The Theopolis Podcast

Theopolis Institute
  • 4.9 (317)
  • Religion & Spirituality
  • Updated Weekly

Theopolis Institute teaches men and women to lead cultural renewal by renewing the church.

  1. 19h ago

    Episode 895: Learning War - Othniel and the First Judge (Judges 3:1–11)

    Jeff Meyers, James Bejon, and Alastair Roberts move into Judges 3, where the nations remaining in the land become instruments for testing Israel and the book introduces Othniel, its first major judge. They discuss what it means for Israel to “learn war,” why warfare in Judges is inseparable from covenant faithfulness and dependence upon Yahweh, and how divine testing makes God’s knowledge of His people a publicly demonstrated covenant reality. Along the way they explore Israel’s intermarriage with the Canaanites and the resulting religious syncretism, the contrast between pagan intermarriage and faithful incorporation of converts such as Ruth and Rahab, failures of generational covenant formation, the nations surrounding Israel as distorted mirror images of Israel itself, Cushan-Rishathaim and possible echoes of Abraham’s Mesopotamian origins, Othniel’s connection to Judah and Caleb, the Spirit’s empowerment of the judges, and Othniel as an example of generational faithfulness amid Israel’s growing generational decline. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the new Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/

    Episode 895: Learning War - Othniel and the First Judge (Judges 3:1–11)

  2. Aug 19

    Episode 894: The Cycle of Judges (Judges 2:6–23)

    Jeff Meyers, James Bejon, and Alastair Roberts continue through Judges 2, where the death of Joshua gives way to the recurring pattern of Israel’s apostasy, oppression, and deliverance that will structure the rest of the book. They discuss the generation that arose without knowing Yahweh or His works, the importance of passing covenant memory from one generation to the next, and why the cycles of Judges should not be understood as an inevitable or fatalistic pattern of history. Along the way they explore faithful communities within declining cultures, the attraction of Baal worship and its transactional view of religion, the judges as more than merely political or military deliverers, the Exodus-like character of Yahweh’s repeated rescues, God’s compassion toward Israel even before explicit repentance, and the role of testing, hardship, punishment, and fatherly discipline in forming God’s people toward maturity. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the new Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/

    Episode 894: The Cycle of Judges (Judges 2:6–23)

  3. Aug 12

    Episode 893: Israel’s Failure in the Land (Judges 1:27–2:10)

    Peter Leithart, James Bejon, Alastair Roberts, and Jeff Meyers finish Judges 1 and move into the opening of Judges 2, where Israel’s incomplete conquest gives way to the angel of the Lord’s covenant lawsuit at Bochim. They explore the increasing failure of the northern tribes to drive out the Canaanites, the contrast between Israel dwelling among the Canaanites and the Canaanites dwelling among Israel, and the withdrawal of Yahweh’s empowering presence as Israel compromises in the land. Along the way they discuss the geography and fertility of northern Israel and Judah, the movement of the tabernacle from Gilgal toward Shiloh, the possible identification of Bochim with Bethel, the chronology of Judges 2, the angel of Yahweh’s appearance to the gathered tribes, parallels between Joshua and Joseph, and the Adamic overtones of Israel’s failure to listen to Yahweh and faithfully inhabit its Edenic land. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the new Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis

    Episode 893: Israel’s Failure in the Land (Judges 1:27–2:10)

  4. Aug 5

    Episode 892: Fractured Tribes and an Unfinished Conquest (Judges 1:16–26)

    Peter Leithart, James Bejon, Alastair Roberts, and Jeff Meyers continue their discussion of Judges 1 by examining Israel’s partial conquest of the land and the tribal fractures already beginning to emerge. They explore how differing levels of faithfulness, compromise with the Canaanites, and the geography of the land anticipate the later division of Israel, as well as the role of common worship in holding the tribes together. Along the way they discuss the Kenites and their relationship to Israel, Judah’s conquest of the Philistine cities, the problem of the iron chariots, the gradual character of the conquest, the movement from Hebron to Jerusalem, the distinction between destroying and possessing, the limits of archaeological population estimates, and the house of Joseph’s conquest of Bethel as a distorted echo of Jericho. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the new Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis

    Episode 892: Fractured Tribes and an Unfinished Conquest (Judges 1:16–26)

  5. Jul 29

    Episode 891: The Thoughtful Craftsman - Restoring the Dignity of the Trades, with Jonathan Sedlak

