Reasonable Christianity?

Roland O'neil Albertus
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Christianity
  • Updated Weekly

Reasonable Christianity is a weekly podcast where ordinary people have thought-provoking conversations about an extraordinary God. Each week we take a look at the truth claims of Christianity, the teachings of the bible as well as the practices of the saints in order to evaluate and affirm the truthfulness of our faith and ultimately preserve the power of the gospel. Hosted by Roland Albertus

  1. 4d ago

    WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO RULE? Authority, Government and the Christian Answer

    What makes authority legitimate? Who gave you the right to rule? South Africa’s political problems are often discussed in terms of leaders, parties, policies and institutions. But beneath all of these questions lies a deeper one: where does legitimate authority come from, and to whom does it answer? In this episode of Reasonable Christianity, Roland O’Neil Albertus examines the foundations of authority through South Africa’s history, the development of traditional authority, the rise of constitutional democracy, and the political ideas that have shaped the country. Then we turn to Scripture. Through 1 Samuel 8, Romans 13 and Luke 10, we examine what the Bible teaches about human authority, its limits, its purpose and its accountability before God. This episode introduces the central argument of South Africa Unmade: a nation’s political problems cannot be understood simply by asking who holds power. We must first ask what makes that power legitimate. And once we ask that question, we discover that authority ultimately answers to someone greater than ourselves. South Africa Unmade is available in South Africa via Takealot and will be available worldwide from 29 September 2026. Reasonable Christianity The Truth matters and so do you. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

  2. Sep 2

    SOUTH AFRICA UNMADE: Why I wrote this book

    WHY I WROTE THIS BOOK In 1995, I was a child watching South Africa believe that something beautiful was possible. Years later, my own experience of university, bureaucracy, disappointment and interrupted opportunity forced me to ask a harder question: What happened to us? That question eventually became an investigation—not simply into what is going wrong in South Africa, but into why the same failures keep returning. In this Prelude to South Africa Unmade, I share the personal journey that led me to write the book, introduce the four foundations at the heart of its argument, and explain why I believe Christians must think seriously about authority, justice, responsibility, human nature and the limits of government. This is not a partisan manifesto. It is an invitation to examine the foundations beneath the symptoms. The book is coming 29 September 2026. But before we ask how South Africa can be rebuilt, we need to ask a more fundamental question: Who gave you the right to rule? Welcome to South Africa Unmade. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

  3. Aug 24

    When a Pastor Falls, Is He Finished? The Biblical Answer Nobody's Giving

    When a pastor falls, is he finished? Most people answer that question with either total leniency or total condemnation. Scripture does neither. Two reflexes dominate the way Christians respond when a leader falls into public sin. One says the failure changes nothing: a brief disappearance, a well-timed comeback, no real accountability. The other says it changes everything: one fall, and the door is bolted forever. Both are wrong, and both are shaping how the church treats its wounded shepherds right now. In this episode of Hard Questions, Faithfully Answered, Roland Albertus goes back to a question almost no one asks before arguing about restoration: what actually is the assembly of God's people? Not a stage. Not a corporation. A household, a family gathered from families, its elders drawn from among proven fathers. And once you see that, the whole question changes. You'll hear: Why "above reproach" was never a claim to sinlessness, and what it actually means in the GreekThe one word Paul uses that separates a man who must be permanently removed from a man who can be restoredA direct, respectful engagement with Justin Peters' widely-heard case for permanent disqualification, using his own wordsWhy a father who fails his family is never simply erased from it, and what that means for a fallen shepherdWhat real restoration costs, and why it is neither quick nor cheapThis is honest theology for the wounded and the watching. No easy comebacks. No permanent exile. Just the Word of God brought to bear on one of the hardest questions the church keeps getting wrong. New episodes weekly. If this served you, follow the show and share it with someone who needs it. 📖 Roland's forthcoming book, South Africa Unmade, releases 29 September. Patreon partners receive it first, along with resources to help you know God intimately, love Him passionately, and serve Him faithfully. Link in show notes. Because the truth matters. And so do you. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

  4. Aug 17

    Is Divorce a Sin? A Biblical Guide to Marriage, Divorce & Remarriage

    Is divorce a sin? The answer is not as simple as either side wants it to be. One man kept his marriage vow and lost his marriage anyway. Another married in disobedience and welcomed the divorce he should have grieved. Same word. Two completely different stories. So which one is sin, and what does God actually require of the person left standing in the wreckage? In this episode of Hard Questions, Faithfully Answered, Roland Albertus refuses the two easy answers our culture keeps shouting: that divorce is always permitted, and that divorce is never permitted. Scripture is more honest, and more merciful, than both. We take three questions the church too often collapses into one: Is divorce ever biblical? What Jesus actually said in Matthew 19, and the two grounds Scripture genuinely recognizesIf I am divorced, can I remarry? The three positions faithful, Bible-believing Christians hold, laid out honestly instead of hiddenWhat does faithfulness look like now? Real pastoral counsel for the deserted, the guilty, and everyone whose story is messier than a clean categoryBut before any of that, we go back to what marriage even is, and uncover something that will change the way you read the entire New Testament: the ancient two-stage Jewish betrothal, the price paid in blood, the gifts given, the Bridegroom gone to "prepare a place," and a servant sent with treasures for a bride who had not yet seen her groom's face. Marriage was never merely human. It is the shadow of the greatest reality in the universe. And it ends with a warning our generation needs: "What God has joined, let no man separate," a word not only to spouses, but to a state now reaching past its bounds to redefine marriage and the family itself. No sugarcoating. No easy formulas. Just the Word of God brought to bear on one of the hardest questions a believer can face. New episodes weekly. If this served you, follow the show and share it with someone who needs it. 📖 Roland's forthcoming book, South Africa Unmade, releases 29 September. Patreon partners receive it first, along with resources to help you know God intimately, love Him passionately, and serve Him faithfully.  Link: https://www.patreon.com/cw/ReasonableChristianity/membership Because the truth matters. And so do you. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

  5. Aug 10

    Pain & Providence | Why Would God Allow a Child to Suffer and Die?

    Why would a good and sovereign God allow a child to be born only to suffer and die? It is one thing to ask why suffering exists. It is another to look at a child who never had the chance to grow, choose, speak, or understand the world around them and ask: What was this life for? In this episode of Reasonable Christianity, Roland Albertus takes that question seriously. No easy answers. No sentimental clichés. No pretending that “God has a plan” is enough. We begin with the sovereignty of God: if God governs all things, then even the suffering of a child is not outside His providence. But sovereignty alone does not answer the deepest question. What did the child receive? From there, we carefully build a theological case from Scripture, considering moral capacity, guilt, the tenderness of Christ toward children, David's words after the death of his infant son, and the historic Christian hope that children who die are received by the mercy of God. But there is a dangerous question waiting on the other side of that hope: If death brings a child safely into God's presence, does that make death a kindness? And if so, what would that mean for abortion, suffering, and the value of human life? The episode also turns toward the grieving parent. Can you believe that your child is safe with God and still weep? Does hope require you to stop grieving? And finally, the question turns toward all of us who have been given the years that another child never received: What are you doing with them? This is an episode about suffering, providence, grief, the value of human life, God's sovereignty, and the mercy of God. Because the truth matters. And so do you. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

  6. Aug 3

    Episode 100 | Why Reasonable Christianity Exists — A Founder's Charge

    One hundred episodes ago, this began with a microphone and a single conviction: that Christianity is not merely true. It is reasonable. But this episode is not a celebration of a number. It is an answer to the one question Roland is asked more than any other, and has never answered fully in one place until now. Why does Reasonable Christianity exist? Not why start a podcast. Why does an institution like this one need to exist at all? What did it see in the Christian landscape that it could not walk past? And why give years of a life to it? In this milestone episode, Roland traces the diagnosis that started everything, defines what "reasonable" actually means (and the three things it does not), and lays out the three convictions that became impossible to ignore after nearly two years of studying this faith every single week. Along the way he draws a distinction that sits at the heart of everything Reasonable Christianity teaches, the difference between the living body Christ promised to build and the structures we so often mistake for it. Get that distinction wrong, and you hand your whole self to water that cannot hold you. This is a founder's charge, not a founder's story. It closes with an invitation, and a question about what the next hundred episodes are for. Because the truth matters. And so do you. Send us Fan Mail Support the show

