The Protestant Libertarian Podcast

In this episode I take a preliminary look at Romans 9. After spending several months teaching through Romans, I wanted to briefly address some of the key questions which I believe need to be answered in the controversial text. I explore how the chapter fits within the larger rhetorical agenda of Romans, emphasizing the power of God’s gospel centered on Jesus, the universality of sin, the incorporation of Gentiles into Abraham’s family, the great act of cosmic and eschatological salvation accomplished by Jesus, and the renewal of the Spirit. Paul’s question in Romans 9-11 is not about how individuals are chosen for salvation and damnation before the dawn of time or a theory of human will, but rather a response to the many Jews who did not accept Jesus as messiah. Paul argues that the promise to Abraham was not based on flesh and demonstrates that the line runs through Isaac and Jacob, not their brothers. Pharaoh could have let the Hebrews leave Egypt but freely chose not to, which is consistent with Paul’s argument in Romans 1:18-32 that God allows sinners to experience the consequence of sin. I hope this episode enables us to have more substantial conversations about complex theological issues! Media Referenced:Jason Staples Interview: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-278-paul-and-the-resurrection-of-israel-with-jason-staples/Four Schools of Paul: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/reading-the-apostle-paul-four-schools-of-interpretation/Mark Nanos Interview: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/paul-within-judaism-with-mark-nanos/ Order my new book Politics, Economics and New Testament Interpretation: Amazon: https://a.co/d/0aFo5AeDLCI: https://libertarianchristians.com/store/politics-economics-and-new-testament-interpretation/The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at [email protected].  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and YouTube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the show’s profile! Thanks!

In this episode, I explore how the cruciform ethics of the New Testament are antithetical to the modern nation-state model and democracy. Based on my session at the CFL Conference 2026 and arguments I make in my book Politics, Economics, and New Testament Interpretation, I show how the fundamental ethical principle in the New Testament is cruciformity, being conformed to pattern of incarnation and crucifixion which was modeled by Jesus is binding for believers. Based on Philippians 2:5-11, 1 John 4:7-11, and Mark 10:41-45, I demonstrate that Christ-followers must embrace the cross, and why the democratic nation state, with its reliance on authoritarian socialism, and democracy, with its tendency towards mob rule, are incompatible with cruciformity. Media Referenced:Philippians 2 episode: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-255-philippians-25-11-and-christology-politics-and-ethics/1 John episode: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-237-the-antichrists/Christology of Romans: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-261-the-christology-of-romans-and-romans-13/Love episode: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/what-does-the-word-love-mean-anyway/Anatomy of the State part 1: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/anatomy-of-the-state-murray-rothbard-part-1/Hayek’s Counter-Revolution of Science: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-90-the-counter-revolution-of-science-by-f-a-hayek/ Order my new book Politics, Economics and New Testament Interpretation: Amazon: https://a.co/d/0aFo5AeDLCI: https://libertarianchristians.com/store/politics-economics-and-new-testament-interpretation/ The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at [email protected].  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and YouTube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the show’s profile! Thanks!

In this episode I talk with Chelsea Follett, research fellow at the Cato Institute’s Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity, about her band-new book The Grim Old Days: An Introduction to the Preindustrial Past. In this book she argues that the current tendency of thinkers on the left and right to romanticize the world before industrialization is misguided. Much of her book deals with the grim realities of life before the Industrial Revolution, and we discuss how marriage and family, food, clothing, shelter, entertainment, clothing, work, and leisure were all sordid affairs, and how even the wealthiest people of the preindustrial world were much less materially prosperous and secure than we are today. Chelsea contends that we must not take for granted the incredible achievements of industrialization and the many benefits it has brought us today, and that a false sense of a utopian past may inadvertently pave the way for a dystopian future.  Media Referenced:The Grim Old Days: https://a.co/d/0hmjfrLYChelsea’s Cato Bio: https://www.cato.org/people/chelsea-follett Order my new book Politics, Economics and New Testament Interpretation: Amazon: https://a.co/d/0aFo5AeDLCI: https://libertarianchristians.com/store/politics-economics-and-new-testament-interpretation/The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at [email protected].  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and YouTube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the show’s profile! Thanks!

In this Theology Thursday, I replay an LCI Greenroom episode I recorded with Cody Cook and Jacob Winograd about some of the themes which I address in my book Politics, Economics, and New Testament Interpretation, particularly how New Testament scholarship has misunderstood fundamental political and economic concepts. Enjoy!  Media Referenced: Order my new book Politics, Economics and New Testament Interpretation: Amazon: https://a.co/d/0aFo5AeDLCI: https://libertarianchristians.com/store/politics-economics-and-new-testament-interpretation/ The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at [email protected].  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and YouTube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the show’s profile! Thanks!

In this episode I talk with Dr. Gerald Hiestand, senior pastor of Calvary Memorial Church in Oak Park, Illinois, about his brand-new book Justification and the Churches: Pastoral Questions at the Heart of Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox Theology. Without minimizing the differences between the three great Christian traditions, Hiestand demonstrates that each communion's approach to the doctrine of justification includes valid theological insights. He argues that theology is almost always a response to pastoral questions and that the Protestant concern for extrinsic acquittal, the Catholic concern for internal healing, and the Orthodox concern for eschatological glorification shape the way each tradition approaches the question of justification. He argues that Nicaea, Genesis 1-3, and Paul all address these questions, and that ecumenical dialogue on the nature of justification is both possible and necessary. He discusses the legacy of the Reformation and why he is still a Protestant, and explains the pastoral implications for wrestling with the doctrine of justification.Media Referenced:Justification and the Churches: https://a.co/d/08tlUgdkThe Pastor Theologian: https://a.co/d/0i1YXtdCCenter for Pastor Theologians: https://www.pastortheologians.com/Bio: https://www.calvarymemorial.com/leadershipBuy my new book Politics, Economics, and New Testament Interpretation: https://a.co/d/027bElXPThe Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at [email protected].  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and YouTube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the show’s profile! Thanks!

In this episode, Dr. Eric Schansberg returns to the show to discuss his book College 101: What Students and Parents Should Know About Universities. In this book, Schansberg cuts through the mythology of higher education and offers parents and prospective students advice on how to negotiate the complex college landscape. He explains why college isn’t always the right choice and how students should not go into debt to pay for schooling, how school rankings are less important than the school’s teaching styles, why paying for ‘the college experience’ is a bad investment, the economics behind the increasing cost of higher education, the purpose of earning a degree, how Christian parents and students should think about the value of college and much more.  Media Referenced:College 101: https://a.co/d/0gGc3tFXSchansberg on Politics: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-266-christians-and-public-policy-with-eric-schansberg/Gen Men Interview: https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-234-biblical-masculinity-and-the-men-of-genesis-with-eric-schansberg/ Order my new book Politics, Economics and New Testament Interpretation: Amazon: https://a.co/d/0aFo5AeDLCI: https://libertarianchristians.com/store/politics-economics-and-new-testament-interpretation/The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at [email protected].  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and YouTube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the show’s profile! Thanks!

In this episode I talk with Richard Krauland about his book The Bridge from Science to God. Krauland discusses his background as an entrepreneur and mathematician and how his early years as a skeptic led to him finding faith. He explains how the complexities of science must lead us to the conclusion that there is a God behind it while encouraging the church to think critically about intelligent design. He also describes how his personal experiences with illness and family death shaped his appreciation for both God and science, how loving others even when we disagree with them is essential to our faith, and why skeptics should think critically about the relationship between God and science without dismissing the work of the divine. Media Referenced:The Bridge from Science to God: https://a.co/d/0ejZd49rEnlightened in the 21st Century: https://a.co/d/0d6WUvPF Order my new book Politics, Economics and New Testament Interpretation: Amazon: https://a.co/d/0aFo5AeDLCI: https://libertarianchristians.com/store/politics-economics-and-new-testament-interpretation/The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at [email protected].  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and YouTube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the show’s profile! Thanks!

