Halting Toward Zion

Episodes

245 episodes, newest first
Season

2026

245 Episode 245 Emily, Greg & Rachel Season 3 28 Sep 2026 244 The Healings and Visions of the Apostle Peter Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the acts of Peter, his healing of Tabitha, and the vision of the unclean animals, leading him to the gentiles. Season 3 14 Sep 2026 243 From Saul to Paul Emily, Rachel & Greg Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the fallout from Saul's experience on the road to Damascus and the beginning of his journey to become the Apostle Paul. Season 3 31 Aug 2026 242 Baptism and Rebirth Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss Phillip's discussion with and baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch and Saul's experience on the road to Damascus. Season 3 6 Jul 2026 241 Stephen the Martyr and Simon the Sorcerer Emily, Greg & Rachel Join Greg, Emily, and Rachel as they discuss the teaching of Stephen and the interactions between the apostles and Simon the Sorcerer https://haltingtowardzion.substack.com/publish/post/190118150?r=1mbq24&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true Season 3 30 Mar 2026 240 Times Change Emily, Greg & Rachel Join Greg, Emily, and Rachel this time as they discuss the book of Acts the changes to the law. Season 3 16 Mar 2026 239 The Power of the Spirit and the Role of Deacons Emily, Rachel & Greg Join Greg, Emily, and Rachel as they discuss Acts chapter 5, the fate of Ananias and Sapphira, the miracles of the apostles, and the role of deacons in the church. https://haltingtowardzion.substack.com/publish/post/189215563?r=1mbq24&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true Season 3 2 Mar 2026 238 On the Third Day Emily, Greg & Rachel Join Greg, Emily, and Rachel as they continue through the 2nd chapter of Acts. Season 3 16 Feb 2026 237 Peter's Pattern for Preaching - Part 2 Emily, Rachel & Greg Greg, Emily, and Rachel continue their discussion of Acts 2 and the apostle Peter's pattern for a sermon Season 3 11 May 2026 236 Peter's Pattern for Preaching - Part 1 Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Emily, and Rachel continue their discussion of Acts 2 and the apostle Peter's pattern for a sermon Season 3 13 Apr 2026 235 The Words of the Prophets Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the Spirit giving gifts on the day of Pentacost. https://open.substack.com/pub/haltingtowardzion/p/the-words-of-the-prophets?r=1mbq24&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true Season 3 2 Feb 2026 234 The Apostles of Jesus Christ Emily, Rachel & Greg Join us this week as Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the necessity of Christ’s intercession and the installation of the apostles. https://open.substack.com/pub/haltingtowardzion/p/the-apostles-of-jesus-christ?r=1mbq24&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true Season 3 19 Jan 2026 233 At the Right Hand of the Father Emily, Greg & Rachel https://open.substack.com/pub/haltingtowardzion/p/at-the-right-hand-of-the-father?r=1mbq24&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true Season 3 5 Jan 2026

2025

232 The Ascension, Authority, and Acts Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the ascension of Christ and the transition from the Gospels to the book of Acts, as historical fact. https://open.substack.com/pub/haltingtowardzion/p/the-ascension-authority-and-acts?r=1mbq24&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true Season 3 22 Dec 2025 231 The Completion of the Gospel Emily, Rachel & Greg Season 3 8 Dec 2025 230 The Witnesses of the Risen Lord Emily, Greg & Rachel This week Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the people who saw Jesus after his resurrection. https://open.substack.com/pub/haltingtowardzion/p/the-witnesses-of-the-risen-lord?r=1mbq24&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true Season 3 24 Nov 2025 229 For the Love of Storytelling - Featuring Nate Morgan Locke, the Reformed Mythologist Emily & Greg with Nate Greg and Emily are joined this week by a very special guest, Nate Morgan Locke, the Reformed Mythologist, and together they discuss the theology of storytelling. The Reformed Mythologist on Youtube: www.youtube.com/@ReformedMythologist The Hero's Creed: https://www.heroscreed.com https://open.substack.com/pub/haltingtowardzion/p/for-the-love-of-storytelling-featuring?r=1mbq24&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true Season 3 10 Nov 2025 228 He is Risen, Indeed Emily, Greg & Rachel Join us this week as Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the removal of the body of Jesus from the cross, His burial, and the miraculous events of the following days. https://open.substack.com/pub/haltingtowardzion/p/he-is-risen-indeed?r=1mbq24&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true Season 3 27 Oct 2025 227 They Killed Their King Emily, Greg & Rachel Join us this week as Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the crucifixion and death of Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. https://open.substack.com/pub/haltingtowardzion/p/they-killed-their-king?r=1mbq24&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true Season 3 13 Oct 2025 226 The Road to Calvary Emily, Rachel & Greg Join us this week and Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the end of Jesus' trials with Pilate and Christ's journey to the cross. Season 3 29 Sep 2025 225 Suffered Under Pontius Pilate Emily, Greg & Rachel Join us this week as Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the civil trials of Jesus Christ. Season 3 15 Sep 2025 224 Betrayal in the Garden Emily, Rachel & Greg Join us this week as Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, the betrayals by Judas and Peter, and Christ's 3 Jewish trials. Season 3 1 Sep 2025 223 The Upper Room Discourse Emily, Greg & Rachel Join us this week at Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the upper room discourse, or the "pre-Gethsemane discourse" as one might describe it - all that went down before Jesus headed to the garden. Season 3 18 Aug 2025 222 The Lord's Supper Emily, Rachel & Greg Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the the importance of Jesus' sharing of the Passover with his disciples the night he was betrayed. Season 3 4 Aug 2025 221 On the Mount of Olives Emily, Greg & Rachel This is History podcast. That being said, this week Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss Matthew 23-25 and the goings on atop the Mount of Olives. Season 3 21 Jul 2025 220 Give Unto Caesar... Emily, Greg & Rachel As we approach Passover, in the time where the lambs were tested, Jesus too was questioned - questions about His authority, taxes, and the law. Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss all this and more in this week's episode. Season 3 7 Jul 2025 219 Passover Season Emily, Rachel & Greg Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the days leading up to passion week Season 3 23 Jun 2025 218 Christ's Ministry Continued Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Emily, and Rachel continue to discuss Christ's ministry up until the beginning of Passion Week and the miracles He performed in this time. Season 3 9 Jun 2025 217 The Early Days of Christ's Ministry Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Emily, and Rachel continue their discussion of the Gospels with the first year of Jesus' ministry. Season 3 26 May 2025 216 The Harmony of the Gospels Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the Gospels and the way they are similar, different, and yet in harmony in their telling of the story of Jesus' life. Season 3 12 May 2025 215 The Life of John the Baptizer Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the life and ministry of John the Baptist - cousin of Jesus, lived in the wilderness, martyred by Herod, and much more. Season 3 21 Apr 2025 214 The Early Life of Christ Emily, Rachel & Greg Join Greg, Emily, and Rachel this week as they discuss what we know of the life of Christ before His baptism. Season 3 7 Apr 2025 213 Birth of the Savior Emily, Greg & Rachel In this week's episode Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the birth of Christ. The women give their insight on the true, historical significance of a real, human pregnancy, the meaning of espousal, their accommodations in Bethlehem, and the shepherds who came to visit. Season 3 24 Mar 2025 212 The Best and Worst of Christmas Carols Emily, Greg & Rachel This week Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss Simeon's song, holidays, and their favorites and the weakest Christmas carols. Season 3 10 Mar 2025 211 It's a Musical Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the first three songs in the Gospels - Mary, Zachariah, the angels. Why does it matter that this information is shared with us as songs/poems? Season 3 24 Feb 2025 210 Mary, Mother of the Messiah Emily, Greg & Rachel "...Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, [and] born of the Virgin Mary..." Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the beginning of the Gospels and the historical event of the virgin birth. Season 3 10 Feb 2025 209 Read the Text, What Does it Say? Emily, Rachel & Greg Welcome to our re-inaugural episode! In preparation to discuss Church History, Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss how Christianity is represented in history textbooks of many persuasions. Season 3 27 Jan 2025

2024

208 Cynic, Epic, Stoic, Skeptic Emily, Greg & Rachel with Gretchen "This time we need to do a little more scene-setting and talk about the different philosophies that are sweeping the world at this point." Join Greg, Emily, and Rachel as they continue their discussion of the Roman Empire as we quickly move toward the incarnation of Jesus Christ. Season 3 21 Oct 2024 207 From Republic to Oligarchy to Empire Emily, Greg & Rachel "We’ve gone from kingdom to republic to oligarchy, still pretending to be a republic, to the beginnings of an empire pretending to be an oligarchy pretending to be a republic." Join Greg, Emily, and Rachel as they discuss the journey of the political and social structure of Rome and it's leaders. Season 3 7 Oct 2024 206 Rome Wants Elbow Room Emily, Greg & Rachel Wouldn't the rest of the world be nicer if it was... Rome? Well, Rome certainly thought so. Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss Rome's creep towards owning the world. Trascript: Season 3 23 Sep 2024 205 Alps and Americas: Rome and Their Enemies Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the expansion of the Roman Empire and remind us of several things we should not forget, including "Hannibal took elephants over the Alps" and "Carthage must be destroyed." Season 3 9 Sep 2024 204 The Founding of Rome Emily, Greg & Rachel This week, we discuss the founding of Rome, and how the Roman mindset has appeared again in many modern contexts. Season 3 26 Aug 2024 203 How Alex Conquered the World Emily, Greg & Rachel Let's move on from the Greek philosophers and get to Alexander the Great (actually a Macedonian). This will carry us into the early part of what we refer to as "The 400 Silent Years", the era between the last Old Testament prophets and the coming of Christ. Daniel's prophecies, Alexander the Great, Antiochus Epiphanes, Hanukkah, the Maccabees, and more! Season 3 19 Aug 2024 202 and Aristotle Makes Three Emily, Greg & Rachel https://open.substack.com/pub/haltingtowardzion/p/and-aristotle-makes-three?r=1mbq24&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true Season 3 12 Aug 2024 201 Epistemology, Metaphysics, and Ethics according to Plato Emily, Rachel & Greg Greg, Emily, and Rachel wrap up their discussion of Plato and how his philosophies correspond (and warp) the three aspects of the image of God in man, Prophet, King, and Priest. Season 3 5 Aug 2024 200 Building a City State out of Plato Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss Plato and his ideas for a "perfect republic." Season 3 29 Jul 2024 199 What's so great about So-crates? Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the Greek philosopher Socrates, his Apology, and how he actually isn't a Christ figure. Season 3 22 Jul 2024 198 The Pre-Socratics Emily, Greg & Rachel Join Greg, Emily, and Rachel as they discuss the Pre-Socratic philosophers and what those men did that set the foundation for future Greek philosophy. Season 3 15 Jul 2024 197 Rational and Religious Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the presocratics, objective truth, and much more in this week's episode. Season 3 1 Jul 2024 196 Greek Life Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Rachel, and Emily discuss Greece and the ancient Greek religion, From Alexander the great to the philosophers, to the pantheon of gods. Season 3 17 Jun 2024 195 From Marathon and On Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Rachel, and Emily discuss the Greco-Persian Wars and the shift from Persia to Greece as the world power during the Hellenic Period. Season 3 3 Jun 2024 194 Hadassah, Queen of Persia Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Rachel, and Emily continue their discussion of their kingdom of Persia, its relationship with the children of Israel, and the slow progress to rebuild the temple. Season 3 27 May 2024 193 Cyrus, King of Persia Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Rachel, and Emily continue their discussion of the Medo-Persian Empire, king Cyrus and his relationship with Israel, Zoroastrianism, and much more. Season 3 20 May 2024 192 The Medo-Persian Empire Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Rachel, and Emily discuss the origin of the Medo-Persian Empire, how it claimed the title of world power from Babylon, and the work God did through Daniel. Season 3 14 May 2024 191 Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, and Daniel Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Rachel, and Emily continue their discussion of world powers with Babylon, and the 4 brave Hebrews we follow through the book of Daniel. Season 3 29 Apr 2024 190 This Ain't Your Mom's Traditional Greek/Roman Classical Education Emily, Greg & Rachel Why don't we know about Assyria? Why does a secular classical education ignore it? Greg, Rachel, and Emily ask these questions and more as they discuss ancient Assyria/Persian culture. Season 3 22 Apr 2024 189 The Covenant of Kingship Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Emily, and Rachel summarize Israel's history up to the point they left off with the Phoenicians and Egyptians and setting the foundation of the Davidic Covenant as the framework for history going forward. Season 3 15 Apr 2024 188 A is for Alphabet, Artist, and Ahab Emily, Greg & Rachel God commanded His people to read His word out loud- that requires it to be written down. Join Greg, Rachel, and Emily as they discuss the impact of the Phoenician alphabet, the artist as a part of history and culture, why it is and has been imperative that history is written our history down, and much more. Season 3 8 Apr 2024 187 Purple Dye and Child Sacrifice Emily, Rachel & Greg Greg, Rachel, and Emily discuss the Phoenician/Punic/Canaanite peoples and what they brought to culture, technology, art, and what their relationship was like with Israel... and why that matters today. Season 3 1 Apr 2024 186 The Worldview that Shaped Western Civilization Emily, Greg & Rachel "Your ultimate priorities generate your ethics" Join Greg, Emily, and Rachel as they continue their discussion of the 10 commandments. Why should we not kill? What does kill even mean? What is the significance of the marriage covenant? Why are liars grouped together with murderers and adulterers? Who and what defines ethics and why can't ethics change as time moves on? Our hosts discuss all these questions and more in this weeks episode Season 3 25 Mar 2024 185 The Law on Mount Sinai Emily, Rachel & Greg Moses went up to Mount Sinai and received the law from God. What does that mean for Isreal? For us? for all cultures? Join Greg, Rachel, and Emily as they discuss the first 4 of the 10 commandments. Season 3 18 Mar 2024 184 Tell Me The Story... In Order Emily, Greg & Rachel Why does having an accurate record of history matter in God's story? Why does it matter that we tell a story in order? Why is it that secular histories refuse to consider the Bible an accurate historical text? Join Greg, Rachel, and Emily as they discuss all this and more in this week's episode. Season 3 11 Mar 2024 183 Egypt Reaching for Deity Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Rachel, and Emily discuss "the gift of the Nile" -Egyptian. Tune in for their discussion of Egyptian Geography, Mythology, and death rituals, along with plenty more. Season 3 4 Mar 2024 182 By Faith Abraham Emily, Greg & Rachel "He really didn’t do much. He didn’t lead Israel out of Egypt. He didn’t call fire down from heaven. He didn’t raise the dead. He didn’t survive a world flood. He mostly lived out in the wilderness and raised some good sheep and cattle. But God promised to do something incredible through him and his seed, and without him everything afterwards falls apart." Join Greg, Emily, and Rachel as the discuss Abraham, who his seed are, and justification by faith. Season 3 26 Feb 2024 181 I Believe in Dragons Emily, Greg & Rachel "As promised, we will talk about dinosaurs today – dinosaurs and the deification of the dead – and I hope we’ll get to Abraham as well, but let’s start with dinosaurs." Join Greg, Emily, and Rachel as they discuss dinosaurs, the implications of the cultural shift from Dragons to Dinosaurs, and what past cultures believed about the diety of the dead. Season 3 19 Feb 2024 180 The Tower Emily, Rachel & Greg "We left off last time right on the precipice before the Tower of Babel..." Mankind reached for godhood, building a tower they imagined was unto heaven, building a society in rebellion to God's command to "Fill the earth." God quickly showed them that wasn't going to happen. Join Greg, Emily, and Rachel as they discuss the post-flood world, ziggurats, the implementation of diverse languages, and cave dwellers. Season 3 12 Feb 2024 179 Nephilim, The Flood, and Covenant Emily, Rachel & Greg What are the sons of God in Genesis 4? What was the actual scope of the flood? What happened to culture after the flood? Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss all this and more in this week's episode. Season 3 5 Feb 2024 178 The World Before the Flood Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss the way culture grew in the first 2,000 years of history, from Cain and Abel to the flood and the technology and other advancements of the time. Season 3 29 Jan 2024 177 The Story Emily, Greg & Rachel "I think we’re wrapping up and beginning the long trudge through 6,000 years of human history." Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss what exactly we are looking forward to, what (who) the substitute really is, and the aspects of a good story that we get directly from God's storytelling. Season 3 22 Jan 2024 176 The Effects of Sin Emily, Rachel & Greg "What are the framing ideas to the way we look at history?" Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss how and why sin affects our actions and our perception of history. Season 3 15 Jan 2024 175 Be Fruitful and Multiply Emily, Greg & Rachel Greg, Emily, and Rachel discuss God's commandment to "Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth," what being the image of God means, and the implications of continued Christian growth and fellowship in eternity. Season 3 11 Jan 2024 174 In the Beginning... Again Emily, Greg & Rachel As we enter season 3, we welcome our new host, Rachel Voytek, to join Greg Uttinger and Emily Maxson. In this new season, we're focusing on World History and Church History, and how they relate. And as any discussion of history should, we start at the beginning... again. Season 3 4 Jan 2024

