Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith & Culture
A weekly podcast that offers Christian perspectives on some of the most significant issues facing today's church and culture. In each episode, hosts Scott Rae and Sean McDowell — professors at Biola University's Talbot School of Theology — draw upon biblical wisdom and insights from guest experts as they explore how Christians can thoughtfully and faithfully engage with cultural trends and current events.
Episodes
566 episodes
Living in the Shadow of Grief (with Dave Keehn)
Is it possible to find hope and healing in the shadow of grief? How can we move forward after the loss of a loved one, such as a child, and both trust God and appropriately grieve? In today’s episode, Sean talks with Talbot professor Dr. Dave K...
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59:57
Cultural Update: American Support for Israel; Researchers Uncover Evil AI; Wealth of Nations; Talarico's New Style
American Support for Israel: Support for Israel among younger evangelicals has dropped significantly, moving ...
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58:56
Hell in the Bible: Eternal Torment or Annihilation? (with Paul Copan and Chris Date)
Is hell eternal conscious punishment or does the Bible teach that the wicked will ultimately be destroyed? This is one of the most debated theological questions among Christians today. Today, we have two leading scholars to explore the biblical...
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2:09:07
Cultural Update: Talarico's Progressive Christianity; Epstein Files and Moral Unity; Supreme Court Backs Parental Rights
Supreme Court Backs Parental Rights: The Supreme Court issued a 6-3 emergency injunction blocking California's policy that req...
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59:36
The Virtues of Capitalism, Part 2 of 2
Should Christians support capitalism? How effective has capitalism been in elevating people out of poverty? In this episode, which is the second part of a two-part series, Sean and Scott lay out the positive case for capitalism (aka, market eco...
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39:36
Cultural Update: AI Date Cafe; Skincare for Toddlers; Questions on Youth Gender Treatment: Iranian Doctors and Nurses on Massacre
AI Date Cafe: A New York City cafe is offering "tables for one" designed for people to ...
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1:00:18
Why Christians Should Not Be Leftists, Part 1 of 2
What is Leftism and can it be consistently wed with a Christian worldview? And is Leftism gaining ground in the culture and church? In this episode, Sean and Scott explore these questions and more in their review of the book
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1:00:05
Cultural Update: The Monetization of Loneliness; Hospital Ends Youth Gender Treatment; Alarming U.K. Abortion Data
The Monetization of Loneliness: A new study shows that Americans spend more on OnlyFans than on ChatGPT and The New York Time...
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59:16
Finding Freedom in Jesus (with JP Foster)
What does it mean to experience genuine freedom today? And how can a study of God’s attributes bring that freedom? In this episode, we talk with pastor JP Foster about his new book (co-written with Talbot professor Matt Williams):
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52:16
Cultural Update: Social Network for Bots; AI Revolution in Jobs; Science of Happiness
This week: AI Bots' Social Network: Moltbook platform allows AI agents to interact with each other while humans can only ...
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1:00:19
Suffering and our Spiritual Lives (with Craig Keener)
Does God cause our suffering? How is it a privilege to suffer for Christ? And what happens to a person’s faith when experiencing suffering, and how can we have joy in adversity? We’ll answer these questions and more with our guest Dr. Craig Kee...
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32:05
Cultural Update: $2 Million Gender Medicine Verdict; AI Boyfriends; Politics at the Grammys
This week, Scott and Erik Thoennes discuss: $2 Million Gender Medicine Verdict: A New York jury awarded $2 million to a detransitioner who underwent...
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1:00:48
A Psychologist Watches "The Chosen" (with Liz Hall)
How would a psychologist view the TV series, The Chosen? What does the portrayal of the characters, namely Jesus, say about how we connect with God? We’ll talk about these questions and more with our guest, Rosemead colleague and psychologist, ...
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33:31
Cultural Update: UK Revival Questioned; Child Safety on Social Media; Posthumous Sperm Retrieval
This week: UK Revival Claims Questioned: A new Pew Research study ...
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58:44
Serving God Under Siege
What is like to serve God under the siege of the war in Ukraine? What theological questions are raised as a result of the war, especially about the goodness and sovereignty of God? And how are the churches dealing with the trauma of war? We’ll ...
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28:25
Cultural Update: "Looksmaxxing"; Grok's Sexual AI-Generated Images; Crime in Decline
This week, Scott and Sean discuss: America's Historic Crime Drop - The U.S. has experienced its largest homicide rate reduction in 125 years
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1:03:22
Why We are Protestants (with Fred Sanders)
Why are we committed to a Protestant understanding of Christianity? What is a unique Protestant view of the Bible, the gospel, and the ordinances? In this episode, we talk with Biola professor Fred Sanders
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47:54
Cultural Update: Is 2026 the year of AI slop?; Iran protests; Transgender athlete bans
Topics this week: Will AI slop take over in 2026? How AI-generated media is breaking our ability to tell what’s real, and why rebuilding trust...
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1:01:36
Why The Church Still Matters Today (with Carmen Imes)
With churchgoing in decline in the US, what is the relevance of the church today? What’s the significance of the Bible using the language of family to describe the church? And what do we say to the person who insists that they can have a vibran...
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32:38
Cultural Update: Religious Trends Ahead in 2026; Is Killing Organ Donors OK?; Near-Death Experiences
To kick off 2026, Sean and Scott discuss:The Top 5 Religious Trends to Watch in 2026A
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1:00:23
What to Make of Alternative Medicine? (with Donal O'Mathuna)
What is alternative medicine? What does the Bible have to say about it? What is the connection between one’s faith and one’s health? We'll answer these questions and more with our guest, Ohio State University Professor Dr. Donal O'Mathuna, arou...
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34:25
The Bible and The Use of Alcohol (with John Anthony Dunne)
What does the Bible say about the use of alcohol? How is alcohol both God’s gift and a curse at the same time? What does the use of wine in the Eucharist say about acceptability for other uses? We’ll address these questions and more with our gu...
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34:12
The American Religious Landscape (with Ryan Burge)
America has a religious landscape unlike any other country on earth. But it is rapidly changing. In this episode, we interview Ryan Burge, a leading demographer on religious trends in America. We discuss the present state and future of evangeli...
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34:32