Thinking Christian: Bible, Theology, and Culture

James Spencer

Unsettling convention. Cultivating conviction. Thinking Christian is a podcast about the Bible, theology, and culture for Christians who sense that something in today's church isn't working and want to understand why.

Reading the Bible as the final authority for life and faith means questioning the assumptions of our culture, even our Christian culture, so that we don't settle for a narrower vision of reality than God's word offers. Each conversation goes past the headlines to the ideas and inconspicuous patterns underneath them: how we read Scripture, what shapes our politics, how technology shapes us, what faithful discipleship looks like, and where familiar Christian habits don’t fit the patterns emerging from the biblical text.

Hosted by Dr. James Spencer, president of the D. L. Moody Center and author of Digital Discernment (InterVarsity Press), with co-host Dr. Ashish Varma. Episodes include guided series on Scripture, theology, and church history alongside conversations with scholars, pastors, and authors.

Calm, careful, and theological conversations for uncompromising faith.

Episodes, articles, and questions: thinkingchristian.org

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Reading Ecclesiastes with the Old and New Testaments in Mind with Russ Meek
December 8, 2023 - 51 min
Thinking Christian at NASCAR with Michael McDowell
December 7, 2023 - 48 min
Christian Witness and the War in Ukraine: A Conversation with Josiah Venture missonary Lee Humerian
December 6, 2023 - 50 min
Christians and Cancel Culture
December 5, 2023 - 32 min
Tolkien, Prayer, and Doing Theology with Ashish Varma
December 4, 2023 - 46 min
Christians and Anxiety
November 29, 2023 - 31 min
Caring for Others in South Sudan: A Conversation about Grain for Pain
November 28, 2023 - 39 min
Grateful Beyond Thanksgiving
November 27, 2023 - 48 min
Get Ready for Thanksgiving by Remembering the Giver of All Good Gifts
November 22, 2023 - 5 min
Lessons from the Life of Dwight Moody- Humility, Prayer, and Dependence
November 17, 2023 - 32 min
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Meet Your Host
James Spencer earned his Ph.D. in Theological Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He believes discipleship will open up opportunities beyond anything God’s people could accomplish through their own wit and wisdom. As such, James seeks to help believers think Christianly about social, cultural, and political assumptions. His desire is to see Christians test God by trusting God so that they conform ever more closely to the image of Christ.

In addition to being a regular contributor to Christianity.com and Washingtontimes.com, James has published multiple works, including Christian Resistance: Learnign to Defy the World and Follow Christ, Useful to God: Eight Lessons from the Life of D.L. Moody, Thinking Christian: Essays on Testimony, Accountability, and the Christian Mind, and Trajectories: A Gospel-Centered Introduction to Old Testament Theology.

James currently serves as president of the D. L. Moody Center, an adjunct instructor at Wheaton College Graduate School, and faculty member at Right On Mission.

You can find out more about James at his personal website www.jamesspencer.com.
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