The Protestant Libertarian Podcast

In this episode I talk with Dr. Jeffery Degner, economist at Cornerstone University and fellow at The Mises Institute, about the impact of inflation on American society. He explains how inflation is the artificial expansion of the money supply and is controlled by the Federal Reserve. This leads to higher prices and the business cycle but benefits the wealthiest asset holders. He describes the United States as having an ‘inflation culture’ and explains how inflation hurts families, working people, and the poor. We explore how it has led to cultural degeneracy, a reliance on debt and credit, rampant consumerism, and other social evils. We discuss the impact of inflation on the church and why Christians should take this issue seriously. Media Referenced:Follow Jeff on X: @DrJeffDegnerInflation and the Family: https://a.co/d/8FvtJdABob Murphy Interview: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-215-the-federal-reserve-with-bob-murphy/ 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 Phil Christman. Phil teaches writing at the University of Michigan and is author of the brand-new Why Christians Should Be Leftists, out now on Eerdmans Press. In this book he argues for the compatibility of left-wing politics and Christianity, making the case that Christians should be naturally inclined to leftism. We discuss his journey into leftist thought, deconstruction, the problems with both the Christian right and the DNC, his concerns about capitalism, liberalism, and libertarianism, why he thinks socialism is compatible with Jesus’s teaching, and how leftism understands work and power. We also discuss, in light of the Charlie Kirk assassination, how Christians from different perspectives can learn to have better conversations. Media Referenced:Why Christians Should Be Leftists: https://a.co/d/cSwkKvcPhil’s Website: https://philipchristman.com/Phil’s Substack: https://philipchristman.substack.com/ 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. Beth Felker Jones. Dr. Jones teaches theology at Northern Seminary and is the author of the brand-new book Why I am a Protestant, out now on IVP. In this book she defends the Protestant tradition, explaining both its strengths and challenges. We discuss Sola Scriptura, debates between Catholics and Protestants, how many people get Protestantism wrong, and why she believes the label still matters. We also discuss how Christians from different traditions can engage in productive dialogue and what is unique about Protestantism.  Media Referenced:Why I Am Protestant: https://a.co/d/fUKy6r5Beth Felker Jones Substack: https://bethfelkerjones.substack.com/Why I am Catholic interview with Matthew Levering: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-149-roman-catholicism-the-pope-mary-the-eucharist-and-ecumenicism-with-matthew-levering/ 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 Jacob Winograd about covenant theology and its impact on Biblical interpretation. We discussed my recent conversation with Stephen Angliss about dispensationalism, and Jacob argues for the alternative of covenant theology. He explains how God works through various covenants and their fulfillment, how it provides a hermeneutical framework for reading the Bible, how it is different than dispensationalism, and how it intersects both with the Reformed tradition and political readings of the text. We also discuss how covenant theology can help us think critically about the second Trump administration. Media Referenced:The Biblical Anarchy podcast: https://libertarianchristians.com/shows/biblical-anarchy/Jacob on X: @BiblicalAnarchyStephen Angliss on Dispensationalism: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-213-biblical-dispensationalism-with-stephen-angliss/Jacob and Alex on History vs. Theology in Interpretation: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/theology-first-or-history-first-making-sense-of-scripture-in-modern-times-with-alex-bernardo/ 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. Mark Nanos about his recent contribution on Philippians to the book Judeophobia and the New Testament, out now on Eerdmans. Dr. Nanos is the leading proponent of the ‘Paul Within Judaism’ school which reads Paul as a Jew who continues to understand his mission as an apostle within the framework of Judaism. He argues that the Christian interpretive tradition has marginalized and disparaged Judaism in unhelpful and unhistorical ways, and that Philippians 3 has often been used in anti-Jewish polemic. He situates Philippians 3 within its historical and rhetorical context, explaining how references to ‘dogs’ and ‘stomachs’ make more sense within the framework of Cynic philosophy and should best be understood as an attack against pagan culture instead of Judaism. We talk about Paul’s Jewish identity and his belief that gentiles were incorporated into Israel through faith, as well as why modern Christians need to seriously reconsider Paul and his Jewish identity if we want to faithfully interpret the New Testament.  Media Referenced:Judeophobia and the New Testament: https://a.co/d/3pX4d1yMark Nanos Website: https://marknanos.com/ 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 Jason Fry, author of National Divorce: A Plan for Peace, about how Christians should respond to everything going on in the news cycle today. We talk Israel/Palestine, the Trump economy, flag burning, and how Christians should interact with political leaders. Jason also explains how national divorce can solve many of these problems and why Christians should think critically about current events.  