2023

173 Retrospective Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 21 Aug 2023 172 Recommendations Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 14 Aug 2023 171 Tithing Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 7 Aug 2023 170 Marriage and Culture Emily, Bryan & Greg Season 2 31 Jul 2023 169 Walls (Part 3) Emily & Greg Season 2 17 Jul 2023 168 Walls (Part 2) Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 10 Jul 2023 167 Walls (Part 1) Emily & Greg with Rebekah Season 2 3 Jul 2023 166 Prayer and Work Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 26 Jun 2023 165 Esther Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 19 Jun 2023 164 Holiness to the Lord Emily & Greg Season 2 12 Jun 2023 163 Priorities and Providence Emily & Greg Season 2 5 Jun 2023 162 Building Together Emily & Greg Season 2 29 May 2023 161 The Day of Small Things Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 17 Apr 2023 160 First Things First Transcript unavailable Season 2 3 Apr 2023 159 The Restoration Era Emily & Greg Season 2 20 Mar 2023 158 Daniel in the Lion's Den - A Resurrection Story Emily & Greg Season 2 6 Mar 2023 157 The Handwriting on the Wall Emily & Greg Season 2 20 Feb 2023 156 Putting Down Kings Emily & Greg Season 2 6 Feb 2023 155 The Lord is There Emily & Greg Season 2 30 Jan 2023 154 Dry Bones Emily, Bryan & Greg Season 2 23 Jan 2023 153 A New Law (Part 2) Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 16 Jan 2023 152 A New Law (Part 1) Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 9 Jan 2023 151 A New Heart Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 2 Jan 2023

2022

150 Doing the Right Thing Emily & Greg Season 2 26 Dec 2022 149 The Peace of the City Emily, Bryan & Greg Season 2 19 Dec 2022 148 Through Fiery Trials Emily & Greg Season 2 12 Dec 2022 147 The Course of Empire Emily & Greg Season 2 5 Dec 2022 146 To Gain the Whole World Emily & Greg Season 2 28 Nov 2022 145 Faith and Despair Emily & Greg Season 2 21 Nov 2022 144 Broken Cisterns Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 14 Nov 2022 143 The Point of No Return Emily, Bryan & Greg Season 2 7 Nov 2022 142 The City of God Revisited Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 31 Oct 2022 141 Swords Into Ploughshares Emily, Bryan & Greg Season 2 24 Oct 2022 140 All Things New Emily & Greg Season 2 17 Oct 2022 139 The Suffering Servant of Yahweh Emily & Greg Season 2 10 Oct 2022 138 Freedom, Miracles, and History Emily & Greg Season 2 3 Oct 2022 137 Unto Us A Child Is Born Emily, Bryan & Greg Season 2 26 Sep 2022 136 The Lost Empire Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 19 Sep 2022 135 Conspiracy Theory Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 12 Sep 2022 134 The Virgin Shall Conceive Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 5 Sep 2022 133 Of Contracts and Covenants (Part 5) - By What Other Standard? Emily & Greg Season 2 29 Aug 2022 132 You'll Know It When you See It Bryan, Greg & Emily Season 2 22 Aug 2022 131 Of Contracts and Covenants (Part 4) - The Myth of Consent Bryan, Greg & Emily Season 2 15 Aug 2022 130 Of Contracts and Covenants (Part 3) - The Separation of Church and State Bryan & Greg Season 2 8 Aug 2022 129 Of Contracts and Covenants (Part 2) - Dispensationalism v. Covenant Theology Transcript unavailable Season 2 1 Aug 2022 128 Of Contracts and Covenants (Part 1) Transcript unavailable Season 2 25 Jul 2022 127 Conspiracy of Light Transcript unavailable Season 2 18 Jul 2022 126 The Princess Bryan & Greg Why do we care about princesses? And what does God think of them? And why does the Princess's father, the King, give her as a bride to the Prince? This week we consider examples of the royal bride in scripture. Season 2 11 Jul 2022 125 Unity Turning a blind eye to sin isn't love. And therefore a unity that's merely surface-level is not true unity: it may even be worse than open conflict. Transcript unavailable Season 2 4 Jul 2022 124 No Other Stream Bryan, Greg & Emily Season 2 27 Jun 2022 123 Loving Them Bryan & Greg Season 2 20 Jun 2022 122 Eminent Domain Bryan, Greg & Emily Season 2 13 Jun 2022 121 Elijah's Job Bryan, Emily & Greg Season 2 6 Jun 2022 120 When the Fire Falls Emily & Greg Season 2 30 May 2022 119 When Nature Fails Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 23 May 2022 118 Elijah and Obadiah Bryan, Greg & Emily Season 2 16 May 2022 117 More Things Are Wrought By Prayer Bryan, Greg & Emily Season 2 9 May 2022 116 Jezebel Bryan, Emily & Greg Season 2 2 May 2022 115 The Idol State Emily & Greg Season 2 25 Apr 2022 114 Divided Kingdom Bryan & Greg 2 Chronicles 7, Psalm 89 CrashCourse on Youtube? (not sure if you all want to include that) History of the Idea of Progress - Robert Nisbet The Creedal Imperative - Carl Trueman Person of Interest TV series Season 2 18 Apr 2022 113 Solomon Bryan, Greg & Emily Scripture: 1 Kings 10-11 Season 2 11 Apr 2022 112 Wisdom Bryan, Emily & Greg Season 2 4 Apr 2022 111 Repentance Bryan & Greg Season 2 28 Mar 2022 110 Rulers Bryan & Greg Season 2 21 Mar 2022 109 Absolom Bryan & Greg Season 2 14 Mar 2022 108 The Davidic Covenant Bryan & Greg Season 2 7 Mar 2022 107 The Tabernacle of David Bryan, Greg & Emily Season 2 28 Feb 2022 106 To Kill A King Bryan, Greg & Emily Season 2 21 Feb 2022 105 The Witch of Endor Bryan, Greg & Emily Season 2 14 Feb 2022 104 David the Anointed King Bryan, Emily & Greg Season 2 7 Feb 2022 103 Rebellion and Witchcraft Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 31 Jan 2022 102 The King as Priest Emily & Greg Season 2 24 Jan 2022 101 A King to Save Us Emily & Greg Season 2 17 Jan 2022 100 The Lost Ark Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 10 Jan 2022 99 Hannah Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 3 Jan 2022

2021

98 Ruth - Immigration and Welfare Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 27 Dec 2021 97 Ruth and Boaz Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 20 Dec 2021 96 Failure of Levi (Part 2) Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 13 Dec 2021 95 Failure of Levi (Part 1) Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 6 Dec 2021 94 Samson Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 29 Nov 2021 93 Jephthah Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 22 Nov 2021 92 An Unlikely Hero - Fantasy Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 15 Nov 2021 91 An Unlikely Hero - Rise of the Bramble Men Emily, Bryan & Greg Season 2 8 Nov 2021 90 An Unlikely Hero - Throwing Out a Fleece Emily & Greg Season 2 1 Nov 2021 89 An Unlikely Hero - Training to Fight Gods Transcript unavailable Season 2 25 Oct 2021 88 A Mother in Israel (Part 4) - Jerusalem Emily & Greg Season 2 18 Oct 2021 87 A Mother in Israel (Part 3) - Song of Deborah Emily & Greg Season 2 12 Oct 2021 86 A Mother in Israel (Part 2) - Jael, Blessed Among Women Transcript unavailable Season 2 4 Oct 2021 85 A Mother in Israel (Part 1) Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 1 27 Sep 2021 84 Ehud and Eglon Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 20 Sep 2021 83 Baal and Astarte Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 13 Sep 2021 82 Little By Little Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 6 Sep 2021 81 Choice and Children Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 30 Aug 2021 80 Othniel and Achsah Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 23 Aug 2021 79 The Promised Land Emily, Greg & Bryan Season 2 16 Aug 2021 78 Rahab the Collaborator Transcript unavailable Season 2 9 Aug 2021 77 Achan's Sin Emily, Greg & Bryan The Israelites won the battle of Jericho, but the disobedience of one man in that battle cost the whole nation the battle of Ai--and cost thirty-six warriors their lives. How is that fair? We're talking again today about the conquest of Canaan as worship, and noting how human relationship and the Gospel itself both rely on the concept of covenant representation. Season 2 2 Aug 2021 76 The Theology of the Conquest Emily, Bryan & Greg The New Athiests would have us believe that God's command to Israel regarding the conquest of Canaan is pure evil--racist and genocidal. Today we're examining that claim: What exactly did God command? Was it evil? Season 2 26 Jul 2021 75 The Battle of Jericho Emily, Bryan & Greg In today's episode, we're talking about Jericho: not merely a battle, but worship of the One True God. This Episode Features: Jericho; McDonald's Or Burger King?; Thanksgiving Dinner With The Midianites; Season 2 19 Jul 2021 74 Joshua the War-Leader Emily, Greg & Bryan So who is this Joshua guy? In this episode, we'll take a look at Joshua's career before he writes the book. This Episode Features: Joshua, Son Of Nun; Five Points And The Human Psyche; Ripping Off Francis Schaeffer; Cicadas; and the Fear Of Public Speaking. Season 2 11 Jul 2021 73 Success Emily, Greg & Bryan To kick off Season 2, we start by introducing ourselves and some of our favorite poems, and go on to discuss the concept of success in light of Malcolm Gladwell's book "Outliers"--and the book of Joshua. In the King James Version, the word "success" actually only appears in the introduction to the book of Joshua. So, what are we to understand about the nature of success? This Episode Features: Malcolm Gladwell; Systemic Hockey Discrimination; Joshua The Son Of Nun; The CDC; History That Is Prophecy; Death By Committee; Cobblers And Monks; My Sanctification And Me; and Introverts Building Community. Season 2 4 Jul 2021 72 The Just Shall Live By Faith Emily & Greg Continuing our discussion of the nature of faith, today we study the examples of faith given us in Hebrews 11. Did Jesus "do it all"? He did everything necessary for your salvation, certainly. He lived a perfect life of righteousness that is imputed to you. He also ordained works for you to do in your life, and delights in your doing them. This Episode Features: Hebrews 11; A Retroactive Recommendation; Aristotle And Pollyanna; Meta-gaming; Justification By Faith; The Book Of Sarah; Who Got THAT Job?; and Maybe The Child Was Glowing. Season 1 20 Jun 2021 71 What Is Faith? Emily, Greg & Bryan Today we're beginning to answer a listener's question about the active nature of faith. This Episode Features: Emily's Clean-The-House Music; Solo Scriptura; Quack Practice; BREAKING: Names Less Important Than Shenanigans; Snoopy; Greg's Favorite Meme; Mrs. Potts; and Darkest Peru. Season 1 6 Jun 2021 70 Science and Wonder Greg with David M, David F, David L & Kate Today David Maxson hosts a panel discussion on the wonders of Math and Physics with Greg and special guests David Lawrence and David Farschman! David Lawrence is a physicist investigating outer space, and David Farschman is a long-time teacher of mathematics. Tune in for awe of God, His creativity, His communication, and the mathematical words that describe the world He made and holds together--and why math and science matter for the people of God as we halt toward Zion. This Episode Features: Wonder At God's Handiwork; Lawfully Wedded Husband; Two More Davids; Mongolian Archery; The Scientific Mind Of C.S. Lewis; Christian Schools Are Bad At Science; Being Good Ain't It; God's Credit Card; Rotary Numbers; Mathematical Words In A Minor Key; and Safe To Say Everyone Here Today Is A Nerd, But You Don't Have To Be. Season 1 23 May 2021 69 Should Christians Read Fiction? Emily & Greg Why in the world would you read or listen to a story that someone just made up--A FAKE STORY? In today's show, Greg and Emily discuss the philosophy of fiction... and of history, which isn't all that different, as it happens. This Episode Features: The Philosophy Of Fiction (And Of History); Nutritional History; #Relatable; Superior and Inferior Storytellers; A Non-Story; Kate Gives Us A Spoiler Warning; Season 1 9 May 2021 68 The Ark and the Angels Emily, Greg & Bryan Mail call! Today we're answering some questions from a listener about Noah's Ark, angels, and the Declaration of Independence. This Episode Features: Logistical Implications Of Dinosaur Captivity; The Water Buffalo Song; Rennaissance Paintings And Milton; The Theatre, The Theatre; Audience Participation And Angelic Cue Cards; Lives, Fortunes, Sacred Honour; and Why People Hate Brussels Sprouts. Season 1 25 Apr 2021 67 The Metaphysics of Christian Education Emily, Greg & Bryan In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. This is the truth that sets the endeavor of Christian education apart from all other philosophies and disciplines: as Cornelius Van Til famously put it, "Two plus two is four and Jesus Christ is Lord." Through the preceding episodes of Halting Toward Zion, we've talked about the implications of God's character on sociology, politics, criminal justice, and many other topics--and today as we close out Book One of our podcast, we're applying all of those discussions, as well as the instructions God gave to His people in Deuteronomy 6, to education. This Episode Features: Star Wars (The Real One); Weird Christian Schools And Weird Homeschool Co-ops; Esteemed Historian Spider-Man; Mini-Me; The Seven Parts Of Speech; Season 1 11 Apr 2021 66 History as Story Emily, Bryan & Greg After discussing Muppet adaptations of classic literature and film, we dig into history--why it's important, how to teach it, and who we are because of it. This Episode Features: Proposing Historical Hermeneutics; Muppet Adaptations; Paging God; This Story Is Our Story; Tom Bombadil; Pencils Down, Please; and Beer. Season 1 4 Apr 2021 65 The Sociology of Social Studies Emily, Bryan & Greg In this second installment of our Cultural Transmission series, we take a look at "Social Studies": what is that section on standardized tests? Why does nobody know what it is? Well, partially because the people who came up with it weren't interested in telling us precisely what it meant. Today we'll dig a little bit into the history of social studies, and why its origins are a bit insidious as well as ambiguous. This Episode Features: Social Studies; The Rat Dies; Isaac Asimov; Oculus Reparo; Cata-What-Now; McGuffey's Readers; Storytelling And Mysticism; and Bryan Is A History Teacher He Just Doesn't Get Paid For It. Season 1 28 Mar 2021 64 The Next Generation Emily & Greg Today we're kicking off a series on Deuteronomy, the last book in the Torah, and talking about cultural transmission: what do Christians pass on to their children? This Episode Features: Deuteronomy and Cultural Transmission; Star Trek And Muppet Babies; The Gospel; Keep It Simple; Punk Kids With Character Arcs; Insufficiently Bombastic Victorian Rebukes; Season 1 21 Mar 2021 63 Be Ye Thankful Emily & Greg Like us, the Israelites were prone to grumble, rather than being thankful to God in the midst of trials. Saying "thank you" might seem like a little thing, but Romans 1 shows us what's really at stake. Not only is thanklessness a sin for which we need Christ's forgiveness, thanklessness begets all sorts of other sins and confusions. After all, to be thankful is at root simply to acknowledge that God is God and He is good to us. This Episode Features: Thankfulness; Emily Issues A Retraction; Shutting Up; All The Things; and Duct Tape Vs. Gaff Tape. Season 1 14 Mar 2021 62 In The Wilderness Emily, Greg & Bryan The Wilderness was a punishment for the Israelites, but that's not all it was. God had good purposes for His people even there--purposes that are fulfilled in Christ for us as well as for the Israelites. This Episode Features: A 40-Year Boot Camp; Homeless Former Celebrities; Scrub Brush And Cacti; TikTok To The Glory Of God; The Greater Good; Going To The Moon; and Calvin Was Not A Stoic. Season 1 7 Mar 2021 61 Liberty and Responsibility Emily, Greg & Bryan The God of the Bible is who He chooses to be--He has absolute and absolutely perfect freedom, and so is the source of all the derivative and analogical freedoms that we as creatures experience. So what does it mean for us to experience freedom? Correction: Emily mistakenly calls the actor Robert Hardy (Harry Potter, All Creatures Great and Small) by the name of a different actor, Tom Hardy (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises). As far as we know, Tom Hardy is not an expert in medieval weaponry. Season 1 28 Feb 2021 60 Facing Giants Emily, Greg & Bryan God didn't actually expect the people of Israel to fight giants and win, did He? Well, He wasn't surprised by their faithlessness when they were too afraid to enter the Promised Land. Nor is He surprised by our faithlessness when we let our fears stop us from sharing the Gospel. And yet, He still intends for His gospel to go out and convert the nations, and His people are His chosen messengers. This Episode Features: Giants And Grasshoppers; Once Upon A Time There Was A Calvinist Evangelist; Eschatology; Self-Conscious Wheat; and The Lays of Ancient Rome Season 1 21 Feb 2021 59 Happy New Year... Again Emily, Greg & Bryan Last week we talked about the Hebrew liturgical calendar, and how the New Year celebration of Rosh Hashana came to be celebrated in the seventh month rather than, as one might have thought, at the beginning of the first month. Today we're talking some more about the message of Rosh Hashana--why celebrate a New Year's Day at all? This Episode Features: Rosh Hashana And The Liturgical Year; The New Moon; Where Did That Sun Come From?; The Hallelujah Chorus; The World Has Already Ended Once; Faeries And Photons; Sir Patrick Stewart; Resolutions And Intentions, Or Rather, A Schedule; To Drink More Wine; and Oedipus Rex. Season 1 14 Feb 2021 58 The Calendar in Context Emily, Greg & Bryan The Hebrew calendar was full of holidays--holy rituals, assemblies, celebrations--events that involved all the families of Israel in the worship and fellowship of God. Today we'll investigate how those rituals speak to us, especially in our celebration of the Lord's Day. This Episode Features: Calendars And Holy Days; If Your Life Was A Movie...; Why Does Everyone Try To Kill Princesses?; Ritual Treasure Hunts; Really Harvesting Barley; Going Up And Down Mountains; Lots Of Trumpets; All I Know I Learned In Kindergarten; and The Benefits Of Journaling. Season 1 7 Feb 2021 57 The Economics of Sacrifice Emily & Greg How much does it cost to worship God? How much did it cost in the Old Testament? The answer seems to be something rather than nothing--it's not free--yet the precise cost might depend on various vagaries of weather and international trade. In short, the market solves, and God expected Israel to participate in it. This Episode Features: Sacrifice Means Killing Something; How Much For The Bull (China Shop Not Included)?; Lent And Fasting; Chocolate For Brownie Points; Greg The Potential Cattle Rustler; Cruel Tricks To Play On Your Children; Frankincense; Naturalism And Dominion; I, Pencil; and God Nowhere Demands Wildflowers. Season 1 31 Jan 2021 56 The Sociology of Sacrifice (Part 2) Emily, Greg & Bryan Now that we've covered the practices of the different Old Testament sacrifices, we're going to dive deeper into the function of the sacrifices, and the specific ways in which they testify to the perfect sacrifice of Christ. This Episode Features: The Old Testament Sacrifices In Under Three Minutes; Society, Community, And Communion; Representation; Individual And Collective Guilt (And Hornets' Nests); Puppy Dogs And Pony Noses; "Everybody Kills Hitler On Their First Trip"; Hogtying God; Still Infinity; Emergency Baptism; and A Hungry Cat. Season 1 24 Jan 2021 55 The Sociology of Sacrifice (Part 1) Emily, Greg & Bryan This week we're starting to look at the sacrificial system in the Old Testament: we'll look at each of the five main types of sacrifice, and consider what they communicated to the Old Testament saints, as well as what they communicate to us now in light of the New Testament. This Episode Features: Hebrews 10; Ding! Gnosticism; Everyone Likes A Dead Animal, Right?; Levitical SparkNotes; Ritual Barbecue; Spring Cleaning; Caveats; and Legoland California. Season 1 17 Jan 2021 54 Israel's Theocratic Republic Emily, Greg & Bryan For the last couple of weeks we've been talking about the Justice system in ancient Israel; today we'll put that in the broader context of Israel's civil government. There's a lot that God doesn't tell us about the mechanics of administering the government, but there's a lot that He does tell us--and much of it emphasizes the necessity of a populace that knows God and His word. This Episode Features: Written Law And Civil Liberties; Remedies For Oxen That Gore In The Street; G.K. Chesterton; Achan, Who Hath Stolen The Bacon; Cool Motive, Still Murder; The Bill Of Rights; Vote Harder; and An Awfully Libertarian Theocracy. Season 1 10 Jan 2021 53 The Right to Punishment Emily, Greg & Bryan Garibaldi: "Oh, I'm an eye-for-an-eye, tooth-for-a-tooth kind of guy, Ambassador." Delenn: "So you support a system that would leave everyone blind and toothless?" Garibaldi: "Not everyone. Just the bad guys." —“Passing Through Gethsemane,” Babylon 5 (1995) This Episode Features: An Eye For An Eye; Babylon 5; When Musicians Fight; Demoted From Lounge Lizard; The Sword Is Not For Poking People; Robberbarons vs. Busybodies; Capital Punishment; and Jury Duty. Season 1 3 Jan 2021

