The Protestant Libertarian Podcast

In this episode I respond to John Barclay’s contribution to the book New Testament Ethics (out now on Eerdmans) entitled Wealth: The Deep Challenge of the New Testament. Much of Barclay’s arguments are excellent. He contends that the question of wealth is a major theme in the New Testament which has been overlooked by Western scholars and that the treatment of wealth is a distinctive feature of Christian discipleship. He argues that wealth is inherently dangerous and can compromise Christian faithfulness and result in injustice, and that the writers of the New Testament were operating within an eschatological framework which calls for a radical disinvestment of wealth, using it for the sake of the kingdom, which is a sharing in the grace of God. While I agree wholeheartedly with Barclay’s assessment, he overstates his conclusions. He argues that the only good wealth is given or shared and implies that believers should not be concerned about financial management, passing wealth onto children, investments, or savings. I think he pushes these conclusions too far, and I respond by discussing how capital accumulation is the most effective method for alleviating poverty, the problem of the Jerusalem church in the New Testament, the many characters in the New Testament that do not give all of their wealth, and the responsibility for work and financial stewardship found in passages such as 1 Thessalonians 4 and 2 Thessalonians 3. I suggest that the great churchman John Wesley has a better model for thinking about wealth; while recognizing the dangers of wealth, it is also an effective means of building the kingdom when used for God’s glory. Wesley suggested that believers earn all they can, save all they can, and give all they can, and that Wesley’s approach to wealth corresponds with the Biblical witness and is the proper response to the otherwise excellent scholarship in Barclay’s contribution. 
 
Media Referenced:
1 Thessalonians 4 episode: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-186-work-with-your-hands-1-thessalonians-49-12/
2 Thessalonians 3 episode: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-187-no-work-no-food-2-thessalonians-36-13/
Jesus and Capitalism: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-180-jesus-and-capitalism/
 
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 [email protected].  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 how Christ defeats all powers who are opposed to God, both in heaven and on earth. I recently finished Michael Heiser’s book The Unseen Real, which is a provocative analysis of divine council theory in the Bible. God created lesser spiritual beings, such as angles, many of which rebelled against him, as well as humans who also rebelled against him. The writers of the Bible all share a worldview that there are spiritual entities, some aligned with God and some opposed to Him, as a foundational assumption. Despite Heiser’s excellent exegesis, he claims that Ephesians 1:21, in which Paul lists several forces over which Christ now rulers, refers only to spiritual beings, contradicting a claim I made in a recent episode on the passage. I counter by reviewing how the Greek terms Paul employs in that passage, as well as its larger rhetorical context, suggest that Paul is arguing that Jesus rules over both the kings of this earth and all spiritual beings, including those opposed to God. In fact, there is a Scriptural basis for this argument found in Isaiah 24:21, where Isaiah depicts God ultimately defeating all his enemies, both worldly kings and spiritual authorities which are in opposition to him. Paul believes that this eschatological prophecy is being fulfilled in Christ. Check out the original episode on Ephesians 1 and enjoy the conversation!
 
Media Referenced:
Ephesians 1: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-248-far-above-all-rule-and-authority-ephesians-115-23/
Cody Cook on Divine Council in Paul: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-245-galatians-41-7-and-deliverance-from-this-evil-age-with-cody-cook/ 
1 Corinthians 2:6-8: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-257-the-rulers-of-this-age-are-passing-away-1-corinthians-26-8/
 
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 [email protected].  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. Max Botner about his brand-new book How Then Shall We Read? A Students Guide to Interpreting the New Testament, out now on Eerdmans. In this book Botner introduces readers to the fundamentals of New Testament interpretation, discussing the pitfalls of biblicism and fundamentalist, non-contextualized readings of the Bible and showing how we need interpretive methods and hermeneutics. He explains that we need to let the Bible be the Bible, how theology and Biblical studies relate to one another, why history, genre, and translations are important and how they work, and why we must read the Bible both canonically and communally. He then gives advice for readers who are new to the Bible. This conversation is an excellent introduction to Biblical interpretation!
 
Media Referenced:
How Then Shall We Read: https://a.co/d/082S6pB2
Center for Bible Study: https://jessup.edu/academics/schools-institutes/school-of-theology-and-leadership/center-for-bible-study/
On The Way YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dr.maxbotner

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 [email protected].  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 Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 2:6-8 that “the rulers of this age…are passing away”. I explain how the Corinthians were Paul’s problem church and that the believers in Corinth were compromising with worldly values and causing divisions in the church. Paul seeks to challenge their pagan values and warn them of the dangers of disunity. Paul operates within a framework of inaugurated eschatology, where the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus the Davidic Messiah has ushered in the end of history. Paul also unambiguously hails Jesus as Messiah, calling him ‘the Lord Jesus Christ’ at several points in the opening verses. The rulers of this age, like the divisive and worldly Corinthians, failed to understand the wisdom of a crucified Messiah and are, as a result of the inaugurated eschaton, currently in the process of passing away into obscurity. The church, God’s temple through faith and the Spirit, must not place their hope in these temporal rulers whose time is nearly up. Paul’s christology, ecclesiology, and eschatology challenges the church to be the church and rise above the rulers of this age who are passing away. 

Media Referenced:
James Ware on 1 Corinthians 15: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-192-1-corinthians-15-and-the-resurrection-of-jesus-with-james-ware/
Ephesians 1: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-248-far-above-all-rule-and-authority-ephesians-115-23/
Philippians 2: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-255-philippians-25-11-and-christology-politics-and-ethics/

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 [email protected].  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 Christians need to think critically about collateral damage in war. Inspired by the recent outbreak of war in Iran, in which many believers flippantly dismiss the deaths of innocent noncombatants, including little girls, there is no Biblical, ethical, or theological justification for collateral damage. I explain how my views on this issue developed over time and how Christians must embrace the post-national identity of Abraham’s family and the obvious consequences of Genesis 1:26-28 in which all humans are created in God’s image and likeness. Being born on the wrong side of an imaginary line doesn’t change that reality. I talk about the problems of just war theory with respect to modern warfare, the hypocrisy of Americans who will justify the death of foreign women and children while claiming we must always defend American women and children, the problem of war in the Old Testament, and how Christians must be morally and intellectually consistent, always defending the rights and value of all human life. In short, there is no Christian justification for collateral damage. 
 
Media Referenced:
Calhoun on the Just War Theory: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/critique-of-the-just-war-theory-laurie-calhoun/ 
Ballard on Old Testament Violence: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-193-the-problem-of-old-testament-violence-with-jordan-ballard/ 
Genesis 3: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-232-genesis-35-and-the-problem-of-power/
 
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 [email protected].  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!