Banned Books

Welcome to Banned Books, where we read and converse with the rebel children, the holy mischief-makers of God, who fight against the kind of useless religious, spiritual, and moral methods of life improvement that seeks to smother the glory of God in Jesus Christ. We want to introduce you to those who forgot everything except Jesus Christ and him crucified. We all struggle with fear of being last, lost, least, littlest, and dead, and so we are here to encourage, challenge, provoke, and maybe even offend you by introducing you to theologians who at one time or another were banned by their church, declared dangerous, or simply vilified for daring to confess that Christ alone is the way, truth, and life. Welcome rebel children, holy mischief makers, and fools for Christ. This podcast is for you.

425: Lewis - Myth Became Fact 01/24/2026

425: Lewis - Myth Became Fact The Hangman’s Nous. In this episode, we read an excerpt from The Maniac, by G.K. Chesterton, followed by Myth Became Fact, from C.S. Lewis’ book of essays, “God in the Dock.” The primary question we discuss, then, is whether men and women can live a healthy and sane life with mystery, without myth, and without higher truth. What has happened to modern churches that exorcised mystery from preaching, teaching, evangelism, and worship? What anchors the Body of Christ when it’s unmoored from Church history and tradition? What have been the consequences for churches that treat the Christian story as more fantasy than fact? What does Lewis mean that God is “mythopoeic”? What does it mean that Christianity is, according to Lewis, “perfect myth and perfect fact”? SHOW NOTES: God in the Dock Orthodoxy - G.K. Cherston Planet Narnia by Michael Ward More from 1517: https://www.1517.org/donate-podcasts : http://www.1517.org/podcasts : https://www.youtube.com/@1517org : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/1517-podcast-network/id6442751370 : https://www.1517.org/events : https://academy.1517.org/ What’s New from 1517: Being Family by Dr. Scott Keith The Essential Nestingen: Essays on Preaching, Catechism, and the Reformation Philip Melanchthon's Commentary on Ecclesiastes Face to Face: A Novel of the Reformation by Amy Mantravadi Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of Psalms by Chad Bird More from the hosts: Donovan Riley Christopher Gillespie CONTACT and FOLLOW: Email Facebook Twitter SUBSCRIBE: YouTube Rumble Odysee Apple Podcasts Spotify Overcast MORE LINKS: Tin Foil Haloes Warrior Priest Gym & Podcast St John's Lutheran Church (Webster, MN) - FB Live Bible Study Group Gillespie's Sermons and Catechesis Donavon's Substack Gillespie's Nostr Gillespie Coffee Gillespie Media /episode/index/show/bannedbooks/id/39858595

424: Kleinig - The Role of the Holy Spirit in the Divine Service 01/17/2026

423: Graff - Rationalism's war on everything "magical." 01/09/2026

422: Post-Christmas and Post-New Year Debrief 01/03/2026

422: Post-Christmas and Post-New Year Debrief What’s the Frequency, Kenneth? In this episode, we gather for a post-Christmas, post-New Year pastoral debrief. We talk about symbols and meaning, Christmas and holidays, signs and seasons, and how modern churches quietly cleared the path for culture to push Christ out of Christmas without much resistance. We explore the strange and largely arbitrary ways the world measures time, along with the old Adam’s never-ending pyramid project. That is, his need to build meaning upward by effort, progress, and control rather than receive it as a gift. From there, we return to symbol and meaning. We ask why ancient liturgy’s nostalgia or ornamentation, but the distilled shape of reality itself, why the Lord’s Supper isn’t a side practice, but the beating heart of the Church, of worship, and of the Christian life. And why stories’ decorations for faith, but the way truth takes on flesh and finds us where we actually live. This is a conversation about time, worship, memory, and why the Church invents meaning but receives it again and again at the table. SHOW NOTES: Disney's Robin Hood (1973) Still Asking Berry's Question Stephen R. Lawhead More from 1517: : http://www.1517.org/podcasts : : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/1517-podcast-network/id6442751370 : https://www.1517.org/events : https://academy.1517.org/ What’s New from 1517: Coming Home for Christmas: 1517 Advent Devotional Face to Face: A Novel of the Reformation by Amy Mantravadi Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of Psalms by Chad Bird Remembering Your Baptism: A 40-Day Devotional by Kathryn Morales Sinner Saint by Luke Kjolhaug More from the hosts: Donovan Riley Christopher Gillespie CONTACT and FOLLOW: Email Facebook Twitter SUBSCRIBE: YouTube Rumble Odysee Apple Podcasts Spotify Overcast MORE LINKS: Tin Foil Haloes Warrior Priest Gym & Podcast St John's Lutheran Church (Webster, MN) - FB Live Bible Study Group Gillespie's Sermons and Catechesis Donavon's Substack Gillespie's Nostr Gillespie Coffee Gillespie Media /episode/index/show/bannedbooks/id/39601600