Media Referenced:Book Website: https://www.national-divorce.com/Jason on X: @JasonKFryFaith in the Folds Lipscomb episode: https://youtu.be/tfimNQAKRkg?si=tx4yyDaYQ3Bdxt09  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. Christy Cobb and Dr. Katherine Shaner about the new book they coedited entitled Ancient Slavery and Its New Testament Contexts, out now on Eerdmans. They explain the institution of slavery in antiquity, its pervasiveness in Greco-Roman society, and how Romans and Jews alike thought about slavery. Dr. Cobb explains her chapter on gender roles, noting how men and women experienced slavery differently, and Dr. Shaner explains her chapter on New Testament household codes and their complex presentation of slavery. We then talk about the conflicting instructions regarding slavery in the New Testament, the Bible’s role in the abolitionist movement, and why Christians should seriously think about this issue. Dr. Cobb also wanted to refer curious listeners to the following article, which explores slavery in the Rabbinic tradition in greater detail: Hezser, Catherine. “Part Whore, Part Wife: Slave Women in the Palestinian Rabbinic Tradition.” In Doing Gender - Doing Religion: Case Studies on Intersectionality in Early Judaism, Christianity and Islam, edited by Ute E. Eisen, Christine Gerber, and Angela Standhartinger. Mohr Siebeck, 2013.  Media Referenced:Ancient Slavery and Its New Testament Contexts: https://a.co/d/bixo0LZChristy Cobb Bio: https://liberalarts.du.edu/about/people/christy-cobbChristy Cobb Academia: https://udenver.academia.edu/ChristyCobbKatherine Shaner Bio: https://divinity.wfu.edu/academics/faculty/katherine-a-shaner/ 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 discuss how the gospel writers develop both the messianic and divine identity of Jesus, building up from their sources. I discuss my preferred theory to the Synoptic problem, the Farrer Hypothesis. It postulates that Mark was the first written gospel, Matthew used Mark as a source and added his own material, and Luke used both Mark and Matthew as a source. I then explore a recent proposal made by James Barker who argues that John knew the Synoptic gospels. Advocating for the Farrer theory, he explores ‘Synoptic trajectories’, showing how each successive evangelist developed their source material, and shows how the line runs through John, which was a creative rewriting of the Synoptics. I apply these theories to the opening verse of each gospel. Mark 1:1 acknowledges that Jesus is Messiah, possibly alludes to Genesis 1-2, and sets the beginning of Jesus’ ministry with John the Baptist. Matthew agrees but pushes Jesus’ origins back to David through Abraham while narrating the divine conception of Jesus. Luke further develops the divine and messianic Christology of Mark and Matthew, tracing Jesus’ lineage back to Adam, boldly affirming his messianic status, and more extensively narrating Jesus’ divine conception. John agrees with all of this and takes the final step, showing Jesus participating in creation while retaining his Davidic, Messianic Christology.  Media Referenced:James Barker interview: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-181-how-the-gospel-writers-copied-each-other-with-james-barker/Helen Bond interview: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-167-the-gospels-as-biography-with-helen-bond/Paul and Divine Christology: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-127-paul-believed-that-jesus-was-god-with-chris-bruno/ 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 economist Dr. Bob Murphy about the Federal Reserve. Murphy argues that the Federal Reserve should be abolished. We explore the history of the Fed and how it has not only failed to produce economic stability but causes great economic harm. Murphy explains how the Fed devalues the currency, the impact Fed policy has on average Americans, and why Christians should be critical of the Fed. He also discusses why it should be abolished and how it can be reformed in the meantime. If you want a one-podcast introduction to the Federal Reserve, this is it! Media Referenced:Bob Murphy on X: @BobMurphyEconZeroHedge Debate: https://youtu.be/poymGXekiJs?si=ePSUljD-vWoIoRAeUnderstanding Money Mechanics book: https://cdn.mises.org/understanding_money_mechanics_with_cover_image_attached.pdfThe Bob Murphy Show: https://www.bobmurphyshow.com/ 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 explore Matthew 17:24-27, in which Peter is asked if Jesus pays the temple tax. After talking to Peter about this question, Jesus says the sons of kings are exempt from taxes, but “so that we do not offend them” Peter is to catch a fish with a coin in its mouth and pay the tax anyway. We explore the literary and historical context of this passage, showing that Matthew uses it to develop Jesus’ messianic identity. This passage corresponds to Jeremiah 29:7, where Jeremiah tells the Babylonian exiles to seek the welfare of the city before describing Babylon’s ultimate destruction. God’s people should seek to live at peace with their neighbors knowing that God will come back and rescue them in the end. I then explore how the themes of not giving offense and seeking the welfare of neighbors are found in Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2, discussing our obligation to seek peace knowing that God will one day do away with these unjust systems.  Media Referenced:Everyone is Wrong About Romans: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-130-everyone-is-wrong-about-romans-13-including-me/Romans 13 Revisited: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-210-revisiting-romans-13/1 Peter 2 Podcast: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-121-submit-to-the-authorities-1-peter-213-17/1 Peter 2 Article: https://libertarianchristians.com/2024/11/26/submit-to-the-authorities/ 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!