The Theology Pugcast is three over-educated Reformed guys grumbling about what bugs them, and sometimes even barking about what they like. The show usually is recorded in a pub--that's why there is some background noise on occasion. The topics can vary widely seeing as the Pugsters have different spheres of knowledge and interest, but common themes which appear regularly include the transcendence of God and the meaningfulness of His creation.
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Who Counts as a Theologian? Reflections on Lewis with Dr. Jahdiel Perez
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Who counts as a theologian? Who gets to address the deep things of God and creation? Tom is at the helm this week and he is joined by a special guest, Dr. Jahdiel Perez of Villanova University. Dr. Perez is a C. S. Lewis scholar, writing the first doctoral dissertation in ‘theology’ at the University of Oxford on C. S. Lewis. Wrapping up our Lewis …
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On today's show Glenn and Chris interview Jordan Bush--the man behind the "Thank God for Bitcoin Conference." If this sounds a bit odd to you, here's something else to consider--Glenn and Chris both spoke at this year's conference in Nashville. So, what is this Bitcoin thing, and why should Christians be grateful for it? Tune in and hear why and ju…
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On today's show the Pugs look back on their trip to Oxford and talk about some of the things they learned and enjoyed from the trip. Glenn leads off with three things he got a deeper appreciation for about C. S. Lewis, each of which brings in further discussion, ideas, and tangents from Chris and Tom. Throughout the conversation, all of the Pugs sh…
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After a week at Oxford, surrounded by some of the best buildings to be found anywhere in the world when it comes to higher education, the Pugs discuss architecture on today's brief episode. "Why does beauty matter?" and “Why are all the science buildings ugly?” are among a host of questions addressed. Tune in as the guys long for a world that build…
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C. S. Lewis, Oxford Don: An Interview with Dr. Simon Horobin
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The Pugs continue their adventure in Oxford with an interview with Dr. Simon Horobin, the man behind the recently released book ‘C. S. Lewis's Oxford’. Dr. Horobin is an authority in medieval literature and teaches at Magdalen College. The Pugs joined Dr. Horobin in his room at Magdalen, not for from the rooms where Lewis taught and met with the In…
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Post-Mortem for Christian Colleges? An Interview with Dr. Phil LaFountain
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Another Christian college has closed its doors. This time, one of Chris's alma maters, Eastern Nazarene College, aka, ENC. ENC was a small Christian college on the south shore of Massachusetts, not far from Boston. The usual things were cited by the Trustees of the college as reasons for its demise--declining enrollment, financial challenges, etc. …
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Science and Beauty: A Conversation with Ken Boa
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The Pugsters welcome back Dr. Ken Boa to talk about the importance of beauty for the Christian. Ken talks about seeing the beauty of the natural world and how we can use it as a force multiplier for our faith. This connects into a discussion of science and how it reveals the beauty in the world. The guys also talk with Ken about his upcoming events…
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C. S. Lewis, Writer and Philosopher: An Interview with Dr. Michael Ward
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The Pugs are still in Oxford, and today they're at the Kilns (Lewis's home) with their friend, Dr. Michael Ward, author of Planet Narnia and After Humanity: A Guide to C. S. Lewis's Abolition of Man. The conversation naturally cover's Dr. Ward's books. Join us for a conversation over tea at the Kilns as the Pugs speak with him about Narnia and the …
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Listen in for a short Q&A session at the Lamb and Flag pub in Oxford following the full episode ‘C. S. Lewis Apologist: An Interview with Dr. Alister McGrath.’ Order Christian Apologetics: An Introduction by Dr. McGrath: https://a.co/d/05lejP2B Order C. S. Lewis -- A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet by Dr. McGrath: https://a.co/d/0g8DyDzG …
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C. S. Lewis Apologist: An Interview with Dr. Alister McGrath
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The Pugs are still enjoying themselves at Oxford, and today they are joined by the venerable Alister McGrath at the Lamb and Flag, a pub known to have been frequented by C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and the other Inklings. (The famed Eagle and Child pub is just across the street and hopefully soon to reopen follow a Covid shutdown and change in o…
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While in Oxford, the guys had the opportunity to visit the Duke Humfrey's Room at the Bodleian Library. This houses part of the library’s collection of rare books as well as some more recent sets. The conversation ranges over volumes in the collection that caught the attention of one or the other of the Pugsters, the architecture and decorations of…
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Ben Merkle, Tom Price, and What They Learned about Learning at Oxford
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Today begins the first of the shows recorded in Oxford! Tom and Chris are joined by Dr. Ben Merkle, President of New Saint Andrews College. Ben was visiting Oxford at the same time as the Pugs, and this afforded an opportunity to discuss with Tom and Chris what Ben learned at Oxford about post-secondary education and how those lessons are being app…
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On today's show the Pugsters consider the definitions of sacraments vs. ordinances before taking a closer look at baptism and the Lord’s Supper. They spend some time on the less discussed images of baptism in the New Testament (the Flood and the Exodus) and the use of the Greek word baptizo in the Septuagint. They then talk about the Lord’s Supper,…
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If We're Not Saved by Our Works Why Work at All? A Conversation with Steve Jeffery
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Today the Pugs interview Dr. Steve Jeffery, one of the minds behind The Works Based Conference being held in the Dallas/Fort Worth area June 28-29. The guys not only discuss the nature of the conference, the conversation addresses a theology of work, and even how our works will have a more enduring character than we generally appreciate. Included i…
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Academic Herd-Minds and Twitter Mobs
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Today the Pugs react to an article in New Oxford Review entitled, "How Cowardice, the Herd Mind & Twitter Mobs Threaten Academia by Jason M. Morgan and Mark Ramseyer. If you're still under the impression that higher education is a disinterested pursuit of truth, think again. It has been reduced to political advocacy and ressentiment. (Yes, that's s…
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Boredom, Nihilism, and Endless Entertainment
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On today's show Tom introduces the topic of boredom and its relation to a world that finds no meaning apart from the endless choices we draw from to gratify and distract ourselves. Glenn and Chris help unpack this timely topic, with its spiritual and historical roots and its impact upon the contemporary church. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https…
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Today the Pugs answer questions prosed by supporters of the show on Patreon. Listen in to learn (among other things), where the guys first met and became friends, what they think about Annihilationism, why it really might come down to choosing between Aristotle and Nietzsche, why getting dressed up for church is a good thing--even though your salva…
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The 4B Movement, Misandry, and Anti-Natalism
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In this episode, the guys talk about the 4B movement that originated in Korea and is getting some buzz in America. The 4Bs (in Korean) are no dating, no sex, no marriage, and no children. It’s partly responsible for the collapsing birthrate in Korea. The guys discuss the roots and implications of the movement with a tangent into ecology and forest …
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Men & Social Status, Women & College Debt, Hypergamy, and More!
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Today Chris takes the Pugs into the dark recesses of social status and asks questions few are willing to ask. For example: Why do so many women who apply to rent Chris's apartments have so much student loan debt, and such low credit scores? Why do young men in the trades with no debt and good income still lose out to flashy guys with tons of debt w…
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Creation, Theophany, and Transcendence
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Today’s show builds on the conversation about imagination and C. S. Lewis last week. Tom and the guys continue the interaction with Lewis’ rich sacramental vision and its implications for how our human created natures are enriched and helped to come into their own principally by the vertical, our relation to God, but secondarily by the good gift of…
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C.S. Lewis said, “Reason is the natural organ of understanding, but imagination is the organ of meaning.” "Working off Holly Ordway's book "Apologetics and the Christian Imagination," the guys discuss what imagination is, how it connects to meaning, and how it is foundational to reason. They also discuss the role of imagination in Lewis’s conversio…
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Bonus Q&A: Anthony of the Desert and Defeating the Demons of Our Time
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Listen in for a short Q&A session following our previous episode. Support the Pugcast in Oxford on Indiegogo: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-pugcast-goes-to-oxford/x/6893861#/ Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8 The Theology Pugcast i…
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Anthony of the Desert and Defeating the Demons of Our Time
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It's Chris's show today and he returns to a theme he's addressed a number of times--how can we resist the inhuman forces of the new totalitarianism? We're up against a Borg-like globalist cabal that uses artificial intelligence, surveillance technology, and psyops to manipulate us. Surprisingly, Chris suggests Saint Anthony of the Desert as a guide…
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As new forms of immodesty become fashionable and impact our everyday wolds in innumerable ways, dimensions of what is broken in us often remain what is 'hidden' or ignored. Tom and the guys engage this topic, especially from the insight that as image bearers we are imitative by nature, and when this is broken in us, we imitate badly, and also want …
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In this episode, Glenn talks about four causes of civilizational collapse: mass migration combined with corrupt and ineffectual government; sexual license; loss of belief in society and its values, and massive deficit spending. The guys talk about each of these, and, given that they are all are in place in America right now, discuss how we should b…
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The ‘C. S. Lewis Option’ for Renewing Christendom
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Today we are joined by Annie Crawford, a cultural apologist, a classical educationalist, and home-school mom. Today we discuss the incredible C. S. Lewis, a Pugcast favorite, and the wealth of his contribution to preserving ancient wisdom as it was received and refashioned in accordance with the Christian faith, especially its sacramental vision of…
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Begging the Question of Christ and Culture
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Richard Niebuhr's classic, Christ and Culture has shaped the way we understand the relationship of the church and culture by assuming that what we mean by "Christ" when we discuss Christ and culture is Christian ethics. But is that the right place to start? Shouldn't ontology be the starting place since all things were created by Christ and for him…
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The Diseased Defects and Effects of Popular Culture
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On today's episode Tom introduces a theological analysis of Contemporary Popular Culture, especially its charged symbolism. After unpacking insights from church fathers like Tertullian and Augustine, in their Christian critiques of Public Spectacle Events, the gang enters into important discussion about the impact, function, and role of current Cel…
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Today’s episode was prompted by responses to an admittedly provocative post Glenn put up on Facebook that generated some virulently antisemitic remarks from Christians. The guys explore the problem of antisemitism, the common ground between the far right and the progressive left, group identity, and a range of related topics. Support the Pugcast in…
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Political Theology with Timon Cline!
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Today the Pugs are joined by the Executive Editor of American Reformer, Timon Cline. Timon is a lawyer, and a writer, and a deep thinker about the political implications of the Christian faith. Political theology might be a new term for you, and if you had a public school education--and even a certain form of Christian education--the term might eve…
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The Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age: An Interview with Rosaria Butterfield
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Today the Pugs are a little short-handed--Tom isn't feeling well. But we do have Rosaria Butterfield with us to discuss her new book, Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age. It was a wonderful and free-ranging discussion that touched on many things, among them the subject of what time it is. And while it was a sober assessment on the sorry state of Bi…
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Everything You Know about Plato is Wrong! (An Interview with David Talcott)
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Today the Pugcast welcomes Dr. David Talcott, professor of philosophy at New Saint Andrews College and all around good guy to the show. David has a new book on Plato published by Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing. Today on the show we ask David to clear up a number of falsehoods people believe about Plato. It was an enjoyable conversation and we…
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Today Chris shares some fascinating passages from a book entitled: Intellectual Appetite--A Theological Grammar by Paul J. Griffiths. In the book Griffiths contrasts two forms of intellectual appetite: "curiositas" and "studiositas" and why one form of knowledge enriches the soul while the other degrades it. Join us as we discuss forbidden knowledg…
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In this episode, Glenn gives a quick history of Islam’s Golden Age in Spain and its role in spreading Greek thought into Europe. The guys talk about the impact of Aristotelian texts coming out of Spain, the roots of nominalism and voluntarism in Islamic thought, and the end of the Hellenistic Islam of the Golden Age due to a resurgence of conservat…
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The Betrayal of the Evangelical Elites
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Have you ever wondered why evangelical elites when they get a platform in The New York Times, or The Atlantic Monthly never have anything good to say about their fellow evangelicals? We have too. Turns out Andrew T. Walker, Opinions Page Editor at World Magazine is wondering why too. So, he wrote about it in National Review. Andrew is one of the ed…
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Contrasting Visions of Glory and Suffering: Augustinian Reflections
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Today’s show looks at the topic of ‘glory’ and suffering in light of the Incarnation of Christ. Tom introduces the topic and draws upon Augustine’s early chapters of the City of God, where Augustine engages the topic of suffering and glory as he contrasts the Christian vision with Pagan (especially Roman) notions. Glenn and Chris help unpack this i…
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In this episode, the Pugsters talk about the Christmas sermons preached by St. Augustine, focusing particularly on his descriptions of all of the paradoxes of the Incarnation. Christ’s Incarnation combines the infinite and the finite, the transcendent and the immanent, and so provides lots of fodder for discussion and especially for wonder. Merry C…
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That Hideous Strength, the Most Accurate Dystopia of Them All?