  7. Jul 27

    Why I Don't Belong to a Church | Following Truth (Episode 4)

    For most people, "church" means a building, a Sunday service, or an organisation. But what if that isn't what Jesus meant? In this episode, Roland Albertus explores one of the most overlooked words in the New Testament: ekklesia. Drawing on Scripture, history, and careful biblical reasoning, he asks whether our modern understanding of "church" has drifted from Christ's original vision. This is not an argument against gathering with God's people. It is an argument for recovering what the Church was always meant to be: a family rather than a brand, a people rather than a programme, a body rather than a building. Along the way, we explore: • Why the New Testament never uses ekklesia to describe a building. • How the English word church developed, and why that history matters. • The two great distortions that dominate much of modern Christianity. • Why belonging is more important than attendance. • What genuine biblical community actually looks like. Whether you've spent your entire life in church, recently walked away, or are simply searching for what Christ intended His people to be, this conversation will challenge assumptions that many of us have never stopped to question. Because perhaps the most important question isn't: "Which church do you attend?" Perhaps it's: "Do you belong to the people Christ purchased with His blood?" Send us Fan Mail Support the show

  8. Jul 20

    Why I Hold Protestant Convictions | Following Truth (Episode 3)

    If Jesus rose from the dead, then Christianity is true. But that raises another question that millions of people ask: Which Christianity? Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Protestant? In this episode of Reasonable Christianity, Roland Albertus carefully examines the three historic traditions of the Christian faith—not as competing tribes, but as competing truth claims. Treating each tradition at its strongest, he explores their teachings on authority, Scripture, tradition, justification, and salvation before asking the question that matters most: Which view best reflects the teaching of the apostles? Rather than appealing to emotion, culture, or denominational loyalty, this episode follows the evidence from Scripture and history, explaining why Roland ultimately holds Protestant convictions rooted in Sola Scriptura and justification by faith alone. Whether you're a Protestant wanting to understand your beliefs more deeply, a Catholic or Orthodox Christian curious about the Reformation, or someone simply trying to make sense of Christianity's divisions, this episode offers a thoughtful, respectful, and historically informed conversation. In this episode you'll discover: • Why Christianity's divisions don't disprove Christianity. • The real differences between Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. • Why the question of authority lies beneath every major doctrinal disagreement. • What the Reformers actually meant by Sola Scriptura. • Why justification by faith alone became the defining issue of the Reformation. • Why these convictions are about following Christ—not belonging to a tribe. This is Episode 3 of the Following Truth series—a four-part journey from the existence of God to the nature of the Christian community. Series so far: • Episode 1: Why I Believe God Exists • Episode 2: Why I Believe Jesus Rose from the Dead • Episode 3: Why I Hold Protestant Convictions Coming next: Why I Don't Belong to a Church — a provocative exploration of the biblical meaning of the ekklesia and whether modern church culture reflects the community Jesus intended. If this episode helped you think more clearly about the Christian faith, follow Reasonable Christianity on Spotify and share it with someone searching for truth. #Christianity #Protestant #Reformation #SolaScriptura #JustificationByFaith #Bible #Theology #Apologetics #ChurchHistory #ReasonableChristianity #RolandAlbertus Send us Fan Mail Support the show

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Reasonable Christianity is a weekly podcast where ordinary people have thought-provoking conversations about an extraordinary God. Each week we take a look at the truth claims of Christianity, the teachings of the bible as well as the practices of the saints in order to evaluate and affirm the truthfulness of our faith and ultimately preserve the power of the gospel. Hosted by Roland Albertus

Information

  • Creator
    Roland O'neil Albertus
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    105
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Reasonable Christianity?
  • Show Website
    Reasonable Christianity?