Episodes

  • Aliens, Demon Possession, and the Afterlife

    Aliens, Demon Possession, and the Afterlife
    Dec 25 2024
    How might Christians respond to family members who don’t believe mental illness is real? Does standing with Israel mean endorsing all of its government’s actions? Is the Enneagram a slippery slope toward engaging with the dark spiritual forces? Listen in as Russell and CT’s editorial director for print, Ashley Hales, respond to these listener questions and more. Their conversation considers the role of Christians in religiously diverse nations and explores what it looks like to live faithfully in a complex world. Questions addressed during this episode include: How should Christians respond to family members who believe a relative’s mental illness is instead demon possession? What can believers do to model care and connection amid political polarization? Is the Enneagram dangerous? What do we know about heaven—and what is just cultural opinion? If Christians are free from bondage to sin, why do we still struggle so greatly with temptation? What does it really mean to stand with Israel? How should the Capitol Hill testimonies affirming the existence of extraterrestrial life impact the Christian worldview? Do Christians have the right or responsibility to impose Christian values through laws or governmental power? Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: The Enneagram “Decoding the Enneagram” The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien Harry Potter Wishful Thinking: A Seeker’s ABC by Frederick Buechner Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    45 mins
  • Moore to the Point: The Holly and the Anxiety

    Moore to the Point: The Holly and the Anxiety
    Dec 23 2024
    Why your anxiety needs an apocalypse this Christmas. The Russell Moore Show is bringing Russell's weekly newsletter to all streaming platforms. Listen to his most recent newsletter every Monday! Subscribe to Russell's weekly newsletter here! Do you have questions for Russell Moore? Send them to questions@russellmoore.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    10 mins
  • The Countercultural Sermon That Changed Everything

    The Countercultural Sermon That Changed Everything
    Dec 18 2024
    As a pastor, author, and speaker, Rich Villodas has spent a lot of time studying the Scriptures. Over the years, he’s realized what he treasures about them: “ I love that the Bible is not this collection of sanitized, holy people,” he said. “It’s a collection of broken, frail people who are made righteous by a goodness outside of themselves.” Villodas and Moore discuss that righteousness and goodness through the lens of the Sermon on the Mount. They talk about the type of life Jesus calls his people to live and consider what it looks like to engage with the emotions of our loved ones. The two converse about the prescriptive power of the Psalms, consider the role of forgiveness, and explore the nature of resentment as they cover Jesus’ statements about anger and lust. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Rich Villodas The Narrow Path: How the Subversive Way of Jesus Satisfies Our Souls by Rich Villodas Good and Beautiful and Kind: Becoming Whole in a Fractured World by Rich Villodas The Deeply Formed Life: Five Transformative Values to Root Us in the Way of Jesus by Rich Villodas “Christianity Today’s 2021 Book Awards” Matthew: A Commentary. Volume 1: The Christbook, Matthew 1–12 by Frederick Dale Bruner “Bitter-sweet” by George Herbert Don’t Forgive Too Soon: Extending the Two Hands That Heal by Dennis Linn, Sheila Fabricant Linn, and Matthew Linn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    49 mins
  • Moore to The Point: People Love Astrology. The Star of Bethlehem Tells a Different Story.

    Moore to The Point: People Love Astrology. The Star of Bethlehem Tells a Different Story.
    Dec 16 2024
    The Russell Moore Show is bringing Russell's weekly newsletter to all streaming platforms. Listen to his most recent newsletter every Monday! Subscribe to Russell's weekly newsletter here! Do you have questions for Russell Moore? Send them to questions@russellmoore.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    12 mins
  • My Favorite Books of 2024

    My Favorite Books of 2024
    Dec 11 2024
    Welcome to the annual best-of-books episode of The Russell Moore Show! Former show producer and current editorial director of print Ashley Hales joins Moore to talk about his favorite reads of the year. Hales identifies three themes in Moore’s book list—the importance of outsiders in communities, ways forward in our historical moment, and the pursuit of the beautiful as a humanizing mechanism. **Special Event: Join Russell Moore, Ashley Hales, Bonnie Kristian, and Matt Reynolds on YouTube for the CT Book Awards Live Event on December 12, 2024, at 8:00 p.m. EST. Book of the Year winner Gavin Ortlund and Award of Merit winner Brad East will share the inspiration behind their books and the big ideas that animate them as they answer questions from CT staff and subscribers.** Russell’s top ten books (in alphabetical order by author): Another Day: Sabbath Poems, 2013–2023 by Wendell Berry I Cheerfully Refuse: A Novel by Leif Enger Willie, Waylon, and the Boys: How Nashville Outsiders Changed Country Music Forever by Brian Fairbanks Ghosted: An American Story by Nancy French The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt The Crisis of Narration by Byung-Chul Han, translated by Daniel Steuer The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C. S. Lewis & J. R. R. Tolkien by John Hendrix Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart: What Art Teaches Us About the Wonder and Struggle of Being Alive by Russ Ramsey Cosmic Connections: Poetry in the Age of Disenchantment by Charles Taylor Mere Christian Hermeneutics: Transfiguring What It Means to Read the Bible Theologically by Kevin J. Vanhoozer  Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: CT Book Awards Live Event “The Beautiful Orthodoxy Book of the Year” “Christianity Today’s 2019 Book of the Year” The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion by Jonathan Haidt Moby-Dick by Herman Melville Owen Barfield A Secular Age by Charles Taylor Advent: The Once and Future Coming of Jesus Christ by Fleming Rutledge Poiéma by Michael Card Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose by Flannery O’Connor The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler by John Hendrix Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander by Thomas Merton James by Percival Everett Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    55 mins
  • A Conversation with Peggy Noonan

