Reach for The Sky. This episode discusses the Augsburg Confession, the Church, and what makes a good fanatic. We dig into the Church's language, symbolism, meaning, and rites today. How can we best use narrative theology to catechize? Did Jesus have to die for your traditions and worship? Is there anyone in heaven that hasn’t fallen into sin? This and much more today on the show! More from 1517: Support 1517 Podcast Network: https://www.1517.org/donate-podcasts 1517 Podcasts:...

Break on Through (To The Other Side). In this episode, we discuss preaching to the dead and how to unlock doors when one doesn’t have a good lock pick. We also discuss Robert Capon’s book, Foolishness of Preaching, reading his Easter sermon on John 10. This podcast episode includes preaching, polity, pastoral care, and renegade priests. SHOW NOTES:  The Foolishness of Preaching https://a.co/d/gJAndUN  Capon Lectures https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3EklwSwR8I Capon Memory ...

That’s the Power of Love. In this episode, we discuss the shock of infatuation with theological concepts and young theologians' conceit while reading Helmut Thielcke’s A Little Exercise for Young Theologians. We converse about laity and clergy’s relationship to theology, piety, and polity. What is the purpose of theology, its study, teaching, and conversations? How can theology become deadly? What happens when the truth is detached from love? All this and more on a new episode of the...

Once Upon A Time in Genesis. In this episode, we talk with author Cindy Koch about her new book, Once Upon A Curse. We discuss Semitic poetry, the Psalms, Genesis, curses and promises, child-bearing, biblical versus earthly wisdom, freedom and bondage, and the ever-needed reality that is explained and defined by the story of Jesus Christ, the Lamb crucified from the foundation of the world. SHOW NOTES:  Once Upon a Curse book https://a.co/d/jboJZ5x  Once Upon a Curse Bible Study...

Watch Me Work. In this episode, we continue our discussion of justification and vocation as we read "Justification, Vocation, and Location in Luther's Reformation" by James A. Nestigen. Part two of our conversation continues with themes of vocation, location, repentance, humility, personal agency, divine instrumentality, atonement, the relationship of husband and wife to the land, the overlap of heaven and earth, and what to do when we feel like we’ve made a complete mess of our lives. SHOW...

They Call Me Rhetorical Working Man. In this episode, we discuss Luther‘s teaching on justification and vocation while reading James Nestingen’s essay on the same topic. We cover feudalism, the rise of capitalism, how the reformation took hold in the cities in Germany, the three estates, the two kingdoms, church life versus social life, and the consequences for Christians of not being grounded in faith and prayer as detailed by Luther, in particular, in his explanations to the petitions of...

Reign in Blood. In this episode of Banned Books, we discuss the Lord’s Supper while reading The Last Supper: The Testament of Jesus by Reinhard Schwarz. We discuss why the distinction between a covenant and a testament is of utmost importance for exegesis, sacramental theology, and Christian life, why promise and gift are central to Luther’s understanding of the sacrament, and how rejecting the sacrament leads to a denial of Christ. SHOW NOTES:  The Last Supper: The Testament of Jesus by...

Love, Rain On Me. In this episode, we answer listener questions about whether baptism has an expiration date, why people avoid joining a church, and comfort for women who’ve suffered a miscarriage. SHOW NOTES:  Luther Genesis Lectures https://www.gutenberg.org/files/48193/48193-h/48193-h.htm Luther's Counsel for Miscarriage https://www.1517.org/articles/luthers-counsel-for-miscarriage Luther's Comfort For Women Who Have Had A Miscarriage ...

Runnin’ Down A Dream. In this episode, we dig deeper into liturgy and “action”—who’s doing what and why in Christian worship? How did the ancient pagans worship their gods, and why? What did the 16th-century Reformers teach about worship? Why should we moderns care? Mimesis, anamnesis, liturgical action, ritual, myth, sacrifices, and sacraments—we’ve got it all this week. SHOW NOTES:  LITURGY AS “ACTION” by Oliver K. Olson ...

Do The Thing. In this episode, we discuss liturgy. What is the difference between a sacramental rite and a sacrificial rite? Why are' member berries' so juicy and delicious? Can a priest or the church affect God's actions? Can a church integrate non-Christian rites into its worship? SHOW NOTES:  Discord, dialogue, and concord: Studies in the Lutheran Reformation's Formula of concord https://amzn.to/3YWPvCX  Episode 360: Part One https://www.1517.org/podcast-overview/360-olson Episode...

Street-Fighting Man. In this episode, we continue our discussion of the question of when it is permissible for Christians to oppose civil authority. It’s more important than ever for Christians to grasp the fundamentals of vocation, the relation of politics to liturgy, the place of the sacraments within the worship of the church, and the life of Christians, why there cannot be such a thing as a Christian nation. SHOW NOTES:  Discord, dialogue, and concord: Studies in the Lutheran...

We Worship & Adore… You? In this episode, we discuss the intersection of liturgy and politics as we read Oliver Olson’s essay, Politics, Liturgics, and Integritas Sacramenti. It’s a historical survey of liturgical practice and politics from ancient Israel to the present, discussing the importance of symbolism, meaning, and the purpose of liturgy for faith and life. SHOW NOTES:  Discord, dialogue, and concord: Studies in the Lutheran Reformation's Formula of concord...

