Episodes

  • 191. Devery Anderson on LDS Apostle Bruce R. McConkie

    191. Devery Anderson on LDS Apostle Bruce R. McConkie
    Dec 1 2025
    In this episode, we welcome Devery S. Anderson to discuss his book Bruce R. McConkie: Apostle and Polemicist, 1915-1985. Who was Elder Bruce R. McConkie, what is his lasting influence and why? What has made Bruce R. McConkie stand out, especially when one engages Mormon Doctrine and theology? From his many books, conference talks, firesides, and even private correspondence – McConkie has had incredible influence on the theological understanding and reputation of the LDS Church, both from the inside and the outside. Devery takes us through many of the behind-the-scenes controversies over McConkie’s book Mormon Doctrine and his famous talk “The Seven Deadly Heresies” – as well as his surprising role in President Kimball’s 1978 reversal on the temple and priesthood ban for black people. How did an LDS apostle so educated in the doctrinal disputes of the past engage with theological change? The answers to this, in combination with the answer given by those who opposed him, bring out tensions within the LDS mind and community that remain even today.Book: Bruce R. McConkie: Apostle and Polemicist, 1915-1985Other resources by Devery Anderson:- The Development of LDS Temple Worship, 1846-2000: A Documentary History- Joseph Smith’s Quorum of the Annointed, 1842-1845: A Documentary History- Emmett Till: The Murder That Shocked the World and Propelled the Civil Rights MovementSome resources by Elder Bruce R. McConkie:Doctrines of Salvation: Sermons and Writings of Joseph Fielding Smith (3 volumes)Mormon DoctrineDoctrinal New Testament Commentary (3 volumes)The Messiah Series (6 volumes)A New Witness for the Articles of Faith“Joseph Smith – The Mighty Prophet of the Restoration”“The Mystery of Mormonism”“All Are Alike Unto God”“Our Relationship with the Lord”“The Seven Deadly Heresies”“The Purifying Power of Gethsemane”Other resources:Second-Class Saints by Matthew HarrisConflict in the Quorum by Gary BergeraNote: The audio clips in the middle of the episode are a from a speech given by McConkie in 1978, however, there is no audio. BYU made this recording using someone else's voice.
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    2 hrs and 7 mins
  • 190. Joshua Mitchell on Plato's Fable

    190. Joshua Mitchell on Plato's Fable
    Nov 26 2025
    In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Joshua Mitchell to discuss his book Plato’s Fable: On the Mortal Condition in Shadowy Times. What is Plato’s Republic, and why does it matter? What is “the Good”, and why is philosophy “bound up with things divine”? How and why does Plato connect the condition of the soul with the condition of the city? Dr. Mitchell takes us through highlights from this foundational text for philosophy, Western Civilization – and one of the more influential extra-biblical texts for Christians. From the mimetic aspect of life, to the purpose of stories to aid the soul, to the embracing of death for new life – Plato’s text can aid even modern man in recognizing the problems inherent in man’s mortal condition, the dangers and necessities of evaluating the traditions of our fathers, the absolute need for the Divine gift, and to evaluate the Fable of Liberalism that informs much of the politics of our own time. Join us as Dr. Mitchell takes us through the religious awakening of our time often masquerading as “secularism”, the necessity of Biblical truth to correct the incomplete religion most wrongly identify with Karl Marx, as well as the dangers inherent in Right or Left embracing either Nietzsche or Thrasymachus. Listen in as we see the lessons and wisdom we can learn from Socrates, as well as the salvation and sanctification we need from Christ Jesus – both as embodied individuals and in our body politic.Book: Plato’s Fable: On the Mortal Condition in Shadowy TimesPlato’s Republic: here, here or hereSome other resources by Dr. Mitchell:Video Essay – Identity Politics: Guilt and ScapegoatAmerican Awakening: Identity Politics and Other Afflictions of Our Time- Please check out our previous interview hereThe Fragility of Freedom: Tocqueville on Religion, Democracy and the American FutureTocqueville in Arabia: The Anxieties of the Democratic AgeNot By Reason Alone: Religion, History and Identity in Early Modern ThoughtOther resources:Confessions; The City of God by Saint AugustineOn the Incarnation by AthanasiusThe Institutes of the Christian Religion by John CalvinDemocracy in America by Alexis de TocquevilleGravity and Grace by Simone WeilSocrates by Paul Johnson
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    1 hr and 56 mins
  • 189. David Talcott on Plato