    A Conversation with Peggy Noonan
    Dec 4 2024
    “You have to read in order to develop your mind and develop your ability to think,” Peggy Noonan said. “It’s no good to say, ‘Oh, I can’t help that I was born in 1990 and everybody has a phone.’ Too bad. Put it down.” For decades, Noonan has been a Wall Street Journal columnist and author, known for her Pulitzer Prize–winning commentary on politics and culture. She and Moore reflect on Noonan’s career both in journalism and as a speech writer in the Reagan Administration. They talk about Noonan’s faith, her love for Christian history, and her long-standing relationship to Roman Catholicism. The two discuss sexual scandals in both church and government, the power of the written word, and the way artists see the world. They consider the concerning potential of artificial intelligence, the value of reading in a world overrun by technology, and the importance of critical thinking in our modern political culture. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Peggy Noonan A Certain Idea of America: Selected Writings by Peggy Noonan Walker Percy The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton We Don’t Know Ourselves: A Personal History of Modern Ireland by Fintan O’Toole Pascal’s Pensées “How to Find Grace After Disgrace” Abbey of Gethsemani Friends Divided: John Adams and Thomas Jefferson by Gordon S. Wood The Shadow War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy “The godfather of AI: why I left Google” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    53 mins
  • Mental Health, Temptation, and Union with Christ

    Mental Health, Temptation, and Union with Christ
    Nov 27 2024
    “ Two of the devil's biggest lies are ‘You’re the only one who struggles with this kind of stuff’ and ‘You can’t tell anyone.’ Sin thrives in that kind of dark secrecy.” So says author and apologist Sam Allberry during this conversation with Russell Moore. The two discuss Allberry’s new book, One with My Lord, and consider various ways people interpret the Bible’s perspective on sexuality. They talk about gender identity, marriage, and what it means when God says it is not good for humans to be alone. Allberry and Moore consider the importance of friendship, the value of community, and the impact of social media on mental health. They also discuss Allberry’s experience with Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM), the Billy Graham rule, and fostering organizational cultures of transparency. Resources mentioned in this episode or recommended by the guest include: Is God Anti-Gay? And Other Questions About Jesus, the Bible, and Same-Sex Sexuality by Sam Allberry What God Has to Say about Our Bodies: How the Gospel Is Good News for Our Physical Selves by Sam Allberry Why Does God Care Who I Sleep With? by Sam Allberry 7 Myths about Singleness by Sam Allberry One with My Lord: The Life-Changing Reality of Being in Christ by Sam Allberry The Moral Vision of the New Testament: A Contemporary Introduction to New Testament Ethics by Richard B. Hays The Crucifixion: Understanding the Death of Jesus Christ by Fleming Rutledge “Interview with Sam Allberry || What Can We Learn from the Ravi Zacharias Scandals?” “Dallas pastor removed indefinitely due to 'inappropriate relationship' with woman, church says” “Sex Scandals and the Evangelical Mind” The Whole Christ: Legalism, Antinomianism, & Gospel Assurance―Why the Marrow Controversy Still Matters by Sinclair B. Ferguson “Me and Bobby McGee” by Kris Kristofferson The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York by Robert A. Caro Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    45 mins
  • Moore to the Point: How a Dark Sense of Humor Can Save You From Cynicism.

    Moore to the Point: How a Dark Sense of Humor Can Save You From Cynicism.
    Nov 25 2024
    How gallows humor is what we need right now to overcome cynicism. The Russell Moore Show is bringing Russell's weekly newsletter to all streaming platforms. Listen to his most recent newsletter every Monday! Subscribe to Russell's weekly newsletter here! Do you have questions for Russell Moore? Send them to questions@russellmoore.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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    14 mins