Mortification of Spin

"Who did you vote for?" It's a loaded question, but for Carl he simply pulls the green card. So is there such a thing as piety in the poll booth? How should Christians vote? In our recent presidential election, Carl, Aimee & Todd sniff out some sloppy theology that surfaced during and after the vote, and they share pros and cons to Trump's future leadership. Thankfully for the Christian, our hope...

Today's guest is a Billy Graham wanna-be, city-slickin' Scotsman who believes in emoticons but struggles with social cues. He invited himself to our recording to eat all our pastries and lingered while we interviewed two guests. He's none other than Liam Goligher, Senior Pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church, and now two-time guest/delinquent on our little show, (the latter being his greater accompl...

A while back, we welcomed Dr. Anthony "Tony" Esolen on the show. He was a striking presence discussing how cultural norms destroy the imaginations of our children. Tony resurfaces today as a hot topic in controversial circumstances. In the wake of a thought-provoking piece recently published by Crisis Magazine, Tony critiques the "diversity" culture that is out of line with biblical doctrine yet p...

"If you have to ask what jazz is, you'll never know" - Louis Armstrong. Well, if ever there was someone to ask about jazz in our circles, it's Dr. William Edgar, Apologetics Professor at Westminster Theological Seminary, President of the Huguenot Fund, and gifted jazz pianist. Dr. Edgar's interests extend far beyond the walls of Van Til Hall to French culture and the arts. But we have more to chat...

Does anyone wear black to a funeral anymore? Seems increasingly common to have "celebrations of life" in lieu of funerals. As Christians, we mourn but not as those without hope, but that's just it, we do and should mourn our losses. So why is grief displaced with "happiness", as if we were throwing a party? And is this happiness genuine or are we genuinely in denial that something legitimately sad...

"We live with an odd mix of immature people incapable of adult responsibility and yet full of extreme self-confidence,” said an English menace. But perhaps Carl is onto something - what of this Neverland with its abundance of "Lost Boys"? Not surprisingly, women complain of immaturity in the opposite sex, but they themselves aren’t spared this epidemic. What makes us mature adults? Maybe saying "I...

It's not Reformation Day anymore but we are still a-buzz about Luther and more specifically, the Biblica Germanica. Our Spin bookworms gawk over its beautiful calligraphy and the black and white illustrations, which Todd mistakenly took for coloring pages ... we knew better than to let him bring his crayons. It's another chance to discuss God's providential work through Martin Luther, a man so ins...

It's difficult finding the right thing to say to those in mourning - we clumsily fumble over our words, say nothing, or utter the worst possible thing at the worst possible time. Whatever our experience, we could all use help ministering better to those suffering loss - in particular, the loss of an unborn child. To help us today is Matthew Eusey, Pastor of Trinity Church Central Oahu, and his wif...

Reformation Day has come and gone so naturally we talk about Martin Luther. He's no Halloween has-been, so we thought: "Better get a legit Church Historian and Luther extraordinaire on today's show!" Unfortunately Roland Bainton left the stage in '84 and Robert Kolb would rather be on The White Horse Inn, so no one really knowledgeable on the subject was available ... so we asked Carl Trueman. Car...

Simonetta Carr has authored numerous (and superb!) children’s books. It’s our honor to have her on the show today, and it won’t take you long to figure out she ain’t from around here. Originally hailing from lovely Italy, she now lives in sunny Cali - trading one vineyard for another. It does seem all the more fitting she’d write a book on Michelangelo, contender for the Renaissance Man title and...

Happy 10th anniversary to the Young Restless & Reformed! To those unfamiliar with YRR, we aren't marking the anniversary of a soap opera, (though, it's had its fair share of drama!). The YRR, or New Calvinism, is a movement that gained momentum in the late 90's when many grew restless within the Emerging Church. They wanted something more solid on which to stand: doctrine! And so they turned to th...

Let’s talk ministerial burnout! It’s a relevant topic at the end of another marathon recording day as we squeeze our hosts for onnnnne more episode. Poor Todd, red-eyed and against his fragile will, did not leave the studio despite his many threats to do so. Just a Diva trapped inside a pipe-smoker’s body. In all seriousness, ministerial burnout can be lurking in the pulpit or present in the pew m...

As you may know, our hosts are avid readers. But what you don't know may surprise you ... Carl enjoys snuggling up to a good comic & Todd's keen on the Scratch and sniff, pop-up variety but Aimee's leaps and bounds ahead of the boys with the more mature palette, devouring her fair share of Seventeen magazine. Our shining examples of readers beg the question: why read? Outside of studying the Bible...

Wesley Smith, lawyer and an award winning author, recognized as an expert thinker in the field of bioengineering and a "Great Defender of Life" for his work against assisted suicide and euthanasia, joins us today as we bask in the glories of the one-star Best Western conference room. Wesley is calling in from Cali - how fortunate he should be deprived the novelties of weak coffee and Todd's disgru...

In Reformed Theology, we hold firm to the tradition of true doctrine - we believe it's invaluable to aiding an understanding of our faith and more importantly we believe scripture to be the supreme and normative source of what we believe. Yet why are so many evangelicals leery of combining the words: 'tradition' and 'true doctrine'? In the end, they help define divine realities, and more important...

Name 10 ways to destroy your child’s imagination. Ok, we'll give you 5 to start: 1. Mechanize your kid, 2. pad their resume, 3. send them to Yale, 4. stifle their natural talents and, if you do nothing else, 5. deter any natural tendency to admire God's vast creation. This is but a taste of the (outlandish?) commentary to expect from Dr. Anthony Esolen, professor of English at Providence College a...

Today we have Rusty Reno on the line for a special XL Bully Pulpit. Rusty is editor of First Things Magazine, formerly taught theology and ethics at Creighton University, and has authored many theological books of which one is a topic of today's conversation: Resurrecting the Idea of a Christian Society. We are worlds away from the Garden and in the wake of that fateful bite we now navigate amongs...

We're here again with our boy, Max “Rambouski” Benfer. Strangely he always finds our secret bunker! Despite our better judgment, we let him appear on the show … (what can we say, we feel bad for the guy!). He's had quite a colorful past and in his previous life, Max served in men’s ministry - basically calling men to set up camp in Neverland and play in the dirt. In all seriousness, what is men's...

Are all things being redeemed … even Pokemon Go?! C'mon. We're handing out our very last Desperate Theology award and we hope the winner will take it in stride! In light of Pokemon, Carl, Aimee, and Todd sit down to talk "Hyperreality", that is, the reality that isn't. We live in a world increasingly fixated on what's fabricated. Screens have gripped our eyes and crippled the imagination. "It’s al...

According to Carl, Aimee & Todd, church membership isn’t an extra-biblical idea, so where does it originate from and what does it even matter? More importantly who does it better: the OPC or the PCA? (Carl's got the answer to that). Once we tease out why church membership is important, what purpose do membership classes serve? What pros are there to having them and for goodness sake, how long shou...

Today's Desperate Theologizer gets a failing grade from MOS, but they need more than a trip to the principal's office to straighten them out. Speaking of authority, the pulpit grants power to those behind it, but sometimes it becomes a weapon taken to extremes. Heavy shepherding, control, throwing your weight around - these are twisted approachs to pastoral ministry that any minister has the tempt...

How on earth can we trust the books in the Bible to be the only Word of God, or “canon”, to which no man should add or subtract? What exactly is the canon and why is it important? What are its fundamental flaws, (and if there are any), then how can we be confident in it? The canon can be an intimidating topic so naturally we spared no expense in bringing out the big guns: Michael Kruger. Dr. Kruge...

Can mercy and grace find their way into your workout? Well, uniting brain and brawn has never been more feasible thanks to the desperate efforts of another Theologizer. In other news: Carl has a piercing question for Todd: “Is your Frat-Boy-Honeymoon period with the PCA over?” General Assembly recently ruffled some feathers, but thankfully they’d never get rid of Systematic Theology or start ordai...

Preachers preach theology, but what about our theology on preaching? Should sitting under the preached word take priority over other forms of scriptural intake? What about one-on-one discipleship, small-group Bible studies, biblical counseling, and Christian fellowship - do they take the backseat to sunday morning service? For some of us, a sermon is simply informative, but to others it’s one of G...

The recent Trinity Debate has raised an eyebrow (or two) in both the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches. If you're not in the know by now, we'll give you the twenty-minute brief today. There's more at stake than the ontology and economy of the Trinity.  This also impacts how we view women as well. The Word's alleged submission to the Father in eternity has been used in this debate to provide j...