Digital Public Square

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Felicia Wu Song, cultural sociologist and author of a recent book entitled Restless Devices: Recovering Personhood, Presence, and Place in the Digital Age. Today, we talk about how technological devices form us and how to gain control over them.

Meet Dr. Song: 

Felicia Wu Song earned her PhD from the University of Virginia and currently serves as professor of sociology at Westmont College in Santa Barbara. Her publications include Virtual Communities: Bowling Alone, Online Together and articles in such scholarly journals as Gender & Society and Information, Communication & Society.

Resources:

• Restless Devices by Felicia Wu Song
• Power Failure by Albert Borgmann
• Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren
• The Common Rule by Justin Earley

The Digital Public Square is a production of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and is produced and hosted by Jason Thacker.

Production assistance is provided by Cameron Hayner. Technical production provided by Owens Productions. It is edited and mixed by Mark Owens.

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Adonis Vidu, professor of theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and author of a new book called The Same God Who Works All Things: Inseparable Operations in Trinitarian Theology. Today, we talk about the doctrine of the trinity and inseparable operations.

Meet Dr. Vidu: 

Dr. Vidu earned his Ph.D. from the University of Nottingham and came to Gordon-Conwell from his native Romania, where he previously taught at Emmanuel University and the University of Bucharest. He is a constructive theologian who is involved in a recovery of the patristic and medieval Trinitarian theology for the contemporary church. He is also the author of Atonement, Law, and Justice: The Cross in Historical and Cultural Contexts, Theology after Neo- Pragmatism, and Postliberal Theological Method: A Critical Study.

Resources:

• The Same God Who Works All Things by Adonis Vidu
• Contemplating God with the Great Tradition by Craig Carter
• The Deep Things of God by Fred Sanders
• Simply Trinity by Matthew Barrett
• Which Trinity? by Thomas McCall
• The Trinity by Augustine
• Delighting in the Trinity by Michael Reeves
• The One, the Three and the Many by Colin Gunton
• God For Us by Catherine Mowry LaCugna

The Digital Public Square is a production of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and is produced and hosted by Jason Thacker.

Production assistance is provided by Cameron Hayner. Technical production provided by Owens Productions. It is edited and mixed by Mark Owens.

In this episode, I am joined by Tony Reinke, a non-profit journalist and author of numerous books including God, Technology, and the Christian Life. Today, we talk about a biblical theology of technology and how it affects the Christian life.

Meet Tony: 
Tony Reinke also serves as senior teacher and host of the Ask Pastor John podcast at Desiring God. He is the author of Lit!: A Christian Guide to Reading Books, Competing Spectacles, and 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You.

Resources:

• God, Technology, and the Christian Life by Tony Reinke
• Common Grace by Abraham Kuyper
• 12 Ways Your Phone Is Changing You by Tony Reinke

As a special treat for newsletter and podcast subscribers, we have partnered with Lexham Press to offer 30% off the newly completed Collected Works of Public Theology by Abraham Kuyper in hardback or Logos editions.

Use code DPSFEB22 or visit lexhampress.com/digitalpublicsquare to learn more. This special discount expires on March 15th.

The Digital Public Square is an audio production of Owens Productions. It’s produced by Jason Thacker and production assistance is provided by Cameron Hayner. It is edited and mixed by Mark Owens.

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Benjamin Gladd, associate professor of New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary and editor of a series of volumes on biblical theology with InterVarsity Press. Today, we talk about biblical theology and the image of God.

Meet Dr. Gladd: 
Dr. Gladd earned his PhD from Wheaton College and prior to joining the RTS faculty, he served as an adjunct faculty member at Wheaton, teaching New Testament exegesis and interpretation, Greek, and introductory courses on the Old and New Testaments. In addition to his work at RTS, Dr. Gladd has been a member of the editorial board for the online journal, Themelios, since 2019. He is the author of numerous works and serves as the series editor for Essential Studies in Biblical Theology, which includes his work From Adam and Israel to the Church: A Biblical Theology of the People of God.

Resources:

• From Adam to Israel by Benjamin L. Gladd
• Essential Studies in Biblical Theology edited by Benjamin L. Gladd
• Created in God’s Image by Anthony Hoekema

As a special treat for newsletter and podcast subscribers, we have partnered with Lexham Press to offer 30% off the newly completed Collected Works of Public Theology by Abraham Kuyper in hardback or Logos editions.

Use code DPSFEB22 or visit lexhampress.com/digitalpublicsquare to learn more. This special discount expires on March 15th.

The Digital Public Square is an audio production of Owens Productions. It’s produced by Jason Thacker and production assistance is provided by Cameron Hayner. It is edited and mixed by Mark Owens.

In this episode, I am joined by my Drs. Jessica and Robert Joustra, co-editors of a new volume called Calvinism for a Secular Age: A Twenty-First-Century Reading of Abraham Kuyper’s Stone Lectures. Today, we talk about Kuyper’s influence and a Reformed approach to our secular age.

Meet Jessica: 

Jessica Joustra (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary and the Free University of Amsterdam) is assistant professor of religion and theology at Redeemer University and an associate researcher at the Neo-Calvinist Research Institute at the Theological University of Kampen (NL). She is an editor and translator of Herman Bavinck’s Reformed Ethics and associate editor for the Bavinck Review.

Meet Robert:

Robert J. Joustra (PhD, University of Bath) is associate professor of politics and international studies and the founding director of the Centre for Christian Scholarship at Redeemer University College. He is the author of The Religious Problem with Religious Freedom and the coauthor of The Church’s Social Responsibility, The Persecuted Church, How to Survive the Apocalypse, and God and the Global Order.

Resources:

• Calvinism for a Secular Age by Jessica and Robert Joustra
• Collected Works of Public Theology by Abraham Kuyper
• Abraham Kuyper by James Bratt
• Abraham Kuyper: An Introduction by Richard Mouw
• To Be Near unto God by Abraham Kuyper
• Honey from the Rock by Abraham Kuyper
• Christ and Culture by Klaas Schilder

As a special treat for newsletter and podcast subscribers, we have partnered with Lexham Press to offer 30% off the newly completed Collected Works of Public Theology by Abraham Kuyper in hardback or Logos editions.

Use code DPSFEB22 or visit lexhampress.com/digitalpublicsquare to learn more. This special discount expires on March 15th.

The Digital Public Square is an audio production of Owens Productions. It’s produced by Jason Thacker and production assistance is provided by Cameron Hayner. It is edited and mixed by Mark Owens.

In this episode, I am joined by Chris Martin, the author of a recent book entitled Terms of Service: The Real Cost of Social Media. Today, we talk about how technology is forming us and what to do about it.

Meet Chris: 

Chris Martin is a content marketing editor at Moody Publishers and a social media, marketing, and communications consultant. He has led social media strategy at Lifeway Christian Resources and advised some of the foremost Christian leaders and authors on digital content strategy. He writes regularly at TermsOfService.social.

Resources:

• Terms of Service by Chris Martin
• Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
• Irresistible by Adam Alter
• The Attention Merchants by Tim Wu
• No Filter by Sarah Frier
• “Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change” by Neil Postman

The Digital Public Square is a production of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and is produced and hosted by Jason Thacker.

Production assistance is provided by Cameron Hayner. Technical production provided by Owens Productions. It is edited and mixed by Mark Owens.

In this episode, I am joined by Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian, the China reporter for Axios. Today, we talk about the Chinese communist party, the upcoming Winter Olympic games in Beijing, and state of global affairs.

Meet Bethany:

Bethany leads the weekly Axios China newsletter and she covers China’s role in the world. She was previously a staff editor and contributing reporter at Foreign Policy magazine, where she wrote investigations, deeply reported narratives, and analysis related to China. She is also writing a book about China for HarperCollins entitled Beijing Rules: Capitalism, the Coronavirus, and China’s Quest for Global Influence due to release in spring 2023.

Resources:

• Red Carpet by Erich Schwartzel
• The War on the Uyghurs by Sean R. Roberts
• The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom by John Pomfret
• Freedom by Nathan Law
• Ai Superpowers by Kai-Fu Lee
• The Third Revolution by Elizabeth C. Economy

The Digital Public Square is a production of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and is produced and hosted by Jason Thacker.

Production assistance is provided by Cameron Hayner. Technical production provided by Owens Productions. It is edited and mixed by Mark Owens.

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Matt Emerson, co-executive director of the Center for Baptist Renewal and editor of Baptists and the Christian Tradition: Towards and Evangelical Baptist Catholicity . Today, we talk about Baptists and their place amongst the Christian tradition.

Meet Dr. Emerson: 
Dr. Emerson is dean of theology, arts, & humanities at Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, as well as co-executive director of the Center for Baptist Renewal. His areas of interest include biblical theology, canonical interpretation, theological method, and Baptist theology. He is author of ‘He Descended to the Dead’: An Evangelical Theology of Holy Saturday, and an editor of Baptists and the Christian Tradition: Towards an Evangelical Baptist Catholicity.

Resources:

• Center for Baptist Renewal
• CBR Reading Challenge
• Baptists and the Christian Tradition edited by Matt Emerson, Luke Stamps, and Christopher Morgan

Credits:

Podcast Coordinator: Cameron Hayner

Audio Producer: Mark Owens, Owens Productions

In this episode, I am joined by my ERLC colleague Chelsea Sobolik who serves as our director of public policy in Washington, DC. Today, we talk about the ERLC’s public policy priorities in 2022 and how we engage government officials at both the state and federal levels.

Meet Chelsea: 

Chelsea has worked on Capitol Hill on pro-life policies, domestic and international religious freedom, adoption, and foster care issues in a number of different roles prior to coming to the ERLC. She has been published at the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, and others. She is the author of Longing for Motherhood – Holding onto Hope in the Midst of Childlessness, and a forthcoming book on women and work. She has a B.A. in International Relations from Liberty University, and lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband Michael.

Resources:

• ERLC Public Policy Agenda for 2022
• Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller
• The Common Rule by Justin Earley
• The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer

Credits:

Podcast Coordinator: Cameron Hayner

Audio Producer: Mark Owens, Owens Productions

In this episode, I talk about four of the top ethical issues in technology to watch out for this year and how Christians can begin to navigate these issues in the public square.

Resources:

Digital Public Square Research Project

WeeklyTech Newsletter

Pre-order my new book – Following Jesus in a Digital Age (Amazon, Lifeway, Barnes and Noble)

Articles:

Should the government regulate social media?

Jan. 6 was fueled by misinformation. More content moderation won’t fix it.

3 words that will shape digital culture for good and cultivate virtue in the public square

The California Consumer Privacy Act and how it affects you

The purpose of privacy

What is digital authoritarianism?

How the Chinese Communist Party is committing genocide against Uyghur Muslims

In this episode, I am joined by Dan Strange, the author of a recent book entitled Making Faith Magnetic: Five Hidden Themes Our Culture Can’t Stop Talking About and How to Connect them to Christ. Today, we talk about evangelism and apologetics in contemporary culture.

Meet Dr. Strange: 
Dan is the director of Crosslands Forum, a center for cultural engagement and missional innovation. He is a contributing editor for Themelios journal and is a member of Hope Community Church in the UK. He is also the vice president of The Southgate Fellowship. His most recent books are Plugged In (The Good Book Company, 2019), and Making Faith Magnetic (The Good Book Company, 2021).

Resources:

• Making Faith Magnetic by Daniel Strange
• Plugged In by Daniel Strange
• The J.H. Bavinck Reader by John Bolt, James Bratt, and Paul Visser
• Christian Worldview by Herman Bavinck
• Thinking Through Creation by Christopher Watkin

Credits:

Podcast Coordinator: Cameron Hayner

Audio Producer: Mark Owens, Owens Productions

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Karen Swallow Prior, research professor of English and Christianity and Culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and editor of a series of guides through classical works of literature with B&H Books. Today, we talk about the importance of reading older books and the value of literature.

Meet Dr. Prior: 
Karen Swallow Prior is the author of Booked: Literature in the Soul of Me, Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More, and On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books. She is co-editor of Cultural Engagement: A Crash Course in Contemporary Issues (Zondervan 2019) and has contributed to numerous other books. Her writing has appeared at Christianity Today, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, First Things, Vox, The Gospel Coalition, and numerous other outlets.

Resources:

• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
• B&H Classics with Karen Swallow Prior
• Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
• Booked by Karen Swallow Prior

Credits:

Podcast Coordinator: Cameron Hayner

Audio Producer: Mark Owens, Owens Productions

In this episode, I am joined by Jonathan Rauch, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and author of the recent book, The Constitution of Knowledge: A Defense of Truth. Today, we talk about the rise and spread of misinformation and falsehood.

Meet Jonathan: 
Jonathan Rauch is a senior fellow in the Governance Studies program at the Brookings and the author of eight books and numerous articles on public policy, culture, and government. He is a contributing writer of The Atlantic and recipient of the 2005 National Magazine Award, the magazine industry’s equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize.

Resources:

• The Constitution of Knowledge by Jonathan Rauch
• A Lot of People Are Saying by Russell Muirhead and Nancy Rosenblum
• Truth Decay by Jennifer Kavanagh and Michael D. Rich
• Post-Truth by Lee McIntyre
• On Liberty by John Stuart Mill
• Braver Angels

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Alan Noble, professor and author of the recent book, You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World. Today, we talk about false promises of contemporary life and how the gospel reorients our pursuit of identity in the digital age.

Meet Dr. Noble: 
Alan Noble (PhD, Baylor University) is associate professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University, co-founder and editor in chief of Christ and Pop Culture, and an advisor for the AND Campaign. He is also the author of Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age. He has written for numerous outlets, including Atlantic, Vox, BuzzFeed, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, and First Things.

Resources:

• You Are Not Your Own by Alan Noble
• Lost in the Cosmos by Walker Percy
• Leisure by Josef Pieper
• Liquid Modernity by Zygmunt Bauman
• The Weariness of the Self by Alain Ehrenberg

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Ray Ortlund, longtime pastor and the author of The Death of Porn: Men of Integrity Building a World of Nobility. Today, we talk about a gospel vision for combating pornography in community.

Meet Dr. Ortlund: 
Ray Ortlund is the President of Renewal Ministries, the Pastor to Pastors at Immanuel Church Nashville, and a Canon Theologian with the Anglican Church in North America. He is the author of several books, including the Preaching the Word commentaries on Isaiah and Proverbs and Marriage and the Mystery of the Gospel. He is also a contributor to the ESV Study Bible. Ray and his wife, Jani, have been married for fifty years.

Resources:

• The Death of Porn by Ray Ortlund
• Gentle and Lowly by Dane C. Ortlund
• The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Dru Johnson, professor and author of Biblical Philosophy: A Hebraic Approach to the Old and New Testaments. Today, we talk about the Bible and philosophy.

Meet Dr. Johnson: 
Dru Johnson is an associate professor of biblical and theological studies at The King’s College in New York City,  director of the Center for Hebraic Thought, editor at The Biblical Mind, host of The Biblical Mind podcast, and co-host of the OnScript Podcast.

Resources:

• Biblical Philosophy by Dru Johnson
• The Philosophy of Hebrew Scriptures by Yoram Hazony
• Jesus the Great Philosopher by Jonathan Pennington
• Longing to Know by Esther Meek
• Scripture Knowing by Dru Johnson
• Biblical Knowing by Dru Johnson
• “Jesus Cares About Your Conspiracy Theory” by Dru Johnson

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Ayman Ibrahim, professor of Islamic studies at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and author of A Concise Guide to the Quran. Today, we talk about the Quran and the Islamic worldview.

Meet Dr. Ibrahim: 

Dr. Ibrahim (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary; PhD, Haifa University) is Bill and Connie Jenkins Professor of Islamic Studies and director of the Center for the Christian Understanding of Islam at Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He was born and raised in Egypt and has taught in various countries in the Muslim world and in the West. His articles on Islam and Christian-Muslim relations have appeared in the Washington Post, Religion News Service, and First Things, among others. Ibrahim is also the author of The Stated Motivations for the Early Islamic Expansion.

Resources:

• A Concise Guide to the Quran by Ayman Ibrahim
• Basics of Arabic by Ayman Ibrahim
• Conversion to Islam by Ayman Ibrahim

In this episode, I am joined by Samuel James, an editor and writer who focuses on issues of theology, technology, and society. Today, we talk about a recent article he wrote about pursuing truth in our digital age and the effects of social media on society.

Meet Samuel:
Samuel serves as associate acquisitions editor at Crossway Books. He is a columnist at World Opinion, a regular contributor to First Things and The Gospel Coalition, and his writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, and National Review. Samuel and his wife Emily live in Louisville, Kentucky with their two children.

Resources:

• The Shallows by Nicholas Carr
• The Coddling of the American Mind by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt
• The Tech-Wise Family by Andy Crouch
• Competing Spectacles by Tony Reinke
• 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You by Tony Reinke
• Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
• "Live not by outrage" by Samuel D. James

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Rhyne Putman, professor of Christian ministries at Williams Baptist University and author of The Method of Christian Theology: A Basic Introduction. Today, we talk about Christian truth and theological method.

Meet Dr. Putman: 

Dr. Putman also serves as Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs and Director of Worldview Formation at WBU. He also is an associate professor of theology and culture at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, where he has served since 2010. He has published numerous articles and books, including In Defense of Doctrine and When Doctrine Divides the People of God.

Resources:

• The Method of Christian Theology by Rhyne Putman
• The Drama of Doctrine by Kevin Vanhoozer
• Faith Speaking Understanding by Kevin Vanhoozer
• Finding the Right Hills to Die On by Gavin Ortlund
• When Doctrine Divides the People of God by Rhyne Putman
• A Practical Primer on Theological Method by Glenn Kreider and Michael Svigel

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Marc LiVecche, executive editor of Providence and author of a new book The Good Kill: Just War and Moral Injury and we talk about the morality of war.

Meet Dr. LiVecche: 
Marc LiVecche serves as the just war and global statecraft scholar with the Institute on Religion and Democracy along with his duties at Providence. He also serves as the McDonald Visiting Scholar at the McDonald Centre for Theology, Ethics, and Public Life at Christ Church College and is a Leadership Research Fellow at the United States Naval Academy. His first book, The Good Kill: Just War and Moral Injury, was published in the summer of 2021 with Oxford University Press.

Resources:

• The Good Kill by Marc LiVecche
• Achilles in Vietnam by Jonathan Shay
• Odysseus in America by Jonathan Shay
• In Defence of War by Nigel Biggar
• What It Is Like To Go Into War by Karl Marlantes
• Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes