The Holy Post

Our favorite Old Testament professor is back! Dr. John Walton has written a new book about Noah's flood, and he comes to some surprising conclusions. Was there really a worldwide deluge, or was it a smaller, local event? Plus, Phil and Skye ask why Christmas is so much bigger than Easter? Did the Pope deny the existence of hell? And did Jesus break into a Pizza Hut?

Phil's busy writing and Skye's on vacation, so for Holy Week we're posting a special episode featuring a sermon Skye preached on March 11, 2018. (Please don't tell Read Schuchardt.) Skye looks at a dimension of the cross we often overlook and why the cross, not culture, is what unites the church.

Communications professor, Dr. Theon Hill, is back for a fascinating conversation about our post-truth, fake news culture. Hill believes for Christians to survive the deterioration of truth they should adopt the rhetorical strategies historically used by persecuted minorities including the black church. Plus, the gang discusses Evangelicalism. What is it? What was it? And what is the future of the...

The country music industry lost its mind when conservative Mike Huckabee was appointed to the CMA Foundation board. Is it a sign that even red states are becoming blue? Christian campus ministries are being accused of discrimination because they want their leaders to be Christians. Plus, Drew Dyck is back with his best book picks, and the gang tackles mental health and lizard brains.

Communications professor Read Schuchard is back to tell us how podcasting is replacing, and hurting, the church. Why should we bother to show up on Sunday if we can get the sermon anytime/anywhere? Plus, the gang discusses a meeting of evangelical and Muslim leaders in D.C., and why are strippers so popular Chinese funerals.

The passing of Billy Graham has triggered an avalanche of articles about the famed evangelist. Many are tributes but some are rebukes. Phil, Skye, and Christian try to make sense of it all and discuss why Graham was most often attacked by conservatives during his life but liberals after his death. And what will be the future of the evangelical movement he helped create?

Is the passing of Billy Graham symbolic of the passing of American evangelicalism? Skye discusses that with Drew Dyck along with a new book about how social media does more harm than good. Plus, Phil and the gang talk about Christians giving a pass to Donald Trump, and why are so many more teens identifying as LGBT.

If you don't believe in hell are you guaranteed to go there? Which view of the atonement is right? And can pastors who behave  really  badly be restored? Skye answers your theology questions this week, plus the gang discusses deadly Amish buggies, lady Doritos, and the latest ridiculous claims made by evangelicalism's crazy uncles (and aunts). 

Is heaven really the goal of the Christian life? Did Jesus really come to rescue us from an earth doomed to destruction? Skye and Christian discuss how many popular ideas about heaven are rooted in false beliefs from Greek and medieval mythologies rather than the New Testament. Also, Phil's back to talk about beavers, monkeys, and religious liberty for Satanists. Patreon.com/philvischer https://yo...

Headlines erupted when an evangelical megachurch gave a standing ovation to a pastor who confessed to sexual misconduct with a teenager. Are evangelicals really that out of touch with the #MeToo movement? Guest Katelyn Beaty brings clarity and wisdom to the conversation. Plus, Botox for camels, the spread of Islam, and a brief history of chain migration.

Should cannabis churches that claim marijuana is a sacrament be protected by the law? Why are megachurches so white, almost all led by men, and very unclear about their stance on LGBTs? Phil, Skye, and Christian unpack new research. Plus, Skye discusses what the "wall of separation" between church and state really means.

Christian is back with Phil and Skye to discuss new research that says evangelicals aren't as anti-science as we've been led to believe. Plus, Phil discovers something disturbing about avocados. Skye then interviews journalist Jonathan Merritt about the biggest stories of 2017—including the growing number of evangelical leaders now affirming same-sex marriage and the split between elite and populi...

Too much artistic expression in America lives at the extremes - either completely secular or overwhelmingly, explicitly Christian.  What about stories from the middle? Stories iIlluminated by the Christian narrative without being so, you know, "Christiany?"  Singer/songwriter/author Andrew Peterson and his producing partner Chris Wall join Phil and Skye to talk about Peterson's Wingfeather Saga fa...

