The Gospel Underground Podcast

Scriptures Referenced

Genesis 2, 3

Genesis 6, 9

Genesis 12, 15

Deuteronomy 30

2 Samuel 7

Jeremiah 31

Hebrews 8

Galatians 4:4-7

2 Corinthians 1:19,20

Works and Authors Referenced

John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, 1689.

Jean Jacque Rousseau, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rousseau

Steve Tuner, “Creed” found in Up to Date: Poems 1968-1982, 1993

Thomas Hobbes, Leviathan, 1651

Miroslav Volf, Free of Charge, quoted in Paul Copan, Is God a  Moral Monster, 192.

GK Chesterton, Orthodoxy, Chapter IV “The Ethics of Elfland”

Scriptures Referenced

Matthew 11:18,19

Luke 18:9-14

Romans Chapters 3-6

Show Notes

Books Referenced

GK Chesterton, Orthodoxy (1908), Chapter 2 (“The Maniac”): “Certain new theologians dispute original sin, which is the only part of Christian theology which can really be proved.”

Reinhold Niebuhr Man’s Nature and His Communities (1965) “The doctrine of original sin is the only empirically verifiable doctrine of the Christian faith”

Links Referenced

Roman Catholic Catechism - "All men are implicated in Adam’s sin, as St. Paul affirms, since sin came into the world through one man and death through sin, so death spread to all men because all men sinned" https://www.vatican.va/content/catechism/en/part_one/section_two/chapter_one/article_1/paragraph_7_the_fall.html

Heidelberg Catechism (1563) — Lord’s Day 2–3, Q&A 5–8. Q7: "the depravity of human nature proceeds from the fall and disobedience of our first parents, Adam and Eve, in Paradise; our nature is become so corrupt that we are all conceived and born in sin." https://heritagereformedgr.org/our-beliefs/heidelberg-catechism/lords-day-3/

The Westminster Confession, 1647, Our first parents, being seduced by the subtlety and temptation of Satan, sinned in eating the forbidden fruit… By this sin they fell from their original righteousness and communion with God, and so became dead in sin, and wholly defiled in all the faculties and parts of soul and body...the guilt of this sin was imputed, and the same death in sin and corrupted nature conveyed to all their posterity descending from them by ordinary generation....sin is a transgression of the righteous law of God, bringing guilt, God’s wrath, the curse of the law, and death, with all miseries spiritual, temporal, and eternal. https://www.apuritansmind.com/westminster-standards/chapter-6/

1689 London Baptist Confession — Chapter 6 Is almost identical to the Westminster Confession.

The New City Catechism Q16 (“What is sin?”): "Sin is rejecting or ignoring God in the world he created, rebelling against him by living without reference to him, not being or doing what he requires in his law — resulting in our death and the disintegration of all creation." https://newcitycatechism.com/new-city-catechism/#16

Augustines Hierarchy of Being - Turning our desires and worship to lesser things - A concise summary of Augustine's thought can be found here - Robert Park's lecture on Augustine and Plotinus (October 1, 1998) https://people.bu.edu/wwildman/WeirdWildWeb/courses/wphil/lectures/wphil_theme06.htm

Scriptures Referenced

Genesis 3; Jeremiah 2:12,13; Romans 3-6

Scripture Referenced

Genesis 1:26-28; Genesis 3:15; Psalm 8; 2 Corinthians 4:5; Colossians 1:13

Quotations

Ontological or Structural Views of Image of God

Augustine (354-430) located the image in the rational soul, finding a trinitarian structure in memory, understanding, and will (De Trinitate, Books IX–XIV).

“The mind is the image of God, in that it is capable of Him and can be partaker of Him.” —

De Trinitate 14.8.11 (NPNF trans.)

Anselm (1033-1109) follows a similar line of thinking, treating the image as the capacity to remember, understand, and love God:

“I acknowledge, Lord, and give thanks that you have created in me this your image, so that I may remember you, think of you, love you. But this image is so worn away by vices, so smudged by the smoke of sins, that it cannot do what it was created to do unless you renew and refashion it.” — Proslogion, ch. 1

Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) grounds the image in intellect and freedom:

“Man is said to be made to God’s image, in so far as the image implies an intelligent being endowed with free-will and self-movement.” — Summa Theologiae I-II, prologue

“Intellectual creatures alone, properly speaking, are made to God’s image.” — ST I, q. 93, a. 2

Aquinas also distinguishes a threefold image: by nature (all men), by grace (in those justified), by glorification (in the blessed) — ST I, q. 93, a. 4

Functional View of the Image of God

Functional - The image of God means to have dominion, that human beings were made to rule and reign as representatives or vice regents of God on the earth.

Anthony Hoekema brings together the structural and functional views: The image of God in man must therefore be seen as involving both the structure of man and the functioning of man— Hoekema, Created in God’s Image, 1986

Relationally as central to understanding Image of God

Karth Barth (1886-1968) is the key theologian here - he saw "male and female he created them" to indicate relationality as key to understanding the image of God.

