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
482 episodes
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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1:00:22
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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59:52
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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1:02:01
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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37:09
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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59:17
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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38:45
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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1:00:51
The State of the Bible in 2025
How many Americans are engaging the Bible today? And in what ways? How does Bible reading affect giving to charity, life flourishing, and experience with loneliness? Sean and Scott discuss these questions, and more, by analyzing the latest repo...
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45:02
Weekly Cultural Update: Rise of Christian Faith in Women's Basketball, UK Supreme Court Rules on Gender, France Passes a New Law Regarding Sperm Donation, Richard Dawkins Asks, "Who is a Christian?"
Topics this week:Women's Basketball Player Embraces Her Faith
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1:00:58
The Unseen Realm: Analysis of the 10-year expanded edition
Michael Heiser is one of the most influential Old Testament scholars over the past decade. In this video, Sean is joined by Talbot Old Testament professor Charlie Trimm to discuss Heiser’s best-selling book “
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1:08:32
Cultural Update: The Ethics of Dire Wolves; What to Make of Miracles; Are Embryos Property?
Topics this week:An Atlantic article on Elaine Pagels' new book, "Miracles and Wonder." Is she downplaying the ...
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1:00:36
Apologetics for a New Generation
What should apologetics look like for this generation? What does it mean that apologetics is for everyone, not just specialists? How is the gospel good news, especially for women? We’ll discuss these questions and more with Sean around his new ...
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49:27
Cultural Update: Polygany Reduces Birthrates, Relatives Can Be "Brought Back to Life" Through AI Chatbots, and New Tech Allows for More Control Over Embryo Selection
This week's topics:Polygany Found to Cause Lower Birthrates than MonogamyAI Chatbots can Allow People to Talk with Deceased RelativesNew Tech allows for more Control Over Embryo Selection.Listener Ques...
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1:03:29
Intelligent Design: Dying or Flourishing? (with Doug Axe)
What is the state of the intelligent design movement today? How is it faring in the scientific realm, the church, and in the public? How has the strategy of the ID movement shifted, and what has it learned over the past 20 years? Our guest toda...
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44:05
Cultural Update: Ethics of Embryo Research; Christianity in Silicon Valley; Vigilante Justice
This week's topics: The Ethics of Embryo Research: The abortion debate is shifting toward the status and treatment of embryos—especially in light of
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1:00:54
The Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.
What is the enduring legacy of MLK?, why has the culture neglected the theological basis for his civil rights work?, what assumptions to white and black people have about each other that are inaccurate or unhelpful? We'll discuss these question...
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50:21
Cultural Update: Why is Dating Dying in Younger Generations? Porn is Becoming More Popular than Real Relationships, The App Store Enables New Age Restrictions on Downloading Certain Apps, An Australian Blood Donor Saves Thousands!
Decline of Romantic Relationships Among Young People – Dating among high school and college students is decreasing due to emotional in...
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59:51
Can Christians Identify as Gay? (with Preston Sprinkle)
Should Christians identify as gay? Is this a secondary issue that should not divide Christians, or is more at stake? Sean and Preston Sprinkle continue the dialogue from last week and focus on the question of whether homosexuality can be one pa...
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59:54
Cultural Update: Sociogenomics; New Study on Gender Affirming Surgery; Future of Faith in America
This week, Sean and Scott discuss: New Study on Gender Affirming Surgery – A major peer-reviewed study finds increased psychol...
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56:53
Christians and Preferred Pronouns: Is it Biblical? (with Preston Sprinkle)
Should Christians use preferred pronouns? Is it wise and biblically permissible, or not? While Sean has had this discussion before on the Think Biblically podcast, this episode features a conversation with Preston Sprinkle, and they go even dee...
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1:07:57
Cultural Update: Maine Continues to Fight Over Transgender Athletes, Delaware Considering a Bill to Recognize First Cousin Marriage, Is America Becoming a Theocracy? A Bill That Challenges Religious Liberty
Maine Continues to Fight over Transgender AthletesA Bill...
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1:00:30
The State of Near-Death Experiences
How strong is the evidence for near-death experiences? How has the field of study changed over the past 50 years since doctors, academics, and other experts began studying them? And what do they reveal about the soul or the afterlife? In this e...
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33:40
Cultural Update: Humanoid Robots Enter the Workforce, Medically Assisted Suicide Can Be Scheduled, Christianity's Growth in America, and Planned Parenthood Allegations
Humanoid Robots in the Workforce. AI-powered robots are becoming more common for tasks like stacking and sorting, though their abilities remai...
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59:49
Fallout of the Trans Revolution (with Katie McCoy)
What are the sociological effects for women from trans ideology? How do we think biblically given our confused cultural moment about sex, gender, and identity? And what does all this mean for those who want to reach and disciple Gen Z? Sean and...
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38:05