Faith & Clarity - Biblical Perspectives and Biblical Wisdom on News & Cultural Issues

Carmen LaBerge, Dr. Jim Denison, and Dr. Mark Turman discuss the tragic shooting in Uvalde, how to respond to grief, how the church can help prevent shootings, and the recent SBC scandal.    Show notes: Carmen LaBerge, Dr. Jim Denison, and Dr. Mark Turman begin by talking about the tragedy of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas (2:20). They then turn to discuss how churches can step up to be proact...

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss the tragic findings of an investigation into the Southern Baptist Convention’s handling of sexual abuse, where they failed and mistreated the victims, and how the convention will move forward.  Show notes: Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman begin by giving a heartfelt apology to all the victims of sexual abuse, expressing their grief alongside them. The...

Dr. Albert Reyes and Dr. Mark Turman discuss how the gospel and meeting physical needs are two sides of the same coin of advancing God’s kingdom, how Buckner lives this out from “womb to tomb,” the importance of family, and how to get involved.    Show notes: Dr. Albert Reyes and Dr. Mark Turman discuss the unfortunate conflict between two supposed teams: Christians who help people with physical n...

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman answer four audience questions: does the “1619 project” reflect badly on the New York Times, is God male or genderless, when does life begin, and how do you love people in public sin without compromising your witness?     Show notes:   Dr. Jim Denison responds to your questions on a wide range of topics. In this episode, he begins by addressing the controversial...

Tommy Woodard and Eddie James (the Skit Guys) join Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman to discuss why humor is so important to faith, why we should pursue excellence in the arts, and their new film: Family Camp.    Show notes:    Tommy Woodard and Eddie James begin by sharing their testimonies with Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman; how God called them to comedy, how church media picked up in th...

David French, Dr. Jim Denison, and Dr. Mark Turman consider partisan hostility, why Trump divides Christian Americans, the persecution complex of many conservatives, why making abortion illegal won’t solve the problem of abortion, why we need to invest with love in communities, and ultimately how Christians should act in the public square.    Show notes:    Commentator David French joins Dr. Jim D...

Dr. Mark Turman and Dr. Jim Denison discuss the breaking news that suggests the Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade, taking this special episode to consider the implications, as well as the arguments for and against abortion from a biblical perspective.    Show notes: Dr. Mark Turman and Dr. Jim Denison discuss the morally defining issue of our age: abortion. They address the breaking news tha...

Kerby Anderson, Dr. Jim Denison, and Dr. Mark Turman discuss the state of culture post-pandemic, the economic realities, freedom of speech and religion, how to be involved in politics, and how God is redeeming the darkness overshadowing our culture.   Show notes: Kerby Anderson, Dr. Jim Denison, and Dr. Mark Turman discuss several trends of decline in American culture. They begin by considering th...

Dr. Lee Bratcher and Dr. Mark Turman dive into the world of cryptocurrency, why Bitcoin is uncensorable, how refugees use it to flee oppression, why Bitcoin will likely rival gold, and why blockchain technology is already being used by banks and governments.    Show notes: Dr. Mark Turman and Dr. Lee Bratcher discuss the Institute for Global Engagement at Dallas Baptist University and the Texas Bl...

Dr. Mark Turman and Dr. Jim Denison discuss how to understand modern Israel through a theological lens, the current political climate, the history of the Jewish people, how to pray for Israel, and how Christian and Jewish beliefs differ.    Show notes: Dr. Mark Turman and Dr. Jim Denison begin by giving a brief description of Israel’s geography and its demographics as of today (5:37). Then, Dr. De...

Dr. Mark Turman and Dr. Jim Denison discuss the differences between patriotism and nationalism, why Christians should be good citizens, what role nationalism plays in the war in Ukraine, and how to avoid echo chambers.    Show notes: Dr. Mark Turman and Dr. Jim Denison discuss Jesus’ trial at the crucifixion and how politics played into the crucifixion (0:39). Dr. Denison then helps the audience u...

Dr. Randel Everett joins Dr. Mark Turman and Dr. Jim Denison to discuss religious freedom, the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, and why the state shouldn’t be run by religion.    Show notes:  After giving his personal story, Dr. Randel Everett discusses the surprising role of a Baptist in religious freedom in the US’s founding (7:22). He then talks about the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative...