2020

52 Penitence and Restitution Emily, Bryan & Greg Charles Dickens called the American prison system "slow and daily tampering with the mysteries of the brain . . . immeasurably worse than any torture of the body." Who decided it was merciful to lock people up alone? Today as we look at the case laws of Exodus 21 and following, we see a system geared toward making things as close to right as possible so that the victim of a crime can move on with his or her life. This Episode Features: Penitentiaries And Psychological Torture; A Very Cordial Discussion About Covid Masks; Punk Kids Running Over Kittens; Financial Independence; and Morgan Freeman And Co-Star. Season 1 27 Dec 2020 51 Prophecy and the Ten Commandments Emily, Greg & Bryan After reading some email about taxation (is it theft? Yes and no!) we dive into a discussion of the application of the law--who it's for, why we need it, and where it comes from... and how our view of prophecy, and our ideas of interpreting the Bible, influence our perspective on the law. This Episode Features: Taxation And Tyranny; Prophecy And Law; Stealing Gnostic Thunder; The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine); 17th-Century Devotional Mysticism And Anabaptist Political Thought; and Eating One's Vegetables. Season 1 20 Dec 2020 50 Bonus - Panel Discussion on Christian Education To celebrate our fiftieth episode, we've invited Kate Uttinger and Sam and Laura Negus (along with the usual suspects) for a roundtable on education and discipleship! Tune in for a lively discussion of parenting, teaching, the cost and the value of Christian schools, and the communion of saints. This Episode Features: Greg and Kate Uttinger; Sam and Laura Negus; Ecumenical, Non-Parochial Schools; Don't Tell Your Parents I Said...; Classroom Discipleship; The Wild Wild West; Kate Does Not Equate Bryan To An Old Woman; Literature and Liturgy; Wanted: The Larry P. Arnn Of The Christian School; Could You Tone Down This Trinity Thing?; Perhaps Vegans Should Eat Fewer Eggs; Two Different Emilies Totally Lose It; and Writing Your Own Wedding Vows. Transcript unavailable Season 1 13 Dec 2020 49 Social Vision and the Ten Commandments (Part 2) Last week we compared liberalism (what Thomas Sowell calls the Unconstrained Vision) to the Ten Commandments; today it's time to turn the same scrutiny on conservatism (the Constrained Vision). What happens when conservatism, rather than the Bible, becomes our default authority? This Episode Features: Civil Religion; Rotten Oranges; Quacking Like A Christian; Suddenly, Scientology!; As Real As Burnt Bacon; The Apotheosis of George Washington; Honesty Is A Policy; and Everyone Is Now Most Assuredly Mad At Us. Transcript unavailable Season 1 6 Dec 2020 48 Social Vision and the Ten Commandments (Part 1) Now that we've looked at each of the Ten Commandments, let's see how political liberalism--what Thomas Sowell calls the Unconstrained Vision of human nature--measures up. If human nature is basically good or improvable, what does that mean for morality, society, and law? This Episode Features: Thomas Sowell's "A Conflict of Visions"; Ye Shall Be As Gods; The Ongoing French Revolution; Transcendentalism; Evolution; Thomas Jefferson; Communism; and Thanksgiving. Transcript unavailable Season 1 29 Nov 2020 47 Moved with Passion Today we're looking at the Tenth Commandment, and the role of the heart--of strong desires, of love--in today's political landscape. This Episode Features: Liberal and Conservative Passions; Who Died And Left You God?; St. Augustine and John Piper; Lambs And Their Lil Fluffy Knees; Mud Pies; Boromir; and Tax Revolts. Transcript unavailable Season 1 22 Nov 2020 46 Faithful Witness This week we're talking about truth, narratives (or as ordinary humans would call them, stories), and the Gospel. As Cornelius Van Til used to say, "There are no brute facts." But he wasn't denying the existence of absolute truth when he said that--he was pointing out that fact and interpretation go together. This Episode Features: Postmodernism; Global Warming; Your Affectionate Uncle Screwtape; If You Can't Say Amen, Say Ouch; Secret Tumblr Knowledge; A Message For Brooke; and Truth And Humility. Transcript unavailable Season 1 15 Nov 2020 45 Divine Property "Thou Shalt Not Steal" necessitates the concept of property, so we'll be lobbing some critiques at socialism today. But because we're equal-opportunity killjoys, we'll start with the hyper-individualism of Ayn Rand and her misconceptions regarding property, and in the middle of our criticism sandwich we'll spread some delicious Biblical truth. This Episode Features: Ayn Rand vs. John Calvin; My Boots, My Dog, And My Wife; Human So-Called Rights And Values; Republicanism And Democratic...ness; The Cattle On A Thousand Hills; Questions Of Eminent Domain; Protestants Love Socialist Reforms!; Can't Stop The Signal; and A Tower So Ivory You Can't Look At It In Direct Sunlight. Transcript unavailable Season 1 8 Nov 2020 44 Yahweh's Bride Today we're talking about marriage--or rather, the ultimate reality that marriage reflects. God is not arbitrary; His commandments follow from His perfect nature, as do many patterns in creation, and especially marriage. Marriage is one of the best earthly testimonies to what the love of God actually looks like... so in society as we lose marriage, we lose real love. This Episode Features: A Profound Mystery; Marshwiggles; Double, Double, Toil and Trouble; Toxic Feminiminimity; Pat Benatar; Coffee Snobbery; and Happily Ever After. Transcript unavailable Season 1 1 Nov 2020 43 The Secret Theology of Pets Last week we talked about life (and how we're not supposed to murder people). How are we supposed to treat non-human life? What exactly are animals, metaphysically speaking, and where do they fit in God's world? There's a lot the Bible doesn't tell us. But in this episode we'll look at a few of the things God does say about (and to) animals in His original creation... and in the new creation as well. This Episode Features: A Christian Philosophy of Pets; Escapee Turtles; Always Look Up; What About The Penguins?; Tales Of Scamp The Dachsund; Heavenly Hunting; Talking Animal Etiquette; and Also Much Cattle. Transcript unavailable Season 1 25 Oct 2020 42 The Metaphysics of Life We worship the Living God. That statement distinguishes Christianity from every other religion, and also tells us something about how we are to treat our neighbors and our world. "Thou shalt not kill" is a bright line not to cross, but not just because killing is violent and nasty--but because God is who He is. This Episode Features: Life (And The Universe, And Everything); Aliens; We Say Cult; The Duties Required In The Sixth Commandment; Decagons; and A Guest Appearance From Lucy The Attack Kitten. Transcript unavailable Season 1 18 Oct 2020 41 The Metaphysics of Fatherhood Why are we supposed to honor our parents? What is this fatherhood thing, anyway? We know God as Father and Son--He is the source of these concepts. We'll also discuss motherhood and the role of tradition in Christian life and Pagan myth. This episode features: The Fifth Commandment; Where Is That Written?; Unholy Tax Evasion; Let The Reader Understand; Should Mothers Monsters Prove; The Wisdom Of Proverbs; and Indiana Jones. Transcript unavailable Season 1 11 Oct 2020 40 Sociology of the Sabbath When God commanded Israel to "remember the Sabbath day," what were His purposes for society? We don't have a list of dos and don'ts for your Sunday, but with this episode we want to start you thinking about the patterns that the Fourth Commandment builds into our lives and our community. This Episode Features: No Lists Of Rules For Sabbath-Keeping; Enough Of The Sarcasm; Happy Shovel Day; Liturgy In The Actual Religious Sense; Jurassic Park; and Toxic Hustle Culture. Transcript unavailable Season 1 4 Oct 2020 39 Magic vs. the Covenant Word Today we're talking about the Third Commandment: what it means to "take" the name of Yahweh, and to do so in vain. God's will for how we use His name stands in stark contrast to a magical approach to words, names, and reality in general. This Episode Features: Magic And The Name Of God; Sassy Demons; A Chicken And Egg Problem; Power Of Attorney; Don't Mess Around With Slim; Good Vibes; and Low-Level Threats To The Universe. Transcript unavailable Season 1 27 Sep 2020 38 Image and Word (part 2) Join us for a talk about worship and tradition, as Bryan introduces us to the Regulative Principle of Worship--what it means, and what it doesn't mean. This is an area where legalism pops up on every side, as our sin nature really wants a list of rules to follow (or claim we've followed). This Episode Features: The Regulative Principle; Skimming The Constantinopolitan Weeds; Bible Man; Traditionalism And Traditional Anti-traditionalism; The Whole Point Of Life; and The So-Called Middle Ages. Transcript unavailable Season 1 20 Sep 2020 37 Image and Word (part 1) The Second Commandment requires, in the words of the Heidelberg Catechism, that "We are not to make an image of God in any way, nor to worship him in any other manner than he has commanded in his Word." In other words, after settling the question of authority with the First Commandment, Yahweh establishes a principle of representation--how He intends to communicate to us, and how we are to offer Him homage. Spoiler: neither is by means of images. This Episode Features: The Second Commandment; Gaston's Literary Preferences; Hocus Pocus; Metaphysical Hyperlinks; Stargate SG-1; Esmerelda the Gypsy; Neil Postman; and Amaretto Sours. Transcript unavailable Season 1 13 Sep 2020 36 Polytheism and Pluralism (part 2) In this episode we continue our discussion on the First Commandment and culture. Do Christian books have to be about missionaries? Do Christian shoes have to be tied with Christian shoelaces? We don't think so. But the Bible does shape our culture--the things we make--as we grow in conformity to the image of God's Son. This Episode Features: Groups Of People Making Stuff; Pswaydoh Dragons; Christian Romance Novels; Smushed-Out Church; Progressive Sanctification; Something Stupid About The Puritan Work Ethic; and Our Favorite Bible Stories In The Most Boring Way Possible. Transcript unavailable Season 1 6 Sep 2020 35 Polytheism and Pluralism (part 1) In approaching the topic of the First Commandment, we come to--surprise! The gospel, because God's plan was always to conform us to the image of His Son. Every human action is religious, because the very existence of humanity is for the sake of covenant with God. So if we are in Christ, everything we make and do is holy and acceptable to God for His sake. That applies to philosophy and art, as well as to our daily vocations, relationships, even hobbies. This Episode Features: The First Commandment and the Cultural Mandate; While Poseidon's Away The Greeks Will Play; Bacon Grease; Spoon Collecting; The Great British Bake Off; Learning Obedience; Heidelberg Snark; and Bach's Toccatas. Transcript unavailable Season 1 30 Aug 2020 34 The Right to Imperfect Justice What's better than perfect justice? Swift, reliable justice--at least, that's the case we make in this discussion of the appellate court system that Jethro recommended to Moses in Exodus 18, with God's blessing. Going to court these days is notorious for sapping time and energy from everyone involved... surely there's a better system. This Episode Features: Justice Systems And The Nature Of Man; Going Splat; Thanks, I Hate It; Presbyterian Forms Of Government; Political Hot Potatoes; You Want The Whales To Die; In The Name Of Love, What More In The Name Of Love; and Alfred the Great. Transcript unavailable Season 1 23 Aug 2020 33 Song of Moses This week we're talking about the Song of Moses--both as hymn to God and as a national anthem... of sorts. This Episode Features: The Song of Moses and National Anthems; Almost Heaven, West Virginia; Praise Choruses and Imprecatory Psalms; Running Away; Those Cheating Gibeonites; Stealing Bryan's Antiphonal Thunder; #Unhitch; and The Punisher. Transcript unavailable Season 1 16 Aug 2020 32 Identity Crisis: Passover, Community, and Freedom Who are you? And whom do you serve? If these two questions aren't exactly the same, they're at least very closely related, as we see from the account of the Exodus. When God called Israel out of Egypt, He gave them a new identity--new answers to these questions, and new demonstrations of their answers. Join us this week for a discussion of the Passover. This Episode Features: The Passed-Over Identity; Month Zero; Whose Leaven Is It Anyway?; Read The New Testament Please; Oh. No.; Go Ask The Pastor; Thanksgiving Lambs; I'm So Glad You Asked; The Lord Of The Rings And Babylon 5; Emily Does Laundry; Cousin Johnny; Transcript unavailable Season 1 9 Aug 2020 31 Chronology, Community, and Freedom If you've ever read the books of Chronicles in the Old Testament, you may have wondered, "Are these nine chapters of genealogy really necessary?" The short answer is, yes, they are. God put the boring bits in the Bible on purpose. He cares about keeping track of the years and dates; chronology, the precise ordering of events, is necessary to history--necessary to finding meaning in a sequence of events. In today's episode we take a look at the French Revolution and the Cambodian Genocide as attempts at human autonomy over history. This Episode Features: The French Revolution, The Cambodian Genocide, And The Most Boring Book In The Bible; That's What Gods Do; The Year Five Million; People Are Indeed That Picky; Shakespeare Throws A Wrench; Fencing, Fighting, Torture, Revenge...; Square Roots Are Like The Berlin Wall; and Bakersfield Country. Transcript unavailable Season 1 3 Aug 2020 30 Repairing the Timeline After sharing our favorite first lines of books, we return to Egyptology and the problem of chronology. In the ancient world, the task of history as we understand it today was rarely undertaken--the glory of the regime was more important than accurate records of events. With the few archeological records we have, it's quite a puzzle to piece together a timeline of ancient Egypt... if you overlook the records of Moses, that is. This Episode Features: Famous First Words; Our Boi Augustine; A Renowned Actor-Historian; A High-Quality Girl; Thanks Tolkien; Good Barthianism; He Says In Words; and Bryan Looks Pensive. Transcript unavailable Season 1 26 Jul 2020 29 Prince of Egypt (part 3): Of Liberty and Liberation To wrap up our discussion of the life of Moses, we talk today about the Exodus as co-opted by Liberation Theology, and as a true historical even by which God accomplished His purposes--both bringing about and foreshadowing the coming of Jesus Christ. This Episode Features: Garlic and Onions; Liberty, Equality, Fraternity (and also Death); Why Do The Mormons Have All The Good Sci-fi; Stars Of The Muppet Show; and Dweeby Movie Writers. Transcript unavailable Season 1 19 Jul 2020 28 Prince of Egypt (part 2): Of Miracles and Magic In Part 2 of our series on the life of Moses, we look at the showdown between God and the Egyptian magicians (together with the gods they serve). Not only does Yahweh utterly overpower the Egyptians, but each of the miracles He works also confirms His promises to those who believe, and reminds us how He governs the world at every moment. This Episode Features: We Don't Need No Stinking Frogs; Houdini Was That Good; Accidentally Accelerating Light Particles; Remnants Of The Planet Krypton; People Are Highly Stabbable; St. Augustine Throws Shade; and #AuditTheFED. Transcript unavailable Season 1 12 Jul 2020 27 Prince of Egypt (part 1): The Battle Begins If you had four years to teach your son everything he needed to know, where would you begin? That was the question Jochebed, the mother of Moses, had to answer when she was hired on as nursemaid by the pharaoh's daughter. Join us as we discuss Christian education, how our own parents brought us up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and how unbelievably smart kids are. This Episode Features: A Pretty Princess; Crazy Random Happenstance; Fond Days With Saxon Math; Our Parents' Stories; The Pledge Of Allegiance; Inspired Veggie Tales and Moralistic Floating Somethings; and Pray For Your Kids. Transcript unavailable Season 1 5 Jul 2020 26 Pyramid Building and Social Order In this episode we bring together a few topics we've covered before--Ziggurats, Power Religion, and Egyptian beliefs--as we consider the great pyramids. It's still a mystery how exactly the pyramids were built, but we're busy with a different question: Why? This Episode Features: Moderately Intentional Puns; A Man In Black (Not); Because It's There; The Winchester Mystery House; Follow The Money; Spoiled Magician Shows; and Okay, Javert. Transcript unavailable Season 1 28 Jun 2020 25 Resurrection and the Cult of the Dead Today we're investigating the Ancient Egyptian understanding of burial magic and resurrection. (Spoilers: it's pretty messed up.) We also take the opportunity to talk about Christian burial and the true resurrection of Jesus Christ. This Episode Features: There's A Myth For That; How To Grant Immortality; True Crocodile Facts; Return To Cream Of Wheat; Telegrams Jesus Never Sent; and Smoking Cures Salmon. Transcript unavailable Season 1 21 Jun 2020 24 Two Models for Manhood In this episode, we get to know Isaac as the beloved, sacrificed son of Father Abraham, as well as in his role as the father of Jacob and Esau... and if you know Jacob and Esau as the Mama's Boy and the Man's