ABOUT THE EPISODE

Listen in to hear David Schrock and Stephen Wellum interview Dr. Nicholas Piotrowski on his Christ Over All Essay "Gospel Scholarship Pell-Mell: A Critical Review of Jordan Peterson's The Gospels"

Timestamps

• 00:36 – Intro
• 03:15 – Any Connection to Jordan Peterson?
• 06:35 – What Was the Daily Wire Trying to do With These Panel Discussions?
• 09:11 – Was Something Like This Even Possible a Decade Ago?
• 11:47 – Is It Helpful to Have All These Scholars?
• 14:30 – Peterson’s Hermeneutics
• 17:12 – Allegorical Approaches to Scripture
• 21:52 – Comparison/Contrast to the Jesus Seminar
• 24:20 – Defining “Liberal” Readings of Scripture
• 27:02 – Peterson as a Cautionary Tale
• 29:33 – Warning of Allegorical Readings and Four-fold Exegesis
• 31:42 – How Would Dr. Piotrowski Engage in The Panel?
• 34:22 – How Does the Book Peterson Uses Misdirect the Conversation?
• 38:09 – Constructively, How Should One Start Approaching the Gospels?
• 40:51 – What Happens if We Only Read the Gospels and Not the Rest of the Bible?
• 46:27 – The Gospels are Leading Towards a Purpose in the World
• 49:15 – The West Tied to Augustine’s ‘City of Man’ & Promotion of Scripture
• 54:31 – What Would Dr’s. Wellum & Piotrowski Say to Jordan Peterson?
• 58:28 – Outro

Resources to Click

• “Gospel Scholarship Pell-Mell: A Critical Review of Jordan Peterson’s The Gospels” – Nicholas Piotrowski
• The Gospels – Jordan Peterson & The Daily Wire
• Theme of the Month: One Gospel, Four Witnesses
• Give to Support the Work

ABOUT THE EPISODE

This is what happens when the gospels are ripped out of their contexts, psychologized, and discussed by one of the most famous cultural commentators of the day.

Resources to Click

·  “Gospel Scholarship Pell-Mell: A Critical Review of Jordan Peterson’s The Gospels” – Nicholas Piotrowski

· The Gospels – Jordan Peterson & The Daily Wire

· Theme of the Month: One Gospel, Four Witnesses

· Give to Support the Work

ABOUT THE EPISODE

Christianity hinges on history: if the Gospels are not trustworthy accounts of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, the faith collapses. But are they myth shaped by early belief, or historical testimony grounded in eyewitness experience and apostolic oversight? This question is not peripheral—it is foundational.

Timestamps

• 00:36 – Intro
• 02:18 – Guy Waters’ and Stephen Wellum’s Introductions
• 05:43 – Christianity Stands or Falls Upon Historical Facts
• 11:10 – Four Gospels and No More
• 15:48 – What About Gnostic or Apocryphal Gospels?
• 17:32 – Why is the Idea of ‘Myth’ Appealing?
• 23:00 – The Gospels Are Reliable Accounts
• 26:33 – The Gospels Are Historical Accounts by Eyewitnesses
• 30:46 – The Synoptic Problem
• 34:03 – Three Proposals to This Problem
• 38:00 – When to Turn to a Passage in Another Gospel?
• 44:35 – Why Is John Just Different?
• 49:12 – Concluding Thoughts
• 53:47 – Outro

Resources to Click

• “The Reliability of the Gospels: Rock or Sand?” – Guy Waters
• Theme of the Month: One Gospel, Four Witnesses
• Give to Support the Work

