The McKrakenCast
Episodes
Monday Jun 21, 2021
Brief Reflections on Christian Atheism
Monday Jun 21, 2021
Monday Jun 21, 2021
This content lived on Youtube behind a privacy wall for a couple of years, but now I've released it into the wild. If you want to enjoy the video version, just click here. I talk about the martyrdom of Polycarp, an interview I once saw on TV between Stephen Colbert and Ricky Gervais, and why Christians need to have well-developed atheist muscles.
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I write books. I run a blog. I have a YouTube channel. I teach.
Thursday Apr 01, 2021
Part 3 - Scots Confession, History & Theology
Thursday Apr 01, 2021
Thursday Apr 01, 2021
This is Part 3 in a series of adult education (Sunday School) classes that I taught at St. Charles Presbyterian Church (USA) in the early months of 2020. It provides a fairly thorough discussion of the Scots Confession's history and theology targeted (hopefully, effectively so) at the generally educated churchgoer. Part 3 continues exploring the background of the Scots Confession. It deals with John Calvin and the Swiss Reformation, including Calvin's teachings on the knowledge of God, as well as providing a very brief overview of the English Reformation. It also explores chapters 11 - 15 in the confession itself, addressing topics like Christ's intercession at the right hand of the Father, the afterlife, faith, "total depravity," "good" works and merit, and the Christian's ongoing struggle against sin.
This is Part 3 in a 5-part series. You can find the series index here. Click here for the blog post corresponding to this episode, and click here to access this content on YouTube.
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I write books. I run a blog. I have a YouTube channel. I teach.
Tuesday Sep 03, 2019
Women of the Reformation
Tuesday Sep 03, 2019
Tuesday Sep 03, 2019
You're bored of hearing about the men of the Reformation. Get the scoop on some of the key Reformation women!Click here to access written and video versions of this content.
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I write books. I run a blog. I have a YouTube channel. I teach.
Thursday Jul 18, 2019
Barth's "Göttingen Dogmatics" - Introduction
Thursday Jul 18, 2019
Thursday Jul 18, 2019
Travel with me back to the early 1920s and Karl Barth's first attempt at writing a dogmatics. Launched while teaching at the University of Göttingen, this was the genesis of the material that would become Church Dogmatics approximately a decade later. What we call the Göttingen Dogmatics in English is especially interesting to me because it is much closer to Barth's work as pastor-cum-socialist organizer. This is the first of a multi-part series, and it is the first series that I have produced primarily for the podcast medium. It is also available on YouTube. Make sure to subscribe via your preferred site. Find episode 2 here, and get the series index here.
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I write books. I run a blog. I have a YouTube channel. I teach.
Monday Jun 24, 2019
John Calvin's Central Doctrine?
Monday Jun 24, 2019
Monday Jun 24, 2019
This is the third in a three-part series that I have done on How I Read John Calvin. Truth in advertising: Karl Barth makes an appearance (yes, again), but so does Francis Turretin!Hint: it's not predestination. You can access this content in video format.
Tuesday Jun 04, 2019
Reformers in the Wings - Book Review
Tuesday Jun 04, 2019
Tuesday Jun 04, 2019
In this installment I review David Steinmetz's book, Reformers in the Wings, and talk a bit about Reformation history and some of its lesser known figures.
This content is also available in video, if you prefer.
If you'd like to learn more about the Reformation, there's lots of material waiting for you at at DET (the theology blog that I run).
Wednesday Apr 24, 2019
John Calvin and the Natural Knowledge of God (How I Read John Calvin, part 2)
Wednesday Apr 24, 2019
Wednesday Apr 24, 2019
This is part two in a three-part series on How I Read John Calvin. It tackles the issue of whether it is possible - within the context of Calvin's theology - to know God on the basis of human rationality and observation of the world. Truth in advertising: Karl Barth makes an appearance.
Wednesday Apr 24, 2019
Biography of a Calvin Reader (How I Read John Calvin, part 1)
Wednesday Apr 24, 2019
Wednesday Apr 24, 2019
This is the first in a three-part series on How I Read John Calvin. Thanks to Joshua Torrey (Twitter: @JoshuaTorrey) for sparking the idea.
At one point I say that McNeill published a selection of the Institutes; I should have said that Donald McKim did so.
Elsie McKee's book is entitled, The Pastoral Ministry and Worship in Calvin’s Geneva (Geneva: Droz, 2016).
Tuesday Apr 23, 2019
Questions & Answers about John Calvin
Tuesday Apr 23, 2019
Tuesday Apr 23, 2019
John Calvin was the leading Protestant reformer in Geneva, Switzerland, during the second generation of the Reformation. One of the founders of the Reformed / Presbyterian tradition, his theology remains highly influential for many people still today. In this episode, I answer some questions about all that.