    189. David Talcott on Plato
    Nov 24 2025

    In this episode, we welcome Dr. David Talcott to discuss his book Plato. Who was Plato (427-347 BC), and why does he matter? From his “theory of Forms”, to his “Divided Line” and even his famous Allegory of the Cave – Plato has been one of the most influential thinkers and writers in Western Civilization. British philosopher Alfred North Whitehead famously stated that the “safest generalization of the European philosophical tradition is that it consists of footnotes to Plato”, and yet many today would not even know how to approach reading a Platonic dialogue. Listen in as Dr. Talcott helps us learn some of the basic themes and structures of Plato’s thought – why they mattered in ancient Greece, and why they matter now. A pupil to Socrates, as Dr. Talcott writes the “most fundamental commitment of Platonism is an unrelentingly spiritual orientation to the world”. Perhaps there are reasons why so many Christians in history have seen much wisdom, insight and usefulness to this ancient Greek philosopher.


    Book: Plato


    Some other resources by Dr. Talcott:

    “Plato and Aristotle: Enemies or Partners?”

    A Christian Appraisal of Plato: Part One, Part Two, Part Three and Part Four

    “Hey Republicans: Stop Dissing Philosophy” (also here)


    Plato:

    - The Apology (also here)

    - The Republic

    - The Symposium

    - The Laws


    Other resources:

    Plato and the Socratic Dialogue; Plato and the Post-Socratic Dialogue: The Return to the Philosophy of Nature by Charles Kahn

    Plato of Athens by Robin Waterfield


    “The Death of Socrates: How To Read A Painting”

    US Supreme Court: Obergefell v. Hodges (see Oral Argument: April 28, 2015, Part One, Justice Alito)

    For Music, credit and thanks to Atmospherious.
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    1 hr and 52 mins
  • 188. John Oswalt on the Book of Kings

    188. John Oswalt on the Book of Kings
    Nov 17 2025
    In this episode, we welcome back Dr. John Oswalt to discuss his wonderful new commentaries 1 Kings and 2 Kings (EEC). What is 1-2 Kings, and what can we say about how it was compiled? Indeed, what is the difference between simply chronicling the history of the Kings, and the historical writing we see in these texts, prophetically interpreted? From the wisdom Solomon sought to the question of King Josiah’s “reforms”, Dr. Oswalt takes us on a tour of many highlights of this very important Biblical book. In the text that documents the building of the Temple, why is so much of the primary focus on the Word of the Lord, rather than ritual? Why was Baal, and Baal-worship such a threat to the loyalty of Israel to God? Are the miraculous events recorded between King Hezekiah and the Assyrian King Sennacherib taking place in real time and space? Highlighting the patience and faithfulness of the unique God, the only God – how do the majestic prayers of Solomon and Hezekiah give voice to the primary message of the text? Dr. Oswalt takes us through this and more, as we also discuss some of the contemporary relevance of this text for those both engaging the messy history of Christianity, as well as the problem of decay and apostasy in self-identified Christianity today. Indeed, one of the keys to rightly understanding the prophetic message of 1-2 Kings may just be found in the ending most have seen as simply bizarre.Books: 1 Kings and 2 Kings (EEC)Some other books by Dr. Oswalt:- The Bible Among the Myths: Unique Revelation or Just Ancient Literature?Listen to our previous interview: here- The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 1-39; The Book of Isaiah, Chapters 40-66 (NICOT)- The Holy One of Israel: Studies in the Book of Isaiah Other resources:Miracles by C.S. LewisThe Courage to Be Protestant by David WellsAudio clips from Scourby YouBible Channel:Book of 1 KingsBook of 2 KingsBook of Psalms
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    1 hr and 24 mins
  • 187. Mitchell Chase on the Book of Ruth

