The Russell Moore Show

When people think of Bill McKibben, they likely think of issues like environmentalism and climate change. As Russell Moore points out in this episode, it may seem like a surprise that McKibben’s latest book is titled The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon: A Graying American Looks Back at His Suburban Boyhood and Wonders What the Hell Happened.But, as Moore points out, McKibben has long been pondering the cultural influences that shape suburbia and those who grew up within it. And if there’s ever been a time to talk about the ways that the individualism that’s highly prized in suburbia affects Christians in America, it’s now.Tune into this episode for a discussion between two men who do not always agree yet respect each other’s intellectual positions and work. McKibben and Moore discuss the influence of the past on the present, how comfortability affects Christian formation, and the importance of solidarity. Their discussion touches on history, science, philosophy, theology, and politics—and how the gospel affects it all.“The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity TodayChief Creative Officer: Erik PetrikExecutive Producer and Host: Russell MooreDirector of Podcasts: Mike CosperProduction Assistance: CoreMediaCoordinator: Beth GrabenkortProducer and Audio Mixing: Kevin DuthuAssociate Producer: Abby PerryTheme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

How can pro-life Christians engage in meaningful conversations about abortion with their pro-choice friends? Is attending church online equivalent to sitting in the sanctuary on a Sunday morning? And what is Russell Moore’s new book about?Russell Moore responds to all of these questions and more on this episode of The Russell Moore Show. Listen in for nuanced answers to listener inquiries such as: How should pro-life Christians respond when pro-choice friends say the pro-life position is only religious and therefore shouldn’t be imposed on anyone else? What can women who have had abortions, or men who have empowered them, do if they are struggling with an ongoing sense of guilt? How should Christians act when a coworker exhibits narcissistic behaviors? What are the differences between Calvinism and Arminianism, and how important are they? Is it okay for introverts who are drained by the work week to watch church online instead of attending in person? Future listener question episodes will include topics like grandparenting, retirement, and heaven.Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to questions@russellmoore.com.“The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity TodayChief Creative Officer: Erik PetrikExecutive Producer and Host: Russell MooreDirector of Podcasts: Mike CosperProduction Assistance: CoreMediaCoordinator: Beth GrabenkortProducer and Audio Mixing: Kevin DuthuAssociate Producer: Abby PerryTheme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this special episode of The Russell Moore Show, author and professor Stephen Prothero discusses the overturn of Roe v. Wade and what it may mean for the United States.Moore and Prothero talk about potential implications for other legislation like Obergefell. They consider the potential effects of the Roe v. Wade overturn on America’s culture wars. Listeners may appreciate their conversation on talking about abortion with someone who holds a different opinion, and what it may look like to have a reasoned, productive dialogue on the subject.“The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity TodayChief Creative Officer: Erik PetrikExecutive Producer and Host: Russell MooreDirector of Podcasts: Mike CosperProduction Assistance: CoreMediaCoordinator: Beth GrabenkortProducer and Audio Mixing: Kevin DuthuAssociate Producer: Abby PerryTheme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Author and pastor Scott Sauls knows what it’s like to be his own worst critic.“Even if we’re being unfairly critiqued, there’s usually at least a kernel of truth in there somewhere that gets under our skin and bothers us,” Sauls says on this episode of The Russell Moore Show.Those kernels of truth can lead to guilt and shame. And, as Sauls says, “We have done things that render us guilty.” But we also have a victorious Savior who “accomplished a satisfactory victory” for us.Sauls and Moore talk about regrets, grace, seasons of suffering, and clinging to the gospel. They discuss the range of the human experience—everything from freedom and joy to guilt, shame, anxiety, and depression—and the God who draws near to us.Sauls’ new book is called Beautiful People Don't Just Happen: How God Redeems Regret, Hurt, and Fear in the Making of Better Humans.Sauls and Moore reference “The Catastrophe of Success” by Tennessee Williams, Moore’s recent episode with Arthur Brooks, and “Learning in War-time” by C. S. Lewis.Quotations mentioned in this episode include:“People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.” - Allen Raine, though often attributed to Thomas Merton“[Envy] consists in seeing things never in themselves, but only in their relations. … If you desire glory, you may envy Napoleon, but Napoleon envied Caesar, Caesar envied Alexander, and Alexander, I daresay, envied Hercules, who never existed.” – Bertrand Russell“Preach the gospel to yourself.” – concept by Martin Luther, quote by Jerry Bridges“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.” – Roy and Jane Nichols in Death: The Final Stage of Growth, compiled by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross“The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity TodayChief Creative Officer: Erik PetrikExecutive Producer and Host: Russell MooreDirector of Podcasts: Mike CosperProduction Assistance: CoreMediaCoordinator: Beth GrabenkortProducer and Audio Mixing: Kevin DuthuAssociate Producer: Abby PerryTheme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Humans are into rituals. Birth rituals, marriage rituals, naming rituals—each of these and more are integral to the lives of most people. One type of ritual, perhaps, is most common of all: death rituals.On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, author and professor Stephen Prothero joins Moore to discuss a sweeping change in death rituals: cremation's rapid rise in popularity. They talk about the theological and cultural implications of cremation, important questions to consider about how bodies are treated after death, and the role of the resurrection.