Mortification of Spin

The crew travels West, picking Hollywood as their destination this week. Unfortunately, the topic is not “holiday” hit movies but the publicity of the Harvey Weinstein sex scandals. Questions are on the table and the discussion is on: Consent among two adults, how is that determined in Hollywood’s environment? Is it fair to say that Weinstein is merely acting upon his industry’s philosophy? How can these sex scandals be so prominent amidst a culture that claims to defend and empower women? What is the solution for these abuses? Will more laws and codes be able to curb the depravity of the human heart? The crew offers some alternatives that Hollywood might not find ideal. Let’s hear what they have to say!

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We’re taking a ride in a Mustang GT through Western PA with our special guest T. David Gordon. He’s the professor of religion and Greek at Grove City College, he's also been studying and teaching media ecology for years.

T. David offers some astute thoughts on how the media has impacted Johnny. He shows us how pulpits and pews have been affected by cultural illiteracy. Johnny can’t preach, he can’t sing hymns either, and the crew wants to know why. What are the basic elements missing from preaching and why must they not be ignored? He also gives us great insight on the exclusivity of Psalm singing. All that, while listening to the powerful V8 engine and ZZ Top playing on the radio.

We have a several copies of "Why Johnny Can't Preach" by T. David Gordon courtesy of P&R Publishing that we are giving away. Enter for your chance to win.

The crew is playing “Pin the Tail on the Donkey” in the underground bunker as they take a look at the statement “Evangelicalism is as much of a culture as it is a theological movement,” and they discuss the difficult job of defining evangelicalism.

What does evangelicalism look like in the broad spectrum? Where do Reformed confessional protestants fit in? How do we separate evangelicals like Joel Osteen and D. A. Carson? Not so simple! "Big Eva" or small, the conversation weighs in on our unity with brothers and sisters from other denominations against the threat of losing denominational identity when we get into the big movement.

We have a several copies of "Here We Stand" edited by James Boice that we are giving away courtesy of P&R. Enter for your chance to win.

We would also like to offer all listeners to Mortification of Spin a free MP3 download entitled "What Is happening to the Evangelicals".

It’s getting chilly in the Northeast so we head down to the Sunshine State, order a freshly-squeezed orange juice, and sit out in the sun with Michael Allen, professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando to talk about his New Study in Dogmatics volume entitled Sanctification. The crew has many questions for him, and I bet they’re not the only ones.

What is holiness, and what does it really mean to become holy? Should moral living be addressed upfront in evangelism? Is there a connection between sanctification and assurance? Michael kindly answers these and more, by connecting sanctification to other fundamental doctrines of Scripture.

We have a several copies of "Sanctification" by Michael Allen that we are giving away courtesy of Zondervan. Enter for your chance to win.

What does it take to disqualify a man from ministry? Adultery? Emotional and spiritual abuse? Manipulation? According to cultural Christianity, none of these!

If God’s Word is not the rule of faith and life, the moral compass is lost and anything goes! We’re talking about the “come-back” of Mark Driscoll and Tullian Tchividjian to the public life, and worse, to the pulpit after serious public scandals.

The gang opens up the issues and answers some of the questions that many of us are asking. What are the qualifications of an office bearer? How seriously should the church and the office bearer take the standards laid out in the pastoral epistles? Are there warning signs one should watch for? Does repentance mean full restoration to ministry?

Turn it on, turn it up, and let's see what they’ve got!

We have a several copies of "Disciplines of a Godly Man" and "Disciplines of a Godly Woman" by Kent and Barbara Hughes that we are giving away courtesy of Crossway. Enter for your chance to win.