Summary God created us with certain capacities (intellect, understanding, emotions, will), to do what he created human beings to do (rule and reign and represent God on the earth) in covenantal relationship with God and other people.

Other Quotations Cited

“The image of God carries with it the right not to be mistreated or harmed.... Regardless of their record or character, all human beings have an irreducible glory and significance to them, because God loves them.... So we must treasure each and every human being as a way of showing due respect for the majesty of their owner and Creator.” — Timothy Keller, Generous Justice

“We are not to consider what men merit of themselves but to look upon the image of God in all men, to which we owe all honor and love.” — Institutes IV.1.7

Scriptures Referenced Genesis 1:1-5; Hebrews 11:1-3; Colossians 2:8; 2 Corinthians 4:5-6; 2 Timothy 2:24-26; Colossians 1:13-14

Confessions Cited The Apostles Creed The Nicene Creed The Catechism of the Roman Catholic Church The Westminster Catechism The London Baptist Confession The New City Catechism

Philosophy and Forming Actual Infinites

St. Bonaventure's Arguments https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/bonaventure/

Hilbert's Hotel Paradox - https://www.britannica.com/video/paradox-David-Hilbert-hotel/-205800

Scientific References

Red Shift and Big Bang Cosmology

https://youtu.be/3W2GMSQOZq8?si=C-kUm_KarPJlGFZ3

Books Referenced

William Lane Craig, Reasonable Faith Christian Truth and Apologetics, 84.

Robert Jastrow, God and the Astronomers, 1978.

Scripture Referenced

2 Timothy 2:24-26; 2 Corinthians 10:4-5; Matthew 5:43-47; 2 Corinthians 4:1-7

Link Referenced

Guiding Philosophies of The Gospel Underground https://www.gospelunderground.org/mission-and-vision

Thoughtful and Respectful Engagement As we seek to impact people in the borderlands between the church and culture, we desire to think deeply about life, faith, and the ideas of the world, while engaging them with kindness and civility. (1 Peter 3:15, Colossians 4:2-6)

Scripture Referenced

Stronger Together - Romans 15:6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Prepared Together - 1 Peter 1:13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Fight Together - 1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

Show Notes

Scripture Referenced

Matthew 7:12; Acts; Hebrews 3:12-14; 2 Corinthians 1:3–4; Romans 12:1; Joshua 1:8,9; Isaiah 41:10, 2 Corinthians 12:9, 10; Hebrews 13:7–9; 2 Timothy 2:1–2

Links and Lyrics Referenced

The Home Team - A Guide to Family Worship

We are Not as Strong as we think we are by Rich Mullins

John Piper, Be Strengthened by Grace, https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/be-strengthened-by-grace. Accessed March 5, 2026.

A Mighty Fortress is our God by Martin Luther

Books Referenced

Timothy Keller, Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism, 163

Scripture Referenced

2 Corinthians 1:3-7

Galatians 6:2

2 Peter 1:3-9

Psalm 103:1-8

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Philippians 2:14-15

Psalm 55:22

1 Peter 5:6, 7

2 Thessalonians 2:16, 17

Sources Referenced

Stanford Research on Complaining and the Brain  https://x.com/shiningscience/status/2013113758386987099?s=61&t=tlwkbxDptbUski5ck2qYEA

Sophie L. Kjærvik and Brad J. Bushman, “A Meta-Analytic Review of Anger Management Activities That Increase or Decrease Arousal: What Fuels or Douses Rage?” Clinical Psychology Review 109 (2024): 102414.

Lauren C. Michl et al., “Rumination as a Mechanism Linking Stressful Life Events to Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety: Longitudinal Evidence in Early Adolescents and Adults,” Journal of Abnormal Psychology, volume 122, no. 2 (2013), pages 339–352.

Catherine B. Stroud et al., “Rumination, Excessive Reassurance Seeking, and Stress Generation among Early Adolescent Girls,” The Journal of Early Adolescence, vol. 38, no. 2 (2018), pages 139–163

Yvette I. Sheline et al., “The Default Mode Network and Self-Referential Processes in Depression,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 106, no. 6 (2009): 1942-1947

Matthew D. Lieberman et al., “Putting Feelings into Words: Affect Labeling Disrupts Amygdala Activity in Response to Affective Stimuli,” Psychological Science 18, no. 5 (2007): 421–22.

Movies

F1: The Movie on Apple TV

Formula 1 on Apple TV in 2026

Train Dreams on Netflix

Shows

All Creatures Great and Small - Masterpiece Theater, stream on PBS Passport

The Bear on FX

Podcasts

The Daily Liturgy Podcast from Coram Deo Church, Omaha, NE

The Surpising Rebirth of Belief in God with Justin Brierly

Hardcore History with Dan Carlin

Books

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Why We're Feeling Lonely by Shelby Abbott

2084 Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Humanity by John Lennox

The Thinking Machine - Jensen Wong, Nvida and the World's Most Coveted Microchip by Stephen Witt

The Gale's of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald by John U. Bacon