Worldview Legacy | The Think Institute

🙏As in many other cities, rioters have hit Chicago. What began as peaceful protests, over the apparently* unjust police killing of a man named George Floyd in Minneapolis, have devolved into a widespread conflagration of vandalism and violence over multiple nights. We're going to talk about that.   Three notes about this episode:   A. I'm not addressing the killing of George Floyd here....

BONUS EPISODE! Pastor Raef is out today, and Ira Milton is joining Joel for Worldview Wednesday. Ira is a Senior Intellectual Property and Trademark Docket Specialist at Dentons, the world's largest law firm. He and his wife Stephanie are the proud parents of two awesome kiddos.   Listen as Ira tells his story of growing up in Chicago, how he came to encounter Jesus Christ, and what his life...

Why is there so much evil and meaninglessness in the world, and how should we live in light of this tragic fact? Jordan Peterson answers the question in Rule #6 of his 12 Rules for Life. Joel and Parker (the Sons of Thunder) are going to figure out how well Dr. Peterson's ideas jive with God's word. Watch live, comment and ask questions, and let's have a good time with this one. Get the full show...

"Make friends with people who want the best for you." It seems like legit advice, and it's Rule #3 in Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote for Chaos. So how does it compare with the Bible's teaching on friendship, and what should followers of Christ think about it? Join the conversation as Joel and Parker (the Sons of Thunder) discuss.   Get the full show notes at https://the...

Joel goes unscripted (with his son!) to talk about a few things happening around Chicago lately. Our church suffered a very sad loss of a beloved member, and Governor Pritzker has lifted his restrictions on churches meeting. Also: what is Catakids? Get the full show notes at https://thethink.institute/podcast.

On Sunday, May 24, 2020, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot sent law enforcement officers to Cornerstone Baptist Church in the Woodlawn neighborhood. Joel and Pastor Raef talk about the raid, Mayor Lightfoot's open letter to religious leaders, the response by Pastor Courtney Lewis, the Romanian Baptist churches who are reopening, and how Christians (in Chicago and beyond) can look at all this through a...

"Is There A God?" Your answer to this will affect everything about your life.  The answer? There is a God. But with all the religions out there, which God is real? Thank God we don't have to guess.—he's revealed himself. The God who exists is the God of the Bible. Get the full show notes at https://thethink.institute/podcast.

Why Do Science & Christianity Get Along So Well?  Does that title shock you? Maybe you heard that science debunked religion, or that that the Christian church is the enemy of scientific progress. But what if I told you (Morpheus voice) that science depends on the Christian faith... for its very existence? Dr. Christopher Lee Bolt is a husband, father, pastor, professor, and author of The World in...

It’s time for a Christian worldview approach to abortion. While Governor Pritzker is threatening increasingly harsher retaliation against those who disobey his shelter-in-place order, P.P. of Illinois has quietly opened a brand new facility in Waukegan, Illinois (north of Chicago)... during the lockdown. This org is notoriously guilty of countless deaths, which contradicts the Pritzker's rationale...

Over the last couple decades in the States (and elsewhere in the Western world), the percentage of Christians in the population has decreased, while the percentage of religiously unaffiliated people has gone up.   On May 7, 2020, Hemant Mehta, the self-professed "Friendly Atheist" posted a video offering 10 reasons that he thinks explain this phenomenon. We're going to look at his video...

When I first started my podcast, I wanted to create something that would help everyday Christians defend what they believe. So I called my podcast “This Is Apologetics.” I’d been studying apologetics for about seven years at the time, and for me the word made perfect sense. But I quickly learned that many Christians had no clue what "apologetics" meant!  So now I’ve got one minute to define i...

Do you believe there is a purpose to life? And are you living for yours? Do you have purpose? Are you intended for anything? There are three possible answers to this question. Joel Settecase lays them out, analyzes them from a biblical perspective, and gives you the tools to explain the answer to others.  Get the full show notes at https://thethink.institute/podcast

Jordan Peterson has been called "The most influential public intellectual in the Western world right now." What is his view on human nature, and what should Bible-believing Christians think about it? The Sons of Thunder analyze it and have a ton of fun doing in the process. Get the full show notes at https://thethink.institute/podcast.