Ramble Tamble. In this episode, we do a pastor’s table talk that centers on inculcating a deeper appreciation for heavenly mystery and earthly reality: prayer at home, worship on vacation, the connection of the land to God’s judgment and salvation of his people, the early church’s exegesis, Genesis snd Revelation, and Logos theology that binds the Trinity and Creeds. More from 1517: Support 1517: https://www.1517.org/donate 1517 Podcasts: http://www.1517.org/podcasts 1517 on Youtube:...

Tick, Tick, Boom. In this episode of Banned Books, we discuss Romans 3 while reading Philip Melanchthon’s commentary on Paul’s epistle. The main topics of conversation are the limitations of the law, faith that saves, gratuitous forgiveness and the living, and the present tense power of the gospel. SHOW NOTES:  Commentary on Romans by Melanchthon, Philip, 1497-1560 https://archive.org/details/commentaryonroma0000mela Buy: https://www.cph.org/commentary-on-romans Bio:...

Life Isn’t Fair, and The World Is Mean. In this episode, we discuss Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac while reading Kierkegaard’s commentary and comparing it to Martin Luther and Rene Girard’s comments. It’s a meta-meta episode, and one of us confuses Kierkegaard’s biography with that of Nietzsche for much of the episode.  SHOW NOTES:  Fear and Trembling - https://www.gutenberg.org/files/60333/60333-h/60333-h.htm#FEAR_AND_TREMBLING Bio https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/kierkegaard/ THE...

We Can Be Heroes… In this episode, we discuss death and resurrection, hierarchy and authority, corporatism, Christian nationalism, self-sacrificial love, building a body without Christ as its head, the symbolism of salvation without the Lamb, pop culture tropes, the hero's journey, and teaching Christians not to doubt their salvation.   SHOW NOTES:  Francis Schaeffer - True Spirituality https://amzn.to/4b5JSEJ  Bio ...

Watching The World Go Down in History. In this episode of Banned Books, we read "False Presence of the Kingdom" by Jacques Ellul and discuss worldly Christianity, the lessons of history, the Machine, focusing on heavenly things to answer earthly questions, seeking the origin of things, and the dangers of being trapped in the present. SHOW NOTES:  Jacques Ellul - False Presence of the Kingdom https://amzn.to/4c0tWnY Bio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Ellul Black Robe (1991)...

It’s Hip to Be Square. In this episode, we discuss the errors of high anthropology, the kingdom of God, theology of glory, theology of the world, realized eschatology, adding “isms” to Christianity, the necessity of the embodied Word of God, John’s gospel, Colossians, and real antinomianism while reading False Presence of the Kingdom by Jacques Ellul. SHOW NOTES:  Jacques Ellul - False Presence of the Kingdom https://amzn.to/4c0tWnY Bio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Ellul ...

This Too Shall Pass. In this episode, we discuss temporary and eternal things, transfiguration, cosmic events, dancing on the liminal edge, mammon, profiteering, earthly vocations, the Trinity, and the music of the spheres. SHOW NOTES:  Bede bio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bede Homilies on the Gospels: Book One - Advent to Lent (Volume 110) - Homily 1.24 on Matthew 16:27-17:9 https://amzn.to/3yJvqVe  Grace (photograph) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grace_(photograph) Butterfly in the...

Dear Prudence. In this episode, we focus our discussion on prudence, temperance, and modesty regarding church, marriage, public discourse, and social media while reading Gregory of Nazianzus’ letters to Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa about their doctrine of the Holy Spirit and Basil's later death. SHOW NOTES:  Gregory of Nazianzus Bio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_of_Nazianzus Gregory Letter 58 to Basil p. 179 ...

Get Down, Manna. In this episode, we discuss manna, the incarnation, liturgy, Christian life, materialism, techno-authoritarianism, modern feminism, divine election, hierarchy and authority, unity in multiplicity, and the power of God’s Word, all while reading The Life of Moses by St. Gregory of Nyssa. SHOW NOTES:  Gregory of Nyssa - THE LIFE OF MOSES http://www.newhumanityinstitute.org/pdf-articles/Gregory-of-Nyssa-The-Life-of-Moses.pdf The Funeral of a Great Myth (of Universal or...

Break on Through (To The Other Side). In this episode, we discuss creation, the eating of forbidden fruit, cosmology, the meaning of things, Jesus clearing the way for us to enter back into paradise, and how the Bible ends up changing culture by translating God’s Word into the vernacular while reading The Hexameron of Basil the Great as preached by Aelfric. SHOW NOTES:  HEXAMERON OF ST. BASIL ...

Who Stole The Soul? In this episode, we finish our discussion of Luther’s commentary on Habakkuk, talking about history, what happens when the Word walks amongst us, what a blessing is, earthly matters of vocation and calling, and churches as islands of salvation. SHOW NOTES:  Luther's Works, Vol. 19: Lectures on the Minor Prophets II https://amzn.to/3UfWe80  PDF Version https://s3.amazonaws.com/cph-org-assets/media/pdf/151761.pdf Gray Man theory...

Love Will Keep Us Together. In this episode, we discuss the Song of Habakkuk, Martin Luther’s commentary on the song, Jesus as the foundation of reality, why mirrors are dangerous, trans-humanism, pop culture, church architecture, consumerism, why liturgy is an expression of the truth, how the Holy Spirit covers all things in meaning, and how the sacrament anchors earth to heaven. SHOW NOTES:  Luther and the Old Testament https://amzn.to/3xpUUXk Archive.org link...