Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith & Culture

What is a biblical response to transgender theory? What is the relationship between sex and gender? How can Christians best navigate our cultural moment with biblical conviction and compassion? In our discussion, Dr. Smith argues that God's design is for a person's gender to be rooted in his or her biological sex, which is the body God gives. Smith offers a helpful and pastoral critique...

Declining U.S. Fertility Rates: Scott and Sean discuss how the U.S. fertility rate has hit a historic low . They explore how economic pressures and a secular worldview that prioritizes personal "settling" over family are driving this decline. Canada’s "Online Harms" Bill (C-63): They examine a new Canadian bill that aims to combat hate but may threaten religious liberty. Concer...

In terms of influence and economic power, the porn industry is one of the largest and most influential industries in the world. A new book has been released which offers a secular critique of the "pornocracy," which means that it is no longer just conservatives proclaiming that porn rewires the brain and normalizes sexual violence. Sean and Scott discuss this disturbing new book and what...

The Pope’s Call for Peace: Scott and Erik analyze Pope Francis’s Palm Sunday homily , where he argued that Jesus cannot be used to justify war. They discuss whether this represents a shift toward pacifism and how it contrasts with the historic Christian "Just War" tradition. Supreme Court & "Talk Therapy": The hosts break down the recent 8-1 SCOTUS decision favoring a Chris...

What is the contribution of Judaism and the Hebrew Bible to Western concept of liberty? How did the Hebrew Bible influence Western concepts of law in particular? And how did the experience of Israel and the main characters in Israel’s history impact the American founders? We’ll answer these questions and more with our guest Rabbi Stuart Halpern around his book, The Jewish Roots of American Liberty...

The New Frontier of the Drug War: Hosts Sean McDowell and Scott Ray discuss a terrifying "quantum leap" in the drug trade where synthetic, lab-made drugs are being sprayed onto innocuous items like books and letters to be smuggled into prisons. Public Prayer and Religious Liberty: The hosts examine the implications of thousands of Muslims praying publicly in New York City, balancing the...

What are the different gifts we get from being immersed in God’s Word? How do we develop a hunger for Scripture? And why do we so often see reading Scripture as a burden rather than a blessing. We’ll tackle these questions and more with our guest, our Talbot colleague in theology, Dr. Uche Anizor around his new book, The Goodness of God in the Gift of Scripture .  Dr. Uche Anizor is Professor and...

This week, Scott and Sean discuss:  Just War, Modern Targets : Sean and Scott weigh whether Israel’s targeted killings of Iranian leaders can fit within just war reasoning while warning against pulling Old Testament examples out of context.  March Madness, Trust Erodes : A college basketball betting scandal raises the bigger fear that even suspected game-rigging can make fans wonder whether what t...

Is it possible to find hope and healing in the shadow of grief? How can we move forward after the loss of a loved one, such as a child, and both trust God and appropriately grieve? In today’s episode, Sean talks with Talbot professor Dr. Dave Keehn, who is the author of a new, heart-wrenching, hopeful, and biblically-based book about processing grief after the premature loss of his son, Adam.  Dav...

American Support for Israel : Support for Israel among younger evangelicals has dropped significantly , moving from 75% in 2018 to just 34% in 2021. This shift is attributed to younger generations being less tethered to traditional end-times theology than their predecessors. Evil AI and Virtue Ethics : Researchers found that even small coding errors in AI can lead to "blatantly evil" sug...

Is hell eternal conscious punishment or does the Bible teach that the wicked will ultimately be destroyed? This is one of the most debated theological questions among Christians today. Today, we have two leading scholars to explore the biblical case for two different views of hell: eternal conscious punishment and conditional immortality (annihilationism). Together they examine key passages from b...

Supreme Court Backs Parental Rights : The Supreme Court issued a 6-3 emergency injunction blocking California's policy that required schools to hide students' gender transitions from their parents, affirming that parents—not the state—hold primary authority in their children's upbringing. Progressive Christianity Enters Texas Politics : James Talarico, a self-described progressive C...

