What's that story about the medieval monk who tried to find peace through religious good works, got wise to the power and corruption of the religious establishment, had a breakthrough to trust in the mercy of the transcendent one who became immanent for our salvation, and as a result left the monastery, got married, had children, and worked among o…

Subscribe at Sarah Hinlicky Wilson Stories on Substack to join the communal reading of A-Tumblin' Down!Par Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

Six years of top-quality theological podcasting... Show your support by becoming a Patron! After considering "World Religions" as such, in this episode Dad and I turn our attention to considering a specific world religion. But our burden here is not to discuss the details or the disputes about or within Islam, but mainly to inquire about it as a ch…

Exactly what the title says it is! And please check out Crackers and Grape Juice!Par Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

You know that there is such a thing as "world religions," and you know which ones they are. But why? Where did such a notion even come from? And why are some in but some aren't? Is "religion" even the right word for everything categorized under it? And if not, why has "religious studies" come to dominate, not to say replace, "theology" at virtually…

The more ecumenical dialogues establish agreement, the more they turn up disagreement. Why, 115 years into multilateral Christian dialogue and 60 years into bilateral dialogue, does Christian unity look farther away than ever? Why can't we all just agree? In this episode, Dad and I delve deeply into Lutheran theologian Robert W. Jenson's book Unbap…

Is the apologetic enterprise coercing people outside the Christian faith into a decision on which their eternal fate depends, conceding the terms of the debate to the culture's notion of what's important, or making fruitful contact in ways specific to the person and situation? (I bet you can guess our answer.) In this episode, Dad and I examine som…

Whose all-time favorite NT epistle is Second Peter? Yeah, I thought so, i.e., nobody's. Terse yet wordy, full of highly developed doctrine yet also threats of judgment, and most likely pseudepigraphal, it's a tough nut to crack. In this episode, Dad and I haul out our exegetical nutcrackers and extract the sweetmeat (to push an already overstrained…

Sarah talks with Amber Noel of The Living Church Podcast about ... the Transfiguration! If you've skipped all the others on the Transfiguration, listen to this one. The sheer force of our exuberance will bring you around. Seven Ways of Looking at the Transfiguration is now available in all formats (ebook, audiobook, paperback, hardcover) from Thorn…

Take a sad song and make it better? In this episode, Dad and I explore the oft-overlooked Epistle of Jude, including theories of authorship, its lavish use of apocryphal sources not included in either Christian or Jewish scriptural canons, its incipient trinitarianism, and the ongoing urgency of its charge against antinomianism. Also, is Jude the m…

The one in which we totally betray our convictions and bargain for material blessings in return for our immortal souls. Oh no wait, that's a different podcast and a different hashtag. In this episode, Dad and I sort out what a blessing actually is and does, how it is that God can bless us but we can also bless God, and the implications for pastoral…

My conversation with James Hazelwood, host of the Everyday Spirituality podcast, on... wait for it... the Transfiguration! And more specifically, my book Seven Ways of Looking at the Transfiguration. Get yourself the ebook or audiobook right now from Thornbush Press! Print edition coming next month.Par Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

What do women want? For that matter, what do men want? Is it (ever) the same thing? Is sex God's greatest joke on his long-suffering creation? Dad and I entertain these and a number of other notions, as we solve all problems of the war of the sexes in an hour and twenty minutes. Plus, good news: the patriarchy is over. I beat it. Notes: 1. Related …

Ruth-exclamation-point, because evidently Podbean won't let you do four-letter titles. Hmm. Well anyway, in this episode Dad and I talk through this absolutely delightful little book of the Old Testament, one of only two named for a woman and the only one named for a Gentile. In particular we explore the necessary and good yet self-contradicting an…

Preachers should preach with the Bible in one hand and the newspaper in the other, so we are told. Maybe Karl Barth told us so. Maybe someone in your church with an axe to grind. Or a sensitive conscience eager to be compassionate and relevant. Should we? In this episode, we continue our explorations of technique and propaganda with the help of Jac…

Nearly everyone thinks the world has gone off the rails, and nearly everyone has a theory why, from kids these days to the moral breakdown of the West to the internet. We return to the conversation started by French Protestant philosopher Jacques Ellul more than 80 years ago, and find him startlingly, alarmingly prescient. In this episode we consid…

Popularly considered the last of the church fathers, John of Damascus gathered up the fruit of early church reflection on the Trinity and the person of Christ in his learned tome, The Orthodox Faith. But in addition to the usual wrangling with the Greek philosophical heritage and the monotheistic challenge of Judaism, John had a new adversary to co…

