Mere Fidelity

By Mere Fidelity

What's Mere Fidelity about?

From the Mere Orthodoxy Podcast Network: thoughtful weekly conversations about theology, the culture, and the church, hosted by Matthew Lee Anderson, Derek Rishmawy, Alastair Roberts, and Andrew Wilson.

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Mere Fidelity episodes:

05.01.2024
The Deception of Isaac
Taking up a difficult passage of Scripture, Alastair, Andrew, and Matt consider the incident in which Jacob deceives Isaac into giving him the blessing. Multiple respected theologians bring solid principles to bear on the interpretation of this reading, and come...
04.23.2024
Thinking For Yourself
When dealing with delicate, nuanced, disputed, or important issues, should Christians primarily rely on their own judgment or the authority of church leaders in their lives? Derek, Alastair, and Matt bring their own experience to bear, as well as a...
04.17.2024
Men and Women in I Timothy
Andrew, Matt, and Alastair take up the oft-disputed passage from First Timothy that seems to restrict the authority of women in the church. What’s the best way to handle this in the twenty-first century? Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. Timestamps: Zwingli the...
04.02.2024
The Resurrection in John
Christ is risen indeed, alleluia! The Easter season is upon us, and the regular cast and crew have the Resurrection on their minds. This year Matt, Alastair, and Derek dive into the Gospel of John to discuss what makes this...
03.19.2024
The Cross and the Empty Tomb
As we approach Palm Sunday, Alastair, Matt, and Derek meditate—and ask incisive questions—upon the Cross, the Resurrection, the Triumphal Entry, the Transfiguration, and the true center of our faith. Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. Timestamps: All Glory, Laud, and Honor [1:09] The...
03.14.2024
Quit Social Media
We can all feel it. Something about social media is just really unhealthy. But what to do about it? That’s the question on the table in this episode of Mere Fidelity. Should we pull the plug entirely? Should we seek...
03.05.2024
God’s Preferred Pronouns
In yet another brazen foray into hot topics, Matt, Derek, and Alastair talk with eminent trinitarian theologian, Dr. Fred Sanders, about why masculine terms are used to refer to God. Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. Timestamps: Pastoral Ethics [0:00] Our Trinitarian Correspondent...
02.20.2024
Ascesis and the Modern World
Is asceticism good for the Christian life? Seems like a simple question at first, but there is a lot more there than you may realize. Matt, Derek, and Alastair unpack this deep issue on this episode of Mere Fidelity. Full...
02.13.2024
C.S. Lewis for Everyone
C.S. Lewis is an odd figure. Beloved, cited, and recruited by both progressive and conservative Christians, his works have a very broad appeal. The very fact of this broad appeal raises questions about his legacy. Alastair, Derek, and Matt examine...
02.06.2024
Moral Complicity
Alistair Begg hit a nerve with Christians online when he said in public that it might be ok for a Christian to attend an LGBTQ wedding. Given his opposition to same-sex marriage, this firestorm brings to the surface many questions...
01.29.2024
A Quiet Mind to Suffer With, with John Bryant
What does the Gospel of Jesus Christ have to say to those who wrestle with mental illness? This month’s Lexham Press book of the month arrested Matt’s attention. It’s like Augustine’s Confessions in a contemporary idiom as a really profound...
01.26.2024
The Ethics of Shunning
It’s come up on the show before, but this time Andrew and Matt are going to settle this once and for all, with some help from Alastair. How should the church deal with flagrant sins of professing Christians? Full show...
01.09.2024
Christianity as a Way of Life, with Kevin Hector
Dr. Kevin Hector has written the theology for the rest of us. Normal, non-academic persons will find Christianity as a Way of Life approachable and rewarding to dive into. But he just walked into a podcast with an ethicist, a...
01.03.2024
Creator, with Peter Leithart
What is the most basic aspect of God’s identity? What do we know Him as first? One potential answer to those questions is God as Creator. Repeat Mere Fidelity guest, Peter Leithart, has written a book that sets out to...
12.30.2023
The Theology of Blessings
In the wake of a controversial Vatican document favorable toward blessing those in same-sex relationships, Matt, Alastair, and Derek discuss what exactly blessings are, what they do, and why we should get this right. Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. Timestamps: Vatican...
12.11.2023
Reputation
In a time when “being canceled” is one of our greatest fears, thinking Biblically about reputation as a category is a very productive exercise. But when we turn to the Bible, there’s a prima facie tension about reputation. On the...
12.07.2023
Biblical Critical Theory, with Christopher Watkin
Critical Race Theory is not the only sort of critical theory out there. As a matter of fact, Augustine’s City of God may be the first example of critical theory. How can this kind of academic exercise be understood Biblically?...
11.27.2023
Reforming Criminal Justice, with Matthew Martens
Can we understand criminal justice Biblically? Criminal justice in America is in need of reform, and attorney Matthew Martens has put his theological mind into a Christian proposal for good reform. In this conversation with Matt, Derek, and Alastair, Martens...
11.14.2023
The Perplexing Book of Zechariah
Occasionally on Mere Fidelity we have taken up difficult passages of Scripture. On this episode we take up an entire book that feels quite difficult: the book of the prophet Zechariah. What do all those oddly specific visions mean? Is...
11.03.2023
Guarding Our Souls in Wartime
With war in Israel functioning as a totemic marker in our polarized political climate, Derek, Matt, and Alastair talk frankly and vulnerably about how all of us can do justice, love mercy, and not lose our souls. Full show notes...
10.24.2023
Called Into Questions
Is questioning your faith a good thing? We need not fear questions. By the grace of God, we have the safety and security to rush headlong into them and find ourselves better for it on the other side. Matt has...
10.17.2023
On Radical Integralism, with Dr. Kevin Vallier
Integralism is a philosophy of church and state that seemed to have been definitively rejected. And yet, it has received new life from prominent proponents in recent days. Dr. Kevin Vallier has written a new book that looks at the...
10.03.2023
Knowing God, with Dr. Fred Sanders
The classic intro to Christianity, Knowing God by J.I. Packer, was published 50 years ago. To celebrate this anniversary, Derek, Alastair, and Matt welcome Fred Sanders back to the show to discuss the distinctives of evangelical spirituality and practice which...
09.23.2023
Are Mediocre Christians Allowed?
Since at least the time of the Donatists, the Church has wrestled with how to relate to Christians who are just not that good at being Christians. Should we worship with Christians who are living in sin? Should we baptize,...
09.13.2023
1776, with Andrew Wilson
When answering the question, “How did we get here?” how far back do you have to go? Mere Fidelity’s own Andrew Wilson has identified a compelling candidate when it comes to the rise of the post-Christian West—namely, 1776. This year...
09.06.2023
Reformation as Renewal, with Dr. Matthew Barrett
Was the Reformation really as much a break with what came before it as we are often led to believe? Dr. Matthew Barrett says the Reformers themselves thought not. In his substantial new book, he shows how strongly the Reformers...
08.07.2023
The Biblical Trinity, with Brandon Smith
In The Biblical Trinity, Brandon Smith proclaims the Trinity from the Bible. The doctrine arises not from a handful of prooftexts but from the fullness of what the Bible says about God. In this edition of Mere Fi, Alastair and...
07.25.2023
Should We Put Flags in Churches? with Dr. Miles Smith
Does your church display an American flag or Union Jack or some other national flag? It’s been an active debate since the days of Caesar, through Christendom, and into the Modern American context: What should the relationship be between national...
06.20.2023
Bulwarks of Unbelief, with Joe Minich
In Bulwarks of Unbelief, Joseph Minich argues that a felt absence of God, as experienced by the modern individual, offers a better explanation for the rise in atheism. Recent technological and cultural shifts in the modern West have produced a...
06.09.2023
Reading Advice
Most of what we talk about on Mere Fidelity presupposes a lot of reading. What is the real use of reading? Is what we read more important than how we read? Why do some people who read for years never...
05.30.2023
Tim Keller’s Legacy
Friend of the show, Pastor Timothy Keller, has entered into glory. He was a pivotal player in Evangelicalism over the last generation, and a great encourager of many ministers, including the cast and crew of Mere Fidelity. To pay tribute...
05.16.2023
Pierced by Love, with Dr. Hans Boersma
Lectio Divina is a popular form of prayer using the reading of Scripture as a means of encountering God. While its origins are in Christian tradition, Lectio Divina is sometimes associated with a kind of individualistic loose spirituality. Dr. Hans...
05.10.2023
The Nicene Creed, with Dr. Phillip Cary
Why do we need creeds? What are they for? Isn’t Scripture enough? Dr. Phillip Cary has a very useful and smart book introducing the Nicene Creed to not only a wider audience, but take those of us who say the...
05.01.2023
Beautiful Union, with Joshua Ryan Butler
Josh Butler caused a big ruckus when an excerpt from his latest book was posted on a prominent Christian website. His approach using sex to talk about God drew a lot of criticism. The Mere Fi cast have a few...
04.18.2023
Resurrection Bodies
Christ is risen indeed! In this Easter season, Matt, Alastair, and Derek turn their attention to one of the most intriguing questions ever asked by Christians, namely, what exactly will our resurrection bodies be like? The answer may be more...
04.05.2023
Analogies for God
How can we humans form a conception of God, Who is infinitely beyond our capacity for understanding? Analogies! They’re at least as great as sliced bread. But using analogies is like playing with fire. Each one is a path that...
03.31.2023
Neo-Calvinism, with Cory Brock and Gray Sutanto
Neo-Calvinism is in the air. But is it theologically relevant or merely a political phenomenon? Or did the Americans just mess it up? Cory Brock and Gray Sutanto join Matt, Derek, and Alastair to make the case for Neo-Calvinism and...
03.21.2023
The Age of AI, with Jason Thacker
When students started turning in papers written by artificial intelligence, educators were caught flat-footed. We knew that machines would replace many human tasks, but we thought the humanities were immune to that. Have our writing standards fallen so low that...
03.07.2023
Protestants & History, with Paul Gutacker
On this episode of Mere Fidelity, historian of history Paul Gutacker joins Matt, Derek, and Alastair to talk about the changing and sometimes fraught relationship that Protestants have had with the notions of “history” and “tradition.” Paul’s book, The Old...
02.28.2023
A Billion Dollars
What would you do with a billion dollars to strengthen the Western Church? The question is straightforward enough, but the answers are where it gets interesting. The full Mere Fi cast and crew (Andrew, Matt, Derek, and Alastair) put their...
02.22.2023
The Man of Lawlessness
When you come across a passage of Scripture that just throws you for a loop, who do you go to for guidance? Matt turns to Alastair and Derek. Let the Mere Fi cast and crew be your Scriptural support group....
02.16.2023
The Genesis of Gender, with Dr. Abigail Favale
These days, it seems nobody without a doctorate in biology knows how to tell men apart from women. How did it come to this? And what can be done about it? Andrew, Matt, and Alastair talk to Dr. Abigail Favale,...
02.01.2023
Tolkien Dogmatics, with Austin Freeman
J.R.R. Tolkien is known as the language professor who created a fantasy world and constructed several languages for fun. However, those who get to know his writing and thought well discover that behind those seemingly frivolous projects lie deeply seeded...
01.26.2023
MAID in Canada
Why are so many Canadians choosing to make use of “medical assistance in dying” and ending their lives prematurely? The Mere Fidelity crew (including Alastair’s new Plus One) tackle this vexing question and disturbing trend. Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com....
01.19.2023
Antisemitism in Thessalonians
There is a passage in Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians that is so jarring some have doubted whether Paul could actually have written it. On its face it seems like an easy tool for antisemites to grab on to....
12.26.2022
Mere Fidelity to Mere Orthodoxy
Learn more about Mere Orthodoxy at www.mereorthodoxy.com.
12.20.2022
End of Year Extravaganza
At the end of each year, we like to take one episode of Mere Fidelity to give the hosts a chance to talk about their own projects and what has been their intellectual focus of the past year. We are...
11.22.2022
Gratitude, with Dr. Kent Dunnington
Talk of thankfulness pervades the Scriptures. But how well do we really understand the concept of gratitude. Matt has done some thinking about this recently with a fellow scholar from Biola University, Dr. Kent Dunnington. Along with Alastair, they tackle...
11.15.2022
Uncommon Unity, with Dr. Richard Lints
Our times are fragmented. Political and cultural differences rage, even among people who otherwise show goodwill. But what if Scripture actually provides the key for thinking about unity in diversity? Dr. Richard Lints joins Matt and Alastair to explore the...
11.02.2022
The Thrill of Orthodoxy, with Trevin Wax
Every generation faces the temptation to wander from orthodoxy and to drift with cultural currents. So every generation must be awakened again to the thrill of orthodoxy, and experience the astonishment that comes from stumbling afresh upon the electrifying paradoxes...

What's Mere Fidelity about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Mere Fidelity episodes:

The Deception of Isaac

Thinking For Yourself

Men and Women in I Timothy

The Resurrection in John

The Cross and the Empty Tomb

Quit Social Media

God’s Preferred Pronouns

Ascesis and the Modern World

C.S. Lewis for Everyone

Moral Complicity

A Quiet Mind to Suffer With, with John Bryant

The Ethics of Shunning

Christianity as a Way of Life, with Kevin Hector

Creator, with Peter Leithart

The Theology of Blessings

Reputation

Biblical Critical Theory, with Christopher Watkin

Reforming Criminal Justice, with Matthew Martens

The Perplexing Book of Zechariah

Guarding Our Souls in Wartime

Called Into Questions

On Radical Integralism, with Dr. Kevin Vallier

Knowing God, with Dr. Fred Sanders

Are Mediocre Christians Allowed?

1776, with Andrew Wilson

Reformation as Renewal, with Dr. Matthew Barrett

The Biblical Trinity, with Brandon Smith

Should We Put Flags in Churches? with Dr. Miles Smith

Bulwarks of Unbelief, with Joe Minich

Reading Advice

Tim Keller’s Legacy

Pierced by Love, with Dr. Hans Boersma

The Nicene Creed, with Dr. Phillip Cary

Beautiful Union, with Joshua Ryan Butler

Resurrection Bodies

Analogies for God

Neo-Calvinism, with Cory Brock and Gray Sutanto

The Age of AI, with Jason Thacker

Protestants & History, with Paul Gutacker

A Billion Dollars

The Man of Lawlessness

The Genesis of Gender, with Dr. Abigail Favale

Tolkien Dogmatics, with Austin Freeman

MAID in Canada

Antisemitism in Thessalonians

Mere Fidelity to Mere Orthodoxy

End of Year Extravaganza

Gratitude, with Dr. Kent Dunnington

Uncommon Unity, with Dr. Richard Lints

The Thrill of Orthodoxy, with Trevin Wax