Christian men exist in two kingdoms (the right and the left ‘hands’ of Christ) and three estates (family, Church, and State). Many modern men neglect the fullness of this reality via excessive focus on the Kingdom of the right hand of Christ (i.e., the Church). Further, and perhaps worse, many pastors believe that their role in the right-hand Kingdom entitles them to honors, respect, or other deference with regard to the left-hand kingdom — it does not. The domain of the pastor is the preaching of the Word and the administration of the Sacraments. The domain of Christian men is all three of the estates of life — family, Church, and State. With regard to family and State, Christian men have many duties, but pastors have only one — silence. The role of the pastor is local and circumscribed; the role of Christian men is not exclusively so. The pastor qua pastor has nothing to say with regard to the State, to the kingdom of the left hand of Christ — that is the domain of Christian men. As Christian men, we must work together on the issues facing us, and that regardless of which kingdom or which estate. Pastors have their role and we have ours; the former must learn their limitations and the latter must do their duty. Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes “Headship, Authority, Agency” Dunbar’s number See Also Further Reading Augsburg Confession, Art. V Augsburg Confession, Art. XIV Parental Warnings None.

Knowledge is not what saves us, but faith cannot be devoid of content, for one must have faith in something. Part of being a Christian is, unsurprisingly, knowing the content of the Christian faith. Or, perhaps, this would be surprising to many, given the state of knowledge and belief among those claiming to be Christian — even among the best (in terms of knowledge and right belief) of those claiming to be Christian. In today’s episode, we return to the state of the churches. This time, we examine the general state of knowledge and belief among Christians. Do Christians even know the basics of the faith? For most, the answer is very clearly: No. Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes Ligonier — “State of Theology” Survey Results Pew Research Center — “Religious Landscape Study” Survey Results See Also Further Reading “The Apostle’s & Nicene Creeds, verse by verse” [PDF] Parental Warnings None.

All that we have comes from God. As we covered in the episode on jealousy, we are, in fact, to be jealous, to be protective, of the things that are ours. However, this must be balanced against the fact that much of what we hold we hold in trust. There are things which are solely ours and there are things which are ours for the sake of serving God and neighbor. Ultimately, we are stewards of this Creation, and we owe duties to God. One such duty is the duty to render thanks to God in the form of tithes. A tithe, simply, is an offering ‘off the top’ of a portion of what God has given us as thanks for the whole. How much we tithe, how we tithe, to whom we tithe, and other related questions are matters of wisdom. Unlike Old Testament Israel, we do not have explicit rules telling us what to tithe, when, and to whom. However, God does invite us to test Him by bringing in the fullness of the tithe, and where God invites us to test Him, it is not only foolish, but sinful, to refuse. »“Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need. I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of your soil, and your vine in the field shall not fail to bear, says the LORD of hosts. Then all nations will call you blessed, for you will be a land of delight, says the LORD of hosts.« — Malachi 3:6–12 (ESV) Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes Malachi 3:6–12 Genesis 4:3–7 Genesis 14:17–20 Genesis 28:18–22 Leviticus 27:30–33 Numbers 18:21–32 Deuteronomy 14:22–29 Deuteronomy 26:12–15 2 Chronicles 31:2–10 Luke 11:42–44 Luke 18:11–12 Hebrews 7:4–10 Philippians 4:14–20 Deuteronomy 16:16–17 Leviticus 5:11–13 2 Corinthians 8:1–15 2 Corinthians 9:6–15 Luke 21:1–4 1 Chronicles 29:3–9 See Also Further Reading “Let Us Test the Lord” Parental Warnings None.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” All that we have and all that we are flows from God, and yet, as covered in previous episodes, God acts in time via means. Your height and your intelligence, God transmitted to you via your ancestors, via your nation; your material prosperity, God transmitted to you via your forebears and your country; and your faith, God transmitted to you via faithful forebears and His written Word (whatever copies of which you may own, someone had to print). It is a tripartite inheritance that is bestowed upon us by God — biological, material, and spiritual. The modern world, with its manifold lies — among them, the idea of the ‘blank slate’ — would have us believe that we are atomized individuals instead of parts of a greater whole. Each generation is a link in a chain extending back through Noah to Adam, and it is incumbent on each generation to faithfully pass forward the inheritance — preferably improved — that it received from those who came before. Without inheritance, there is no prosperity, there is no continuity, and there would be no salvation, for it is our adoption as sons of God that makes us inheritors of eternal life. We must jealously guard our inheritance, faithfully preserve it, and dutifully transmit it. Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes Numbers 27 Luke 12–15 1 Kings 21 Genesis 15 See Also Further Reading “inheritance” [Bible Hub] kléronomia (inheritance) [Bible Hub] Dowry [Wikipedia] Parental Warnings None.

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with Whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” The modern world would have us believe that jealousy is a purely negative matter — we all know the tropes. Scripture teaches something entirely different. God tells us that one of His names is Jealous. To be jealous of the things that God has given us is not only not sin, but an affirmative duty for every Christian. You must be jealous of your wife, jealous of your children, jealous of your property, and jealous of every other good and perfect gift that has come down from the Father above. To fail to be jealous is, in fact, to sin. Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes Bible Hub: jealous Bible Hub: envy Bible Hub: zealous Bible Hub Topic: Jealousy See Also Further Reading The Magdeburg Confession [Amazon] Parental Warnings None.

When the world demands that we speak falsely about the faith, we are required to speak the truth; when the world demands that we speak truthfully about the faith, but neglect certain truths, then it is those very truths the world tells us to ignore that we must profess all the more loudly. Satan, although he is the father of lies, does not always lie; where it is possible to do so, it is often far more effective to mislead with the truth — to lie by omission. This is what the world so often demands of Christians today. If the world says we must call slavery sin, then we affirm that Scripture does not call slavery sin and even commands it in places. If the world says we must tolerate homosexuality or false religions, then we affirm that Scripture condemns such things as abomination. If the world tells us that it is fine to say that our sins crucified Christ, that the Romans crucified Christ, and that Pilate crucified Christ, but that we must not say that the Jews murdered Christ, then we affirm in no uncertain terms that the Jews murdered Christ. There are no optional parts of Scripture — we, as Christians, are required to affirm the full counsel of God. To deflect with an irrelevant truth is no less a lie than an affirmative false statement. Whether you are fated to be a confessor or a martyr is in God’s hands, but it is in your hands to decide whether you will follow God or yield to the world. There is no promise of salvation for those who apostatize by denying the Word of God. If I profess with the loudest voice and the clearest exposition every portion of the truth of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I may be professing Christianity. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is proved, and to be steady on all the battlefield besides is mere flight and disgrace to him, if he flinches at that one point. — St. Martin Luther, Confessor Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes Scripture readings from the end of the episode: Acts 7:51–53 John 8:34–47 Matthew 12:14 John 5:18 John 7:1 John 7:19–20 John 10:31 John 11:8 John 11:53 Matthew 26:3–4 John 5:16–17 Acts 2:22–25 Acts 2:36–41 Acts 3:14–15 Acts 5:27–33 1 Thessalonians 2:14–16 Luke 23:13–16 Matthew 27:20 Luke 23:18–23 Matthew 27:24–26 HB 1076 (the South Dakota law mentioned in the episode) [PDF] IHRA definition of “antisemitism” (with examples) See Also Lex injusta non lex est. Further Reading Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord, Article X Anti-BDS laws Parental Warnings The word “masturbation” is used once in the middle of the episode.

Technology is a part of our daily lives. In fact, technology has been a part of the daily life of man from the beginning. Whether that technology is relatively simple — a garden hoe or a flint knife — or incredibly complex — a nuclear reactor or a quantum computer — it is, nevertheless, technology, which is to say that it is a material application of science (i.e., knowledge) to achieve a human end. Technology may be good, bad, or neutral, but it cannot be truly or fully assessed in the absence of an assessment of the attendant intention of the men who develop and deploy it. For the Christian, there are additional considerations. Some technologies bring with them intrinsic or even inherent risks, and this grows more pressing by the day. We must be intentional with our use of technology, and we must recognize that neither is all knowledge good nor is all ignorance evil. Neither knowledge nor its material application (i.e., technology) is amoral. As Christians, we must be aware of the risks and of the right mindset with regard to technology and our use of it. The Church faces novel threats and we do not have the benefit of any insight from past Christians, for what we face they could not even conceive. We are in an uncharted land, because we are the ones who have been tasked with making the charts. Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes See Also Further Reading “Before the Deluge” Parental Warnings We discuss the demonic in this episode.

Repentance consists of contrition and faith. Contrition is sorrow for sin, the terrors of conscience that are attendant the realization of the nature of sin and God’s wrath toward it; faith, in this case, is the entirety of the Christian life — the ‘and then what’, which follows regeneration. But more than this, to be truly repentant is to turn from one’s sins and move toward God. In the Greek (μετανοια), repentance is a ‘change of one’s mind’, or, in the verbal form, ‘to change one’s mind’ — literally, ‘to think differently [about]’. When we are regenerated, we think differently about the sins of our past (and about the sins we still desire to commit) — we recognize that they are sins and that they are contrary to the will of God. And not only do we think differently about these matters (i.e., have that μετανοια, that change of mind), but we also seek to undo the harms that we have done — there are works that follow true repentance. In a very real sense, repentance is the core of the Christian life. We are saved, of course, by the work of Christ and the free gift of faith, but a living faith will always produce good works, and chief among those works are repentance and what flows from it. We read the Word of God, which convicts us of our sins, we feel sorrow for these sins (i.e., contrition) and we turn from them (i.e., repentance). This is the Christian life in this world. Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes See Also Further Reading Homily (coming soon) Parental Warnings There is some discussion of sexual sins (not in explicit terms) shortly after the one-hour mark.

Once taken, a man’s reputation is nearly impossible to restore to him. In the 8th Commandment (and many other places in Scripture), God enshrines and makes abundantly clear that He hates slander and the man who spreads it. And yet Scripture goes further: Not only must we not slander our neighbor, but we must rebuke the one who does so. Scripture calls the one who hears slander but does not rebuke the slanderer evil. Next to his life, wife, and possessions, the most dear thing a neighbor has is his good name and reputation. As Christians, we know that we must aid our neighbor in maintaining all that is his, and this certainly includes his reputation. Slander destroys families, friendships, organizations, churches, and entire societies. A godly prince would wield the sword against the slanderer, but every individual Christian has a moral duty to rebuke the slanderer and not to repeat what he has heard. In this episode, we will examine the contours of what “slander” encompasses, and what we, as Christians, must do in this life. Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes See Also The Large Catechism: The 8th Commandment Further Reading “The Question of Procedure in Theological Controversies” by Kurt Marquart Parental Warnings None.

Galatians 3:28 is, perhaps, the most abused verse in modern churches (a term that should, arguably, be in quotes), and this is not without reason. Satan attacks where he knows there is purchase to be found or headway to be made. In entirely unambiguous terms, Galatians 3:28 affirms the very real existence of race, hierarchy, and sex (i.e., that we are created either male or female) — the very things that the modern world constantly attacks and denies. We must be careful readers when it comes to Scripture. God does not choose His words idly and we should not skim over them. We do not usually focus on a single verse to this extent, but it is incumbent on faithful Christians to defend where the battle is joined. In today’s episode, we will arm you to detect abuses of this verse, to defend yourself against those abuses, and to understand the wealth of what God has transmitted to us in a mere twenty-three words). Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes Galatians (The entire letter will take you no more than fifteen minutes to read.) “What We Believe” from the ‘Black Lives Matter’ website [via Archive.org] See Also Further Reading “Singleness in the Church” Parental Warnings None.

By the time Josiah, King of Judah, noticed that pagan worship practices had crept into the land of Judah — and even into the Temple itself —, apostasy, wickedness, and idol worship were rampant. The Temple was filled with altars to and symbols of false gods, the area around the Temple and around Jerusalem was filled with centers of false worship, and the valley adjacent to Jerusalem even saw the sacrifice of children to demons. Undoubtedly, these false beliefs and false practices did not creep into Judah all at once — Satan brought them in bit by bit. The apostasy of Judah was not the first time humanity lost the Word of God (although perhaps none have done this as literally as Judah forgetting the actual scroll somewhere in a pile of rubble in the Temple); by the time of Judah’s apostasy, Israel (the Northern Kingdom) was already apostate and in the process of being eradicated by the Assyrians. We see the same happening all over the world as the sons of Noah lost the Word of God over time — some certainly faster than others. And, of course, the entire world, save Noah and his immediate family, had lost or rejected God’s Word by the time of the Flood. Today, the churches face a similar crisis as that which faced Josiah: We are beset on all sides by false worship, and false shepherds and wolves have even brought these false beliefs and false practices into the church. We have fallen so far that supposed pastors, priests, and teachers will recoil when presented with the words of God. This does not mean that there is no hope, but it is surely a call for repentance and prayer. Josiah would not see the destruction of Judah, which God promised as recompense for their wickedness, but his grandson would. Let us not be like the wicked Northern Kingdom or the apostate Southern Kingdom. Joel 2:12–14 (ESV): »“Yet even now,” declares the LORD, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love; and he relents over disaster. Who knows whether he will not turn and relent, and leave a blessing behind him, a grain offering and a drink offering for the LORD your God?« Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes 2 Kings 17 2 Kings 22 2 Kings 23 Matthew 7 Matthew 24 Matthew 25 Mark 1 Luke 8 1 Timothy 4 2 Peter 2 See Also “The Gods of the Copybook Headings” by Rudyard Kipling [Wikipedia] Further Reading Parental Warnings None.

Gnosticism is one of the oldest religions of man. When Satan tempted Eve in the Garden, it was with an invitation to learn secret — explicitly forbidden, in this case — knowledge. From the mystery cults of Ancient Greece and Rome to modern Pentecostalism, Mormonism, and any of dozens of other cults, Gnosticism has always been a major font of false religion and corruption. Christianity is not a mystery religion; Christianity is a religion with mysteries. The Sacrament is a mystery, because we cannot fully understand it, but it is not a mystery in the sense of being secret knowledge — we proclaim it publicly before the world and it is set forth in God’s Word. Anyone who claims that you must have some secret knowledge in order to be a good or a full or a proper Christian is lying to you and attempting to drag you into heresy and apostasy. There is no secret knowledge in Christianity. In today’s episode, we do not go over the specifics of any of the various Gnostic cults — ancient or modern; rather, we go over the core of the Gnostic claims and the foundation of their beliefs: the existence of mystical or esoteric knowledge, the salvific nature of this supposed knowledge, dualism, and the denial of the flesh (i.e., the material). Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes See Also Further Reading Parental Warnings None.

Judaizing has been a problem in the Church from the beginning. Even St. Peter fell prey to the Judaizers and their attempt to import into Christianity the false beliefs of Judaism. Today, Judaizing takes a number of forms. In this episode, we will cover circumcision, the use of “Yahweh” (and “Yeshua”), and several related matters. As Christians, we must always ask ourselves both what the source of the thing is and what the purpose of the thing is. When it comes to Judaizing, the source is not God and the purpose is from Satan. The Jews do not have a special relationship with God or even any relationship with God, because they rejected His Son, and the Word of Scripture is clear: No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. Why would we, as Christians, who have the Son by Faith, ask the Jews, who reject the Son and therefore do not have the Father, anything about religion? What accord has Christ with Belial? Or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes “Circumcision’s Psychological Damage” — one article among many Twitter Thread on “Yahweh” If you do not have Twitter, click here. See Also Old Lutheran Synod: “Do You Renounce Jewish Unbelief and Blasphemy?” The old baptismal rite of the LCMS, which included explicit renunciation of certain, enumerated heresies, including Judaism. Further Reading Parental Warnings We have a frank discussion about circumcision, including some technically ‘explicit’ language, in this episode — you may wish to screen it before listening to it with your children.

Man is, by nature, religious. The Atheist or the agnostic is no less religious than the Buddhist, the Muslim, or the Christian. The question is not whether or not a man is religious, but which God or gods he worships. As Christians, it is incumbent on us not just to recognize this reality, but also to recognize how it plays out in our world, in our culture, and in our own lives. We may believe that because we attend church on Sundays (perhaps even also on Wednesdays), read our Bibles, and do all the things that Christians are supposed to do that we have no idols or that we have not fallen for any of the idols of our day. But is this true? When we examine our beliefs in light of Scripture, we may find that we have been indoctrinated into certain beliefs by the world. To hold such false beliefs is to have an idol. Today, we find that even pastors and teachers have fallen for some of these idols — and will even defend them more vigorously and more vehemently than they will defend the Word of God. And so we turn again to the genealogy of ideas. What do we believe and why do we believe it? And, more importantly: What should we, as Christians, believe? Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes Ezekiel 33 See Also “Fear Not, O Little Flock, the Foe” If you would like to hear more Gospel, see this previous episode: “You Are Forgiven” Further Reading Small Catechism First Commandment Second Commandment Large Catechism First Commandment Second Commandment Parental Warnings None.

