Do you assume that being “spiritual but not religious” is a fad of modernism? Think again. It goes way, way back into history. Dr. Michael Horton joins Derek, Matt, and Alastair to talk about this attitude from the cults of Orpheus in ancient Persia through Neo-Platonism and it’s influence on Christianity and even the language of ascent in the Reformers. Join us for a wild ride that ends with your friendly neighborhood Instagram influencer. 
Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. 
Timestamps:
A Definitely Interesting Book [0:00]
Why did it have to be shamans? [3:05]
Disorganized Religion [7:18]
Orpheus and Natural Supernaturalism [9:38]
Plato and Christianity [14:08]
Ritual Creep [20:37]
Irenaeus vs Origen [26:05]
History of Religion [33:13]
I can haz ascent? [39:10]
Popular Gnosticism [48:21]

Spiritual-Not-Religious: Orphic Mysteries and Modern Attitudes, with Dr. Michael Horton

How seriously should we take statistical numbers given in the Bible? If you need more of a prompt than that to listen to the Mere Fi cast and crew talk about ancient army sizes, genealogical ages, historical populations, and 153 fish… then you are not in our target audience! BTW, did you know that the ages given for Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are in a sequence according to a formula involving square numbers? True story.
Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. 
Timestamps:
Something of Moment [0:00]
The First Domino [1:32]
Fancy Accounting [6:34]
Rules of Thumb [9:04]
Unsatisfying Hyperbole [15:27]
Literally [18:48]
Hyperbole with a Point [19:36]
Textual Clues [28:12]
Triangular Numbers [33:15]
The Bottom Line [40:48]

Fishy Numbers in the Bible

In a recent podcast appearance (not here, thank God), N.T. Wright made some, shall we say, controversial remarks that caused quite a stir in the Evangelical world in England and the UK. Seeing as his theological work is so good, Derek, Matt, and Alastair are taking this as a chance to explore how we ought to respond when good theologians say bad things in public. They address not only the substance of Wright’s comments but also their context and effects. 
Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. 
Timestamps:
Strong Recommendation [0:00]
Ungaurded Remarks [1:27]
Interestingly Stupid? [4:17]
Culture Shock Across the Pond [10:07]
The Real Issue [12:14]
Guns and Nuance [15:52]
New World Sensibilities [20:31]
Partisan Bundling [23:31]
Perceptual Problems [25:36]
Whither Prolife Politics? [27:13]
“Americans are foreign to each other.” [32:18]
Paving with Good Intentions [38:28]
New Game Plan [43:46]

Hot Takes Taken Cold

Politics has inflated beyond the realm where it can order our finite, common, physical lives. What is the natural realm of politics? How is it delimited by human mortality? Theologian Dr. Ephraim Radner joins Matt and Alastair to discuss the theme of his fascinating new book, Mortal Goods: Reimagining Christian Political Duty.
Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. 
Timestamps:
Discount for All!! [0:00]
Speaking of Politics [1:48]
Defining Mortality and Politics [2:28]
Indifferentism [9:17]
Catastrophes Waiting to Happen [17:03]
Providence in Control [20:19]
Utter Grace [25:50]
Normal and Abnormal Politics [29:34]
The Monarchy [39:27]
Personal Sovereignty [46:02]

Mortal Goods, with Dr. Ephraim Radner

Dr. Tim Perry returns to Mere Fidelity with a (as Matt calls it) “spicy” book about how ancient heresies have structured the political witness of modern evangelicalism. This is bad. Maybe even very bad.  
Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. 
Timestamps:
One Correction [0:00]
Speaking of Politics (again) [2:04]
The Challenge of Critiquing Self-Loathing [5:59]
Straddling Worlds [8:14]
Sourcing Heresy [10:58]
Balancing Two Kingdoms [14:40]
Slow Down [18:02]
Presupposed Politics [22:00]
Patchwork Theology [25:25]
Gnostic Relevance [29:31]
Settle Down [36:57]
Idolatrously High Stakes [38:35]

When Politics Becomes Heresy, with Dr. Tim Perry

On October 23rd, 524, Boethius, the last of the Classical philosophers and the first Medieval Man, was executed. Today, 1,500 years later, his work, especially The Consolation of Philosophy, continues to influence many, including major thinkers such as C.S. Lewis. Dr. Tom Ward returns to Mere Fidelity to discuss what Boethius can teach us today. Dr. Ward has recently written a new book about Boethius: After Stoicism. With the resurgence of interest in Stoicism spreading rapidly online and off, you will certainly benefit from this conversation. 
Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. 
Timestamps:
A Very Important Book [0:00]
1,500 Years Ago Today [1:53]
Stoicism [4:07]
Apatheia and Ataraxia [7:07]
Self-Indulgent Sadness [10:00]
Joy [15:03]
His Christian Bona Fides [19:01]
Wisdom [25:27]
Therapy [28:08]
The Philosophers Who Don’t Do Anything [35:10]
The End of an Era [36:25]

The Last Roman Philosopher, with Dr. Tom Ward

Amy Mantravadi, Mere Fi’s snarkiest online critic has written a novel—a historical novel—about the heroes of the Reformation. Matt and Alastair bring her on the show to talk about it, what historical fiction can do that theology can’t, what the central issue of the Reformation was, and what it’s like inside the heads of Luther, Erasmus, and Melanchthon. Plus, Matt gets it exactly right at least once. Stick around to the end for a big announcement about the future of Mere Fidelity. 
Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. 
Timestamps:
A Big Tease [0:00]
Delighted and Terrified [1:48]
Psychologically Intense [4:55]
Historical Fiction [10:56]
Hazards [15:49]
Those Particular Years [23:05]
Melanchthon FTW [29:10]
The Peasants Are Revolting [34:45]
Ambivalence [45:13]
Mythological Force [50:17]

Broken Bonds, with Amy Mantravadi

When a prominent Biblical theologian changes his position on the legitimacy of same-sex marriage, it prompts numerous questions for Derek, Alastair, and Matt to tackle in this episode of Mere Fidelity.
Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. 
Timestamps:
Against Worldview [0:00]
A Change of Mind [1:41]
What Kind of Change? [3:06]
Hays’s Shift [6:55]
“Using” Scripture [9:13]
The “Right” Community [12:59]
Ignoring Marriage [17:57]
Different Questions Entirely [23:03]
No Longer a Sin [29:57]
Orthodoxy [35:22]
Leadership and Esteem [38:08]

Widening Gap

Is it literally possible to read the Bible literally? Dr. Kevin Vanhoozer joins Derek, Alastair, and Matt as the penultimate guest of 2024 to talk about frames of reference, transfigural reading, how the New Testament uses the Old Testament, and how to create a culture of reading at your church. You will literally love it!
Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. 
Timestamps:
The Alastair Roberts Endorsement [0:00]
Penultimage Delight [1:27]
Literally Reading the Bible [2:44]
Figural Reading [8:04]
Frames of Reference [10:35]
Literary Tropes [14:42]
Covenant [17:07]
Eschatological Meaning [20:48]
Lifting the Veil [29:11]
The Transfiguration [33:15]
The New Testament Model of Reading [38:44]
Creating a Reading Culture [44:41]

Mere Christian Hermeneutics with Kevin Vanhoozer

A lot can happen in ten years. A lot has happened in ten years. In this, Matt’s final episode as a Mere Fi co-host, the guys reflect on the changes, crises, developments, growth, learning, cursings, and blessings that have occurred since the podcast started. Each of them offers their younger selves what wisdom they can. May you profit from their experience. 
Full show notes at www.merefidelity.com. 
Timestamps:
The OG Mere Fi Cast & Crew [0:00]
Decade Retrospective [2:55]
Andrew Now Knows What a Podcast Is [3:30]
Alastair Values Committed Conversation Partners [7:06]
Derek Still Doesn’t Know [11:25]
Focus on What Matters [17:06]
The Theology Underneath [23:48]
Matt Gives a Warning [29:23]
The Stillness Outside the Crisis [39:51]
Evangelicalism’s Hour [44:29]
Physical Relationships [47:56]
Links Mentioned:
Lexham Press Book of the Month
Merrie Band
“Twenty-Five Bloggers in One Sentence Each,” by Andrew Wilson, c. 2014
Credits:
To support Mere Fidelity financially, visit our Patreon here.
Follow Derek, Andrew, and Alastair for more tweet-sized brilliance. Thanks to Timothy Crouch for keeping us organized. Thanks to Tim Motte for sound editing. And thanks to The Joy Eternal for lending us their music, which everybody should download out of gratitude for their kindness.

The One Thing Necessary

From the Mere Orthodoxy Podcast Network: thoughtful weekly conversations about theology, the culture, and the church, hosted by Matthew Lee Anderson, Derek Rishmawy, Alastair Roberts, and Andrew Wilson.