Theology in the Raw

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Here's the full list of Questions:

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:36 How do you think purity culture has affected asexuality among Christians? Have you done any study of asexuality? And if not, would you consider it?
• 04:33 Several young people in my life are doubting Jesus' divinity. What are some of the best thoughts you have on helping them see & understand Jesus' divine nature? And what resources would you recommend those of us in conversation with these young people?
• 13:04 How would you respond to someone who says that everything is God's will and God never makes mistakes, when something really bad happens?
• 15:54 If same-sex attraction is not a sin, then what is it? And how should Christians relate to it in their own lives?
• 18:07 How do I help my Conservative friends know why I'm not "fixing" my lgtbq friends' orientation and am first loving them and helping them experience Jesus? 
• 21:03 How can lay people practically ensure the strength of our research matches the strength of our convictions/passions?
• 24:32 How do Pastors of small and financially struggling church make income to live? Balance of trusting God’s calling and provision vs quitting ministry? 
• 27:20 Rom 12:18 says if possible live in peace with everyone: how do you go about sharing church community with broken relationships that can’t be reconciled?
• 29:54 What have you seen that helps people to become formed and developed as disciples of Jesus in different seasons of life— 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s etc? 
• 36:45 Recently there’s been renewed conversation online about the dangers of Islam, Sharia Law, and Muslims taking over the United States. Is this just fear mongering? Should someone speak out against that? 
• 47:06 Rachel Held Evans had a phrase she used to say: "On the days when I believe...", implying there were days when she struggled to believe the beautiful but crazy and often bewildering story of Jesus and the gospel. If there are days when you struggle to believe, what do you do? 
• 51:29 How do you reconcile the Biblical account of creation with the evidence for pre-human hominids? Is there any way to believe in a literal Adam and Eve without disbelieving all the evidence for pre-human hominids?
• 54:46 In Does the Bible Support Same-Sex Marriage?, you argue that you don’t need sex and marriage to have a fulfilling life, referring to the NT’s view of singleness. While this is a great response when talking to a fellow inerrantist, how would you make the same point when talking to a skeptic (specifically, a skeptic who thinks the Bible is anti-Gay)?
• 57:32 Which view of interpreting the story of Noah & son’s sin in Genesis 9 is your preferred?

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Janice Rosser Allen is CEO and President of International Cooperating Ministries (ICM), the global ministry founded by her father, Dois Rosser, which celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. She has served on ICM’s Board of Directors since 1986 and has led the organization as CEO since 2008. A graduate of the University of Virginia and Duke University, Janice worked in clinical and academic oncology nursing before God called her into full-time ministry with ICM. Widowed at 51, she is an ordained elder, author of God in the Crossroads, and she’s passionate about empowering indigenous Christian leaders worldwide.

00:00 — Introduction: How ICM Is Growing the Global Church

06:07 — Albert Schweitzer's Missionary Legacy and Radical Faith

08:09 — Indigenous Missions: Why Local Church Leaders Matter

11:46 — Cooperating with local, indigenous leadership in missions

16:12 — How Technology Is Transforming Christian Missions

18:07 — How Mission Organizations Vet Trusted Partners

22:07 — What the Global Church Can Teach Western Christians

29:37 — Powerful Mission Stories from Vietnam and Rwanda

34:31 — American Christianity vs. the Global Church

41:41 — Church Growth in Iran, Nepal, and Other Restricted Nations

45:54 — Why Christianity Is Growing in Thailand

47:03 — Prosperity Gospel and Persecution: Challenges Facing the Global Church

50:08 — Building local churches with local workers and materials

51:20 — Are Short-Term Mission Trips Helping or Hurting?

56:56 — How You Can Support Indigenous Missions

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Dr. O. Alan Noble is Professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University, a fellow at the Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics, and author of four books, including his most recent book: To Live Well: Practical Wisdom for Moving Through Chaotic Times.

Check out the Christ at the Checkpoint conference at: www.christatthecheckpoint.bethbc.edu

Time Stamps:

00:00 Introduction 

03:46 Advice for Aspiring Writers

07:03 Moral Confusion and Living Well in Chaotic Times

10:47 Can Going Offline Fix Modern Life?

13:04 The Seven Classical Virtues Explained

14:28 On Prudence and Difficulty Making Decisions

22:49 Why Courage Is Hard for Young Adults Today

27:19 Justice, Social Media, and Virtue Signaling

36:07 Suffering, Courage, and Healing from Trauma

42:23 Which Virtues Are Hardest to Practice?

