New Persuasive Words

"The revival in religion will be a rhetorical problem - new persuasive words for defaced or degraded ones." - Thornton Wilder

About the show

New Persuasive Words started as two guys talking about life with what we thought (hoped?) was wit and insight, on our good days anyway. Then...a podcast.

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Episodes

  • Episode 189: Does The Virgin Birth Make Sense, part 1

    December 19th, 2017  |  44 mins 40 secs

    In this episode we think about whether or not the Virgin Birth still makes sense for modern Christians. We initially wanted to tackle three issues: (1) the biblical witness, (2) the theological truth and (3) the existential significance. We only got to part 1. Our endeavor is parts 2 and 3 before Christmas Eve.

  • Episode 188: Reflecting on The Legacy of R.C. Sproul

    December 16th, 2017  |  32 mins 1 sec

    We are joined on a "Friday Night Lights" episode by Greg Strawbridge. Greg is the pastor of All Saints Church in Lancaster, PA.

  • Episode 187: What Does Roy Moore's Defeat Mean For America and Its Christians?

    December 13th, 2017  |  49 mins 53 secs

    In this episode, recorded the day after the special Senate election in Alabama to fill Jeff Sessions' seat, we talk about the signficance of Roy Moore's defeat for American public life.

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    Episode 186: From Ideology To Tribalism?

    December 9th, 2017  |  31 mins 44 secs

    In this episode we consider whether tribalism is a more decisive force in our culture than ideology.

  • Episode 185: Theology In Outline, Part 6: Advent and Eschatology

    December 8th, 2017  |  34 mins 16 secs

    We continue our revisiting of the Reformation, commemorating its 500th anniversary, through a comparison of brief works of Robert Jenson and Brian Gerrish. In this episode, recorded during the beginning of Advent, we talk about the end of all things and Christian hope.

  • Episode 184: Friday Night Lights...Robin Hood, Taxes, Kickers and Punters

    December 2nd, 2017  |  39 mins 26 secs

    In this episode, a Friday Night Lights edition, we talk about current events. We hit on taxes, field listener questions from Facebook live and even talk about football.

  • Episode 183: Revolution and Reform

    December 2nd, 2017  |  30 mins 44 secs

    In this episode we talk about the 13th century, a century G.K. Chesterton claimed was great because it was one of reform without revolution.

  • Episode 182: Escaping Roy Moore's Evangelicalism

    November 22nd, 2017  |  38 mins 16 secs

    In this episode of the podcast we discuss a recent New York Times piece by UNC historian Molly Worthen.

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    Episode 181: Sober Faith

    November 21st, 2017  |  31 mins 45 secs

    In this episode we consider what it means to have a faith that does not simply react to the turbulent and sometimes outrageous times in which we live, but actually serves as a kind of calming reality in the eye of the storm.

  • Episode 180: Where Does Creativity Come From?

    November 18th, 2017  |  27 mins 27 secs

    In this episode we reflect on the nature of creativity. Where does it come from? What makes it flow? What kills it?

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    Episode 179: Manners, Motives and Public Discourse

    November 10th, 2017  |  28 mins 44 secs

    Inspired by a recent Atlantic piece by Peter Beinart, we talk about what it might take to have more understanding public discourse today.

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    Episode 178: The Euthyphro Problem?

    November 5th, 2017  |  37 mins 3 secs

    In this episode of the podcast we discuss a Platonic dialogue entitled "Euthyphro." It poses timeless questions about the relationship between justice, piety and the nature of truth.

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    Episode 177: Glorious Things Of...?...A Reformation Reflection

    November 1st, 2017  |  56 mins 6 secs

    In this episode we have a conversation with Geoff Holsclaw and David Fitch about the legacy of the Reformation and what it means today.

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    Episode 176: Gods, Gopniks and Godlessness

    October 29th, 2017  |  27 mins 21 secs

    We were recently inspired by something David Bentley Hart wrote about atheism in First Things in 2014. For this we thank Facebook.

  • Episode 175: Is Liberalism Conservative?

    October 21st, 2017  |  34 mins 7 secs

    In this episode we talk about a recent Wall Street Journal piece by "Yoram Hazony" entitled "Is 'Classical Liberalism' Conservative?"

  • Episode 174: What Is Sacred?

    October 20th, 2017  |  36 mins 3 secs

    This week there was a controversy involving President Trump and a phone call he made to the family of a fallen Special Forces soldier who was one of four that died this month in Niger. Trump's Chief of Staff weighed in during a press conference, at one point asking if anything is sacred anymore. We ponder that question.