The Protestant Libertarian Podcast

In this episode I talk with Dr. Wafik Wahba, professor of global Christianity at Tyndale University in Toronto, Canada. His brand-new book Global Christianity and Islam: Exploring History, Politics, and Beliefs (out February 2025 on IVP), explores the complex history of the relationship between Christianity and Islam, how they have shaped the modern world, and their theological similarities and di...

In this episode I talk with Dr. Rafael Rodriguez, who teaches New Testament at Pittsburg Theological Seminary. We discuss his chapter in The Next Quest for the Historical Jesus (out now on Eerdmans), where he explains what ancient media tells us about the historical Jesus. While our primary sources are the gospels as written texts, in antiquity these were not the only ways in which people were exp...

In this episode I talk with Dr. Chris Keith, research professor of New Testament and early Christianity at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion, and Society. He is the co-editor of The Next Quest for the Historical Jesus , out now on Eerdmans press, and he contributes a chapter to the volume entitled ‘ Beyond What is Behind ’. In this chapter he proposes that historical Jesus research needs t...

This is a recording of a sermon I preached on Sunday, November 17, 2024. It is a part of our sermon series on the ‘Fruits of the Spirit’ in Galatians 5:22-23. In this sermon, I talk about patience. I admit that I struggle to be patient, explaining why we live in a low patience society and how that affects the relationships we have with other people. I then explain how our patience is modeled after...

In this episode I talk with Dr. Adele Reinhartz, professor of religious studies at the University of Ottawa in Canada. She contributed a chapter to The Next Quest for the Historical Jesus (out now on Eerdmans press) where entitled ‘ Beyond the Jewish Jesus Debate ’, in which she argues that historical Jesus researchers (and everyone else!) simply must take the Jewish identity of Jesus for granted....

In this episode I talk to my friends Matt Barber and Josh Williams about the dark side of growing up in American Christian churches. All of us were products of 90’s and 2000’s church culture; I was raised in the Lutheran church and they were raised in the Nazarene church. They share some of the stories, both funny and serious, about the weird, frustrating, and harmful experiences they had growing...

In my third-annual ‘six books’ Christmas special, I present the six books that had a major impact on my thinking that were published in 2024. I have read a lot of great literature this year and it was very difficult to condense my list to only six. Here are the 2024 essential books finalists: Trump’s War on Capitalism , David Stockman National Divorce , Jason Fry Paul and Imperial Divine Honors ,...

In this episode I talk with Amity Dolby, a lifetime member of the Libertarian Party who serves as the treasurer of the LP of Central Virginia. Amity had been a life-long protestant, but recently converted to the Catholic church. We talk about her upbringing in the protestant world, her dissatisfaction with several protestant churches and the inconsistencies she saw in their teachings, and her inte...

In this episode I talk with Dr. James Crossley, who teaches at Cambridge in England and MF Oslo in Norway. He explains the goals of the ‘Next Quest’ for the historical Jesus, which is an attempt to outline the next phase of historical Jesus research. He contributes the opening article in the new book The Next Quest for the Historical Jesus , out now on Eerdmans, where he outlines the goals of the...

This is a recording of a sermon I preached on Sunday, November 10, 2024. It is a part of our sermon series on the ‘Fruits of the Spirit’ in Galatians 5:22-23. I preached on ‘faithfulness’ a few weeks before (link below in the show notes), and in this sermon I explain ‘kindness’. I discuss the lack of kindness among Americans today and why Christians should not give into the temptation to be unkind...

In this episode I talk with Dr. Helen Bond, professor of Christian Origins and New Testament at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and cohost of the Biblical Time Machine podcast. She has a chapter in the new book The Next Quest for the Historical Jesus , out now on Eerdmans, where she argues that the gospels need to be understood as an expression of ancient Greek biography. Dr. Bond explains...

In this bonus Thanksgiving episode I read an article entitled The Apostle Paul and the Introspective Conscience of the West by legendary New Testament scholar Krister Stendhal. Originally published in Swedish in 1960 (published in English as a chapter in his book Paul Among Jews and Gentiles ), Stendhal argues that the west has missed the historical context in which Paul was writing. The western t...

In this episode I talk with Dr. Christopher Holmes, the Director of Biblical and Theological Education at Frist Presbyterian Church of Atlanta, about his brand-new book Unspoiled Endings: Reclaiming the Book of Revelation from Misuse and Neglect , out now on Fortress Press. The book is an accessible introduction to the book of Revelation, and in this episode he explains the historical and practica...

In this episode I speak with Dr. Teresa Morgan, the McDonald Agape Professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at Yale Divinity School, about her brand-new book Trust in Atonement: God, Creation, and Reconciliation , out now on Eerdmans Press. In this book, Dr. Morgan argues that the Greek word pistis , which is generally translated as ‘faith’ or ‘belief’, should often be understood as ‘trus...

This episode is a sermon I preached at my church on Sunday, October 27, during a series covering the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. My topic for the week was faith and faithfulness. I explore how the concept of faith is central to Galatians and the rest of the New Testament, and why it would make sense for Paul to incorporate it into his list of spiritual fruit. When then look at the Gr...

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Craig Blomberg about his brand-new book ‘ Jesus the Purifier: John’s Gospel and the Fourth Quest for the Historical Jesus ’, out now on Baker Academic. Blomberg reviews the history of the first three ‘Quests’ for the historical Jesus, explaining how historical Jesus research has developed over time. He explains why, from the beginnings of modern Jesus research, the...

In this episode I talk with Jason Fry, author of the brand-new book National Divorce: A Plan for Peace , in which he makes the argument for the breakup of the United States. A native Texan who has been working in the Texas secession movement for years, Jason makes the case that Americans are more divided than ever and should be allowed to peacefully part ways. He explains the philosophy of nationa...

In this episode I talk about the reasons why I can’t support either Trump or Harris, why America is Babylon, and why I don’t believe that the election will change anything. I hope I am wrong about the third one. I had an interview fall through and I recorded this for YouTube; the links for the video are posted below. I am going to try to put out more video content in the weeks to come! Enjoy this...

In this episode I talk with Dr. Tucker Ferda, associate professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. He is the author of the brand-new book Jesus and His Promised Second Coming: Jewish Eschatology and Christian Origins , out now on Eerdmans Press. In this book Ferda challenges a long-standing assumption in New Testament scholarship by arguing that the hope for Jesus’ second comin...

This episode is a recent replay of a Greenroom conversation that I moderated between libertarian presidential nominee Chase Oliver and Jacob Winograd. We ask Chase about his campaign, what motivated him to run, and how he has travelled around the country spreading libertarian ideas. We then explore some of the controversy surrounding his campaign and members of the Mises Caucus and allow him to re...

This episode is a discussion that I had with Dave Casey (host of Dave vs Goliath Podcast), moderated by Jacob Winograd, about whether libertarians should for Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election. I made the case that libertarians should vote for Chase Oliver, and Dave made the case that libertarians should vote for Trump. Dave offered a thoughtful and realistic presentation of why it mak...

In this episode, I make the Christian Libertarian case against Donald Trump. As a Christian, I do not put my hope in the political process, and while I do believe that Trump is marginally better than Kamala Harris, his policy record is atrocious and completely at odds with my values. I explain the difference between voting for a candidate and actively supporting them, while acknowledging that libe...

In this episode I talk with the great Cody Cook about his brand-new article entitled How Do You Know a Christian , published at Plough, in which he argues that Christians should be characterized by non-violence. We discuss the how the writers of the Bible conceptualize non-violence, how the early church almost universally affirmed non-violence, self-defense, and pacifism. Cody also explains why th...

This episode is the recording of a sermon that I preached on Sunday, September 15, on the difference between insiders and outsiders in the church. I explain why, by definition, every group needs boundaries and discuss how 1st century Jews understood the boundaries between insider and outsider to be defined by the Jewish law. I then explore the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 and how God’s gift of the...

In this episode I talk with Cherry Teresa, vice president of the organization Atheists for Liberty. We discuss the organization, why Cherry is an atheist, her concerns about religion in general and Christianity in particular, Jesus, ethics and morality. We also explore the need for open and honest dialogue and a willingness to ask difficult questions. She also explains why it seems that so many at...