Libsyn Directory

405: Barfield - Myth is the Ghost of Concrete Meaning

Release Date: 08/22/2025

416: Luther - To this office of the law, however, the New Testament immediately adds the consoling promise of grace through the gospel

Banned Books

Don’t Look Back in Anger. In this episode, we continue reading Martin Luther’s Smalcald Articles, focusing on contrition, repentance, and freedom. Why does the law need to terrify and leave us hopeless? How does attention to the self lead us into death and hell? What happens when belief is preached as something “we do” rather than something “done to” us? Likewise, when repentance is self-activated and self-actuated, what are the consequences for our daily lives? This and much, much more on this episode of the show. SHOW NOTES: The Book of Concord - Smalcald Articles ...

415: Luther - The Mass is a dangerous thing, fabricated and invented without God’s Word and will

Banned Books

Mass Effect. In this episode, we continue our reading of The Smalcald Articles, focusing on Luther’s critique of the Roman Mass and all its consequences for the churches and Christian life. We discuss mimetic desire, sacrificial religion, the exclusive work of Jesus. SHOW NOTES: The Book of Concord - Smalcald Articles Smalcald Articles history The Smalcald Articles are a summary of Lutheran doctrine written by Martin Luther in 1537 for a meeting of the Schmalkaldic League, which aimed to unify Lutheran territories against Roman Catholic forces. Although they were not officially...

414: Luther - God is extravagantly rich in His grace

Banned Books

An Arm-Twisting Confession. In this episode, we read Martin Luther’s Smalcald Articles on the gospel, baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. Why did he have to have “his arm twisted” to write them? What is he trying to teach the churches about the gospel? How does the gospel circumscribe and define the Church, worship, and Christian life? Why does something written in the 1530s matter today? We look to answer all these questions and more on this episode of the Banned Books podcast. SHOW NOTES: The Book of Concord - Smalcald Articles Smalcald Articles history Edward Riojas Study Guide...

413: Debrief on the Bondage of the Will

Banned Books

The Never-Ending Story of our Bound Will & Election. In this episode, we write an epilogue —so to speak— to our series on the Bondage of the Will and wrap up our thoughts about the Here We Still Stand Conference 2025. We ask, “From whence comes a preacher?” Where does one go for gospel-comfort and the gifts of salvation? What is the Gospel? What is the purpose of the Church? What are the practical consequences of having a will that is bound up to sin, the world, and the evil one? What happens when the churches reject the “hinge” upon which all doctrines turn? And we talk about...

412: Forde - The gospel, and only the gospel, spells the end of the hidden God

Banned Books

For What It’s Worth. In this episode, we conclude our reading of Gerhard Forde’s "Captivation of the Will." We discuss the conclusion of Luther’s treatise on the bound will, arriving at Christ and election, which reveals Erasmus’s fundamental error — his argument for the human will is actually the original sin, choosing between good and evil. SHOW NOTES: The Captivation of the Will: Luther Vs. Erasmus on Freedom and Bondage by Gerhard O. Forde HWSS SD 2025 The Gospel for Those Broken By the Church Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress” episodes: , , , , , , ,...

411: Forde - Are we puppets, being jerked around against our wills by a malevolent puppeteer?

Banned Books

Master of Puppets. In this episode, we continue our exploration of the Bondage of the Will, with Gerhard Forde’s book, The Captivation of the Will. We discuss the human will — what it is, what it does, what it wants — and why we are compelled to insist that we have free choice. We also talk about the two paths: one, the path of forgiveness, and the other, the way of morality. Why do we default to morality in matters of choice, and why is the preaching of God’s grace over against morality so offensive to Christians who confess that our knowledge of good and bad is a direct consequence...

410: Forde - Better not to let the "common herd" in on such lofty and dangerous academic secrets

Banned Books

Have You Herd? In this episode, we continue our reading of The Captivation of Will, discussing the problem of God, the death-ride of morality, scandalous election, the dilemma of sin and freedom and more sin, and the singular calling of Christ’s preachers. SHOW NOTES: The Captivation of the Will: Luther Vs. Erasmus on Freedom and Bondage by Gerhard O. Forde To a God Unknown by John Steinbeck Self Esteem Culture More from 1517: : http://www.1517.org/podcasts : : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/1517-podcast-network/id6442751370 :...

409: Forde - Take away assertions and you take away Christianity

Banned Books

Do You Understand the Words That Are Coming Out of My Mouth? In this episode, we read Gerhard Forde’s monograph on Luther’s treatise on The Bondage of the Will. We discuss scriptural exegesis, its internal and external clarity, how modern readers interpret texts, and why we often misread the Bible, as well as why we frequently fail to understand biblical texts that are overt and explicit in their clarity. This, and a conversation about Erasmus’s word study method, Luther’s assertions, living words, and the vibrating, dangerous energy of Scripture. SHOW NOTES: The...

408: Nestigen - Luther and Erasmus on the Bondage of the Will

Banned Books

Dazed & Confused. In this episode, we continue our series on The Bondage of the Will (1525), by Martin Luther. We read Dr. James Nestingen’s historical introduction to the treatise and delve into the ways two theologians differed in their exegesis of Scripture, their interpretation of Christian doctrine, and the early and medieval church-theological traditions that influenced Erasmus and Luther as they engaged in a back-and-forth. SHOW NOTES: The Captivation of the Will: Luther Vs. Erasmus on Freedom and Bondage by Gerhard O. Forde Thomism Luther: Right or Wrong? by Harry...

407: Paulson - The free will is demonstrably not Jesus Christ

Banned Books

In this episode, we begin our series commemorating the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s treatise, de Servo Arbitrio — The Bondage of the Will. We begin by reading Dr. Steven Paulson’s theological analysis of what’s at stake in Luther’s treatise, as well as its sharp-edged consequences for churches today. As it was received then, so it is now by dedicated students of this work: it cleaves those who seek Jesus plus philosophy, ideology, or personal interests from those who insist on Christ alone in all things relating to matters of salvation, faith, etc. SHOW NOTES: The...

More Episodes

Little Plastic Castles. In this episode, we read the first Inkling, Owen Barfield, as he defends the use of old words, old stories, and old ways of expressing what’s good, beautiful, and true against modern proponents that argued for more modern “scientific” ways of judging language, esp., poetics and myth, as well as religion and culture.

SHOW NOTES:

Owen Barfield Bio https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Barfield

Barfield 1517 Article https://www.1517.org/articles/unsung-inklings-owen-barfield

Poetic Diction https://owenbarfield.org/selected-books/poetic-diction/

Anthroposophy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthroposophy

John Moriarty https://www.johnmoriarty.ie

Milgichrist https://www.ted.com/talks/iain_mcgilchrist_the_divided_brain

Tolkien's Dictionary https://dn720808.ca.archive.org/0/items/bim_early-english-books-1641-1700_dictionarium-saxonico-la_somner-william_1659/bim_early-english-books-1641-1700_dictionarium-saxonico-la_somner-william_1659.pdf

Christ the Appletree https://hymnary.org/text/the_tree_of_life_my_soul_hath_seen

Chaucer - The Knight's Tale https://chaucer.fas.harvard.edu/pages/knights-tale-0

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