Shows
Theology for the CuriousEp.127 - The Road to Reformation: John Calvin and the Geneva Effect w/ Matt WhiteClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!There has perhaps been no other figure more celebrated yet more vilified, more appreciated yet more misunderstood, more eulogised over and yet more criticised and condemned, than the controversial French born theologian John Calvin. To some Calvin is little more than the originator of the theological system we call Calvinism today, even though he had nothing to do with the formulation of such a system. To others he was the tyrant of Geneva, and yet others would see him as one of Europe’s most significant and impactful th...2025-06-2554 minTheology for the CuriousEp.117 - Seven Churches Speak: Why Suffering - SmyrnaClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!It can be very easy to speak in terms of God‘s sovereignty and control over all things. Even when we see very difficult times inflicted on the world and others, it is not a huge stretch of faith to maintain the conviction of God‘s control of world events. However, when that suffering and pain impacts on our own personal lives and on the lives of those we love, it is considerably harder at that point to maintain a stubborn insistence on the sovereignty and governance of God...2025-04-1636 minTheology for the CuriousEp.116 - Seven Churches Speak: When Love Grows Cold - EphesusClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!Is it possible to be doctrinally astute, theologically correct, scripturally protective, and yet be displeasing to God? Is it possible that we can become so focused on making sure we are saying and believing the right thing that we become dislocated from doing the right thing? Is what we think always inevitably tied to what we do, or can we find ourselves believing one thing and doing another?In this first episode of our new series ‘Seven Churches Speak’, Pete and the Curious team take a look...2025-04-0947 minTheology for the CuriousEp.115 - Seven Churches Speak: Why The Seven Churches? w/ Jeff WeimaClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!What could seven churches, situated across Asia Minor, some 2,000 years ago, possibly have to say to individuals and the church in today’s twenty-first century? Why were they there, what did Jesus have to say to them, what can we learn former their successes, how do they serve as cautions to us?Over the next seven episodes the Curious team will unpack the seven churches seeking to discover their meaning in the first century, and their relevance for today. In this opening episode of ou...2025-04-0238 minTheology for the CuriousEp.114 - Take Another Look: What is Divine Providence?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!When many people look at all the evil, difficulty and suffering in the world, they almost instinctively ask; “where is God?” Another way of asking that question is to insist, how involved is God in this world? Is he an absent landlord, who only turns up very occasionally when there’s a serious problem? Or is he aware of what’s happening and remains in complete control and has a plan in spite of the fact we’re not always aware of it? Or is he aware but not in con...2025-03-2648 minTheology for the CuriousEp.113 - Take Another Look: Can Christians Commit The Unforgivable Sin?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!When it comes to the sin against the Holy Spirit, there has remained a great deal of confusion within some elements of the church. Some believe it is a sin impossible for a Christian to commit. Some confine it to the era in which it was written i.e: first century Palestine. Others believe it to be another form of apostasy. Whilst still others, even Christians, like Bunyan’s man in the iron cage, fear they may have committed it and are thereby bereft of any hope of rep...2025-03-1933 minTheology for the CuriousEp.112 - Take Another Look: Is Keeping the Sabbath Still Relevant?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!What was God’s intention in Genesis 2:3 when He instituted the Sabbath and ‘sanctified it’ and ‘set it apart’? In our present culture sabbath has been understood as addressing the work/life balance. The need to rediscover a restful rhythm to life. Certainly the rate of work is addressed in the sabbath, but does it simply stop there? Is the sabbath day a sacred 24 hours or could any day be taken as one’s sabbath? Martin Luther referred to the seventh day as a ‘gift from God Himself’. R...2025-03-1232 minTheology for the CuriousEp.111 - Take Another Look: Is The Sinners Prayer Biblical?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!From over forty years of Billy Graham crusades, to Bill Bright and the Campus Crusade For Christ and the ‘Four Spiritual Laws’, the sinner's prayer has remained a long established practice in calling the unrepentant to faith. Yet it has not been without its critics, who have labelled it anywhere from easy believism to false assurance. How have we arrived at it and can it be qualified in scripture? Additionally, there has remained an even more complex problem in terms of those who have never heard the g...2025-03-0543 minTheology for the CuriousEp.110 - Take Another Look: Who Chose Who?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!All of us as Christians can point to a moment in time when we found ourselves coming to Christ, praying for forgiveness, repenting, believing and becoming a Christian. But if we think that’s where God’s interest in us began, we are sadly mistaken. The Bible makes it abundantly clear that our individual salvation was not a thought in time, but a determination before time! Paul could write to Timothy for example, “Who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but be...2025-02-2637 minTheology for the CuriousEp.109 - Take Another Look: What Is The Intermediate State?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!For centuries debates have raged regarding the state of the soul after death. Some have argued for what has been termed psychopannychia, or put simply, soul sleep! That the soul remains unconscious and non-cognitive until the resurrection. Others, specifically more of the Roman Catholic understanding have advocated for a purgatory. A place where souls go immediately upon death to atone for sins that would forbid them immediate access to heaven. Others have taught a form of Sheol or Hades, a type of holding place for disembodied souls, whilst...2025-02-1940 minTheology for the CuriousEp.108 - Take Another Look: Does God Send People to Hell?