THEOTIVITY | Theology, Creativity & Culture

These days it can seem like everyone takes offence to any and everything - especially on social media! Even if you post about your preference about salads, you'll have the "garden salad" crowd waging a comment war against the "no salad but Caesar!" crowd.  It can seem like our culture is moving more and more towards emotional fragility on even the most trivial of issues - and so it is no surp...

This is an audio narration of the article: "The History of Pentecostalism | How was this movement birthed?"  In this last episode in this series, we will take a look at some of the historical factors which led up to the Pentecostal Movement in order to understand our current time.  How did this movement come about? What were the factors that led to its emergence? The Pentecostal and broa...

This is an audio narration of the article: "The Nature of Tongues | A Historical Analysis"  In our first episode in this series, we considered the theological arguments for the nature of the gift of tongues in the Bible. In this episode, we briefly consider the historical argument for the gift of tongues.  How have tongues been understood throughout Church History? Are there any legitima...

You can read the article "The Nature of Tongues | A Theological Analysis" here .  What is the Biblical gift of tongues?  The debate concerning the continuation or cessation of the gift of tongues is one that has brought more than its fair share of confusion and division among Evangelicals. This was a topic I wrestled with personally in my journey of faith, and one I know many more have o...

In this episode, I interview a good friend, Steven R. Martins, who is a pastor, author and apologist.  We talked about Steven's journey in the study of Apologetics (the defence of the Christian faith) and the difference between Classical, Evidential and Presuppositional Apologetics. We cover why a Presuppositional approach to Apologetics is both most Biblical and effective in Evangelism and h...

Our first episode in this series introduced the 5 Points of Calvinism (The Doctrines of Grace) and started our study of how these doctrines are deduced from the clear teaching of Scripture. We looked at Total Depravity and Unconditional Election to see that since the Fall, man's nature has been corrupted by sin in every area so that apart from the grace of God he cannot respond to God and that God...

The 5 Points of Calvinism, also known as The Doctrines of Grace, have stirred up no small controversy in Christian circles. Many Christians have often debated over how God saves us and the role of election, predestination, free will and faith. I remember having passionate conversations about Arminianism vs Calvinism with friends before I even had a proper understanding of either system. Yet these...

In our last episode in this series, we considered the canon of the Old Testament, how it was formed and why Protestants reject the books of the Apocrypha. In this episode, we consider questions such as: Why did Christians add the books of the New Testament to the collection of Old Testament Scriptures?  Was this the product of later development?  How did the Church recognize what books were Script...

We live in a day where it is becoming increasingly harder to filter through all the misinformation and recognize credible sources. Fake news is a real issue and people are becoming increasingly confused about what they can trust and where to go. Thus, in our day-to-day lives, we see the immense importance of knowing how to recognize a good source of information and the impact it can have on us. If...

You can read the written version of this episode here . Many Christians today view politics as “dirty” and something secular which they should not involve themselves with - far less, bring their faith into it! However, much of the decline of Western societies in recent years is due to the decreasing influence of Christian beliefs over our societies, in all areas including politics. If Jesus says t...

In this first video episode, we talk with Tyler J. Rutherford, a talented young creative who is a photographer, podcast producer, graphic designer, musician and thoughtful Christian, about Reformed Theology, creativity and financial stewardship. We spoke about how he became Reformed and what exactly drew him to Reformed Theology. We also spoke about how his theology impacts his creativity and how...

This short episode is an audio narration of the article "Humble by Design" . Many Christian artists can struggle with issues of pride and self-focus in their craft. The nature of our industry tends toward self-promotion and inflated egos oftentimes, so we need to think theologically about what should be the Christian artists' disposition - especially in Christian ministries. ----------------------...

There is a problem in our cultures today of weak men. This is in all areas of life and society but is particularly felt in the home and in the Church. In this episode, I team up with my best friend, Tristan, to talk about this important issue - analyzing the Environmental, Ecclesiological and Eschatological problems that contribute to breeding weak men. How can we combat these problems and help tr...

In this second part of this interview, we sit down with Joel Nicoloff of The Six Cents Report to talk about some important social and political issues. The word "Meritocracy" has become a dirty word nowadays. Shouldn't we desire equal outcomes and aren't meritocracies unfair? We get into the concepts and talk out some of the economic realities. We also talk about the concept of a welfare state in...

For many creatives, the topic of economics just sounds like a bunch of boring numbers and traumatizing flashbacks of math class we may have blocked from our memories... joking! (kinda) Many artists and creatives simply aren't interested in economics. However, economics is an important subject for us and everyone to have at least a basic grasp and understand how it impacts our lives. But even more...

The problem of evil is one of the most significant and challenging objections to Christianity. If you've been a Christian and attempted to engage with unbelieving people in your life, you've probably run into some variation of this problem. It usually goes something like, "How can a Good God allow such evil and suffering as we see today?" It can seem to be an insurmountable problem for Christians...

I went to the Ezra Institute 's Mission of God 2022 Conference which happened on May 21, 2022, with a group of guys from my church. The conference's theme was "Utopianism vs the Kingdom of God". The conference was really great. Informative and thought-provoking. The three main speakers were Dr. Joe Boot, Graeme Leach and André Schutten. The topics of the plenary sessions were: Utopianism and Philo...

Karl Marx has been one of the most influential thinkers of modern history. His ideas and philosophy have inspired many world leaders and people toward revolution. Marxism's ideology has spawned Socialism and Communism - both of which have brought incalculable damage to humanity over the years, yet their ideas don't die easy. Many young people today are seduced by more recent applications o...

This is an audio narration of the article, "Cornelius Van Til | The Grandfather of Modern Presuppositional Apologetics" Cornelius Van Til is an important figure in the field of Christian Apologetics - that is, the defence of the Christian faith. We're commanded in scripture to always be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is in us (see 1 Peter 3:15-16). But how do we go about doing that?...

I had the opportunity recently to go support the Toronto March for Life together with some guys from my church small group. The Toronto March for Life is a Pro-Life annual rally that helps to raise awareness about abortion and advocate for the lives of unborn children. It happened the day after the National March for Life in Ottawa where large crowds marched in support of life against abortion, as...

Freedom of Speech is a fundamental right in many modern Western developed nations. However, in recent times, this has been coming under increasing attack by governments. US government seeking to implement a Disinformation Governance Board to monitor and combat "disinformation". Jen Psaki told reporters that the Disinformation Governance Board “is not to adjudicate what is true or false online or o...

What's the deal with all the talk of "Deconstruction" these days and Progressive Christianity?  This episode explores the topic of Progressive Christianity and Deconstructing the Faith by interacting with Alisa Childer's book - Another Gospel?: A Lifelong Christian Seeks Truth in Response to Progressive Christianity . In it, Childers recounts her journey of faith wrestling through the challen...

Bethel Church is a charismatic church that has made waves amongst many Evangelicals with its dynamic worship band. Many churches and Christians sing their songs and have been blessed by their productions. However, there are some very concerning things about this movement that Christians should be aware of and discerning about. These are not trivial matters, but rather issues of the Gospel and, in...

Continuing from our last episode, we consider how Christ transforms our understanding of a Gospel-Shaped Theology of Creativity and what should be our proper response as Christians and creatives. Christian creatives need redemption from our fallenness as much as anyone else. Jesus Christ shows us what true humanity should look like, and interestingly enough, he also shows us God's creativity. As h...

Have you ever wondered how does theology shape the way we think about creativity and use our creative gifts as Christians? Perhaps few Christian creatives today have ever stopped to ponder how their faith affects their identity as creatives and their utilization of their creative gifts. However, the Bible is full of a wealth of wisdom for every area of life - including creativity! In this first pa...