The Men Who Will Not Work (Ep. 118 Audio)

Work is central to Christianity. Jesus Christ came in the form of a servant to do the will of His Father. Paul called himself a bondservant. We are bought with a price to be the slaves of righteousness. Even before sin entered the world, God made man to work for him in the garden that he had prepared. This is important, because it means that work is good. Though sin may add to our sorrows and labor, work itself is not the consequence of sin but of God’s good order and desire for us all.

In this episode we discuss how the church’s view and doctrine of work has shaped the world around it. Right now in the US there is a higher percentage of men who are no longer in the workforce than during the Great Depression. This is not because there is not work for them to do, but because they have no plan or desire to work. We should not be deceived, sin spreads like leaven and this particular sin has been growing for decades. How should the church think about this issue? How should we pray? And how should we fight back against this sin that is so rampant? Please join us as we discuss this important topic.

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

What Should Christians Believe About Conspiracy Theories? (Ep. 117)

As soon as you say the phrase “conspiracy theory”, you’ve stepped into a minefield of meaning and innuendo. It helps if you understand that the phrase isn’t just used to describe the actions of shadowy groups, but is also used to cast a negative light on the people who believe in such conspiracies. And in many cases, this negative connotation is at least somewhat deserved, because many conspiracy theories are in fact ridiculous. But as anyone who has studied history knows, groups and governments do in fact conspire. So what is a good Christian to do?

In this episode, we try to approach the subject of conspiracy theories from a biblical basis and take a shot at answering a few questions: How do you live in a world full of sinners conspiring to sin which includes liars lying about what some of those conspiracies are? How do you make sense of theories and things you only know a little about? How do you stop worrying and learn to live in joy in the world that God has made and that Jesus Christ is ruling over? It turns out, God’s word has a lot to teach us on the subject. Please join us as we discuss this important topic.

Listen to the audio version here:

Timecodes
00:00 Controlling Narrative
05:16 Conspiracies are Real
11:02 Term Origin and JFK
19:23 Desire to Invent Answers
24:50 The First Sounds Right
35:17 Fear Others than God
46:24 The Problem in the Church
50:21 The Solutions

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

What Should Christians Believe About Conspiracy Theories? (Ep. 117 Audio)

As soon as you say the phrase “conspiracy theory”, you’ve stepped into a minefield of meaning and innuendo. It helps if you understand that the phrase isn’t just used to describe the actions of shadowy groups, but is also used to cast a negative light on the people who believe in such conspiracies. And in many cases, this negative connotation is at least somewhat deserved, because many conspiracy theories are in fact ridiculous. But as anyone who has studied history knows, groups and governments do in fact conspire. So what is a good Christian to do?

In this episode, we try to approach the subject of conspiracy theories from a biblical basis and take a shot at answering a few questions: How do you live in a world full of sinners conspiring to sin which includes liars lying about what some of those conspiracies are? How do you make sense of theories and things you only know a little about? How do you stop worrying and learn to live in joy in the world that God has made and that Jesus Christ is ruling over? It turns out, God’s word has a lot to teach us on the subject. Please join us as we discuss this important topic.

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

How Church Discipline Teaches the Character of God (Ep. 116)

We discuss whether church discipline is about more than reconciliation of the sinner, and the ways that it is a reflection of God’s character.

Listen to the audio version here: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2023/04/how-church-discipline-teaches-the-character-of-god-ep-116-audio/

Timecodes
00:00:00 Centered on God or man?
00:09:10 Fear in the Church
00:36:41 God’s Holiness
00:51:03 God is Glorious
01:01:50 God’s Mercy

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

How Church Discipline Teaches the Character of God (Ep. 116 Audio)

We discuss whether church discipline is about more than reconciliation of the sinner, and the ways that it is a reflection of God’s character.

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

Artificial Intelligence, Christianity, and the Men Who Sell Fear (Ep. 115)

ChatGPT and Artifical Intelligence have been all over the news lately. Should Christians be worried about what is coming next?

Listen to the audio version here: https://theconqueringtruth.com/2023/04/artificial-intelligence-christianity-and-the-men-who-sell-fear-ep-115-audio/

Thumbnail image by Not4rthur under CC 2.0 BY-SA

Timecodes
00:00 The Open AI Letter
09:06 Fearmongering
13:53 Loosing Jobs
22:19 Jordan Peterson on ChatGPT
31:16 What Is Intelligence
38:14 The Image of God
39:53 Turing Test
43:55 Is Everything Material?
51:34 AI Regulation
57:43 Will it Destroy the World?

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

Artificial Intelligence, Christianity, and the Men Who Sell Fear (Ep. 115 Audio)

ChatGPT and Artifical Intelligence have been all over the news lately. Should Christians be worried about what is coming next?

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

TULIP vs Reformed Theology: Taking the Five Points to the Next Level (Ep. 114)

For a lot of people, TULIP, or the “Five Points of Calvinism”, serves as their introduction to Reformed Theology. But TULIP describes a fairly narrow set of doctrines, focused specifically on aspects of salvation, and while they are true and there is nothing wrong with knowing them or holding to them, Reformed Theology is a much broader and deeper subject. Reformed Theology is about the sovereignty of God over all things and focuses on God’s centrality in all and through all things. Or as Paul says at the end of Romans 11: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! “FOR WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD? OR WHO HAS BECOME HIS COUNSELOR?” “OR WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM AND IT SHALL BE REPAID TO HIM?” For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.”

In this episode, we discuss the differences between TULIP or Calvinistic Soteriology (the doctrine of salvation) and Reformed Theology and we do so by considering how the doctrines that make up the Five Points of Calvinism (Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints) apply to more than just salvation. The goal is to demonstrate how the Reformed view of doctrine is not narrow but broad. To the extent that any doctrine is true, that doctrine shapes the world by its truth, and the doctrines related to salvation are no difference. Our desire is that we would all seek to know God more deeply, for the people of God to think deeply and with great joy upon the things that God has revealed to us, and for the church to not grow complacent, but to continue reforming as we better understand our Lord and his glorious plan to glorify himself through creation. Please join us as we discuss this important topic.

One of the resources that we mention in the episode is J.I. Packer’s Introduction to a reprint of John Owen’s book, The Death of Death in the Death of Christ. It is available here:
https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/packer_deathintro.html

Timecodes
00:00:00 Intro
00:06:19 More Than Salvation
00:10:04 The Five Points
00:18:02 Total Depravity
00:35:43 Unconditional Election
00:43:44 Limited Atonement
00:52:39 Irresistible Grace
01:02:32 Perseverance of the Saints

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

TULIP vs Reformed Theology: Taking the Five Points to the Next Level (Ep. 114 Audio)

For a lot of people, TULIP, or the “Five Points of Calvinism”, serves as their introduction to Reformed Theology. But TULIP describes a fairly narrow set of doctrines, focused specifically on aspects of salvation, and while they are true and there is nothing wrong with knowing them or holding to them, Reformed Theology is a much broader and deeper subject. Reformed Theology is about the sovereignty of God over all things and focuses on God’s centrality in all and through all things. Or as Paul says at the end of Romans 11: “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! “FOR WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD? OR WHO HAS BECOME HIS COUNSELOR?” “OR WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM AND IT SHALL BE REPAID TO HIM?” For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.”

In this episode, we discuss the differences between TULIP or Calvinistic Soteriology (the doctrine of salvation) and Reformed Theology and we do so by considering how the doctrines that make up the Five Points of Calvinism (Total Depravity, Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints) apply to more than just salvation. The goal is to demonstrate how the Reformed view of doctrine is not narrow but broad. To the extent that any doctrine is true, that doctrine shapes the world by its truth, and the doctrines related to salvation are no difference. Our desire is that we would all seek to know God more deeply, for the people of God to think deeply and with great joy upon the things that God has revealed to us, and for the church to not grow complacent, but to continue reforming as we better understand our Lord and his glorious plan to glorify himself through creation. Please join us as we discuss this important topic.

One of the resources that we mention in the episode is J.I. Packer’s Introduction to a reprint of John Owen’s book, The Death of Death in the Death of Christ. It is available here:
https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/packer_deathintro.html

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

The Truth About the 2023 Banking Crisis (Ep. 113)

On March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank failed and was taken into receivership. While there has been a great deal of discussion about this in the news and online, much of what has been said has been has either been completely false or misleading, particularly the claim that taxpayers will not bear the cost of the bailout.

In this episode, we briefly discuss bank runs and how they happen in general before shifting our focus to the details of how Silicon Valley Bank was taken into receivership. We review the banking crisis in 2008 and how it set the stage for this current event and talk about how past decisions have effectively removed the obligation from those who are wealthy to be conscientious about where they put their money.

As always, the fundamental focus is on how these issues are driven by scriptural issues. Because the church does not speak to the nature of God’s justice and what God requires of man it is not surprising that’s the world has forgotten to fear God. The answer is for the church to repent.

Thumbnail image by Tony Webster under Creative Commons

Timecodes
00:00 What is a Bank Run?
04:15 Silicon Valley Bank
16:26 Too Big to Fail
21:59 Responsibility vs Government Saviors
40:00 God’s Authority
52:42 Justice

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson