Gospel Conversations podcast

This is the first conversation with Andrew Baartz in our series on the increasingly controversial doctrine of ‘penal subsititution’.The title of our series is ‘The Cross and Creation; can atonement combine both?’True to our approach at GC, we want to explore the topic rather than wading into the blow by blow debate. Our guest is Andrew Baartz. Andrew and Tony talk about the big picture – what are the questions for which atonement is the answer? And what are the assumptions behind those questions? The discussion stretches our conceptual landscape to allow for some broader perspectives. True to our theme at GC, we will position this topic within the horizon of the ‘creation gospel’.The conversation will continue next month. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Jeremiah 17:9 is often taken as a proof text for ‘original sin’ and “total depravity”.  But is that a correct reading and is the human heart indeed ‘desperately wicked’?In this talk Tony explores this question and along the way uses the text – and its typical mishandling – as a starting point to explore smarter and more authentic ways to read Jeremiah – and indeed the Old Testament.  This is pretty important as it unlocks the text from its cage of assumptions and lets it speak for itself – and so challenge and transform us. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Tony takes an extensive look at the way Jeremiah uses the image of the ‘Valley of Hinnom’ (or Gehenna) in his prophecies about Jerusalem and its impending doom.  He then looks at how the gospels, Matthew in particular, deliberately position Jesus as the modern ‘Jeremiah’ or ‘prophet’.  This positioning shines a new light on what Jesus may have meant by his use of the metaphor of ‘Gehenna’ (the Aramaic for ‘Valley of Hinnom’).  Finally Tony looks at the neglected high point of the new covenant in Jeremiah – which is the apparent redemption of the Valley of Hinnom as ‘sacred to the Lord’…. All of this leaves us with a different view of ‘hell’ (Gehenna) that is much more grounded in the Biblical text. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Tony Golsby-Smith interviews, Matt Clarke, on the subject of slavery in the 21st century – and how the normal Christian model of retribution and justice can get in the way of innovative solutions. Matt has worked in this field for years and became frustrated at the short sighted interventions of many Not-for-profits in this space. He has just written a great book, called ‘Disrupting Mercy’ about the topic which argues that we don’t just need a more holistic approach – we need a new paradigm of mercy. This interview is a prelude to our upcoming series on ‘The Cross and Creation’ where we will be examining the pros and cons of the controversial doctrine of ‘penal substitution’. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

This is Tony’s follow up talk on Jeremiah 32 – the story of Jeremiah buying a field. In this talk he dives into the analogy and explores just what insight it offers us as to how to live in the present through the lens of hope. He argues that the lens of ‘self denial’ is not what the analogy really is teaching us about the way our hope for the future influences our lives in the present. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to 2023 and our first Breakfast with Jesus talk for the year. in this talk Tony discusses the famous story of Jeremiah buying a field in the face of Jerusalem’s doom – a very stupid thing to do – and how this shines a light on how we might act in our lives according to the logic of hope. I position this talk inside a hot topic of modern Christendom;  the ‘end times’ and how our fascination with predicting the future has obscured the eschatological dimensions of the gospel. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Tony builds on his recent talk on the new covenant in Jeremiah by exploring how the Epistle of Hebrews uses this new covenant promise in the NT. Hebrews 8 quotes the Jeremiah passage in full – the longest OT quotation in the NT. What is interesting is how the writer uses the Jeremiah passage and takes it further by explaining how the contract based law of Moses failed to deliver what God wanted. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

Leisa finishes the year off for GC with a profound summary of her doctorate on ‘hope’. It is full of gems and very relevant for an anxious and despairing world.  Her doctorate was targeted at the secular world of clinical psychology, but in this talk we get a ‘Christian’ version of this important work where Leisa can be explicit about the theological grounds for her ideas.She aligns her work with Esther’s message on knowing as a form of desire and anticipation. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

This is the second of three short talks from Gospel Conversations supporters as a response to Esther Meek's Covenant Epistemology.Mark Ridgeway explores the thought of Esther Meek in the context of Discipleship.He follows the contours of Covenant Epistemology, explores the practice of inviting the real and concludes with some practical recommendations for the Church. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

This is the first of three short talks from Gospel Conversations supporters as a response to Esther Meek's Covenant Epistemology. In this talk Ron Winestock addresses the big questions of the universe and how Covenant Epistemology can help us see clearly through the two levels of knowing.Ron argues that since Isaac Newton we have emphasised the focal and discredited the subsidiary. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe