Gospel Conversations podcast

Tony Golsby-Smith
  • 4.7 (26)
  • Christianity
  • Weekly

Gospel Conversations takes a creative approach to attaining a deeper understanding of the gospel and what it means to us today. Our speakers are not ministers, but range from a diverse community of Christian thinkers who lead their various fields of knowledge in history, design thinking, theology, philosophy, and organisational leadership—among others. Each month we host a live event in Sydney, then publish it as a podcast. gospelconversations.substack.com

  1. 6d ago

    Evelyn Underhill and Spiritual Formation

    This talk is the next in our ‘Women as thought leaders’ in theology’ series, featuring Australian theologian Robyn Wrigley-Carr speaking about English Anglo-Catholic spiritual writer Evelyn Underhill (1875-1941) and her insights into spiritual formation. Underhill is not so well known today, but was a significant writer, firstly on mysticism and then later on Christian spirituality, as well as being a pioneering spiritual director and retreat leader. It is intriguing to hear about a woman of her era who published 39 books, lectured at the University of Oxford and was deeply influential in both Catholic and Anglican circles. Robyn is herself a spiritual director and retreat leader and in this talk we not only hear about Underhill’s spiritual formation, but also Robyn’s own journey. Robyn’s doctorate from the University of St Andrews examined Underhill’s spiritual director, Baron Friedrich von Hügel. As Robyn explored the Spiritual formation of Evelyn Underhill (also the title of one of her books), she also discovered and then published Underhill’s own Prayer Book, which is a beautiful resource of prayers from spiritual writers through the ages. In a sense, this talk is itself an expression of the very spiritual formation it describes — a living legacy stretching from von Hügel to Evelyn Underhill, through her writings to Robyn, and now reaching us. There was an extensive Q&A session that followed which is included below. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

    Evelyn Underhill and Spiritual Formation

  2. Oct 19

    Breakfast with Jesus: Origen’s three levels of reading Scripture

    Well we have finally reached the end of our long, long journey on the Camino (though we are adding an epilogue of four days walking to the sea - Fisterra by the Atlantic). 779kms and 36 days of walking across all kinds of terrain, weather and meeting lots of people on different kinds of journey. It was actually quite emotional to walk into the huge square of Santiago and give each other a hug and shed a few tears of joy - and relief! Anne begins this chat with her reflections on this momentous journey - and what it meant to her. One of the rich experiences was our epic (theological) conversations that would be sparked by a comment and then move into a long and winding road of inquiry and discussion… and became generative. That is what ‘conversation’ does - people think together. And as far as I can tell, this is a Spirit guided and authenticated human experience - discussion and sharing. Unfortunately in all levels of society, ‘conversation’ is neglected and its artistry is little understood or practised. I can remember one of my dear clients, a key leader at one of the biggest banks in the world, lamenting the executive team NEVER had ‘conversations’ about critical policy decisions, but instead defaulted to premature decisions and bureaucracy. And frankly the church is not much better. The heart of most evangelical services is the ‘sermon’ which is didactic lecturing NOT conversation - and there are precious few opportunities for real conversations. (Watch out for Leisa Aitken’s upcoming Gospel Conversations talk on this topic). Anyway, at its best marriage offers the context for great conversations - and this chat is one example. It began with us talking about how to read and interpret the Bible - a topic that Mark and Ben have given a couple of great talks on recently for GC. Our chat began with me sharing with Anne the great Substack post where Brad Jersak recently explained Origen’s ‘three levels’ of Scripture reading. (Have a read of Brad’s post on “Spiritualising the Biblical text”). We absorbed this - and Anne shared how pedantic readings harmed her as a young Christian - and how helpful it would have been to have Origen’s system back then. And we then went on to a ‘yes but…’ comment where Anne said that Origen’s system missed one important aspect. This in turn got me thinking about how we need to adapt and develop Origen’s system to accommodate the ‘New Testament’ - since for Origen the ‘Scriptures’ means the Old Testament. And so the conversation spiralled and grew…. we are glad to share it with you all. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

  3. Oct 12

    Interview with Rev Dr Joanna Collicutt McGrath

    This interview, hosted by Leisa Aitken, is part of our series, ‘Women as thought leaders in theology.’ It is with the brilliant and deeply pastoral Oxford based clinical psychologist, Anglican priest and theologian Reverend Dr Joanna Collicutt McGrath. We discuss her recent book, So Longeth my soul: A reader in Christian spirituality. Joanna wrote it for those needing an accessible introduction to reading the primary sources of spiritual writings through history, with excerpts from a range of profound Christian writers from 2nd to 19th century. Joanna’s interdisciplinary thinking and knowledge of church history is rich and insightful. During this interview we explore a range of topics, including the universal themes of loss and longing, constraints that female spiritual writers in history experienced, and the topic of her second PhD; the role of the visual arts and visual imagery in understanding the scriptures. We hope you are inspired to read this superb book and so find fellowship with Christians through the ages whose souls, like ours, have longed for God. A Reminder of our 2026 Conference Please remember to book in your attendance to our upcoming conference day on Saturday 7th November https://www.ac.edu.au/engage/greg-boyd-in-australia/ and also at the St James Institute https://events.humanitix.com/end-of-progress Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

  4. Oct 7

    Breakfast with Jesus: Psalm 8 & the Image of God

    This is our second Breakfast with Jesus on our Camino walk - now over 600kms into it! This chat was recorded after we had climbed into the Galicia mountains and saw the awe-inspiring views from the high point of the ancient village of O Cebreiro. So it was fitting that we discussed Psalm 8 in this context - the succinct mandate for a human centred cosmos! Our first chat covered creation-as-providence in Psalm 145 - but Psalm 8 takes this providential view of creation one huge step further and charts the role of humanity in this created order. And it is a breathtaking calling as mini-gods - or a ‘little lower than gods’ - crowned with glory and honour. Of course this leads to the epic second chapter of Hebrews which takes this Psalm as the vision for the high calling of what it means to be a human being. A vision that is only fulfilled in Jesus. We want to capture the exploratory way we discuss the Scripture so this chat, like the last one, is unscripted and it wanders like our conversations. We pose questions - and explore possibilities. But it is all anchored around a text. And we use a theologian we like to stimulate and guide our thinking, although we don’t slavishly follow their thinking. I think this is how the Spirit wants us to work with Scripture: not as excavating the ‘right’ meaning, but rather as interpreting it into our lives and thoughts today. Hope you enjoy it. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

  5. Sep 25

    Breakfast with Jesus: Walking the Camino

    Anne and I are walking the vast Camino path - about 800km from St Jean in France to Santiago in Spain. We thought it would be a good time to revive our ‘Breakfast with Jesus’ channel in Gospel Conversations. And rather than just me doing the talking, we have recorded this as a conversation to try to capture the reality of how we are walking and talking. This chat is about Psalm 145. But it begins with Anne talking about some of her spiritual journey over the last few years - and how some significant physical suffering has (mysteriously) precipitated a deeper faith journey in her spirit. We also explain how we use some resources to guide our discussions - in this case the wonderful Walter Bruggemann on the Psalms. (‘The Message of the Psalms”). And we did an unscripted conversation in this talk - which captures the exploratory way we read and talk together in our morning devotions. A real conversation explores and that means it surprises, with its twists and turns and questions and alleyways. So that is what you get in this ‘talk’. In a real way this conversation illustrates what Ben Myers talked about in his recent talk on how the Bible’s ‘inspiration’ works. According to Ben, the biblical text is not a set in concrete version of the truth but rather a divine stimulus to get us thinking and talking - which means that the modern reader experience is somehow part of the ‘inspiration’. Of course, that brings the Holy Spirit into view as always working - from the initial authorship to the modern day reading. So our humble little conversation, with all its pauses and meanderings, is a picture of that ‘reading’ inspiration at work - on Psalm 145. We hope you join us in enjoying this little journey. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

  6. Sep 2

    How to read Scripture as a living document

    Inspiration and Scripture is a two way process - it includes our reading of scripture not just its delivery through authors. That is the fascinating perspective that Ben Myers offers in this thought provoking interview I did with him recently. It builds on Mark Strom’s recent talk on his journey through a widening perspective on what ‘Scripture’ means. Ben begins with the opening of Erich Auerbach’s famous book on Western Literature, Mimesis. Auerbach contrasts Homer and Moses - in particular the story of Abraham in Genesis 22. He says that Moses’ narrative is deep and mysterious, in contrast to Homer which is shallower and eloquent. For Ben (and Auerbach) this suggests the unique way that Scripture works - as in invitation to the reader to enter the text and start a conversation with God about what is going on. The picture that emerges from Ben’s ideas is really important for us today. It defies the view that Scripture is a flat text with clear and precise meaning which we are called to excavate. Rather the scripture is like a deep ocean with the surface visible but the depths hidden and attractive. So in this view our ‘reading’ is part of the inspiration process. Enjoy this talk. Between Mark and Ben, they offer rich depth to the idea of what ‘scripture’ and ‘inspiration’ mean. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

