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Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. What does it mean to listen to your conscience, especially in a culture that scoffs at the existence of moral values? Does the concept of conscience still mean anything today? Or is it a relic of what the secular world would have us believe was a naïve and superstitious past—a time of cartoon crickets and buzz-killing angels perched on our shoulders, scolding us into acting against our desires? Was the atheist Sigmund Freud right that conscience is merely the internalized echo of a tyrannical father, seeking to keep our conduct in check? And even if we grant that conscience has some kind of objective existence, how can we account for the fact that people reach radically incompatible moral conclusions while all claiming to follow it? For example, one person says conscience leads them to support abortion; another says conscience requires them to stand against it. Through all of this, how can we say that the conscience is "free" if its primary function is to impose rules? Here to help us untangle these questions, and to make the case that recovering the biblical conception of the conscience is more important than ever, is Bishop Robert Barron. Topics Covered 00:00 | Introduction 01:24 | Bishop Barron in Nashville: Good News Conference, Dominicans, and Theo Von 02:29 | What is the conscience? 05:21 | Is conscience just a gut feeling? 07:14 | The "angel" and the "devil" on our shoulders 09:57 | Perceiving conscience as an external voice 11:30 | Freud's concept of the internalized voice of authority 16:04 | Both radically individual and universally shared 18:04 | How prudence interacts with the conscience 18:55 | Is the conscience free? 22:04 | What are the duties to the conscience? 24:57 | What about when poor judgment clouds the conscience? 28:02 | "My truth, your truth" 30:24 | Responding to the conflation of evil and good 32:22 | The liberating benefits of rules 34:01 | Listener question: How can I respond to "I'm spiritual but not religious"? 36:14 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you, as always, for joining us. In this episode, we'll conclude our conversation with Dr. Tod Worner and Bishop Barron on modern Christian persecution. Topics Covered 00:00 | Introduction 00:23 | Lower than God, higher than us 05:58 | What do their deaths demand? 18:08 | No. 1—Pray for the persecuted 18:25 | No. 2—Stay informed 18:50 | No. 3—Persuade government to take action 19:35 | No. 4—Provide aid to the persecuted 19:50 | No. 5—Respect religious liberty at home 20:32 | No. 6—Resist soft religious persecution 22:09 | How the martyrs impacted Bishop Barron 25:03 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. Recently, Dr. Tod Worner of The Evangelization & Culture Podcast sat down with Bishop Barron to discuss modern Christian persecution with Bishop Barron's new book, What Do Their Deaths Demand? Now, it's a topic we've explored here on this show, once before. In this new conversation, we'll take a deeper dive into that subject, exploring the specific witness of some of these martyrs, and examining this modern era which has seen more Christian persecution than any other in history. Here to discuss that with Dr. Tod Worner, is Bishop Robert Barron. Topics Covered 00:00 | Introduction 02:18 | The most persecuted religion 15:08 | Why the persecution of Christians? 25:44 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. The evolutionary behavioral scientist and public intellectual Gad Saad recently published an influential book entitled Suicidal Empathy: Dying to Be Kind. In it, Saad argues that much of the West has, unfortunately, come to embrace a perversely deficient understanding of empathy, twisting the natural and otherwise noble human capacity to feel and respond to other peoples' sufferings into a moral license to upend the moral, economic, and political order. According to the dictates of suicidal empathy, for example, society should prioritize criminals over victims, illegal immigrants over citizens, lawbreakers over law abiders, racial identity over competence, adult sexual expression over childhood innocence, and trans women––that is, men pretending to be women––over real women. Suicidal empathy's endgame, Saad warns, is nothing less than societal ruin and the eventual totalitarian eclipse of the individual. How, from a Catholic perspective, should we assess these claims? Is Saad's characterization of suicidal empathy and its dangers accurate? If so, how should we, as Christians, constructively respond? What role, in particular, should the biblical conception of love play in defining what it means to show true compassion and care for those in need? Here to discuss Saad's book and to explain how authentic Christian charity is—and is not—related to empathy, is Bishop Robert Barron. Topics Covered 00:00 | Introduction 01:40 | Bishop Barron interviews JD Vance 02:45 | How Saad defines "empathy" 04:45 | Saad's argument on the exaggeration of empathy 06:31 | Exploring the concept of "forbidden knowledge" 09:30 | "It will destroy the West"? 