The Council of Chalcedon (451) gave us the famous christological formula that Jesus Christ is one person in two natures, without change, division, separation, or confusion. It also gave us a lot of conundrums, enough to cause the first major split of the church between the Syriacs and the Greeks. Among others trying to sort out the perplexities of …

What's worse, being bound by the Law or untethered from it entirely? It probably depends on where you're standing. In this episode, Dad and I trace out two kinds of challenges Christians have had to work out with respect to the Law—whether the Law given to Israel applies also to Gentile believers in Jesus Christ, and whether the Law in any respect …

My second appearance on the All About Agatha podcast, talking to host Kemper Donovan about Agatha Christie's speculative-mariology-fanfiction story, "The Island"! Here's a link to my previous All About Agatha appearance: Star over Bethlehem And if that still isn't enough Agatha Christie for you, check out my article in the new issue of the fabulous…

Death! Disaster! Panic in the streets! In this episode Dad and I try to understand how fear and fear-mongering have come to grip our wealthy and (historically speaking) unprecedentedly free societies. Toward that end, we also explore the metastasis of the psychiatric diagnosis of debilitating phobias to a biopolitical strategy for accusing and shut…

The prayer our Lord Jesus taught his disciples, in address to his and their heavenly Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit! And probably the most-prayed prayer of all time. (Well, except maybe "HELP!") In this episode Dad and I pore over each petition, with a great deal of help from Luther's Catechisms, discuss why it is we should pray, and the g…

Sarah sits down to chat with Roger Lowther of the Art Life Faith podcast! Also, in the unlikely event you missed it, the Transfiguration book Kickstarter mentioned in this episode has already ended (after exceeding all expectations!). But you can preorder the ebook on Amazon, where it will be published on August 6, 2024.…

In remembrance of an event that took place 50 years + 1 week ago, Dad tells the story of the internal schism in the Missouri Synod, the "walkout" of professors and students from Concordia Seminary St. Louis, and the founding of a seminary in exile, popularly known as Seminex. It is the founding story of why American Lutheranism looks the way it doe…

Andrew Christiansen of Doth Protest and Dad discuss Karl Marx's reception and use of Martin Luther.Par Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

We've discussed the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, Anselm and Aulen, and salvation itself all over the place... but until now, never "the Atonement." Could that be because the word itself tends to dictate the outcome? In this episode we talk about the origins of the English word "atone," exchange some thoughts on the Epistle to the Hebrews, and …

In church, do your sins actually get forgiven, or are you only assured that in general God likes to forgive sins? Do you have to be penitent for the absolution to work? How penitent? Can a mere human absolve on God's behalf? And if so, how do absolvers know whether they ought to loose something or whether they'd better keep it bound up? In this epi…

Sarah talks with Katie and Gretchen of Freely Given about her forthcoming book, Seven Ways of Looking at the Transfiguration (Kickstarter's closed, so look for it in July 2024!).Par Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

Sarah talks with Katie and Gretchen of the Freely Given podcast about her forthcoming book, Seven Ways of Looking at the Transfiguration (Kickstarter's closed, so look for it in July 2024!).Par Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

John Drury of Fresh Text and Sarah discuss all things Transfiguration in light of her forthcoming book, Seven Ways of Looking at the Transfiguration (Kickstarter's closed, so look for it in July 2024!). And, if you want to hear their next two conversations about the Transfiguration, including the mind-blowing discussion of the Gospel of John, be su…

Jason Micheli of Crackers and Grape Juice and Sarah discuss all things Transfiguration in light of her forthcoming book, Seven Ways of Looking at the Transfiguration (Kickstarter's closed, so look for it in July 2024!).Par Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

All about the Transfiguration of our Lord! And, to be perfectly honest, all about Sarah's new book, Seven Ways of Looking at the Transfiguration (which, as you'll hear, launched as a Kickstarter, and will be available for purchase starting July 2024). Among other topics: Why Elijah and Moses of all possible visitors from Israel's past? Why does Pet…

I have a new podcast! For people who need good fiction and good theology at the same time. Two final episodes here to whet your appetite—so if you enjoy them, please hop on over and subscribe to Sarah Hinlicky Wilson Stories so you won't miss a single episode!Par Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

My lecture at the Parkville Plus seminar hosted by Australian Lutheran College in Adelaide, South Australia, on "Three Nineteenth-Century German Lutheran Saint Calendar Proposals."Par Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

