Advertise on podcast: Christ and Culture

Benjamin Quinn talks with Dr. Hunter Baker of First Liberty's Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy just before the midterms. They cover the state of both parties, how Gen Z relates to politics, the pull of democratic socialism, a Christian case for free markets, and how the church should engage politics. - Website: cfc.sebts.edu  - Contact us: cfc.sebts.edu/about/contact-us/  - Support the work of the Center: cfc.sebts.edu/about/give/  All opinions and views expressed by guest speakers are solely their own. They do not speak for nor represent SEBTS. Read our expressed views and confessions: www.sebts.edu/about/what_we_believe.aspx

Benjamin Quinn, Dr. Kristin Kellen and Daniel Darling use this week's headlines to ask how Christians can stay present, faithful and unified in a distracted, polarized culture. They cover "attention infidelity" and how phones pull us away from the people we love. They also look at a religious liberty win for the LifeWise Bible program in Washington State, and why that freedom has to protect every faith. Last, they ask what Christianity Today's purpose should be, and why unity still matters. - Website: cfc.sebts.edu  - Contact us: cfc.sebts.edu/about/contact-us/  - Support the work of the Center: cfc.sebts.edu/about/give/  All opinions and views expressed by guest speakers are solely their own. They do not speak for nor represent SEBTS. Read our expressed views and confessions: www.sebts.edu/about/what_we_believe.aspx

Two recent news stories have reignited a debate among Christians: a failed lethal-injection attempt in Tennessee and the announced plan to execute Nidal Hasan, the Fort Hood shooter, by a firing squad. In this episode, Dr. Benjamin Quinn is joined by Drs. Mark Liederbach, David Jones, and Jeremy Bell, a pastor and former Marine, to discuss how a pro-life ethic relates to capital punishment. They discuss what Scripture says about the state’s authority and responsibility, and what an execution is meant to accomplish. They also cover the need for certainty of guilt, whether the military is the right body to carry out executions, and the nature of public executions. The death penalty reminds Christians that every one of us deserves death, and Christ took that penalty on our behalf. - Website: cfc.sebts.edu  - Contact us: cfc.sebts.edu/about/contact-us/  - Support the work of the Center: cfc.sebts.edu/about/give/  All opinions and views expressed by guest speakers are solely their own. They do not speak for nor represent SEBTS. Read our expressed views and confessions: www.sebts.edu/about/what_we_believe.aspx

This is a blindspot episode: Benjamin Quinn and Andy Shurson explore a topic many Christians may overlook—what it actually means to live wisely in a world shaped by AI, ministry pressure, parenting decisions, and cultural confusion. They unpack the difference between simply having opinions and truly walking in wisdom. They begin with a foundational question: what is culture? Benjamin defines it as “the ways and products of creatures in creation,” then shows how that helps Christians think more clearly about everything from weddings, funerals, and family life to technology, art, language, architecture, and education. Andy presses into the real issue behind the conversation: how should believers engage a culture that is constantly changing? - Website: cfc.sebts.edu - Newsletter: https://cfc.sebts.edu/about/newsletter/ - Contact us: cfc.sebts.edu/about/contact-us/ - Support the work of the Center: cfc.sebts.edu/about/give/ All opinions and views expressed by guest speakers are solely their own. They do not speak for nor represent SEBTS. Read our expressed views and confessions: www.sebts.edu/about/what_we_believe.aspx

How should Christians defend the faith in a culture that doubts objective truth, distrusts testimony, and increasingly sees believers as a minority? In this episode, Benjamin Quinn talks with Dr. Ben Holloway about three challenges facing apologetics in the West today: the rejection of objectivity, reluctance to trust testimony, and the relegation of Christians to a minority. Holloway shares how years in youth ministry showed him the need to think carefully, not just repeat answers he'd heard. He explains why John Feinberg's advice to start with the basic laws of logic still works, how to weigh testimony the way we weigh any witness (including the apostle John's eyewitness claims), and why a personal story explains your faith without proving it. They also discuss the difference between apologetics and evangelism, and why a minority should seek conversion rather than conformity. The conversation closes on a reminder that Christians speak into every cultural question out of love for God and neighbor, and should do so with charity, kindness, and thought. - Website: cfc.sebts.edu - Newsletter: https://cfc.sebts.edu/about/newsletter/ - Contact us: cfc.sebts.edu/about/contact-us/ - Support the work of the Center: cfc.sebts.edu/about/give/ All opinions and views expressed by guest speakers are solely their own. They do not speak for nor represent SEBTS. Read our expressed views and confessions: www.sebts.edu/about/what_we_believe.aspx

Benjamin Quinn sits down with Jono Darville to discuss his book, Life in Its Original Language: A Biblical Guide to Being Truly Human. Jono shares how suffering, recovery, conversion, and ministry shaped the book’s central question: what does it mean to live as a truly human person under God? Together, they trace that question through Scripture, relationships, vocation, and the church’s calling to help people live according to God’s design. Get the book: https://www.amazon.com/Life-Its-Original-Language-Biblical/dp/1619584247/ref=mp_s_a_1_1 - Website: cfc.sebts.edu  - Newsletter: https://cfc.sebts.edu/about/newsletter/ - Contact us: cfc.sebts.edu/about/contact-us/  - Support the work of the Center: cfc.sebts.edu/about/give/  All opinions and views expressed by guest speakers are solely their own. They do not speak for nor represent SEBTS. Read our expressed views and confessions: www.sebts.edu/about/what_we_believe.aspx

Benjamin Quinn talks with David Mathis, Executive Director of Desiring God and pastor at City’s Church in St. Paul, about the second edition of Habits of Grace: Enjoying Jesus Through the Spiritual Disciplines. They trace how spiritual disciplines can form Christians in an age obsessed with optimization, productivity, and constant efficiency. David also explains why the book now gives more space to meditation and fasting, and why community remains central to Christian formation. - Website: cfc.sebts.edu  - Contact us: cfc.sebts.edu/about/contact-us/  - Support the work of the Center: cfc.sebts.edu/about/give/  All opinions and views expressed by guest speakers are solely their own. They do not speak for nor represent SEBTS. Read our expressed views and confessions: www.sebts.edu/about/what_we_believe.aspx

This episode moves through three timely conversations shaping Christian cultural reflection right now. Jason Thacker weighs in on the current AI panic and argues for a wise, non-doomer approach, while Dan Darling reflects on the deaths and legacies of Dolly Parton and Wendell Berry. Kristen Kellen closes with a careful response to a New York Times opinion piece on submission, marriage, and biblical authority. - Website: cfc.sebts.edu  - Contact us: cfc.sebts.edu/about/contact-us/  - Support the work of the Center: cfc.sebts.edu/about/give/  All opinions and views expressed by guest speakers are solely their own. They do not speak for nor represent SEBTS. Read our expressed views and confessions: www.sebts.edu/about/what_we_believe.aspx

Benjamin Quinn hosts Don Ziel and John Basie of Alliance Defending Freedom to talk about how churches and ministry leaders can lead with stronger legal foundations. The conversation focuses on why legal preparedness matters, where ministries most often get caught off guard, and how ADF is building tools to help pastors, seminaries, and churches act with both confidence and courage. In this episode, Don and John explain why church law should be treated as stewardship, not just administration, and why proactive preparation can prevent avoidable conflict. They also preview ADF’s Church and Ministry Alliance and a new seminary curriculum designed to build legal competency for future ministry leaders. - Website: cfc.sebts.edu  - Contact us: cfc.sebts.edu/about/contact-us/  - Support the work of the Center: cfc.sebts.edu/about/give/  All opinions and views expressed by guest speakers are solely their own. They do not speak for nor represent SEBTS. Read our expressed views and confessions: www.sebts.edu/about/what_we_believe.aspx

Benjamin Quinn hosts Matt Rusten, president of Made to Flourish and editor-in-chief of Common Good Magazine, for a conversation about why the faith and work conversation belongs in ministry, not just in workplace theology books. They focus on the Sunday to Monday gap, the formation of ministry leaders, and how pastors can help people see their work as part of discipleship. We discuss how ordinary jobs, vocational wounds, and work transitions shape people’s spiritual lives, and why preaching, small groups, and student ministry all need to speak more directly to work. Matt also explains the pastoral vision behind his book, Pastoring for Monday, and offers practical ways to connect the gospel to everyday labor. - Website: cfc.sebts.edu  - Contact us: cfc.sebts.edu/about/contact-us/  - Support the work of the Center: cfc.sebts.edu/about/give/  All opinions and views expressed by guest speakers are solely their own. They do not speak for nor represent SEBTS. Read our expressed views and confessions: www.sebts.edu/about/what_we_believe.aspx