    How to read Scripture as a living document

  7. Aug 15

    Theology and Mental Health

    This is a talk by our beloved colleague Leisa Aitken. You will be familiar with her work on hope from previous talks. Here is her introduction to the talk. This Talk is adapted from a paper entitled, “Responding to a crisis of hope- Gregory of Nyssa in dialogue with contemporary psychology” presented at the John Behr conference at Alphacrucis College last year. Ben Myers and I co-wrote the original paper, and I am grateful for Ben’s theological input. This version also reflects some of my further reading and thinking. I offer it as an example in my life of the ‘So What’ question we are exploring this year in Gospel Conversations. How might the more expansive theological landscapes of the Church fathers and mothers reshape not only our understanding of God himself, but our intellectual and professional life? As a Clinical Psychologist with an academic interest in the psychology of hope, I have been reflecting on how patristic theology intersects with my own work. The content is therefore quite ‘niche’ but hopefully illustrates the ‘So What’ exercise. As Ben more eloquently puts it (as always), it is an exercise in ressourcement – returning to ancient texts to illuminate contemporary questions. An important personal caveat is that, until recently, I have spent my Christian intellectual life in the undulating lowlands of the reformed evangelical world. It has only been in the last few years, through Tony’s encouragement via Gospel Conversations, that I began reading the towering figures of patristic theologians. I have read many of Gregory of Nyssa’s books and writings, but I am by no means an expert on his grand theological vision, which has its own assumptions, internal coherence and historical situatedness. In drawing on those aspects of Gregory’s fourth century thought that connect to my own, I know I do not yet fully inhabit his intellectual and theological landscape. I haven’t done the full pilgrimage - it feels like I’ve been flown in to hike the last few kilometres of Everest! I may not have done the full ascent from basecamp, but I can still glimpse some of the rewards of the final view. His mountaintop concepts- epektasis, apokatastasis, the mystery of God - have provided a rich new vantage point to view my theological and psychological homelands. I understand, for example that for many universalist theologians like Gregory (and more recently Bulgakov and Bentley Hart), the reconciling of all things in Christ is the natural consequence of other ‘basecamp’ foundational understandings of scripture and cannot be simply be ‘an option’, as I present my own position in this talk. Like many GC listeners, I am still working out which hermeneutic makes the best sense to me and how new thinking integrates with my existing frameworks. That pilgrimage itself involves quite steep and rocky terrain and will take time. I am thankful that relationship with Jesus himself doesn’t require theological acumen or certainty on such matters, and only that I come to him as his child. On this challenging and exciting journey, I rest in that. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

    Theology and Mental Health

  8. Jul 20

    Changing ways to read the Bible

    In churches around the world, Christians will affirm that ‘the Bible is the word of God’. But what do they mean by this? Whether they realise it or not, they are making a claim about a genre - a certain class of literature that is special and ‘inspired’. But this claim has been a stumbling block for Christians and onlookers alike. Do we really claim that all 66 books are literally true? And what does ‘true’ even mean? This is the huge topic that we asked Mark Strom to address for us. It really is one of the ‘so what’ questions for our day and age. Mark is uniquely qualified to give us some wisdom on this because, among things, he wrote a significant book on how to read the Bible called ‘The Symphony of Scripture’. (Still readily available and if you have not got a copy - buy it). So at first we just expected him to give us a summary of the book. But he went further. He decided to give us a story of how his relationship with the Bible - the way he interpreted what ‘scripture’ meant - developed over the years. He gives us nine different perspectives he went through. They are not ‘right or wrong’ but rather growing perspectives on the Bible, his experience of reading it, and how we should respond to it. Marvellous stuff and very very thought provoking. More than that - very wise and we can benefit from Mark’s long, and at times, torturous experience. He used slides in the talk - if you watch on youTube you will see them spliced into the talk. If not, here they are to download. Get full access to Gospel Conversations at gospelconversations.substack.com/subscribe

    Changing ways to read the Bible
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Ratings & Reviews

4.7
out of 5
26 Ratings

About

Gospel Conversations takes a creative approach to attaining a deeper understanding of the gospel and what it means to us today. Our speakers are not ministers, but range from a diverse community of Christian thinkers who lead their various fields of knowledge in history, design thinking, theology, philosophy, and organisational leadership—among others. Each month we host a live event in Sydney, then publish it as a podcast. gospelconversations.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Tony Golsby-Smith
  • Years Active
    2014 - 2026
  • Episodes
    225
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Tony Golsby-Smith
  • Show Website
    Gospel Conversations podcast

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