The Key

As we wrap up our series on God's attributes, Sara first asks what it means for God to be good. From there we dive into truth and faithfulness, followed by intriguing questions around gender and the motherhood of God as expressed in Scripture. Join us as we finish exploring God's moral attributes!

What are the attributes that humans cann emulate -- the communicable or moral attributes? When we say that God is lovinng or holy, what do we mean? In this episode, Sara shifts gears from those attributes which are applicable only to God towards those with which humans may engage and even imitate. The episode also considers how God's characteris a source of human hope and confidence. Finally, we'll begin to explore the ways God set the stanndard for our lives as Christians, simply by his nature.

Happy Easter! In this episode, we'll continue learning about the nature of God; Sara discusses more of God's non-moral attributes or the characteristics which we can't emulate as humans. We'll dive into some of the more well known attributes by looking at the "omni's" such as omniscience, omnipresence, and more! Sara also takes us to the current church season of Easter to explore its connections with God's nature and how both should enliven our worship of him as the living God. Join us!

From the deep-end of the Trinity to the riches of God's character, we are off and away! This episode considers how we can categorise the attributes of God (his characteristics). We'll hear about communicable/incommunicable categories, feminist concerns, and the historical method of absolute vs relative attributes. Then the episode takes the heady turn into the non-moral attributes as we discuss aseity, infinity, and immensity.

One of the best ways we learn about something is by discovering what it isn't. In this episode, Sara explains some early Trinitarian heresies in order to help us see who God is not. From there we get into a discussion of why the Trinity matters for the life of an everyday believer and how this understanding of God significantly shapes faith, worship, and life together.

Augustine famously said (and I'm paraphrasing): If you deny the Trinity you will lose your soul. If you try and explain it you will lose your mind.

The Trinity is obviously important, it's who God is. But it's also complicated, how can three be one God? Well, that's just what we're going to explore today. Here Sara begins with "theology proper" -- the study of God and who he is. We'll dive in to the deep end by considering what it means for God to be Triune. Join us!

One of my favourite professors used to say that if our theology doesn't "work at the margins" then it isn't good theology. We have a lot of margins in the world right now, don't we?

This week we have woken to difficult, painful news in the world. From Ukraine to estimates on children who've lost parents to COVID-19, even divisions in our own home and community -- it's been a hard week on top of a difficult season. What does theology have to do with any of this? What are we supposed to do, as individual Christians? As the church? We'll consider these questions today in a brief pause from the normal set of episodes.

Did you know there are different methods for doing theology, different approaches to the study of God? In this episode, Sara explains biblical, historical, and systematic approaches to doing theology. We'll also touch on some more recent developments in theology and consider how different sources play into the way we study God.

It might seem like a niche topic, but hopefully by the end you'll have a clearer understanding not only of what Sara's doing on Macrina's Key, but also why our theological method matters. The questions we ask and the sources we consider authoritative, all serve to inform how we do theology and the places where we might end up theologically.

A wee introduction to Sara Evans, the host at Macrina's Key. Hear a little bit of her background and some embarrassing moments -- like the time she mispronounced lasagna while in Rome.

Who was Macrina the Younger and why is she the inspiration behind this podcast? What’s the key for theology and finding God in every season? In this episode, we'll answer some basic questions about the podcast. What's the goal, why consider a woman largely hidden in the background of theological history, and why did Sara even start this project?