PODCAST · religion
Open to Truth
by opentotruth
A podcast all about exploring big ideas and discovering truth together
Episodes
-
Do Faith and Science Conflict? Yes, but when? feat. Joe Vukov
Are you struggling to reconcile your faith with modern scientific findings? In this episode , we explore ways to navigate the intersection of faith and science. Philosophy professor, Joe Vukov, explains the main models used to understand the relationship: the conflict model, independence model…
more -
Theological Hospitality
How can we create space for people to still have vibrant fellowship with one another despite severe differences of belief? Is it possible to genuinely cheer on someone who leads, believes, and teaches ideas that are different from yours? Are there views that just create too large a chasm where...
-
Do You Have Data Rights?
Should big tech be able to use the data you freely give it for whatever legal purposes that they see fit? Do we have privacy rights when it comes to our data and to what extent? What ought the legal and moral boundaries be for data collection and usage? We explore this topic through conversation...
-
What’s Being Aborted?
The cultural conversation has shifted yet again to abortion, in light of happenings in the Supreme Court regarding the landmark case of Roe v. Wade. In this episode, we attempt to get to the heart of the matter as we see it, which is whether the entity within the womb has certain rights. That is,...
-
Lessons from ”The Slap”
We're a number of weeks out from the shocking slap that occurred on the stage of the Oscars. Far from focusing on the celebrity drama of it all, the incident raises a number of important legal, ethical, and cultural questions. Is there any kind of speech worth of a physical, violent reaction? How...
-
Building Churches and Paying Pastors
How do churches actually get started? Should the people that help lead them get paid? What is the purpose of church? Why gather together in this way? We discuss these questions and more in this week's episode. Stay Curious!
-
What’s the Meaning of the Bible?
When you read anything, part of what you're doing is trying to find the meaning. "What does this mean?" There's a number of theories about how to do this well and we focus on interpreting the Bible as our example. We discuss a three-layer approach to meaning and unpack some common issues related…
more -
What Does It Really Mean to Pastor?
If you are a regular listener, you know that both Clint and Tony work in a local church. A consistent question is "what does it mean to be a pastor" and we discuss the various hats pastors are asked to wear. What is the primary job of a pastor? How does one know if they are cut out for such a…
more -
How to Have Conversations That Matter
Have you ever felt like a conversation you were having about an important topic went really poorly? Like you were talking past each other and each party only cared about demonstrating the correctness of their side rather than trying to understand? We have too - particularly online (I'm looking at...
-
Can We Really Forgive?
Most of us have been moved by a powerful story of forgiveness. What's going on there? Why do we find it moving? What's happening when we apologize, ask for forgiveness, and grant forgiveness when we've been wronged? We discuss the "mechanics" of forgiveness - how it really works and whether we…
more -
You’re Already in the Metaverse
Talk of the metaverse is lighting up the internet. The possibilities and applications are seemingly endless - for good and for ill. Is technology truly morally neutral? Is it really good for human beings to participate in the metaverse, particularly in virtual and artificial reality? There are a...
-
Revelation - What the Heck’s Going On?
Few portions of Scripture are as intimidating, confusing, and bizarre as the book of Revelation. The normal cues for discovering the context that would help guide the search of understanding are themselves subject to some philosophical assumptions at the outset. In this conversation, we make…
more -
Do You Have Knowledge?
Most of us claim to know some things - not only ordinary things, but perhaps even some grand things concerning meaning, God, and ethics. Yet, the view known as "skepticism" threatens to undermine such knowledge claims. In this episode, we have a candid conversation about what knowledge is and…
more -
Why Trinity?
The doctrine of the Trinity - the unity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as distinct persons in one being, the Godhead - is a central affirmation about God in the broadly Christian church. It also is unparalleled in its mystery and evasion of easy understanding. We take a look at some reasons…
more -
Ruthlessly Eliminate Hurry, pt. 2
In part 2 of this conversation on the book The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer, we discuss some of the flagship practices needed to live out the Way of Jesus. We discuss silence, solitude, slowing, sabbath, and simplicity. Enjoy and stay curious!
-
Ruthlessly Eliminate Hurry, pt. 1
Dallas Willard once said that "Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life." We discuss the main ideas from John Mark Comer's book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, which outlines the nature of the problem of hurry/speed in our...
-
Is God Vulnerable?
Can God be hurt or wounded? Can God experience setbacks? How influence-able is God? Stay Curious!
-
What‘s the Defense for Self-Defense?
Few would argue that it is unethical to defend one's life and well-being from clear and present danger. But, it is not so easy to articulate why exactly we share this intuition. What is the moral underpinning for self-defense? Should we appeal to rights, and if so, can our attackers lose some of...
-
What‘s God Like? - Calvinism vs. Arminianism
How does God go about saving humanity? How does this relate to God's sovereignty and the human condition? We discuss the longstanding discussion between those of so-called Calvinist and Arminian persuasion. We examine in detail the TULIP acronym, which is popularly and helpfully used to…
more -
The WHY behind Bitcoin
Tony and I revisit the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency conversation eight months after our initial exposure to rigorous thought regarding it. We discuss the history and the WHY behind bitcoin, inflation vs. deflation, energy conservation, loss prevention, theft, assets as stores of value, and more.…
more -
What‘s the Meaning of/in Life?
What is the meaning of life? What's the meaning in life? Are those separate questions? In any case, we explore various potential sources of meaning and what to make of them. We discuss whether meaning if objective or subjective, to what extent we can give our own lives meaning, the implications…
more -
Does God Know the Future?
One of the trickier problems in theology is sorting out how God can know the future and how human beings can have free will. If God can't be wrong about his beliefs, and some of his beliefs are about my future decisions, then don't I have to make certain decisions (lest God be wrong - which is...
-
Why Get Married?
Why do people decide to get married? In particular, what is the rationale behind monogamous marriages and why would that be a choiceworthy arrangement for people to aspire to rather than an alternative? There's much more to be said on this topic than what we get into, but here's a start! Stay...
-
Mailbag #4 - Pray for Satan, Religious Experience, and Consent Issues
You wrote in - we responded! We discuss your questions about whether it makes sense to pray for Satan, whether conceiving is unethical due to the impossibility of acquiring consent, if the government has monopoly on education and is abusing it, and religious experience regarding prayer and…
more -
Baby Dinosaurs on the Ark? (pt. 2) - feat. Janet Kellogg Ray
In part 2 of this conversation, we discuss some of the major misconceptions about the theory of evolution and one of the bigger concerns for people of faith - what to make of the origins of human beings. Stay Curious!
-
Baby Dinosaurs on the Ark? pt. 1 - feat. Dr. Janet Kellogg Ray
Why do we have the various lifeforms on this planet that we do? What is the biological history leading up to this moment? And for those who are people of faith, what are the implications theologically, if any, for the various answers to those questions? In this episode, Dr. Janet Kellogg Ray,...
-
Should You Eat Animals?
Animals are killed for the purpose of being eaten by humans. This fact has come under ethical scrutiny much more in recent years, mostly due to the exposure to the public of HOW we get our meat. Most of it is from factory farming. We discuss some of the horrors of this process, how this impacts…
more -
How Free Should Speech Be?
Debates on the Freedom of Speech have raged over the last decade. With the advent of social media, a greater voice has been given to everyone - and there's no doubt that some speech will be hateful or have negative consequences. The question we are all asking is how much speech should be allowed…
more -
Does God Have Moral Obligations?
It has long been a part of Western theology that the divine is morally good - morally perfect even. But how should we think about this perfection; what does it mean? Does God have to do the right thing - does God have moral obligations? What does the right thing mean when we are talking about God…
more -
Getting More Organs - Consent, Money, and the Greater Good
Though not in the national spotlight currently, the topic of organ donation continues to touch the lives of many people. Those in need of organs and their loved ones can be surprised at the intricacies of getting more organs and who is prioritized to receive them. It involves consent laws…
more -
Does Self-Interest Matter Most?
We are self-interested - at least a little bit. The question posed in this episode is whether we always act out of self-interest, and further if acting toward self-interest should be a foundational moral obligation. Such views are known as Egoism and we explore both. Does it spell doom for…
more -
How It Feels to Deconstruct
Going through a faith deconstruction process can be quite distressing. Family, friends, and trusted pillars of your communities may have polarizing reactions. There is a psychological toll from the upheaval of deeply held beliefs. And, the spiritual impact can bring peace one day and turmoil the...
-
Do We Have Free Will?
Freedom of the Will - it's one of the oldest philosophical topics. People have wondered about it for ages and for good reason - whether we have it changes quite a bit about other aspects of our worldview. We discuss some metaphors to help us understand the topic better and some key arguments for...
-
Should We Have Kids?
There are some who argue that engaging in procreation is morally wrong. This view is often called anti-natalism. The reasons for holding the view vary, but, of course, there are many who find the idea absurd. At the very least, the ethics involved highlight some important flashpoints surrounding...
-
Art, Icons, and Idols
As long as there has been religious thinking and behavior, there has been religious art. Some pieces of religious art are among humanity's most celebrated and renowned works. It is also not uncommon for religious art to make its way into a religious community's life of worship - in other words,...
-
Lost in the Info Wars
Information is incredibly important. It serves a crucial role in our process of reasoning and decision-making. Unfortunately, knowing that your source of information is reliable is difficult. Who do you trust? How do you know that the information those you trust are using was properly sourced?…
more -
What We Mean by "Justice" - pt. 2
Few ideas have received more attention in recent memory than justice. It is a foundational ethical notion that deserves a fair hearing. We discuss how this concept relates to other prominent ideas such as fairness, equality, equity, rights, and more. We try to locate justice in ethics broadly...
-
What We Mean by "Justice"? - pt. 1
Few ideas have received more attention in recent memory than justice. It is a foundational ethical notion that deserves a fair hearing. We discuss how this concept relates to other prominent ideas such as fairness, equality, equity, rights, and more. We try to locate justice in ethics broadly...
-
Good Parenting Goals
We all want to be good parents, but it is a difficult job. No one gives you a manual when you take that baby home from the hospital that teaches how to raise virtuous, thriving people. In this episode, we discuss general parenting wisdom and strategy, and then try to determine ways that our goals...
-
Do You Control Your Beliefs?
To what degree do we have control over what we believe? Of course, we are influenced by our experience and circumstance, but do you have "ultimate" control whereby you can decide whether to believe something? In this episode, we explore the ethics of belief, the role we have in belief formation,...
-
Beauty and Creativity
What are we saying when we say something is "beautiful"? We are all interested in having beauty be part of our lives, which has led many to wonder whether some things are objectively more beautiful than other things. We discuss this in the context of various creative arts and the power beauty has...
-
3 Technologies That May Surprise You!
Neuralink, Synthetic Biology, and Advanced Audio/Visual AI. Each come with amazing benefits to society, and yet there is reason to be concerned about their widespread adoption. Sadly, our ethical considerations often lag behind the arrival of new tech, so let this episode be one step in the...
-
The Hero's Journey
The Hero's Journey has been regarded as THE story, the monomyth, the archetype of archetypes, the grand narrative, in which all narratives find their home. At the most basic level, it is the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth or starting from the known, venturing out into the unknown, and…
more -
Mailbag 3 - Your Questions!
Thanks for writing in to the show! We love interacting with our audience. We discuss the desirability of heaven, value or disvalue of natural theology, and how to think about the relationship between inerrancy and historicity. Stay Curious!
-
Did Jesus Have to Die?
Did Jesus have to die on the cross and what did he accomplish in doing so? Various atonement theories attempt to answer this such as Penal Substitution, Christus Victor, Moral Exemplar, Ransom Theory, and Announcement Theory among others. We discuss each one briefly and assess the merits of each....
-
Has Identity Theology Gone Too Far?
We all have a unique perspective. Our life experience influences how we think and the wisdom we can bring to a conversation, even a theological one. Yet, we can still wonder about the projects known by their reference to identity such as black theology, queer theology, feminist theology, and...
-
Should We Ditch Democracy? feat. Dr. Jason Brennan
Political division and polarization in America have reached a fever pitch. Civic discourse has become a landscape nearly devoid of the intellectual virtues. And in the midst of this, we still make our decisions in a largely democratic fashion where hardly anyone actually is informed on any...
-
How the Bible Actually Works feat. Pete Enns
Have you ever had a new experience or idea that has led you to have even more questions about something in the Bible? Or wondered about what the Bible even is? Or what to do with it? We sure have and our guest Dr. Pete Enns has too! Pete has been a spiritual luminary for us as we have navigated…
more -
Is the Bible Myth?
Some streams of modern biblical scholarship have pointed out the mythological nature of certain biblical texts and have attempted to "demythologize" them - to sift out the supernatural, wild bits in order to find the moral, theological principles embedded in the stories. Is this the right...
-
Tracts, Facts, and Loving Acts - How to Share Your Faith
Sharing one's faith has always been a central "right-practice" in the Christian faith. Following Jesus well means sharing him with others in some way. But, how best to do it? What are the various forms of sharing that manifest throughout the church? We share stories of our own evangelistic…
more
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
A podcast all about exploring big ideas and discovering truth together
HOSTED BY
opentotruth
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Open to Truth have?
Open to Truth currently has 90 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Open to Truth about?
A podcast all about exploring big ideas and discovering truth together
How often does Open to Truth release new episodes?
Open to Truth has 90 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Open to Truth?
You can listen to Open to Truth on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Open to Truth?
Open to Truth is created and hosted by opentotruth.
URL copied to clipboard!