Books to Read

• Jesus and the Word – Rudolf Bultmann
• Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence – Robert E. Van Voorst
• The Canon of Scripture – F.F. Bruce
• The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance – Bruce Metzger
• The Biblical Canon: Its Origin, Transmission and Authority – Lee Martin McDonald
• The Gospel and the Gospels: Christian Proclamation and Early Jesus Books – Simon J. Gathercole
• The Genuine Jesus and the Counterfeit Christs: New Testament and Apocryphal Gospels – Simon J. Gathercole
• Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey – Craig Blomberg
• The Life of Jesus Critically Examined – David F. Strauss ed. Peter C. Hodgson
• Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony – Richard Bauckham
• Matthew (BECNT) – David L. Turner
• The Gospel According to John (PNTC) – D.A. Carson
• Studying the Synoptic Gospels – E.P. Sanders and Margaret Davies
• The Synoptic Problem: An Introduction – Robert H. Stein
• The Reliability of the Gospel Tradition – Birger Gerhardsson
• John: The Maverick Gospel – Robert Kysar
• The Testimony of the Beloved Disciple: Narrative, History, and Theology in the Gospel of John – Richard Bauckham
• The History of the Church – Eusebius
• “Why Four Gospels,” in Selected Shorter Writings, Vol. 2. – B.B. Warfield ed. John Meeter

ABOUT THE EPISODE

Christianity hinges on history: if the Gospels are not trustworthy accounts of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, the faith collapses. But are they myth shaped by early belief, or historical testimony grounded in eyewitness experience and apostolic oversight? This question is not peripheral—it is foundational.

Resources to Click

• “The Reliability of the Gospels: Rock or Sand?” – Guy Waters
• Theme of the Month: One Gospel, Four Witnesses
• Give to Support the Work

Books to Read

• Jesus and the Word – Rudolf Bultmann
• Jesus Outside the New Testament: An Introduction to the Ancient Evidence – Robert E. Van Voorst
• The Canon of Scripture – F.F. Bruce
• The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance – Bruce Metzger
• The Biblical Canon: Its Origin, Transmission and Authority – Lee Martin McDonald
• The Gospel and the Gospels: Christian Proclamation and Early Jesus Books – Simon J. Gathercole
• The Genuine Jesus and the Counterfeit Christs: New Testament and Apocryphal Gospels – Simon J. Gathercole
• Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey – Craig Blomberg
• The Life of Jesus Critically Examined – David F. Strauss ed. Peter C. Hodgson
• Jesus and the Eyewitnesses: The Gospels as Eyewitness Testimony – Richard Bauckham
• Matthew (BECNT) – David L. Turner
• The Gospel According to John (PNTC) – D.A. Carson
• Studying the Synoptic Gospels – E.P. Sanders and Margaret Davies
• The Synoptic Problem: An Introduction – Robert H. Stein
• The Reliability of the Gospel Tradition – Birger Gerhardsson
• John: The Maverick Gospel – Robert Kysar
• The Testimony of the Beloved Disciple: Narrative, History, and Theology in the Gospel of John – Richard Bauckham
• The History of the Church – Eusebius
• “Why Four Gospels,” in Selected Shorter Writings, Vol. 2. – B.B. Warfield ed. John Meeter

ABOUT THE EPISODE

Listen in as David Schrock and Stephen Wellum interview Bryan Litfin on his Christ Over All essay: "From Nicaea to the “Nicene Creed”: Sixty Years of Confusion and Controversy"

Timestamps

• 00:48 – Intro
• 04:15 – Introducing Dr. Litfin’s Book on the Trinity
• 05:30 – What Has Helped Dr. Litfin to be a Good Storyteller?
• 07:18 – What Is
• 10:44 – Why Does the History Around the Nicene Creed Matter?
• 13:08 – Did the Council of Nicaea Anticipate the Fight that was Going to Come?
• 15:10 – The Legend of Saint Nicholas
• 17:13 – The Demise of Arius
• 19:35 – How Did Athanasius Become a Main Figure in the Fight for Orthodoxy?
• 24:38 – Athanasius’ Two Volumes Against the Arians
• 26:25 – The Different Theological Groups Around the Time of Nicaea
• 30:26 – How Athanasius Made His Arguments
• 32:20 – History of the Political Influence Between 325-381
• 34:24 – The Cappadocians
• 37:56 – Why Was There Less Participation in the Time of Theodosius?
• 39:57 – What Changes Took Place in the Statements Between 325 and 381?
• 42:38 – Why Was There Not as Much Said about the Holy Spirit?
• 48:14 – The Pneumatomachians
• 50:27 – What Conception Did They Have in Terms of the Spirit’s Saving Power?
• 53:08 – The Nicene Fathers’ Understanding of the Church and Baptism
• 56:08 – Should We Go Back to the Apostolic Fathers to Clarify Our Doctrine?
• 1:00:57 – A Trinitarian Approach to the Gospel
• 1:03:57 – The Trinity and Salvation
• 1:06:21 – Outro

