The Perspectivalist

The ACTS 29 Network, once the undeniable powerhouse in the Church Planting universe, has significantly declined in the last ten years. Pastors Chase Davis and Matt Patrick speak openly in this American Reformer piece about the root causes of this abysmal failure among the leadership and what eventually led them to leave the Network. Chase and Matt exposed the video interaction where they were offi...

Adam McIntosh, the pastor of St. David's Reformed, published a great article at Theopolis with a provocative title, "Christians Should Baptize Their Children, but Not Because of Circumcision." Adam builds on the biblical theology of the Old Testament and argues that the infant baptism argument, which equates circumcision and baptism, can be confusing and unhelpful at times. Instead,...

In light of Trinity Sunday, I wanted to describe the Trinitarian union as a paradigm for historical relations. This episode was designed for those new to covenant theology. I am hoping to offer a few more episodes on the topic. Also, my gratitude to those who read my short essay on History and Headcovering. It's now the second-most-read substack in 2023. Resources: On Biblical Theology by Jame...

Getting Joffree on the podcast is always a blast of fresh insights. This giant Brazilian has just published a gem of a work! It's brief, but its brevity encompasses the longevity of the human experience. Poetry on pipes and martyrdom, food and manly churchmen. I think this is just in time for Father's Day. Ladies get two joys in purchasing this for their husbands/sons: a) Men fully in touc...

We are quite pleased to see this work available for purchase. The book is entitled "The Devil's Diet: The Seven Deadly Sins Revisited." I speak with my friend and editor, Rev. Jack Phelps, about the nature of the book. We especially talk about the two contributions from the late R.J. Rushdoony. These are unpublished works, and we are honored to see these essays published for the firs...

I sat down with Mr. Jordan Bush, a contributor to Thank God for Bitcoin: The Creation, Corruption, and Redemption of Money. We had a good conversation on the nature of Bitcoin and why it offers a dramatic shift in how to think about money in our day. We discuss the favorability of it among missionaries and its future among evangelical ministries. In an age of devaluation of values and morals by ou...

In this subscriber-only episode, we continue our conversation with Dr. Samuel Frost on full preterism. We delve into the Gary Demar controversy and offer our continued concerns with his trajectory, especially his affiliation with notable Hyper-Preterist thinkers. Gary's language today reflects much of the language used by full-preterists at the height of their movement, which is even more trou...

Welcome to this new season of The Perspectivalist! Episode 1 of Season 4 begins with an interview with one of the world's foremost scholars on full-preterism, Dr. Samuel Frost. This movement has gained some notoriety recently due to controversies that erupted on social media. Sam was deeply invested in the movement speaking at their main conferences and engaging their main leaders. Still, he r...

In our last episode of the season, I argue that the devil is finally vanquished at the end of history, which is at the end of 1,000 years. His death is narrated in three themes: a) The Devil Descends from Misery to Misery: His life is a history of failures and head-crushing. b) The Devil Cannot Keep the Gospel From Going to the Ends of the Earth: While he had much liberty in deceiving the nations...

The letter sent to Gary DeMar a few weeks ago carries immense repercussions for the life of the Church. Anyone who cherishes the ecclesia for whom Christ died must find refuge in the hope of the resurrection. To deviate from such hope is to lose hope. If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. In this episode, I offer a brief sketch of Satan's progressive de...

In the last episode, I argued that DeMar was playing with historical fire. His interest in re-considering the CREEDs carry far more repercussions than he may assume. To deny a physical, glorious Second Coming is to deny the very life of the Church in its liturgical and organizational form. I do not believe that the issue is to ask the question, "What does the Bible say?" through the lens of interp...

Andrew Sandlin and many others (myself included) sent an open letter to Gary Demar concerning his theological transitions. We posed a few straightforward questions for him to consider. Gary offered an initial podcast response today.   In this episode, I begin by addressing the gravity of the matter and whether this is simply a topic for dialogue or whether this trespasses historical boundarie...

