on it for several weeks. It was a delight to talk with Ross about why moving mountains is more than a nice metaphor, why "cause-and-effect" is not as straightforward as we...

I've been looking forward to this interview for a long time. Dr. John Seel is a writer, entrepreneur, teacher, administrator, and cultural analyst. He is the son of a medical missionary whose life was changed at the age of eighteen by an short meeting with Dr. Francis Schaeffer. Later he worked with Os Guiness, James Davison Hunter, and quite a few others in the areas of cultural research. He has...

Hello! Today I welcome Glenn Sunshine from the Theology Pugcast to talk about re-enchanting our worldview. The word "re-enchantment" is prominent right now and there are many poor interpretations of what it means, but as Glenn points out, it has nothing to do with paganism or the occult. We discuss why our modern view of the world is insufficient and why simple practices like prayer, meditation on...

This is a brief message of gratitude for all of you who listen.   Book Recommendation Winter Fire - Ryan Whitaker Smith

Ryan Pugliese is a husband, father, and history teacher in New Jersey. Recently he wrote an article called " The Modern Home is Anti-Catechism " on his Substack site, Pugliese's Paideia . We had a great discussion on what makes a home, what influenced Ryan toward teaching history, and why busyness is a false religion. 

In our last lesson on the Torah, we look at the book of Deuteronomy, the final sermons of Moses to prepare Israel for entering the land. Moses reminds them of their past, their special calling from God, and the blessings and curses that come as a part of their covenant with Him. We even answer the question, "Which part of God's law still applies?" 

By the end of Leviticus, God had finished giving His ceremonial laws to His people. Now it was time for them to enter the Promised Land. Except they weren't ready. Instead they rebelled and had to face the consequences. The book of Numbers is the story of their rebellion and God's faithfulness in bringing them to maturity despite their sin. 

Why did God give us holidays? In this second lesson on Leviticus, we discuss the major holy days of ancient Israel. We focus especially on the Day of Atonement and what it tells us about our lives now, as well as how the holy days were a guide to the future of God's people. 

Today we look at the first part of the book of Leviticus, a book the discourages many in their Bible reading because of its complexity. We dig into the early chapters, particularly the five offerings and the purity laws, discussing how they are viewed in the New Covenant. 

Today we consider the second and lesser-known half of Exodus. We consider the purpose of the law, the building of the tabernacle, and the relevance of both to Christians today. 

We continue our study of the Torah with a look at the first half of Exodus. 

Today I am interviewing Sophia Abraham, a harpist living in Cambridge. Sophia is a harpist, playing the harp since she was young. She has an MA in music therapy and is quite gifted, using her talents to help people recovering from various sorts of trauma. She and her husband have created Wisdom Harps, where they make and sell smaller, affordable harps for people who are interested in learning to p...

This is the latter-half of the story of Abraham, in which we see Yahweh change his name and he will face his greatest test on Mt. Moriah. 

We come now to the life of Abraham, a new Adam figure called to leave the land of his fathers and go to the land God would show him. 

What makes the first eleven chapters of Genesis so foundational for Christians? How do they form the identify of ancient Israel? These are just some of the questions we try to answer in this first Sunday School lesson on the first five books of the Bible. 

What is the difference between being liberal and postliberal? Who better to talk with than Susannah Roberts, a writer, editor, and podcaster. We talk about her life growing up in New York City (where she still lives part of the year), her conversion to Christianity from agnosticism, and why liberalism is losing its popularity.  Susannah (@suzania) is the editor of Plough Quarterly and Mere Orthodo...

Today I enjoyed visiting with Dr. Gerald McDermott. Dr. McDermott is an Anglican priest as well as a church historian and scholar who specializes in the theology of Jonathan Edwards. He has written dozens of books, eight of which focus on various elements of the life and legacy of Jonathan Edwards.  Today we talk about why Edwards was and still is important, and we focus on Edwards' unfinished boo...

Today I get to speak with Aaron Renn, an author and social commentator. He recently wrote a book called,  Life in the Negative World about how life has changed for Christians in the last fifty years and what Christians must do in the twenty-first century to thrive.  Aaron has an excellent Substack and podcast website . He has also edited the Puritan John Owen's book,  The Mortification of Sin , a...

John Ehrett is a lawyer in Washington, D.C. He returns today to talk with me about a recent article of his entitled, "Christendom After Comcast." We talk about the desire to return to a better way of life, the paths many people suggest, and what prevents that return from happening. Specifically, we discuss how cable television was one of many elements that restrict our ability to ever go back to "...

Today I interview Dr. Donald Williams, former Literature professor at Toccoa Falls College. We discuss his book, Mere humanity : G.K. Chesterton, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien on the Human Condition. We discuss what those men have to say about being human and even why their writings effect us generations after they lived.  Dr. Williams has written several books as well, some of which are listed b...

Today I spoke with Nathan Gill, a Hillsdale graduate, classical education teacher, and administrator. He wrote an article at The American Reformer titled, " Toward a More American Classical Education ." We talk about why it's important to not only give your children an education steeped in the wisdom of the past, but for their education to be rooted in the country and regional culture where they l...

What is eschatology and how does it affect your life? Some think your view of the millennium determines your level of social and cultural action, but is that true?  Today I talk about a Ben Dunson article at the American Reformer that provides a partial answer to that question. But I suspect there's even more to the question than we realize.  Ben Dunson - Eschatology and Politics