44:50 Politics, Institutions, and the Common Good

52:47 Are Big Corporations Inherently Evil? (Closing Thoughts)

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Lindsey Medenwaldt is an assistant professor of business and economics at Northwestern College in Iowa. Lindsey has written two books: Bridge-Building Apologetics and her recent (co-authored with Dr. Douglas Groothuis) What If Jesus Is Right? will be released in August 2026. Lindsey engages extensively on the topics of apologetics and worldview as a writer, editor, teacher, and speaker. She has a Jurist Doctorate, a masters in public administration, and a masters in apologetics and ethics from Denver Seminary.

Time Stamps:

00:00 Introduction 

01:42 How Lindsay Became an Apologist

06:20 When you Don’t Know the Answer

07:49 Apologetics without being Argumentative

11:32 Making friends as Adults 

14:20 Evangelism for Introverts 

26:20 Moving from Small Talk to Big Faith Conversations 

30:06 Evangelism on a Plane 

35:47 When you can’t Figure out what to say 

40:36 Political Division and Evangelism 

45:49 Social Media and A.I impact on Relationships 

49:37 Gen Z, Relationships, and Human Connection

57:39 What if Jesus was Right? Biblical reliability matters 

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Dr. Ben Norquist is a writer, scholar, and serves as the Director of Communications & Development for Bethlehem Institute for Peace & Justice, bringing Palestinian Christian teaching into conversations within the global church. Dr. Brian Miller is a professor of sociology at Wheaton College, and his research interests include the American suburbs (particularly their development, culture, depictions in media, and housing), cities, religion and place and how it relates to American evangelicalism and culture. Together, Ben and Brian wrote a recent book together called: Every Somewhere Sacred: Rescuing a Theology of Place in the American Imagination

Time Stamps

00:00 Introduction

02:01 What is a Theology of Place? 

06:56 Ethics and Place. 

11:29 The Morality of Cities. Why do we build these places? 

17:11 Patriotism, Christian Citizenship & Love of Place 

23:54 Gentrification, NIMBYism & Who Is My Neighbor?

30:33 What Theology of Place Is Trying to Recover

34:40 Israel-Palestine Through the Lens of Land

40:34 Christianity in the Big City vs. Rural Christianity and the Suburbs

49:2 Where to Find More Brian and Ben

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Dr. Jeannine Brown is The David Price Professor of Biblical and Theological Foundations at Bethel Seminary, where she has taught for 26 years. She focuses her research on the New Testament, hermeneutics, and integration. She’s written a bunch of books and commentaries, including Scripture as Communication, Becoming Whole and Holy, Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels (editor), commentaries on Matthew, Philippians, and 1 Peter (forthcoming), and a couple books most pertinent to our conversation: Gospels as Stories and The Greatest Story Ever Retold (with John Anthony Dunne). Jeannine is a member of the NIV translation committee. In this podcast conversation, we talk about reading the gospels as narratives versus harmonizing the 4 Gospels, and we also talk about the portrayal of Jesus in film, including the popular The Chosen series.

Time Stamps:

00:00 Introduction

02:57 Why Read the Gospels as Narrative?

07:36 Are the Gospel Differences Contradictions?

11:45 Ancient Biography and the Gospels

21:45 Why John's Gospel Is Different

33:44 How Each Gospel Presents Jesus

39:15 How to Read the Gospels Well

44:15 Bible Movies and Portraying Jesus

54:20 The Chosen: Creative License and Biblical Faithfulness

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Andrew Bunt is the Content Director at Living Out, a UK based ministry that equips the church in matters related to sexuality and gender from biblical perspective. (living out.org). Andrew is a pastor, speaker, and author who’s written several books including his latest book: Getting God’s Perspective: A Short Christian Introduction to Worldviews, Sexuality & Gender. In this conversation, we discuss questions about the Christian sexual ethic—is it beautiful or oppressive and harmful? Why a Christian worldview is essential for understanding the Christian sexuality ethic. How a Christian view of freedom and progress are important for understanding sexuality. And then, in our "extra innings" portion of this conversation, we discuss, once again, whether Christians should “identify” as gay (and what the term “identity” even means).

