What would it be like to feel like your whole life was an accident? What if you didn’t know who you really were? Grant Bontrager always knew as a child that he was different. One day, the reality of just how different he really was crashed into his life. Born as the result of abuse, Grant tells how Christ redeemed his story by entering into the intense pain that came to Grant and his family through the circumstances of his life.

Faith Child (book about Grant’s story)

This is the 320th episode of Anabaptist Perspectives, a podcast, blog, and YouTube channel that examines various aspects of conservative Anabaptist life and thought.

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The views expressed by our guests are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Anabaptist Perspectives or Wellspring Mennonite Church.

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It is common to hear people lament about how the world is getting worse and worse, and as we look at the news and what is happening around the world. Yet there are secular optimists who make a strong, data-driven case that in many ways the world is better than in the past. Marlin and Jaran engage with this idea and the concept of Christian optimism. They also look at how this interacts with historical events.

A previous episode on thinking well about global politics

A Rival Nations article on Christian optimism

“Christian Fundamentals (Mennonite Church, 1921)”

“God of Grace and God of Glory“

“Rise Up, O Men of God”

“Father Eternal, Ruler of Creation”

Factfullness

The Better Angels of Our Nature

Data on declining poverty rates

A source for data about a bettering world

This is the 319th episode of Anabaptist Perspectives, a podcast, blog, and YouTube channel that examines various aspects of conservative Anabaptist life and thought.

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The views expressed by our guests are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Anabaptist Perspectives or Wellspring Mennonite Church.

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How did we get the Bible that we have today? What are the “missing books” of the Bible? Can we trust that the Bible we have is accurate and complete? Stephen Russell explores how we got the Bible in its present form and how the canon of Scripture was recognized.

Church History in Plain Language

The Bible Was Not Written in English. Why Is That Important? - Andrew Lamicela

Here is a previous episode with Stephen Russell

This is the 318th episode of Anabaptist Perspectives, a podcast, blog, and YouTube channel that examines various aspects of conservative Anabaptist life and thought.

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Read essays from our blog or listen to them on our podcast, Essays for King Jesus

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The views expressed by our guests are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Anabaptist Perspectives or Wellspring Mennonite Church.

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Give online: https://anabaptistperspectives.org/donate or mail gifts to 127 County Road 616, Athens TN 37303

The sacraments of the church were some of the most fundamental issues in the Reformation debates. Dean Taylor explains how intense these differences in theology were and how the Anabaptists were often persecuted and executed for not fitting with the standard Catholic or Protestant teaching of the time. So, what did the first Anabaptists believe about the sacraments?

Dean’s previous episode on the atonement

Our documentary channel on early Anabaptism

The Eucharistic Theology and Ethics of Balthasar Hubmaier

Russian Nuclear Orthodoxy: Religion, Politics, and Strategy

This is the 317th episode of Anabaptist Perspectives, a podcast, blog, and YouTube channel that examines various aspects of conservative Anabaptist life and thought.

Sign-up for our monthly email newsletter which contains new and featured content!

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Read essays from our blog or listen to them on our podcast, Essays for King Jesus

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The views expressed by our guests are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Anabaptist Perspectives or Wellspring Mennonite Church.

Mentioned in this episode:

Give online: https://anabaptistperspectives.org/donate or mail gifts to 127 County Road 616, Athens TN 37303

Does God still have special plans for ethnic Israel? Julian Stoltzfus argues that God made specific promises to Abraham and David that will be fulfilled in a future millennium. This will involve genuine heart revival and faith in Christ on the part of Israel and will happen in God’s time not ours. There is no reason Christians should politically support the current Israeli nation state.

Article on Julian’s blog

Julian’s article in The Sword and Trumpet

Another relevant article from Julian’s blog

The Sword and Trumpet position statement

Revelation, the (Missing) Temple, and Eden

Julian’s Email: [email protected]

This is the 316th episode of Anabaptist Perspectives, a podcast, blog, and YouTube channel that examines various aspects of conservative Anabaptist life and thought.

Sign-up for our monthly email newsletter which contains new and featured content!

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Read essays from our blog or listen to them on our podcast, Essays for King Jesus

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The views expressed by our guests are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Anabaptist Perspectives or Wellspring Mennonite Church.

Mentioned in this episode:

Give online: https://anabaptistperspectives.org/donate or mail gifts to 127 County Road 616, Athens TN 37303

Stephen Russell was raised a Roman Catholic and had ambitions of becoming a priest but ultimately left and joined the Anabaptists. In this episode, he explains the key doctrines that caused him to leave and where the Catholic church got several important points wrong. Mr. Russell explains some of the core Catholic beliefs, such as prayer to the saints and the Eucharist, while also showing how we oftentimes misunderstand key points of Catholic theology.

