Distinctive Christianity

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Ignacio Garcia to discuss his book Eduardo Balderas: Father of Church Translation, 1907-1989. Translating LDS Scripture, Hymns, manuals, magazines, general conferences, and even the Temple ceremonies into Spanish – Eduardo remains one of the most important LDS figures of the twentieth century, all with hardly any broad recognition today. Dr. Garcia takes us through much of the context that Eduardo was born into and takes us through some of the important highlights of his life. Every Latino/a LDS has been impacted in one way, shape or form by the religious career of one who spent his life translating the message of LDS restoration for the Spanish-speaking. The words traducido por Eduardo Balderas, read and heard by so many Latino/a LDS, continues to have impact today in the largest non-white population of LDS membership. 

Book: Eduardo Balderas: Father of Church Translation, 1907-1989 

Other work by Dr. Garcia: 

• “Thoughts on Latino Mormons, Their Afterlife, and the Need for a New Historical Paradigm for Saints of Color” 
• Hector P. Garcia: In Relentless Pursuit of Justice  
• Chicano While Mormon: Activism, War, and Keeping the Faith 
• White But Not Equal: Mexican Americans, Jury Discrimination and the Supreme Court 
• When Mexicans Could Play Ball: Basketball, Race, and Identity in San Antonio, 1928-1945 

Other resources: 

• “O My Father” (LDS Hymn; also here) 
• See also the talk by Celia Balderas

Mormons in Mexico by F. Lamond Tullis, esp. chapter 6: "The Third Convention"; two highlights:

• "Most Mexican Mormons felt that a complete loss of association with the church was a heavy price to pay for a Mexican mission president. The church was important to them; they did not want to lose it. They wanted to go along with the church in all respects - but not under Harold Pratt's leadership. For many it became a question of exercising their right - as the Mormon faith teaches - to personal revelation. If God felt their cause was just and approved of their position, they would opt for the Third Convention. Rebellion against the church was acceptable, they reasoned, as long as it did not entail rebellion against God. When the count was in, nearly a third of the Mexican Mormons, deciding that God was with them and the Third Convention, cast their lot with the rebellious group." (p. 146)

• "Within weeks Margarito Bautista challenged the convention's leadership on a number of doctrinal points...He advocated the reestablishment of polygamy and the United Order...The tension soon became unmanageable, and the convention expelled Margarito. Bitter and scornful, Bautista left the Third Convention to its 'darkness' and went to Ozumba, Mexico, where he set up his own colony, the 'New Jerusalem.' While Bautista's group was not totally isolated (he kept in touch with other Mormon fundamentalist and apostate groups), they were largely rejected by Conventionists and non-Conventionists alike. In the beginning, Bautista had provided impetus for concerns most considered justifiable. Now the memory of his contribution was replaced with a troublemaker's image." (p.147)

Religion of a Different Color: Race and the Mormon Struggle for Whiteness by W. Paul Reeve 

A Documentary History of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Mexico, 1875-1946 by Fernando R. Gomez

The Spiritual Evolution of Margarito Bautista: Mexican Mormon Evangelizer, Polygamist Dissident, and Utopian Founder, 1878-1961 by Elisa Eastwood Pulido 

We Remember, We Celebrate, We Believe/ Recuerdo, Celebracion, y Esperanza: Latinos in Utah by Armando Solorzano  

Sea La Luz: The Making of Mexican Protestantism in the American Southwest, 1829-1900 by Juan Francisco Martinez 

Hispanic Methodists, Presbyterians, and Baptists in Texas by Paul Barton 

Latino Pentecostal Identity, Evangelical Faith, Self, and Society by Arlene M. Sanchez Walsh 

• A sample of Archbishop Fulton Sheen: “The True Meaning of Christmas” 

In this interview, we welcome Dr. Vern Poythress to discuss his book Redeeming Science: A God Centered Approach. Given the predominant view of conflict between science and religion, how do we as Christians faithfully approach both Scripture and the world around us? What is scientific law, and how is it an “analogous mystery” of the attributes of the Triune God? Why is there so much naturalistic philosophy masquerading as the findings of science? How do we affirm the (real) science without affirming the “metaphysical musings” of scientists? Is there any room for outside considerations when approaching the text of Scripture? Vern takes us through these questions and more, as we do a deep-dive into how faithful Christians should approach all that God has revealed. Christians can affirm the ordinary and the complexity of specialized knowledge as we – based on Scripture – develop what Dr. Poythress calls the “Standpoint of Nonreductive Affirmation of Comprehensive Coherence”. 

Book: Redeeming Science: A God-Centered Approach 

Website  

Some other books by Dr. Poythress: 

• Interpreting Eden: A Guide to Faithfully Reading and Understanding Genesis 1-3 
• Science and Hermeneutics 
• Making Sense of Man: Using Biblical Perspectives to Develop a Theology of Humanity 
• Making Sense of the World: How the Trinity Helps to Explain Reality 
• Redeeming Mathematics 
• Redeeming Philosophy 
• The Returning King: A Guide to the Book of Revelation 
• The Mystery of the Trinity 
• Inerrancy and Worldview: Answering Modern Challenges to the Bible 
• Inerrancy and the Gospels: A God-Centered Approach to the Challenge of Harmonization 
• “Dispensing with Merely Human Meaning: Gains and Losses from Focusing on the Human Author, Illustrated by Zephaniah 1:2-3"  
• “Counterfeiting in the Book of Revelation as a Perspective on Non-Christian Culture” 
• Lecture: Design in Language 

Other resources: 

• Westminster Confession 1.7 
• “A Conditional Resolution of the Apparent Paradox of Self-Deception" by Greg Bahnsen (also see here, and here) 
• “Why I Believe in God?” by Cornelius Van Til 
• Commentary on Genesis (2 Vol.’s) by John Calvin 
• A Christian View of Science and Scripture by Bernard Ramm 
• Richard Dawkins by Ransom Poythress 
• The Dawkins Delusion?: Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine by Alister McGrath and Joanna Collicutt McGrath 
• The Bible Among the Myths by John Oswalt 
• Religion and the Rise of Modern Science by R. Hooykaas 
• The Fall of Man and the Foundations of Science; The Bible, Protestantism and the rise of natural science by Peter Harrison 
• The Savior of Science; The Origins of Science and the Science of Its Origins by Stanley Jaki 
• Admirable Evasions by Theodore Dalrymple 
• Confessions; The City of God; The Literal Meaning of Genesis by Augustine 

In this episode, we interview Dr. Leonardo De Chirico about Pope Francis and the legacy of his pontificate. From Jorge Bergoglio’s earlier days as a Jesuit priest, to his official theology as the head of the Roman Catholic Church - what is Francis’s theology, and what is his relation to Roman Catholicism, more generally? Leo takes us through these questions and more, with a particular focus on the accurate understanding of the system of Roman Catholic theology and practice. Far from being someone new and novel – Pope Francis is fully Roman Catholic, in continuity with Roman Catholic “tradition”, and who has spoken clearly in his media appearances, reflecting and directing the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. Join us as Dr. De Chirico helps us understand the legacy of Pope Francis, and why it matters going forward.

Reformanda Initiative

Vatican Files

Books by Dr. De Chirico:

- Engaging Thomas Aquinas: An Evangelical Approach (also here)

- A Christian’s Pocket Guide to the Papacy

- A Christian’s Pocket Guide to Mary: Mother of God?

- Same Words, Different Worlds: Do Roman Catholics and Evangelicals Believe the Same Gospel?

- Evangelical Theological Perspectives on post-Vatican II Roman Catholicism

Highlights from Pope Francis’ original and official sources:

- Lumen Fidei

- Evangelii Gaudium

- Laudato Si

- Querida Amazonia

- Fratelli Tutti

- Fiducia Supplicans

- Dilexit Nos

- Address of His Holiness to Interreligious Meeting with Young People

- Message of the Holy Father Francis To Participants In the International Meeting for Peace

Also see:

- “Lumen Gentium” (“Ecumenical Council”: Vatican II)

- “Evangelii Praecones” (Pope Pius XII)

- Regensburg Lecture (Pope Benedict XVI)

Highlights from Vatican Files:

- “Lumen Fidei. The First Encyclical by Pope Francis”

- “The Joy of the Gospel. A Window into Francis’ Vision”

- “A ‘Green’ Pope?”

- “Pope Francis Fears for the Planet, but Where is the Gospel?”