    Jon Sedlak calls Christians to recover the dignity of the skilled trades and to recognize craftsmanship as a vital form of Christian vocation. Drawing on his experience as a master electrician, he argues that the trades cultivate embodied wisdom, genuine competence, humility, endurance, excellence, and face-to-face service within local communities. Sedlak challenges churches, parents, and educators to stop treating the trades as a lesser path. Instead, Christian communities should train young people in practical skills, connect them with skilled mentors, honor tradesmen as essential servants of the city, and build networks that pass craftsmanship from one generation to the next. The 2026 Theopolitan Ministry Conference on the Theopolis App! https://app.theopolisinstitute.com/tabs/home/albums/71604?collectionId=1656 Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis

    Episode 891: The Thoughtful Craftsman - Restoring the Dignity of the Trades, with Jonathan Sedlak

  6. Jul 22

    Episode 890: Artificial Intelligence in the City of God, with Jonathan Barlow

    In this episode, we feature Jonathan Barlow’s lecture from the 2026 Theopolitan Ministry Conference. Barlow examines several common anxieties surrounding artificial intelligence: the fear that technology will reduce human beings to measurable outputs, the temptation to treat AI as an oracle, and the concern that intelligent machines will become rivals to human labor and creativity. Against the assumption that humans and machines belong on the same scale, Barlow grounds the unique dignity of humanity in the image of God and, ultimately, in Christ—the true image of the invisible God and the fulfillment of the human vocation. He argues that Christians can therefore approach AI without anxiety: neither worshiping the work of our hands nor fearing it as a rival, but receiving it as a potentially powerful tool in humanity’s priestly task of building the city of God. Barlow will develop these themes further in his upcoming intensive course, Artificial Intelligence and Christian Theology, September 10–12 in Birmingham. Register for Barlow's Course, here: https://theopolisinstitute.com/courses/artificial-intelligence-and-christian-theology/ Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis

    Episode 890: Artificial Intelligence in the City of God, with Jonathan Barlow

  7. Jul 15

    Episode 889: Ornament Between Work and Rest, by Dr. John Ahern

    In this lecture from the 2026 Theopolitan Ministry Conference, Dr. John Ahern argues that ornament is not an unnecessary addition to useful things, but the natural overflow of human love, gratitude, and delight. He explores ornamentation as the meeting place of work and rest: the patient, repetitive labor of the six days gathered up and enjoyed in the contemplation of the seventh. Drawing from Scripture, Augustine, Hugh of Saint Victor, John Ruskin, and the history of architecture and craftsmanship, Ahern shows how ornament unites beauty and usefulness, gives dignity to labor, and reflects the fruitfulness of God’s creation. Against modern minimalism, planned obsolescence, and instrumentalized work, “Ornament Between Work and Rest” calls for the recovery of a world in which our tools, homes, buildings, and common life once again bear the marks of gratitude, abundance, and joyful submission. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis

    Episode 889: Ornament Between Work and Rest, by Dr. John Ahern

  8. Jul 8

    Episode 888: The Gift of Land and Mission (Judges 1)

    Peter Leithart, James Bejon, and Alastair Roberts continue their discussion of Judges by turning to chapter 1 and the unfinished conquest of the land. They explore how the opening chapters frame the whole book, including Israel’s tribal failures, the recurring cycle of idolatry and deliverance, the chronology of Joshua’s death, and the distinction between conquering the land and truly taking possession of it. Along the way they discuss Judah’s alliance with Simeon, the defeat and mutilation of Adoni-Bezek, Jerusalem’s contested conquest, Caleb and Achsah’s request for springs of water, and the creational and bridal imagery embedded in Israel’s inheritance. Give to our work and become a partner! theopolisinstitute.com/give/ Get the new Theopolis App! app.theopolisinstitute.com/menu Use Code "theopolitan" to get your first month free! ______________________ Sign up for In Medias Res mailchi.mp/0b01d726f2fe/inmediasres ________ Theopolis on Youtube www.youtube.com/c/Theopolisinstitute Theopolis Blog: theopolisinstitute.com/theopolis-blog/ Website: theopolisinstitute.com Twitter: @_theopolis

    Episode 888: The Gift of Land and Mission (Judges 1)
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About

Theopolis Institute teaches men and women to lead cultural renewal by renewing the church.

Information

  • Creator
    Theopolis Institute
  • Years Active
    2016 - 2026
  • Episodes
    500
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved
  • Show Website
    The Theopolis Podcast

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