Ezra Institute Podcast for Cultural Reformation

Michael Thiessen of joins us on this episode to discuss the latest developments in the ongoing saga of the church's relationship to LGBT issues, and the further complication of what happens when the state gets involved. We deal with news stories, citizenship, charity law, and the prophetic calling of the church.

This week’s podcast guest is Dr. Aaron Edwards. Dr. Edwards was forced out of his teaching position for supporting biblical sexuality on social media. He describes his experience, and examines the failure amongst evangelicalism to speak prophetically and biblically on key cultural issues.

Ezra Institute Fellow for Biblical Economics, Graeme Leach, joins us on this week’s podcast episode to discuss the phenomenon of Christians advocating for historically socialist and Marxist economic policies. Many Christians have had their economic views informed by the world rather than the Word of God, and Graeme explains how (at least) two of the…

In this episode, Andrew Sandlin and Joe Boot outline the biblical case for an optimistic eschatology and the historical and ideological events that led to this doctrine's present position as a minority perspective in evangelicalism. In dependence on the Holy Spirit and through an attentive reading of Scripture, Christians should expect that Christ will continue to establish His kingdom on earth an...

Joe Boot and Nate Wright are back again to answer a few lingering questions resulting from the Ten Commandments podcast series. In this episode we consider how the earliest humans married and reproduced, compared with later Mosaic incest laws. We also tackle questions on how the church and the individual ought to think and act with regard to charitable status, tax-exemption, and the administration...

In this episode we answer some more questions that emerged out of the Ten Commandments series, dealing with issues of what happens to believers after they die, and responding to the claim that the state only stepped in to provide welfare benefits because the church failed in this job.

Thanks to our listeners, we have some terrific questions emerging out of the Ten Commandments series. In this episode Joe Boot answers questions about Paul and Christ and their relationship to the law, what it means to 'fulfill' the law, and how believers kept the law before Christ and the giving of the Holy Spirit.

Joe Boot is joined this week by Ezra Institute Fellows Aaron Rock and Michael Thiessen to discuss the recent CBC investigation which identifies our churches and ministries, as well as those of several others, as leading efforts at godly cultural reformation in Canada.

Joe Boot closes our series on the Ten Commandments with some observations on the tenth commandment against covetousness, including how it works with the first commandment to encapsulate and summarize the whole Decalogue, how a covetous heart influences every other action, and how covetousness is manifest in the world not just at the individual, but…

Pastor Tobias Riemenschneider discusses the church's responsibility to its people and to the state, explains why he was prompted to draft the Frankfurt Declaration of Church and Civil Liberties, and how our response to Covid-related restrictions is training us for the next cultural and worldview crisis related to trans gender identity.

In this episode Joe Boot discusses the Ninth Commandment about bearing false witness, times where it is godly to withold the truth, and draws out the implications for law and society, as well as the ever-present question of who is my neighbour. We also look at the move by the Trudeau government to replace the crown on Canada's coat of arms with a new version bereft of Christian symbols.

In this episode Joe Boot reflects on the recent coronation of King Charles III, focusing on the nature of national oaths and covenants, and the proper place of the monarch in a role of delegated authority, living under God's law. It's a heavy responsibility and Scripture enjoins us to pray for our civil rulers.

P Nate of the Rebel Podcast joins us this week as we resume our series in the Ten Commandments. Nate explains how the commandment "you shall not steal" enjoins the opposite, positive principle to protect your neighbour's property, not to mention the presupposition of private property. Contra Klaus Schwab and Karl Marx, owning nothing is not a formula for human happiness.

The connection between all these themes becomes clear in this special guest episode with Dr. Vishal Mangalwadi. He explains the Third Education Revolution movement, the role of technology, and the historic impact that the gospel has had, through education, on the family, church, and all other spheres. Vishal is currently on a lecture tour of…

Joe Boot explains the biblical understanding of penology - the study and practice of punishing crime. Despite modern objections about the harshness of biblical justice, the penology outlined in God's law is in fact true justice, and its practice leads to a more just and free society.

In this previously unaired interview, Joe Boot and Andrew Sandlin discuss the ideology of cultural Marxism, explaining how it differs from original Marxism, and how it mimics Christian doctrines of worship, eschatology, and the kingdom of God.

This week we pause our series in the Ten Commandments to reflect on the shooting at Covenant School in Nashville. In a de-christening culture, those who worship the true and living God should expect to suffer hatred and violence, even unto death, from those who worship the false god of self. But the Christian's hope is the promise of light and life dispelling darkness and death.

In this episode Joe Boot discusses the narrow and broad definitions of adultery in light of both Moses and Christ, explaining how sexuality is much more than the modern notion of consent. Contrary to contemporary thinking, sexual activity outside of the blessed structure of covenant marriage has drastic personal and social consequences.

Kyle Thompson of the Undaunted Life podcast joins us for a discussion of the commandment "You shall not murder." We talk about war, self-defense, and the failure of the state to properly prosecute justice on murderers, as well as the responsibility of the individual to defend his family and neighbor.

We begin this episode by examining the biblical definition of murder, and looking at cases where the taking of life is prohibited, where it is permitted, and the single situation where it is required by God. We also consider how our society's rejection of God is evident in legalized murder in the form of abortion and euthanasia, as well as Jesus' teaching about murderous talk and attitudes that br...

We take a short recess from the Ten Commandments series to talk about drag queen story hour protests, global Anglicanism, and other important news from around the world. And is the Ezra Institute going to be on the CBC?

In this episode Joe Boot and special guest, pastor Joel Webbon, discuss the fifth commandment, how it applies not only to young children, but to everyone, and how a worldly mindset has led us to neglect this commandment when it becomes uncomfortable or burdensome.

Sabbath rest is a biblical principle that seems to invite a level of controversy: how often, when, who, and in what ways are is the Sabbath to be observed. Joe Boot discusses the connection between work, rest, and worship, why Sabbath-breaking was a capital offense in ancient Israel, and the difference that Christ makes to the form of our observance.

In this episode Ezra Institute Fellow Michael Thiessen discusses what it means to take the name of the Lord, both rightly and wrongly, in the church, in politics, and in any other sphere. We also talk about the nature of oaths and authority, the Sermon on the Mount, what it means for something to be damned by God, and door-to-door sales. NOTE: we do not use language flippantly, but this episode co...

Idolatry takes any number of forms at the individual, church, and national levels, but its temptation is always the same: you shall be as God. And the results always lead to death. As churches capitulate to antichristian cultural pressures, they often keep their outward form, but lose the power and vitality that ought to sustain and animate them. The Lord reserved some of His hardest words for tho...