Cooper, Cary and Morgan Locke talk about The State of the Culture, art, entertainment, distraction, addiction and whether dopamine is all that. Plus some EXCITING new jingles... Referring to this article: https://www.honest-broker.com/p/the-state-of-the-culture-2024 And mentioning The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt https://amzn.to/44c7PIz Support the Show. Unlock extended ad-free episodes, advance access, a huge episode archive, and bonus content, by subscribing to Cooper & Cary+ on...

Cary has words with friend of the show, Randy Newman, author of Questioning Evangelism, Mere Evangelism and a new book about spiritual journey called, Questioning Faith.  This is a conversation about how God uses us despite our terrible attempts at evangelism, and how non-believers are often stopped in their tracks by unexpected things. And it turns out there's one book by CS Lewis that neither Cary or Newman can understand or get into.  Find out what it is in this episode. Support the...

From November 2022. Cooper and Cary have words about THAT line in the Apostles' Creed. What exactly was Jesus doing between his death and resurrection? https://journal.rts.edu/article/he-descended-into-hell/ Support the show Support the show Unlock extended ad-free episodes, advance access, a huge episode archive, and bonus content, by subscribing to Cooper & Cary+ on Apple Podcasts. Or get everything on C&C+, together with video, and access to the exclusive C&C Discord server,...

Well, that was 2023. Join James and Barry as they choose their favourite episodes, dive into the C&C mailbag, and talk about their favourite books, films, tv, podcasts, and moments of 2023. Pull up a cocoa, recline by the glowing hearth, and - sure, go ahead - stoke the auld acquaintance, as we see out another year together. Reasoning Through the BibleReasoning Through the Bible is an expository style walk through the BibleListen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify Hear Cooper on the Simply Put...

James and Barry have extended words about Unidentified Autonomous (or Anomalous, or Aerial) Phenomena - UAPs to their friends. Strange things are being seen in the skies, even by highly trained and highly sceptical USAF fighter pilots, there is video evidence which has been made publicly available, and these things are being discussed at the highest levels of government. What's going on? Why have governments previously wanted to keep quiet about it? And how should Christians think about these...

Cooper and Cary have words about spiritual revivals with Jonathan Thomas, writer and presenter of the documentary Welsh Awakenings. Jonathan is pastor of Cornerstone Church Abergavenny, and the presenter of All Things Considered on BBC Radio Wales. Watch the documentary trailer here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/welshawakenings Jonathan's book, Intentional Interruptions: Learning to be Interrupted the Way God Intended: https://tinyurl.com/2e4nrdam Support the showUnlock extended ad-free...

James and Barry have words about the TV juggernaut that is The Chosen. Lots of their friends love it. But James and Barry have... thoughts. Is The Chosen a 2CV - second commandment violation - and if not, is it still worth watching? Here's the Justin Peters Youtube Video Cary’s Water into Wine show Operation ClinkerA first-hand account of Hong Kong's greatest ever drugs bust. Only on Batting the Breeze.Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify Support the showUnlock extended ad-free...

Cooper and Cary have words about power and its abuse with Mark Stirling, former medical doctor and pastor. He's the author of Not So with You: Power and Leadership for the Church. Mark's book: Not So With You (Amazon UK) Not So With You (Amazon US)   The spate of recent scandals of power abuse by leaders within the evangelical world suggests something is wrong in our churches. When a leader misuses power, they have misunderstood and misrepresented God and the gospel. This volume addresses...

James and Barry have words about the shift from "being anxious" to "having anxiety". What does anxiety have to do with idols? What are the reasons behind the current "anxiety epidemic"? Is anxiety a condition that ought to be pathologised? Is looking back at historic "trauma" always a helpful way to improve mental health? And how does our new identity in Christ change things? References The Student Health Crisis Is A Myth...

James and Barry have extended words with Thomas Umstattd (@ThomasUmstattd) about writing. In 2009, Thomas started AuthorTechTips.com, a website to help authors use the web to promote their books. In 2014, Thomas’s blog post Why Courtship is Fundamentally Flawed went viral and reached over a million people in just a few weeks. As a podcaster, he hosts the Novel Marketing Podcast, and the Christian Publishing Show. Festive Foreign Film Fans PodcastTwo regular guys explore different countries...

James and Barry discuss the art of listening. What does the Bible have to say about it? And how does it relate to anger? Are we bad at listening because it's a selfless thing to do? After all, there's no "I" in "LISTENING" is there? Oh wait. Support the showUnlock extended ad-free episodes, advance access, a huge episode archive, and bonus content, by subscribing to Cooper & Cary+ on Apple Podcasts. Or get everything on C&C+, together with video, and access to the exclusive C&C...

Cooper and Cary have  words with Matt Fuller, pastor of Christ Church Mayfair in London - yup, the most expensive one on the British Monopoly board. Matt is the author of Reclaiming Masculinity: Seven Biblical Principles for Being the Man God Wants You to Be. (Cary has known Matt for 25 years and is fine with the fact that Matt did not dedicate this book to him, but went with two other guys instead...) Support the showUnlock extended ad-free episodes, advance access, a huge episode archive,...

Has the church become a battleground for personal preferences? Is the holy communion of believers threatened by our own biases and individualistic tendencies? Cooper & Cary have words about disagreements and disputes in the church, and how to handle them. In Philippians 4, Paul pleads with Euodia and Syntyche to "agree in the Lord". How do we do that? What does that even mean? And should there be times when we simply can't "agree to disagree"? Philippians...

Cooper and Cary have words with Ros Clarke, author of the new book Human: Made and Remade in the Image of God. She writes, "If we want to understand what it means to be truly human, we need to listen to God rather than look inside ourselves”. Why do people prefer to look inside themselves, and what is better about listening to God instead? And how did writing this book change how Ros felt about herself? Ros' Book: https://ivpbooks.com/human-930 Support the showUnlock extended ad-free...

James and Barry have words about what unbelievers really believe. Tara Isabella Burton has written a stimulating book called Strange Rites about people in the States who identify as "spiritual but not religious". She argues that America is not "secular" at all, but "spiritually self-focused". Does that explain why people currently seem so willing to believe in phenomena such as ghosts, UFOs, and all things "woooooo"? And does it explain why the hyper-rational arguments of the new atheists...

Cooper and Cary have extended words with Matthew Fisher about the Bebington Quadrilateral and the definition of evangelical. They also get into whether or not the evangelical focus on a person's "conversion" is a healthy one. Barry's "conversion experience" was quite a dramatic one - but to what extent should we presume that kind of thing is normative? Support the showUnlock extended ad-free episodes, advance access, a huge episode archive, and bonus content, by subscribing to Cooper &...

James and Barry have words about parachurch ministries. It's hard to find a popular Christian teacher who doesn't have his or her own parachurch ministry. Then there are campus ministries, youth ministries, evangelism ministries, mercy ministries. Are they God's gift to the church, coming alongside the local church to help them fulfil their mission? Or do they actually keep the church from being what it's supposed to be? This could get awkward, given that Cooper has spent half his life...

James and Barry outdo themselves by getting their Bavincks in a twist. Thankfully, Dan Strange is on hand to do some untwisting. Just who is J H Bavinck, and why should we care? (NOT to be confused with his better known uncle *Herman* Bavinck - ha ha! as if anyone would be THAT stupid!). What does J H Bavinck have to tell us about missions, cultural engagement, and how to have a civil conversation? The word of the podcast is "elenctics". That's "elenctics". Daniel Strange is director of...

Does it really matter what we wear, or don't wear? Cooper and Cary have words about nudity and modesty. Does Christian modesty mean all public nudity is forbidden for Christians? What about looking at nudity in a Renaissance painting, or in a movie? How about if it's *reeeeally* tastefully done? Should we avoid nudity primarily because it might encourage lust in others... or is there a more fundamental reason for doing so? Jason Ward's article on nudity is available in Vol 136/4 of Global...

Cooper and Cary have words with 9Marks' Jonathan Leeman (@JonathanLeeman) about church membership and discipline. What are the pros/cons? Is it really necessary? And what actually happened when Leeman and Cooper shared a New Jersey hotel room that one time? (PS Sorry for Cooper's sound quality on this episode. He's been warned, and we have no further comments to make at this time.) Links: - Jonathan's book on membership:...

Cooper and Cary have extended words on a subject they are ideally placed to discuss: the midlife crisis. Have people always had them? How common are they? What are the causes? And is there a way of mitigating against them? Links Midlife crisis is more than a theory Royal Society lecture Jordan Peterson on the midlife crisis Midlife in the 2020s: Opportunities and Challenges Support the showUnlock extended ad-free episodes, advance access, a huge episode archive, and bonus content, by...

Cooper is unwell, so Cary has words with pastor Andrew Fellows (formerly of L'Abri Fellowship) to talk about the significance of Francis Schaeffer. Also: what's gone wrong with the Church? Andrew's book: https://www.amazon.com/Smuggling-Jesus-Back-into-Church/dp/1789743435 The Jersey Arts PodcastDive deeper into the arts you love and don't miss another moment!Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify Support the showUnlock extended ad-free episodes, advance access, a huge episode archive, and...

Cooper and Cary have words about the so-called "Winsomeness Wars". How should Christians speak to others, especially those who disagree with us? Is there a one-size fits all approach? And might "winsomeness" actually lose some? Background...

Was John Owen England's greatest theologian? The Puritan who preached to Parliament the day after the King of England was beheaded in 1649? Or is there another? And why is the English Civil War overlooked? Cooper and Cary Have Words with Rev Dr Lee Gatiss, Director of The Church Society. John Owen Daily Readings, edited by Lee Gatiss: https://amzn.to/42cXXNj The Church Society: https://www.churchsociety.org/ Support the showUnlock extended ad-free episodes, advance access, a huge episode...