421: Chesterton - Mankind would have a much worse time if there were no such thing as Christmas or Christmas dinners 12/20/2025

420: C.S. Lewis - Christmas is unfortunately everyone's business 12/13/2025

419: C.S. Lewis - All that Christianity adds to Paganism is the cure 12/05/2025

418: Luther - God will not deal with us except through his external Word and sacrament 11/29/2025

417: Luther - A deep, evil corruption of nature that reason does not comprehend 11/21/2025

417: Luther - A deep, evil corruption of nature that reason does not comprehend How Deep Is Your Love! In this episode, we continue our reading of the Smalcald Articles, focusing our attention on sin and the law. What is sin? What does it do to us? What are its effects? And, in following, what is the relationship of the law to sin? Does the law empower us to sin less? Can the law produce good works and good fruits? What is the function of pastoral care in relation to sin and the law? All this and much, much more on this episode of the podcast. 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 adopted at the meeting, they later became an important part of Lutheran confessional writings included in the Book of Concord. More from 1517: : http://www.1517.org/podcasts : : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/1517-podcast-network/id6442751370 : https://www.1517.org/events : https://academy.1517.org/ What’s New from 1517: Coming Home for Christmas: 1517 Advent Devotional Face to Face: A Novel of the Reformation by Amy Mantravadi Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of Psalms by Chad Bird Remembering Your Baptism: A 40-Day Devotional by Kathryn Morales Sinner Saint by Luke Kjolhaug More from the hosts: Donovan Riley Christopher Gillespie CONTACT and FOLLOW: Email Facebook Twitter SUBSCRIBE: YouTube Rumble Odysee Apple Podcasts Spotify Overcast MORE LINKS: Tin Foil Haloes Warrior Priest Gym & Podcast St John's Lutheran Church (Webster, MN) - FB Live Bible Study Group Gillespie's Sermons and Catechesis Donavon's Substack Gillespie's Nostr Gillespie Coffee Gillespie Media /episode/index/show/bannedbooks/id/39130265

416: Luther - To this office of the law, however, the New Testament immediately adds the consoling promise of grace through the gospel 11/14/2025

416: Luther - To this office of the law, however, the New Testament immediately adds the consoling promise of grace through the gospel 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 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 adopted at the meeting, they later became an important part of Lutheran confessional writings included in the Book of Concord. More from 1517: : http://www.1517.org/podcasts : : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/1517-podcast-network/id6442751370 : https://www.1517.org/events : https://academy.1517.org/ What’s New from 1517: Coming Home for Christmas: 1517 Advent Devotional Face to Face: A Novel of the Reformation by Amy Mantravadi Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of Psalms by Chad Bird Remembering Your Baptism: A 40-Day Devotional by Kathryn Morales Sinner Saint by Luke Kjolhaug More from the hosts: Donovan Riley Christopher Gillespie CONTACT and FOLLOW: Email Facebook Twitter SUBSCRIBE: YouTube Rumble Odysee Apple Podcasts Spotify Overcast MORE LINKS: Tin Foil Haloes Warrior Priest Gym & Podcast St John's Lutheran Church (Webster, MN) - FB Live Bible Study Group Gillespie's Sermons and Catechesis Donavon's Substack Gillespie's Nostr Gillespie Coffee Gillespie Media /episode/index/show/bannedbooks/id/39029515

415: Luther - The Mass is a dangerous thing, fabricated and invented without God’s Word and will 11/08/2025

414: Luther - God is extravagantly rich in His grace 10/31/2025

414: Luther - God is extravagantly rich in His grace 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 for Impossible Prize Simul Iustus et Peccator 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 adopted at the meeting, they later became an important part of Lutheran confessional writings included in the Book of Concord. More from 1517: : http://www.1517.org/podcasts : : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/1517-podcast-network/id6442751370 : https://www.1517.org/events : https://academy.1517.org/ What’s New from 1517: Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of Psalms by Chad Bird Remembering Your Baptism: A 40-Day Devotional by Kathryn Morales Sinner Saint by Luke Kjolhaug The Impossible Prize: A Theology of Addiction by Donavan Riley More from the hosts: Donovan Riley Christopher Gillespie CONTACT and FOLLOW: Email Facebook Twitter SUBSCRIBE: YouTube Rumble Odysee Apple Podcasts Spotify Overcast MORE LINKS: Tin Foil Haloes Warrior Priest Gym & Podcast St John's Lutheran Church (Webster, MN) - FB Live Bible Study Group Gillespie's Sermons and Catechesis Donavon's Substack Gillespie's Nostr Gillespie Coffee Gillespie Media /episode/index/show/bannedbooks/id/38870845

413: Debrief on the Bondage of the Will 10/24/2025

413: Debrief on the Bondage of the Will 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 fantasy and science-fiction writing, 80s children’s movies, and other pop culture nostalgia. SHOW NOTES: The Captivation of the Will: Luther Vs. Erasmus on Freedom and Bondage by Gerhard O. Forde HWSS SD 2025 What Is Christianity? And Other Essays - Franz Pieper The Mandibles: A Family, 2029-2047 Luther Small Catechism - Third Article Captivation of the Will Series: 407: Paulson - The free will is demonstrably not Jesus Christ 408: Nestigen - Luther and Erasmus on the Bondage of the Will 409: Forde - Take away assertions and you take away Christianity 410: Forde - Better not to let the "common herd" in on such lofty and dangerous academic secrets 411: Forde - Are we puppets, being jerked around against our wills by a malevolent puppeteer? 412: Forde - The gospel, and only the gospel, spells the end of the hidden God More from 1517: : http://www.1517.org/podcasts : : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/1517-podcast-network/id6442751370 : https://www.1517.org/events : https://academy.1517.org/ What’s New from 1517: Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of Psalms by Chad Bird Remembering Your Baptism: A 40-Day Devotional by Kathryn Morales Sinner Saint by Luke Kjolhaug The Impossible Prize: A Theology of Addiction by Donavan Riley More from the hosts: Donovan Riley Christopher Gillespie CONTACT and FOLLOW: Email Facebook Twitter SUBSCRIBE: YouTube Rumble Odysee Apple Podcasts Spotify Overcast MORE LINKS: Tin Foil Haloes Warrior Priest Gym & Podcast St John's Lutheran Church (Webster, MN) - FB Live Bible Study Group Gillespie's Sermons and Catechesis Donavon's Substack Gillespie's Nostr Gillespie Coffee Gillespie Media /episode/index/show/bannedbooks/id/38774855

412: Forde - The gospel, and only the gospel, spells the end of the hidden God 10/11/2025

412: Forde - The gospel, and only the gospel, spells the end of the hidden God 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: , , , , , , , , Captivation of the Will Series: 407: Paulson - The free will is demonstrably not Jesus Christ 408: Nestigen - Luther and Erasmus on the Bondage of the Will 409: Forde - Take away assertions and you take away Christianity 410: Forde - Better not to let the "common herd" in on such lofty and dangerous academic secrets 411: Forde - Are we puppets, being jerked around against our wills by a malevolent puppeteer? More from 1517: : http://www.1517.org/podcasts : : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/1517-podcast-network/id6442751370 : https://www.1517.org/events : https://academy.1517.org/ What’s New from 1517: Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of Psalms by Chad Bird Remembering Your Baptism: A 40-Day Devotional by Kathryn Morales Sinner Saint by Luke Kjolhaug The Impossible Prize: A Theology of Addiction by Donavan Riley More from the hosts: Donovan Riley Christopher Gillespie CONTACT and FOLLOW: Email Facebook Twitter SUBSCRIBE: YouTube Rumble Odysee Apple Podcasts Spotify Overcast MORE LINKS: Tin Foil Haloes Warrior Priest Gym & Podcast St John's Lutheran Church (Webster, MN) - FB Live Bible Study Group Gillespie's Sermons and Catechesis Donavon's Substack Gillespie's Nostr Gillespie Coffee Gillespie Media /episode/index/show/bannedbooks/id/38549945

411: Forde - Are we puppets, being jerked around against our wills by a malevolent puppeteer? 10/04/2025

411: Forde - Are we puppets, being jerked around against our wills by a malevolent puppeteer? 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 of the original sin in the garden? We also talk about drunkenness, women’s ordination, the offense of irresistible grace, and what the Holy Spirit is up to amidst the disruption that occurs when he sends his preachers to declare an end to the illusion of free choice and reveal his death sentence to bound wills. SHOW NOTES: The Captivation of the Will: Luther Vs. Erasmus on Freedom and Bondage by Gerhard O. Forde HWSS SD 2025 Whalerider (2002) The Antioch Bible Escape from Evil Young Man Luther: A Study in Psychoanalysis and History More from 1517: : http://www.1517.org/podcasts : : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/channel/1517-podcast-network/id6442751370 : https://www.1517.org/events : https://academy.1517.org/ What’s New from 1517: Untamed Prayers: 365 Daily Devotions on Christ in the Book of Psalms by Chad Bird Remembering Your Baptism: A 40-Day Devotional by Kathryn Morales Sinner Saint by Luke Kjolhaug The Impossible Prize: A Theology of Addiction by Donavan Riley More from the hosts: Donovan Riley Christopher Gillespie MORE LINKS: Tin Foil Haloes Warrior Priest Gym & Podcast St John's Lutheran Church (Webster, MN) - FB Live Bible Study Group Gillespie's Sermons and Catechesis Donavon's Substack Gillespie's Substack Gillespie Coffee Gillespie Media CONTACT and FOLLOW: Email Facebook Twitter SUBSCRIBE: YouTube Rumble Odysee Apple Podcasts Spotify Overcast /episode/index/show/bannedbooks/id/38467115