11:05 | Connecting wokeism and self-destructive empathy 12:33 | Can we square wokeism's moralizing mandates with its amoral claims? 13:40 | Tracing the movement's origins 16:27 | Mistaking empathy for love 22:01 | Recognizing the fallenness of our emotional lives 27:39 | Does love equate to niceness and kindness? 28:50 | What about "love thy neighbor"? 30:42 | Distinguishing a proper preference for the poor from its unhealthy overemphasis 32:46 | Addressing the Christian impulse beneath the wokeist trappings 34:42 | Listener question: Where was God before time? 36:33 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. The Liturgy of the Hours, or the "Divine Office," is often associated exclusively with the spiritual practices of priests, monks, and nuns. To be sure, praying the Hours is an essential part of the lives of those who have formally taken religious vows. However, the prayer of the Church, as the Liturgy of the Hours is also called, is precisely that: a way of sanctifying the day for the whole Church, both laity and clergy alike. With so many forms of prayer already available, however, why should lay Catholics also consider praying the Hours? What, substantively, is distinctive about it? What are its origins? Moreover, given the size and complexity of the Hours—the full liturgy occupies four thick volumes of text with multiple ribbons to mark different sections—how, practically, can we get started? Here to explain the enduring theological and spiritual richness of the Liturgy of the Hours and how it deepens and enriches all Catholics' lives, is Bishop Robert Barron. Topics Covered 00:00 | Introduction 01:11 | Bishop Barron's diocesan travels 02:35 | Why the Liturgy of the Hours matters to Word on Fire 03:57 | Leading with beauty 04:57 | Prayer and the importance of embodiment 08:06 | The origins and practice of praying the Divine Office 12:13 | How the Liturgy of the Hours shapes priests 13:26 | Understanding the Liturgy of the Hours as the Divine Office 14:22 | Relating the Liturgy of the Hours to the liturgy of the Mass 15:11 | What makes a prayer liturgical? 15:52 | Why the Psalms feature so prominently in the Divine Office 20:06 | How the laity benefits from praying the Divine Office 21:46 | "Pray without ceasing" 23:17 | Getting started with the Liturgy of the Hours 27:32 | Persevering through fatigue in prayer 30:51 | The Divine Office and evangelization 31:44 | Listener question: What effect does our prayer have on others? 34:18 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. We're delighted to announce that a new feature film by Bishop Robert Barron will be hitting theaters—yes, theaters—soon. The full-length documentary, entitled Heaven in Stone and Glass, draws on the collective shock and sadness the world experienced watching Paris's Cathedral of Notre-Dame burn in 2019 to explore the enduring philosophical, theological, aesthetic, moral, and evangelical significance of the great Gothic cathedrals of France. Recognizing the potential destruction of Notre-Dame—happily, it has since been restored—as much more than the loss of a historic building, Bishop Barron personally walks us through Gothicism's soaring architecture and richly detailed symbolism to explain everything from the unity and diversity of creation, the nature of the human person, the objectivity of beauty, the meaning of the incarnation, the living communion of saints, and the hope of the beatific vision, and how all of this matters more than ever for a rapidly secularizing West at risk of losing its Christian civilizational identity. Here to share the story behind the making of the film, and what he hopes audiences will take away from it, is Bishop Robert Barron. Topics Covered 00:00 | Introduction 01:24 | Bishop Barron ordains new priests 02:57 | The role of film in the early days of Word on Fire 06:04 | Connecting Heaven in Stone and Glass to Word on Fire's other films 07:26 | Why a new film on cathedrals? 09:00 | Personal origins of the new film 11:23 | Unpacking the film's title 15:18 | Explaining the full meaning of a church and cathedral 19:20 | Theological reflections within a cathedral 24:11 | Medieval times and the so-called Dark Ages 25:51 | The objective reality of beauty 28:44 | The role of the profane in the Gothic cathedrals 32:33 | Overcoming blindness through appreciation and emulation 33:36 | Evangelical opportunities for Heaven in Stone and Glass 34:56 | Listener question: How can the laity advance beauty today? 36:53 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. From Bishop Barron's very first social media post close to 20 years ago, he and Word on Fire as a whole have recognized that the online world is a rough-and-tumble place. While most, over the years, have interacted with our content with charity and respect, even if they disagree, there's always been a gallery of trolls who traffic in insults and profanity and are only interested in taking potshots at the ministry rather than engaging in conversation. So it goes—that's just part of the price of entry into the digital world, especially when evangelization is your goal. The internet culture, however, seems to have taken a dark turn recently. Whatever limited restraint people used to show in their online interactions seems to have evaporated in a toxic cloud of mob-fueling—and mob-fueled—rage, replete with distortions, deceptions, and sometimes even explicit calls for violence. Exacerbated by the rise of the use of AI, bots, and anonymous accounts often based in foreign countries, it is increasingly difficult to know with whom you are engaging online or what their motives are. And sadly, physical threats from online sources are now also something we must take very seriously. So how should we move forward from here? Is it still possible to make evangelical headway in this increasingly noxious online environment? If so, what principles should guide the way? Here to discuss the challenges and possible solutions to the current state of the online world is Bishop Robert Barron. Topics Covered 00:00 | Introduction 01:46 | Bishop Barron celebrates 40 years 02:50 | Bishop Barron's early days online 06:58 | Online changes in recent years 12:16 | Anonymity online 17:42 | Applying the cardinal virtues: 1) Temperance 22:23 | 2) Fortitude 24:05 | 3) Justice 26:15 | Recognizing sins of speech 29:23 | 4) Prudence 31:23 | How we move forward 34:23 | Listener question: How would you define respect? 36:23 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. The United States is celebrating its 250th birthday, marking two and a half centuries since the signing of the Declaration of Independence. That a country as expansive and diverse as ours has remained united under a single Constitution for two and a half centuries—passing through multiple existential wars, including a civil war, and numerous periods of traumatic political and economic upheaval—is a monumental achievement by any historical standard. How might we assess this moment from a Catholic perspective? What is it about the United States of America that is politically and morally distinctive? What binds us together as a people? Is it accurate to say that we are a Christian nation? If not, what conception of "God" is operative in the founders' references to the divine? If so, what should we make of the future of America given the dramatic decline of Church attendance among both Catholics and Protestants in recent decades? Perhaps most importantly for this moment, what can we learn from our collective past as Americans to guide us into the future? Here to address these questions, and to share his experience participating in the recent Rededicate 250 event on the National Mall in Washington, DC, is Bishop Robert Barron. Topics Covered 00:00 | Introduction 01:28 | Bishop Barron visits Orlando (The US bishops consecrate the nation to the sacred heart of Jesus 02:50 | Rededicate 250 in Washington DC 04:01 | Is this a Christian nation? 07:10 | How did the Founding Fathers view God? 08:51 | Mere Christianity or Protestant theology? 12:30 | The founding documents and God 14:38 | The Declaration of Independence: a declaration of dependence on God 16:07 | Connecting freedom with human dignity 22:33 | Relating equality with freedom 24:21 | Can patriotism and piety agree? 27:04 | Responding to the post-liberal critique of the American experiment 34:01 | Evangelism and the American Republic 35:28 | Listener question: Is praying for politicians effective? 