Order my new book Politics, Economics and New Testament Interpretation: LCI: https://libertarianchristians.com/store/politics-economics-and-new-testament-interpretation/Amazon: https://a.co/d/0aFo5AeDIn this episode I talk once again with Dr. Allan Bevere about the current state of American politics and how the church should respond. We discuss the second Trump term and compare him to his predecessors (including his own first term), why America is always at war and how the church doesn’t seem to care too much, how political divisions are fueled by the social media and plague the church, and how believers can faithfully respond to these divisive times. Media Referenced:The Politics of Witness: https://a.co/d/9OehoFsAllan Bevere on X: @arbevereWebsite: http://www.allanrbevere.org/Substack: https://allanrbevere.substack.com/ Sign up for LCI’s 2026 Conference in Cincinnati, OH on Saturday, October 17! Many LCI content creators, including myself, will be speaking at the event, and it will be an excellent opportunity to connect with likeminded, liberty-loving Christians. Check out the event and sign up here: https://libertarianchristians.com/conference/The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at [email protected].  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and YouTube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the show’s profile! Thanks!

Order my new book Politics, Economics and New Testament Interpretation: Amazon: https://a.co/d/031IwQ0FLCI: https://libertarianchristians.com/store/politics-economics-and-new-testament-interpretation/In this episode I talk with Scott Lackey, pastor of New Story Church in Buffalo, New York and host of the Creating Space podcast, about Paul’s letter to Rome. We discuss the challenges of studying Romans while preaching and teaching it to a lay audience. Scott then explains why Paul wrote Romans and the major themes, particularly of community formation, that shape the letter. We then work through Romans on a section-by-section basis, addressing Paul’s arguments and concerns and working through huge concepts like faith, righteousness and justification, judgement, Abraham, Christ and Adam, sin, death, Law, grace, the Spirit, and more. Scott then explains how Paul expects his audience to worship God through the way they live, and how the modern church can reclaim the vision of Romans today.  Media Referenced:Creating Space podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/creating-space/id1730849984New Story Church: https://www.newstorybuffalo.com/New Story Church YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@newstorybuffaloScott’s Substack: https://scottlackey.substack.com/Sign up for LCI’s 2026 Conference in Cincinnati, OH on Saturday, October 17! Many LCI content creators, including myself, will be speaking at the event, and it will be an excellent opportunity to connect with likeminded, liberty-loving Christians. Check out the event and sign up here: https://libertarianchristians.com/conference/The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at [email protected].  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and YouTube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the show’s profile! Thanks!

Order my new book Politics, Economics and New Testament Interpretation: Amazon: https://a.co/d/0aFo5AeDLCI: https://libertarianchristians.com/store/politics-economics-and-new-testament-interpretation/In this episode I explore Paul’s statement in 1 Corinthians 2:2 that he “desired to know nothing among you [the Corinthians] except Jesus Christ and him crucified”. I explain how Paul always has the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus in mind and that Christ’s death is always conceptualized as crucifixion. In this context, Paul is appealing to the Corinthians to imitate Christ and overcome the divisions which are plaguing the church, and how the cross serves as the model for Christian ethics. I argue that the cross must be the starting point for Christian discipleship, and that there is no area of life, including political and economic activity, which isn’t, for the believer, conditioned by the cross. What would happen if the church of today determined to know nothing except the crucified Christ?Media Referenced:https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/politics-economics-and-new-testament-interpretation-with-alex-bernardo/https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/all-things-to-all-people-1-corinthians-919-23/https://libertarianchristians.com/episode/ep-257-the-rulers-of-this-age-are-passing-away-1-corinthians-26-8/Sign up for LCI’s 2026 Conference in Cincinnati, OH on Saturday, October 17! Many LCI content creators, including myself, will be speaking at the event, and it will be an excellent opportunity to connect with likeminded, liberty-loving Christians. Check out the event and sign up here: https://libertarianchristians.com/conference/The Protestant Libertarian Podcast is a project of the Libertarian Christian Institute and a part of the Christians For Liberty Network. The Libertarian Christian Institute can be found at www.libertarianchristians.com.Questions, comments, suggestions? Please reach out to me at [email protected].  You can also follow the podcast on Twitter: @prolibertypod, and YouTube, @ProLibertyPod, where you will get shorts and other exclusive video content. For more about the show, you can go to theprotestantlibertarianpodcast.com. If you like the show and want to support it, you can! Go to libertarianchristians.com, where you can donate to LCI and buy The Protestant Libertarian Podcast Merch! Also, please consider giving me a star rating and leaving me a review, it really helps expand the show’s profile! Thanks!