PODCAST · education
I BELIEVE
by Brian Doak & Leah Payne
Lectures, panel discussions, and supplementary thoughts from the teaching faculty of the I BELIEVE course.
Episodes
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: FINALE!!
Traditional church or something new and different? Dr. Payne and Dr. Doak debate what it would take for the Christian church to thrive in the future!
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: HIGHER CRITICISM?
Is higher criticism helpful or unhelpful for the church? Dr. Doak and Dr. Payne debate it here and you’ll weigh in this week!
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: REVOLUTION
What happens when you change the way you think about the scripture?
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: MOD ROCK OR KEEP IT TRADITIONAL?
Charles Wesley was one of the great hymn writers of the Christian tradition. What is the right way that Christians should worship through music? Keep it traditional or get with the times? Dr. Doak and Dr. Payne debate and we want to hear from you!
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: PIETY
How can Christians remain faithful to God in the industrial era? What does it mean to be truly holy like God is holy? Dr. Payne and Dr. Doak talk about how John and Charles Wesley and the Methodists answered those questions and more!
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: TIKTOK EVANGELISM?
Should TikTok evangelists be a thing? Do media innovators trivialize the gospel? Or, are they moving the church into the 21st century? Dr. Doak and Dr. Payne debate whether or not TikTok preaching helps or hurts the Christian movement.
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE RENEWAL
How did Roman Catholics respond to the modern world? Dr. Doak and Dr. Payne talk about Catholic renewal in the modern age and read a timeless poem & prayer from St. Teresa of Avila!
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: MAGISTERIAL OR RADICAL?
How should a believer relate to the wider world? Should they follow the example of the magisterial traditions or the radicals? Dr. Payne and Dr. Doak debate it here and then we want to hear from you in the discussion. Would you be a radical or magisterial?
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: REFORM
What happens when reform spreads? How do you know when you’ve reformed enough? This week, Dr. Payne and Dr. Doak tackle some of the critical questions facing early modern Christians & the founding of the Church of England.
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: MODERNITY
Welcome to the modern world! Dr. Doak and Dr. Payne talk about how the world was changing in the early modern era, the cantankerous and unforgettable Martin Luther, and they even trade a few classic Lutheran insults!
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: BELIEF OR ACTION?
Here it is: What comes first? Christian belief or action? Dr. Payne and Dr. Doak consider a classic "chick or egg" Christian conversation this week. Weigh in with your thoughts this week!
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: CELIBACY
Should priests/pastors be celibate? Dr. Doak and Dr. Payne debate - and you might be surprised at what the REALLY believe!!
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: SCHISM
What caused the Great Schism of 1054? Was it one big thing or a thousand small issues that finally made Christians break communion with one another? And what sorts of theology was being created in the Middle Ages? These questions and more on this week’s NEED TO KNOW MORE!
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: RELICS?
Do physical objects have spiritual power? Dr. Doak and Dr. Payne debate whether or not things like relics have power from God. Listen in and share your thoughts in this week’s discussion!
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: SACRAMENT
This week we are learning about how Christians worshipped in the Middle Ages, and the important role that the church played in the daily lives regular people. This week, Drs. Doak and Payne talk about their favorite sacraments, how Christians read the Bible in the Middle Ages, and the writings,...
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: RULE
Is there a rule that orders your life? What is it like to embrace monastic life? What did monasteries and convents preserve over time? These questions and more guide the Need to Know More podcast this week!
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: MONASTIC LIFE?
Would you be a monk or a nun? Dr. Doak and Dr. Payne explore whether or not monastic life is for them - and this week, we are inviting you to think about it too! THEO 102 SMACKDOWN RULE THEO 102 Download
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: COUNCIL
This week, Drs. Payne & Doak talk about the development of Christian creeds, councils, and how Christians decide what they are and what they are not. Then, we read the sermon of a famous ancient preacher with a reputation for solid-gold preaching!
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: CREEDS???
This week, Dr. Doak & Dr. Payne tackle the question: do Christians need creeds, those handy distillations of Christian teaching and theology? Do they help Christians or are they out of date? Listen in and make your case on Flipgrid!
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: EMPIRE
It was one thing to be faithful under persecution - what happens when Christians gain legal rights, social power, and wealth? Dr. Doak & Dr. Payne explore the challenges facing Christians when their religion becomes the religion of empire in the 4th century.