    187. Mitchell Chase on the Book of Ruth
    Nov 10 2025

    In this episode, we welcome Dr. Mitchell Chase to discuss his paper “A True and Greater Boaz: Typology and Jesus in the Book of Ruth”. What is the Book of Ruth, and where does it fit within the larger Old Testament story? How does the Book of Ruth both continue and develop threads of theology – including God’s purpose in suffering, survival, law-obedience, gratitude and generosity, as well as an expectation of blessing being extended beyond the ethnic borders of Israel. Do we accurately see in Boaz a type of the future Christ Jesus, who himself will take “a bride from the nations”? In this episode, Dr. Chase takes us through these questions, and more, as we explore typology in the Book of Ruth; a typology of Jesus Christ as coming Davidic Messiah, an ultimate expression and fulfillment of an oft-neglected ideal kinship-redeemer from Bethlehem and Judah. The God of Israel uses the suffering, sorrow, death and destitution of the small and oft-forgotten to set the stage for the redemption of a people, and further his own eschatological purposes in Christ Jesus. As Mitch writes: “Just as the Book of Ruth is a story of redemption and marriage, so is the gospel”.


    Article: “A True and Greater Boaz: Typology and Jesus in the Book of Ruth”

    For Advent, check out: There Shone a Holy Light


    Other resources by Dr. Mitchell:

    40 Questions about Typology and Allegory

    Walking the Way of the Wise: A Biblical Theology of Wisdom

    Short of Glory: A Biblical and Theological Exploration of the Fall

    “Does the Old Testament Teach Resurrection Hope?” (TGC)


    Other resources:

    "Ruth: A Commentary” by John Currid

    Handbook on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament by G. K. Beale

    “What Designates a Valid Type? A Christotelic, Covenantal Proposal” by David Schrock


    Audio clips from Scourby YouBible Channel:

    - Book of Ruth: King James Bible
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    1 hr and 12 mins
  • 186. Paul Gottfried on Defining Right and Left

    186. Paul Gottfried on Defining Right and Left
    Nov 6 2025
    In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Paul Gottfried to discuss a chapter in his book Revisions and Dissents: “Defining Right and Left”. What is the classical or essentialist Right? And how is this to be distinguished from “conservative,” historically? Similarly, what is the Left and how is this to be distinguished from what is considered “liberal” today? Paul takes us through this and more. From anthropology to the interchangeability of man, from competing notions of liberty to differing biases toward many distinctions as inherited – and even eschatology and how one may or may not achieve some utopian or millennial society; there is a more transcendent significance and foundational worldview behind the political competition between the right and the left of every age. We also go into how Christianity, both in a piecemeal way and in a distorted way, has been an instrumental good and a pragmatic means for both at times – though the hostility of the Left toward Christianity has become much more prominent as they have turned marriage and sex into social battlegrounds to be overcome for the self-centered, self-defined and subjective desires of individuals, or their activist parents. When subjective self-fulfillment has become the standard for the current instantiation of the Left, they truly have found a basis for an eternal and perpetual revolution that even surpasses the ultimate end envisioned by Karl Marx that had a social basis, and objective features.Book: Revisions and DissentsArticle: “Three Conceptions of Conservatism”Check out: Chronicles (especially the print magazine)Hear our previous interview: here.Other resources by Dr. Gottfried:“Origins of the New Left” (Claremont Review of Books)Multiculturalism and the Politics of GuiltFascism: The Career of a ConceptAntifascism: The Course of a CrusadeAfter LiberalismThe Strange Death of MarxismNew book: The Essential Paul Gottfried, Essays from 1984-2024Other resources:To Change All Worlds; The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl TruemanThe Pursuit of the Millennium by Norman CohnA Conflict of Visions; The Vision of the Annointed by Thomas SowellOut of the Ashes by Anthony EsolenAmerican Awakening by Joshua MitchellFrom Darwin to Hitler: Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, and Racism in Germany by Richard Weikart
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    1 hr and 21 mins
  • 185. Mark David Hall on Who's Afraid of Christian Nationalism?