In this week’s episode, Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman respond to the audience's questions, including how to be salt and light, is baptism necessary for salvation, how to handle evolution, and how to deal with feelings of hopelessness when a family member doesn’t believe in God.     Show notes: First, Dr. Mark Turman and Dr. Jim Denison discuss the Benedict Option by Rod Dreher, as people...

Summary: Dr. Mark Turman and Dr. Jim Denison discuss how societies are driven by metanarratives, the Western and Eastern differences between them, religious metanarratives, Putin’s metanarrative for Russia, and how they all match up against the Bible.    Show notes: Dr. Mark Turman and Dr. Jim Denison begin by covering the basics of metanarratives. Every culture and country has a north on its comp...

Summary:  Retired Major (US Marines) Father Barry Montgomery joins Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman to discuss the state of affairs in Ukraine, Putin’s military strategy and tactics, how Russian forces have miscalculated, President Zelensky’s leadership, and Putin’s connection to Christianity.  Shownotes:  In this episode, Dr. Mark Turman and Dr. Jim Denison are joined by Father Barry Montgomer...

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss the Ukraine/Russian conflict, why Putin believes the invasion is justified, whether this conflict will devolve into World War III, what the Bible says about war, and four encouraging ways to pray for Ukraine.   Show notes: First, Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman unpack the recent developments in Ukraine. They express admiration for the Ukrainian presi...

Summary: Judge Kenneth Starr joins Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman to discuss the Constitution, religious liberty, the Supreme Court, the separation of church and state, and how Christians can find hope for the future of religious liberty.    Show notes: Judge Kenneth Starr (former solicitor for the U.S.), Dr. Denison, and Dr. Turman discuss the state of American law and religious liberty, whi...

Summary: Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss the thinking of Plato, Aristotle, Kant, and the progression of Western philosophy, which has culminated in the post-truth culture we find ourselves in today.    Show notes: Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman open by explaining Jim’s role as a “cultural apologist.” After a detour into different approaches to preaching, they state that, in a gene...

Summary:  In this episode, Dr. Mark Turman and Dr. Jim Denison discuss God’s sovereignty, some basics in philosophy and logic, human agency, Reformed theology, and John Calvin.   Show notes:  Dr. Mark Turman and Dr. Jim Denison start by revealing future plans for the podcast to being accepting questions from our audience and bring in more guest speakers.   They introduce the problem of evil and as...

Summary: Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss biblical marriage, Jim and Janet’s forty-year marriage, the true value of authenticity, the culture’s twisting of it, and how godly marriage can be a light in our dark culture, which has lost its way in reference to sex and marriage.    Show notes: Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss marriage and the cultural breakdown around the institu...

This episode is a recording of  The Coming Tsunami  live seminar, where Dr. Mark Turman and Dr. Jim Denison discussed the origins of Critical Race Theory and the “five lanes” of how Christians should respond. They closed by addressing questions from the audience.    First, Mark and Jim discuss the context and summary of Dr. Denison’s new book,  The Coming Tsunami  (available to order now). They po...

Summary: Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman explore how Christians have lived faithfully in their cultural moment for thousands of years, how we must break free from the Sunday/Monday heresy, the importance of a personal relationship with Christ, how Christianity is a bad religion without such a personal relationship, and how the culture has created a new religion of humanism and self-affirming a...

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss Karl Marx’s philosophy, how Christianity moves on the shoulders of regular, faithful Christians, Critical Theory and Critical Race Theory, how systemic racism still exists, and how Christians can begin to navigate the culture on the issue of justice.    In this episode, Mark and Jim begin by giving a personal biography of their lives and testimonies. In...

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss the sexual revolution and its implications for today’s culture. They discuss how the church’s witness is hurt by its bad example, how biblical morality is going to be persecuted, the implications of the Equality Act, how US laws should legislate certain moral judgments and not others, and how the world’s understanding of sex ultimately leads to harm.   F...

Dr. Jim Denison and Dr. Mark Turman discuss the foundation for Denison Forum by first unpacking apologetics (“to make a defense”), which has its roots in the book of Acts.  Cultural  apologetics refers to giving a defense of biblical truth in the context of cultural issues like same-sex marriage, abortion, or euthanasia. They discuss starting points for those conversations, which need to begin out...