Time Stamps

00:00:00 Introduction

00:02:12 The Beauty of Christian Sexuality & God's Design 

00:06:33 Why the Secular Story About Sexuality Falls Short 

00:14:17 Talking with Young People About LGBTQ Friends & Biblical Boundaries 

00:22:58 Living with Unmet Sexual Desires and Spiritual Growth 

00:27:15 Singleness, Loneliness, and the Community Jesus Envisioned 

00:34:30 The Importance of Deep Friendship and Belonging in the Church 

00:45:00 Why Worldview Matters for Conversations About Sexuality & Gender 

00:55:00 A Christian Worldview of Progress and Living Faithfully in a Changing Culture 

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Dr. Ellie Paley received her Ph.D. from Cambridge University, where she studied the book of Job, and she’s currently pursuing a post-doc at Bar-Illan University in Israel. Ellie literally memorized the entire book—in Hebrew…in 6 months! Job is her gig and she knows more about the book than anyone I know. In this episode, Ellie gives a master class on the book of Job, discussing its date, the setting, the meaning of “The Adversary” (hasatan, or Satan?), the purpose of the prologue (Job 1-2), the content of purpose of the dialogue cycle of Job’s 3 friends, the purpose of the transitionary wisdom poem of Job 28, the role and function of Elihu’s speech and why she thinks he’s a rather presumptuous young buck who thinks he knows better than he really does, God’s response to Job, and how the book resolves in the latter chapters. We end by reflecting on Job’s contribution to the question of theodicy and the problem of evil. To follow Ellie’s work, check out her Substack “Compulsively Contemplative” here.

Time Stamps

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:05 Why Memorize the Book of Job? (Hebrew, Theology & Spiritual Formation)

00:12:30 Who Wrote Job? Date, Setting & Historical Background

00:24:28 Is Job Historical? Debating the Origins of the Book of Job

00:28:10 Satan in Job: Understanding the Divine Adversary

00:38:42 God's Speeches & the Meaning of Suffering in Job

00:43:57 What’s up with Job’s friends? Retribution Theology Explained

00:55:14 Who Is Elihu? His Role in the Book of Job

01:01:05 God Answers Job from the Whirlwind

01:06:41 Job's Repentance, Restoration & the Ending Explained

01:16:05 Theodicy: Job on the Problem of Evil, Suffering, and Trusting God

01:23:17 Ellie Paley's Ministry, Writing & Substack. 

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Click here for your free copy of When Faith is Forbidden by Todd Nettleton

Dr. Ellie Paley received her Ph.D. from Cambridge University, where she studied the book of Job, and she’s currently pursuing a post-doc at Bar-Illan University in Israel. Ellie literally memorized the entire book—in Hebrew…in 6 months! Job is her gig and she knows more about the book than anyone I know. In this episode, Ellie gives a master class on the book of Job, discussing its date, the setting, the meaning of “The Adversary” (hasatan, or Satan?), the purpose of the prologue (Job 1-2), the content of purpose of the dialogue cycle of Job’s 3 friends, the purpose of the transitionary wisdom poem of Job 28, the role and function of Elihu’s speech and why she thinks he’s a rather presumptuous young buck who thinks he knows better than he really does, God’s response to Job, and how the book resolves in the latter chapters. We end by reflecting on Job’s contribution to the question of theodicy and the problem of evil. To follow Ellie’s work, check out her Substack “Compulsively Contemplative.” 

Time Stamps

00:00:00 Introduction

00:01:05 Why Memorize the Book of Job? (Hebrew, Theology & Spiritual Formation)

00:12:30 Who Wrote Job? Date, Setting & Historical Background

00:24:28 Is Job Historical? Debating the Origins of the Book of Job

00:28:10 Satan in Job: Understanding the Divine Adversary

00:38:42 God's Speeches & the Meaning of Suffering in Job

00:43:57 What’s up with Job’s friends? Retribution Theology Explained

00:55:14 Who Is Elihu? His Role in the Book of Job

01:01:05 God Answers Job from the Whirlwind

01:06:41 Job's Repentance, Restoration & the Ending Explained

01:16:05 Theodicy: Job on the Problem of Evil, Suffering, and Trusting God

01:23:17 Ellie Paley's Ministry, Writing & Substack. 

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If you want to watch the full Exiles Conference on demand, you can get access to the whole thing—including all the breakout sessions—for just $49 here.

In today’s episode, I’m working through some of the top upvoted questions from my conversation with Sandy Richter at Exiles 26 about women in leadership and my new book, From Genesis to Junia. If you haven’t listened to that conversation yet, I’d encourage you to go back and start there, since this episode really picks up where that one left off.

Thanks so much for all the thoughtful questions—and sorry it took me a month to get to them. I’m grateful for how engaged you all were in this conversation, and I hope this follow-up is helpful.

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