(A)Millennial

How could so many Evangelical Christians vote for Donald Trump, a man who seems thoroughly opposed to certain Christian values? That's a question many have been asking. Author Kristin Kobes du Mez attempts to answer it in her book Jesus and John Wayne, which examines how many Evangelicals in America have tended toward patriarchy, militarism, and nationalism over the past several decades.  In this episode, she shares her thoughts on some of the difficult issues within the Evangelical movement and whether there is likely to be any major change in the near future. Also in this episode: We find out just how Dutch Kristin is.

Links related to today's episode:
Official book webpage
Kristin's personal website
Blog
Twitter
Facebook
"Jesus and John Wayne" by The Gaither Vocal Band

The past few years have seen many discussions in American society and the Church about how we handle issues of race and ethnicity. Author Jasmine L. Holmes has addressed this topic from a very personal angle, writing a series of letters to her own son called Mother to Son: Letters to a Black Boy on Identity and Hope. She has some excellent insights about how the Church should think about justice and reconciliation, how we should engage with one another in general, and what it's like to be a mother of boys. This is a valuable discussion on a timely topic. Also in this episode: A somewhat unusual birth story leaves Jasmine on edge.

Links for today's episode:
Official book page
Jasmine's personal website
Jasmine's Patreon page
Twitter
Instagram
Facebook
Let's Talk podcast
Dayton Triangles football team

With a difficult year coming to a close and the Christmas season upon us, Amy shares with you the answer to life, the universe, and everything...and it's not the number 42.

So many Christian parents want to know how best to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4) Yet with the dizzying array of resources out there and strategies being promoted, it can be difficult to know where to start. Today's two guests have taken it back to basics with their Baby Believer series of primer books, which teach basic concepts of the Christian faith to children in relatable ways. Hear Danielle Hitchen and Jessica Blanchard talk about how they developed the concept for the series and what other projects they have planned. Also in this episode: We consider the nature of the sensus intermissio, a new theological term created by Amy.

Links related to today's guests:

• Catechesis Books
• Jessica’s webpage
• Purchase Jessica's work
• Sacred Season Podcast

The story of the Bible is the story of covenants. If we do not have an understanding of how God covenants with humanity, we cannot properly grasp the intent of the biblical authors and the theology they taught. In his book The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant, and His Kingdom, Samuel Renihan provides an overview of all the covenants in the Bible, including some with which you may be less familiar. We discuss how they work together and what it means for our Christian worship and practice. Also in this episode: Things get Funkadelic and we learn what Sam wants for Christmas.

Links related to today's guest:

• Book page
• Twitter
• Petty France Blog
• From Shadow to Substance: The Federal Theology of the English Particular Baptists (1642-1704)

Further reading related to today's episode:

• The Funk Music Hall of Fame and Exhibition Center
• Covenant and God's Purpose for the World by Thomas Schreiner

This week's guest is Matthew Lee Anderson, author of The End of Our Exploring: A Book about Questioning and the Confidence of Faith. All of us have questions about God, the purpose of life, the problem of evil, and other serious issues. How do we ask those questions in a manner that honors God, and how can Christians create communities in which people feel free to explore? Also in this episode: The odd place Amy tried to read the book, an epic mix-up of nomenclature, and a reading from T.S. Eliot.

Links related to today's guest:

• Buy on Amazon.com
• Matt's official website
• Book page
• Twitter
• Mere Orthodoxy
• Mere Fidelity podcast

Further reading for this episode:

• "Little Gidding" by T.S. Eliot
• "Letters to a Young Poet" by Rainer Maria Rilke as read by the late Dennis Hopper

Author Rachel Joy Welcher stops by to discuss what got left behind at the purity ball. About twenty years ago, a torrent of literature related to sexual purity was unleashed in Christian bookstores. It spawned an entire culture with purity rings, True Love Waits concerts, and yes, even purity balls. Some of it adhered to biblical truth...but some of it did not. In her new book, Talking Back to Purity Culture: Rediscovering Faithful Christian Sexuality, Rachel discusses the effects this had on the Church and how we should think about issues of sexual purity going forward.

Links related to today's guest:

• Buy the book
• Personal website
• Fathom Magazine
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Facebook

In the beginning was a bunch of words spoken by a host about the purpose of this podcast. Special guest Jai Mantravadi interviews host Amy Mantravadi about what motivated her to start the (A)Millennial podcast, what listeners can expect, and how she prefers to name goldfish. Also in this episode: Amy explains her theological background and why her baptism was somewhat delayed.

NOTE: Apologies for the background noise at various points. It will be reduced in future episodes.

Amy's blog

Amy's novels

Further reading:

• Charles Taylor's A Secular Age 
• 1518 Heidelberg Disputation