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: CONSTANTINE - HERO OR VILLAIN?
Was Constantine a hero or a villain? Did he help Christianity flourish or did he set the church on a course of corruption? Dr. Payne & Dr. Doak try to convince one another in this week’s smackdown!
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: SCATTERED
What happens when the early church is forced out of Jerusalem and scattered across the world? How do they survive? And how do they remain faithful when put to the test of persecution? Dr. Doak and Dr. Payne talk about what life was like for the earliest Christians.
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: NEW TESTAMENT CHURCHES??
This week, Dr. Doak & Dr. Payne explore how early Christians wrestled with who they were when they were expelled from Jerusalem, and they tackle the question: should churches be just like they were in the New Testament? Or, should they adapt to the times? Listen in and then share your thoughts…
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: EVANGELISM - BUT HOW?
Just google “Christian sandwich board” and you’ll see a lot of pictures of Christians standing with giant signs proclaiming a version of the Christian message. But should they? Most Christians agree that getting the good news out to the world is important. How should evangelism be done? Public...
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: PENTECOST
This week, we talk about why learning about the Bible is just the starting point for understanding the depth and breadth of Christianity. WHY we should study the history of Christianity and why we should think about big theological ideas? And what sorts of things were some of the earliest...
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: IS THE RAPTURE A THING
Have you heard of “the rapture”? Maybe, maybe not! But we’re going to tell you all about it, and then debate it. A fitting end to our journey through the Bible, arriving, finally, at the APOCALYPSE. Our artifact: A poster Dr. Doak saw at Fred Meyer, for a rapture-themed paintball contest
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: APOCALYPSE
Jesus returns to defeat evil: it’s the book of Revelation, our stunning last stop on this tour through the Christian Bible. Whose name is written on your head?
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: PRACTICE
We invite Dr. Joseph Clair into the podcasting bunker because we need to know more about his lecture on the topic of Christian PRACTICE as it appears in the New Testament. We think together about the concept of Christian ethics and moral behavior. Dr. Payne asks an uncomfortable question which…
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: FAREWELL ROB BELL
We take up a topic Christians have debated for centuries: hell. Should we think of hell as “eternal conscious torment,” that is, unbelievers tossed head over heels into the fire to suffer forever, or is hell…something else? Is hell temporary? How might we think about the ethics of hell in light…
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: LETTERS
Dr. Sarita Edwards is back into the studio to talk about the LETTERS of Paul in the New Testament. We talk about some of the locations where people lived who first received these letters, and we engage in a reading and discussion of an intriguing passage for Christian decision making in the first...
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: JESUS SAVES
Here is an important affirmation for Christians: Jesus Saves. But an important question arises: How? This week, we go into the THEO archives for a live debate in Bauman Auditorium in front of hundreds of students on the question: Is the “penal substitution” theory of the atonement the best way to...
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: MIRACLES TODAY
All Christians believe that God is present and active in the world today. But how active, and in what ways? Should we be praying for miracles constantly? Just sometimes? What would be the Christian case for not seeking miracles or seeing God as normally intervening in our world? We debate in…
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: SPIRIT
The book of Acts and the story of Philip is our focus in this week’s podcast. We invite Dr. Sarita Edwards into the studio to follow up on her lecture, SPIRIT, and we discuss what inspires us, the meaning of eunuchs, missionary activity, and more. Also: Can people be teleported?
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: ACCEPTING JESUS IN YOUR HEART
With every head bowed, and every eye closed…just raise your hand… In this episode of the Smackdown, we’re discussing the idea of a “sinner’s prayer.” Is this the way into faith? For our artifact: We started the podcast with numerous artifacts actually unrelated to this week’s debate, such as the...
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: SAVIOR
“Jesus saves”—OK, but what does that mean? And what is the role of doubt? We go deeper, building on Dr. Doak’s lecture, SAVIOR. We read a famous and often misunderstood text. Join us.
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: CHRIST
We’re all about the gospel of Mark this week. In this episode, we unpack Dr. Payne’s lecture, CHRIST, in which she takes us on a tour through Mark. We talk about the surprising political background behind terms such as “savior” and “good news” (gospel) in Jesus’ time, and we engage in a reading…
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: JESUS FOR PRESIDENT
Should Christians be getting hard-core into politics? How or why would we do that? It’s a constant hot topic. Perhaps people are even debating this now. Our pop culture artifact: Christian worship music empire and popular Australian church group “Hillsong” tweets out some politically charged...