How should Christians think about hobbies, especially sports card collecting, in light of holiness, stewardship, and the Lordship of Christ? The rise of sports collectibles is a concrete case study to explore bigger themes—how we spend money, how we spend time, and how hobbies can either deepen virtue and community or slide into idolatry, foolishness, or even gambling-like behavior. Benjamin Quinn frames the conversation around “hobbies of holiness,” connecting leisure to the Christian tradition of Sabbath, rest, and enjoyment of God and creation. He is joined by Jordan Willard and Kevin Qualls, both pastors and ministry leaders who have personal, generational ties to sports card collecting. In both cases, the hobby became a vehicle for bonding, memory-making, and intergenerational discipleship. The conversation also highlights the thriving sports memorabilia market, including cards, autographs, jerseys, equipment, and tickets, and notes how collecting has surged in recent years. That growth creates opportunity, but also risk. Jordan emphasizes that the same hobby can be either enjoyable stewardship or heart-level misdirection, depending on motive. If the goal becomes chasing value, “getting rich quick,” or feeding a compulsion to check prices and chase the next hit, the hobby has crossed into unhealthy territory. Kevin similarly stresses financial balance: God owns everything, needs must come before wants, generosity and budgeting matter, and hobbies should fit within a wise stewardship plan rather than override it. - Website: cfc.sebts.edu  - Contact us: cfc.sebts.edu/about/contact-us/  - Support the work of the Center: cfc.sebts.edu/about/give/  All opinions and views expressed by guest speakers are solely their own. They do not speak for nor represent SEBTS. Read our expressed views and confessions: www.sebts.edu/about/what_we_believe.aspx

What if the future of education looks less like more technology — and more like deeper formation? Dr. Benjamin Quinn is joined by Jeremy Tate for a wide-ranging conversation about Mississippi’s education gains, grading and testing culture, classical education, and the growing role of AI in schooling. This episode is especially useful for parents, educators, and Christians thinking carefully about what education is for, what should be prioritized, and how technology is changing the conversation. - Website: cfc.sebts.edu  - Contact us: cfc.sebts.edu/about/contact-us/  - Support the work of the Center: cfc.sebts.edu/about/give/  All opinions and views expressed by guest speakers are solely their own. They do not speak for nor represent SEBTS. Read our expressed views and confessions: www.sebts.edu/about/what_we_believe.aspx

Benjamin Quinn is joined by regular panelists Nathan Finn, Daniel Darling, and Kristen Kellen for a wide-ranging headlines episode that tracks three big conversations shaping churches and culture right now. The panel weighs Texas’s decision to include Bible content in public school reading lists, unpacks the realities behind “church hurt,” and considers why the Democratic Socialists of America are gaining traction, especially among younger adults. - Website: cfc.sebts.edu  - Contact us: cfc.sebts.edu/about/contact-us/  - Support the work of the Center: cfc.sebts.edu/about/give/  All opinions and views expressed by guest speakers are solely their own. They do not speak for nor represent SEBTS. Read our expressed views and confessions: www.sebts.edu/about/what_we_believe.aspx

What if happiness isn’t something you chase, but something that grows deeper in the middle of grief, change, and ordinary life? Dr. Benjamin Quinn talks with Andrew Wilson, teaching pastor at King’s Church London and columnist for Christianity Today, about Wilson’s short book, Happiness: What It Is, Where to Find It, and How to Make It Last Forever. The conversation explores why happiness is a universal human pursuit, how Christians should think about joy in different seasons of life, and why the deepest happiness is found in the presence of God rather than in circumstances. - Website: cfc.sebts.edu  - Contact us: cfc.sebts.edu/about/contact-us/  - Support the work of the Center: cfc.sebts.edu/about/give/  All opinions and views expressed by guest speakers are solely their own. They do not speak for nor represent SEBTS. Read our expressed views and confessions: www.sebts.edu/about/what_we_believe.aspx

This Blindspots episode looks at what happens when reading declines among adults and why that matters for pastors, ministry leaders, and every Christian trying to grow in love for God with heart, soul, mind, and strength. Benjamin Quinn and Andy Shurson use recent survey data, personal stories, and practical examples to argue that disciplined learning is a spiritual issue, not just an academic one. They also address what counts as reading in a digital age, how audiobooks fit into a healthy information diet, and how leaders can better connect with people in their churches and communities through intentional reading habits. - Website: cfc.sebts.edu  - Contact us: cfc.sebts.edu/about/contact-us/  - Support the work of the Center: cfc.sebts.edu/about/give/  All opinions and views expressed by guest speakers are solely their own. They do not speak for nor represent SEBTS. Read our expressed views and confessions: www.sebts.edu/about/what_we_believe.aspx