Do not miss this important conversation on questions of justice, law, race and our collective response surrounding the tragic death of Ahmaud Arbury. Joel and Pastor Raef (carefully) examine the event from a biblical perspective. How can we convey our faith in the ultimate justice of Christ, at a time when justice is either neglected or cynically turned into a political football? Watch and join th...

Joel Settecase interviews Cathrine Ligard on a Think Podcast live broadcast! WATCH & ASK QUESTIONS LIVE from the Think Institute page.   Cathrine Ligard and her husband Vidar are the founders of Safari Mission. They believe that, "the Bible is the foundation for the development of a peaceful and prosperous society."   Find out what everybody gets wrong about poverty, why th...

This is the Monday Minute.    Why does science "work?"  Neil deGrasse Tyson is a renowned astrophysicist and a notorious skeptic when it comes to the Christian faith (or any religion whatsoever). But does his trust in science go along with his unbelief? Joel Settecase explains why the biblical agrees with science better than atheism. Get the full show notes at https://thethink.insti...

Do you believe in the Trinity? If you are a Christian, then you kinda have to, by definition. The Doctrine of the Trinity is at the heart of orthodox—meaning correct—Christian teaching. But what does it mean, how should we understand it, and how in the world can we explain this to others? Get the full show notes at https://thethink.institute/podcast.

On Wednesday, May 6, 2020, Joel Settecase and Kenneth Leonard met via livestream to debate the question, “Is Belief In The Bible Reasonable?” on Ethan Micheal’s “Atheist vs. Theist” show. This is Joel's first moderated debate. Get the full show notes at https://thethink.institute/podcast.

You will want to catch every minute of this vital conversation on God, government, and church. Joel and Pastor Raef discuss the Illinois Governor's "Restore Illinois" plan (requiring churches to stay closed for a long, long time) and how Christians must respond biblically. Watch and share this while you still can! Get the full show notes at https://thethink.institute/podcast.

Christine Parker is the head of Rhetoric at Veritas Academy, a Christ-centered, Classical home school community in Chicago.  On this Tuesday Twofer episode, Christine joins Joel Settecase for this exclusive look into modern home schooling. She reveals some simple steps you can take to "own" your kids' education and make the most of their time at home—even if they're currently enrolled in publ...

🤔Watch the Sons of Thunder, Joel Settecase and Parker Settecase, as they discuss Jordan B. Peterson's New York Times bestselling book, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos. The boys talk about Peterson's first rule, "Stand up straight with your shoulders back." Is this good advice? Is it biblical? What should we think about Peterson's appeals to evolution and lobsters?   Join the con...

Have you ever had an intense conversation with someone who held radically different beliefs than you did about life, the universe and everything? Most of us try to avoid those questions, but my guest today intentionally seeks them out. Justin Brierley is the Theology & Apologetics Editor for Premier Christianity, the host of the "Unbelievable?" and "Ask NT Wright Anything" podcasts, and the au...

J. I. Packer says that Total Depravity "signifies a corruption of our moral and spiritual nature that is total not in degree... but in extent. It declares that no part of us is untouched by sin...." In other words, people are basically bad. You can see why this doctrine would be unpopular. We'll talk about why getting this right is so important, whether it’s a biblical doctrine, and what the impli...

Joel Settecase gives his thoughts on why Governor Pritzker’s move to extend the shelter-in-place order is not the best move. This is relevant for other states (and nations!) experiencing something similar. Get the full show notes at https://thethink.institute.

The Think Podcast FINALLY tackles the impossible question of eschatology. Dan Osborn and Raef Chenery join Joel Settecase to discuss whether the current pandemic is a sign that we are living in the end of days. They also get into a really helpful comparison of three eschatological (end-times) theories—Pre-Millennialism, Post-Millennialism, and Amillenialism, and make sense of the current pandemic...