Sinopsis
Ezra Institute Podcast
Episodios
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The Foundation for Thinking
17/08/2022Where do we locate the starting point for human thinking? Descartes famously identified human nature with thought: "I think, therefore I am." However, the "I" who thinks must find its foundation in something prior to thought. The Christian perspective locates the root of thinking in the heart, which makes a religious choice about the origin of all things.
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Antichrist and His Ruin w/ Jacob Reaume
10/08/2022Jacob Reaume, pastor of Trinity Bible Chapel, joins us to talk about an upcoming documentary he is producing, Antichrist and His Ruin, dealing with the life and witness of John Bunyan, the biblical teaching on the doctrine of antichrist, and the call to the church for courage and faithfulness.
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Run the Enemies of God to the River
03/08/2022This episode started out with John Cooper asking Joe Boot about pacifism, and became a wide-ranging dialogue on what it means to be an image-bearer of God, and the implications that reality has for war, self-defense, and living in a state that is hostile to God. We also discuss the descriptions of God in Scripture as a warrior and the fact that the obligation to give honour and obedience is always qualified except when it is due to God.
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A Crisis in Conservatism?
27/07/2022In this episode, we discuss Edmund Burke and the origins of modern conservative ideology; we consider the validity of the sentiment that there is a crisis in conservatism, as well as the historic connection between conservatism and Christianity. Joe Boot explains how the contemporary attempt to distinguish between fiscal and social conservatism is a practical impossibility.
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Economics and Investing w/Jonathan Wellum
20/07/2022On this week's episode we consider the biblical conditions necessary for human flourishing, which always manifests in economic prosperity. Jonathan Wellum, CEO of Rocklinc Investment Partners, shares how a biblical approach to economics handles inflation and private property, and how contemporary theories and policies cause the greatest harm to the world's poorest people.
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The Great Commission w/ Dale Partridge
13/07/2022Dale Partridge joins us as a guest this week to discuss how his organization is working to fulfill the Great Commission on a national and international scale. We also discuss the masculinity of Jesus, and the eschatological hope that motivates our evangelistic efforts.
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Roe v. Wade and the Image of God
06/07/2022What does the recent Dobbs decision of the US Supreme Court mean for the practice of abortion? We discuss why it's fitting for Christians to loudly celebrate this ruling, as well as the reason we must approach issues related to life in terms of God's standard, for any other standard is ultimately arbitrary and subject to change.
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Covenant and Kingdom w/Andrew Sandlin
29/06/2022Andrew Sandlin joins us from the Runner Academy to talk about the nature of God's covenant with man, how the new covenant relates to earlier covenants, and what the covenant has to do with our responsibilities as citizens of the kingdom of God.
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The Image of God and a Culture of Beauty
22/06/2022At the conclusion of the 2022 Runner Academy, Joe Boot explains why the Ezra Institute exists and why we run training programs. We explore what it means for man to be made in the image of God, and how we are to steward creation and build culture for the sake of the kingdom of God.
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How Feminism Encourages Statism
08/06/2022In this episode, we investigate the worldview and origins of proto-feminism as well as first-wave feminism. This movement often gets tacit approval from Christians because of things like universal suffrage, but at its root, this movement, led by figures like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Stanton, and Margaret Sanger, is a self-centred, resentful ideology that opposes the family and fosters a bigger state.
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Gun Control Laws, Fatherlessness, and the Failure of Feminism
01/06/2022In this week's episode, we dive into a few recent news stories as we work to discover meaning in a world that has increasingly abandoned truth and reason. We consider some of the causes and responses to the recent Texas school shooting, as well as the growing realization that the biggest victims of the Sexual Revolution have been women.
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Critical Theory: Its Roots and Fruits
25/05/2022We conclude our introduction to Critical Theory by identifying some of the key personalities responsible for this school of thought and their major ideas. You may have heard of some of these men: Georg Lukacs, Antonio Gramsci, Herbert Marcuse, Wilhelm Reich, and Erich Fromm. From their own writing, it is clear that Critical Theory is more than an analytical tool, but is in fact a self-consciously religious worldview, complete with doctrines of sin, justice, and salvation.
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The Baffling Terminology of Critical Theory
18/05/2022Many Christians have heard of Critical Theory, but are unclear what it is and what it entails. In this first episode of a short series, we introduce the nature of Critical Theory, its Marxist origins in the Frankfurt School, and how it uses language to set itself up in opposition to the Christian worldview of the Bible.
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The Role of the Christian University
11/05/2022Our newest Fellow, Dr. Ben Merkle, joins us on this week's episode. Dr. Merkle is President of New Saint Andrews College, and we talk about the current state of higher education, the need for foundational worldview formation in critical thinking, and the fact that half the students in universities don't need to be there.
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Every Social Order is a Theocracy
04/05/2022On this episode we conclude our overview of Joe Boot's newest book, Ruler of Kings, and explain how the concept of heresy applies to political and social life outside of the church. We also lay out the difference between theocracy and ecclesiocracy, and describe how every society, from revolutionary France to modern North America, has a god-concept that demands ultimate allegiance.
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Jesus is the Ruler of the Kings of the Earth
27/04/2022On this episode we discuss Joe's newest book, Ruler of Kings. Joe explains why he felt compelled to write such a book at this time, and what the reign of King Jesus means for the way we understand and relate to civil government.
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The Resurrection Garden
20/04/2022Reflecting on the Easter season we've just come through, Joe Boot discusses the significance of the garden theme throughout Scripture, pointing to Christ as both the gardener and the king, and to the calling of his people to live in submission to him, holding forth dominion over the created world to tend and keep it. And if you've ever been unsure what Joe means by vice-gerent, we clarify it today!
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Economic Utopianism
13/04/2022On this week's episode we're joined by Ezra Institute Fellow for Biblical Economics, Graeme Leach. Graeme explains why the realm of economics is frequently neglected or misunderstood by Christians, how a biblical vision for economic life, that emphasizes property rights, proportional taxation, and voluntary welfare, leads to a more free and prosperous society, and how Christians can take action to order our economic lives to the
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Are We Trying to Christianize Canada?
06/04/2022As we wrap up the third chapter of a discussion on theonomy, law, and the Kingdom of God, we look at some historical cases where biblical law was applied to and positivized in the laws of the nations other than Israel, including Britain, the United States, and Canada. Because law is an inescapable condition of life, if we will not be governed by God's law, we must necessarily be governed by some other law. Which one do we want for our nation?
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The Law of the Kingdom
30/03/2022We resume the conversation from last week on the place of God's law in society, and interact with listener questions. We also examine the New Testament teaching on the law of God, and address the reality that all law is coercive, by its very nature.