Man, you may want to take another look at the text. This Episode Features: And Robin; Cousin It; Hebrew Verbs That Aren't There; How To Impress A Shepherdess; That Red Red Stuff; No One Hunts Like Esau, No One Punts Like Esau, No One Sells His Birthright Like A Dunce Like Esau; and Russian Novels and Belgian Comics. Transcript unavailable Season 1 14 Jun 2020 23 The Sacrifice of Isaac Today we’re talking about Abraham, Isaac, Kierkegaard, Resurrection, and the nature of faith. What exactly did Abraham think he was up to when he followed God’s commands to sacrifice his son? This Episode Features: Unsatisfactory SparkNotes; Ancient Greek Ballistic Gel; Hebrews Hint Hints and Nudge Nudges; Probably Apocryphal Stories; and Bardic Inspiration. Transcript unavailable Season 1 7 Jun 2020 22 The Sociology of Dominion This week we begin to ask, “How should a Christian relate to his society? How does Christianity advance within society?” There are essentially three answers, and two of them are wrong. This Episode Features: Our Favorite and Least Favorite Star Wars Movies; And Put On Pants; Missionary Tourism; Rod Dreher Is, In Fact, Roman Catholic; General Cincinnatus; Level 15 In Dream Interpretation; and Discern-O-Goggles. Transcript unavailable Season 1 31 May 2020 21 Angels Unawares As we continue in the account of Abraham’s life, we come to the topic of hospitality--its cost, its importance, and its purposes. This Episode Features: Proto-Indiana Jones; Spiritual Cookies and Phantom Chicken; Bad Wine Tastes of Bitter Death; Emily Is Female; Fancy Food and Fancy Dishes; and a Title Drop. Transcript unavailable Season 1 24 May 2020 20 A Bond in Blood Today we dig into the nature and role of oaths in covenant life. Scripture often uses the word “oath” to summarize the whole of a covenant, but we may not encounter many oaths these days. In our conversation, we try to recover some sense of an oath’s meaning and gravity, as well as what an oath that God Himself took means for our faith and life today. This Episode Features: Wedding Rings; Awkward Things To Teach To Children; Newsflash--Sinners; A Disclaimer From Halting Toward Zion; Revered Physicist Jonathan Edwards; and Pot Gardens. Transcript unavailable Season 1 17 May 2020 19 He Looked For a City In this episode, we talk about Abraham’s hope and expectation for “a city, whose builder and maker is God.” There’s a lot that makes up a city, including shared laws and language, a variety of skills and resources, and community. While Abraham looked forward to the heavenly city and eternal fellowship with God, he also started building that city, after an earthly fashion, in his own life. This Episode Features: Childhood Bible Class Dos and Don’ts; Lotsa Splainin; All Men Are Created Equal In One Very Specific Sense And Not Many Others; Sleight of Hand; Flour-less Cake and Taco Tuesday; and Bryan Likes Bread. Transcript unavailable Season 1 10 May 2020 18 Faith, Community, and Justification This episode kicks off our discussion of Abraham, as we dig in to the “blessing” that God promised to him. In the ancient world, being friends with the gods didn’t factor into religion: the gods were scary. But Abraham was called the Friend of God, on account of the righteousness credited to him through faith. In Galatians, Paul explains the meaning of this friendship for us in salvation. This Episode Features: You Can Be The Henchman; Sassy Saint Theresa; Glawspel; Dear Listener; Cyberspace is for Eternity; Poppycock; In Other Words, You’re Crazy; and Well, That Exists. Transcript unavailable Season 1 3 May 2020 17 Mythmaking Today we take another look at mythology, and the ways in which stories either reflect or distort the truths of the Gospel. We also look at some tendencies of ancient religion that still persist today, in politics and self-deification. This Episode Features: No, Forget That, We Need Something Less Dramatic and Awesome; Babylon U; Greg Does Not Recommend Two Books; Habeas Corpus Schmabeas Corpus; Y’Are Not; Public Domain of Things; and Hug A Healthcare Provider (From A Distance). Transcript unavailable Season 1 26 Apr 2020 16 Of One Blood In this episode, we look at different instances of the sin of racism, inside and outside the church, and at the best remedy for racism: the Bible. The history presented in the Bible speaks of one humanity, divided into many nations--and “nation” is a covenantal concept. This Episode Features: Theological Creativity Is Not a Good Thing; C.S. Lewis Jokes; We Offend Old-School Presbyterians; America At Its Hypothetical Best; French Typesetting; Because of The Reason; Music We Don’t Like Can Still Be Good; and Speaking of Segues... Transcript unavailable Season 1 19 Apr 2020 15 The Babylon Project Throughout the ancient world, we see pagans building artificial mountains--pyramids and ziggurats--for magic rituals and demonstrations of power. Genesis tells us about one such attempt, in the plain of Shinar. At Babel, sinful man attempted to build his own city and his own mountain, as an assertion of his own godhood. How did Yahweh, the true God, respond? He thought it was hilarious. In this episode, we discuss the impulses behind Babel, trace them through history, and compare their ends and means to the City of God. This Episode Features: My Heart Is Melting like Glowy Butter; A Concise Diplomatic History of the United Nations; God Is Not Your Dungeon Master; Faeries and Photons; Pentecost Spoilers; Raccoons Were a Big Deal™; and War Is a Touchy Thing. Transcript unavailable Season 1 12 Apr 2020 14 Noah, the Culture Bearer If you were a modern-day Noah, what books would you bring on the ark with you? We spend this episode exploring our answers to that question, but send us an email and let us know your choices! This Episode Features: Leveling Up in Animal Handling; Just So Many Books; and Elect-o-goggles, New from Whamco! Transcript unavailable Season 1 5 Apr 2020 13 The Day the World Died After supplementing our previous discussions of ooparts and self-atonement, in this episode we begin analyzing something so horrible and devastating that we draw it in cartoons and use it to decorate children’s nurseries: Noah’s Flood. This Episode Features: The Only Trustworthy News Source; Time Travel; Bread Is Malicious (And Sneaky); Corn Flakes, Graham Crackers, and Grape Juice; the Giraffes are Here to View the Tapestries; Papa Kent’s Moral Compass; Emily Becomes Agitated; and a Phenomenal Little Tome. Transcript unavailable Season 1 29 Mar 2020 12 OOPArts, Social Theory, and Progress What does your faith do to your understanding of society? Is progress possible? In this episode we begin to scratch the surface of these questions, and discuss how Christian, apostate, and outright pagan cultures have approached sociology in general and dominion in particular. This Episode Features: Blame it on the Angels; Quote Rescue Unquote; Satanic Fanfiction; the Age of Aquarius; Chicken Sandwich Heresy; Anglican Pets are Better than Yours; Welcome to Buddhism in Central Asia. Transcript unavailable Season 1 22 Mar 2020 11 Guilt and Self-Atonement Good and evil are inescapable categories for human thought and action, yet Christianity alone deals in these categories in its underlying philosophies. Everywhere we turn, we see this question: how can we be clean? If we don’t have Jesus’ life and death in our place, we try to figure out some way on our own… yet in our sins we continue to defy God and harm our neighbors and even ourselves, and we know something’s still wrong. In this episode we discuss some of the popular ways to mitigate the feelings that stem from the legal reality of our guilt--and why they all fail. This Episode Features: Emily Learns New Words; Ancient Greek Playground Bullies; Money Doesn’t Matter (Especially If Your Friends Give You Lots of It); Just Following Orders; Sin Is Abusive; Soap Commercials; Japanese Storage Units; Cain and Abel’s Family Values; Great Book, but Boring; and Moralistic Nonsense. Transcript unavailable Season 1 15 Mar 2020 10 Myth of Neutrality Today we’re talking about the nature of knowledge: what do we know, and how can we know that we know it? When people talk about this question, it’s impossible to leave our religious--or anti-religious--convictions at the door. Because God personally defines reality, our attitude toward Him colors our relationship to absolutely everything else, including evidence and rationality. But trusting God makes a lot of the world make a lot more sense, and we don’t have to know everything in order to understand what God says to us, and to communicate with one another. This Episode Features: Emily’s Favorite Nobel-Prize-Winning Poet; My New Friend Satan; Everything is Dangerous; Corporate Needs You to Find the Difference between Paganism and Phariseeism; Matrix! Rainbows! Dreams!; Little