Good Faith

Are Violent Bible Passages Being Used to Justify War?
 
Pete Wehner, former White House official and writer for The Atlantic, joins Curtis Chang to examine how violent Old Testament "holy war" texts are being invoked in today's political and cultural debates, including by Pete Hegseth and voices tied to the Trump administration. Pete and Curtis explore the war in Iran, Bible interpretation, the character of God, and why Christians must read troubling Bible passages through the lens of Jesus and the cross before making life-and-death moral judgments.
 
02:37 - Holy War Texts and Public Policy
03:37 - Pete Hegseth and the Invocation of Holy War 
08:32 - The Real-World Consequences of Misreading Scripture 
17:21 - Wrestling with Disturbing Texts 
22:28 - The Necessity of Disturbance and Christocentric Reading
31:07 - What Is the Historical Role of Allegorical Interpretation?
35:17 - Jewish and Rabbinic Traditions of Wrestling with Text 
37:21 - Tim Keller: Christ's Character as Interpretive Key
42:58 - The Importance of Literary Reasoning
46:37 - Literal but Time-Specific Commands
52:15 - A Warning Against Overconfidence
54:04 - Debating for Truth, Not Victory
56:09 - The Real-World and Personal Stakes of Biblical Interpretation
 
Take the Listener Survey
Sign up for The After Party
Sign up for The Good List
 
 
Mentioned In This Episode:
Pete Wehner's article Pete Hegseth's Moral Unseriousness
Understanding Pete Hegseth's connection to Douglas Wilson: What is CREC and how does it shape Pete Hegseth's religious rhetoric?
President George W. Bush's National Cathedral Speech
What is the Christian Reconstructionist Movement?
What is Just War Theory?
Gregory A. Boyd's The Crucifixion of the Warrior God, Vol. 1 & 2
Gregory A Boyd's Cross Vision: How the Crucifixion of Jesus Makes Sense of Old Testament Violence
Tremper Longman's The Old Testament as Literature: Foundations for Christian Interpretation
More about C.S. Lewis & Owen Barfield
 
 
More from Pete Wehner:
Pete Wehner's articles at The Atlantic
Pete Wehner's opinion pieces at The New York Times
 
 
Follow Us:
Good Faith on Instagram
Good Faith on X (formerly Twitter)
Good Faith on Facebook
 
The Good Faith Podcast is a production of a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization that does not engage in any political campaign activity to support or oppose any candidate for public office. Any views and opinions expressed by any guests on this program are solely those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Good Faith.

Is AI Helping Us Flourish or Making Us Less Human?
 
Andy Crouch joins Curtis Chang for a timely conversation on AI, Christianity, human flourishing, and the future of being human. Together they explore whether artificial intelligence will deepen human relationships or replace them, why prediction is not the same as prophecy, and how Christians can pursue embodied community, reconciliation, and faithful living in the age of AI.
 
04:31 - Technology Adoption and Cultural Change
09:05 - AI's Subtle Presence and Future Potential
12:30 - AI and Work-Life Balance
14:36 - Risks of AI Replacing Relationships
15:35 - Loneliness and AI Relationships 
20:43 - Practical Steps Toward Relationships
28:36 - A call to cultivate deep relationships before the AI "tsunami."
29:54 - Human Distinctiveness: Prediction vs. Prophecy
35:13 - AI, Consciousness, and the Image of God
41:04 - What are the responsibilities of Christians working in AI?
45:49 - Redemptive Technology
46:24 - Andy expresses grief and concern for dehumanization.
48:03 - God's redemptive purpose despite anticipated losses from AI
 
Drawing upon material from a past conversation
 
Take the Listener Survey
Sign up for The After Party
Sign up for The Good List
 
 
Mentioned in This Episode:
Rosaria Butterfield's The Gospel Comes with a House Key
Good Faith episode 107: Where is AI Taking Us Spiritually? (with James Cham and John Kim)
American Psychological Association: Many teens are turning to AI chatbots for friendship and emotional support
Psychology Today: AI Use in Dating Jumps 333%
Video: AI Allows Man with ALS to 'Speak' Again
 
 
More From Andy Crouch:
Check out Andy's website
Check out Andy's work at Praxis
Read Andy's book: The Life We're Looking For
 
Follow Us:
Good Faith on Instagram
Good Faith on X (formerly Twitter)
Good Faith on Facebook
 
The Good Faith Podcast is a production of a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization that does not engage in any political campaign activity to support or oppose any candidate for public office. Any views and opinions expressed by any guests on this program are solely those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Good Faith.

The Power of Presence: How Connection Transcends Cognitive Loss
Show Notes:
Good Faith's series of Campfire Stories invites listeners to hear how ordinary people are living out extraordinary faith in complex times. In this episode, In this episode. Jim, a devoted husband and caregiver, shares moving stories about his wife Carolyn's vibrant life and their journey through her frontotemporal dementia diagnosis. Inspired by Curtis and Good Faith guest Professor John Swinton, a theologian and former nurse, Jim  explores the theological significance of being remembered by God, and the enduring value of personhood beyond memory.
Send your Campfire Stories to: [email protected]
Follow Us:
Good Faith on Instagram
Good Faith on X (formerly Twitter)
Good Faith on Facebook
 
The Good Faith Podcast is a production of a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization that does not engage in any political campaign activity to support or oppose any candidate for public office. Any views and opinions expressed by any guests on this program are solely those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Good Faith.

Are Megachurches, Christian Influencers, and Artificial Intelligence Breaking the Church?
 
This week on the Good Faith podcast, Katelyn Beaty joins host Curtis Chang to confront the church's growing addiction to celebrity culture, asking how celebrity pastors, megachurch platforms, and AI are changing the way Christians are formed. Curtis even asks Katelyn to evaluate whether his public persona and the Good Faith platform risk becoming part of the very problem they're critiquing. If faith is becoming more online, more branded, and less embodied, this conversation asks the hard question: what happens to authentic Christian community, spiritual growth, and discipleship when personality starts to outrun the way of Jesus?
 
02:06 - Defining Persona vs. Fame
04:14 - Embodied Relationships vs. Platform
05:17 - Curtis's Personal Experience with Platform
09:56 - Dangers of Platform Culture for the Church
14:27 - Curtis's Dilemma: Content vs. Persona
17:58 - Navigating Platform Tensions as a Christian Leader
20:09 - Case Studies: Celebrity Gone Wrong and Right
25:34 - Community and Spiritual Formation Beyond Megachurches 
30:10 - Technology, Evangelicals, and the Attention Economy
33:00 - AI and the Future of Persona and Platform 
36:12 - Final Hope: Embodied, Material Christian Life
 
Take the Listener Survey
Sign up for The After Party
Sign up for The Good List
 
 
Mentioned in This Episode:
More about Katelyn Beaty
Katelyn Beaty's Celebrities for Jesus: How Personas, Platforms, and Profits Are Hurting the Church
TIME: The True Story Behind the FX Documentary Series The Secrets of Hillsong 
Christianity Today's podcast: The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill
New York Times: How the Willow Creek Church Scandal Has Stunned the Evangelical World
More about Eugene Peterson
Curtis Chang's The Anxiety Opportunity
 
 
More From Katelyn Beaty:
Katelyn Beaty's Substack The Beaty Beat 
Katelyn Beaty's podcast Saved by the City
Katelyn Beaty's A Woman's Place Participant Guide: A Bible Study Exploring Every Woman's Call to Work
 
 
Follow Us:
Good Faith on Instagram
Good Faith on X (formerly Twitter)
Good Faith on Facebook
 
The Good Faith Podcast is a production of a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization that does not engage in any political campaign activity to support or oppose any candidate for public office. Any views and opinions expressed by any guests on this program are solely those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Good Faith.

From Breakthroughs to Budget Cuts: The Rollercoaster of Modern Medical Research
 
What happens when politics wages war on science—and Christians get caught in the blast radius? In this Good Faith Podcast episode, Curtis Chang talks with former NIH director Dr. Francis Collins and BioLogos president Dr. Kristine Torjesen about Collins' forced exit from NIH, the shutdown of a major HIV prevention programs in Africa, and how cuts to vaccines, medical research, and public health are threatening lives and future breakthroughs in cancer, Alzheimer's, and pandemic preparedness. They also confront vaccine distrust, anti-institution politics, and evangelical skepticism of science, while making the case that science is not the enemy of faith but a gift from God for truth, healing, and human flourishing.
 
Take the Listener Survey
Sign up for The After Party
Sign up for The Good List
Get tickets: Illuminate Arts + Faith Conference and our recording with Matt Maher
 
05:56 - Political Interference in Science Roles, Research, and Aid Cuts
10:57 - Are Medical Advances Threatened by Political Decisions?
16:03 - Curtis Gets Candid About Unexpected Benefits of Medical Aid in His Life
17:34 - Vaccine Policy Changes and Anti-Vax Influence 
20:46 - Engaging Christians Who Distrust Science
25:39 - What Lessons Can We Learn from COVID Vaccine Promotion 
28:32 - Is Science Politically Biased?
36:15 - Distrust of Institutions and Its Roots
44:45 - Equipping Pastors and Parents for Faith-Science Conversations
46:59 - Hopeful Medical Advances Despite Setbacks
50:15 - Science as a Source of Beauty and Worship
 
Scriptures:
John 14:6 (ESV)
 
Mentioned in This Episode:
Check out the Biologos website
Announcement: Dr. Kristine Torjesen becomes BioLogos' 3rd president and CEO
Biologos: Kristine Torjesen's Professional Biography
NIH Bio: Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D.
NIH: Decades in the Making: mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines
KFF (The independent source for health policy research and news): COVID-19 preventable mortality
Brooke Nichols: Tracking Anticipated Deaths from USAID Funding Cuts
Check out the Impact Counter
 
More From Dr. Francis Collins:
Dr. Francis Collins' The Road to Wisdom: On Truth, Science, Faith, and Trust
 
Follow Us:
Good Faith on Instagram
Good Faith on X (formerly Twitter)
Good Faith on Facebook
 
The Good Faith Podcast is a production of a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization that does not engage in any political campaign activity to support or oppose any candidate for public office. Any views and opinions expressed by any guests on this program are solely those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Good Faith.