Resources to Click

• “From Nicaea to the “Nicene Creed”: Sixty Years of Confusion and Controversy” – Bryan Litfin
• com – Bryan Litfin
• Rufinus of Aquileia: Historia Ecclesiastical, Book 10, chs. 1-6 (Excerpt on the First Council of Nicaea)
• Letter of Eusebius of Nicomedia and Theognis of Nicaea to a Council – Fourth Century Christianity
• The Death of Arius (Post Nicene Fathers Excerpt) – Philip Schaff
• The Dialogue Against the Luciferians – Jerome; Philip Schaff
• The Nicene Creed – Book of Common Prayer
• Theme of the Month: The Nicene Creed: 1700 Years of Homoousios
• Give to Support the Work

Books to Read

• The Story of the Trinity: Controversy, Crisis, and the Creation of the Nicene Creed – Bryan Litfin
• The Church History of Rufinus of Aquileia: books 10 and 11 – Rufinus of Aquilea trans. Philip R. Amidon
• The Theodosian Code and Novels and the Sirmondian Constitutions – Clyde Pharr

ABOUT THE EPISODE

This is the story of how the heresy of Arianism almost become the official doctrine of the early church, and the story of a few brave men who stood in the way.

Resources to Click

• “From Nicaea to the “Nicene Creed”: Sixty Years of Confusion and Controversy” – Bryan Litfin
• com – Bryan Litfin
• Rufinus of Aquileia: Historia Ecclesiastical, Book 10, chs. 1-6 (Excerpt on the First Council of Nicaea)
• Letter of Eusebius of Nicomedia and Theognis of Nicaea to a Council – Fourth Century Christianity
• The Death of Arius (Post Nicene Fathers Excerpt) – Philip Schaff
• The Dialogue Against the Luciferians – Jerome; Philip Schaff
• The Nicene Creed – Book of Common Prayer
• Theme of the Month: The Nicene Creed: 1700 Years of Homoousios
• Give to Support the Work

Books to Read

• The Story of the Trinity: Controversy, Crisis, and the Creation of the Nicene Creed – Bryan Litfin
• The Church History of Rufinus of Aquileia: books 10 and 11 – Rufinus of Aquilea trans. Philip R. Amidon
• The Theodosian Code and Novels and the Sirmondian Constitutions – Clyde Pharr

ABOUT THE EPISODE

Listen in as David Schrock and Stephen Wellum interview Donald Fairbairn on his Christ Over All essay: "Creeds and the Gospel: From the Beginnings to the Council of Nicaea (325)"

Timestamps

• 00:23 – Intro
• 03:23 – Misconceptions about Creeds & Confessions
• 06:15 – Responding to The Restorationist Movement
• 09:50 – We Are Influenced by Something as We Read Scripture
• 12:49 – The Authorities of Scripture and Tradition in Systematic Theology
• 16:24 – Dr. Fairbairn’s Interest in Church History & the Patristics
• 18:54 – The History Up to 325A.D.
• 24:09 – The Holy Spirit in the Nicene Creed
• 28:50 – Denials of Arianism
• 31:55 – The Political Background to the Creed
• 38:37 – Eusebius’ Exaggeration of Constantine
• 41:37 – The Article on the Father
• 46:12 – Language of the Son being ‘Of’ or ‘From’ the Father
• 51:43 – The Arian Moral Exemplar View
• 56:24 – Nicene Cosmology
• 59:33 – Final Thoughts
• 1:01:28 - Outro

Resources to Click

• “Creeds and the Gospel: From the Beginnings to the Council of Nicaea” – Donald Fairbairn
• 30 Kyle Claunch, David Schrock, Stephen Wellum • Interview • “God the Father: Namesake of all Fatherhood” – Christ Over All
• Theme of the Month: The Nicene Creed: 1700 Years of Homoousios
• Give to Support the Work

Books to Read

• The Story of Creeds and Confessions: Tracing the Development of the Christian Faith – Donald Fairbairn and Ryan M. Reeves
• Letter to Alexander of Alexandria in The Trinitarian Controversy (Sources of Early Christian Thought) – ed. William G. Rusch
• Defense of the Nicene Definition – Athanasius
• The History of the Church: From Christ to Constantine - Eusebius

ABOUT THE EPISODE

Should we abandon man-made confessions of faith and instead have "no creed but Christ"? Enter the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D.

Resources to Click

• “Creeds and the Gospel: From the Beginnings to the Council of Nicaea” – Donald Fairbairn
• Theme of the Month: The Nicene Creed: 1700 Years of Homoousios
• Give to Support the Work

Books to Read

• The Story of Creeds and Confessions: Tracing the Development of the Christian Faith – Donald Fairbairn and Ryan M. Reeves
• Letter to Alexander of Alexandria in The Trinitarian Controversy (Sources of Early Christian Thought) – ed. William G. Rusch
• Defense of the Nicene Definition – Athanasius

ABOUT THE EPISODE

Listen in as David Schrock and Stephen Wellum interview Kyle Claunch on his Christ Over All essay: "God the Father: Namesake of all Fatherhood"

 Timestamps

• 00:26 – Intro
• 03:45 – Dr. Wellum’s Highlights of Travel to the UK and Ireland
• 05:56 – Kyle Claunch’s Forthcoming Book
• 07:48 – Where are the Challenges of Feminist Language for God Coming From?
• 17:41 – Analogical, Univocal, and Equivocal Language
• 20:34 – What Does Amy Peeler Argue about God?
• 26:17 – Is there Ever a Non-Metaphorical Language that is Used for God?
• 31:59 – Does EFS Theology Drive Amy Peeler’s View of the Trinity and Metaphorical Language?
• 35:42 – Proper and Figurative Language
• 42:13 – The Value of Being Precise in Our Language Towards God
• 47:31 – The Essential and Personal Nature of God the Father
• 54:57 – How Do These Things Help Us Begin to Reflect the Fatherhood of God?
• 57:49 – Final Thoughts from Dr. Wellum
• 59:41 – Outro

Resources to Click

• “God the Father: Namesake of All Fatherhood”– Kyle Claunch
• “Theological Language and the Fatherhood of God: An Exegetical and Dogmatic Account” – Kyle Claunch
• “On the Improper Use of Proper Speech: A Response to Ronald W. Pierce and Erin M. Heim, ‘Biblical Images of God as Moter and Spiritual Formation’” – Kyle Claunch
• Theme of the Month: The Paterfamilias: Making Fatherhood Great Again
• Give to Support the Work

Books to Read 

• Post Reformation Reformed Dogmatics – Richard Muller
• Theoretical Practical Divinity, Vol. 2: Faith in the Triune God – Petrus Van Mastricht
• Reformed Dogmatics, Vol. 2: God and Creation – Herman Bavinck
• Summa Theologiae Book 1 – Thomas Aquinas
• “Baptists, Sola Scriptura, and the Place of Christian Tradition,” in Baptists and the Christian Tradition – ed. Matthew Emerson, Christopher Morgan & R. Lucas Stamps
• John Gill’s Commentary of the First Letter of John – John Gill
• She Who Is: The Mystery of God in Feminist Theological Discourse – Elizabeth A. Johnson
• Women and the Gender of God – Amy Peeler
• Discovering Biblical Equality: Biblical, Theological, Cultural, and Practical Perspectives – eds. Ronald W. Pierce, Cynthia Long Westfall, et. al
• The Father and the Feminine: Exploring the Grammar of God and Gender – Spencer Miles Boersma
• The Same God Who Works All Things: Inseparable Operations in Trinitarian Theology – Adonis Vidu
• On Classical Trinitarianism: Retrieving the Nicene Doctrine of the Triune God – eds. Matthew Barrett and Todd Billings

About the Episode

Will the real complementarians please stand up? Why it's time for thick/broad/natural complementarians to embrace the label of "biblical patriarchy" to differentiate themselves from the declining thin/narrow/ideological complementarians.

 Resources to Click

• “After Complementarianism, What? Why Egalitarians Are (Still) Winning the Evangelical Gender Debate” – Doug Ponder
• “Slaying Feminism: Ending the Impossible Quest for Sexual Interchangeability” – Doug Ponder
• “Male and Female He Created Them: The Implications of a Paradigmatic Reading of Genesis 1-3 for the Complementarian-Egalitarian Debate” – Doug Ponder
• “Newsletter #13: The Lost World of American Evangelicalism” – Aaron Renn
• Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2
• “A Biblical Vision of the Sexes: Harmonious Asymmetry” – Doug Ponder
• “Mere Complementarianism” – Denny Burk
• “What’s In a Name? The meaning and origin of “Complementarianism”” – Denny Burk
• “Is Complementarianism a Man-Made Doctrine?” – Denny Burk
• “What is Biblical Patriarchy?” – Hard Men Podcast
• “Reformed Resourcement: Recovering Biblical Patriarchy with Zach Garris” – The King’s Hall Podcast
• “The Three Worlds of Evangelicalism” – Aaron Renn
• “Newsletter #30: Complementarianism is a Baby Boomer Theology That Will Die with the Baby Boomers” – Aaron Renn
• “Who Should Read the Scriptures in Worship?” – O. Palmer Robertson
• “SBC Says Women Not Barred From Presidency, Pastor Dwight McKissic Suggests Beth Moore” – Leonardo Blair
• “Andrew Wilson says the Church Needs to Rethink Gender and Complementarianism” – Sam Hailes
• “A Word of Empathy, Warning, and Counsel for “Narrow” Complementarians” – Jonathan Leeman
• “Four Clarifying (I Hope) Thoughts on the Complementarian Conversation” – Kevin DeYoung
• “Empathy, Feminism, and the Church” – Joe Rigney
• “Does Anyone Need to Recover from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood?” – Andy Naselli
• “Complementarians and the Rise of Second-Wave Evangelical Feminism” – Doug Ponder and Bryan Laughlin
• The Danvers Statement
• “Male-Only Ordination is Natural: Why the Church is a Model of Reality” – Steven Wedgeworth
• “What About the Term ‘Patriarchy’? – CBMW Podcast
• “Russell Moore’s ETS Paper: The Best Yet” – Denny Burk
• “Rehabilitating Patriarchy” – Peter J. Leithart
• “After Patriarchy, What? Why Egalitarians Are Winning the Evangelical Gender Debate” – Russell D. Moore
• “Death to the Patriarchy?” – Kevin DeYoung
• “Loss of a Good Word (Again)” – Zephram Foster
• Theme of the Month: The Paterfamilias: Making Fatherhood Great Again
• Give to Support the Work

Books to Read

• Jesus, Justice, and Gender Roles: A Case for Gender Roles in Ministry – Kathy Keller
• Women, Authority and the Bible – ed. Alvera Mickelsen
• Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism – eds. John Piper & Wayne Grudem
• Discovering Biblical Equality: Biblical, Theological, Cultural, and Practical Perspectives – eds. Ronald Pierce, Cynthia Westfal, et al.
• God’s Design for Man and Woman: A Biblical-Theological Survey – Andreas J. Köstenberger & Mararet Elizabeth Köstenberger
• The End of Woman: How Smashing the Patriarchy Has Destroyed Us – Carrie Gress
• Sexual Politics – Kate Millett
• Beyond God the Father: Toward a Philosophy of Women’s Liberation – Mary Daly
• Soft Patriarchs, New Men: How Christianity Shapes Fathers and Husbands – W. Bradford Wilcox