Theology Lab: Courage & Curiosity for Everyday Faith

This fall Theology Lab explores questions at the heart of Christian faith—from interpreting the Bible and understanding the theology of evil to faith deconstruction.
We are joined by Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Pete Enns, Miroslav Volf, Nicholas Kristof and others—as we wrestle honestly with Scripture, the theology of evil (theodicy), evangelicalism, the Trinity, and more.
Whether you’re rethinking your faith, studying theology, or simply looking for deeper ways to understand Christianity, Theology Lab is a space to think deeply, ask better questions, and explore faith without easy answers.

The BibleProject's Tim Mackie gives his take of divine violence in the Bible and the way of Jesus, including his death for enemies. How does he hold a "mosaic" of images that come from Scripture together?
In this Theology Lab conversation, Tim Mackie of The BibleProject (the Bible Project) joins us for the second part of our interview. The first part looked at the origins of evil and key patterns in Genesis 1–11. This episode focuses on the challenge of violence in Scripture, especially passages where God commands violence and how those passages might be understood in light of the revelation of God in Jesus.
These are difficult questions, and Tim shares how he is continually thinking through them. Scott notes at the beginning how he's struck by Tim Mackie's ongoing reflections on this topic (and his willingness to rethink previously held positions), while Greg gets the conversation started by asking Tim to walk us through certain parts of Scripture that look at violence in the Bible, like Noah and the flood, the book of Joshua, and the death of Jesus.
Theology Lab is about encouraging curiosity and courage for an everyday faith. The follow up episode will look at a topic related to our Beyond Simpe Answer series which focuses on pursuing a theological vision when simple answers aren't enough.
Learn more about the BibleProject at: bibleproject.com
Theology Lab's website is: theologylab.org #TimMackie #BibleProject #ProblemOfEvil

In this episode of Theology Lab, we explore one of the most pressing questions facing Christians today: How should we think about artificial intelligence? Drawing from Pope Leo's groundbreaking encyclical on AI, theologian Catherine Moon unpacks the promises, dangers, and spiritual implications of technologies like ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and other large language models.
Together, we discuss AI ethics, human flourishing, cognitive de-skilling, moral decision-making, technology and the common good, and whether AI is helping build the "walls of Jerusalem" or a modern "Tower of Babel." We also examine concerns about automation, job displacement, digital companionship, and the growing pressure to adopt AI at all costs.
If you're interested in faith and technology, Christian ethics, artificial intelligence, ChatGPT, Pope Leo, theology, human dignity, digital culture, and the future of work, this conversation offers a thoughtful and challenging framework for navigating the AI age with wisdom and discernment.
Dr. Catherine Moon is the Arthur J. Ennis teaching scholar at Villanova University. Check out her bio here.
Learn more about Theology Lab www.theologylab.org
Here are two resources for learning more about the discussion that Dr. Moon shared with us:
https://jmt.scholasticahq.com/article/91230-encountering-artificial-intelligence-ethical-and-anthropological-investigations
https://jmt.scholasticahq.com/article/154545-reclaiming-human-agency-in-the-age-of-artificial-intelligence

In this Theology Lab conversation, Tim Mackie of The BibleProject (the Bible Project) explores one of humanity's oldest questions: Where does evil come from? Drawing from Genesis 1–11, Tim Mackie unpacks the Bible's foundational stories of good, evil, sin, suffering, violence, and human nature, showing how these themes shape the entire biblical narrative and ultimately point to Jesus. The interivew looks at stories Adam and Eve, Genesis 1-3, the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, and then moving on in Genesus, Cain and Abel, the Flood, and the Tower of Babel, tracing how human choices, disordered desires, and mistrust of God lead to the spread of violence and brokenness throughout the world. Tim also explains why the Bible presents goodness—not evil—as the most fundamental reality, and why evil is best understood as a distortion of God's good creation. This conversation explores key Christian theological ideas as well, including the problem of evil, freedom, biblical theology, wisdom, and the role Jesus plays in the vocation of humanity in the eyes of God. Theology Lab is about encouraging curiosity and courage for an everyday faith. The follow up episode will look at a topic related to our Beyond Simpe Answer series which focuses on pursuing a theological vision when simple answers aren't enough.
Learn more about the BibleProject at: bibleproject.com
Theology Lab's website is: theologylab.org
#TimMackie #BibleProject #Genesis #ProblemOfEvil
00:00 Evil is a parasite
00:53 Why turn to the Bible?
5:40 How does Genesis 1-11 illuminate evil's origins?
14:55: C.S. Lewis: Evil is a parasite
21:40 Jesus and Paul

In this episode of Beyond Simple Answers, hosts Scott Rice, Greg Fung, and Kristin T. Lee dive into one of Christianity’s oldest and most difficult questions: the problem of evil. Can Christian theology truly explain suffering, injustice, and pain in the world? Or does every answer eventually fall short?
The conversation explores the tension between classical theodicy, protest theology, liberation theology, and process theology, as the hosts debate whether these approaches genuinely answer the intellectual challenge of evil or simply shape how believers respond to it. Greg argues that liberation and protest theology are responses rather than full theodicies, while Scott defends their power to preserve hope in God’s goodness amid suffering. Kristin raises hard questions about whether any framework can fully satisfy the human longing for answers.
Along the way, the discussion wrestles with God’s power, human freedom, divine love, faith during suffering, and the hope of justice and resurrection. Drawing on themes from Job, liberation theology, and the teachings of Jesus, this episode offers a candid and nuanced Christian conversation about doubt, faith, suffering, justice, and the mystery of God’s presence in a broken world.
Learn more about Theology Lab at www.theologylab.org