Digital Public Square

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Matthew Kaemingk, an ethics and theology professor at Fuller Theological Seminary and editor of Reformed Public Theology: A Global Vision for Life in the World. Today, we talk about a reformed vision for public theology and ethics.

Meet Dr. Kaemingk: 

Dr. Matthew Kaemingk is a public theologian who explores questions facing Christians serving in politics, culture, and the marketplace. He teaches ethics and public theology at Fuller Theological Seminary, where he holds the Richard John Mouw Chair of Faith and Public Life. He also serves as a research fellow at the Center for Public Justice.

Resources:

• Reformed Public Theology by Matthew Kaemingk
• Work and Worship by Matthew Kaemingk
• Lectures on Calvinism by Abraham Kuyper
• Calvinism for a Secular Age by Robert and Jessica Joustra
• All That God Cares About by Richard Mouw
• When the Kings Come Marching in by Richard Mouw
• Culture Making by Andy Crouch

Starting September 27th, we are relaunching WeeklyTech as the Digital Public Square podcast. Starting next week, I will be joined by some of our society's most influential thinkers and leaders to talk about the pressing issues of theology, ethics, and philosophy in the public square. If you already have subscribed, you will automatically get the new episodes or you can subscribe here.

In this episode, I am joined by Jeremy Peckham, author of the recent book Masters or Slaves? AI and the Future of Humanity. We talk about ethics and artificial intelligence.

Meet Jeremy: 

Mr. Peckham has spent much of his career in the field of artificial intelligence, and founded his first company in 1993 which was listed on the London Stock Exchange. He is part of a growing network of Christians in Europe and North America interested in AI and has spoken regularly at the Annual European Leadership Forum.

Resources:

• Masters or Slaves? by Jeremy Peckham
• Masters or Slaves? Study Guide
• jeremypeckham.com

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. David Koyzis, a Global Scholar for Global Scholars Canada and author of Political Visions and Illusions: A Survey and Christian Critique of Contemporary Ideologies.

Meet Dr. Koyzis: 

David T. Koyzis taught politics for thirty years at Redeemer University College. He is the author of the award-winning Political Visions and Illusions (also translated into Portuguese and shortly to be translated into Spanish as well) and We Answer to Another: Authority, Office, and the Image of God.

Resources:

• Political Visions and Illusions by David Koyzis
• Creation Regained by Albert Wolters
• Why Liberalism Failed by Patrick Deneen
• The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman
• A conversation with Dr. Carl Trueman on the modern self and the sexual revolution

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Jeffrey Bilbro, associate professor of English at Grove City College and the author of a new book entitled Reading the Times: A Literary and Theological Inquiry into the News.

Meet Dr. Bilbro: 
Jeffrey Bilbro is the editor-in-chief of Front Porch Republic and associate professor of English at Grove City College. He holds a PhD from Baylor University. He has written for Christianity Today, First Thing, Comment Magazine, and The Gospel Coalition. He is also the author of Loving God’s Wildness: The Christian Roots of Ecological Ethics in American Literature and Virtues of Renewal: Wendell Berry’s Sustainable Forms.

Resources:

• Reading the Times by Jeffrey Bilbro
• Breaking Bread with the Dead by Alan Jacobs
• The Tech-Wise Family by Andy Crouch
• Tools for Conviviality by Ivan Illich
• Walden or Life Without Principle by Henry David Thoreau

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Evan Lenow of Mississippi College and Dr. Mark Liederbach of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. We talk about their new book Ethics as Worship: The Pursuit of Moral Discipleship.

Meet Dr. Lenow: 

Dr. Evan Lenow serves as the Director of Church and Minister Relations at Mississippi College. He also serves as the Director of the Clinton Extension of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Prior to arriving at Mississippi College, he served as Associate Professor of Ethics and Director of the Land Center for Cultural Engagement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Christian ethics from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC.

Meet Dr. Liederbach:
Dr. Mark Liederbach serves as Professor of Theology, Ethics and Culture, Vice President for Student Services, and Dean of Students at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He holds a PhD from the University of Virginia. He is the author of Chasing Infinity: Discipleship as the Pursuit of Infinite Treasure; Defending the Faith, Engaging the Culture and True North: Christ, The Gospel, and Creation Care.

