The Reformational

Exploring Religionless Faith
  • 5.0 (2)
  • CHRISTIANITY

What if Christian faith is less about having all the right answers and more about learning to live as human beings? What is God’s purpose for our lives is not to have it all together, but to lean into our finite, messy, lives? Join me as we explore the heart of the Christian life as we engage important questions about God, the bible, salvation, and what it means to follow Jesus. reformational.substack.com

  1. Why we are called to love our immigrant neighbor

    05/07/2025

    Why we are called to love our immigrant neighbor

    How does Bonhoeffer's Discipleship speak about the love the Christian community owes our immigrant neighbors? Bonhoeffer explores what he calls an "extraordinary love"—the love Christians must show, not only to our enemies, but to those who are different from us. Love for those who are like us—our families, our community, our nation—this is natural love. The love of God revealed in Jesus Christ is a cruciform love—it loves those who are different, those who hate us, those who are our natural enemies. In a time when empathy and compassion are seen as weak, it is important to be reminded by people like Dietrich Bonhoeffer about the true nature of love that reconciles us to our enemies, overcomes our differences, and calls to to a new way of life. Get full access to The Reformational at reformational.substack.com/subscribe

    17 min
  2. Blessed are the Merciful

    03/06/2025

    Blessed are the Merciful

    What does it mean to follow Jesus in this strange cultural moment in the U.S.? Should the Christian community use political power to support their way of life? Bonhoeffer interprets the sermon on the mount as the heart of Christian discipleship. The call to be merciful is a call to let go of honor, to let go of power, and to go to the margins with the poor and suffering. This episode explores what this means at a time when Christians seem to be struggling for political power as a way to secure honor and status. Get full access to The Reformational at reformational.substack.com/subscribe

    12 min
  3. To Hunger and Thirst for Justice

    02/26/2025

    To Hunger and Thirst for Justice

    The sermon on the mount is the heart of what it means to be a Christian disciple. For Bonhoeffer, this includes hungering and thirsting for God's justice. There are some who think Christians should not be concerned with justice, that somehow this is part of some woke liberal agenda. Yet, at the heart of the gospel is God's desire for justice--God's righteousness. To be a Christian means we must be concerned with justice because God is concerned with justice. Get full access to The Reformational at reformational.substack.com/subscribe

    14 min
  4. Taking the First Step in Discipleship

    01/25/2025

    Taking the First Step in Discipleship

    In chapter two of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer talks about the first steps of faith. Discipleship is about action, about leaving our nets or getting up from the table, and following Jesus. This is not a program or an idea, but an action. It’s recognizing the concrete reality of my neighbor and the call God makes upon my life. This episode explores Bonhoeffer’s understanding of discipleship not as religious or doctrinal principle, but decisive action in response to God’s call. Get full access to The Reformational at reformational.substack.com/subscribe

    11 min
  5. Americanism or Christianity

    01/13/2025

    Americanism or Christianity

    Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote a letter to his grandmother in which he says, "The issue is really Germanism or Christianity". Today, it seems, the question for the church is: Americanism or Christianity? Beneath this conversation is the issue of cheap grace that baptizes our culture and way of life. It is a grace that allows religion and doctrinal belief to be used as a weapon against anyone who doesn't fit the cultural norm. The gospel calls us to costly grace, to a new way of life grounded in Jesus Christ. This episode continues our exploration of Discipleship by exploring the difference between cheap grace and costly grace. Get full access to The Reformational at reformational.substack.com/subscribe

    20 min
  6. What Metaxas Doesn't Understand about Bonhoeffer's Theology

    12/13/2024

    What Metaxas Doesn't Understand about Bonhoeffer's Theology

    Reading through Metaxas' Religionless Christianity: God's Answer to Evil, there are some things that Metaxas gets right. However, he misses something that central to Bonhoeffer's theology. This episode explores what Metaxas doesn't understand about Bonhoeffer's theology. Get full access to The Reformational at reformational.substack.com/subscribe

    20 min
  7. Bonhoeffer vs. Metaxas

    12/04/2024

    Bonhoeffer vs. Metaxas

    When you compare the book Religionless Christianity: God's Answer to Evil with Bonhoeffer's own writings, it raises questions about whether Metaxas and Bonhoeffer mean the same thing when they talk about the Kingdom of God. This episode compares Bonhoeffer's lecture Thy Kingdom Come! The Prayer of the Church-Community for God’s Kingdom on Earth with selections from Religionless Christianity: God's Answer to Evil. Get full access to The Reformational at reformational.substack.com/subscribe

    16 min
  8. What Metaxas Gets Wrong about Religionless Christianity

    11/30/2024

    What Metaxas Gets Wrong about Religionless Christianity

    In the first chapter of his book Religionless Christianity: God’s Answer to Evil, Eric Metaxas uses Bonhoeffer’s religionless Christianity to criticize the secularization of the Christian faith. “To what secular pressures and narratives have Christian leaders acceded, thinking it will help them reach the unchurched?” The problem? He seems to misunderstand what Bonhoeffer meant. For Bonhoeffer, religionless Christianity is focused on this world, not the next; it is about embracing a world come of age, not standing in opposition to it. This episode explores this and more. Get full access to The Reformational at reformational.substack.com/subscribe

    14 min
See All (59)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

What if Christian faith is less about having all the right answers and more about learning to live as human beings? What is God’s purpose for our lives is not to have it all together, but to lean into our finite, messy, lives? Join me as we explore the heart of the Christian life as we engage important questions about God, the bible, salvation, and what it means to follow Jesus. reformational.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Exploring Religionless Faith
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2025
  • Episodes
    59
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Reformational
  • Show Website
    The Reformational