This week, AJ brings up Pope Francis' current health situation and talks with Brandon about the Pope's broader role in Christianity. Even if you aren't Catholic, the Papacy remains influential.
Episode 281 – Papal Health
Episode 280 – Messaging Christ
In this week's episode, Brandon approaches AJ about his idea that our messaging on Christ is the source of a lot of people's confusions about Him. Specifically, that people overemphasizing Christ's humanity or divinity are a big part of the problem.
Episode 279 – Do We Get Him?
This week, Brandon wants to talk about the Jesus commercial in the Super Bowl. Does it make sense to take such a broad strokes approach to evangelization? Is it evangelization at all? Is that a good use of $8 million? What is the actual message they are spreading? Do any of these questions even matter?
Episode 278 – Kings and Rings
Wrapping up their look at examples of priests, prophets, and kings in the Lord of the Rings, AJ and Brandon compare the rule of Aragorn and Denethor, steward of Gondor. They also crystalize some of the patterns between all three offices and think about what that means for their own lives.
Episode 277 – The Little Priests of Middle Earth
This week, AJ and Brandon continue looking at Middle Earth and Christ's three offices being depicted. This time, it's with a look at the priesthood as seen in Gollum and Frodo (and Sam).
Episode 276 – Prophetic Wizards in Lord of the Rings
In this week's episode, AJ and Brandon discuss Tolkien's depictions of good wizards and bad as a parallel to the messianic office of the prophet. What do Gandalf and Saruman show us about the right and wrong ways to live the prophetic call?
Episode 275 – Fallen Middle Earth
This week, Brandon and AJ resume their conversation about Tolkien's Middle Earth. What starts as a conversation about how change in perfection must be a loss becomes a conversation about how we experience our fall and God's salvation of us as ongoing stories rather than single historical events.