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!How do we define hell? What is its purpose? Is there a possibility that there’s no such place? What does a twelfth century Irish knight, and Dante’s inferno got to tell us about hell? What exactly could Jesus have meant in speaking about a place, “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt.25:41)? When was such a place prepared and why? What does Matthew 25, and Jesus’ words about the sheep and goats, have to teach us about heaven, hell, and the afterlife if anything? In this sec...2025-02-1249 minTheology for the CuriousEp.107 - Take Another Look: Did Jesus Really Die for Everyone?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!The puritan John Owen offered three understandings of the extent of Christ’s atonement. Firstly that he died for all of the sin for all of the people. Second that he died for some of the sin of all of the people; or thirdly that Christ died for all of the sin for some of the people! In this opening episode of our new series ‘Take Another Look’, Pete and the Curious team encourage us to look at understandings that we may have assumed have always been un...2025-02-0550 minTheology for the CuriousEp.106 - God's Special Agent: The Holy Spirit - Our Greatest Future HopeClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!What do we mean by the Spirit’s preservation? How sure can any believer really be that they will realise the great hope of salvation? How much is it down to us and how much does he intervene? Does our lack of perseverance cancel out his act of preservation? Is the ultimate preservation of the Spirit contingent on our faithfulness? How do we interpret the jeopardy of warnings against apostasy and backsliding? In this final episode of the present series ‘God’s Special Agent’, Pete and the Curio...2025-01-2944 minTheology for the CuriousEp.105 - God's Special Agent: The Holy Spirit - More To Life Than What I HaveClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!Can you be a believer if you’re not baptised in the Holy Spirit? Does the lack of the baptism experience impair your overall journey of faith? Does it impact on your relationship with God? How do we understand the Spirit’s baptism? Have the charismatics got it right? Where did the current thinking on the baptism of the Spirit originate from? How did a Methodist holiness movement, some 150 years ago, come to affect the way we see the Spirit’s baptism now? How did such significant movements, like t...2025-01-2242 minTheology for the CuriousEp.104 - God's Special Agent: The Holy Spirit - Doing More Than I CanClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!How are we to understand the gifts of the Holy Spirit; from the spectacular and unusual (words of wisdom and knowledge, healings, working of miracles, etc), to the more comparatively normal and ordinary (administrations, helps, mercy ministries, etc)? What does our quest for the Spirit’s gifts (or lack of), say about us? What or who are the gifts for, and for what purpose have they been given? In this week's episode, Pete and the Curious team examine the place and importance of the Spirit’s gifts...2025-01-1543 minTheology for the CuriousEp.103 - God's Special Agent: The Holy Spirit - Building a Better CharacterClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!What do we mean by ‘fruit’ of the Spirit? How is the Spirit’s fruit any different to the better characteristics of people without faith? Is fruit the essential character God leaves us to get on with and develop, or does he engage in the overall process, and through His Spirit enable us to be more like Christ? Is fruit production a partnership between us and the Spirit? Why is that some fruit appears to wither and die whilst others blossom?In this weeks episode Pete and th...2025-01-0832 minTheology for the CuriousEp.102 - New Year! Is There Any Point in Making Resolutions?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!Is it true that the the ancient Babylonians were the first to celebrate New Year some 4,000 years ago? And in March? Were the Romans responsible for marking New Year as January 1st? What does the Jewish rite of circumcision and the 18th century understanding of the covenant service, inspired by Wesley, got to do with New Year? And where did the idea of resolutions come from, and do they really work?In this weeks episode Pete and the Curious team take a look at the whole un...2025-01-0139 minTheology for the CuriousEp.98 - God's Special Agent: The Holy Spirit - Our Most Important ConnectionClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!Have you ever asked yourself as a Christian, “am I forgiven?”or “am I going to heaven?” or “does God love me?” or even “do I have eternal life?”―have you ever wondered whether you might be asking the wrong question? Is the validity of our Christian experience qualified purely on the basis of what we feel? And given the deceptive and fluctuating aspect of human emotion, will such an approach ever deliver the longed-for stability we desire? Is being a Christian only about having our sins forgiven and t...2024-12-0441 minTheology for the CuriousEp.97 - God's Special Agent: The Holy Spirit - Power to ChangeClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!What is the exact role of the Holy Spirit in the life of a person who comes to faith? How much of the experienced change is down to him? How much is it part of our human will? What exactly does the Holy Spirit do at a person's conversion? How much do we cooperate in this momentous inner change?One of the most incredible yet controversial aspects of the work of the Holy Spirit is within what we might call the soteriological framework. How is it...2024-11-2742 minTheology for the CuriousEp.96 - God's Special Agent: Was The Holy Spirit Active in the Life of Jesus?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!What relationship did the Holy Spirit have in relation to Jesus? How could it be said of the all-sufficient Son of God that he needed to be anointed? How could perfection be said to grow in stature, wisdom and favour with God (Luke 2:52)? Was Jesus self-reliant, or was he in need of the Holy Spirit’s help? At various levels, Christians have struggled to try and understand the relation between the Holy Spirit and Jesus particularly during his years on earth. Some have suggested that the Hol...2024-11-2037 minTheology for the CuriousEp.93 - The Bible is Historical Fiction - Really? w/ Bill MounceClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!Love it or struggle with it, research suggests that the Bible continues to be the world’s best-selling book, registering around 100 million copies sold every year! But what’s the attraction?For millennia people of all walks and persuasions have wrestled with the bibles’s reliability. Who wrote it? Why were some books included and others rejected? What was the criteria and who got to make the decisions? How reliable is its content? Can we trust the authenticity of its characters and stories; weren’t they al...2024-10-3045 minTheology for the CuriousEp.92 - There’s No Such Thing As Original Sin - Really? w/ Ruth GouldbourneClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!One of the key leaders of the Second Great Awakening in America, was the Presbyterian Charles Finney. It is no secret he grappled with the idea of sin. In one of his notes he wrote; “Moral depravity does not consist in nor imply a sinful nature”In contrast to Finney, Article 9 of the Church of England’s 39 Articles; ‘Of Original or Birth Sin’―identify’s how “every person born into this world..deserveth God’s wrath and damnation”, largely because man, “of his own nature” is “inclined to evil”. ...2024-10-2345 minTheology for the CuriousEp.90 - Heaven and Hell are Not Real Places - Really? w/ Stephen GaukrogerClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!Some years ago Time magazine featured a survey taken in the US in which 72% of the people believed in a literal heaven compared with 58% who believed in a literal hell. The most surprising statistic however was that of the 58% who believed in a literal hell, only 4% believed they were likely to go there. Heaven and hell have been topics of perennial tension and misunderstanding. Some years ago in the Guardian newspaper, physicist Stephen Hawking defined heaven as little more than a “fairy story” for people afraid of de...2024-10-0942 minTheology for the CuriousEp.89 - All Good People Go To Heaven - Really?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!It seems outside the walls of the church, the intuitive understanding held by many is that heaven is a place where good people go. People who have lived well, treated others fairly and tried loving and look after their family and friends. A place where, dare we say it, they deserve to go! But what is good? And how good do we need to be to possess an assurance that after we die we’ve done enough to impress God? And what if God has a ver...2024-10-0245 minTheology for the CuriousEp.86 - God Always Respects Our Free Will - Really?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!The intuitive reasoning amongst many in the church is that God longs to save you but will never violate your free will. As long as you resist and reject him, his hands are tied. He will always respect your free will. He has chosen to limited himself, only doing that which you freely allow him to do! This week Pete and the Curious team ask the question; is this intuitive understanding of how God works on us, really biblically accurate? Does the human will hold a f...2024-09-1146 minTheology for the CuriousEp.85 - God Loves Everyone The Same - Really?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!Many people hold intuitively to an understanding that whoever you are, God loves you equally as much as he does every other human being. That divine love carries no distinction or particular preference. That he longs over every human, breaking his heart to help them if they would only just let him. But is that what the Bible really portrays? This week Pete and the Curious team examine the controversial idea that God may not love every human being with exactly the same fervour and intent. H...2024-09-0448 minTheology for the CuriousEp.84 - Covenant: God's Relationship to Us - Pt.8: The New: Covenant of Grace (Christ)Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!The new covenant was not simply another covenant in the line of covenants. The new covenant was not only the climatic and concluding covenant, but it was the culminating covenant toward which every other covenant, from the pre-creation covenant of redemption, through the Adamic, Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic and Davidic; was foreshadowing and pointing. It was God’s crowning accomplishment, it was covenantal history's climatic event. Everything that had been expressed and promised throughout the various covenants came to completion and fullness in the new covenant of grace. T...2024-08-2837 minTheology for the CuriousEp.83 - Covenant: God's Relationship to Us - Pt.7: The Sovereign: Covenant of Kingship (Davidic)Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!What is the covenant God made with David? How does it connect with that made to Abraham, to Adam? How does the events of 2 Samuel 7 connect in with Genesis 17:6? How did the kingly significance of David reflect the kingly office of Christ, and how does it speak into our understanding and daily lives as believers today?This week Pete and the Curious team continue their exploration of covenant by unpacking the life, call and importance of King David, both for his time, as king of Israel, a...2024-08-2146 minTheology for the CuriousEp.82 - Covenant: God’s Relationship to Us - Pt.6: The Law: Covenant of Law (Mosaic)Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!Why was God’s covenant with Moses important? What did it tell us about ancient Near Eastern practices of suzerain and vassal nations? What does this covenant tell us of God’s character? And where does it fit into God’s developing purposes for his people? In this week’s episode Pete and the Curious team reflect on the mosaic covenant asking what relevance does it play into today’s world. They look over the Decalogue and other periphery laws seeking to unlock what God continues to say to u...2024-08-1449 minTheology for the CuriousEp.80 - Covenant: God's Relationship to Us - Pt.4: The Mercy: Covenant of Nature (Noahic)Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!What was God saying through Noah, through the flood, and through the subsequent deliverance of Noah’s family and the animals? How did it parallel Eden and Adam? It what sense did the events around Noah and the flood mirror those around Adam and the garden? What significance does the events around the flood hold for us today?This week Pete and the Curious team take a look at Noah, the flood, the words and events around it; looking to understand what it tells us about Go...2024-07-2436 minTheology for the CuriousEp.79 - Covenant: God's Relationship to Us - Pt.3: The Probation: Covenant of Works (Adamic)Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!What is the covenant of works? What really happened in the garden? What did God establish with Adam and Eve? Was there an agreement in place that would rebound to universal repercussions? How do we understand Adams actions?This week Pete and the Curious team take a look at the age old claim that God’s promise of life and His prohibition of eating from the tree of knowledge, was a form of conditional covenant that would be reflected in the later Mosaic covenant and for al...2024-07-1744 minTheology for the CuriousEp.74 - The Greatest Journey - Pt.8: SanctificationClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!The need for and process of change, especially for the better, has become something of a universal fascination the world over. But when we speak about sanctification is that all we are really emphasising? Is sanctification nothing more than a theological word for ‘changing for the better’? Is faith a means of climbing the ladder of self-improvement rung by rung to be more like Jesus? This week Pete and the Curious Team reflect on the biblical understanding of sanctification. Although it entails the need to live holie...2024-06-1243 minTheology for the CuriousEp.73 - The Greatest Journey - Pt.7: AdoptionClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!What does the Bible have to say about sonship? What does it mean to be part of the family of God? What are the differences between general, national and particular sonship? What does the New Testament say about our being adopted? What does it say about our status before God? How does it affect our future? And what does it say about our ongoing relationship with the try God?This week, Pete and the Curious Team will dig deep into the New Testament’s understanding of ad...2024-06-0532 minTheology for the CuriousEp.69 - The Greatest Journey - Pt.3: Repentance - sorry seems to be the hardest wordClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!What do we mean by repentance? Is there a sorrow which doesn't save? Is there such a thing as sincere but counterfeit repentance? Why does our human nature find repentance so difficult? What does God need to do insider to bring us to a place of genuine, salfivic repentance?This week Pete and the Curious team will discuss the place and significance of repentance in our spiritual transformation. What components come into play if genuine repentance is to be operated. They will reflect on what it is...2024-05-0838 minTheology for the CuriousEp.64 - The King - Pt.8: Atonement (Part 2)Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!In this episode the Curious team continue their examination and reflection on the atonement; with particular reference to what is understood as Christus Victor and Penal Substitutionary Atonement. They will take on the misunderstandings of both, outlining the place of the devil and the dark spiritual powers within the atonement, as well as the many misinterpretations of the penal element within penal substitution. Is God a monster? Does he take some kind of sick pleasure in punishing his unwitting and innocent Son? Can the innocent die for the...2024-04-0339 minTheology for the CuriousEp.63 - The King - Pt.7: Atonement (Part 1)Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!From the atonement understanding of recapitulation propounded by Irenaeus the second century Bishop of Smyrna, to the theory of satisfaction expounded in the eleventh century by Anselm of Canterbury, the biblical understanding of atonement has not been without its fair share of exponents. In the ensuring years from Irenaeus, there has been theories of ransom, moral influence, governmental, healing and kaleidoscope; including major debates centred around christus victor and penal substitution. Where does the common ground lay if any, and does it really matter?This week...2024-03-2746 minTheology for the CuriousEp.62 - The King - Pt.6: Crucifixion - what was really happening on the cross?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!What was the significance of death on a cross? Could Jesus have equally been stoned or beheaded? What does the New Testament mean when it speaks of Jesus “bearing our sins”? How are we to understand Jesus’s sense of dereliction on the cross as he cried; “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”—how could God have forsaken himself? Did a fracture occur in the divine essence? In what sense did God himself suffer in the person of Jesus, and did the Apostolic Creed have it right whe...2024-03-2046 minTheology for the CuriousEp.61 - The King - Pt.5: Jesus as King - what power does Jesus hold?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!What do we mean when we talk about the Kingly office of Jesus? How do we understand the authority and rule of Jesus? How is the resurrection connected to that? What does the governance of Jesus look like in our day-to-day living? How does his Kingly office relate to his prophetic and priestly office?This week Pete and the Curious team will take a look into what we mean when we talk about Jesus’s kingly office, and especially how we understand power in relation to Je...2024-03-1334 minTheology for the CuriousEp.60 - The King - Pt.4: Jesus as Priest: How does Jesus’ life affect us?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!What is meant by classifying Jesus as priest? Does he understand our shortcomings and problems? Is he still in touch with all the difficulties we experience? How is the idea of priesthood relevant to my life now and my continued daily walk in faith? This week Pete and the Curious team investigate the priestly office of Jesus. How it relates to the priestly idea of the Old Testament, how its relevance speaks powerfully today, the comfort it brings to our battle with sin and failure, and h...2024-03-0641 minTheology for the CuriousEp.59 - The King - Pt.3: Jesus as Prophet - Why were Jesus’ words different?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!Is the teaching of Jesus only to be found in the gospels? What differentiated Jesus from the prophets? Why was his teaching so unique above that of any others? Why can we never simply take or leave Jesus’ teaching, what makes it so compelling? This week the Curious team will be reflecting on the teachings of Jesus. They will be broadening the net as they contemplate how we ought to understand not simply the gospels as containing all that Jesus said and taught, but every expression of...2024-02-2837 minTheology for the CuriousEp.58 - The King - Pt.2: Incarnation - what really happened in Bethlehem?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!Books have been written and lectures given in an attempt to describe just what exactly happened in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago. Some say that a boy named Jesus came into existence, but is that exactly true? Some say it was God becoming human, but did he? Some say Mary gave birth to a remarkable amalgamation of divine and human, really? Where others insist it was a simple case of a normal child being born but, almost immediately, being endowed with some form of supernatural power, like a divine superman...2024-02-2136 minTheology for the CuriousSERIES TRAILER - The KingClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!The Curious team preview their new upcoming series 'The King' - looking at the nature and work of Jesus Christ. Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.comSupport us on Instagram @theologyforthecuriousFind us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious2024-02-1402 minTheology for the CuriousEp.57 - The King - Pt.1: Eternal Son - did Jesus exist before his birth?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!What did Jesus mean when he said, “before Abraham was born, I am” (John 8:58)? How was Jesus different to angels, divine beings, anointed prophets? Why did the Arian’s cause so much trouble back in the fourth century? And what did Athanasius insist upon that turned him into the worlds most wanted man at the time? This week Pete and the Curious Team unpack history, to take a deeper look into Jesus and why the first believers insisted that his existence did not start in a stable...2024-02-1441 minTheology for the CuriousEp.56 - Basic Distraction - Pt.10: Isn't Faith just Wishful Thinking?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!There are those who think that possessing faith is little more than wishful thinking. A nice, hopeful, positive thought to a reality very unlike what it represents. If wishful thinking amounts to little more than the imagining of unlikely events, of things that might possibly one day happen; thinking founded on no objective truth, historical accuracy or experiential reality; then the whole of Christendom is little more than an elaborate, well orchestrated, deftly executed scam! In this weeks episode Pete and the Curious team ex...2024-02-0740 minTheology for the CuriousEp.55 - Basic Distraction - Pt.9: Is the Devil Real?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!How are we to understand the idea of a personified evil? Is the devil merely a principle of evil, an ideology, an historical manufactured being? Or is he something far more tangible and scarily realistic? In this episode the Curious team span through the medieval writings, from the hugely influential Dante’s Inferno from the twelfe century, to the Islamic understanding of ‘shaytan’, and the Buddhist explanation of Maara! The team will unpack what Jesus had to say about the figure of the devil, what the first C...2024-01-3147 minTheology for the CuriousEp.54 - Basic Distraction - Pt.8: Does Prayer Really Change Anything?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!What exactly is prayer and why is it so important? Is it really heard by a personal God, or is it simply some form of therapeutic exercise, a cathartic activity? And if God already knows what I am asking for, what is the point of praying for it? Equally so, does God need my prayers? Is his will and intentions frustrated if I forfeit praying? And what role does faith play in my praying, and how much do I need to cause God to do something? T...2024-01-2442 minTheology for the CuriousEp.53 - Basic Distraction - Pt.7: Is God Fair?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!With so much injustice in the world, coupled with the prevalence of crime and the ascendancy of war, how can we really speak of a God who is just and fair? Why do we suffer what feels like meaningless tragedy and pain? Why can’t God just do something to lessen its intensity or dominance? Fairness is a complex issue. Asking how we might define ‘fair’, and whether it looks the same to God as it does to us, is just some of the difficulties the Curious...2024-01-1746 minTheology for the CuriousEp.52 - Basic Distraction - Pt.6: Aren't Most Christians Hypocrites?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!As much as we would like, we cannot escape the negative press that emerges about the church. Time and again we read articles of adultery, abuse, embezzlement and so on. It leads many outside of the faith to condemn Christians as hypocrites! This week the Curious team will be trying to come to terms with the hypocritical aspect of Christianity. Who do Christians profess to be? What relation does sin bear to the believer? What does authenticity look like? Is all failure synonymous with rooted hypocrisy? An...2024-01-1046 minTheology for the CuriousEp.51 - Basic Distraction - Pt.5: Is God Really in Control?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!When we consider the rising tide of evil and destruction; the constant presence of wars, and pressures of crime, alongside the violence humanity inflicts on itself; is it only fair to ask, is God really in control? Wouldn't things be different if he was? And if he is not, then where does that leave us as a planet?In this episode the Curious team will consider what we mean by control, and how are we to understand God's controlling of events? This episode will reflect on...2024-01-0348 minTheology for the CuriousEp.50 - Basic Distraction - Pt.4: Can I Trust the Bible?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!How can a document that is thousands of years old, has been through countless translations, and carries some 400,000 variations, truly be trusted, let alone claimed to be the sacred, holy, infallible Word of God? In this episode Pete and the Curious team take a deep dive into the validity of the Bible. What does the history say? How did we get our Old and New Testaments? How can we trust their authenticity? And how exactly did God inspire humans to record the text?2023-12-2751 minTheology for the CuriousEp.49 - CHRISTMAS SPECIAL: Christmas and the IncarnationClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!What lies at the heart of the Christmas story? Who was Jesus? Was he the product of Joseph and Mary coming together or was he something far more profound? What do we really mean by incarnation? And how are we to understand Jesus as both God and man? In this festive episode, Pete and the Curious team ponder the message, the theology and the deeper, richer meaning of Christ being born in Bethlehem. How could Jesus be fully man yet fully God in one and the s...2023-12-2029 minTheology for the CuriousEp.48 - Basic Distraction - Pt.3: Is Attending Church Important?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!What is the church? Why is it important? Can you be a Christian and not go to church? What are the real benefits of being part of a church? Has Christianity always been intrinsically linked to church attendance?These are just some of the many questions that are asked whenever we think about the church. They are questions that come from either side of the fence. For those who profess not to be Christians, they wonder what is the point, or even the relevance of the...2023-12-1348 minTheology for the CuriousEp.47 - Basic Distraction - Pt.2: What is a Christian?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!How do we understand the term Christian? Does it relate to something that you believe strongly, or simply in living a good life? Is there an element of exclusivity about it? Or is it more true that everyone in one Way Or Another, is Christian? How does the church define what a Christian is? How does the secular culture define what a Christian is? Is there a true abd definitive answer to the question? Are there common denominators that are true of every authentic Christian?This...2023-12-0645 minTheology for the CuriousEp.46 - Basic Distraction - Pt.1: Is Jesus The Only Way?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!Exclusivity! Arrogance! Superiority! Is just some of the accusations that believers of other religions have leveled against Christians. Somewhere near 90% of the world population fall into either Christian, Islam, Hindu or Buddhist. How is it that Christians claim that Jesus can be the only true way?In this week's episode Pete and the Curious team will be taking a look at some of the statements of Jesus and asking the question is he the only authentic way to God? Why is it that Jesus, above any...2023-11-2946 minTheology for the CuriousEp.45 - The BOSS - Pt.9: Omniscience - does God know everything?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!What is omniscience? How do we understand God’s all-knowingness? Does God know everything there is to know irrespective of it being present or thousands of years into the future? Does He know what we think and what we’ll do before we even think our do it? And if that is so, how does He know it? Is it because he simply foresees what we will do years, decades from now, or is it because he orders and governs all things and thereby creates what we’ll do? 2023-11-2243 minTheology for the CuriousEp.44 - The BOSS - Pt.8: Sovereignty - is God in control?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!How do we define sovereignty? What kind of power does God hold, and is He really in control? What is the difference between God’s absolute and His ordinate power? When we look at all the evil and sin in the world, and the constant presence of wars; how can we really have confidence in divine sovereignty? Does God’s sovereignty stretch to the choices and actions of men, how much control does God really have over the chosen actions of individuals? Is there things God cannot do?2023-11-1548 minTheology for the CuriousEp.43 - The BOSS - Pt.7: Omnipresence - is God always present?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!Is God truly present everywhere at all times? And is his whole presence fully present in every moment and place of time? What do we mean by when we speak of God being immense and incorporeal? What do we make of classic statements of misdirection when it comes to God’s Omnipresence? Such as ‘diffusion’, ‘location’, ‘division’ and ‘mixed’? This week Pete and the Curious team will be opening up the complex and wonderful biblical truth of God’s omnipresence. Discussing what it means for God to be spaceless and i...2023-11-0844 minTheology for the CuriousEp.42 - The BOSS - Pt.6: Eternity - is God part of time?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!Isaiah announced God as the ‘everlasting God’ (40:28). Paul likewise described God as ‘immortal’ (Rom.1:23) and ‘eternal’ (Rom.16:26). Theologian Paul Helm described God as existing as a “timelessly eternal being”. The sixth century Roman philosopher Boethius, classically defined God’s timeless eternity as, “the complete possession all at once of illimitable life”. That God has no beginning and no end, but simply is; has sparked debate amongst thinkers, theologians and philosophers the world over. In this weeks episode the Curious team will be looking at the thoughts of some of these thinke...2023-11-0144 minTheology for the CuriousEp.41 - The BOSS - Pt.5: Impassibility - does God feel like us?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!What are we talking about when we talk about impassibility and passibility? What is meant be saying God feels things; be it love, pain, anger, compassion? Does God suffer like we suffer? How are we to understand God’s internal emotions? Did God really suffer on the cross? Can an immutable, perfect God be said to suffer and experience emotions like humans do?This week the Curious team will unravel the deeply intricate issue of God’s impassibility/passibility. To what extent does God feel and how...2023-10-2547 minTheology for the CuriousEp.40 - The BOSS - Pt.4: Immutability - does God change?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!The nineteenth-century Dutch Theologian Herman Bavinck wrote that the, “very distinction between Creator and creature hinges on the contrast between being and becoming”. Concluding that our reliance on God “depends on his immutability”; but what does it mean to have an unchanging God? Immutability is not the argument that God ‘will’ not change, but that He ‘cannot’ change! In this week's episode, Pete and the Curious team will take a deep dive into immutability. They will seek to address the conundrum of whether God can change, whether he change...2023-10-1839 minTheology for the CuriousEp.39 - The BOSS - Pt.3: Simplicity - does God have many parts?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!Is God truly one? What do we mean by ‘oneness’? Does the different reflections and operations of God imply a God of many sides, of different parts? Can he simultaneously be love and wrath, mercy and justice, and yet retain his absolute oneness? In this episode, the Curious team will be reflecting on the theological position of God’s simplicity. What it means to understand that God is not a God of parts! They’ll be unpacking the historical opponents of Socinianism and Marcionism, and reflecting on August...2023-10-1135 minTheology for the CuriousEp.38 - The BOSS - Pt.2: Aseity - does God need us?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!Anselm believed that God is that of which nothing greater can be thought. God is unique. As William Lane Craig writes; ‘He is not dependent upon any other being for his existence; rather, he exist independently of everything else’. Does that mean that God has no real need of people, of his church? This week Pete and the Curious team will be diving into the depths of divine aseity, what it means for God to be self-existent, independent. What is meant by ‘perfect being theology’ and God as a...2023-10-0440 minTheology for the CuriousEp.37 - The BOSS - Pt.1: Incomprehensibility - can we know God?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!This week marks the first episode of a brand new series THE BOSS; the incomprehensibility of God! Athanasius spoke of God as one who, “transcends all being and human comprehension”. That being so, how could anyone hope to understand GOD? Isaiah declared, “Canst thou by searching find out God?” (Job 11KJV). Furthermore, Paul refers to God as the one "no one has ever seen nor can see". Seeing as Scripture captures God as one who has no equal and cannot be compared with anything or anyone known to u...2023-09-2751 minTheology for the CuriousEp.36 - Hot Under The Collar - Pt.10: Lord's Supper; Memorial or MoreClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!The Lords Supper, Communion, the Eucharist, under whatever name you’re familiar, has been a source of difficulty and deep contention historically in the church. From the days of the Reformation to present debates, just what Jesus meant by ‘this is my body’, and the reality of the bread and wine, has continued to occupy serious thinking minds within the church. This week the Curious team will take a deep dive into three classic understandings of the Lord’s Supper, whilst considering a fourth alternative. With an introd...2023-09-2041 minTheology for the CuriousEp.35 - Hot Under The Collar - Pt.9: Lord or Saviour?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!In more recent times tension has arisen over what has become known as Lordship Salvation, the possibility of living a Christian experience where Jesus may be Saviour and yet not be Lord! What is surrender without submission? Can we have belief without obedience? Can we live with Jesus as Saviour whilst not living with Jesus as Lord? This week Pete and the Curious team will be tackling the elephant in the room by asking the frank question; ‘can you ever have Jesus as Saviour and not as...2023-09-1340 minTheology for the CuriousEp.34 - Hot Under The Collar - Pt.8: Law or Gospel?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!Historically over the years a great deal of confusion has arisen in terms of correctly understanding Law and Gospel. Some understand Law as strictly Old Testament, and gospel as New. Others imagine the law was originally given for the purpose of bring us back to God, whilst others insist only the gospel can do that! In this weeks episode the Curious team will be defining what exactly we mean by the terms law and gospel. They will discuss the three classic uses of the law, and c...2023-09-0640 minTheology for the CuriousEp.33 - Hot Under The Collar - Pt.7: Divine Healing: Definite or Sporadic?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!Does God still heal, miraculously, today? How do we cope with those incidences where, despite much prayer and belief, those we love fail to get any better? Is a failure to be healed always a sign of a lack of faith? Is relying on medicine a lack of reliance on God? So much conversation and difficulty has surrounded the issue of divine healing. Many have been left feeling rejected or impoverished in their faith. While some have even died having misread divine healing. How ought we t...2023-08-3041 minTheology for the CuriousEp.32 - Hot Under The Collar - Pt.6: Baptism: Dunked or SprinkledClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!Historically the church has maintained one of two positions when it has come to baptism. On the one side, there are many who defend the position of infant baptism (paedobaptism). Many denominations today hold to the validity of baptising infants in keeping with the covenantal equivalent of Old Testament circumcision. On the other side, there are those who believe that the only valid, New Testament baptism, is that of believing adults (credobaptism). This week the Curious team are joined by special guest Rev. Paul Ro...2023-08-2347 minTheology for the CuriousEp.31 - Hot Under The Collar - Pt.5: Drink or Dry?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!The church’s attitude to alcohol has historically been contentious to say the least. In some denominations today alcohol of any kind is strictly forbidden. In others, the attitude is far more relaxed. Who is right? Who is biblical? And does it matter and to who? This week the Curious team will sketch the historical journey of alcohol, reflecting on the monks and reformers, as well as current modern-day thoughts and attitudes to alcohol and its use. Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com2023-08-1639 minTheology for the CuriousEp.30 - Getting Current: Tattoos, Immigration and Human WorthClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!The Curious gang kick off a brand new feature dealing with current affairs with particular reflection on theology and the Christian world. This week, they look at the controversy that has arisen over the Rev. Wendy Dalrymple, the new Precentor Residentiary Canon Designate and Head of Worship and Events at Canterbury Cathedral. She has come into criticism for the bearing of tattoos. The team take a deep dive into the church's issue not only with tattoos but also with how they perceive appearance and apparel ov...2023-08-0948 minTheology for the CuriousEp.29 - Hot Under The Collar - Pt.4: Gay or Straight?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!The issues surrounding same-sex relationships have become an extremely difficult and much talked about subject in society today, and especially within the church. What does the Bible say? How does God, Scripture, church and religion as a whole relate to the gay community? Are we watering down the Word, liberalising scripture? Or are we weaponising the Word and applying it through heavily biased and historically affected lenses? This week Pete and the Curious team take an honest, no-holes-barred look at this very sensitive and delicate issue. S...2023-08-0258 minTheology for the CuriousEp.28 - Hot Under The Collar - Pt.3: Piety or Pietism?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!How does something so good, namely a desire for holiness, a zeal for God and a passion for obedience, become so bad? How do we change the desire for duty, passion for obligation, love for legalism and piety for pietism? This week Pete and the Curious team will examine what happens when good desires turn toxic; when the church tries to step and assist God in growing and forming true believers; when the Bible is reinvented as a set of rules and regulations; when holiness becomes more about...2023-07-2643 minTheology for the CuriousEp.27 - Hot Under The Collar - Pt.2: Wealth: Extravagant or Moderate?Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!What is the Bible’s relationship with money? What does the gaining and using of it say about our spiritual status? Is our attitude toward money a true barometer of our spiritual temperature? Is our money really ours to do with as we please? In this week's episode Pete and the Curious team will be examining God’s attitude to stuff and the deceptive manipulation of materialism. Wealth is not our enemy as much as the covetous heart that places a value on it above what God assigns to i...2023-07-1944 minTheology for the CuriousEp.26 - Hot Under The Collar - Pt.1: Works or FaithClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!How a person becomes acceptable to God has been an age-old conflict since Jesus began teaching, a conflict that heated up especially around the time of the reformation in the early 16th century. From that day to this, it has been increasingly contested. On one side, we're accepted by faith alone, and it doesn't matter what we do! On the other side, what we do is precisely the road to acceptance. Our actions gain us merit with God. In this week's episode, the Curious team take a...2023-07-1248 minTheology for the CuriousEp.25 - Off The Wall - Pt.9: Common GraceClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!Why do bad people prosper? Why do atheists and God-rejectors seem to experience so many benefits in life? Why hasn't God historically not taken more drastic action against those who have so violently opposed him? These and many such questions always pose a mystery. ‘God is good to all’ the psalmist tells us, but there is a reason for that! In this week’s episode, Pete and the Curious gang take a look at the doctrine known as ‘common grace’. Looking at it from different perspectives, they debate...2023-07-0540 minTheology for the CuriousEp.24 - Off The Wall - Pt.8: Free Will (pt. 2)Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!This week Pete and the Curious gang continue their discussion around the controversial and delicate issue of the human will. Taking a deeper look at libertarianism and compatibilism, as well as much more...Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.comSupport us on Instagram @theologyforthecuriousFind us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious2023-06-2841 minTheology for the CuriousEp.23 - Off The Wall - Pt.7: Free Will (pt.1)Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!For centuries since the Protestant Reformation in the early 16th century, the debate about the condition and place of the human will following Adam and Eve’s fall from Eden, has been a giant hot potato! From the first tensions of Pelagius and St. Augustine back in the fifth century to the debates of the Remonstrance at Dort in the 17th century, to the present-day ongoing discussion between Arminian Wesleyans and Methodist, and reformed Presbyterians and Baptists; the debate has raged on. This week Pete and the Curious te...2023-06-2138 minTheology for the CuriousEp.22 - Off The Wall - Pt.6: AngelsClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!Who are angels? Are they real persons? Do they have intelligence, will and emotion? The media has courted an almost intoxicating relationship with the subject of the supernatural, angels and demons. They have been depicted as anything Adonis-like gladiators, to the classic serene English vicars! But is anything of that accurate? What does the Bible say of them and how does it define them? And furthermore, what does it say of their purpose in our world and God’s redemptive plan? This week the Curious team will be of...2023-06-1442 minTheology for the CuriousEp.21 - Off The Wall - Pt.5: Old Testament Theophany’sClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!Old Testament Scripture is full of divine theophany’s; experiences, occurrences and encounters that reflect something of the nature and character of God. In this weeks episode the Curious team take a look at a number of Old Testament passages resplendent of God’s character, passages that offer insight into the heart and ways of God.Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.comSupport us on Instagram @theologyforthecuriousFind us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious2023-06-0748 minTheology for the CuriousEp.20 - Off The Wall - Pt.4: The Love FascinationClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!Increasingly Christian writers, thinkers, and theologians are appreciating that the words “God is love”, as D. A. Carson once observed, often sit in a matrix very different to that of biblical theology. Is the church in danger of collapsing all of God’s attributes into the single attribute of love? Or is talking about God in any other way but love, a distorted portrayal of him? This week Pete and the curious team will seek to address some form of balance in examining the nature of GodSend...2023-05-3151 minTheology for the CuriousEp.19 - Off The Wall - Pt.3: The Violence of the Old TestamentClick here to text us your thoughts and questions!The new atheist have described God as a moral monster, based on some very difficult & controversial passages in the Old Testament. In particular those passages where God is seen to wipe out entire nations in an almost genocidal way. How do we reconcile these passages with a God of Love and Mercy? Pete and the curious team will be seeking to tackle and discuss this sensitive issue.Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.comSupport us on Instagram @theologyforthecuriousFind us...2023-05-2446 min