City on a Hill

City on a Hill

By City on a HillSociety & CultureReligion & SpiritualityChristianityGovernment
Download on the App Store

City on a Hill episodes

  • Reading Revelation Politically

    In this episode, we take an overview of Revelation to see that it must be read looking for the risen Jesus and the comfort of his church. How do you read Revelation if not looking for the antichrist and the signs of the times? We have a few suggestions...

    NOTES:

    Against my better judgment, here is a link to the Thief in the Night movie on YouTube. You can, of course, find the Left Behind movie or books pretty easily as well.

    RECAP/TAKEAWAYS:

    Here are some things to keep in mind while reading Revelation:

    • This is the Revelation of Jesus. Look for him.
    • Revelation was meant to have an impact when you listen to it read, even before you study it. (Revelation 1:3)
    • Numbers are important.
    • Revelation draws from Old Testament images and pictures.
    • More is going on in Revelation than meets the eye. Beasts intermingle with earthly kings as though you cannot distinguish one from the other. The first-century readers would not have understood hard boundaries between the physical and the spiritual worlds.
    • Revelation was written to comfort a persecuted church. It was a support to them to help them persevere.
    • Revelation is political because it exposes the spiritual powers behind world leaders.

      • Do you read Revelation for comfort, or does it scare you?

      GET IN TOUCH:

      We'd love to hear from you. Please send us an email or question at [email protected].

      MUSIC:

      Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

      35 min
    • What Makes Something Good?

      In this episode, Scott could no longer postpone Aeric's exposition of Aquinas and his philosophy of four-fold goodness. Seriously though, it is a very helpful way to think about the decisions and the activities we engage in. What makes something good?

      NOTES:

      This episode was born after Aeric read A Treatise on Happiness by Thomas Aquinas.

      RECAP/TAKEAWAYS:

      The four perspectives on goodness that Aquinas used are:

      • Genus (Category): In general, is the thing you are doing good in and of itself?
      • Species (Specifics): Is this specific instance good? Are the specific choices here good?
      • Accidents (Attributes and Circumstances): Is there a unique context that would make this otherwise good action bad?
      • Ends (Goals and Purposes): Is this action done for the right reasons?

        • Where do your decisions tend to go off the rails?

        GET IN TOUCH:

        We'd love to hear from you. Please send us an email or question at [email protected].

        MUSIC:

        Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

        33 min
      • Reading the Bible Politically, Pt. 3

        If you should approach the scripture without the biases of the Revolution or Civil War, how should you approach it?

        RECAP/TAKEAWAYS:

        • Read your Bible within a community.
        • Be afraid to be wrong in interpretation. Be humble!
        • Be aware of your own context.
        • What did this mean to the first readers? It can’t mean something to you that it didn’t mean to them. The original meaning guides your Interpretation.
        • Can you draw a straight line from the meaning of the text to the application?
        • How does the church today have the same Bible reading problems as the Revolution or Civil Wars?
          • Our treatment of Scripture still hinges on the same issues:
            • Is there something special in God’s design for America? Or, is God’s special relationship with the church? (Covenantal relationship?)
            • Are we misreading end-times to justify our opinions today?
            • Are we parroting what other people are saying about issues and texts?
            • Are we interpreting the Bible individually granting our view of it the same or greater authority as tradition and history?
            • How do you see Romans 13?
            • Are we disregarding the image of God in people?
            • How could you read the Bible politically well?
              • The Gospel is the good news that Jesus is King.
              • If that is the message of the Bible, it IS political!

              • GET IN TOUCH:

                We'd love to hear from you. Please send us an email or question at [email protected].

                MUSIC:

                Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

                Sorry, Comfort Fit, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Germany (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 DE),

                33 min
              • Reading the Bible Politically, Pt. 2

                In this episode, we discuss how the Bible was used in churches, by ministers on both sides, to inflame political fervor during the Civil War!

                NOTES:

                Here are the two books that motivated this episode.

                • The Civil War as a Theological Crisis by Mark Noll
                • A Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood by James P. Byrd

                  • RECAP/TAKEAWAYS:

                  • Both sides of the Civil War tried to lay claim to the Patriot's heritage. Both used Scripture to tie into the Spirit of the Revolution.
                  • The same issues that colored Biblical interpretation in the time of the Revolution colored interpretation in the Civil War. The belief that America had a special place in God's program or a special relationship to him and an anti-authoritarian bias.
                  • The Bible could not settle the matter of slavery. The South relied on individual passages of Scripture as proof the Bible approved of slavery. The abolitionist relied on more general theology, like the implications of the image of God, to prove the evils of slavery.

                    • GET IN TOUCH:

                    We'd love to hear from you. Please send us an email or question at [email protected].

                    MUSIC:

                    Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

                    Sorry, Comfort Fit, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Germany (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 DE),

                    37 min
                  • Reading the Bible Politically, Part 1.

                    In this episode, we discuss how the Bible was used in churches, by ministers, to inflame political fervor for a revolution!

                    NOTES:

                    Here are the two books that motivated this episode.

                    • Sacred Scripture, Sacred War by James P. Byrd
                    • A Holy Baptism of Fire and Blood by James P. Byrd

                      • RECAP/TAKEAWAYS:

                      • Both great wars followed after Great Awakenings. The genuine religious experiences are something to be thankful for, to be sure. Both awakenings centered on individual experience and resulted in privatizing Bible interpretation. Both were, to a degree, anti-institutional. The First Great Awakening bypassed the traditional churches and the second majored on camp meetings.
                      • Ministers during the Revolutionary era equated America with Israel and saw the conflict with Britain in Apocalyptic terms.
                      • What can you do?
                        • Read your Bible.
                        • Beware of your own context.
                        • What did this mean to the first readers? It can’t mean something to you that it didn’t mean to them.
                        • Can you draw a straight line from the meaning of the text to their application?

                          • GET IN TOUCH:

                          We'd love to hear from you. Please send us an email or question at [email protected].

                          MUSIC:

                          Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

                          Sorry, Comfort Fit, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Germany (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 DE),

                          37 min
                        • Roger Williams: A Liberal Baptist Ahead of His Time!

                          In this episode, we discuss Roger Williams's contribution to our understanding of church and state and how he shaped the liberal imagination.

                          NOTES:

                          Bonus fact: Our wives are descendants of Roger Williams! So we have a vested interest in his story.

                          • Here is the book that Aeric read: Roger Williams and the Creation of the American Soul: Church, State, and the Birth of Liberty 
                          • Find out more about Roger Williams here or here or here .

                            • RECAP/TAKEAWAYS:

                            • The church argued over things that seem to us as minor things. Chances are someone will say that about our arguments in years to come!
                            • Colonists fled an established church and created another in Massachusetts Bay. It was all they knew!
                            • Roger Williams' key ideas were the separation of Church and State and the Freedom of Conscience. Because you could not coerce someone's conscience in matters of religion he felt the state could not require religious affiliations. It would, in his mind, compromise the genuine nature of a religious belief.
                            • This fostered liberalism as we know it. The individual is supreme.
                            • The legacy of this freedom of conscience has bred a fierce individualism so that in matters of the state, or church, or other institution, the individual is central and most important.
                            • We should all humbly recognize that our ideas, even our good ones, can bring about outcomes that are not good.

                              • GET IN TOUCH:

                              We'd love to hear from you. Please send us an email or question at [email protected].

                              MUSIC:

                              Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

                              Sorry, Comfort Fit, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Germany (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 DE),

                              36 min
                            • First Impressions of Jesus!

                              In this episode, we talk about what is at stake for the church in politics -- namely, that people will draw their first opinions about Jesus from how his followers engage in politics. Between how the "evangelical church" is reported on by media and how people actually mistreat one another it is hard to find people who have a positive opinion of the church.

                              You never get a second chance to make a good first impression.

                              NOTES:

                              What is at stake here?

                              • Unity -- By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35 ESV)
                              • What is Jesus like? -- For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. (Joh 13:15 ESV) People SHOULD figure out what Jesus is like by what Christians are like.
                              • Character/Moral Authority of the church
                              • Identity -- Is identifying with Jesus more compelling than being Republican or Democrat?
                              • If Christians prioritize politics in the same way as everyone else in the world, onlookers cannot help but draw the conclusion that we don’t have anything better to offer than anyone else.
                              • Combining Christianity and Politics would lead the uninitiated to equate a certain political position with Christianity, further confusing that first impression.

                              • RECAP/TAKEAWAYS:

                                • Assume people have an opinion of Jesus formed by popular media.
                                  • Each person you talk with will either see Jesus as for their political ideals or against them.
                                  • They will likely have a low level of trust in the followers of Jesus because of their political behavior.
                                  • People really need "normal" Christian friends like you!
                                  • Pause before every comment on social media, or every forwarded article, or every conversation, and realize the reputation of Jesus is at stake in your interaction.

                                    • GET IN TOUCH:

                                    We'd love to hear from you. Please send us an email or question at [email protected].

                                    MUSIC:

                                    Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

                                    Sorry, Comfort Fit, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Germany (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 DE),

                                    37 min
                                  • The Election is Coming

                                    In this episode, we struggle to admit another election cycle is upon us. Then, we talk about what someone might to do help others grow as disciples in a politically divided environment.

                                    NOTES:

                                    Here are the verses we mentioned in this episode:

                                    • Matthew 28:18-20 -- 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
                                    • Proverbs 21:1 -- The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD; he turns it wherever he will.
                                    • Isaiah 40: 22-23 -- It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.
                                    • Psalm 100: 3, 5 -- Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.
                                    • Revelation 21:1-6 -- Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.  And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away." And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." Also, he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true." And he said to me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty, I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment.
                                    • 1 Peter 1:3-5 -- Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,  who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

                                      • RECAP/TAKEAWAYS:

                                      • We offered some suggestions on how you can help others focus on Jesus and not on the partisan nature of the elections.
                                        • Listen, ask questions. That will surprise everyone!
                                        • Point them to Jesus as their king.
                                        • Humbly set aside your partisan or political opinions in conversation. Don't confuse what is yours as a citizen of the kingdom of heaven and what is American.
                                        • Be okay saying, "I don't know."
                                        • Use some of the verses above to deal with FEAR.
                                        • Use some of the verses above to remind them of HOPE.
                                        • Keep learning.

                                          • GET IN TOUCH:

                                          We'd love to hear from you. Please send us an email or question at [email protected].

                                          MUSIC:

                                          Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

                                          Sorry, Comfort Fit, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Germany (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 DE),

                                          41 min
                                        • What’s New with City on a Hill?

                                          Scott is back from his sabbatical. In this episode, we catch up on what we've learned in the past few months and the books we've read.

                                          NOTES:

                                          Here are the books we mentioned in this episode:

                                          • Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity by Lilliana Mason
                                          • The New Reformation: Finding Hope in the Fight for Ethnic Unity by Shai Linne
                                          • Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Donald Trump by John Fea
                                          • The Summa Theologica of St. Thomas Aquinas (Five Volumes)

                                            • RECAP/TAKEAWAYS:

                                            • We are working on a seminar for churches that will help them navigate the next political cycle in a way that honors Jesus. We'd appreciate your feedback very much if you have any feedback.
                                              • After listening to City on a Hill for a while, what do churches need to think about in the Spring and Summer of 2024 to handle the elections as citizens of a heavenly kingdom?
                                              • We think it should be live. Would an online course work?
                                              • Do you have thoughts about what a church leader would need to bring a seminar like this to their church?

                                                • GET IN TOUCH:

                                                We'd love to hear from you. Please send us an email or question at [email protected].

                                                MUSIC:

                                                Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

                                                Sorry, Comfort Fit, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Germany (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 DE),

                                                31 min
                                              • Faithful Church Part 11 — Make Disciples

                                                Scott is on sabbatical so we highlighted short thoughts that will help the church remain faithful in public life.

                                                NOTES:

                                                Matthew 28: 16-20 -- Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them. 17 And when they saw him they worshiped him, but some doubted. 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

                                                GET IN TOUCH:

                                                We'd love to hear from you. Please send us an email or question at [email protected].

                                                MUSIC:

                                                Little Lily Swing, Tri-Tachyon, Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 International, https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tri-Tachyon/the-kleptotonic-ep/little-lily-swing

                                                Sorry, Comfort Fit, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Germany (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 DE),

                                                13 min

                                              About City on a Hill

                                              From the publisher's feed

                                              A podcast about being a citizen of the kingdom of heaven and a citizen in the United States