New Testament scholar Thomas Dixon joins us to talk about the surprising nature of divine wrath and election in Scripture, especially regarding the oft-misunderstood passage from St. Paul, Romans 9-11.

Thomas and I begin the conversation by exploring the thesis of his new book, Paul and the Wrath: Divine Judgment and Mercy for Israel in Romans 9-11, that, in Paul’s thinking, as elsewhere in the Bible, divine wrath and mercy are not opposites. From there, we journey into questions of human and divine agency, the nature of “election,” and the possible problems with the typical Calvinist view of “double predestination."

It starts off a little technical (we both appreciate nuance), but picks up steam as we go. Also, don’t miss the practical application portion near the end. Thomas is a wealth of knowledge—he’s translating on the spot from his Greek New Testament throughout—but more importantly, he’s a wealth of wisdom, love, and humility. It was an honor to converse with him on this difficult topic. Our hope is that it will help others more faithfully navigate these waters, and, of course, that it will help us love God more. In the words of Abraham Heschel, “the secret of anger is God’s care.”

Enjoy!

Don’t forget to check out the book: Paul and the Wrath 
(Discount Code: 17FALL24 for 20% off your purchase!)

To watch the video of this conversation or for more content like this, visit Ross Byrd's Substack at PatientKingdom.com

A short story wrestling with the problem of "divine violence" in the Bible, specifically the stoning of the Sabbath-breaker in Numbers 15. A man is caught picking up sticks on the Sabbath, and the Lord tells Moses to have the people stone him to death. How could such a thing possibly be ordained by God? How should Christians think about such passages?

Yuval Noah Harari's TED Talk clip that I mentioned

My Substack: Patient Kingdom

This episode is a wild ride. What began as a straightforward movie review of a Disney animated film turned into an in-depth theological/philosophical/mythical journey from Prometheus to Aladdin to Rumpelstiltskin to Midas to Faust to Frankenstein to Adam to Cain to Gilgamesh to Satan to Jesus to Garth Brooks. There's a lot going on here. But I promise it's worth it, it fits together. Give it a listen and tell me what you think.

"Let me say from the start, I'm not the kind of guy who hate-watches animated Disney films. I'm a true believer..."

Read the Substack version here.

Read the original published article on Mere Orthodoxy.

Find more content like this and subscribe at PatientKingdom.com

A Parish Manifesto is a vision for the future of our evangelical churches in America.

Two central streams run throughout Scripture in seemingly opposite directions: holiness ("being set apart") and inclusion ("bringing together"). Ultimately, these two streams flow together in Christ and in his church. Yet, in practice, sometimes one stream takes center stage. Joseph's blessed relationship with Egypt at the end of the Book of Genesis was an inclusion movement. The 20th Century heyday of Evangelicalism was a Joseph Movement. By contrast, Moses's departure from Egypt was the beginning of a holiness movement. The American Church today, I submit, is entering a Moses Movement.

Again, the kingdom of God is ultimately about the marriage of inclusion and holiness. Both are needed. But the people of God must nevertheless prophetically discern different emphases from the Lord in different seasons. As such, I propose four characteristics for the future of the American church as it enters a Moses Movement, in which we reclaim holiness (without abandoning inclusion):
 

1. Parishes: Our churches should be neighborhood-based, encouraging people to re-embody their faith, worship, and obedience where they live, alongside their actual neighbors.
2. Steeples: Our churches should be beautiful, holy places that point heavenward with beautiful, holy rhythms that point heavenward. 
3. Priests: Our churches must be led by priests, un-busy holy people, who represent God to the people and the people to God.
4. People: The church, as the priesthood of all believers, can become its own divine economy, not centered on mammon but on mutual care and love of neighbor.

Original Article in Mere Orthodoxy

Abridged Version at Patient Kingdom

For more content like this, visit and consider subscribing to my substack, Patient Kingdom, at www.PatientKingdom.com.

God bless you all!

Over the past few years, in our Virginia Beach community, I’ve been exploring the question, “What does faithful participation in the body of Christ look like? Where do we begin?” In response, we’ve formed some very simple collective practices: Scripture, Prayer, Fasting, Church, & Authority. 

We’re not trying to reinvent the wheel here. Quite the opposite. We’re trying to rediscover the wheel, as though somehow along the way, the wheels of our church fell off and got lost, and we’ve just been dragging our collective faith across the ground by means of occasional energetic spurts of explanation and experience. To rediscover the wheels of the church means to engage in shared religious practices that bind us together and bind us to God. Historically, these practices—these “wheels”—have carried a lot of weight for a very long distance, much more than we could ever do of our own accord. Without them, it’s actually impressive we still have a church. 

Impressive, but not sustainable. 

Our current do-it-yourself, just-me-and-God brand of faith appears to offer “freedom” from the constraints of a seemingly legalistic religiosity. In reality, it often requires Navy-seal-level willpower and PhD-level intellect in order for individual believers to thrive. And if only the strongest wills and intellects can thrive, that’s an indicator we’re doing it wrong. 

It doesn’t have to be this way. Many believers toil for years trying in vain to lift one heavy stumbling stone from their path. Some succeed. Some never do. Yet the simplest communal habits, if practiced consistently together, can move mountains.

Would you consider joining us in committing to these five simple practices?

To see the original article on which this episode is based, clicker here: "Rediscovering the Wheel"

For more content from Ross Byrd, check out his Substack at PatientKingdom.com.

“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”  — Mark 11:24

Prayer means asking. But asking is a more foreign concept to us than it might seem. Adults in the modern world don’t actually do a lot of asking. We press buttons and things appear. We take pills and things disappear. We wish for things. We work for things. But we don’t often ask, because…asking is a very vulnerable thing to do. The faith required to ask is different from the faith required to press a button or take a pill. Not faith in a mechanism, but faith in a Person, in a relationship. When a mechanism lets you down, it can be frustrating. But when a person lets you down, it can break a piece of your soul. And yet, there is no way around it. He will not give as a mechanism. He gives as a Father to a child, as a husband to a wife, as a friend to a friend. To “believe” means to trust. And trust is risky. Yet without trust, no relationship can exist. And no request can be answered.

The original written version of this podcast can be found here: "Ask And It Shall Be Given"

To discover more content by Ross Byrd, visit his Substack at PatientKingdom.com.

Nobody wants to be religious anymore. Secular people often say they are “spiritual not religious.” Evangelicals often say, “Christianity is not a religion; it’s a relationship.” Sure, Christianity is about a relationship with God. But there's a reason the Bible is full of priests and temples, ceremonies and sacrifices, prayers and prophecies, covenants and commandments. Our relationship with God was meant to be a religious relationship. And it's time for Christians to become religious again. That's what this episode is about.

You can find a written version of this episode on my Substack here: "Losing Our Religion."

Want to read more from Ross Byrd? Become a free subscriber to his Substack: Patient Kingdom.

Good news! Podcast episodes are back! This one's an introduction to what I've been thinking and writing about lately. It's taken from a recent post on my Substack newsletter, Patient Kingdom. If you'd like to read more or receive weekly posts to your inbox, please visit PatientKingdom.com and subscribe. Thanks!

- Ross Byrd

Why do Christians fast? I was recently asked to record a podcast on that very question as our VB community embarks on a 21-day season of prayer and fasting. Hope you enjoy. You can find the written version of this talk on my new website PatientKingdom.com. Subscribe there to receive weekly articles from me in your inbox. Hope you enjoy.