The Holy Post

Raising healthy, happy, godly kids isn't easy.  This week we asked you for your parenting questions, and invited family ministry expert Elizabeth Smith to join Phil to come up with answers!

Slavery ended in America with the stroke of a pen in 1865, but the 13th Amendment didn't end institutional racism.  Not even close.  Phil and his law professor brother Rob recently taught a class that touched on the Black Lives Matter movement, asking and attempting to answer the question, "Why so angry?  Isn't racism over?"  Sure, the 19th century was tough. But what's happened since then?  Phil...

Are movies a form of prayer?  Josh Larsen, film critic and host of NPR's Filmspotting radio show and podcast, joins the gang to talk movies and his new book, Movies Are Prayers, where he looks at movies and finds in them classic forms of Christian prayer.  Also - thoughts about Charlottesville, race, and in the words of one social critic, "What's wrong with white Christians?"  This week on the pod...

Do you know how to see?  Really?  And how does "seeing" affect our faith?  Best-selling author James Gilmore (The Experience Economy) swings by to talk about his new book,  Look: A Practical Guide to Improving Your Observational Skills .  Plus, the wedding of the future probably won't be in a church, and may involve more than two people.  And science disproves the Bible yet again!  Or not.  This w...

What do you mean my church can't raise my kids for me??  Family ministry expert Rob Rienow joins Phil and Skye to talk about the importance of discipling kids at home, and gives practical advice for doing just that.  Plus, what do Richard Dawkins and The Bible Answer Man have in common?  They've been DE-PLATFORMED!  And a new theory suggests our increasing political extremism may be caused - at le...

Enjoy this throwback episode of the crew spending the afternoon with the NY Times bestselling author Eric Metaxas, author of Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet Spy.

Is technology making it harder for kids to grow into healthy adults?  Is there anything we can do about it?  Author, thinker Andy Crouch stops by to talk about his new book, The Tech-Wise Family, detailing the impact technology is having on American families and what we as parents can do about it.  PLUS - Social media messes up Eugene Peterson's week, and, it's finally happened!  Video games are m...

It's a potluck podcast!  A new religion is born in Louisville!  Grizzly bears may be saved by… religious liberty laws??  Hobby Lobby makes an Indiana Jones-style mess, and, in a world where robots and automation are reducing the economic value and employability of millions of regular people, how should the church respond??

The Luis Palau Association has shared the good news with a billion people around the world, mostly through Billy Graham-style crusades.  Starting in 2008, association president Kevin Palau set out to reimagine the traditional crusade for a new generation, dubbing it "Festival 2.0," and focusing on innovative citywide service initiatives that bring churches together with municipal governments to so...

Can Christians swear?  Can Christians swear on a podcast?  Can Christians swear on a podcast and find a big audience?  Joey Svendsen, co-host of the "Bad Christian Podcast" joins the show to talk Christian cussing, evil Dungeons & Dragons toys and a life spent recovering from an overly legalistic past.  Plus - Harry Potter turns 20, and overly legalistic Christians rue the day..

Our favorite Nigerian-British-Minnesotan author/speaker/thinker Jo Saxton returns to the show to talk about church and discipleship in an increasingly post-church world.  If you're in a community that doesn't want church services at all, maybe tweaking your church service isn't the right answer.  But what is??  Jo describes experiments from Sheffield, England that she and others are now applying t...

Engaging with the world's leading atheists and skeptics can have an impact on your own beliefs. How so? Let's ask Justin Brierley! Back from across the pond, our favorite British radio host and atheist whisperer describes how repeated run-ins with Richard Dawkins and other prominent skeptics have affected his faith. Plus Christians indulge in fake news and Orthodox Jews indulge in chicken swinging...

Why do so many Christians mistrust climate change science?  Does consumerism make us depressed?  Is church good for your health?  Phil brings in a whole mess of news items for this potluck podcast episode!

Christians have been fighting to change abortion laws for decades now.  What if the solution to abortion wasn't in politics, but in the local church?  Angie Wezsley joins the podcast to talk about her ministry, "ProGrace," that seeks to change the dialogue about one of our thorniest cultural topics.  Plus, pastor says, "I can walk on water," crocodiles say, "No you can't!"  This week on the podcas...

What if you could explain the Bible to the whole world?  Visually?  On YouTube?  Timothy Mackie and Jonathan Collins are doing just that with The Bible Project, a theologically rich, crowd-funded visual guide to the Bible that has earned more than 23 million views on YouTube.  We're big fans, so we've got them on the show to tell us what they're up to and what they've learned trying to explain the...

Who is God? No, really. This is the single-most important question determining how we live our lives, according to our guest John Mark Comer, whose book God Has a Name explores the nature of the God of the Bible, how we get him horribly wrong, and why getting him right is so vital. Plus… how do you know if you've left evangelicalism? And why was British comedian Stephen Fry just investigated for b...

Phil and the gang open the virtual mailbag and answer a host of questions from listeners.  Will social media bring about a new Reformation?  How do you know if a doctrine is "essential?"  Does Skye have anything GOOD to say about the American church?  Favorite faith films, and more!  This week on the podcast!

Is religion good? Or bad? If we try to get rid of it entirely, does that help? Or just make things worse? And how do so many people get the basic message of Jesus so completely wrong? Today we dive into Skye Jethani's new book – What's Wrong With Religion? – to wrestle with some absolutely fundamental questions about walking with Jesus. Plus - education and church attendance might go hand-in-hand...

As the culture moves further away from traditional Christianity, some propose Christians need to move further away from culture, taking the "Benedict Option."  Is a return to more communal Christianity the answer to what ails us?  Also, Americans march for science and against… hmm… what, exactly?  And Fox News has a moral crisis, but do conservative Christians care?   This week on the podcast!

Bob and Larry make a cameo appearance on Saturday Night Live and the Prime Minister of Great Britain gripes that her Easter eggs have been replaced with "seasonal" eggs!  Plus Phil and the gang talk about hearing from God through quiet reflection with wood chopping Portland author Paul Pastor (not to be confused with Phil's non-wood-chopping puppet Pastor Paul).  This week on the podcast!

Skye and Phil sit down with writer, director and actor Tim Gregory to talk about his new Chicago stage play based on the life of - believe it or not - Chuck Colson!  Plus Christians have some strange beliefs in the UK and what NOT to put in your DJ mix in the Middle East!

Were Adam and Eve the first people?  Were they even real people at all?  Should modern genomics influence how we interpret Genesis?  Bible scholar and author Scot Scot McKnight joins the podcast to discuss his new book Adam and Genome: Reading Scripture after Genetic Science.

Should churches remove Confederate flags?  Should Americans be more afraid of terrorists, ladders or husbands?  Should Wonder Woman shave her armpits?  It's a potluck podcast as Phil, Christian and Skye bring the stories of their choice - and yes, things get a little nutty.

Skye steals Phil's ukulele, sending Phil into an emotional tailspin.  And Trevin Wax joins the podcast to talk about the lies we pick up from our culture, the longings we find beneath the lies, and how the gospel and the local church help us cut through the noise to offer real answers to our deepest longings.

Is curiosity a threat to faith?  Or is it actually a key attribute of a healthy Christian life?   Happy Rant podcast host Barnabas Piper joins the crew to talk through his new book, The Curious Christian .  Plus - evangelicals and discrimination, and Phil & Skye offer Russell Moore a job!