Church music is generally relegated to some preference. We are at ease with musical segregation. After all, why would children appreciate great hymns? But does God ordain a certain kind of music for congregational worship that encompasses young and old? Should the Psalms saturate our worship or is it merely a matter of taste? What is Paul's wisdom for singing? We discuss these questions in this ep...

While there is a lot of debate on the recipients of baptism, what does the Bible say about the mode? Does the Old Testament play a role in shaping how we apply water? Is the case for immersion so clear that any alternative is irrelevant? In this subscriber episode, I offer a vision for a mode of baptism rooted in the language of the Old and New Testament. Resources: Essay:  The Biblical Mode...

This is the longest episode I have done so far! I wanted to offer an accessible episode focusing on the nature of Gnosticism and how it has crept into the Church today. The episode delves into its origin, its leader, Marcion, and the evangelical absorption of gnostic thought in worship and practice. I conclude the episode by discussing ways to rid ourselves of this monster. Resources:  Subscr...

What happens when you explore Mr. Collins' character in Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice?" The answer is that you gain an accurate critique of high-churchism; a Collins syndrome that offers the epitome of boredom to those in attendance. In this episode, I explore the nature of high-churchism and how to criticize your own people with a dose of mockery.  "There is plenty to mock in the pastor...

Welcome to season 3! I wanted to begin this season with an overview of crucial relational components that help us think more clearly about how spheres interact. Here are the first five: a) Each sphere possesses distinct responsibilities and hierarchies (Church, Family, and State). b) The Church is the headquarters since it is fundamentally Edenic in symbols and types. c) Roles may overlap, but the...

Chapter three is perhaps the most succinct vision of biblical symbolism in TNE. In this chapter, James B. Jordan elaborates on the primary and secondary symbols of the Bible but then focuses attention on the three special symbols that God uses to communicate himself to his people. This is the rosetta stone of chapters on symbolism, and it's hard to grasp the rest of the book without this gem.

I offer my observations as a participant in the National Conservatism Conference in Miami, Fl. The #natcon was a considerable success primarily because of the Protestant conservative voices. This episode summarizes the three days of lectures and fellowship and is also a bit of a case for why such movements need to blossom. This is my subtle attempt to bring Moscow, ID, Theopolis, and #natcon toget...

My 11-year-old son is a voracious reader. His community stirs him to absorb good literature and cherish good things. In some ways, I am still playing catch up with my reading world. But I am grateful that he carries a love of learning. In this episode, I asked him to start us off with a review of a massive biography of George Washington by the president of Westminster Theological Seminary, Peter L...

In this episode, I read an essay that I wrote in the last edition of the "Fight, Laugh, Feast" edition. My essay is entitled: "Culture Wars and the Land God Promised." I argue that the church needs to be prepared to fight the greater battles to win the lesser ones. Further, I offer five suggestions as the Church in conservative states begins to receive folks from leftist parts of the country. The...

I do not believe there has been a more theologically impactful book on the interpretive biblical sphere than James B. Jordan's "Through New Eyes: Developing a Biblical View of the World." This book has shaped much of my own thinking, and it has forced me to see and develop a more biblicized approach to the Bible itself. The reason I say "forced" is because at times, it is easier to bring foreign h...

This is the first of many podcasts offering an overview of Through New Eyes by James B. Jordan. In this episode, we discuss the nature of symbols and types and how creational language serves as patterns throughout the Scriptures. This is a quick-and-dirty intro to stir your appetite for more content. My Interview with Canon Calls on "Who is James B. Jordan" is here. Even though many free episodes...

This is a follow-up episode to the primer on food . These ten delicious minutes communicate the three purposes of food: a) Dependence, b) Dominion, and Divine Worship. I argue, among other things, that the eucharist is not an appendix to our worship, it is the response to our worship. Christians are theological gastronomers. Further, I make the point that only Christians have the intellectual and...

In seven minutes, I discuss the role of food in the creation account and I try to lay an outline for a future episode on the purpose of food for Christian consumption. This should be a quick meal, but a delicious primer. Music theme: Wake Up by George Reed