    185. Mark David Hall on Who's Afraid of Christian Nationalism?
    Nov 3 2025
    In this episode, we welcome back Dr. Mark David Hall to discuss his book Who’s Afraid of Christian Nationalism?: Why Christian Nationalism is Not an Existential Threat to America or the Church. What is “Christian Nationalism”, and was it truly behind January 6th? What is the actual data, a proper definition – and the correct perspective that can distinguish actual Christian Nationalism from the manufacturing of a label by which to dismiss and belittle and attempting to ban Christian influence in the public square? From the actual meaning and theological underpinning of The First Amendment, to a context-local-based prudential politics where religious rationale should be welcome, and from Romans 13 to political rationale based on the universal image-status of all mankind - listen in as Dr. Hall helps us think through why Christians should care about and be engaged in the public square. Along the way, we will hear his thoughts about alt-right extremes, as well as the concern about the American Civic Religion impacting the orthodoxy of Christians.Book: Who’s Afraid of Christian Nationalism?: Why Christian Nationalism is Not an Existential Threat to America or the ChurchAlso check out: “Religious Liberty in the States”Some other resources by Dr. Hall:- Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land: How Christianity has Advanced Freedom and Equality for All Americans (hear our previous interview: here)- Did America Have a Christian Founding?: Separating Modern Myth from Historical Truth- Roger Sherman and the Creation of the American RepublicOther resources:“Memorial and Remonstrance against Religous Assessments” by James Madison- Also check out James Madison and the Making of America by Kevin GutzmanReligious Freedom: A Religious Primer by John WilseyThe Reformation of Rights: Law, Religion and Human Rights in Early Modern Calvinism; The Western Case for Monogamy over Polygamy by John WitteThomas Jefferson and the Wall of Separation Between Church and State; Reading the Bible with the Founding Fathers by Daniel DreisbachAudio clip from Scourby YouBible Channel:Book of Romans
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    1 hr and 11 mins
  • 184. Marcus Mininger on Romans 1:16-3:26

    184. Marcus Mininger on Romans 1:16-3:26
    Oct 30 2025

    In this episode, we welcome Dr. Marcus Mininger to discuss his book Uncovering the Theme of Revelation in Romans 1:16-3:26. What have been the standard interpretive paradigms of this text about what Paul is arguing – and why he is arguing it? How has Romans 2 fit or has not fit exegetically and logically within those paradigms? Dr. Mininger takes us through highlights of both the traditionalist view, which has typically been focused on soteriology, individual justification and treated Romans as more of a systematic treatment of the Gospel – and the revisionist view, which has typically been focused on corporate and social categories and concerns and treated Romans as perhaps so occasional as to, at times, downplay even the need for coherence in Paul’s argument. Moreover, with mounting exegetical problems with both of the inherited paradigms for interpreting the passage – perhaps a new paradigm is needed. Listen in as Dr. Mininger takes us through this key passage and demonstrates Paul’s programmatic concern is actually “what is (or is not) revealed, where, and how” and that this “means that Paul argues from claims about revelation to conclusions about soteriology, which has significant social implications as well.” Dr. Mininger argues for the “revelation-historical approach” to this passage which can take into account all of what Paul actually says, and all of what he actually argues – centered on the theme he set forth by Paul himself right at the beginning of the letter: the righteousness of God and wrath of God, both which is being revealed (presently) and which will be revealed (in the future). Listen in as we go deeper into the Pauline Gospel which sets forth the principle of fitting correspondence (based on works), as well as the radical principle of diametric contrast (based on grace) in order to fully appreciate how “in Rom 3:4-5 God’s righteousness is demonstrated inversely by means of David’s unrighteousness. Similarly in 3:21-26, God’s righteousness is definitively revealed not by a display of impressive power or through the pedagogical and formational benefits of the Law, even upon Christ himself, but instead through the bloody atoning death of God’s Son, Jesus.” Perhaps this new paradigm, though challenging the traditional paradigm of interpretation, is a much more exegetically sound and logically coherent foundation for the traditional theology of God, sin, grace, the sacraments - as well as the purpose of Christ’s atoning blood upon the cross.


    Book: Uncovering the Theme of Revelation in Romans 1:16-3:26


    Pleas also check out this book by Dr. Mininger:

    - Impossible to Be Restored?: Temptation and Warning in the Epistle of Hebrews


    Audio clips from Scourby YouBible Channel:

    • Book of Luke
    • Book of Psalms
    • Book of Romans
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    2 hrs and 2 mins