Theology For The Rest Of Us | Quick Answers To The Questions About God And The Bible

U.S. President Donald Trump appeared at McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia on June 2, 2019 where prominent pastor and author David Platt serves as the  primary teaching pastor. Eventually President Trump was invited on to the stage to be prayed for by Pastor David Platt. Within hours there was plenty of backlash on social media, some of it hurled at Donald Trump, but much of it hurled at Pastor David Platt. Several days after this prayer, and after the social media uproar, Kenny posted an episode about the event (277: Was David Platt Wrong to Pray for President Trump?). Therein Kenny addressed whether or not it was appropriate for Platt to pray for the president as he did. Kenny explains the importance of being sensitive and tactful, however he also encouraged the listeners to remember passages of scripture such as 1 Timothy 2 that tell us to pray for our leaders. After posting that episode, Kenny had multiple conversations and social media interactions with various people. Many people reacted with the

On Sunday June 2, 2019, U.S. President Donald Trump made an impromptu visit to McLean Bible Church in Vienna, Virginia. President Trump was there to honor the lives of those individuals that were killed in a shooting at the municipal center in Virginia Beach on Friday May 31. Eventually Trump founds himself on stage being prayed for by Pastor David Platt. In this episode, Kenny addresses whether or not it was appropriate to do what Platt did, that is to pray for a politician (with such a "lightning rod" personality) publicly on stage during a church service. Kenny explains the importance of being sensitive and tactful, however he also encourages the listeners to remember passages of scripture such as 1 Timothy 2 that tells us to pray for our leaders. Kenny also reminds listeners that we live in an outrage culture, and that we ought to the more sober-minded than what our culture sometimes expects. He also points out that praying for a politician does not necessarily equal an endorsement. We ought to pray fo

In this episode, Kenny answers the question, "Should we value all opinions?" Another way to answer this question is to say, "Are all opinions created equal?" or "Should we give credence to all positions and assessments?" Kenny seeks to be diplomatic and gracious, but he gives some clear and bold thoughts about why not all opinions ought to be treated equally.

We live in an age where cynicism runs rampant. How are Christians to live in such difficult times? Unique of all people, Christians are called to embrace a hopeful outlook on life. In this episode Kenny interviews Dr. Jason Duesing about his most recent book Mere Hope which offers the core, Christ-centered perspective that all Christians share, and that Christians alone have to offer a world filled with frustration, pain, and disappointment. For those in darkness, despair, and discouragement, for those in the midst of trials, suffering, and injustice, mere hope lives. The spirit of the age is cynicism. When our leaders, our families, and our friends let us down at every turn, this isn't surprising. But we need another perspective; we need hope. Rather than reflecting resigned despair or distracted indifference, author Jason Duesing argues, our lives ought to be shaped by the gospel of Jesus—a gospel of hope. Jason G. Duesing earned his undergraduate degree from Texas A&M University. He earned his M.Div. fro

This episode is a follow-up to the previous episode wherein Kenny talked about how to handle false teachers, even when we have been somehow benefited by those preachers' teachings or writings. There is a lot of controversy in our modern Christian context about how we ought to our approach the topic of heresies and false teachings. It seems like many people are afraid to discuss this. One reason some people feel uncomfortable with the topic is because they may not know how to determine if someone is a false teacher or not. In this episode Kenny answers the question “How do we determine whether or not a particular preacher is a false teacher?” Kenny gives one thing he does not do, that we ought not do, that is we should not label anyone a heretic just because they disagree with our view. There's more to it that that. The Kenny gives us the six things he uses to help determine which preachers are safe and helpful versus the preachers that are harmful and dangerous. Those six things Kenny uses are: 1- The Bi

There is a lot of controversy in Evangelical circles about our approach to heresies, false teaching, and erroneous teachers. In this episode Kenny answers the question "Can people still grow in their faith even though they are listening to false teachers or being influenced by some heresies?" Kenny seeks to be diplomatic and gracious in this episode, but inevitably he makes statements that are sure to be offensive to some listeners. Kenny believes that there certainly Christians that have grown in their faith even though they have consumed content, sermons, and books from false teachers. Some Christians even feel as if they have been helped greatly in some ways by those teachings. However, Kenny asserts that merely points to the grace and sovereignty of God. Just because a false teacher somehow helps a believer does not justify that false teacher or the content of his sermons or books. Kenny challenges listeners to be watchful, discerning, and cautious.

When you’re in the midst of suffering, you want answers for the unanswerable, resolutions to the unresolvable. You want to tie up pain in a pretty little package and hide it under the bed, taking it out only when you feel strong enough to face it. But grief won’t be contained. Grief disobeys. Grief explodes. In one breath, you may be able to say that God’s got this and all will be well. In the next, you might descend into fatalism. No pretending. Here, you are raw before God, an open wound. In the midst of some of those darkest times, you will discover that the thing that leads you back to a place of hope is lament. The Bible gives us great examples and models of appropriate lament. In this episode Kenny interviews author Aubrey Sampson about her new book "The Louder Song" which deals with the value and models of lament. Aubrey serves on the preaching team and as the director of equipping and discipleship at Renewal Church in the Chicagoland area. She and her husband Kevin have three great sons. Connect w

In this episode Kenny discusses the concept of apologetics as being the defense of the Christian faith and the Biblical worldview. We are called to defend and give reasons for why we believe the Gospel and in the Bible and why we embrace the theological implications that come with both. Then Kenny unpacks the two primary types of apologetics: classical and presuppositional. In classical apologetics we seek to give evidences for existence of God, the resurrection of Christ, and the authencity of the Bible. Often times these evidences comes from the worlds of science, history, philosophy, ethics, textual criticisms, and occasionally even politics. Presuppositional apologetics is different in that rather than giving evidences, we seek to expose the flawed presuppositions that people have even before they begin a conversation about matters of faith. Both forms of apologetics are valuable if used rightly.

In this episode Kenny discusses the concept of intelligent design, which asserts that the universe was indeed intentionally created and fashioned by some supreme creator or intelligent being. Kenny also discusses the trends and philosophies which are a part of the intelligent design movement in North America today and how Evangelical Christians ought to respond to the movement.

There are various opinions about how we ought to approach our study of the origins of humanity. And there are various pieces of data coming from different genres of science that impact that studying. The world of genetics gives us more information about our origins than most genres of science and it helps us understand humanity and chunks of the created order around us. In this episode, Kenny tackles two questions from listeners by diving into his understanding of human genetics and how that informs how we view evolutionary theory. Kenny unpacks the differences between micro-evolution and macro-evolution, explains why this distinction ought to be embraced, and how the world of genetics bolsters the argument for such a distinction. This episode also includes several elementary metaphors to explain the position being asserted. He also answers the question as to whether we ever ought to embrace something that is not directly taught in the Bible?

In this episode, Kenny explains the Kalam Cosmological Argument and why it is a strong defense for the idea and existence of a supreme Creator. This apologetic argument asserts that since the universe has a beginning, it must also have something (or someone) that caused it to begin in the first place. Additional Resources: The Kalam Cosmological Argument [YouTube Video from Reasonable Faith] Responding to the 11 Common Objections to the Kalam Cosmological Argument

In this episode, Kenny responds to a reviewer comment that accuses Kenny of denying creation. Kenny responds by making clear what he believers and why. Kenny also explains his motivations for the recent episodes about creation (and related topics). More importantly, Kenny uses this correspondence to reflect on how Evangelicals approach certain theological topics and he also explains why he believes that overly fundamentalistic ideologies can be harmful to the unity of the body of Christ.

In this episode Kenny interviews world-renowned philosopher and best-selling author J.P. Moreland about his new book "Scientism and Secularism." The book is about some of the worldviews that have now become mainstream and dominant in the worlds of philosophies and science, that Dr. Moreland says are incoherent and detrimental. In the interview Dr. Moreland unpacks the concept of scientism as being the philosophy that all data and information must directly come from a genre of science in order for it to be considered viable or trustworthy in an apologetics dialogue. Dr. Moreland explains why this philosophy ought to be rejected and how to respond to this way of thinking. Dr. Moreland asserts that data from many other sources ought to be considered in this conversations, including data from the worlds of politics, ethics, morality, psychology, and religion. J.P. Moreland is the Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at Talbot School of Theology at Biola University in La Mirada, California. He's taught there f

The fine-tuning argument is a philosophical and scientific argument that asserts that the universe is perfectly fine-tuned for life as we know it. When we rationally and objectively observe the universe, we see that the universe has been perfectly crafted and intentional designed in a manner that is literally the most ideal environment for human life to exist and flourish. This is especially seen through the newest developments and discoveries from the genres of cosmology and physics. According to many physicists, the fact that the universe is able to support life depends delicately on various forces and fundamental characteristics, that if they were altered by even a small amount life as we know it simply could not exist. Even religious scientists and philosophers must concede that this could have all happened by accident. However, all honest observers, religious or non-religious, must admit that the statistical probability that this happened all by itself by accident is simply minuscule, and that it actua

In this episode, Kenny interviews world-renowned astronomer and best-selling author Hugh Ross about various topics related to Old-Earth creationism and Old Testament hermeneutics. Dr. Ross is well-known for his defense of the "day-age" creationist position. In this interview Dr. Ross dialogues with Kenny about variations of Old-Earth Creationism, the literary framework hypothesis of Genesis 1, the creation accounts in the book of Job, the Garden of Eden, the extent of Noah's flood, and the most appropriate way to navigate the book of Genesis. The interview ends by touching on the Neanderthals, proto-humans, and Dr. Ross' opinion of the Leviathan and the Behemoth. Dr. Ross is the founder of Reasons to Believe, an organization that creates and provides various resources that show that science and faith are not enemies. Dr. Ross and his team have lectured at more than 300 universities across North America. Dr. Hugh Ross has an undergraduate degree in physics and later earned a Ph.D. in astronomy from the Univ

When it comes to the origins of the Earth, the most prominent perspective held by many contemporary American Evangelicals is the concept of Young-Earth Creationism. This is the idea that God created the universe and everything in this universe in six literal calendar days (six consecutive 24-hour periods). The Young-Earth position asserts that God created everything approximately 6,000 years ago (although some Young Earth Creationists say that it may have happened as far back as 10,000 to 15,000 years ago) and most Young-Earth creationists argue that the science and date that seem to point to an Old-Earth (billions of years old) is science that is being done with flawed presuppositions therefore always leads to flawed conclusions. In this episode, Kenny interviews podcaster and apologist Steve Schramm. They discuss the Biblical reasons why someone might embrace the Young-Earth position as well as discussing various related topics such as the global flood, the Garden of Eden, and the various hermeneutical ap

Many people in our contemporary society claim to be focused on the "evidence" only, therefore they refuse to embrace anything that seems non-scientific, which would cause them to potentially reject the existence of the supernatural realm or would refuse to ever appeal to the supernatural realm for explanations. This approach often demands that people only use natural or physical explanations when explaining trends or phenomenons in our natural world. This is the philosophy of naturalism, which typically goes hand-in-hand with the common evolutionary theories being promoted today. However, if someone actually embraces the common Darwinian evolutionary theories, then there are actually very good reasons to not trust human mental faculties and to therefore question every closely held belief, including naturalism itself. In this episode, Kenny explains why and how evolutionary theory can actually be used as an argument against naturalism. Additional Resources Quick Video: The Evolutionary Argument Against Na

In this episode, Kenny interviews Ben Stanhope about the topic of the Leviathan and the Behemoth, as mentioned in the Old Testament. In this interview Ben discusses the Ancient Near Eastern manuscripts that have been recently discovered that give us greater insights into these Old Testament references. Ben Stanhope studied apologetics at Biola University and he then studied apologetics and theology at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, where he also served as a Garrett Fellow. He is now studying manuscript archaeology and textual criticism at the Center for the Study of Manuscript Cultures at Hamburg University in Germany. Check out Ben Stanhope's YouTube channel: Pixels and Papyrus

In this episode Kenny answers the question, "Are Dinosaurs Mentioned in the Bible?" The primary Bible passages that Kenny examines are Job 40 & 41.

The questions about the historicity and legitimacy of Adam and Eve are important ones, with serious theological ramifications directly impacting how we view sin, sin nature, and the Gospel. In this episode, Kenny interviews the world-renowned author and Bible scholar Dr. Jack Collins, wherein he tackles the question, "Did Adam and Eve Really Exist?" C. John “Jack” Collins is Professor of Old Testament at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, and was a Senior Research Fellow for The Creation Project. He served as the Old Testament Chairman for the English Standard Version (ESV) translation of the Bible, he worked on the ESV's Old Testament translation team helping to translate the Scriptures from Hebrew to English, and he has authored (or co-authored) several books on a variety of Bible topics. Before diving into the world of Bible scholarship, Dr. Collins had a science background. He earned a BS (computer science) and a MS (systems engineering), both from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Af