We are all familiar with the concept of romantic, or courtly, love. But do we understand where the concept comes from and what it means? In today’s Monstrous Regiment, Suzannah Rowntree and Stephen C. Perks take us on a fascinating journey through history, eschatology, literature, and scripture, as they explore various views of courtly love and and the underlying ideas that have shaped our modern understanding of romance.

Whether it’s abortion advocates championing it as a women’s right, pro-lifers treating it as something that happens to women, or abolitionists discussing it as a women’s sin and debating what punishment women should receive for perpetrating it, the abortion debate seems to focus almost exclusively on women. Why is that? Should it be this way? Liz Sachs and Elisabeth Goss dig into whether abortion is a gender-specific sin in this week’s Monstrous Regiment.

Liz explores the idea of service based authority and how it applies in a parenting context in today’s episode.

The phrase “biblical modesty” is bandied about frequently, but what does it really mean and why is it important? Most of us have presuppositions about modesty that are actually the opposite of what the Bible says. In Episode 20, Monstrous host Kate Robinson takes a look at some of the most common myths surrounding “modesty” and what it does and doesn’t mean.

Is Tolkien a Misogynist? Is Rohan a sexist culture? Did Eowyn give up war to be a wife?

Monstrous host and medieval history scholar Suzannah Rowntree addresses (new wave) feminist critiques regarding everyone’s favorite shieldmaiden.

Wouldn’t it be amazing if the church was a safe place to run to for those who have been abused and exploited, and the people of God were wise as serpents, and gentle as doves, able to bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted and recognize wolves (EVEN when they’re wearing sheep’s clothing)?

We have to start somewhere. Let’s start by talking about it. Check out Rebecca Robinson and Toni Kolb digging into how to recognize red flags of a predator.

Many thanks to special guest Tim Yarbrough for joining Cheryl Ann Hannah Nicholson to share his thoughts with us in episode 18.

It seems Christians are constantly exhorted to ignore, subdue, and dismiss emotions. We are told that thinking and decision-making must be, above all, rational. But is this dichotomy Biblical, reasonable, or reven real? In Episode 17, hosts Suzannah and Liz discuss what the Bible says about emotions.

Let’s talk about the crusades! In Episode 15, Kate Robinson interviews our own co-host Suzannah Rowntree Author about her recently released novel, A WIND FROM THE WILDERNESS, an historical fiction fantasy novel about the first crusade, and we discuss the crusades themselves and what really happened.

In Episode 15, Monstrous host Cheryl Hannah Nicholson interviews Joseph Foreman about how Jesus overthrows all our ideas of power and authority in the upper room, and what we have to look forward to in the future when we finally grow up.