Gospel Conversations podcast

Part one I charted the wider landscape that Creation theology gives us – a wider landscape I argued, than what I called the ‘Redemption’ gospel.  I want to stress that the key theme was not either or choice between the two – we obviously need ‘redeeming’ or ‘saving’ and any thinking person who denies that is deceiving themselves as if humanity has no problem or blood on our collective hands…. No, my point was where does the gospel begin where does the story of the gospel begin.  And we argued that the creation gospel begins with a deep anchor in Genesis one, whereas the redemption gospel begins – de facto – in Genesis three. I made the point that this creation gospel is not a soft gospel.  It challenges the secular mind substantially – more substantially than the redemption gospel because its claims are wider and more stupendous. The claim of the creation gospel is that Jesus is Lord of all and there is therefore no one, no event, no system, that can claim immunity from his rule. He is not just Lord of the church, he is Lord of the cosmos. Whereas the redemption gospel feels more specialised – because it is religious. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Rev Dr. Brad Jersak, Dean of Theology and Culture at St. Stephen's University, dives into the dynamic interplay of philosophy, theology, and scripture. He navigates the tension between conservative and liberal views of faith, advocating for a richer understanding of Christian knowing. Jersak discusses Plato's allegory of the cave, emphasizing the importance of personal experience and intuition. He presents the Bible as a narrative filled with love and redemption, positioning storytelling as a vital tool for deeper spiritual engagement.

How broad are God's plans? Tony shares his life story: from his childhood in Fiji to becoming a teacher and then, to everyone's surprise, a strategy consultant to some of Australia's largest corporations. He began to see God working everywhere and this led him to ultimately discover Christ's Cosmic Redemption—which is good news for the entire cosmos!Video:https://youtu.be/8fq7xvqQoHQSlides:https://www.slideshare.net/gospelconversations/my-journey-into-christs-cosmic-redemptiontony-golsbysmith-217420845iTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud:https://GospelConversations.com/podcastSocial Media:https://Facebook.com/GospelConversationshttps://Twitter.com/GospelConvershttps://YouTube.com/user/GospelConversationsWebsite:https://GospelConversations.comMailing List:http://eepurl.com/guDp4n Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Brad Jersak (Feb 14th), Esther Lightcap Meek, Rikk Watts, Tony Golsby-Smith, Ron Winestock, & Leisa Aitken will help us explore "Knowing and Mystery"—2020 theme. Talks will include: —Is Design the new theology? —What is the Gospel's offer of hope to a postmodern world?—Will Artificial Intelligence save humanity or make us obsolete? —Loving to Know —Mystery in the Quantum world —What were Maximus the Confessor and Origen's views on Mystery? Video:https://youtu.be/_w2BkOKbWdk iTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud:https://GospelConversations.com/podcast Social Media:https://Facebook.com/GospelConversationshttps://Twitter.com/GospelConvershttps://YouTube.com/user/GospelConversations Website:https://GospelConversations.com Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Gerard Manley Hopkins only lived a short life and he never published a single poem during his lifetime. However, this intense and brilliant Jesuit priest revolutionised forever how poetry was written and laid the foundations for twentieth-century poetry. He is arguably the greatest religious poet of all time, and yet some psychiatrists also believe that nobody wrote about depression with such penetrating insight as he did. He was a true manic genius. The theory of ‘inscape’ underpinned lots of his poetic philosophy and inspired such greats as Tolkien. In this talk, Tony will open up the wondrous world of Hopkins for us.Video:https://youtu.be/4OYpGH7_WCU Slides:https://www.slideshare.net/gospelconversations/gerard-manley-hopkins-inscape-the-glory-of-god iTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud:https://GospelConversations.com/podcast Social Media:https://Facebook.com/GospelConversationshttps://Twitter.com/GospelConvershttps://YouTube.com/user/GospelConversations Website:https://GospelConversations.com Mailing List:http://eepurl.com/guDp4n Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Sarah will extend our series on Poetry and Faith by taking us into the world of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the great philosopher and poet of Romanticism, who lived at the tumultuous time of the French Revolution abroad and the Industrial Revolution at home. In the face of this tumult, Coleridge and the Romantics championed humanity, the imagination and the mystery of Nature as the source of all meaning. Coleridge, a troubled Anglican spirit, found the origin of humanity’s imagination in the great ‘I AM’ of God.Video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuwhxRWxZZY Slides:https://www.slideshare.net/gospelconversations/coleridgeunity-and-the-abrahamic-covenantsarah-golsbysmith iTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud:https://GospelConversations.com/podcast Social Media:https://Facebook.com/GospelConversationshttps://Twitter.com/GospelConvershttps://YouTube.com/user/GospelConversations Website:https://GospelConversations.com Mailing List:http://eepurl.com/guDp4n Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Robin's final talk in our series explores perhaps the most significant question of all: "How does a belief in universal salvation influence my life and service in the world—including things like evangelism, counselling, and taking funerals?" Robin is a pastor as well as a theologian, and he brings a wealth of practical experience to this huge question. Does universal salvation mute the gospel and just make us melt into a kind of uncritical pantheism? Robin argues that universal salvation, far from muting our voice in the world, amplifies our voice, and the many ways through which we can bless the world.Video:https://youtu.be/mvkVU-iPKXo Slides:https://www.slideshare.net/gospelconversations/living-in-the-light-of-the-future-universal-restoration-and-practical-theologyrobin-parry iTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud:https://GospelConversations.com/podcast Social Media:https://Facebook.com/GospelConversationshttps://Twitter.com/GospelConvershttps://YouTube.com/user/GospelConversations Website:https://GospelConversations.com Mailing List:http://eepurl.com/guDp4n Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

