Mere Fidelity

As we approach Palm Sunday, Alastair, Matt, and Derek meditate—and ask incisive questions—upon the Cross, the Resurrection, the Triumphal Entry, the Transfiguration, and the true center of our faith. Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. Timestamps: All Glory, Laud, and Honor [1:09] The Bible’s Third Day Problem [2:14] The Crucial Tension [3:12] Holy Saturday [6:13] Resurrection Art [8:42] Satellite Events [13:59] Watershed [17:05] Crossbearing [19:43] Triumphal Entry [22:08] Glorious Defeat [28:25]

We can all feel it. Something about social media is just really unhealthy. But what to do about it? That’s the question on the table in this episode of Mere Fidelity. Should we pull the plug entirely? Should we seek balance? Should we embrace it? Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. Timestamps: One More Episode [0:00] Like, Follow, Subscribe, Defend Yourself [1:47] Types of Social Media [4:14] The Twitter Shift [6:22] Gamification of Speech [9:20] The Attention Dimension [11:23] Default [14:12] Signaling and Positioning [18:09] Digital Benedict Option [21:27] Regulate [30:27] Quit Hypocrisy [34:23] Huge Benefits [45:18]

In yet another brazen foray into hot topics, Matt, Derek, and Alastair talk with eminent trinitarian theologian, Dr. Fred Sanders, about why masculine terms are used to refer to God. Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. Timestamps: Pastoral Ethics [0:00] Our Trinitarian Correspondent [1:54] Referring to God [3:22] Matt’s Second Publication [7:19] Personhood & Revelation [8:42] Trinity First, Then Creation [11:47] Now It’s Personal [15:13] Back to the Spirit [19:19] Feminine Imagery & Feminine Identity [24:17] Breath [31:33] Utility [34:43]

Is asceticism good for the Christian life? Seems like a simple question at first, but there is a lot more there than you may realize. Matt, Derek, and Alastair unpack this deep issue on this episode of Mere Fidelity. Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. Timestamps: Davenant [0:00] “Ash What?” says the Presbyterian [2:26] Defining Ascesis [4:44] Negative Over Positive [5:51] Secular-Spiritual Fasting [10:51] Bodily Locus [13:57] Distorted Self-Perception [17:13] Sociology [20:29] Lenten Dysfunction [24:46] Giving Up Goods for the Sake of Betters [29:13] We Modern Democratic Individualists [32:28]

C.S. Lewis is an odd figure. Beloved, cited, and recruited by both progressive and conservative Christians, his works have a very broad appeal. The very fact of this broad appeal raises questions about his legacy. Alastair, Derek, and Matt examine this phenomenon and how Lewis is read both in fundamentalist America and evangelical Britain. Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. Timestamps: Brits and Yanks [1:24] A Very Broad Fanbase [2:23] Mere Universality [7:50] Lower Influences [9:43] The Progressive Reading [12:30] Openness [18:28] Sin [22:50] Alternate Mode of Engagement [25:05] The Conservative Reading [32:07] American Lewis Retrieval [37:58]

Alistair Begg hit a nerve with Christians online when he said in public that it might be ok for a Christian to attend an LGBTQ wedding. Given his opposition to same-sex marriage, this firestorm brings to the surface many questions about the nature of moral complicity, scandal, fraternal correction, and just how a Christian is to live day-to-day in a world so at odds with the truth. All in all, a perfect topic for Matt, Derek, and Alastair to tackle together. Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. Timestamps: Stable Emotional Life [0:00] An Everyday Problem [2:49] Meta Issues [3:55] For the Fundamentalists [8:04] Obvious Gaps [11:13] Sacrilege or Mere Paganism? [18:41] Fraternal Correction [24:58] Third Party Scandal [30:48] Naaman [38:59]

What does the Gospel of Jesus Christ have to say to those who wrestle with mental illness? This month’s Lexham Press book of the month arrested Matt’s attention. It’s like Augustine’s Confessions in a contemporary idiom as a really profound searching exploration of one man’s personal experience of OCD and his identity in Christ. So, today Matt and Alastair talk to the author, John Bryant. You will better understand how to simply be with a person with mental illness in a way that is best for them. Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. Timestamps: Making Up For a Lost Opportunity [0:00] A Peculiar Title [4:00] A Place Without Words [6:42] Discerning Voices [10:47] Scripture Speaks [19:34] The Logic of the Body [24:24] Pastoral Relations [30:58] Practical Steps Toward Good Companionship [35:49] Lessons About Grace [39:47]

It’s come up on the show before, but this time Andrew and Matt are going to settle this once and for all, with some help from Alastair. How should the church deal with flagrant sins of professing Christians? Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. Timestamps: Most Irregular [0:00] Digging Up the Past [1:51] Range of Interpretations [3:24] Levels of Affiliation [8:44] Clarifications [16:07] Church Discipline [21:31] A Hard Case [30:34] Publicity [41:24]

Dr. Kevin Hector has written the theology for the rest of us. Normal, non-academic persons will find Christianity as a Way of Life approachable and rewarding to dive into. But he just walked into a podcast with an ethicist, a Biblical scholar, and systematic theologian. Will he come unscathed through the grilling that Matt, Alastair, and Derek give him? (Short answer: yes, and it’s awesome.) Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. Timestamps: Trustworthy Alastair [0:00] Thrilled [2:24] How Systematic [3:15] Generic Method Question [9:32] Disrupting Conversations [14:00] The Notion of Devotion [19:43] Just Ethics [22:36] Wisdom [25:36] Community [29:34] Straight-up Doctrine [33:06]

What is the most basic aspect of God’s identity? What do we know Him as first? One potential answer to those questions is God as Creator. Repeat Mere Fidelity guest, Peter Leithart, has written a book that sets out to examine the idea of God as Creator as found in Genesis 1. But this is not without controversy. Matt, Derek, and Alastair push back hard in this very fruitful discussion. Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. Timestamps: Alastair’s Boss [0:00] What’s the problem with Genesis 1? [2:27] God’s First Name [6:11] God’s Dependence [11:42] God’s Freedom [16:38] Language and Accommodation [22:50] Negation, Affirmation, and Progress [27:06] Self-Revelation [42:28]

In the wake of a controversial Vatican document favorable toward blessing those in same-sex relationships, Matt, Alastair, and Derek discuss what exactly blessings are, what they do, and why we should get this right. Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. Timestamps: Vatican Bomb [0:00] Having Been Blessed, We Bless [3:09] Genesis 1:28 [5:49] Asher vs Barak [9:31] Human Procreation [12:59] Priestly Blessing [16:53] But what does blessing DO? [19:28] Blessed Be God [23:24] New Testament [27:20] A Good Word [32:24]

In a time when “being canceled” is one of our greatest fears, thinking Biblically about reputation as a category is a very productive exercise. But when we turn to the Bible, there’s a prima facie tension about reputation. On the one hand, we’re told to rejoice when we are reviled; on the other, we’re told to have a sterling image for the sake of the Gospel. Derek, Alastair, and Matt dive into this conundrum and work it out in dialogue. Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. Timestamps: A Taylor Swift Reference [0:00] Challenging New Testament Passages [1:54] The Third Commandment [4:30] Tension & Calumny [7:17] Which Community [14:13] Time, Reversal, & Vindication [21:18] When to Defend Yourself [26:39] Letting the World Set the Standard [32:15] Judgment Calls [42:48]

Critical Race Theory is not the only sort of critical theory out there. As a matter of fact, Augustine’s City of God may be the first example of critical theory. How can this kind of academic exercise be understood Biblically? What benefit can it give to theology? Dr. Christopher Watkin, author of Biblical Critical Theory: How the Bible's Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture, joins Matt and Alastair to discuss this often confusing topic. Dr. Watkin argues that in order to even do critical theory, it must be approached at least a theistic if not fully Christian point of view. Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. Timestamps: A Good Excuse [1:20] Following Augustine [2:23] Critical Theory Must Be Christian [4:21] Inside/Outside [13:05] Oppositional Identity [19:48] Contrasting Hermeneutics [26:20] Who’s it for? [37:53] Have you not even heard of the Holy Spirit? [45:44]

Can we understand criminal justice Biblically? Criminal justice in America is in need of reform, and attorney Matthew Martens has put his theological mind into a Christian proposal for good reform. In this conversation with Matt, Derek, and Alastair, Martens covers mere sample of issues covered in his book, including coercion, social justice, presumption of innocence, and (this one really gets him going) absolute prosecutorial immunity. Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. Timestamps: Derek Missed Out [0:00] Matt Gets Excited [1:24] Rooted in Love [5:50] Target Audience [9:58] Just War Theory [12:45] Violence [15:29] Social Justice [19:51] Comparing to Scripture [24:19] Presumption of Innocence [28:16] Accountability and Immunity [37:45] Reciprocal Punishment [47:42]

Occasionally on Mere Fidelity we have taken up difficult passages of Scripture. On this episode we take up an entire book that feels quite difficult: the book of the prophet Zechariah. What do all those oddly specific visions mean? Is Alexander the Great an actual Christ figure? How can you tell the difference between prophetic horizons? With Matt acting as everyman, Andrew asks the sharp questions, and Alastair sorts out the answers. Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. Timestamps: Anno Biden [0:00] Free Sermon Prep? [1:38] Weird Form… or Weird Content [4:07] Night Vision Context [6:22] Problem Solved? [14:35] More Complicated: Hooray! [18:08] Wait, Which Horizon? 27:48] The Meaning of Prophecy [37:03] Of Normative Accounts of Providence in History [43:02]