When I Heard This - Podcast

Nate Robinsoff and Joseph Tillman

5.0 (7)
RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY
UPDATED WEEKLY

What happens when a comedian asks a pastor whatever he wants?? 😮 In the "When I Heard This" podcast, comedian Nate Robinsoff asks Pastor Joseph Tillman, M.Div. whatever questions he can think of about church in America, the Bible, Christianity, cults, sex, and well really anything! He doesn't hold much back 🤣. https://www.youtube.com/@wheniheardthispodcast?sub_confirmation=1

6D AGO

Episode 183 - Faith and Works Ended With Trust Issues

At some point this whole faith vs works conversation starts sounding like a group project where nobody knows how grading works. Can you get into heaven with faith but no works? Works but no faith? Are some churches accidentally turning Christianity into spiritual performance reviews? And how do you know your faith is actually faith and not just anxiety wearing Bible verses as camouflage? In the fifth and final episode of this series, Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman get into the questions that quietly sit in the back of people’s minds during church sermons, worship songs, and late-night existential spirals. They talk about faith, salvation, denominations, motives, selfishness, heaven, works, and the weird pressure Christians sometimes feel to constantly prove they’re spiritually productive. The conversation keeps circling back to trust. Trusting God. Trusting your motives. Trusting that faith actually means something beyond just endlessly auditing yourself like a Christian IRS agent. There’s also a healthy amount of sarcasm, overthinking, and “wait hold on” moments because this show refuses to pretend faith conversations are always neat and polished. Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman approach theology the same way most people actually process it: honestly, awkwardly, occasionally skeptically, and with enough humor to survive church culture without becoming unbearably weird about it. If this episode resonated with you: 🔔 Follow or subscribe for more conversations about faith, church culture, theology, and real-life questions 👍 Rate or favorite the episode if it hit a little too close to home 📤 Share this episode with someone who has ever overthought their own salvation at 1 AM Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/pVWRm4RkFkY Website: https://wheniheardthispodcast.com/link-in-bio/ Locals + X: @wheniheardthis Facebook + Instagram: @wheniheardthispodcast #FaithAndWorks #ChristianPodcast #ChurchCulture #FaithQuestions #BibleDiscussion #Christianity

55 min
MAY 11

Episode 182 - Faith and Works Isn’t Graded on Effort

At what point does “doing good works” start sounding like a performance review nobody asked for? Episode 182 continues the ongoing discussion about faith and works according to scripture, except this time the conversation gets painfully close to the way people actually think about effort, productivity, church culture, and whether Christians secretly believe God is grading participation with a clipboard somewhere. Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman talk through questions like whether it matters if you’re actually good at the work you’re doing, whether getting paid while doing good works somehow “cheapens” them, and whether works carried a different weight in the Old Testament compared to the New Testament. Which turns into a surprisingly honest conversation about motivation, intention, accountability, and the weird spiritual math people create for themselves. The episode also digs into how modern faith conversations sometimes sound less like scripture and more like corporate performance metrics with Bible verses attached. There’s sarcasm, pushback, uncomfortable observations, and multiple moments where the conversation feels way too relatable if you grew up around church culture. As always, Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman approach the discussion in a way that feels thoughtful, grounded, and accessible whether you’re deeply involved in church, skeptical of organized religion, or somewhere in the middle trying to figure out why everyone talks like they already know the answer. Follow or subscribe to the podcast 🔔 Rate or favorite the episode if it resonated 👍 Share the episode with somebody who has absolutely wondered if faith is being graded on effort 📤 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mIL4JLh8hMc Website: https://wheniheardthispodcast.com/link-in-bio/ Locals + X: @wheniheardthis Facebook + Instagram: @wheniheardthispodcast #FaithAndWorks #ChristianPodcast #BibleDiscussion #ChurchCulture #FaithQuestions #PodcastDiscussion

59 min
MAY 4

Episode 181 - Doing “Good” Isn’t That Simple

If “doing good” is the goal… why does nobody agree on what that actually means? This episode takes the whole faith vs works conversation and makes it slightly more uncomfortable. Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman dig into what scripture says about doing good, and why it’s not as clean or checklist-based as people want it to be. Is faith enough? Do your actions prove something? Or are we all just trying to reverse-engineer what God wants from us? They get into the questions that usually get vague answers. Is there a list of acceptable works somewhere? Are some “good” things actually missing the point? Do your actions need to directly benefit God, or is that not even how this works? And how often are you supposed to be doing all this before it turns into spiritual burnout? Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman approach it like people who have heard all the polished answers and still aren’t fully buying them. The conversation is honest, a little sarcastic, and very aware of how confusing faith, works, and expectations can feel in real life. Follow or subscribe 🔔 for more conversations like this Rate or favorite 👍 if this one stuck with you Share 📤 with someone who’s also trying to figure this out Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Nhd-owq_HKA Website: https://wheniheardthispodcast.com/link-in-bio/ Locals + X: @wheniheardthis Facebook + Instagram: @wheniheardthispodcast #FaithVsWorks #ChristianPodcast #ChurchQuestions #BibleDiscussion #RealFaith #FaithTalk

54 min
APR 27

Episode 180 - Faith Isn’t Just Something You “Have”

So… is faith something you have, or something you’re actually doing? Because those are two very different conversations. This episode keeps pushing past the surface-level “have faith” idea and starts asking what that even means according to scripture. Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman get into how faith actually works, how you get it, and what you’re supposed to have faith in beyond just saying the word. They also get into the uncomfortable parts. Does faith come from God, or do you somehow create it yourself? Can faith grow, or is it just on or off? And what does it actually look like to live by faith instead of just talking about it like it’s a personality trait? It also raises a question most people skip. Was faith in the Old Testament the same as the New Testament, or are we blending things together and hoping it makes sense? Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman keep the conversation honest, a little sarcastic, and grounded in real-life faith instead of polished answers. It feels less like a teaching and more like trying to figure out why something everyone talks about still feels unclear. Follow or subscribe to the podcast 🔔 Rate or favorite the episode if it resonated 👍 Share the episode with someone who would enjoy the conversation 📤 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ZvPS0tdQpgQ Website: https://wheniheardthispodcast.com/link-in-bio/ Locals + X: @wheniheardthis Facebook + Instagram: @wheniheardthispodcast #FaithInTheBible #ChristianDiscussion #FaithQuestions #BibleStudy #ChristianPodcast

1h 3m
APR 20

Episode 179 – Faith and Works Isn’t What People Think

So… does anyone actually agree on what “faith and works” even means, or are we all just arguing using the same words differently? Because the second you ask basic questions, things get weird fast. This episode starts breaking down the whole faith vs works conversation from the ground level. Not the usual talking points, but the actual definitions. What is faith, what counts as works, and where the Bible even talks about either without people filling in the gaps with assumptions. It turns out a lot of the tension isn’t disagreement, it’s confusion. Same terms, different meanings, and everyone acting like it’s obvious. This is the first part of a longer series, so instead of rushing to conclusions, they slow it down and actually ask what we’re talking about before trying to solve it. Which feels like a better starting point. Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman keep it honest, slightly sarcastic, and grounded in real life. It’s a conversation that sounds more like a group chat than a polished answer, especially if you’ve ever sat through this debate and thought “we’re not even defining the same thing.” Follow or subscribe to the podcast 🔔 Rate or favorite the episode if it resonated 👍 Share the episode with someone who’s had this argument before 📤 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/Cd_M0Sy4J_k Website: https://wheniheardthispodcast.com/link-in-bio/ Locals + X: @wheniheardthis Facebook + Instagram: @wheniheardthispodcast #FaithAndWorks #Christianity #BibleDiscussion #FaithQuestions #ChristianPodcast

56 min
APR 13

Episode 178 – We Broke War Ethics

So… how exactly does God feel about war… and who’s actually responsible when it all goes wrong? This one wraps up the Christian war ethics conversation and yeah, it gets messy fast. They dig into whether wars of choice are ever justified, what scripture actually says about leadership and violence, and whether “good reasons” still count once everything spirals. Then it keeps going. Civilian fallout, propaganda, drafts, and the uncomfortable question nobody really wants to answer. If your country goes to war, are you just there… or are you part of it? And what about the aftermath, the people left behind, and the decisions leaders make that regular people have to live with? They also hit the bigger questions people argue about online but rarely sit with. Was Jesus a pacifist? Is there such a thing as a holy war? Do intentions matter more than outcomes? And yeah… what does accountability even look like in all of this? Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman keep it honest, a little sarcastic, and very not polished. It feels less like a teaching and more like a conversation that probably should have stayed in the group chat. Follow or subscribe to the podcast 🔔 Rate or favorite the episode if it stuck with you 👍 Share the episode with someone who would definitely have opinions 📤 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/JhRa2aFJN-c Website: https://wheniheardthispodcast.com/link-in-bio/ Locals + X: @wheniheardthis Facebook + Instagram: @wheniheardthispodcast #ChristianPodcast #FaithAndCulture #WarEthics #ChurchConversations #RealTalk

57 min
MAR 23

Episode 177 – Christian War Ethics Break Down

Is there such a thing as a just war, or do Christians start sweating the second the questions get too specific? In Episode 177 of When I Heard This, Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman keep the war conversation going and get into the mess people usually try to dodge. This episode looks at Christian war ethics, what scripture says about war, and whether intention, method, or outcome matters most when people try to justify violence. They talk through questions about leadership, responsibility, and moral accountability. Is it worse when leaders send other people to die while staying safely out of the blast zone? Are there rules for how war can be fought, or do people just make those up after the fact? And if a war starts for a just reason but ends in disaster, does that change the moral weight of it? This is also a conversation about faith and culture, not just military theory with Bible verses taped onto it. The episode gets into how Christians think about power, ethics, human life, and whether church answers to hard questions are actually clear or just confidently vague. So, you know, light listening. Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman bring the kind of honest, thoughtful, slightly sarcastic conversation the show is known for. It is grounded in real-life faith experience, shaped by cultural commentary, and willing to say the part out loud that a lot of people only mutter in group chats afterward. Follow or subscribe to the podcast 🔔 Rate or favorite the episode if it resonated 👍 Share the episode with someone who would enjoy the conversation 📤 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/cvxb9wcoCNw Website: https://wheniheardthispodcast.com/link-in-bio/ Locals + X: @wheniheardthis Facebook + Instagram: @wheniheardthispodcast #ChristianPodcast #WarEthics #FaithAndCulture #BibleQuestions #ChurchCulture #PodcastDiscussion

1h 12m
MAR 16

Episode 176 – The War Debate Starts in the Bible

What happens when you actually read the Bible passages about war… instead of quietly skipping them? Because once those stories show up, the conversation about faith, violence, and responsibility gets a lot more complicated. This episode kicks off a larger discussion about Christian views on war and what Scripture actually says about it. Not the polished answers people tend to repeat, but the uncomfortable questions that show up when you read the text for yourself. Is war actually common in the Bible? What passages talk about it directly? And does God appear to view war differently between the Old Testament and the New Testament? Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman dig into the tension that Christians have wrestled with for centuries. If the Old Testament includes battles commanded by God, what are believers supposed to do with that today? Is war automatically murder, or are there situations where it isn’t? And when violence happens in war, who actually carries the moral weight, the leader giving the order or the person carrying it out? As usual, the conversation doesn’t pretend the answers are simple. Nate asks the kind of blunt questions that tend to show up in group chats but rarely in church settings, while Dr. Joseph Tillman brings the biblical and historical context. The result is a discussion that’s thoughtful, a little sarcastic, and very comfortable poking at the assumptions Christians often inherit without realizing it. Follow or subscribe to the podcast 🔔 Rate or favorite the episode if it resonated 👍 Share the episode with someone who enjoys honest faith conversations 📤 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dhGYNkhoq3Y Website: https://wheniheardthispodcast.com/link-in-bio/ Locals + X: @wheniheardthis Facebook + Instagram: @wheniheardthispodcast #christianpodcast #faithdiscussion #biblequestions #theologytalk #churchculture

59 min

5

out of 5

7 Ratings

What happens when a comedian asks a pastor whatever he wants?? 😮 In the "When I Heard This" podcast, comedian Nate Robinsoff asks Pastor Joseph Tillman, M.Div. whatever questions he can think of about church in America, the Bible, Christianity, cults, sex, and well really anything! He doesn't hold much back 🤣. https://www.youtube.com/@wheniheardthispodcast?sub_confirmation=1

Creator

Nate Robinsoff and Joseph Tillman
Years Active

2022 - 2026
Episodes

190
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© All rights reserved
Show Website

When I Heard This - Podcast