37:49 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. Bishop Robert Barron has long defended religious freedom as a universal human right. As part of his ongoing advocacy—which includes a new book on how to confront persecution against Christians—he has recently completed serving on a presidential religious liberty commission charged with ensuring that people of all faiths can participate fully in society without fear of violence or unjust discrimination. One of the few Catholic ecclesial voices on the commission, his work addressed multiple abiding and practical questions. For example, at the conceptual level, what is religious freedom, and what role should the government play in protecting it? How can we define religious freedom in a way that prevents one religion's exercise of their freedom from infringing upon the freedom of other religions, or on those who claim no religion at all? And at the more concrete level, where, right now, are the greatest threats to religious freedom and what can we do both legislatively and individually to combat them? Here to address these and related questions, and to discuss his experience serving on the presidential commission, is Bishop Robert Barron. Topics Covered 00:00 | Introduction 01:16 | Bishop Barron visits diocesan schools 02:26 | How Bishop Barron came to join the Religious Liberty Commission 04:03 | The makeup of the Religious Liberty Commission 05:00 | Basic structure of the meetings 07:38 | Being a Catholic bishop on the commission 09:51 | The privatization of religion 10:36 | Where does religious liberty originate? 12:36 | The public nature of religious liberty 13:51 | Why religious liberty is the first freedom 15:11 | Is religious liberty just religious license? 16:36 | The role of government in religious liberty 18:00 | Separation of church and state? 22:33 | Principal threats to religious liberty 26:26 | Testimonies shared with the Commission 27:30 | How we move forward 28:18 | The question of religious exemptions 30:53 | Religious liberty and evangelization 32:17 | Listener question: To what extent do denominations matter? 35:07 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. A wave of fresh converts has entered the Catholic Church in the United States, Australia, and parts of Europe. The evidence for this surge is far from anecdotal; even secular media outlets that are historically inclined to downplay positive stories about Catholicism widely reported packed sanctuaries this past Easter, the day those who have been preparing to enter the Catholic Church typically receive their first sacraments. This is welcome news for a Church that has grown accustomed to a half-century narrative of religious disaffiliation and cultural decline. So what's behind this uptick in conversions? What factors are leading young people—and young men in particular—to buck the trend of secularization and become Catholic? What is happening both in the world and within the Church that is making the faith become so attractive? Perhaps most importantly, what can and should Catholics, clergy and laity alike, do to both continue the momentum and help new converts to stick with faith? Here to offer his insights on what's driving this new growth and why, now more than ever, we should double our efforts to proclaim Christ in the culture is Bishop Robert Barron. Topics Covered 00:00 | Introduction 01:34 | Bishop Barron's recent confirmation season 04:34 | Recent growth in Catholicism 06:13 | What cultural factors are contributing to these numbers? 19:11 | How the liturgy and a renewed interest in the Mass attract members 23:08 | Mysticism and attraction to the Church 24:27 | Is "modernizing" the Church necessary for growth? 26:08 | Evangelical efforts to support 30:20 | How we maintain momentum without perpetuating a trend 31:09 | Advice for new converts 32:48 | Listener question: Should I baptize my kids before myself? 34:24 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. Although not widely reported in legacy media outlets, Christianity is, by far, the most persecuted religion in the world. From the Middle East and Africa to India, China, North Korea, and elsewhere, Christian communities regularly experience widespread humiliation, imprisonment, kidnappings, expulsions, and even murderous mob violence. While not as severe, Christians in parts of Europe and even right here at home, in the US, also often endure discrimination, exclusion, and ridicule. There is no ambiguity about who is carrying out these attacks or what motivates them. Like the martyrs of past centuries, millions of our Christian brothers and sisters are currently suffering because they profess faith in Jesus Christ. In response to this ongoing outrage, Bishop Robert Barron has released a new book called What Do Their Deaths Demand? Christian Persecution Today. Intended for widespread distribution, the book spotlights heartbreaking stories of the continued