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
499 episodes
Deadpool Creator Talks Faith and Comics (with Rob Liefeld)
What happens when a comic book legend sits down to talk about faith? Sean got to interview Rob Liefeld, creator of Deadpool, Cable, and many iconic Marvel characters, to explore the intersection of faith, creativity, and culture. Rob and I disc...
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1:27:48
Living as Outsiders in Our Culture (with Patrick Miller)
What does it mean that the Christian is an outsider in one’s community? How do we engage our divisive culture well and faithfully at the same time? What might your particular style for cultural engagement be? We’ll answer these questions and mo...
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31:57
[BONUS] Debating Miracles (with Paul Rinzler)
In this bonus episode, Sean discusses the possibility of miracles with atheist professor Paul Rinzler. This conversation was part of the Veritas Forum at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in the spring of 2025. McDowell and Rinzler discuss the evidence ...
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1:20:13
Family Unfriendly (with Tim Carney)
Parents are spending more time with their kids than in the past, and yet kids are less happy and less healthy. Given that the population of children is shrinking at an alarming rate, we need to figure out what is going on. Could it be that our ...
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31:40
Engaging Controversial Issues Without Getting Too Emotional (with Tim Pickavance)
How do we engage our friends, family and others around controversial issues, particularly those in science? Why do these controversial issues trigger emotional responses and how do we manage our emotions in these discussions? We’ll discuss thes...
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37:30
Cultural Update: Why Don't We Feel We're Thriving?; The End of Rainbow Capitalism; Democratic Socialism
This week, Scott is joined by Talbot professor Thaddeus Williams to discuss: Why Don’t We Feel We're Thriving? — Despite living in the most prosperous era of human history, many
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57:21
Understanding Critical Theory (with Carl Trueman)
What is critical theory and why is it so vital for Christians to understand today? What are its historical roots and where do we see it manifest today? Carl Trueman is one of the leading Christian social critics today and he has a new book
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24:53
Cultural Update: Regretting Smartphones; Can Moms Have It All?; Assisted Suicide and the Slippery Slope
This week, Scott is joined by Erik Thoennes, Professor of Theology at Talbot School of Theology. Smartphone Regret Among Parents: A
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1:01:05
Medicine’s Wrong Turn? (with Brent Waters)
Despite medicine’s remarkable advances, has it actually taken a wrong turn and lost something pretty important? What is the dominant worldview of medicine and health care today and how has that affected both patients and health care providers? ...
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29:19
Cultural Update: Selecting embryos; AI romantic chatbots; Is sunlight and fresh air a human right?
This week, Scott and guest host Carmen Imes discuss: Can AI romantic chatbots become dangerously addictive? Exploring the emotional and e...
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56:35
Work and the Meaning of Life (with David Bahnsen)
How is work connected to one’s purpose and meaning in life? What can churches do to foster a biblical view of work? How do certain lower paying jobs contribute to a person’s sense of purpose? We’ll answer these and more with our guest David Bah...
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35:39
Cultural Update: Is Therapy Causing Childlessness?; Gene Editing Moratorium; Charismatic Christianity's Growth
This week: Therapy Culture & Childlessness – Sean and Scott discuss a New York Times article suggesting that th...
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1:03:50
AI: Prospects and Perils (with Yohan Lee)
How should we think biblically about AI? What are some of the exciting prospects for AI in the future? What should make us nervous about some of the uses of AI that are growing rapidly? We'll discuss these questions and more with our guest,
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40:46
Answering Your Questions!
We got so many great questions from our listeners and we only have time for 2-3 in the Weekly Cultural Update. We have quite a backlog so we're devoting this episode entirely to your insightful questions. We'll cover things like How do we disci...
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46:57
The State of the Persecuted Church Today (with Brian Orme)
What parts of the world are the most challenging for believers today? How has the relative comfort of American Christianity impacted spiritual growth, compared to communities experiencing persecution? What habits could American Christian adopt ...
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30:17
Cultural Update: Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery; Colorado Gender Laws; A Braindead Pregnant Woman Kept on Life Support; Personalized Gene-Editing
New federal law targets the removal of deepfakes and non-consensual intimate imagery online.Colorado law sparks controversy over parental rights and biblical views on sex and gender.Georgia hospital keeps a brain-dead wom...
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59:50
Thinking Biblically about Exercise (with David Mathis)
Why would a pastor write a theological book on exercise? Would Jesus exercise if he were here bodily today? What does the Bible say about exercise and physical activity? And are Christians sinning if they don't exercise? These are a few of the ...
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35:25
Cultural Update: Are Young Men Lost?; Physician's Critique of Assisted Suicide; Pornhub's Secrets
This week: Are Young Men Lost or Returning to Faith? A deep dive into seemingly contradictory studies on young men: while many are falling ...
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59:38
Is Empathy a Sin? (with Tim Muehlhoff)
Is empathy being weaponized by Progressives to manipulate Christians into adopting certain ethical and political views? Is empathy a virtue, or merely an emotion that is sometimes a valuable and important means of loving people? There have been...
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59:09
Cultural Update: New Pope, Supreme Court Hears Case on Religious Charter Schools, New Successful Argument Against Transgenderism
This Week's Topics:A New Pope has been chosen by the Catholic Church
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1:01:17
Thinking Biblically About Disability (with Chris Ralston)
Why does God allow disabilities? What is the point of someone's disability? What is disability theology, and what are the implications of this for the church? In what sense will disabilities be healed when we meet the Lord? We’ll answer these q...
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36:26
Cultural Update: The Abortion Pill Harms Women; Dads Are Spending More Time With Their Kids
This week's topics: Abortion Pill Study: A massive study reveals serious health risks linked to the abortion pill mifepristone, with adverse events 22 times highe...
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58:33
Cohabitation: Is it Biblical and Wise?
What does the Bible say, if anything, about living together before marriage? Given that 70% of Americans now cohabit before marriage, and roughly 2/3 believe it will improve the odds of relationship success, what does the data show about how ef...
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38:01
Cultural Update: Was Jesus crucified with nails?; Young men return to church; Are Megachurches Ethical?
Topics this week: Controversy after Christianity Today published an article questioning whether Jesus was crucified with nails. The Supreme Court is debating whether parents can opt their kids out of ...
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1:00:07