What exactly are "vampire churches," and why does Skye believe they're sucking the life out of American Christianity?  How can "effectiveness" and "ambition" be the enemies of ministry?  And why can't Phil stop talking about turtles??  Phil and Skye discuss Skye's new book, Immeasurable.  And turtles.  This week on the podcast! (Due to a technical glitch, there is no video on YouTube this week.  T...

It's a pre-Thanksgiving mailbag podcast, as the gang sits down to answer your questions.  From favorite Thanksgiving foods to thoughts about guns in church and the "Mike Pence Rule."  Plus… is Phil ready to give up on the label "evangelical," or is he still holding onto hope??  Grab a turkey leg and listen in!

Irish composer Keith Getty has been writing modern hymns like "In Christ Alone" for two decades, and now he's written - wait for it - a BOOK!  About singing!  Keith joins Phil and Skye on the podcast to talk worship music, singing together, and how to stay focused on God when everyone around you wants another HIT worship song.  PLUS - Harvey Weinstein, Kevin Spacey, Louis C.K.  Hollywood has been...

We've all heard the stats about kids leaving the faith when they head for college - but why? And what would have made their faith more "sticky?" Has anyone done any actual research on this? Kara Powell has! Fuller Youth Institute Executive Director Kara Powell joins the gang to discuss her research and her book - Sticky Faith!

10 kids, no TV, no cell phone, no internet.  Life with the Amish?  A zombie apocalypse?  Nope - just another day in the life of Read Schuchardt, a professor of media ecology who definitely practices what he preaches!  Plus, Phil and Skye discuss a new "giant sucking sound" in American demographics and Phil, yet again, attempts to convince us we really, REALLY don't want to live on Mars.  This week...

So… Phil and a Croatian Protestant theologian walk into a bar….  Oh, you've heard that one?  Author/theologian/Yale professor Miroslav Volf sits down with Phil to talk about Christians in culture and his new book Public Faith in Action: How to Engage with Commitment, Conviction, and Courage.  What follows is a fascinating conversation about Volf's arguments for religion in a globalized world, plus...

Phil and Skye sit down with N.T. Wright for a fun and fascinating conversation with the world-renowned author and theologian.  What does Wright think of the North American church?  Why do modern gender issues remind him of ancient Gnosticism?  Why is Phil singing show tunes to a famous theologian?  What would Wright put on a billboard if he could require everyone to read one message?  What is it h...

Phil interviews film producer Todd Komarnicki of acclaimed Elf fame about his experience as a Christian in Hollywood. This week on the podcast!

Liz Dong is two things that usually don't go together - an undocumented immigrant AND an evangelical Christian.  She's also a immigrant advocate with World Relief, as well as a member of the Evangelical Immigration Table.  Having read a piece she wrote for Time Magazine, we invited Liz to stop by the studio and talk about her life story and the issues involving DACA, immigration and the church.  P...

It's a potluck podcast!  Christians predict the world will end… last Saturday?  Plus, the story of two committed Christians in the NFL, both philanthropically active, both known for taking a knee on the field.  Yet one is a hero and the other a villain.  We're talking about Tim Tebow and Colin Kaepernick, and it's a fascinating study of what the American Church values today.  Oh yeah… and the Swis...

Do we spend too much time trying to know about God, and too little time actually getting to know God?  Author, pastor and spiritual director Jared Patrick Boyd joins the show to talk about experiencing God through the practice of "Imaginative Prayer."  Plus, Christian is back from France and Phil's got a bone to pick with an Emmy award-winning show.  This week on the podcast!

Do Muslims and Christians worship the same God?  What are our differences?  What do we have in common?  Author Carl Medearis has been working and living among Muslims in some of the most dangerous places on earth for the last 25 years, and joins the podcast to tell us what he's learned.  Plus… white Christians are now a minority in America, and Phil and Skye discuss "The Nashville Statement."  Thi...