Dr. Bryan Litfin On Enchantment, Embodied Christianity, And The Influence Of The Early Church - Ep. 5

What can the early church teach modern Christians about leaders, worship, enchantment, and the mysteries of God? In this episode of Merging Wisdom, Dan Heroy, Joel Hubbard, and Sarina Heroy are joined by professor, church historian, and author Dr. Bryan Litfin, for a wide-ranging conversation about ancient Christianity and why the church may need to look backward in order to move forward.

IN THIS EPISODE

• Bryan Litfin’s journey into studying ancient Christianity and the church fathers
• The inspiration behind the Ancient Evil, Living Hope series with Kathie Lee Gifford
• What early traditions may tell us about Mary and Paul
• Why God so often chooses the weak, humble, and overlooked
• Mary as the vessel of the incarnation and the new Holy of Holies
• The tearing of the temple veil as both access to God and the movement of God into the world
• What Christianity has lost through the disenchantment of the modern Western world
• Sarina’s experience navigating charismatic Christianity and excessive spiritualization
• How liturgy, creeds, and communal worship can make spiritual reality accessible to everyone
• Why Christianity may need an ancient-future expression of faith
• Why incarnational theology is not the same as pantheism
• Whether particular places or physical objects can carry spiritual significance
• The Eucharist, Bread, wine, water, baptism, and the mystery of embodied faith
• The contrast between pagan gods who demand sacrifice and the Christian God who gives himself
• Why bodily resurrection is essential to the Christian understanding of eternal life
• The incarnation, physical creation, and the importance of embodiment
• Why Christians are so often attracted to charismatic and larger-than-life leaders
• King Saul, the Apostle Paul, and two radically different expressions of leadership
• Why celebrity-pastor culture can become spiritually dangerous
• What the early church fathers might recognize, and reject, in today’s churches
• Whether the early church would recognize one pastor leading a congregation
• The historical distinction between clergy and laity
• Paul’s authorship of the New Testament epistles
• Whether Paul created new commandments for the early church
• What Bryan means when he calls Christians to become “little-c catholic”

MENTIONED IN THE CONVERSATION

• Dr. Bryan Litfin: https://bryanlitfin.com
• Nero and Paul by Kathie Lee Gifford and Bryan Litfin
• Herod & Mary by Kathie Lee Gifford and Bryan Litfin
• The Story of the Trinity by Bryan Litfin
• After Acts: Exploring the Lives and Legends of the Apostles by Bryan Litfin
• Wisdom from the Ancients by Bryan Litfin
• Bryan’s historical fiction about Constantine
• Bryan’s forthcoming book Church History for You
• Kathie Lee Gifford
• Emperor Nero
• The Apostle Paul
• Herod the Great
• Mary, the mother of Jesus
• Suetonius, Tacitus, and Josephus
• The Acts of Paul
• Dominion by Tom Holland
• The Azusa Street Revival
• Michael Heiser and the biblical theme of cosmic conflict
• The Shroud of Turin
• C.S. Lewis and The Chronicles of Narnia
• John Piper and celebrity-pastor culture
• The Blurry Creatures podcast
• John G. Turner and the Merging Wisdom conversation about Joseph Smith

ABOUT MERGING WISDOM

Merging Wisdom is a podcast exploring faith, psychology, culture, history, politics, and what it means to live wisely in a complex world.

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Hosted by Joel Hubbard, Dan Heroy, and Sarina Heroy.

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