Wooden Shoes; So What You’re Saying Is…; Hindus Don’t Count (ba-dm-tsh); Pour-Over Coffee; and Everyone Grew Up On British Sitcoms. Transcript unavailable Season 1 8 Mar 2020 9 Dominion When God first made Adam and Eve, He told them to “be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it.” After accomplishing our redemption, Jesus told the church to “make disciples of all nations.” In this episode, we discuss the relationship--in fact, the continuity--between these two commands. God’s purposes were not thwarted when the serpent persuaded Eve to eat the fruit. Rather, His desire for us to spread His image throughout the earth is fulfilled the more when we make disciples, whom He conforms to the image of His Son. This Episode Features: Two Kingdoms Or Something; Why Don’t Detectives Turn On the Lights?; the Most Reformed Thing Emily Has Ever Said; Thinking God’s Thoughts After Him and Smaller; Bryan Disagrees With Greg; Greg Completely Agrees With Bryan; Thinking Nice Thoughts At One Another; I Just Ate Yesterday; Title Drop; Tradesies! Transcript unavailable Season 1 1 Mar 2020 8 Man in the Cave As it turns out, the Bible talks about people who lived in caves. Today Greg and Emily talk about who some of those people were, how cool their art was, and why evidence always comes with interpretation. Whether we’re ancients considering the world’s origin, or we’re modern scientists and archaeologists, our reading of the facts can vary widely based on what we’ve already assumed to be true. One site of cave paintings, La Marche, provides a particularly good example of archaeological evidence that was initially dismissed by the archaeological establishment on account of their preconceptions about what cave people of a certain age did and didn’t do. Cave art displays marvelous creativity that testifies to the artists’ humanity--and also encourages us also to imitate God in imagination, in humor, and in art. This Episode Features: Greg Doesn’t Say Dinosaur; Our Favorite Movies; You Don’t Know Something Until You Can Teach It; Long-Range Pudding; Alien Intrusion; The Old Yorker; Always Look Down When You Enter a New Chamber; and Post-Impressionist Race-Horses. Transcript unavailable Season 1 23 Feb 2020 7 Covenant In this episode, we talk about how God structures His relationship to us. Generally, there are five aspects of how God relates to us: He establishes His lordship over us, appoints a way of communication and representation between us and Him, gives promises and guidance as to what we are to do and how, ordains an external sign of the covenant to seal the deal, and provides a way for this arrangement to continue into the future. All of these aspects serve to bind us, legally and personally, to Yahweh in Jesus Christ. This Episode Features: Archaeology Becomes a Thing; In Sickness and In Health and All That; Greg’s First Job; Our Odds of Being Faithful to God (Spoiler Alert: Zero); Puppet Shows and Flannelgraphs; Revival Isn’t Like Selling Vacuum Cleaners; Kibitzing Over Food; Level Up! Transcript unavailable Season 1 16 Feb 2020 6 Trinity (part 3) Today we wrap up our discussion of the Trinity with thoughts on the love among the members of the Godhead. We can’t fully comprehend the self-existent life of God, but we can understand from the Bible that the Father and the Son share vibrant fellowship with and through the Holy Spirit--and when the Spirit unites His people to God, He brings us into this deep and lively communion. In fact, all three members of the Trinity acted in accord to accomplish the plan of our redemption, with an agreement sometimes called the Covenant of Redemption. This Episode Features: Emily Asking Totally Invalid Questions; Prooftext Prooftext Prooftext; Orthodox Bureaucracy All Over Again; the Holy Spirit Doesn’t Clock Out; Louis Berkhof Is Le Tired; Sequentially, As It Were; Greek Synonyms that Don’t Mean the Same Thing At All; Greg Thinks of Things; the Heirs Don’t Write the Will; Conspiracy; Why Do the Anglicans Have All the Good Playwrights?; and the Spirit of 76. Transcript unavailable Season 1 9 Feb 2020 5 Trinity (part 2) The core of most Trinitarian heresies is subordinationism: in some way they deny that the Son and the Holy Spirit are “of one substance, equal in power and glory” with the Father. In this episode, we explore the effects subordinational thinking has on our knowledge of God, as well as on the shape of a civilization. We also discuss the origins of the doctrine of the Trinity in the Bible. This Episode Features: The Return of Mr. Potato Head; Court Martials, the Nuremberg Trials, and Watergate; the Heresy Two-Step, and Ancient Pagan Parenting. Transcript unavailable Season 1 2 Feb 2020 4 Trinity (part 1) The God of the Bible is unique, not only as Creator, but as Trinity: we worship One God who exists eternally in three Persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Choosing words to describe this reality is difficult; after all, there’s nothing else just like God. So, we rely on the words of Scripture summarized very carefully in the historical creeds, which were developed in extensive, Scriptural study and debate. But the question is anything but coldly academic: in this episode we discuss how our salvation depends on the personal and interpersonal nature of the triune God. This episode features: No More Mormon Jokes, the Great Puritan Theologian John Milton, the Dark Side of the Force, Be Good and Don’t Run with Scissors and Other Lessons from the Historical Jesus, Emily’s Appalling Lack of Cultural Literacy, and the SHOCKING TRUTH: What Really Happened at the Council of Nicea? Athanasian Creed (excerpt on the Trinity) 21. The Father is made of none, neither created nor begotten. 22. The Son is of the Father alone; not made nor created, but begotten. 23. The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son; neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding. 24. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits. 25. And in this Trinity none is afore or after another; none is greater or less than another. 26. But the whole three persons are coeternal, and coequal. 27. So that in all things, as aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped. 28. He therefore that will be saved must thus think of the Trinity. Transcript unavailable Season 1 26 Jan 2020 3 Chaos, Order, and Origins Emily and Greg dive into the pagan and Christian philosophies of time, chaos, and order. When we look at archetypes in the world--chaos, order, goodness, beauty--we assume we can tell these things apart, and distinguish between the important and the transient. As Christians, we believe we can understand because our Heavenly Father governs all things for His glory and our good, and He made the world to be understood--and as creatures who experience time and change, we can look forward to an eternity full of activity and exploration and live with thankfulness for the beauty God places in our world. This episode features: Fix-It Felix, Jordan B. Peterson, Cloud-gazing with Linus and Lucy, the Cosmic Cow, Greg’s Favorite Christmas Hymn, Emily’s Least Favorite Christmas Hymns, the Moon Landing, Convenient Eastern Orthodox Time Warps. Transcript unavailable Season 1 19 Jan 2020 2 In The Beginning In this episode, we explore the claims of the Bible’s first verses and how they differ from every other explanation of the origins of the universe. From Genesis 1:1, we understand that God created the world out of nothing. In pagan origin myths, the world has always existed: the various gods rearranged the things that make up the world, but there was already something that existed, for them to rearrange. This difference helps us clarify what’s really going on when we speak with our unbelieving friends. This episode features: Swimming Pools Full of Cream of Wheat, Magic and Esoteric Knowledge, the Cosmic Con-job of Eternity, Disney’s Aladdin, Columbo, the Revered Theologian Winston Churchill, Get-Out-Of-Jail-Free Apologetics Cards. Transcript unavailable Season 1 12 Jan 2020 1 Oneness In our pilot episode, Emily and Greg introduce themselves and kick off a discussion of the Unity of God and some of its implications. Theology Proper--the study of God as He is in Himself--speaks of the Singularity and the Simplicity of God: that is, there is only one God (who created everything that exists), and God isn’t made up of pieces or parts. He expresses Himself fully in each of His infinite attributes, and reveals those attributes in the Bible. This episode features: The French Fries of God, How To Be a Perfect Student in a Christian School, Emily’s Preaching Pet Peeve, the Sh’ma, the Unsettling Origins of the Pledge of Allegiance, Francis Schaeffer Demands Tea, and God’s Will for Your Life. Transcript unavailable Season 1 5 Jan 2020