Out of the Question Podcast

What actually makes someone qualified to teach, write, counsel, or advance the kingdom of God? In a culture obsessed with credentials and certifications, many Christians find themselves paralyzed — convinced they need one more degree, one more course, or someone else's permission before they can act on the callings God has placed before them. This episode of Out of the Question tackles the questio...

James 4:1 asks a question most Christians apply only to personal quarrels: "From whence come wars and fightings among you?" But what if that same diagnostic — that conflicts are rooted in sinful passions and lusts — applies not just to family disputes but to the wars between nations that have defined the modern era? In this episode of Out of the Question, Andrea Schwartz and Pastor Charles Roberts...

God's love is not unconditional, and pretending otherwise has gutted the church. Andrea Schwartz sits down with Mark Rushdoony to trace how the modern gospel of unconditional love and unconditional forgiveness collapses into antinomianism, manipulative altar calls, and a Christianity with no kingdom and no game plan. They press into covenant as a relationship on God's terms, the abandoned doctrine...

Job's three friends were eloquent, well-intentioned, and theologically active — and God was angry with every word they spoke. Their error was not ignorance of true facts but the misuse of true facts: they assembled correct observations into false conclusions, diagnosed their sufferer through a theology too small to contain the real God, and offered comfort that the text calls worthless. Job named...

The Ascension of Christ is observed on the church calendar forty days after Easter, yet for most evangelicals it passes with barely a mention. What does it mean that the risen Christ ascended to the right hand of the Father — and why does it matter whether we believe he rules from there now or only after some future return? This episode, recorded on Ascension Day 2026, takes up a doctrine that has...

Christians routinely declare that all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable—until they crack open Leviticus. In Episode 387 of Out of the Question, Andrea Schwartz and Charles Roberts ask the question most believers quietly skip: Should we follow the dietary laws? Their answer may surprise you. The dietary laws were never quietly abolished by the New Testament; they have simply been quietly ign...

Perry Coughlin didn't set out to become a Christian Reconstructionist. He was being trained as a Wesleyan Arminian minister when a single book reoriented everything — and the questions it raised were too large to ignore from a pulpit. In this conversation with Andrea Schwartz, Perry traces his theological journey across five decades: the grip of sovereign grace, the abiding validity of God's law,...

L. Ron Hubbard reportedly told a science fiction conference that the surest way to make a million dollars was to start a religion. In 1954, he did exactly that. In this episode, Andrea Schwartz tells her own story of being recruited into Scientology as a nineteen-year-old, spending a decade selling its lies to others, and the providential path God used to bring her out. She unpacks what the cult a...

The modern church has softened the word "witness" into something polite and passive — but in Scripture, a witness was the one who cast the first stone. Andrea Schwartz and Mark Rushdoony examine R.J. Rushdoony's treatment of the Ninth Commandment and what it means that Christ is called the faithful and true witness. They discuss the inversion of the word martyr , the cross as the dividing sword of...

In this episode of Out of the Question , Andrea Schwartz and Pastor Charles Roberts examine diplomacy from a biblical perspective, arguing that true peace and just international relations can never be built on political pragmatism, compromise, or humanistic power struggles. Instead, they contend that God’s law is the only objective standard for justice, whether between individuals or nations. The...

In this episode of Out of the Question , Andrea Schwartz and Pastor Charles Roberts argue that many of society’s deepest problems are rooted in disobedience to God’s law. Using passages such as Psalm 19, Psalm 127, and 1 Samuel 8, they trace how areas like taxation, state education, welfare, and civil government have moved away from biblical standards and produced widespread social disorder. The d...

Why are so many young conservatives flocking to Rome? Andrea Schwartz and Pastor Charles Roberts dig into the trend of political conservatives converting to Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy — and argue that the real problem isn't the attraction of ancient liturgy, but the failure of Protestant churches to present the full scope of biblical faith. Drawing on their own experiences inside the Cathol...

Every relationship you have — with your employer, your spouse, your children, your nation — is either governed by God's law or governed by you playing God. There is no third option. In this episode, Andrea Schwartz and Chalcedon Vice President Martin Selbrede trace the catastrophic consequences of what Rushdoony called "direct, unmediated relationships" — from wage fraud hiding in plain sight to t...

Is war ever justified — or is it, as the famous song declares, "good for nothing"? In this episode of Out of the Question , Andrea Schwartz and Pastor Charles Roberts examine the subject of war through the lens of biblical law, asking the question that too few Christians are willing to ask: by what standard do we evaluate military conflict? Drawing on Genesis 3:15, Deuteronomy 20 and 28, and the w...

In this episode of Out of the Question , Andrea Schwartz and Pastor Charles Roberts tackle an issue that quietly corrodes the health of the body of Christ: the failure to act when something isn't right. Drawing from Deuteronomy 22:1–4 and R.J. Rushdoony's exposition on the liability of the bystander in The Institutes of Biblical Law (Eighth Commandment), Andrea and Charles explore how God's law pl...

Fraud, riots, and unthinkable headlines are becoming commonplace. It is easy to dismiss this current state of chaos as just "part of the times," but Episode 377 argues that this collapse is the predictable result when authority ignores its limits. In this pivotal discussion, we examine how the State corrupts the very institutions it claims to save, and why only a return to a foundation built on Go...

If you think “exposing corruption” is the same as fixing it, this episode is going to challenge you. Andrea Schwartz and Pastor Charles Roberts argue that the Epstein-file frenzy (and other headline “revelations”) can actually become a distraction—a way to feel morally awake while never returning to God’s standards. They walk through Ephesians 5:8–13 to show what “expose the works of darkness” rea...

Studies show that roughly 95% of unborn babies diagnosed with cystic fibrosis are aborted. In this episode, host Andrea Schwartz sits down with her granddaughter Elliot, a 17-year-old senior and high-performing basketball player who has lived with cystic fibrosis since birth. Elliot shares what daily life looks like managing CF — from nebuliser treatments and vest therapy to enzyme protocols — and...

What does it really mean when Jesus says, “Love your enemies” (Luke 6:27–36)? Is it emotional softness? Is it becoming a doormat? Or is it something far deeper — rooted in God’s law, God’s justice, and God’s mercy? In this episode of Out of the Question, Andrea Schwartz and Pastor Charles Roberts unpack the biblical definition of love, the true meaning of “enemy,” and why modern humanism has disto...

Jesus’ fiercest rebukes were not aimed at pagans — they were aimed at religious leaders who replaced God’s Word with their own traditions. But was that problem confined to the first century… or is Pharisaism still alive today? In this episode of Out of the Question , Andrea Schwartz and Pastor Charles Roberts examine how the Pharisees and Sadducees elevated tradition over Scripture — and why Jesus...

In this episode of Out of the Question, Andrea Schwartz and Pastor Charles Roberts challenge modern views of sin, forgiveness, and confession. Is repentance a heartfelt turning toward God, or has it been reduced to a public apology meant to clear one’s conscience? This conversation explores: • The biblical meaning of confession • Why fear of consequences isn’t the same as fear of God • How antinom...

Celebrating nine years of Out of the Question , Andrea Schwartz and Pastor Charles Roberts tackle one of the most challenging and misunderstood doctrines in Christianity: effectual calling. Is God’s call a polite invitation or a sovereign summons that brings dead hearts to life? Drawing from Scripture and Rushdoony’s Systematic Theology , this episode shows how God’s authoritative word creates obe...

Why do so many “Christian” films feel preachy, cheesy, and weirdly unreal? In OOTQ 370, Andrea Schwartz talks with filmmaker and composer Ryder Harnett about the real reasons Christian movies often fall flat, and it is not budget. They unpack “jellyfish theology,” tidy conversion scenes that do not match real life, sermon-in-the-middle dialogue, and why audiences can tell when they’re being hit ov...

In this episode of Out of the Question , Andrea Schwartz sits down with Isaac Rushdoony—grandson of R.J. Rushdoony and son of Chalcedon president Mark Rushdoony—for a down-to-earth conversation about family legacy, ordinary faithfulness, and extraordinary vocation. Isaac shares childhood memories of life on the Chalcedon property, what “Rush” was like as a grandfather (more smiles than people migh...

In this episode of Out of the Question , Andrea Schwartz and Pastor Charles Roberts tackle the provocative claim that free will, as commonly taught, is not a biblical doctrine but a revival of the lie first spoken in Genesis. Drawing from R.J. Rushdoony’s theology, they distinguish everyday human choice from salvation, arguing that fallen man never chooses God apart from divine grace. The discussi...