“The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Chief Creative Officer: Erik Petrik Executive Producer and Host: Russell Moore Director of Podcasts: Mike Cosper Production Assistance: CoreMedia Coordinator: Beth Grabenkort Producer and Audio Mixing: Kevin Duthu Associate Producer: Abby Perry Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"Happiness requires a lot of unhappy when you finally confront life in all of its complexities."Dr. Moore and Arthur C. Brooks, Harvard professor and author of the book From Strength to Strength, discuss how if you're spending all of your time and energy trying to avoid unhappy, you will paradoxically avoid your own happiness by cutting the purpose and sacredness out of your life.Addressing loneliness, mental health, relationship building and the struggles this current generation is facing, Brooks shares his ultimate hope for a new day for Christian evangelicalism and the way that Gen Z is going to save America by rebelling against the culture war, lead by love, not hate. “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity TodayChief Creative Officer: Erik PetrikExecutive Producer and Host: Russell MooreDirector of Podcasts: Mike CosperProduction Assistance: CoreMediaCoordinator: Beth GrabenkortProducer and Audio Mixing: Kevin DuthuAssociate Producer: Abby PerryTheme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The following episode was recorded on May 13, 2022.“Having grown up just down the road, the son of the senior pastor at another church in town, I’ve spent my life watching evangelicalism morph from a spiritual disposition into a political identity,” Tim Alberta recently wrote at The Atlantic. “It’s heartbreaking.”On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Alberta and Moore discuss the shift in evangelical life that has taken place over the past several years. They share honest, insightful stories about the grief of unwillingly losing relationships over political differences—stories that many listeners may find familiar.They talk about changes in politics, namely the culture of high-energy political passion we see today, and what it looks like for Christians to live as people of truth in a chaotic age.“The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity TodayChief Creative Officer: Erik PetrikExecutive Producer and Host: Russell MooreDirector of Podcasts: Mike CosperProduction Assistance: CoreMediaCoordinator: Beth GrabenkortProducer and Audio Mixing: Kevin DuthuAssociate Producer: Abby PerryTheme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Rachael Denhollander is horrified by the information inside the monumental third-party investigative report into sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). But she’s not surprised.“The most sobering part,” Denhollander tells CT public theologian Russell Moore, “is that we should have known, and in many cases, we did know and did nothing.”The first woman to pursue criminal charges and speak publicly against USA Gymnastics’ team doctor Larry Nassar, Denhollander is an internationally recognized voice on the topic of sexual abuse. As an attorney, author, advocate, and educator, she speaks with gravity and clarity about the crisis of sexual abuse in the SBC and the extreme abuses of power that allowed it.This is a heavy episode on a devastating topic, but we hope you’ll stick with it. Denhollander’s wisdom provides key ways to resist injustice and honor the vulnerable in a critical time.Resources mentioned in the episode: What Is a Girl Worth? by Rachael Denhollander How Much Is a Little Boy Worth? by Rachael Denhollander How Much Is a Little Girl Worth? by Rachael Denhollander The Great Sex Rescue by Sheila Wray Gregoire Diane Langberg Caring Well Handbook “The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity Today Chief Creative Officer: Erik Petrik Executive Producer and Host: Russell Moore Director of Podcasts: Mike Cosper Production Assistance: CoreMedia Coordinator: Beth Grabenkort Producer and Audio Mixing: Kevin Duthu Associate Producer: Abby Perry Theme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What the heck has been happening since 2014?That’s the question that today’s guest—NYU professor, psychologist, and author Jonathan Haidt—has been trying to answer ever since NYU students started to say that certain speakers shouldn’t be allowed on campus. Then came the arrival of safe spaces, discussions of microaggressions, and trigger warnings. What in the world was going on? On this episode of The Russell Moore Show, Haidt suggests that these cultural shifts—which have rippled far beyond college campuses and into the arts, journalism, and even the church—took place at the time they did for a specific reason: people who had grown up using social media were entering adulthood. Tune in for a rich conversation on how social media shapes us, and especially how it influences the developing minds of children and adolescents. It's bad news, but the alternative ways of thinking, living, and being that Moore and Haidt propose are full of goodness.“The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity TodayChief Creative Officer: Erik PetrikExecutive Producer and Host: Russell MooreDirector of Podcasts: Mike CosperProduction Assistance: CoreMediaCoordinator: Beth GrabenkortProducer and Audio Mixing: Kevin DuthuAssociate Producer: Abby PerryTheme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Should parents read books to their children that feature disobedient characters? How can Christians engage in public service when they are concerned about the trajectories of both major political parties? Are Christians called to admit all of their sins to fellow believers or can they just confess to God?Russell Moore addresses all of these listener questions and more on this episode of The Russell Moore Show. Listen in for nuanced responses to inquiries such as: What happens to a Christian marriage if one spouse cannot participate in sexual intimacy for medical reasons? If this information is known during engagement, should the couple still get married? If a Christian woman is dating a non-Christian man and becomes pregnant with his child, should she marry him? Should churches fly the American flag? How do we remind ourselves that God forgives us even when we don’t feel like it, and how much should Christians share their past sins with each other? Should I read Surprised by Hope by N. T. Wright if I’m not sure that I know enough theologically to identify where I agree or disagree with him? How should parents handle reading with their children when their children's school is banning books? What should someone who feels both a clear call to vocational public service and deep disenchantment about the direction of both major political parties do? How should Christians think about their rights in light of the fact that Scripture says to give up our rights? Do you have a question for Russell Moore? Send it to questions@russellmoore.com.“The Russell Moore Show” is a production of Christianity TodayChief Creative Officer: Erik PetrikExecutive Producer and Host: Russell MooreDirector of Podcasts: Mike CosperProduction Assistance: CoreMediaCoordinator: Beth GrabenkortProducer and Audio Mixing: Kevin DuthuAssociate Producer: Abby PerryTheme Song: “Dusty Delta Day” by Lennon Hutton Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices