Mere Fidelity

What kind of political theology do we need in an age after Christendom? Dr. David VanDrunen joins Matt and Derek to discuss his latest book, Politics After Christendom: Political Theology in a Fractured World, where he aims to answer this question in a way that prepares Christians to live in societies that are indifferent or hostile to the faith, and how our own political responsibilities might look for sojourners and exiles.

Matt, Derek, and Alastair discuss how they are celebrating Easter in the time of coronavirus, and how the Eastertide season looks to them in quarantine: How to celebrate the victory over death in the midst of suffering and death itself, how we are theologizing our current events, and how to cultivate joy, fear, and gratitude. All of this and more.

While Matt, Derek, and Andrew practice staying in-place, they decide to take about the topic and question of who are the proper subjects of baptism? Derek argues for the legitimacy of paedobaptism, Andrew argues for the view of credobaptism, Matt moderates, and fun is had by all. Even amidst the pandemic that the world is experiencing, topics like the sacraments always remain salient for the church. And while it may be important for us to discuss and perhaps debate how to respond to our current public health crisis, it remains important to continue to discuss one of the things that only the church does and is marked by: baptism.

What hath St. Thomas to do with predestination? Dr. Taylor Patrick O'Neill joins Matt and Derek to discuss his recent book, "Grace, Predestination, and the Permission of Sin: A Thomistic Analysis," to examine the Thomist understanding of predestination and how it relates to Calvinism, concursus, and the difference between God's actions and permission of actions in history.

The whole cast and crew of Matt, Derek, Alastair, and Andrew, are here to answer questions from listeners of Mere Fidelity: Where does one start reading the early church fathers, does the incarnation mean that God changes, how should one go about picking their denomination, and where exactly do theologians come from?

Matt, Derek, and Alastair sit down to discuss COVID-19 and how the church can respond to the current global pandemic.

Dr. Molly Worthen, an expert on evangelicalism, discusses the crisis of authority in evangelicalism, the revival of natural law categories, and the political implications of evangelicalism, including the support for Donald Trump's presidency.

Nearly every Christian tradition has its own view on Christ & Culture; that is, how the Christian church relates to secular and political powers. Pater Edmund joins Matt and Derek to discuss the classic Roman Catholic view of Integralism.

God is all-powerful. God is all-knowing. God is ever-present. But is God humble? Dr. Matthew Wilcoxen joins Derek and Alastair to discuss his recent book, 'Divine Humility: God's Morally Perfect Being.' Listen in as he traces the theme of a doctrine of humility from Augustine to Karl Barth and more.

How do we pray to our Father? Dr. Wesley Hill joins Matt, Derek, and Alastair to discuss his latest book, "The Lord's Prayer: A Guide to Praying to Our Father." Is the prayer an exact model or more of a paradigm for Christians? What are the implications of spiritual warfare in the prayer? Will we not be forgiven unless we also forgive others? In conversation with the Christian tradition, Dr. Hill draws out the significance of Jesus' words to answer these questions and more.