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: ACTS AND CONSEQUENCES
Why do people suffer? The painful problem of the exile raises this question in numerous ways. See the video lecture on EXILE for this week. Do people suffer because of their own actions, or are there other mysterious forces at work? Is the “act-consequence nexus” the best way to think about...
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: EXILE
Dr. Doak and Dr. Payne sit down to talk about how they felt when they first left home for college, and imagine, inspired by our material from the Bible this week, what it might be like to experience EXILE (be sure to watch the main lecture video on EXILE before listening to this podcast!). We...
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: RATED R OR RATED A(LLEGORY)
Is the Song of Songs supposed to be Rated R…or Rated A(llegory)? We argue about it. The artifact in question? A book by a Christian megachurch pastor called Sexperiment: 7 Days to Lasting Intimacy. Listen at your own risk, away from the kids.
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: POETRY
Dr. Joseph Clair joins us for a rousing lecture on POETRY in the Bible, following his lecture on this very topic. Why does God seem to love poetry so much? We discuss, with a close reading of Psalms 1 and 2.
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: PROPHETS TODAY
There are prophets in the Bible—many of them. Christians today claim the Bible is their authoritative book, setting a pattern for life and practice. However: Are there prophets today, in the Biblical sense of the word “prophet”? How would we know? Why would there be? Why would there not be? Some...
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: KINGDOM
Following up on Dr. Doak’s lecture, KINGDOM, we take another shot at summarizing and discussing this wide range of materials, all telling the story of Israel once they enter the land in 1 Samuel all the way through the demise of the kingship and the nation at the end of 2 Kings. And then there…
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: GOD'S FAVORITE PLACE
Does God have a favorite place on earth? Are some places more holy than others? Is the land of Israel still God’s “chosen land,” today? Join us for a civil discussion. Our artifact—which we failed to mention in the podcast itself!—is: Basically any story about the land of Israel over the past...
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: LAND
Your professors gather around the podcasting table to discuss this week’s topic, LAND (please watch the lecture on this topic before listening to this podcast!). We ask Dr. Edwards to say more about some specific points in the lecture, Dr. Doak offers alternate ways to think about the...
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: EXODUS + LAW
This week we’re tackling two topics and lectures! First, the EXODUS, the story of Moses and the freeing of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. Second, the LAW, the set of commandments the people receive at Mt. Sinai. Dr. Payne and Dr. Doak engage in an extended close reading of a strange ritual. Here…
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: PUBLIC TEN COMMANDMENTS
Should the 10 Commandments from Exodus ch. 20 be displayed in public spaces in America today? WE DEBATE. This week’s artifact: The story of a Montana man who took down the 10 Commandments. Here is one version of the story And here is another
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: ANCESTORS
This week we bring Dr. Sarita Edwards into the studio to discuss the ANCESTORS in Genesis chs. 12-50. How do we feel about the notion that God chooses some people…and not others? Do you have more sympathy for Sarah or Hagar in their dispute in Genesis chs. 16 and 21?
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THEO POP-CULTURE SMACKDOWN: RING BY SPRING
This week we’re discussing one of the most dreaded and revered concepts at Christian colleges: the “ring by spring” phenomenon. Students talk about it at George Fox. They talk about it at Gonzaga. And it is apparently also the title of a Hallmark movie. We use the concept as a bridge to thinking...
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I NEED TO KNOW MORE: CREATION
Dr. Doak and Dr. Payne follow up on this week’s lecture, which covers Genesis chs. 1-11. In particular, they read Genesis ch 3, verses 1-7, in search of knowledge about the snake, gender, and who is at fault for humanity’s first sin.
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
Lectures, panel discussions, and supplementary thoughts from the teaching faculty of the I BELIEVE course.
HOSTED BY
Brian Doak & Leah Payne
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How many episodes does I BELIEVE have?
I BELIEVE currently has 100 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is I BELIEVE about?
Lectures, panel discussions, and supplementary thoughts from the teaching faculty of the I BELIEVE course.
How often does I BELIEVE release new episodes?
I BELIEVE has 100 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
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Who hosts I BELIEVE?
I BELIEVE is created and hosted by Brian Doak & Leah Payne.
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