Unlike the Old Testament Israelites, New Testament Christians are not required to observe any particular set of feasts, festivals, or commemorations — Scripture does not lay out a Church Year that we are required to follow. However, the Christian standard is not ‘What is required?’, but rather: ‘What is profitable?’ When we ask, instead of what we must do, what we should do for the sake of unity, instruction, and order, we arrive at a far different answer from that of most modern Christians, who have jettisoned from their faith much of the historic practices of the Church. Whereas we affirm that neither we nor you, as Christians, are required to observe the feasts, festivals, and commemorations of the Church and her historic calendar, we also resolutely contend that these observances are good for the body of Christ. It is in the cyclical and seasonal observances that we live out of lives as Christians and recognize our brothers-in-Christ, who are living out similar lives. There is a difference between the minimum of the faith and the fullness of the faith — we want you to have the latter. Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes Liturgical Year [Wikipedia] Church Year [Encyclopædia Britannica] See Also Owen Cyclops’ Church Year Calendar, as featured in the show art Ad Crucem’s Church Year Calendar Daily Devotions from Confident.Faith Further Reading The (Lutheran) Church Year Explained Free Church Year Calendar Download from CPH (You do not need to agree to receive emails.) Parental Warnings None.

What do we mean by “Church” or “church”? When we use this term (or these terms, when writing permits distinguishing them with the capital letter), we really mean a handful of distinct things — it is important to keep these clear. In today’s episode, we go over the Church (universal), the church (institutional), and the church (local, congregational). For the Christian, there is great comfort in recognizing the reality of the Church, even when the churches may be in disarray. “In short, according to Lutheran teaching, it is faith in the Gospel which in every case establishes membership in the Christian Church. To him who believes the Gospel, membership in the Christian Church may not be denied; of him who rejects the Gospel, membership in the Christian Church may not be asserted. Excommunication pronounced against true believers does not deprive them of membership in the Church.” Francis Pieper, Christian Dogmatics Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes Augsburg Confession: Art. VII: Of the Church Art. VIII: What the Church Is Apology of the Augsburg Confession: Art. VII & VIII: Of the Church Smalcald Articles: Part III, Art. XII See Also Apology of the Augsburg Confession: Art. XV: Of Human Traditions in the Church Formula of Concord: Solid Declaration: Art. X Further Reading Christian Dogmatics by Francis Pieper: Vol. I Vol. II Vol. III Index (you do not need this volume, but it is nice to have) These volumes can be found online as PDFs. Church and Office by C. F. W. Walther This volume may not be available online as a PDF. Parental Warnings None.

We are told to ‘test the spirits’, and this is a blanket admonition. You should test the things we say on this podcast against the Word of God; you should test the things your pastor says against the Word of God; you should test the things you believe against the Word of God. Yes, there are things that belong to natural revelation — to wisdom that can be gained from exploration of God’s Creation —, but, where Scripture speaks, Scripture is binding and final. In today’s episode, we will subject Eastern ‘Orthodoxy’ both to Scripture and to natural revelation, which is to say human wisdom derived from God’s good creation. At the end of this episode, we fully believe that you will be left with a simple and unavoidable conclusion: Whatever the EO may have been historically, they are no longer Christian today. The practice they call ‘hesychastic prayer’ is not prayer, but it is a very real spiritual practice — the problem is that those spirits with which it seeks (and even obtains) communion are not of God, but of an entirely different master. And God has spoken on the matter: »“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.« — Matthew 6:7–8 (ESV) These are not idle or unimportant matters. To believe the things taught by the EO is to endanger one’s soul. If you or anyone entrusted to your care has ever expressed or pursued any interest in the EO, then we strongly encourage you to listen carefully to this episode — perhaps more than once. We also encourage you to ask question, if you have them — we will try to respond promptly. Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes “At the Kremlin in 1943: Stalin presented Orthodox leaders with a proposal: the Soviet state that had destroyed their Church would bring it back” “Organization of the Eastern Orthodox Church” [Wikipedia] See Also “The Monks Who Spent Years Turning Themselves into Mummies—While Alive” Sokushinbutsu (the Japanese name for the process) [Wikipedia] Further Reading “Distinction” (Philosophy) [Wikipedia] See also Duns Scotus [Wikipedia] “Eastern ‘Orthodoxy’” Parental Warnings We discuss the demonic in this episode (and also, briefly as an example, sex), so you may wish to screen it before listening to it with your children. Nota When speaking of “distinctions”, I deliberately did not mention the difference between “logical“ and “formal” or “conceptual“ distinctions, because that difference was not relevant or helpful for the episode. If you are interested in the philosophy of this, please start with the links under the “Further Reading“ section.

Whether our gifts are many or few, great or small, God has most assuredly prepared beforehand opportunities for us to use those gifts to serve our neighbors. We, in fact, have a duty to use what God has given us for the good of our neighbor. All that we have we hold in trust as stewards, for all comes from God and all belongs to God. It is through our good works that we demonstrate, both to ourselves and to the world, that we have a living faith. There are no hard and fast rules or mathematical formulae to determine precisely what one should do with what one has been given — these are matters of wisdom. But we know the basics: Faithfully pursue your work, come to the aid of family and neighbor, and render good works when and where God provides you the opportunity. The Christian life is not found in pilgrimages or hair shirts or in putting crosses on every surface in one’s home. The faithful Christian baker makes good bread; the faithful Christian shoemaker makes good shoes; the faithful Christian woman keeps a good home; a faithful Christian man diligently pursues his calling — whatever it may be. These are not matters over which to be anxious or about which to fret or worry; God knows what we need and he knows what our neighbor needs, and He has so ordered things that our neighbor can aid us and we can aid him. The Christian life is lived out in many thousands of small interactions, all undertaken with thanks for the good gifts, all of which flow from God. »17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.« — James 1:17 (ESV) Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes Previous episodes: Persuasiveness Matters Conspiracy Theories and Truth The Fear of the Lord Some recommended Scripture passages: Matthew 6:25–34 Matthew 25:1–13 Romans 12:3–13 Romans 14:1–12 1 Corinthians 4:2 1 Corinthians 12:1–11 1 Corinthians 15:58 Ephesians 2:10 Colossians 3:18–4:1 1 Peter 4:7–11 James 1:16–18 Luke 12:35–48 Luke 16:1–13 Proverbs 3:27–28 Proverbs 16:3 Proverbs 22:29 Ecclesiastes 9:9–10 See Also Further Reading “Family Trump Strangers” Parental Warnings None.

Of all the idols of modern man, Capitalism may be one of the most challenging to overcome. Not because the wickedness of Capitalism is not manifest, for it is (and we will demonstrate this in today’s episode), but because it has been sold as the only alternative to Communism — a system so wicked that no Christian can possibly support it. Yet the choice is not binary, and those who would claim that it is seek to mislead the Christian into supporting a system that is, in point of fact, anti-Christ. It is the lack of concern for one’s neighbor — a feature built into the Capitalist system and inextricable from it — that should immediately raise alarm bells for the Christian man. Under Capitalism, it is the maximum extraction of profit (itself a dubious category, insofar as it is a vague term) that serves as guiding principle, and yet this is an alien and hostile thing to the Christian system of ethics and morality. Need it even be said that the extraction of maximized profits runs diametrically counter to the second-greatest commandment: Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Throughout the pages of Scripture, God repeatedly states His concern for the poor, the needy, and the exploited, and yet Capitalism relies, in no small part, upon the extraction of profits from those very categories of the most vulnerable. Ours is not a Marxist critique of Capitalism, but a Christian one. The central question: Is Capitalism compatible with Christianity? We answer in the negative. Mammon is an old god, an idol served by many men from may nations across many centuries. The love of money is not the root of all evils, but, in the words of Scripture, it is certainly the root of many evils, and, in fact, may serve as the stumbling stone upon which faith may founder: »For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.« — 1 Timothy 6:10 (ESV) Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes Mises Definition of “Capitalism” See Also Berlin State Museum: Coin Collection The ‘boots’ theory of poverty [Wikipedia] Further Reading On Trade and Usury by Martin Luther [PDF] Parental Warnings None.

Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of me.” In the same way also, He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” Subscribe to the podcast here. Show Notes John 6 1 Corinthians 11 Luke 22 Mark 14 Matthew 26 See Also The Mode of Christ’s Presence in the Supper Further Reading Small Catechism: The Sacrament of the Altar Large Catechism: The Sacrament of the Altar Augsburg Confession: Of the Mass Apology of the Augsburg Confession: Of the Mass Epitome of the Formula of Concord: The Lord’s Supper Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord: The Holy Supper Parental Warnings None.