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The 20th century might go down as the most horrific century of them all with hundreds of millions killed by their own governments. But there were authors who predicted that things would get even worse. There was George Orwell, of course, and 1984, and Aldous Huxley, and Brave New World, and even Ray Bradbury, and Fahrenheit 451. But each of those v…
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Christmas Realism: Fully Supernatural, Partially Apocalyptic, Not Utopian
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On today's show Tom introduces a timely topic about the birth of Christ and some of its historical consequences. Chris and Glenn jump in with a host of insights and reflections. What exactly did the angelic announcement of 'peace on earth and goodwill towards men' mean now that the Prince of Peace has arrived? What does it mean for us? Also, how ar…
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Kemper Crabb joins the Pugsters once again for a conversation about mysterious creatures mentioned in the Bible, including particularly satyrs (Hebrew sa’iyr) and dragons (Hebrew taninim or leviathan), with cameos by behemoth and Lilith. The conversation then turns to how Christians can recover a supernatural worldview and the necessity to do so, g…
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Techno-Realism and Bioengineered Babies
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Today Chris reflects on an OpEd he wrote for World Magazine responding to an article in the Wall Street Journal: "What if Men Could Make Their Own Egg Cells?" While the title seemed entirely speculative the article revealed that some scientists are actually making "progress" when it comes to this. Why is it that so many people--including some Chris…
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Away with Humanity! The Rising Embrace of Anti-Humanism
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On today's show Tom introduces the topic through a few articles written in response to Adam Kirsch's new book: The Revolt Against Humanity, where Kirsch unpacks and positively promotes the case for welcoming 'the end of humanity's reign'. Two writers from a symposium respond to this disturbing trend: Noel Gertz and Gilbert Meilaender. The guys inte…
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Where Did Evangelicalism Go Wrong? Part 2—An Interview with Garrett Craw
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Two themes swept through evangelicalism in the 1980s and 90s--they were "Church Growth" and "Contextualization." Both were the promoted by Fuller Theological Seminary. The Church Growth faculty at Fuller drew on social science, and research on what was successful in foreign mission fields. What they failed to incorporate into their theories is the …
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Where Did Evangelicalism Go Wrong? Part 1—An Interview with Michael Clary
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Do you have the feeling that something has gone terribly wrong with evangelicalism? Today the Pugs talk with Michael Clary author of, God’s Good Design. The topic is the drift into approval of sexual sin by a growing number of Pastors and Christians throughout the western world. What happened, and what can be done? Michael and the pugs discuss the …
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Working off a Breakpoint article written by Glenn, the guys discuss the situation in Israel and Gaza. Glenn begins with a brief overview of Zionism and the history of modern Israel before the discussion moves to the conduct of war, terrorism, and the worldview ideas that connect the woke left and Hamas. Read Glenn’s Article:https://breakpoint.org/b…
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Regime Change! Patrick Deneen on the Post-Liberal Future
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Increasingly many people think the world we live in is unsustainable. When that is said in some circles climate change comes to mind. But at a social level, with the continued erosion of social life, healthy families, and a loss of local control at a community level, social conservatives say the same thing. What's happening? Today the Pugcast is jo…
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Joel Salatin and Rogue Food are coming to WPC in Vancouver, Washington!
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Here’s a little sample of what’s in store for the Rogue Food Conference at WPC, November 3-4. Grab your tickets to Joel Goes Rogue: the Bible and Food Freedom on November 3rd: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/joel-salatin-goes-rogue-tickets-716483149387?aff=oddtdtcreator Grab your tickets to The Rogue Food Conference on November 4th: The Rogue Food Con…
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The New Technology of Entertainment--Opportunities for Christian Film Makers and Writers: An Interview with Jason Farley of Loor TV
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We live in interesting times. One of the more interesting features of it has to do with arts and entertainment and how new technologies are upsetting the applecart of established media. With streaming services little guys can now compete with the big guys. Today the Pugs interview Jason Farley of Loor TV about these opportunities and how Christians…
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Your Pugs on Everything from Eschatology to the Nature of Rationality
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Have you ever wanted to ask the Pugcast a question? Today Glenn, Tom, and Chris respond to questions from supporters of the Pugcast on Patreon. The conversation covers a great span of matters--tune in and find out if they discuss something you've wondered about! And if you'd like them to answer one of your questions you can join their Patreon and a…
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Cluster B is a recognized set of psychological disorders. In this episode, the Pugsters discuss an article by Christopher Rufo that argues that our culture, government, and educational system has promoted these as virtues, with the result that society is being driven by Cluster B personalities. Along with looking at the problem, the guys discuss id…
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