Episodes

What if secularization isn't the decline of religion — but the replacement of one social order with another? In this episode, Dr. James Spencer and Dr. Ashish Varma sit down with Dr. Kevin Flatt, professor of history at Redeemer University and author of Secularization, Social Order, and World History, to unpack one of the most provocative frameworks in contemporary Christian thinking: Sacred Social Order. Kevin introduces the idea that every human culture — until the modern West — has organized...

Is "Cultural Christianity" a bridge to the gospel — or a counterfeit that replaces it? In this episode, Dr. James Spencer (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) and Dr. Ashish Varma respond to James Wood's widely-discussed First Things article, In Defense of Cultural Christianity. Together they unpack why calling a civilisation "Christian" when Christ is not its governing authority is not just imprecise — it's theologically catastrophic. From the Christendom narrative and American civil rel...

What does it mean to be human — really? In an age of AI, transhumanism, and relentless technological "progress," Christians are making confident claims about humanity without a solid theological foundation underneath them. In this episode, Dr. James Spencer and Dr. Ashish Varma sit down with Dr. Marc Cortez, Dean of the Litvin School of Divinity at Wheaton College, to explore one of the most urgent and underdeveloped doctrines in Christian thought: theological anthropology. Dr. Cortez challenge...

What if the church is trapped in the same invisible loop as an addict — and doesn't know it? What does addiction science have to do with the body of Christ? More than you'd think. In this follow-up conversation, Dr. James Spencer and Dr. Ashish Varma build on their interview with Dr. David Van Dyke (Wheaton College Marriage & Family Therapy) to explore how systems thinking unlocks a deeper understanding of church health, Christian formation, and why faithful people keep repeating the same destru...

Most people think of mental health as an individual problem. Dr. David J. Van Dyke — professor, marriage and family therapist, and co-host of the With You podcast — thinks that's exactly the wrong frame. In this episode, Dr. Spencer and Ashish sit down with David to unpack how family systems therapy fundamentally reorients the way we see suffering, relationships, and even the gospel itself. From a rebellious teenager who kept losing possessions until there was nothing left to take, to Paul's la...

Is Christian parenting a strict formula to execute, or an art form to practice? In a culture that bombards Christian parents with exhaustive 10-step checklists and uniform blueprints for family life, it is remarkably easy to accidentally provoke or exasperate our children. This week, Dr. James Spencer, PhD and Dr. Ashish Varma return to the podcast to look at fatherhood through the lens of scriptural wisdom rather than cultural anxieties. True biblical wisdom doesn't produce recipe-followers; ...

The Southern Baptist Convention just passed a constitutional amendment restricting women in ministry — and the implications reach far beyond the SBC. In this episode of Thinking Christian, Dr. James Spencer and co-host Ashish Varma sit down with Dr. Beth Allison Barr, historian, Baylor professor, and author of The Making of Biblical Womanhoodand Becoming the Pastor's Wife, to break down what happened, why it matters, and where evangelical Christianity may be heading. Beth traces the amendment's...

What does it actually mean to be a male disciple of Jesus? And why does so much of what gets called "biblical masculinity" look more like cultural bravado than anything Jesus modeled or taught? In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Kutter Callaway, associate professor of theology and psychology at Fuller Seminary and author of Theology for Psychology and Counseling, to dig into those questions. We talk through how we got here, because this didn't just appear out of nowhere. There's a history, a re...

🤔 What if Old Testament laws aren’t outdated rules to follow, but a deep, tangible story we are invited to practice? 🎙️ In this episode of Thinking Christian, host James Spencer is joined once again by Rebecca Josberger and Renee Duffy from the Bible Unbranded podcast to tackle one of the most debated topics in biblical study: how to interpret Old Testament law through a theological framework. 🗺️ Using the command of the Sabbath as their core anchor ⚓, the team unpacks how the ancient laws in ...

s the Old Testament Law a heavy burden to be avoided, or a guide to the heart of the Lawgiver? 📜🤔 In this installment of our crossover series with the Bible Unbranded podcast, Dr. James Spencer, Renee Duffy, and Dr. Rebekah Josberger tackle the common misconceptions surrounding Biblical Law. Far from being an obsolete set of rules, the law—and specifically the Sabbath command—reveals deep theological truths about who God is and how He cares for His creation. In this episode, we discuss: Rehabi...

For many Christians, the Book of Deuteronomy feels like a dense wilderness of repetitive laws and ancient regulations that seem disconnected from a vibrant relationship with Jesus. 📜📉 In this episode of Thinking Christian, Dr. James Spencer sits down with Renee Duffy and Dr. Rebekah Josberger from the Bible Unbranded podcast to flip the script. They reveal that Deuteronomy isn't a burden—it’s the "backbone" of the Bible. By exploring the specific "if-then" commands and Moses' final heartfelt se...

Is there a "secret recipe" for biblical fatherhood, or have we been looking at the wrong map? 🗺️🧔 In this special Father's Day episode of Thinking Christian, Dr. James Spencer and Dr. Ashish Varma sit down to discuss the weight and wonder of Christian fatherhood. Moving beyond cultural stereotypes, they dive into Ephesians 5 and 6 to explore how a father’s role is rooted not in dominance, but in the wisdom of the Spirit and the mutual submission of the household. In this episode, we discuss: W...

Is our modern definition of "toughness" actually biblical, or is it just a shadow of the ancient world? 🏛️💭 In this intellectually stimulating episode of Thinking Christian, Dr. James Spencer and Dr. Ashish Varma explore the intersection of virtue ethics and theology. They look back at how the ancient world understood masculinity and femininity in relation to the virtues and ask: How did the early church transform these ideas into a call for all disciples? In this episode, we discuss: Virtue E...

Is 1 Timothy 3 a list of "manly" traits, or a calling for the entire Body of Christ? 📋🤔 In this episode of Thinking Christian, Dr. James Spencer and Dr. Ashish Varma dive into one of the most cited texts in the "biblical manhood" debate: 1 Timothy 3. They challenge the common assumption that the characteristics of overseers and deacons are exclusively masculine, demonstrating how these same virtues are applied to women and the broader community throughout the New Testament. In this episode, we...

If we move past the confusing labels of "biblical manhood," what are we actually left with? 🗺️❓ In the final visionary installment of this series on Thinking Christian, Dr. James Spencer and Dr. Ashish Varma address the "void" left behind when we deconstruct faulty masculinity frameworks. If "biblical manhood" as a standalone category is unclear and often unhelpful, what is the concrete path forward for men in the church? In this episode, we discuss: The "Void" Problem: Why taking away a flawe...

Are we following Jesus, or just a "masculine" version of ourselves? 🗺️🤔 In this episode of Thinking Christian, Dr. James Spencer and Dr. Ashish Varma dismantle the common "mapping" errors in the biblical manhood conversation. They argue that many modern frameworks for masculinity are actually "second-order" cultural reactions rather than "first-order" biblical truths. In this episode, we discuss: How to Lie with Maps: Understanding how the "abbreviations" we use to define manhood can lead to u...

Does being a "Biblical Man" mean fitting into a specific cultural mold? 🗺️🤨 In this installment of Thinking Christian, Dr. James Spencer and Dr. Ashish Varma tackle the "methodological problem" that often distorts our view of masculinity. They argue that we’ve spent too much time trying to define "manhood" through cultural reactions and not enough time following Jesus as disciples. In this episode, we discuss: The "Lying Map": How we allow cultural abbreviations to simplify our understanding o...

If we throw away the old, distorted maps of manhood, what do we use to navigate instead? 🗺️📍 In this episode of Thinking Christian, Dr. James Spencer and Dr. Ashish Varma move into the constructive phase of their series. They explore how to redraw the "map" of male discipleship by centering it on the authority of Christ rather than cultural reactions. In this episode, we discuss: The Problem with Over-Correction: Why reacting to a "crisis in masculinity" often leads to a distorted, machismo-fo...

What happens when the "old maps" of masculinity fail us? 🗺️📉 In this follow-up episode of Thinking Christian, Dr. James Spencer and Dr. Ashish Varma move from critique to construction. If the cultural and traditional "maps" of biblical manhood are distorted, how do we redraw them without falling back into the same traps? They explore how to approach male discipleship when the old frameworks have failed, focusing on the character of Christ rather than cultural caricatures. In this episode, we d...

Is the current conversation around "Biblical Manhood" giving us a clear path, or just a distorted map? 🗺️🤔 In the season premiere of our new series on Thinking Christian, Dr. James Spencer and Dr. Ashish Varma dive deep into the "methodological problem" at the heart of the modern masculinity debate. Drawing inspiration from the classic book How to Lie with Maps, they explore how abbreviations and cultural shortcuts can lead us away from reality and toward a "machismo" caricature of Jesus. In t...

How did we get here? From the Enlightenment to the rise of Postmodernism, the landscape of what we believe about God has shifted beneath our feet. In this episode of Thinking Christian, Dr. James Spencer sits down with renowned theologian Dr. Roger E. Olson (Emeritus Professor at Baylor University) to map out the fascinating—and often turbulent—history of modern theology. They explore the tension between tradition and the "modern mind," discussing how giants like Schleiermacher, Barth, and Bonh...

In a world that demands instant results, we’ve found a thousand new ways to numb the pain of existence. Join Dr. James Spencer and Dr. Ben Mathew for the final installment of our series as they tackle the normalization of "quick-fix" drugs—from anabolic steroids and TRT in the fitness world to the rise of GLP-1s like Ozempic. We explore the dangerous trade-offs of modern biohacking and why the Christian life calls us to lean into the "friction" of reality rather than anesthetizing ourselves aga...

Are we asking therapy to do something it was never designed to do? In this episode of Thinking Christian, Dr. James Spencer and Dr. Ben Mathew take a provocative look at the "Counseling Industry" and its role in a collapsed culture. While therapy is a vital tool for clinical challenges, Dr. Mathew shares the growing trend of counselors feeling like "paid friends" for people who are simply missing the basic structures of a healthy life. We dive into why the clinical office is a great place to me...

Loneliness isn't just a "feeling"—it’s a structural crisis. In this episode of Thinking Christian, Dr. James Spencer and Dr. Ben Mathew take a hard look at the "Epidemic of Loneliness" and why our modern way of life is practically designed to keep us isolated. Building on the "Embodied Leg" of our mental health stool, we explore how the transition from a "physical" world to a "convenience" world has stripped away the natural friction that used to bring us together. It’s time to move past the "o...