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

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

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

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

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.

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

In this mega episode we discuss more than you ever wanted to know about Bible translations – the KJV, NIV, NKJV, ESV, NASB, and more. Why are they different, and why does it matter?

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

While the events of January 6th have been discussed and debated for two years now, in many ways, it seems as if the public is no closer to understanding what actually occurred that day. And even though Tucker Carlson was recently given access to 41,000 hours of footage, most of what he has released so far has been focused on disrupting the prevailing narrative rather than establishing a timeline of events and actions that clearly lays out what happened. And while most people have already made up their minds about that day and how and why it unfolded, those opinions are by necessity based on very little hard evidence.

In this episode, we sit down with Stephen Horn, an independent journalist who was in Washington DC that day covering Donald Trump’s rally. He spent the day on the Capitol grounds, observing and recording what went on and he has spent the past two years assembling publicly available footage to create a soon-to-be-released documentary that attempts to lay out as clearly as possible what happened and when. The goal of this episode is to deal with the complexity of real-world events as honestly as possible. One of the themes of our podcast is that Christianity explains the world and that through truth we are able to deal with and even understand difficult situations. Please join us as we discuss this important topic.

Jonathan was out this week due to the birth of their baby, but he will be back next time.

Stephen Horn is an independent journalist focusing on issues local to North Carolina. For the past two years, he has been working on a documentary titled J6: The First Breach. His reporting can be found and followed through the links below.

https://twitter.com/stephenehorn
https://twitter.com/j6documentary
https://www.thisweekinthetriangle.com/

Thumbnail image Creative Commons by Tyler Merbler https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:2021_storming_of_the_United_States_Capitol_DSC09254-2_(50820534063)_(retouched).jpg

Listen to the audio version here:
Timecodes
00:00:00 Protest to Riot
00:10:30 Flashbangs
00:19:38 Police Response
00:21:30 Protestor Deaths
00:29:05 Police Resources
00:44:36 More Riot Incidents
00:58:18 Woman Trampled
01:12:45 Violence in the Capitol

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

In February of 2023, there was a lot of discussion in Christian circles about the “Asbury Revival” at Asbury University in Wilmore, Kentucky. And while we do have some observations about what went on there, this episode is focused more specifically on what God’s word has to say about revival, what causes it, what it looks like, and what it produces. The Bible actually has a great deal to say about revival and while we do not cover every verse on the topic, we do try to walk through a number of passages and discuss what they mean for Christians as a group, collectively, and for the culture around us. Please join us as we discuss the important topic of revivals.

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

Miscarriage is a sad but common experience in the Christian life, especially among those who believe in following God’s command to be fruitful and multiply. In this episode we tackle this difficult 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

Every year, Congress invites the President to provide an address on the state of the nation. It is typically the most watched presidential speech of the year and provides an opportunity for the president to cast his vision for the country and to set an agenda for Congress to follow. And while we wouldn’t say that everyone has a duty to take the time to watch the State of the Union, we do believe it is worthwhile for Christians to consider the vision that our leaders have for the country.

In this episode we focus on five key topics from the State of the Union, the economy, health care costs, the debt limit and the sunsetting of social security, the border, and the opioid crisis. Each of these are issues that President Biden felt were worth dedicating a considerable amount of his time and energy to, and we believe that each is worthy of our consideration as Christians.

One thing that is particularly important to us as Christians is the degree to which lies and deception are tolerated. While lies in politics are not new, in the last ten years, there has been considerable decay in how we collectively view truth and how willing we are to accept brazen lies from those who have sworn to uphold our laws and liberty. And while we might think that we are immune to lies because we expect them, this is not how words actually work. Even when we know that people are lying if we do not consciously take our thoughts captive as scripture commands, then their words will go into us and become a part of us. How many times have you seen a lie damage a personal or business relationship? Even when both sides know it is a lie.

Episodes referenced:
Why Conservatism Should Die
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YWHCZI15mo

Enslaving our Children: Why the Debt Ceiling Fight Matters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fx0V4yz9ngQ

Why Inflation is Evil
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVwLqzbn7C4

What the Bible Say About Labor Unions, Collective Bargaining, and Politics
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBUWwKxcss0


A Christian Solution for Immigration
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_p49i5j1unA


Why Is Our Society So Confused
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frPRZF0eiVI

Drugs and Alcohol: How Does the Bible Regulate Their Use
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjotJhLTZqE

Should Marijuana Be Illegal? America’s Drug Policy and the Bible
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGcd_jtCzv4

7 Ways to Deceive Others
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCjwTz2fPXU

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