Resources:

• Ethics as Worship by Mark Liederbach and Evan Lenow
• Introduction to Biblical Ethics by David W. Jones
• Doctrine of the Christian Life by John Frame
• Christian Ethics by Wayne Grudem
• Counter Culture by David Platt
• Basic Christian Ethics by Dan Heimbach (forthcoming)

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Keith Stanglin of the Center for Christian Studies in Austin, Texas and the author of a new book entitled Ethics Beyond Rules: How Christ’s Call to Love Informs our Moral Choices.

Meet Dr. Stanglin: 

Keith D. Stanglin (PhD, Calvin Theological Seminary) is Director of the Center for Christian Studies in Austin, Texas, and professor of theology at Heritage Christian University in Florence, Alabama. He is author of several books, including The Letter and Spirit of Biblical Interpretation, The Reformation to the Modern Church, and Jacob Arminius: Theologian of Grace.

Resources:

• Ethics Beyond Rules by Keith Stanglin
• What We Can’t Not Know by J. Budziszewski
• The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
• 1984 by George Orwell
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
• Technopoly by Neil Postman
• “A conversation with Dr. Carl Trueman on the modern self and the sexual revolution“

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Christian Miller, professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University and director of the Honesty Project. We talk about his new book from Oxford University Press, Honesty: The Philosophy and Psychology of a Neglected Virtue.

Meet Dr. Miller: 

Christian B. Miller is the A. C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University. He is currently the Director of the Honesty Project. He is the author of over 100 academic papers as well as four books, including Moral Character: An Empirical Theory (2013), Character and Moral Psychology (2014), The Character Gap: How Good Are We? (2017), and Moral Psychology (2021). He is a science contributor for Forbes, and his writings have also appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Dallas Morning News, Slate, The Conversation, Newsweek, and Christianity Today. 

Resources:

• Honesty by Dr. Christian Miller
• Nichomachean Ethics by Aristotle
• Selected Writings by Thomas Aquinas
• The Road to Character by David Brooks
• “A conversation with Dr. Matthew Arbo on public theology and virtue ethics”

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Gregg Allison, professor of Christian theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and we talk about his new book, Embodied: Living as Whole People in a Fractured World.

Meet Dr. Allison:

Gregg Allison received his PhD from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He is the author of many books, including 50 Core Truths of the Christian Faith, The Baker Compact Dictionary of Theological Terms, Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine, and Sojourners and Strangers: The Doctrine of the Church. He serves as secretary of the Evangelical Theological Society and is a book review editor for the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society. Gregg is also a pastor of Sojourn Community Church.

Resources:

• Embodied by Preston Sprinkle
• Wonderfully Made by John Kleinig
• Love Thy Body by Nancy Pearcey
• For The Body by Timothy Tennant
• What God Has to Say about Our Bodies by Sam Allberry
• Embodied by Gregg Allison

In this episode, I am joined by Patricia Shaw, an AI ethics, strategy, policy, and governance consultant, who serves as CEO of Beyond Reach Consulting Limited based in the UK. We talk about AI ethics, digital privacy, and online governance.

Meet Patricia:

Trish has over 20 years’ experience as a Solicitor advising on data, technology, financial services, and regulatory/government affairs. As a writer and public speaker, Trish is an expert adviser on numerous governance initiatives and guidelines in the European Union.

She is also the Chair of the UK’s Society for Computers and Law, on the Board of the iTechlaw, as well as Vice Chair of iTechlaw’s AI Committee, and is on the steering committee of Women Leading in AI.  She has recently been listed as one of the 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics™.

She is particularly concerned about the role AI and automated decision making can have on individuals, people groups, society, and the planet. As a Christian, she is passionate about raising awareness of AI and being an advocate of responsible AI, AI governance and AI ethics policy regulation mainly in and through the Homo Responsiblis Initiative.

Resources:

• “Principled Artificial Intelligence” by The Berkman Klein Center at Harvard University
• A conversation with Dr. Jacob Shatzer about transhumanism, technology, and parenting
• The Age of Surveillance Capitalism by Shoshana Zuboff
• Masters or Slaves? by Jeremy Peckham
• Too Much Information? by Andrew Graystone

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Thaddeus Williams, Associate Professor of Theology at Biola University, and we talk about his recent book, Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth, and the role of social media in these divided times.

Meet Dr. Williams:

Dr. Williams serves as an associate professor of systematic theology at Biola University in California. He has also taught Philosophy and Literature at Saddleback College, Jurisprudence at Trinity Law School, and was a lecturer in Worldview Studies at L’Abri Fellowships in Switzerland and Holland, as well as teaching Ethics for Blackstone Legal Fellowship through the Federalist Society in Washington D.C. He resides in Orange County, CA with his wife and four kids.

Resources:

• Confronting Injustice without Compromising Truth by Thaddeus Williams
• Real Christianity by William Wilberforce
• The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman (Who we hosted on WeeklyTech earlier this year)

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Geoffrey Fulkerson, the Director of the Carl F.H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and Joel Chopp, Project & Communications Manager at the Henry Center, and we talk about a new volume they co-edited, Science and the Doctrine of Creation: The Approaches of Ten Modern Theologians.

Meet Dr. Fulkerson:

Prior to walking with the Lord and his love for theology, Dr. Fulkerson studied Communications at University of Illinois. He then spent the last decade pursuing theological education, completing a Master of Divinity and PhD in Systematic Theology at TEDS.

Meet Joel Chopp:

Joel Chopp earned a MA in Systematic Theology from TEDS in 2014 and then enrolled at the University of Toronto to pursue a PhD in Systematic Theology. After finishing coursework, Chopp returned to TEDS in the summer of 2016 to assume the role of Project & Communications manager for the Henry Center.

Resources:

• Science and the Doctrine of Creation edited by Dr. Geoffrey Fulkerson and Joel Chopp
• Retrieving Augustine’s Doctrine of Creation by Gavin Ortlund
• Science, Religion, and the Protestant Tradition by James C. Ungureanu
• Reading Genesis Well by C. John Collins
• The Triune Creator by Colin E. Gunton

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Alan Noble, who serves as associate professor of English at Oklahoma Baptist University, and we talk about his most recent book Disruptive Witness: Speaking Truth in a Distracted Age.

Meet Dr. Noble:

Dr. Noble also serves as the co-founder and editor in chief of Christ and Pop Culture, and as an advisor for the AND Campaign. He has written for The Atlantic, Vox, BuzzFeed, The Gospel Coalition, Christianity Today, and First Things. He is also the author of an upcoming book coming out this year entitled, You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an inhuman world

Resources:

• Disruptive Witness by Alan Noble
• You Are Not Your Own by Alan Noble
• How (Not) to be Secular by James K.A. Smith
• Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
• Technological Society by Jacques Ellul
• Leisure: The Basics of Culture by Josef Pieper

In this episode, I am joined by my friend Ben Mandrell, President & CEO of Lifeway Christian Resources, and we talk about the changes to ministry and publishing in this digital age.

Meet Ben Mandrell:

Ben came to Lifeway from his role as lead pastor at Storyline Fellowship in Arvada, Colorado. He is a graduate of Anderson University and also holds a Master of Divinity degree from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. Mandrell and his wife, Lynley, have been married 18 years, and they have four children.

Resources:

• The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
• Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
• The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer

In this episode, I am joined by my ERLC colleague Josh Wester, who serves as the chair of research in Christian Ethics and director of content. We talk to Mary Eberstadt who is an American essayist, novelist, and author of numerous books including How the West Really Lost God and Primal Screams.

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Meet Mary Eberstadt: 

Mary Eberstadt holds the Panula Chair in Christian Culture at the Catholic Information Center in Washington, D.C. She is also a senior fellow at the Faith and Reason Institute. She is the author of several books including, most recently, Primal Screams: How the Sexual Revolution Created Identity Politics. Her work and updates about her appearances can be found on her website, maryeberstadt.com.

Resources:

• How the West Really Lost God by Mary Eberstadt
• Primal Screams by Mary Eberstadt
• The Complete Stories by Flannery O'Connor
• The Gulag Archipelago by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. David VanDrunen, Professor of Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics at Westminster Seminary California, and we talk about his latest book, “Politics After Christendom.”

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Meet Dr. VanDrunen:

Dr. VanDrunen, a minister of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, began teaching at Westminster Seminary California in 2001. He formerly served as a pastor of Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Hanover Park, IL, and currently serves on the Orthodox Presbyterian Church’s Committee on Christian Education and Subcommittee on Ministerial Training. He does much of his current research and writing at the intersection of systematic theology, biblical studies, ethics, and legal and political theory. He was the recipient of the Acton Institute’s Novak Award for 2004, a visiting fellow at the Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University in 2009, and a Henry Luce III Fellow in Theology for 2016-17.

Resources:

• Politics after Christendom by David VanDrunen
• City of God (Abridged) by Saint Augustine (Book 19)
• Political Church by Jonathan Leeman
• Politics for the Greatest Good by Clark Forsythe

In this episode, I am joined by my friend, Dr. Andrew Walker, associate professor of Christian ethics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and we talk about his new book “Liberty for All.”

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Meet Dr. Walker: 

Andrew Walker also serves as executive director of the Carl F. H. Henry Institute for Evangelical Engagement in Louisville, Kentucky. He previously served as senior fellow in Christian ethics at the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. He is the author of “God and the Transgender Debate,” named the best book in public theology in 2017 by The Gospel Coalition, coauthor of “Marriage Is: How Marriage Transforms Society and Cultivates Human Flourishing,” and coeditor of the “Gospel for Life'' series.

Resources:

• Natural Law and Religious Freedom by J. Daryl Charles
• Christianity and Freedom: Volume 1 - Historical Perspectives by Timothy Shah and Allen Hertzke
• Christianity and Freedom: Volume 2 - Contemporary Perspectives by Timothy Shah and Allen Hertzke
• Liberty for All by Andrew Walker

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Jonathan Armstrong, Professor of Bible at Moody Bible Institute, and Dr. Darrell Bock, Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary, and we talk about their latest book, “Virtual Reality Church.”

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Meet Dr. Armstrong:

Dr. Armstrong, lectures in New Testament studies and church history. He consults at the intersection of faith and technology and serves as the president of the Aqueduct Project. He lives in the Chicago area with his wife and three children.

Meet Dr. Bock:

Dr. Bock has earned recognition as a Humboldt Scholar in Germany, and is the author of more than forty books, including well-regarded commentaries on Luke and Acts and studies of the historical Jesus. He previously served as president of the Evangelical Theological Society and is a consulting editor for Christianity Today.

Resources:

• Virtual Reality Church: Pitfalls and Possibilities (Or How to Think Biblically about Church in Your Pajamas, VR Baptisms, Jesus Avatars, and Whatever Else is Coming Next) by Dr. Jonathan Armstrong and Dr. Darrell Bock
• Creating Church Online: Ritual, Community and New Media by Tim Hutchings
• Habits of the High-Tech Heart: Living Virtuously in the Information Age by Quentin J. Schultze

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Matthew Arbo, Associate Professor of Theological Studies and Director of the Center for Faith and Public Life at Oklahoma Baptist University, and we talk about his work in public theology and virtue ethics.

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Meet Dr. Arbo:

Prior to his arrival at OBU, Dr. Arbo served for three years as Assistant Professor of Christian Ethics at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Missouri. He is the author of The Virtues: An Introduction and Outline, Walking Through Infertility: Biblical, Theological, and Moral Counsel for those who are Struggling, and Political Vanity: Adam Ferguson on the Moral Tensions of Early Capitalism. His essays and articles on wide-ranging moral and political questions appear in several edited volumes and top-tier journals.

Resources:

• Major Works on Religion and Politics by Reinhold Niebuhr
• Cost of Discipleship by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• The Essential Kierkegaard by Søren Kierkegaard
• Ferguson: An Essay on the History of Civil Society edited by Fania Oz-Salzberge

In this episode, I am joined by Dr. Matthew Shadle, Associate Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at Marymount University, and we talk about ethics, autonomous weapons, and cyber warfare.

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Meet Dr. Shadle:

Dr. Matthew Shaydle joined the Marymount faculty in 2014, and lives in northern Virginia with his wife. His writing focuses on Catholic social ethics, especially the ethics of war and peace, immigration, and economic life. His work has been published in journals such as Horizons, the Journal of Catholic Social Thought, Political Theology, and the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics.

Resources:

• Cyber War versus Cyber Realities: Cyber Conflict in the International System by Brandon Valeriano and Ryan C. Maness
• The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Powerby Shoshana Zuboff