Gospel Conversations podcast

In this talk, we look at the 'normative' aspect of Trinity thinking. Our learning goal is to have our minds transformed to God's agenda rather than ours. We look at the typical evangelical interpretation of the gospel and reveal its shortcomings. Tony does that by synthesising the four spiritual laws onto a one-page architecture which reveals its shortcomings. He then asks, "Is there a better way?" and finishes by offering an alternative framing of the gospel that blows open the scope of Christ's achievement and lifts our thinking to awesome heights. A must listen talk!! Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Tony argues that we have narrowed Christian growth by framing it as a religious effort. He spends the first part of this talk, diagnosing the religious mindset and explaining how it distorts the gospel. But the question becomes, "Is there a better way to frame our growth journey?" Tony turns to the structure of the Trinity as the architecture for what makes us truly human and thus truly Christlike. He offers a simple but powerful Trinitarian model to guide our growth agenda—as a life agenda rather than a religious agenda. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Ron moves on to the topic of cosmology—ie what is the origin of the universe. This is mind-boggling stuff and dwarfs the more conventional 'evolution' debates. He explains the anthropic principle that is fast emerging among scientists and which is ironically putting this little old earth back at the centre of attention. He describes the earth as the ark of humanity—a wonder of life in the midst of a barren universe. He contrasts the scientific view of cosmology with the Jewish view. Listen for some of the great discussion here—particularly as we develop the metaphor of the car to explain all of this. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Ron confronts the question, "How well does Genesis 1 fit in with the new science?" Most people wonder whether Genesis fits with evolution, but Ron takes a far broader view and compares the implications of Genesis with cosmology—the theory of relativity and the origins of the universe. He concludes that Genesis is surprisingly modern, although it does not try to be a science textbook. Then he compares the whole secular and Greek view of reality with its great rival the Jewish tradition—a topic he will develop in his next talk. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

In this talk, Tony opens up how the doctrine of the Trinity frames our whole role in creation. The creating God has mandated that we humans will continue his expansive work in creation. We can only do this, by sharing his nature, which equips us to be Trinitarian agents. This culminates in the rule of God. Tony then suggests how this stupendous framework challenges the agenda for sin-based Christianity. He declares that we need to reframe the agenda of the Christian life away from religion towards co-creation. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

This is part two of Tony's talk on the Trinity and creativity. Having established the intrinsical creativity character of the Trinity, he moves onto the role of humanity in this creative process as 'trinitarian agents'. At the end of the talk, he addresses the question of the role of sin and the 'Fall' in this otherwise optimistic and expansive picture. Again, a set of Powerpoint slides accompanies this talk (see the slides called 'Trinitarian agents'. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

This talk comes in two parts. In this the first part, Tony outlines why the creative act lies at the heart of the Trinitarian Godhead. He bases this part of the talk on Jonathan Edwards' great essay "The Ends for which God Created the Worlds". Look out for a very important interaction with Mark Strom towards the end of the talk, which turns the Christian engagement with the world on its head - from 'application' to 'discovery'. There are Powerpoint slides to accompany the talk which are on the website, so use them as you listen. Enjoy! Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Tony introduces 'language' as the archetypal view of the Trinity. He argues that the 'Trinity' is the utterly novel invention of the Christian church - it is an enigma that is unique and central to the Christian belief system. We do well to peer into it. He explains how the doctrine developed in the fourth century, and then how it slipped into neglect after the Reformation. The climax of the talk is the stunning moves Jonathan Edwards made to not only recover the Trinity but to lift the whole debate to a new breathtaking level. This new view radically reshapes how we look at creation and ourselves. Listen to the talk with the accompanying Powerpoint slides. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Ron takes his discussion of the new physics beyond matter to mind and language. Is matter the ultimate reality? Last time we discovered there is more mystery to matter than most people realise. But this time we move into the even more important question of whether matter is the only building block of the universe - or whether the mind and language, are just as primary as matter. Of course, it suits materialists like Dawkins to say that matter is the only real stuff. But Ron challenges that view here. He introduces us to the 400-year-old debate over this topic and shows how inadequate a 'matter is all that matters' view really is. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Ron opens up for us the wonder of the ‘new physics’ that restored mystery to matter in the 20th century. If you think that we get more concrete, the closer we get to atoms and molecules, you will never think that way again after hearing Ron’s talk. In fact the closer we get to matter—the little ‘bits’ of it, the closer we get to mystery and strangeness. Please note that Ron used an extensive set of Powerpoint slides to support his talk. We have posted these slides on the Gospel Conversations website so you can follow the slides through as you listen to his talk. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe