Chalcedon Podcast

When Jesus declared "blessed are the peacemakers," was He describing a passive inner feeling, or commissioning His people to actively establish the conditions for genuine human flourishing? As the United States marks its 250th anniversary — a nation born from a declaration that led to war before it led to peace — the hosts of the Chalcedon Podcast explore what biblical peacemaking actually require...

What made America great is almost universally misunderstood — not only by secularists who have revised the record, but by Christians who have accepted the revised version. The phrase "Make America Great Again" assumes a prior greatness that most people cannot actually define or explain. In this episode, the hosts of the Chalcedon Podcast take up R.J. Rushdoony's early work *The Nature of the Ameri...

In this episode, the Chalcedon team explores the missing piece in Christian education . While many Christians have rightly rejected state education and embraced homeschooling or Christian schools, the discussion argues that this alone is not enough. The real goal is not merely safer schooling or cleaner curriculum, but the formation of a new humanity in Christ and the raising up of new leadership...

Rethinking Theology challenges the idea that theology belongs only to scholars, seminaries, or the “spiritual” side of life. In this episode, Chalcedon examines how dualism, neutrality, and bad theology have weakened Christian obedience, narrowed the gospel of the kingdom, and separated doctrine from daily life. Theology must not remain abstract. It must govern work, education, politics, economics...

In Chalcedon Podcast #65, Andrea Schwartz, Mark Rushdoony, and Martin Selbrede discuss the biblical doctrine of property as a foundational principle of Christian faith and social order. Beginning with the truth that “the earth is the Lord’s,” they explain that all property belongs ultimately to God, and man’s ownership is therefore stewardship under God’s law. The conversation explores how the Ten...

Chalcedon Podcast #62 (Jan 18, 2026) tackles a big question: what is “Christian Reconstruction” really? Mark Rushdoony says it’s not a political brand or an instant fix—it’s a process of faithful obedience that starts with self, then family, then calling, and moves outward into culture. They also clarify: Dominion (authority under God), Theocracy (God rules), Theonomy (God’s law-word guides life)....

This episode centers on Mark Rushdoony’s new biography of his father, R. J. Rushdoony, and why his life story matters for Christian Reconstruction. Mark explains how the book grew out of earlier biographical essays and expanded into a heavily documented historical “touchstone,” drawing on journals, letters, and family papers. He and Martin Selbrede highlight the deep Armenian and Presbyterian root...

In this episode of the The Chalcedon Podcast, Andrea Schwartz and Martin Selbrede explore the biblical and cultural meaning of the Sabbath, drawing from the work of R. J. Rushdoony in Salvation and Godly Rule. They argue that modern society has abandoned the biblical view of time—linear, purposeful, and punctuated by Sabbath rest—and replaced it with “deep time,” an undifferentiated stream without...

On September 14, 2025, Andrea Schwartz welcomes Mark Rushdoony and Martin Selbrede for Episode 59 of the Chalcedon Podcast to announce Mark’s forthcoming, heavily documented biography of his father, R. J. Rushdoony—now at the printer and expected in Vallecito in October. Expanded from Mark’s 2015–16 “brief biography” essays, the book draws deeply on journals, letters, and personal papers to provid...

Episode 58 of the Chalcedon Podcast explores the biblical concept of wealth, contrasting it with modern misconceptions shaped by materialism and state power. The discussion, led by Andrea Schwartz with Mark Rushdoony and Martin Selbrede, highlights that in Scripture, wealth is not merely monetary but encompasses strength, family, responsibility, and covenantal blessing. They stress that wealth its...

Join us as we examine the foundations, core principles, criticisms, and impact of Chalcedon over the past 60 years. Has anything changed? Do we need a new vision? Christian Reconstruction may be more relevant than ever.

Since R. J. Rushdoony founded the Chalcedon Foundation in 1965, the times have changed, but that has not altered the mission and message of Christian Reconstruction. In fact, the need for it is greater than ever.

Modern culture is unraveling—law divorced from morality, education detached from truth, and entertainment replacing virtue with vice. As society embraces death and decadence, Christians are called to resist the collapse by rebuilding from the ground up: strong families, faithful churches, and education rooted in God’s Word and moral accountability.

What is the true meaning of the church, its leadership, and the function of the ecclesia in the world? Join us as we discuss the big picture of the Kingdom of God and how the church, as the people of God, fulfill God’s great mission.

The Word of God has much to say about land and property and their connection to liberty. The Bible has so much to say about land that Rushdoony included an entire section about the theology of the land in his two-volume Systematic Theology.

Psychology is the domain of theology because God’s Word speaks directly to man’s condition as a sinner in rebellion to God’s will. In this sense, man is revolting against the maturity God calls him to, and that rebellion is the root of his psychological dilemma.

Contemporary views of eschatology have little to do with Christian ethics and responsibilities, but Biblical eschatology focuses on “end points” in history that deal with the end of what opposes God and is followed by the restoration of godly order.