I have a new podcast! For people who need good fiction and good theology at the same time. Two more episodes here to whet your appetite—so if you enjoy them, please hop on over and subscribe to Sarah Hinlicky Wilson Stories so you won't miss a single episode!Par Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

Dad speaks about preaching to political and cultural issues as an exercise of both Christian discipleship and lefthand-kingdom stewardship at the Love Teach Heal Academy for lay preachers and teachers.Par Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

I have a new podcast! For people who need good fiction and good theology at the same time. Two episodes here to whet your appetite—so if you enjoy them, please hop on over and subscribe to Sarah Hinlicky Wilson Stories so you won't miss a single episode!Par Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

What makes human beings to be in the image of God? A rational soul? A capacity for action? An openness to the divine? Is it a given or an achievement? Who or what has it, and who or what doesn't? And does the image of God tell us only about humans, or can it tell us something about God, too—without remaking God in our own image? We wrap up Season 5…

Is it a brain? Is it a mind? Is it a soul? What hath neuroscience to do with theology? In this episode Dad and I discuss recent work on the function of the brain and especially its hemispheric differences, and what this has to do with rationality, bodiliness, and faith. Notes: 1. Kandel, There Is Life after the Nobel Prize 2. Doidge, The Brain That…

The brand-newest of any theological writing Dad and I have ever covered on the podcast! We discuss "The Spirit of the Lord Is Upon Me," the recently released statement of the International Lutheran-Pentecostal Dialogue, following discussions that took place from 2016 to 2022. Full disclosure: Sarah worked as a consultant to the dialogue on behalf o…

Dad discusses the upcoming lectionary reading from Joshua 24 with Rachel Wrenn and Tim McNinch of the First Reading podcast!Par Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

After giving Tillich his due in the last episode, in this one Sarah goes off, more or less blaming Tillich and his book The Courage to Be for everything that has gone wrong in American Lutheranism for the past 75 years. Overwrought and unjust? Probably. Dad makes the case for Tillich at least asking the right questions, and not accepting certain fa…

Dad and I respond to the Hamas terror attack on Israel. Notes: 1. Related episodes: Good Tillich, Before Auschwitz, Luther and the Jews 2. Please read Dad's Before Auschwitz; I also commend Dara Horn's People Love Dead Jews 3. Statement from Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton of the ELCAPar Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

The little-known story of expatriate German theologian Paul Tillich's radio addresses from America to the German people in the depths of World War II, exhorting them to name and reject the false idol that was holding them hostage and driving millions of people to death. In this episode Dad and I explore how Tillich drew on the depths of the Bible's…

Sarah discusses premillennialism, postmillennialism, amillennialism, and Revelation 20 with Katie Langston and Kathryn Schifferdecker of the Enter the Bible podcast. Check out Katie's memoir of leaving Mormonism and becoming a Christian, Sealed: An Unexpected Journey into the Heart of Grace, and listen to Dad's and my discussion of it on a bonus ep…

Christ the center, Christ for me, Christ for us, Christ as church, Christ the humiliated and exalted one, Christ the Lord who is nothing like der Führer who reigned over Berlin at the time a young Dietrich Bonhoeffer gave these university lectures. In this episode we sift through Bonhoeffer's appropriation of Luther's christology, lightly inflected…

Sarah discusses why God heals infections and cancers, but doesn't regrow amputated limbs, on this episode of Enter the Bible with Kathryn Schifferdecker and Katie Langston! Check out related episodes Illness and Healing and Miracles (with Some Help from C. S. Lewis).Par Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

Elect exiles, spirits in prison, slaves, wives, the devil qua prowling lion, but above all lots and lots of the risen Lord Jesus... the First Epistle of Peter has it all! Dad and I get so carried away with this brief letter than we sort of rush to finish at the end, and even so have an outsized episode. But don't worry, we get into that bit about C…

Dad discusses just what the phrase "faith of Christ" in St. Paul's letters means on this episode of Enter the Bible with Kathryn Schifferdecker and Katie Langston!Par Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

Or, the one in which Sarah at long last reads the first work of Protestant dogmatics, and has an existential/vocational crisis as a result. Dad talks her off the ledge. Notes: 1. Melanchthon, Loci Communes (1521 edition) and Loci Communes (1559 edition) (there are lots of other editions in-between) 2. Quere, Melanchthon's Christum Cognoscere 3. Sar…