Should Christians support capitalism? How effective has capitalism been in elevating people out of poverty? In this episode, which is the second part of a two-part series, Sean and Scott lay out the positive case for capitalism (aka, market economics). In the first part of this series, they offer a critique of socialism. In this episode, they advance a moral and biblical case for free markets and...

AI Date Cafe: A New York City cafe is offering "tables for one" designed for people to take their AI chatbots on public dates, prompting a discussion on isolation and the value of messy, real-life relationships. The Toddler Skincare Trend: Major brands are now marketing multi-step skincare routines to toddlers and elementary-aged children, raising concerns about the early onset of vanity...

What is Leftism and can it be consistently wed with a Christian worldview? And is Leftism gaining ground in the culture and church? In this episode, Sean and Scott explore these questions and more in their review of the book Why Christians Should Be Leftists by Phil Christman. They carefully define Leftism, look for positives and common ground in the case made by Christman, and then compare Leftis...

The Monetization of Loneliness : A new study shows that Americans spend more on OnlyFans than on ChatGPT and The New York Times combined, suggesting the platform is monetizing deep-seated cultural loneliness. Manhattan Hospital Ends Youth Gender Treatments : Sean and Scott discuss reports on NYU Langone Health's decision to discontinue its transgender youth medical program following federal f...

What does it mean to experience genuine freedom today? And how can a study of God’s attributes bring that freedom? In this episode, we talk with pastor JP Foster about his new book (co-written with Talbot professor Matt Williams): Finding Freedom in Jesus: The 21 Attributes of Your Identity in Christ . We discuss how understanding God’s character can transform our understanding of who we are, and...

This week:  AI Bots' Social Network : Moltbook platform allows AI agents to interact with each other while humans can only observe, raising questions about whether artificial general intelligence (AGI) is emerging as bots create their own theology, dating profiles, and secret communication systems. NYT Reverses Marijuana Stance : The New York Times published an article admitting many of its e...

Does God cause our suffering? How is it a privilege to suffer for Christ? And what happens to a person’s faith when experiencing suffering, and how can we have joy in adversity? We’ll answer these questions and more with our guest Dr. Craig Keener, around his new book entitled, Suffering: Its Meaning for the Spirit-Filled Life .  Dr. Craig S. Keener is F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical...

This week, Scott and Erik Thoennes discuss:  $2 Million Gender Medicine Verdict : A New York jury awarded $2 million to a detransitioner who underwent a double mastectomy at age 16, marking a landmark legal decision that could significantly impact gender medicine practices as about 30 similar cases wind through the legal system. The Rise of AI Boyfriends : Women are increasingly using AI companion...

How would a psychologist view the TV series, The Chosen? What does the portrayal of the characters, namely Jesus, say about how we connect with God? We’ll talk about these questions and more with our guest, Rosemead colleague and psychologist, Dr. Liz Hall, who contributed to a new book, Watching The Chosen .  Dr. Liz Hall is Professor of Psychology at Rosemead School of Psychology, Biola Universi...

This week:  UK Revival Claims Questioned: A new Pew Research study challenges recent claims of spiritual revival among young adults in the UK , suggesting that opt-in surveys may be misleading and random sampling shows Christian identification is actually declining, not increasing. Social Media Child Safety: Social media giants face a landmark legal case regarding child safety , raising important...

What is like to serve God under the siege of the war in Ukraine? What theological questions are raised as a result of the war, especially about the goodness and sovereignty of God? And how are the churches dealing with the trauma of war? We’ll address these questions and more with our guest Anna, faculty member at Talbot's Kyiv Theological Seminary .  ========== Think Biblically: Conversation...

This week, Scott and Sean discuss:  America's Historic Crime Drop - The U.S. has experienced its largest homicide rate reduction in 125 years , with all seven categories of violent crime falling below pre-pandemic levels. Baltimore serves as a compelling case study, cutting homicides by nearly 60% through proactive outreach to at-risk individuals and community investment. The Dark Side of AI...

Why are we committed to a Protestant understanding of Christianity? What is a unique Protestant view of the Bible, the gospel, and the ordinances? In this episode, we talk with Biola professor Fred Sanders about the historical and biblical reasons to be Protestant. We also carefully define what is meant by “Protestant” and respond to common objections such as the claim that Protestantism shifts th...