In this third talk of our Hope and Hell conference, Robin paints a sweeping picture of the story of salvation beginning with creation and ending with the eschaton. He then poses the significant question—which fits best into this picture—hell or universal salvation? This talk is quite awe-inspiring—not because it advocates universal salvation (which it does) but even more because it stretches our horizons beyond individual redemption into the purpose of the cosmos. In developing his theme, Robin draws heavily on the magnificent Patristic fathers and their grand conception of the irresistible goodness of God. Video:https://youtu.be/mvkVU-iPKXo Slides:https://www.slideshare.net/gospelconversations/the-story-of-salvation-a-narrative-theology-of-hellrobin-parry iTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud:https://GospelConversations.com/podcast Social Media:https://Facebook.com/GospelConversationshttps://Twitter.com/GospelConvershttps://YouTube.com/user/GospelConversations Website:https://GospelConversations.com Mailing List:http://eepurl.com/guDp4n Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Universal salvation raises the critically important question of how we read the Bible—or ‘hermeneutics’. That is what Robin covers in this talk. He sweeps us through a big landscape in three succinct waves—each bigger than the one before. Firstly he confronts the foreground question of biblical texts—and he makes the point that everybody has problems here. How do we reconcile God’s love with his omnipotence? He then moves onto slightly broader terrain—we need the read texts in their context BUT the meaning of the texts will often be bigger than even the author intended or realised. And finally, he finishes with a new horizon of interpretation—the future. He talks about the ‘trajectories’ of the biblical canon, which stretch beyond themselves for future generations—like ours—to articulate. He uses the development of the doctrine of the Trinity as an example. So this talk is as much about how we read the Bible as how we do or don’t find ‘universal salvation’ in the Bible.This is the second talk from our Hope and Hell conference.Video:https://youtu.be/mvkVU-iPKXoSlides:https://www.slideshare.net/gospelconversations/hermeneutics-and-hell-by-robin-parryiTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud:https://GospelConversations.com/podcast Social Media:https://Facebook.com/GospelConversationshttps://Twitter.com/GospelConvershttps://YouTube.com/user/GospelConversations Website:https://GospelConversations.com Mailing List:http://eepurl.com/guDp4n Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Tony introduces Rev Dr Robin Parry by explaining what Gospel Conversations is all about—expanding our view of God and that means inquiring into mystery. One of the best ways to inquire is to map out the landscape of a debate—and that is exactly what Robin does in this marvellous talk. He gives us a birds-eye view of the long debate over universalism. But he goes further—and he gives us a map to navigate the territory. He defines what universalism is and is not. He explains the different pathways that have led many orthodox Christians to consider it seriously—Bible, experience, patristics, and ‘gospel logic’. This takes a lot of confusion and heat out of the debate and gives us a clear view of the topic. But it also hints at a bigger view of God, and a broader view of Christian thinking. Robin gives us the gift of years of learning and thought in one hour.This is the first talk from our Hope and Hell Conference.Video:https://youtu.be/TofvLLm_LqI Slides:https://www.slideshare.net/gospelconversations/universal-salvation-a-whistlestop-introduction-hope-and-hell-conference iTunes, Spotify, and SoundCloud:https://GospelConversations.com/podcast Social Media:https://Facebook.com/GospelConversationshttps://Twitter.com/GospelConvershttps://YouTube.com/user/GospelConversations Website:https://GospelConversations.com Mailing List:http://eepurl.com/guDp4n Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe