The Protestant Libertarian Podcast

In this crossover episode I talk with Zak Kisor and Andrew Joseph of The Legacy Right podcast about America’s failing public schools. We discuss our personal experiences in the education system, why schools consistently underperform, how the agenda of the education bureaucracy has nothing to do with serving the public or providing an education, and the difficulty of making changes that benefit students. We also explore how to make these schools better, including eliminating the bureaucracy, school choice, decentralized educational decision making, and providing more options for students and parents. I also share some personal stories and insights from my career in public education.  Media Referenced:The Legacy Right podcast: https://linktr.ee/thelegacyrightZak on X: @legacy_zakAndrew on X: @AiConan90 Other episodes on education:https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/turning-down-teacher-tenure/https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-68-our-mediocre-public-schools-with-connor-boyack/https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-116-public-schools-are-designed-to-indoctrinate-students/https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-120-fixing-education-through-the-free-market-with-lisa-watson/https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-128-the-truth-about-public-schools-with-karl-streitel/ The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and YouTube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the show’s profile! Thanks!

Right before the pandemic, in February of 2020, I took on the role of interim student ministries director at my church. Then the world shut down.  I hosted seven weeks of group online, and I recorded a series of videos about the basics of our beliefs for my students to watch before our weekly meetings. These short video introductions to important Biblical subjects lay dormant for nearly five years, until I decided to turn them into episodes of my podcast. The original videos (edited, of course, to remove the boring logistical information), will be posted on YouTube. There you can see my beard and my hair grow longer each week until I look like a ridiculous clown.  Longtime listeners of the show will realize that some of my beliefs have been nuanced or changed in the last five years, but I still agree with the basic outline of each episode. I hope they benefit you!  New episodes will be released every other Thursday between January 30-April 24 2025. Original show notes:What Do We Believe? Week Six: FaithWeek six in a seven part series entitled "What Do We Believe", based on Romans 1:1-5. Paul declares in Romans 1:5 that 'faith' means 'obedience'. We will explore the significance of that statement this week! Here are the four discussion questions from this week: 1.Why is simply ‘believing’ that God exists not enough, and how is that different from ‘faith’ in the Biblical sense?2. Why is status so important to us? Why do people want to be popular and accepted? 3. What are some ways that we can make ‘faith’ the most important status that we have?The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and Youtube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the shows profile! Thanks!

In this episode I talk with Dr. Jordan Ballard, Assistant Professor at the John W. Wralings School of Divinity at Liberty University and adjunct professor at Calvary University. His doctoral thesis was entitled The Kindness and Severity of God: A Defense of the Conquest of Canaan, which explores the conquest narratives in Joshua 1-12. We will be discussing the problem of Old Testament violence and how to think about it from a Christian perspective. We situate the conquest narratives in the context of Old Testament theology more generally, which includes God’s plan to redeem creation, and the narrative context of the book of Joshua. We discuss God’s unique prerogative to make decisions about human life, Canaanite evil and Israel’s covenant, and the apparent discrepancy between the presentation of God’s character in the Old and New Testaments. This is an excellent primer for anyone concerned about problem of violence in the Old Testament and how Christians should reckon with it.  Media Referenced:The Kindness and Severity of God: https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/3815/ The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and YouTube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the show’s profile! Thanks!

In this episode I talk to Dr. James Ware, scholar of New Testament and Ancient Christianity and professor emeritus at the University of Evansville, about his brand-new The Final Triumph of God: Jesus, the Eyewitnesses, and the Resurrection of the Body in 1 Corinthians 15, out now on Eerdmans, which is a line-by-line commentary of Paul’s most iconic statement of the resurrection at the end of the first Corinthian epistle. We look at the significance and centrality of the resurrection for Christian faith, the wider context of 1 Corinthians, and then engage in a passage-by-passage review of 1 Corinthians 15, dealing with all the complex exegetical questions it poses. The resurrection is the heart of the Christian hope, and this lengthy chapter needs to be taken seriously! Media Referenced:The Final Triumph of God: https://a.co/d/8zHHXFr James Ware Amazon page https://www.amazon.com/stores/James-P.-Ware/author/B001JXUOPS?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1742654742&sr=8-1&isDramIntegrated=true&shoppingPortalEnabled=true&ccs_id=3bfa1604-b6e2-4c27-bb83-5236f2524088The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and YouTube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the show’s profile! Thanks! 

Right before the pandemic, in February of 2020, I took on the role of interim student ministries director at my church. Then the world shut down. I hosted seven weeks of group online, and I recorded a series of videos about the basics of our beliefs for my students to watch before our weekly meetings. These short video introductions to important Biblical subjects lay dormant for nearly five years, until I decided to turn them into episodes of my podcast. The original videos (edited, of course, to remove the boring logistical information), will be posted on YouTube. There you can see my beard and my hair grow longer each week until I look like a ridiculous clown. Longtime listeners of the show will realize that some of my beliefs have been nuanced or changed in the last five years, but I still agree with the basic outline of each episode. I hope they benefit you! New episodes will be released every other Thursday between January 30-April 24 2025. Original show notes:What Do We Believe? Week Five: The Holy Spirit Week five in a seven part series entitled "What Do We Believe", based on Romans 1:1-5. Paul declares in Romans 1:4 that Jesus was raised from the dead by the "Spirit of Holiness", or the Holy Spirit? But what, or rather, who, is the Holy Spirit? We find out in this weeks devotional!  Here are the three discussion questions from this week:1. If the Spirit defines who is a part of God’s family, why is simply going to church or saying that we believe not enough? 2. Why is it important that our lives are transformed and changed by the spirit? Why does God not want us to stay the same? 3. What are some ways that we can use our gifts (talents and abilities) to honor God? 4. Why do you think that we often ignore or neglect the Spirit when we talk about our faith?5. How does belief in our future resurrection give us hope?The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and Youtube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the shows profile! Thanks!

In this episode I talk with Brent M., host of the Aiming Up podcast, about his political evolution, how philosophy has shaped his worldview, leaving religion, psychedelics, and health. This is a wide-ranging conversation that touches on issues that are extremely important to my show, and Brent’s insightful and open-minded approach to complex issues is refreshing and guaranteed to get you thinking! Make sure you check out his show! Media Referenced:Brent on X: @bgetsbetterAiming Up on X: @aiminguppodcastAiming Up on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@AimingUpPodcastAiming Up on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/659MG8vaf0aEHWN14KzPkY The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and YouTube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the show’s profile! Thanks! 

In this episode I talk with Dr. Gerard Casey, professor emeritus at University College Dublin and associate scholar at the Mises Institute, about charity and welfare. Dr. Casey argues that a libertarian approach to charity, which is based on the principles of non-aggression and localism, are a more efficient method of providing for those in need than big-government redistributive programs. Besides relying on the use of violence against peaceful people, welfare programs have a costly bureaucracy, are not targeted to those who need it most, and enable degeneracy and generational poverty. Mutual aid and friendly societies, which are voluntarily funded, avoid the moral hazards inherent in socialized welfare. They provided for the needs of truly vulnerable people throughout history, and were wildly popular after industrialization until government programs crowded them out of the market. Politicians use these programs to buy votes regardless of the social and economic costs they impose upon the population. Casey argues that Christians should care about charity and that the only solutions are libertarian.  Media Referenced:Gerard Casey on X: @Casey5122darkLet the Poor Starve: https://www.stephankinsella.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/casey-Let-the-Poor-Starve-rev.-June-2023.pdf The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com. Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and YouTube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the show’s profile! Thanks!

Right before the pandemic, in February of 2020, I took on the role of interim student ministries director at my church. Then the world shut down. I hosted seven weeks of group online, and I recorded a series of videos about the basics of our beliefs for my students to watch before our weekly meetings. These short video introductions to important Biblical subjects lay dormant for nearly five years, until I decided to turn them into episodes of my podcast. The original videos (edited, of course, to remove the boring logistical information), will be posted on YouTube. There you can see my beard and my hair grow longer each week until I look like a ridiculous clown.  Longtime listeners of the show will realize that some of my beliefs have been nuanced or changed in the last five years, but I still agree with the basic outline of each episode. I hope they benefit you!  New episodes will be released every other Thursday between January 30-April 24 2025. Original show notes:What Do We Believe? Week Four: ResurrectionWeek Four in a seven-part series entitled "What Do We Believe", based on Romans 1:1-5.Paul declares in Romans 1:4 that Jesus was declared to be Son of God by the resurrection of the dead, but what does the term "resurrection" actually mean? This video explores the idea of resurrection and what it means for Jesus, Paul, and us. Here are the three discussion questions from this week:1. The resurrection of Jesus is the single most important Christian belief. Why do you think this is the case? What makes it so important? 2. If the resurrection really happened, how does it make our evangelism and our mission more significant?3. How does belief in our future resurrection give us hope?The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and Youtube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the shows profile! Thanks!

In this episode I explore Paul’s exhortation in 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 where he instructs the Thessalonians that “those that don’t work, don’t eat” (3:10). Building from last week’s episode on 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12, I explain how this passage functioned in its historical context and the principles that we should draw from it to think about economics and politics in the modern world. I justify the Pauline authorship of 2 Thessalonians, and then explain how the themes of persecution, eschatology, and sanctification are central to the letter. Paul encourages Christians to emulate him by embracing a cruciform lifestyle of sacrifice for others and shows himself to be an example because he performed manual labor during his stay in Thessalonica so as not to be a burden to the congregation. In 3:6-13, he challenges the ‘ataktos’, the idle or disorderly, to find work and not live off the generosity of other people. Christians should put themselves in a position to help others and charity should only be given to those who are truly in need. We explore the consequences of the principles outlined in this text for the ways in which Christians should think about modern economics and politics.  Media Referenced:1 Thessalonians 4:9-13:1 Peter 2:13-17: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-121-submit-to-the-authorities-1-peter-213-17/Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-105-jesus-and-the-rich-young-ruler/1 Timothy 5-6: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/1-timothy-5-6-widows-wealth-and-the-specter-of-socialism/New Bible Dictionary: https://a.co/d/hGlU7fDKarl Donfried; Paul, Thessalonica, and the Early Church: https://a.co/d/fCdLFc4Bruce Winter; Seek the Welfare of the City: https://a.co/d/ardheBa The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and YouTube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the show’s profile! Thanks! 

In this episode, I explain what Paul is doing when he exhorts the Thessalonians to “mind your own business and work with your hands” in 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12. I discuss the problems with historical anachronism and the difference between ancient and modern economic thought. I then discuss the wider context of Paul’s though, explaining how his fundamental moral principle is cruciformity (living a life of sacrifice for others) and his views on the nature and responsibility of the church. Paul works to fund his own ministry (1 Cor. 9) as an example of cruciform sacrifice towards his congregations. I explain how Thessalonica was a diverse, cosmopolitan trading city with an independent government, and how Paul’s trip to Thessalonica (Acts 17) resulted in synagogue leaders leveraging the local government to harass those that believe in the Gospel. I then turn to 1 Thessalonians as a letter, showing how persecution and eschatology are the two major themes that run through the letter. Paul wants the Thessalonians to imitate him (1:6-7) and explains how he is willing to work to provide for his own needs (2:9-12). Before the final section of 1 Thessalonians, Paul explains how cruciform love and the identity of the church shapes the rest of his exhortation (3:11-13). We then finally come to 1 Thess. 4:9-12. The historical and sociological background of the passage is the Roman patron-client system, where wealthy patrons give gifts of money, clothing, and food to clients in exchange for social clout and political support. Paul wants all Christians to become charitable and benefactors, and his language in 4:9-12 is a rejection of the patron-client system. Paul encourages Christians to leave and reject the patron-client system and instead work with their hands, so that they will not be in need and can help those that genuinely are. This is also an example of the cruciform character of the church to outsiders. I then explain some principles that Christians should derive from this passage and how they should shape our perception of Christian responsibility in the modern world.  Media Referenced:1 Timothy 5-6: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/1-timothy-5-6-widows-wealth-and-the-specter-of-socialism/Jesus and the Rich Young Ruler: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-105-jesus-and-the-rich-young-ruler/1 Peter 2:13-17: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-121-submit-to-the-authorities-1-peter-213-17/Bibleworthy Podcast Appearance: https://bibleworthy.com/8Seek the Welfare of the City, Bruce Winter: https://a.co/d/aYzhQt2Empire, Economics, and the New Testament, Peter Oakes: https://a.co/d/3gsTap5The Moral Teaching of Paul, Victor Furnish: https://a.co/d/dnMNlpB The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at theprotestantlibertarian@gmail.com.  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and Youtube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! G