Helping believers think Christianly about theological and cultural issues by engaging in curious conversations with a diverse range of thoughtful people.
#766 - The Cultural and Moral Significance of J...
Preston was speaking at University of Northwestern in Minneapolis and in between talks he and his good friend, Luke Thompson, went out to see the movie The Joker. That evening, Preston and Luke went out to a local pub and talked about the cultural and moral significance of the movie. It is--in Preston and Luke’s opinion--one of the most culturally and morally significant movies in the last decade. Listen to find out why.
58 min
277
#765 - How to Raise Anti-Fragile Kids: Dr. Leon...
Dr. Leonard Sax (M.D., Ph.D.) is a physician, psychologist, speaker, and best selling writer. In this episode, Preston and Dr. Sax talk about why kids are growing up much more fragile and unhealthy (mentally and physically). Part of it has to do with parents who are coddling their kids and shrinking back from establishing God-given parental authority. Lack of boundaries on screen-time (and content) also plays a significant role in the epidemic of anxiety, depression, and suicidality among kids. Sax is also a leading expert in sex and gender theories, especially as it pertains to trans* identities and experiences, something he’s written about in his latest edition of his book “Why Gender Matters” (2017). Both of these topics--kids and gender--come together and shape Sax’s concern for some disturbing things going on in the medical field regarding kids who identify as trans*.
49 min
278
#764 - Gender-Queer and Gospel-Centered: Lesli ...
Preston’s very good friend and mentor, Lesli Hudson-Reynolds, joins him on the podcast to talk about Trans-related questions, gender dysphoria, LGBTQ people in the church, and how to lead with love even when (or especially when) there’s disagreement. Lesli has been filling a massive void in the church—helping LGBTQ people wrestle with their faith, sexuality, or gender identity with grace and truth.
58 min
279
#763 - Nonviolence, “Open Theism,” and Heavy Me...
In this energetic conversation, Greg and Preston talk about various hot-button issues from nonviolence to nationalism in the church to Open-Theism (a term Greg doesn’t actually endorse), along with Annihlationism, hopeful Universalism, violence in the Old Testament, hermeneutics of hard passages, and Greg’s favorite less-then-sanctified heavy metal bands.
59 min
280
#762 - Faith for Exiles: David Kinnaman
As the president and owner of The Barna Group, David has been analyzing data about Christianity in America for more than 20 years. Despite being a terrible bird hunter, David is one of the most important and relevant Christian analysts in America today. His most recent book Faith for Exiles helps Christians think through how to best disciple the next generation of Christians in our post-Christian, post-internet culture.
56 min
281
#761 - Politics, White Evangelicalism, and Race...
Justin is a lawyer by trade and co-founder of the And Campaign, which helps Christians become less tribalistic and more Christian in their political affiliations. Preston and Justin talk about faith and politics, democratic candidates, and the pros and cons of political affiliation. Then, they launch into conversation about some blind spots that white evangelical Christians have about race relations and racism in the church today.
55 min
282
#760 - Life as an Intersex Christian: Lianne Simon
Lianne was born with an intersex condition called Mixed Gonadal Dysgenesis, where some of her cells have a Y chromosome while others do not. Lianne was originally reared as a male, but later had surgery to become male. (Or, did her surgery confirm her male status that was there all along? Or both? Or neither? It’s beautifully complex…) Most of all, Lianne is an incredibly intelligent and compassionate child of God who preaches and embodies the gospel. In this conversation, we talk about many things related to intersex, gender identity, Christianity, and how the “I” relates to the LGBTQIA conversation.
81 min
283
#759 - Racism, tribalism, and prophet-poets in ...
It’s been said that artists are the prophets of the church. Propaganda is the embodiment of that truth. Preston sits down with Prop for the first time to discuss his journey in evangelicalism. Son of a Black Panther father, raised in a Latinx and then white neighborhood, journeying in and (sort of) out of reformed evangelicalism, and now outspoken toward the supremacy of Jesus in all things and the social-political implications of the gospel, Prop is a voice that needs to be reckoned with. Prop and Preston talk about racism, tribalism, hip-hop, the gospel and culture, white evangelicalism, and humility—among many other things.
50 min
284
#758 - What does it mean to be human? A convers...
Preston is a big fan of the work of Mark Cortez, so this conversation is long awaited! Marc is a specialist in the discipline of theological anthropology; in particular, the relationship between the mind and the body. After spending the first 30 minutes discussing theological anthropology and various approaches to the mind-body relationship (e.g. physicalism vs. dualism), Preston and Marc banter around about trans-related questions as they pertain to theological anthropology and why a biblical view of embodiment should reframe how we think about diet, exercise, sleep, and health.
77 min
285
#757 - A Red-Headed Australian Army Vet Becomes...
Preston is joined by his long-time friend Dr. Michael Bird. Mike is a renown biblical scholar who just finished writing a definitive introduction to the New Testament with N.T. Wright. Preston and Mike talk shop about all things related to New Testament scholarship, women’s ordination, Anglicanism, N.T. Wright, Jesus’ mission to the Gentiles, and American evangelicalism.
69 min
286
#756 - A Transgender Christian’s Journey with J...
Preston talks with one of his good friends, Kat LaPrairie, about their experience as a transgender Christian. And yes, Kat and Preston talk quite a bit about what Kat means by “transgender,” along with many other topics related to gender dysphoria, transgender/non-binary identities, masculinity and femininity, sex-segregated bathrooms, and how the church can better love trans-identified people.
68 min
287
#755 - Same-sex attracted but married to a man?...
Preston sits down with his good friend, mentor, and board member Laurie Krieg to talk about sexuality, the gospel, mixed orientation marriages, the gospel, masculinity and femininity, the gospel, homosexuality, the gospel, marriage, the gospel, sex, the gospel, progressivism and conservatism in the LGBTQ+ conversation, and other topics related to the gospel.
64 min
288
#754 - Sex, Youth Culture, Pornography, and Why...
Preston has his good friend Jason Soucinek on the show to talk about all the stuff referenced in the title. Jason is an expert in sex and youth culture, along with many other related topics. They talk a lot about porn in the first part of the podcast, but then get into purity culture, purity rings, Joshua Harris, and the relationship between sex and procreation.
105 min
289
#753 - A New Vision for Church: Hugh Halter
In this episode, Preston gets to know Hugh Halter, who’s done some innovative “church” plants—if we can even call them that. Preston and Hugh talk about the different kingdom projects that Hugh’s been a part of, especially his most recent project at “post commons”—a missional, kingdom-minded venture that might be the way forward in our post-Christian context. How can we integrate community-centered, kingdom-minded, for profit businesses with church planting and the gospel? Preston and Hugh explore this question in their conversation.
74 min
290
#752 - A Southern Baptist Girl Turned Anglican ...
On episode #752 of Theology in the Raw Preston has a conversation with Tish Harrison Warren. Tish and Preston talk about poking the progressive bear, egalitarianism in the NT, Tish’s journey toward priesthood in the Anglican church, and her hot new book Liturgy of the Ordinary.
74 min
291
#751 - Living at the Intersection of Church & C...
On episode #751 of Theology in the Raw Preston has a conversation with Peter Lynas. Peter and Preston talk about the current state of the transgender conversation in the U.K., evangelicalism in Northern Ireland, and how to embody both truth and grace in a culture hostile to the Christian faith.
69 min
292
#750 - A Theology Geek in Youth Pastor’s Clothi...
On episode #747 of Theology in the Raw Preston has a conversation with Joey Dodson. Joey is Preston’s best friend and the two of them are a recipe for disaster. In this podcast, Joey and Preston talk about the historical context of the Bible, fascinating parallels between Greco-Roman culture and the New Testament, and a botched prank toward some Scottish Jr. High girls while they were (mature?) Ph.D. students.
64 min
293
#749 - Understanding our Cultural Moment: A Con...
Mark and Preston talk about where the Western church is in this cultural moment. Various topics came up like the global reaction against the liberal values of America, China’s control over Hollywood, how we are living in harmony with where we were in the 18th century, probable revival of the remnant on the horizon, the similarities and differences in politics and Christianity in the U.K., U.S., and Australia, and many other topics related to faith, culture, and history.
62 min
294
#748 - Life in (and Out of) the Church Industri...
On episode #747 of Theology in the Raw Preston has a conversation with Dan White Jr. Preston and Dan talk about Dan’s journey from being a leader in the “church industrial complex” to coaching pastors are how to plant a minimalist church that focuses on discipleship and mission.
59 min
295
#747 - A Journalist Explores Transgender Relate...
On episode #747 of Theology in the Raw Preston has a conversation with Madeleine Kearns. Madeleine has written several articles on the politics of the transgender conversation, in particular how it has affected children. Some of the things she’s discovered are downright disturbing.
65 min
296
#746 - Has 'Homosexual' Always Been in the Bible?
On episode #746 of Theology in the Raw Preston addresses a recent blog post that's gained a lot of attention across the internet. The post goes by the same title as this podcast: "Has 'Homosexual" always been in the Bible?". Preston shows that while the blog post is correct that "homosexual" is a poor translation of 1 Cor 6:9, it makes several logical, historical, and theological mistakes.
56 min
297
#745 - Parenting in the Raw
On episode #744 of Theology in the Raw Chris Sprinkle is joined by her husband Preston to discuss various questions about parenting sent in from their Patreon supporters.
58 min
298
#744 - Challenges of Being a Woman in Male-Domi...
Preston and Lynn talk about the challenges of being a woman in male-dominated American evangelicalism. They also discuss biblical views on masculinity and femininity, and early Church perspectives on women.
59 min
299
#743 - A Dialogue with an Intersex Christian
Christian is a cult survivor, missionary, and an intersex person with both male and female sex chromosomes and anatomy. Preston talks to Christian about what it is like living as both male and female in a binary world where sex-categories are typically male or female.
81 min
300
#742 - Forgiveness and the Charleston Church Sh...
In this episode, Preston talks to Brian about his latest documentary, “Emanuel,” which covers the 2015 church shooting in Charleston, SC. What was it like being a white guy documenting such a racially charged event? How did people respond to the radical forgiveness demonstrated by the victims? And how should Christians think through the topic of theology and film?