- “Querida Amazonia: A Reinforcement of Pope Francis’ Missiology”

- “‘All Brothers’: The Unbearable Cost of Roman Catholic Universalism”

- “‘God has many ways to save.’: Cardinal Cantalamessa and Roman Catholic Universalism”

- “The icing on the cake of Pope Francis. The Blessing of Same-Sex Unions”

- “More than the heart of Jesus, the heart of Roman Catholicism. On the latest encyclical of Pope Francis”

Other resources:

- Roman Catholic Theology and Practice: An Evangelical Assessment by Gregg Allison

- Revolution in Rome; The Courage to Be Protestant by David Wells

- Karl Rahner by Camden Bucey

—In Defense of the Eschaton by William Dennison

• Also hear Dr. Dennison’s relevant sermon here

-The Great Reformer: Francis and the Making of a Radical Pope by Austen Ivereigh

-What Happened at Vatican II by John W. O'Malley

Clip 1: (Conservative?) Bishop Robert Barron on The Ben Shapiro Show, Ep. 31

Clip 2/3: Pope Francis: The 60 Minutes Interview

Clip 4: Pope: All religions are paths to God

Clip 5: Pope Francis consoles a boy who asked if his father is in Heaven

Clip 6: Cardinal Dolan on significance of Pope Francis dying after Easter

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Mark David Hall to discuss his book Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land: How Christianity Has Advanced Freedom and Equality for All Americans. Who were the Puritans and did they fit the stereotypes modern people often have of them? What was the context of the Salem Witch Trials? Did the American War for Independence fit within or violate the Christian tradition of Just War Theory? Does the evils of slavery define American ideals? How do we properly evaluate the orthodoxy of the Founding Fathers and/or the principles that motivated them? Mark takes us through questions such as these, and more – as he demonstrates that Christianity has been a force for good and a reason for progress in our history, in spite of secular narratives on the contrary. 

Book: Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land: How Christianity Has Advanced Freedom and Equality for All Americans 

Dr. Mark David Hall’s website 

Other books written and edited by Dr. Hall: 

• Did America Have a Christian Founding?: Separating Modern Myth from Historical Truth 
• Who’s Afraid of Christian Nationalism?: Why Christian Nationalism is Not an Existential Threat to America or the Church 
• Roger Sherman and the Creation of the American Republic 
• America and the Just War Tradition 
• Great Christian Jurists in American History (also edited by Daniel Dreisbach) 
• Collected Works of Roger Sherman (also see here) 

• Other resources: 

Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World by Tom Holland 

Victory of Reason by Rodney Stark 

Destroyer of the Gods by Larry Hurtado 

The Puritans: A Transatlantic History by David D. Hall 

The Witch: A History of Fear, from Ancient Times to the Present by Ronald Hutton 

The Hebrew Republic by Eric Nelson 

Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers by Daniel Dreisbach 

The American Revolution; The Americanization of Benjamin Franklin by Gordon Wood 

Thomas Jefferson – Revolutionary: A Radical’s Struggle to Remake America; James Madison and the Making of America by Kevin Gutzman 

The Fearless Benjamin Lay: The Quaker Dwarf Who Became the First Revolutionary Abolitionist by Marcus Rediker 

Separation of Church and State; Liberal Suppression: Section 501(c)(3) and the Taxation of Speech by Philip Hamburger 

Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen 

E.g. John Locke: here; Thomas Jefferson: here and here; John Adams: here; Rev. King: here and here 

“The Disturbing Legacy of Charles Finney”; Christless Christianity by Michael Horton 

In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Lydia McGrew to discuss the accounts of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ in the Gospels. What are some of the most popular criticisms of the Resurrection accounts, and how should we think through the issues involved? Considering the widespread dismissal of Christ’s bodily resurrection (in time and space), as well as what is often poor argumentation in defense of it - Lydia helps us to think through the evidence of the Resurrection of Jesus. What are undesigned coincidences, and how do they bolster the historical reliability of the Gospel accounts? What is harmonization and are all attempts at harmonization created equal? There are differences, yes – but can they be responsibly harmonized? Indeed, is the evidence reliable and compelling for all people to be confronted by the claims of and about Jesus even today? Lydia also helps us to distinguish between evidence-based scholarship, and scholarship that is self-referential as “authoritative” - and tells us why simply relying on rhetoric of “consensus” and “a [supposed] majority of scholars” fall short of actual defense of the Christian claims. 

Dr. McGrew’s Website; YouTube Channel; Podcast (past archive up to October 2024); Current podcast link

• “Development Theories Are All Bunk” 

Books by Lydia: 

• Hidden in Plain View: Undesigned Coincidences in the Gospels and Acts 
• The Mirror or the Mask: Liberating the Gospels from Literary Devices 

    - Review of Michael Licona’s Why Are There Differences in the Gospels? 

• The Eye of the Beholder: The Gospel of John as Historical Reportage 
• Testimonies to the Truth: Why You Can Trust the Gospels 

Related article: “The Argument from Miracles: A Cumulative Case for the Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth” by Timothy and Lydia McGrew 

Other Resources: 

Easter Enigma by John Wenham 

“Receipt for Writing a Life of Jesus like that of Dr. David Fr. Strauss” by H.B. Hackett 

“The Resurrection of Christ a Historical Fact” by B.B. Warfield 

The Witness of the Synoptic Gospels to Christ by Ned Stonehouse 

Christianity and Liberalism; The Origin of Paul’s Religion by J. Gresham Machen 

The Final Days of Jesus by Andreas Kostenberger, Justin Taylor and Alexander Stewart 

Passing on the Right: Conservative Professors in the Progressive University by Jon A. Shields and Joshua M. Dunn, Sr.  

“Viewpoint Diversity in the Academy” by Jonathan Haidt 

 Ending Medical Reversal: Improving Outcomes, Saving Lives by Vinayak K. Prasad and Adam S. Cifu (also see here, here and here) 

False Positive: A Year of Error, Omission, and Political Correctness in the New England Journal of Medicine; Admirable Evasions by Theodore Dalrymple 

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Ardel Caneday to discuss his book The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance and Assurance. When Jesus teaches “But the one who endures to the end will be saved” - how should we understand this text? How should Christians approach the juxtaposition of promise and warning in scripture without doing damage to the assurance of salvation on one hand, and the warnings toward perseverance in holiness on the other? Dr. Caneday takes us through some of the major issues involved and responds to some of the negative criticism he’s received for the book.  

Book: The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance and Assurance by Thomas Schreiner and Ardel Caneday 

Dr. Caneday’s blog: All Things Christian 

•  “The Gospel Announces God’s Last Day Verdict for All Who Believe in Jesus Christ: Justified and Sins Forgiven”

Faith and Perseverance by G.C. Berkouwer 

“New Lies for Old: The False Gospels of Anti-Mormonism" (Jason Wallace) 

In this episode, we conclude our interview with Bill McKeever, founder and president of Mormonism Research Ministry. We ask Bill about how he started researching Mormon history and theology, and what led to the founding of MRM. Bill then takes us through a bunch of examples of how he separates fact from folk-tale in Mormon historical claims, and why it matters. We end with a question as to whether he, as a Christian, uses a double-standard when it comes to the Mormon faith, and the Christian faith.  

Mormonism Research Ministry 

Viewpoint on Mormonism 

Utah Christian Research Center 

Books by Bill: 

Mormonism 101: Examining the Religion of the Latter-day Saints 

Answering Mormons’ Questions: Ready Responses for Inquiring Latter-day Saints 

In Their Own Words: A Collection of Mormon Quotations 

Other resources: 

Scribes and Scripture: The Amazing Story of How We Got the Bible by John Meade and Peter Gurry 

What Is Faith? by J. Gresham Machen (and here) 

Jesus’ Resurrection and Joseph’s Visions by Robert Bowman  

Testimonies to the Truth: Why You Can Trust the Gospels; The Eye of the Beholder: The Gospel of John as Historical Reportage; Hidden in Plain View: Undesigned Coincidences in the Gospels and Acts by Lydia McGrew 

The Case for Biblical Archaeology by John Currid 

On the Reliability of the Old Testament by K.A. Kitchen 

The Bible Among the Myths by John Oswalt 

The Gospel Code by Ben Witherington III 

The Forgotten Trinity by James White 

Simply Trinity by Matthew Barrett 

Who Is God? by Richard Bauckham 

The Incarnate Christ and His Critics by Robert Bowman and J. Ed Komoszewski 

Christ and the Bible by John Wenham 

Exegetical Fallacies by D.A. Carson 

God, Language and Scripture by Moises Silva 

The God of Miracles by C. John Collins 

Thanksgiving by David Pao 

Confessions; The City of God by Augustine 

When Grace Comes Home: How the Doctrines of Grace Change Your Life; When Grace Transforms: The Character of Christ’s Disciples Put Forward in the Beatitudes; When Grace Comes Alive: Living Through the Lord’s Prayer by Terry Johnson (and here) 

Cracking the New Perspective of Paul by Robert J. Cara 

Defending Substitution by Simon Gathercole 

Justification Reconsidered by Stephen Westerholm 

Christianity at the Crossroads; The Question of Canon; Canon Revisited by Michael Kruger 

Christianity and Classical Culture by Jaroslav Pelikan 

Reclaiming the “Dark Ages” by Iain Wright and Yannick Imbert 

The Bible, Protestantism and the Rise of Natural Science by Peter Harrison 

How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin J. Schmidt 

In this episode, we welcome Bill McKeever, founder and president of Mormonism Research Ministry (MRM). We ask Bill about how he started researching Mormon history and theology, and what led to the founding of MRM. Bill then takes us through a bunch of examples of how he separates fact from folk-tale in Mormon historical claims, and why it matters. We end with a question as to whether he, as a Christian, uses a double-standard when it comes to the Mormon faith, and the Christian faith.  

Mormonism Research Ministry 

Viewpoint on Mormonism 

Utah Christian Research Center 

Books by Bill: 

Mormonism 101: Examining the Religion of the Latter-day Saints 

Answering Mormons’ Questions: Ready Responses for Inquiring Latter-day Saints 

In Their Own Words: A Collection of Mormon Quotations 

Other resources: 

Scribes and Scripture: The Amazing Story of How We Got the Bible by John Meade and Peter Gurry 

What Is Faith? by J. Gresham Machen (and here) 

Jesus’ Resurrection and Joseph’s Visions by Robert Bowman  

Testimonies to the Truth: Why You Can Trust the Gospels; The Eye of the Beholder: The Gospel of John as Historical Reportage; Hidden in Plain View: Undesigned Coincidences in the Gospels and Acts by Lydia McGrew 

The Case for Biblical Archaeology by John Currid 

On the Reliability of the Old Testament by K.A. Kitchen 

The Bible Among the Myths by John Oswalt 

The Gospel Code by Ben Witherington III 

The Forgotten Trinity by James White 

Simply Trinity by Matthew Barrett 

Who Is God? by Richard Bauckham 

The Incarnate Christ and His Critics by Robert Bowman and J. Ed Komoszewski 

Christ and the Bible by John Wenham 

Exegetical Fallacies by D.A. Carson 

God, Language and Scripture by Moises Silva 

The God of Miracles by C. John Collins 

Thanksgiving by David Pao 

Confessions; The City of God by Augustine 

When Grace Comes Home: How the Doctrines of Grace Change Your Life; When Grace Transforms: The Character of Christ’s Disciples Put Forward in the Beatitudes; When Grace Comes Alive: Living Through the Lord’s Prayer by Terry Johnson (and here) 

Cracking the New Perspective of Paul by Robert J. Cara 

Defending Substitution by Simon Gathercole 

Justification Reconsidered by Stephen Westerholm 

Christianity at the Crossroads; The Question of Canon; Canon Revisited by Michael Kruger 

Christianity and Classical Culture by Jaroslav Pelikan 

Reclaiming the “Dark Ages” by Iain Wright and Yannick Imbert 

The Bible, Protestantism and the Rise of Natural Science by Peter Harrison 

How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin J. Schmidt 

In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Kyle Beshears to discuss his article: “‘That Sacred Depository’: Biblical Content in Joseph Smith’s 1832 First Vision Account”. The earliest account of “The First Vision”, and written in Joseph Smith’s own handwriting - Kyle takes us through the substantive message of the 1832 account via an analysis of the Biblical citations, allusions, and echoes. Is there more substantive unity between the 1832 and (canonical) 1838 accounts than previously realized, due to the clear difference in style between the two? President of the Seventy Levi Edgar Young had called the 1832 account “strange”; perhaps it actually makes sense within Smith’s context, with an already-developed sense of being an Apostle-Prophet. Dr. Beshears takes us through the findings of the paper, and why they matter. 

Article: “‘That Sacred Depository’: Biblical Content in Joseph Smith’s 1832 First Vision Account” (also see here) 

Kyle Beshear’s website 

Previous interview: here and here 

Also check out: 

• “Wingfield Scott Watson and His Struggle to Preserve the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Strangite) After the Death of Its Founder” 
• “Eunice Ross Kinney: Follower of Two Mormon Prophets, Fierce Defender of Polygamy” 

Check out: Primary Accounts of the First Vision 

Gospel Topics Essay: First Vision Accounts 

Other Resources: 

“Restoration Proclamation” 

“Three Reasons We Teach Others about the First Vision” by Mark Matthews (January 2025) 

“The Marvelous Foundation of Our Faith” by President Gordon B. Hinckley 

    - “I Give You My Testimony” by Elder Gordon B. Hinckley 

“The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom Thou Hast Sent” by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland 

Inventing Mormonism by H. Michael Marquardt and Wesley Walters 

• “New Light on Mormon Origins from Palmyra (N.Y.) Revival” by Wesley Walters 

Insider’s View of Mormon Origins by Grant Palmer 

Jesus’ Resurrection and Joseph’s Visions by Robert Bowman, Jr. 

“8 Questions Every Latter-day Saint Needs to Answer about the First Vision” by Eric Johnson 

In this episode, we welcome back Pastor Jason Wallace to discuss his new documentary “The Cult of Alcoholics Anonymous”. What is the true story of the religious founding of Alcoholics Anonymous, and what does it reveal about the organization, the Twelve Steps, and even Bill Wilson himself. Going back to Frank Buchman and the Oxford Group – Jason takes us through the dangers of both liberalism and mysticism and how Buchman’s restorationism, prophecy and Moral Re-Armament failed. Although Bill Wilson distanced himself somewhat on the surface from these roots - AA, the Big Book, and the Twelve Steps have a substantive continuity with Buchman. Indeed, as Jason has shown – Bill Wilson is in reality yet another failed prophet, of another failed restoration, who himself didn’t live the moral standards he preached. This impacts how we should view AA today – and the reality of both true Christianity and real science should demonstrate this. 

Video: The Cult of Alcoholics Anonymous 

Channel: Ancient Paths TV 

• An Earnest Plea to Charismatics 
• The Bible vs. Shawn McCraney (also here) 
• The Bible vs. Bart Ehrman 
• The Atheist Illusion 
• Joseph Smith: Behind the Mask 

Revelatory Events: Three Case Studies of the Emergence of New Spiritual Paths by Ann Taves 

Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen 

Christless Christianity by Michael Horton 

Confessions by St Augustine 

American Awakening by Joshua Mitchell 

When Grace Comes Home; When Grace Transforms; When Grace Comes Alive; Who Needs the Church? by Terry Johnson 

No Place for Truth; God in the Whirlwind; Above All Earthly Pow’rs; The Courage to Be Protestant by David F. Wells 

We Become What We Worship by G.K. Beale 

The Gospel and the Mind by Bradley Green 

Destroyer of the Gods by Larry Hurtado 

The Fall of Man and the Foundations of Science; The Territories of Science and Religion; The Bible, Protestantism, and the Rise of Natural Science by Peter Harrison 

Of Popes and Unicorns by David Hutchings and James C. Ungureanu 

The Savior of Science; The Origin of Science and the Science of Its Origins by Stanley Jaki 

How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin Schmidt 

The Victory of Reason by Rodney Stark 

The Return of the God Hypothesis by Stephen Meyer 

When Children Became People by O.M. Bakke 

From Shame to Sin by Kyle Harper 

Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land by Mark David Hall 

Religion and the Rise of Capitalism by Benjamin Friedman 

Admirable Evasions by Theodore Dalrymple 

In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts by Gabor Mate 

The Globalization of Addiction by Bruce Alexander 

“The Irrationality of Alcoholics Anonymous” by Gabrielle Glaser 

The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt 

Bad Therapy by Abigail Shrier 

Hitler’s Religion by Richard Weikart 

Black Earth by Timothy Snyder 

Ordinary Men by Christopher Browning 

The Holocaust by Laurence Rees