targeting of Christian communities throughout the world, offers a theological explanation for why Christianity has been under assault since its inception, and, most importantly, provides actionable ideas for what all of us can do to respond. Here to discuss the book—and why its message is more urgent than ever—is Bishop Robert Barron. Topics Covered 00:00 | Introduction 01:38 | The final meeting of the Religious Liberty Commission 02:51 | Why this book, and why now? 05:16 | Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa's foreword 06:46 | Aid to the Church in Need 07:47 | Why Christian persecution is largely ignored 09:00 | Part 1: The Most Persecuted Religion 15:36 | Part 2: Why the Persecution of Christians? 22:41 | The fundamental quandary 25:09 | Part 3: So What Can We Do? 32:09 | Listener question: Should we present the crucifixion more positively? 34:38 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. The faithful recently rejoiced at the news that Archbishop Fulton Sheen, the great American evangelist who lived from 1895 to 1979, has moved forward in the canonization process. The Vatican recently announced that he will soon be beatified, which is one step away from being declared a saint. This is an especially happy development for Word on Fire Catholic Ministries, which, as an apostolate dedicated to evangelization, has a special devotion to Archbishop Sheen; in fact, his portrait hangs just beyond the studio doors where we are recording this show, next to our other patrons, St. Thérèse of Lisieux and Pope St. John Paul II. Looking back, what kind of enduring impact has Fulton Sheen had on evangelization and the Church? Looking forward, what can we continue to learn from him today, especially given the fact that the evangelical landscape has so drastically changed, both culturally and technologically, since Sheen's time? Here to celebrate Sheen's legacy, and how the great communicator continues to shape Word on Fire's own evangelical mission, is Bishop Robert Barron. Topics Covered 00:00 | Introduction 01:22 | Winona-Rochester's confirmation season 02:19 | What is beatification? 04:44 | Who was Fulton Sheen? 07:15 | Sheen's theology of the Church as mystical body of Christ 11:38 | Sheen's theology of grace 15:10 | The quiet influence of Fulton Sheen in Bishop Barron's life 20:44 | The Pivotal Players: Fulton Sheen 21:59 | Examining Sheen's universal appeal 26:22 | Fulton Sheen and social media 29:49 | Word on Fire and Fulton Sheen 30:20 | Listener question: How do I best use social media to evangelize? 32:23 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. The Old Testament is about three-quarters of the Bible. It is theologically and morally impossible for Christians to understand God's relationship with the world, the nature and purpose of human beings, original sin, salvation history, the person of Jesus Christ, and the foundation of the Church without it. Indeed, as far back as the second century AD, the Church condemned the heresy of Marcionism, which sought to distinguish the God of the Old Testament from the God of the New Testament and to lop off the Old Testament from the biblical canon. There is and never has been, in short, Christianity without the Old Testament. Nevertheless, much of the text remains difficult for the faithful to understand and, even more so, to explain to others, especially to those who know nothing about it. To make matters more complicated, secular critics of the faith often try to use the Old Testament against it, arguing—like the Marcionites of the past—that belief in the Old Testament is both irrational and immoral. So how should Catholics respond? What are some strategies we can employ not only to make the Old Testament accessible but also evangelically compelling? Here to help us understand the Old Testament and its enduring evangelical power, especially in a highly secularized culture, is Bishop Robert Barron. Topics Covered 00:00 | Introduction 01:33 | Bishop Barron visits Washington 03:38 | How many Catholics read the Bible 09:37 | Understanding the Bible through the interpretive tradition of the Church 11:13 | The historical critical method of the Old Testament 13:10 | The influence of Joseph Ratzinger on Bishop Barron's biblical approach 16:00 | The otherness of God 20:28 | Why God's self-sufficiency matters for reading the Old Testament 22:57 | God as radically transcendent and personally involved 25:25 | God, creator of all people and the father of Israel 26:43 | Critique #1: The Old Testament God is violent 30:09 | Critique #2: The Old Testament God is a moody, jealous diva 32:52 | Critique #3: The Old Testament God is not the New Testament God 34:53 | Critique #4: The Old Testament is just a collection of myths 37:23 | Advice for evangelists regarding the Old Testament 39:34 | Listener Question: What is the Bible's role for Catholics 40:45 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/ NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. Hollywood is not known for being friendly to Christianity in general or Catholicism in particular, especially nowadays; unfortunately, there is no shortage of storylines and characters that mock and even demonize believers. At the same time, however, whenever the film industry wishes to depict a "religious looking" scene or add a transcendent element to the plot, it frequently employs Catholic architecture, Catholic sacramentals, and even Catholic priests to do so. What should we make of this ambivalence to the faith? What does Hollywood get wrong, and what, perhaps to our surprise, does Hollywood get right about Catholicism and the priesthood? What do these portrayals tell us more broadly about potential openness within the entertainment industry to God's existence, the divinity of Christ, good and evil, and life after death? Here to take a look at some pivotal classic and contemporary films that prominently feature Catholicism and Catholic priests, with an eye to unpacking their significance for the wider entertainment culture, is Bishop Robert Barron. WOF 533 00:00 | Introduction 01:19 | Bishop Barron's recent watchlist 02:44 | What movies have meant to Word on Fire 04:06 | Artificial intelligence and cinema 05:10 | Hollywood and the Catholic priesthood 07:06 | Examining the evangelical strategies of Christian studios 08:43 | Boys Town (1938) 12:10 | The Exorcist (1973) 21:13 | True Confessions (1981) 24:42 | The Mission (1986) 29:07 | Calvary (2014) 32:51 | How best to portray Catholicism and the priesthood in movies 34:17 | How best to watch movies depicting the priesthood 36:04 | Listener question: How did St. Thérèse help on CATHOLICISM? 38:26 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/   NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, Senior Director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. Marxism, unfortunately, seems to be making a comeback. Despite its economically disastrous, politically oppressive, and horrifically inhumane track record, the atheistic philosophy that produced the Communist revolution and eventually led to the deaths of tens of millions of people has wheedled its way back to the center of our political culture. On the surface, this may sound surprising: Since the fall of the Berlin Wall over three decades ago, few public figures have openly identified as Marxist, and Communist political parties have typically occupied the outermost fringes of political influence. However, Marxist ideas–especially in the form of contemporary identity politics–have not only continued gathering momentum beneath the surface in universities, NGOs, the media, corporate HR departments, and government bureaucracies; high profile politicians, including the mayor of New York, Zohran Mandami, and Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, now seem to be openly advocating for Marxist policies. So how did this morally and historically discredited ideology remerge in mainstream politics? Equally important, how should Christians and all people concerned with basic human rights and the common good respond? Here to discuss the dark history of Marxism, its contemporary forms, and how the Catholic Church has, and always will, stand against it, is Bishop Robert Barron. Topics Covered 00:00 | Introduction 01:48 | Winona-Rochester's record catechumen year 02:53 | A brief overview of Karl Marx 04:55 | What is dialectical materialism? 06:40 | Class conflicts in Marx's day 08:01 | Marx's early critique of capitalism 10:55 | Marx's critique of religion 17:12 | Marxism's pursuit of Utopia 20:06 | Rerum Novarum: Pope Leo XIII responds 23:08 | Reducing history to an economic substructure 24:20 | The legacy of Marxism 26:16 | Shared views between Marxism and contemporary identity politics 28:52 | Why harmful ideas take fair guises 31:23 | Critiquing collectivism 33:08 | US politicians and Marxist ideas 36:03 | Weren't early Christians fundamentally communist? 38:08 | Shouldn't we just try Marxism? 39:26 | Thomas Merton responds to Marxism 41:07 | Is it partisan to critique Marxism? 42:51 | Listener question: How do we respond to "my truth"? 45:12 | Join the Word on Fire Institute Links: Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/   NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.