"The Nicene Creed Guards the Bedrock of Our Faith"

The Creed in the Ausbund

This is the 315th episode of Anabaptist Perspectives, a podcast, blog, and YouTube channel that examines various aspects of conservative Anabaptist life and thought.

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Read essays from our blog or listen to them on our podcast, Essays for King Jesus

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The views expressed by our guests are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Anabaptist Perspectives or Wellspring Mennonite Church.

When David Bercot was an Anglican priest, he believed in infant baptism and thought this was the position of the early church. Over time, he reevaluated this belief. In this episode he describes why he became convinced infant baptism was not the position of the early church.

David Bercot's faith story

Origen’s Commentary on Romans volume 1

Origen's Commentary on Romans volume 2

The Ante-Nicene Fathers

David Bercot’s lecture, “What the Early Church Believed About Baptism”

The Catacombs of St. Callixtus: History, Archaeology, Faith by Antonio Baruffa

This is the 314th episode of Anabaptist Perspectives, a podcast, blog, and YouTube channel that examines various aspects of conservative Anabaptist life and thought.

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Read essays from our blog or listen to them on our podcast, Essays for King Jesus

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The views expressed by our guests are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Anabaptist Perspectives or Wellspring Mennonite Church.

Nils grew up in the Netherlands and was militantly against Christianity; he fell deeply into the occult, drugs, and atheism. He explains why he believed this way and describes the darkness that comes from a life removed from Christ. Eventually, God redeemed Nils while he was living in Shanghai, China, though the whole of his journey into the church spanned across two continents.

Saher’s Story

Will the Real Heretics Please Stand Up? by David Bercot

The Anabaptist Story by William Estep

Special thanks to Credo Schloss Unspunnen for the filming location and hospitality. This episode was recorded at the Kingdom Connect Conference in Switzerland; find more information at https://kingdomconnecteurope.org.

This is the 313th episode of Anabaptist Perspectives, a podcast, blog, and YouTube channel that examines various aspects of conservative Anabaptist life and thought.

Sign-up for our monthly email newsletter which contains new and featured content!

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Read essays from our blog or listen to them on our podcast, Essays for King Jesus

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Support us or learn more at anabaptistperspectives.org.

The views expressed by our guests are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Anabaptist Perspectives or Wellspring Mennonite Church.

Saimir Braho lived under the extreme Communist rule in Albania, sometimes called the “North Korea” of Europe. Saimir experienced the tragedy of how far an atheistic worldview can drive a country away from the good God intends. For many years, Saimir himself did not believe in Christ, but over time he began to realize the deep failures of mankind when it turns its back on God and religion. In this episode, Saimir exposes the terrible fruit that grows from the lie that humanity can fix itself and does not need God.

Saimir’s story

Special thanks to Credo Schloss Unspunnen for the filming location and hospitality. This episode was recorded at the Kingdom Connect Conference in Switzerland; find more information at https://kingdomconnecteurope.org.

This is the 310th episode of Anabaptist Perspectives, a podcast, blog, and YouTube channel that examines various aspects of conservative Anabaptist life and thought.

Sign-up for our monthly email newsletter which contains new and featured content!

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Read essays from our blog or listen to them on our podcast, Essays for King Jesus

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Support us or learn more at anabaptistperspectives.org.

The views expressed by our guests are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Anabaptist Perspectives or Wellspring Mennonite Church.

On February 28, America and Israel began attacks on Iran. But why did this war start? What happened in the past to lead the world up to this moment? Chris Stoltzfus has studied Islam and the Middle East for years and he has spent time in Iran. He brings his extensive study and experience in the Middle East to this interview to bring clarity to a complex situation. Chris explains how we should respond to this war, how we can pray, and how we can engage with the Muslims we encounter.

Video of Muslim imam discussing problems with the Qur’an

John Ghanim’s testimony

This is the 311th episode of Anabaptist Perspectives, a podcast, blog, and YouTube channel that examines various aspects of conservative Anabaptist life and thought.

Sign-up for our monthly email newsletter which contains new and featured content!

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Read essays from our blog or listen to them on our podcast, Essays for King Jesus

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Support us or learn more at anabaptistperspectives.org.

The views expressed by our guests are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Anabaptist Perspectives or Wellspring Mennonite Church.