True Magic

God’s words should transform us; we should not transform God’s words. But Bible translators disagree. In this episode, we begin a new series investigating the vast swath of concrete and symbolic words that God actually used in scripture, which get translated away in English Bibles. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit...

If clothes are an extension of our bodies, to add glory to them, what should we think about beautifying ourselves more directly? Is there a principled difference between clothes, makeup, skincare, and even cosmetic surgery? Is it vain to mitigate aging, or is it just like treating a disease? How will people modify their bodies in the postmillennial future? This is a public episode. If you'd like t...

In this episode we develop the symbolism of clothing into some specific applications for reforming our dress in the future, and answer some questions from listeners around how to balance personal authenticity against objective standards. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.truemagic.nz/subscribe

If reforming our clothing means returning to the patterns of scripture, does that mean we should be wearing sackcloth when fasting, and that ministers should wear robes? Also, if clothing should reflect our nature and place, how does age factor into this — since our nature and our place in society changes as we grow older? References The sermon on the sabbath as a celebration: Vocation, part 13: t...

Bnonn hilariously misunderestimates how many keystone episodes we’ve already produced, and Smokey reflects on how fractals are the key to understanding reality. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.truemagic.nz/subscribe

A grab-bag of advice on things worth knowing and doing that for some reason many people don’t know or do. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.truemagic.nz/subscribe

Now that we understand the symbolic nature of clothing, how should we begin reforming it? What does God want our clothes to look like, compared to what we have now? To begin answering this, we need to understand the connection between beauty, glory, and goodness — both in creation, and in clothing specifically. References The sermon on sacrifice as a creational pattern: Vocation, part 11: the call...

Smokey regales us with the legendary embellishments around the patron saint of Wales — and makes a rather interesting point about how he reframed the dreaded pagan corpse lights into a positive, Christian view. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.truemagic.nz/subscribe

Following up our explanation of why head coverings matter in the new covenant age, we consider several objections — and even more questions — to flesh out the exegetical case, and apply it to modern life. Objections answered: 1. It’s just cultural [00:02:08] 2. The hair is the covering [00:15:32] 3. Prayer and prophecy doesn’t mean worship, but spiritual gifts [00:17:23] 4. We can’t know what Paul...

Bnonn and Smokey discuss the natural and cyclical rhythms built into the human psyche, which somehow involves the French Revolution, Hadestown, Joss Whedon, WD-40, and the heat death of the universe. And the gospel. Obviously. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.truemagic.nz/subscribe

In the new cosmological order inaugurated by Christ, where all believers now serve inside the veil of the most-holy place, men should no longer cover their heads, but women should—and both for the same reason the priests of the Old Covenant did. In the case of men, there is no longer anything between God and them in the hierarchy; rather, man is the glory of God, and should therefore shine forth i...

Having just seen the Lord of the Rings musical on stage, Smokey pontificates on the good, the bad and the ugly, giving it 4 stars for sheer audaciousness, and recommending you see it. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.truemagic.nz/subscribe

In which Smokey, driven mad by her great learning, rants with considerable erudition about how cooking is just as much a science as baking, baking is as much an art as cooking — and why it matters, and we should all be more like Walter White. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.truemagic.nz/subscribe

Superhuman machines have made us unprecedentedly wealthy…and the blessings of our forebears are now luxuries we cannot afford. When it becomes pointless to do anything yourself, you may discover that you yourself become pointless. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.truemagic.nz/subscribe

In this tweener episode, Bnonn lays some groundwork for episode 8 (head coverings) with a didactic overview of the biblical symbolism that unifies hair, trees, crowns, angels, and the glory-cloud of God. The sermon referenced, on the connection between worship and judgment: https://redwoodchurch.substack.com/p/how-should-we-worship-part-13-the This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss thi...

What is the heart of marriage? What are its duties and obligations — and does being disabled prevent you meeting them? We look at historic practice and scriptural data to establish where the lines are…and where things get pretty gray. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.truemagic.nz/subscribe

While it’s true that a wife should be oriented toward her husband, her household, and especially her children, it is false that simply having a job ipso facto divides her loyalties. Employment under another man is not a covenantal relationship. The article referenced in this episode: https://bnonn.com/works-righteousness-a-square-contractual-peg-in-a-round-covenantal-hole/ This is a public episode...

Smokey, in lieu of doing research for the next episode, instead regales us with wisdomous thoughts about how the character motifs in Jane Austen’s novels paint a bleak picture of a society starving for effective providers and protectors — with inevitable results. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.truemagic.nz/s...

If long hair is a woman’s glory, what does that mean for pixie cuts and bobs? We discuss the surprisingly recent history of short hair on women, the infamous Felicity chop, and whether consent nullifies shame. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.truemagic.nz/subscribe

Is the idea of a Sunday best biblical? If so, why is history replete with theologians telling people to stop dressing so fancy? How do we navigate between the ditches of immodesty and slovenliness when gathering in the heavenly court? Resources mentioned in the episode: John Wesley’s full sermon on dressing plainly: https://biblesnet.com/john-wesley-on-dress.pdf Bnonn’s sermon on worship as a meet...

If modesty is fundamentally about knowing and keeping our place, then certain thorny questions naturally arise. In this episode, we consider five of them: 1. Is upward mobility immodest? 2. Are naked babies immodest? 3. What if you need to wear something immodest? 4. What if you’re biblically modest, but culturally immodest? 5. Must our dress be distinctively gendered? And here’s the article menti...

Why is the solar calendar not exactly 365 days? Why did God put a remainder of a day into every year, what does it teach us about the completion of time, and what does he want us to do with it? How can we better take hold of it, and exercise dominion over it, so that we are shaping the forms of our lives to reflect Christ’s rule? This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other s...

It makes natural sense to celebrate Christmas in the dark of winter, just as the light is returning to the world. But what about the 10% of us in the southern hemisphere? What does it mean to celebrate Christmas in midsummer—and how should we be adjusting our liturgical practices to reflect this meaning? Aaron Renn’s newsletter referenced in the show: https://www.aaronrenn.com/p/capturing-institut...

Since we should be celebrating Christmas, the question is how. Are the forms of our celebration good? What spiritual patterns do they embody? In this episode, we talk about how gift-giving, Christmas trees, and nativity scenes are good forms of liturgical practice that involve us in the incarnation of Christ. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get acc...

Should Christians celebrate Christmas? Contrary to much hand-wringing from a surprising diversity of theological traditions, the church is clearly authorized by the patterns of scripture to institute and observe festivals like Christmas. Indeed, to fail in this is a functional denial of our status as sons of God, of our Great Commission, and ultimately of the lordship of Christ over time as well a...