Donavon Riley

  1. 213b: Paulson - You must refuse the claims of the church to rule marriage and the government

    book
    08/08/21
    4 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Breaking Your Rules — In this episode, we continue our reading and conversation about Dr. Steven Paulson’s breakdown of Martin Luther’s explanation of the two kingdoms. Marriage, children, preaching, serving our neighbor, and standing up to evil.
    213b: Paulson - You must refuse the claims of the church to rule marriage and the government

  2. 213a: Paulson - Becoming a servant of all and a saint in this world

    book
    08/04/21
    4 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    I’ve Got a Gun aka The Whole Armor of God. In this episode, we read and discuss Dr. Steven Paulson’s breakdown of Martin Luther’s explanation of the two kingdoms doctrine. Faith, family, and false idols form the backbone of our talk.
    213a: Paulson - Becoming a servant of all and a saint in this world

  3. 212: Tocqueville - Religion Considered as a Political Institution

    book
    07/23/21
    5 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    In this episode, we read and discuss Alexis de Tocqueville’s apology for religion’s relevance to politics in Democracy in America. What happens when the two kingdoms are divided or collapsed into each other?
    212: Tocqueville - Religion Considered as a Political Institution

  4. 211: Tocqueville - Life is neither a pleasure nor a sorrow

    book
    07/12/21
    4 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Faith in What? Faith in Who? In this episode, we read Robert J. Delahunty’s article about Alex de Tocqueville’s faith. Tocqueville is a remarkable study in Enlightenment faith because he straddles the line between Christianity and the Enlightenment: Law and religion, belief and despair that concerns the relationships between Church and State in the United States and France.
    211: Tocqueville - Life is neither a pleasure nor a sorrow

  5. 210b: Hitchens - Eschatology is inseparable from religious faith

    book
    06/30/21
    6 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    “Religion is predicated on the idea that our time here is short and should be shorter, that our job is to bring on the end of days. This is just a veil of tears and guilt and shame. This, the only life we have—the only life we have that contains music and art and literature and solidarity and sex and love—all of this should be swept away. We can’t wait for the end times to come. That’s what they all have to believe.”
    210b: Hitchens - Eschatology is inseparable from religious faith

  6. 210a: Hitchens - Religion is the first chance to explain human nature and the natural order

    book
    06/23/21
    6 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    “We were baffled by climatic and cataclysmic events: earthquakes, tidal waves, storms, lightning. All of this was to us terrifying. Religion works as an attempt, then, to make sense of things. We are pattern-seeking mammals, after all. It’s a good thing that we are, because if we weren’t pattern-seeking mammals, our curiosity would have no outlet and we wouldn’t be capable of the great innovations that have liberated us from so many things, including religion.”
    210a: Hitchens - Religion is the first chance to explain human nature and the natural order

  7. 209b: Hitchens - Religion abolishes obligation to live in truth

    book
    06/18/21
    5 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Christians Aren’t Good, or Moral. In this episode, we continue to read and discuss Christopher Hitchens’ speech on religion and morality. Does religion delete our need to confront reality?
    209b: Hitchens - Religion abolishes obligation to live in truth

  8. 209a: Hitchens - Is it moral to tell anybody that their sins can be forgiven?

    book
    06/17/21
    5 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    God is Good… or Not. In this episode, we read and discuss Christopher Hitchins’ speech about religion and morality. What’s the point of attaching the forgiveness of sins to morality?
    209a: Hitchens - Is it moral to tell anybody that their sins can be forgiven?

  9. 208b: Nietzsche - Seeing the alternative between Dionysus and the “Crucified”

    book
    06/12/21
    3 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    The God that won’t stay dead. In this episode, we wrap up our discussion of God, Nietzsche, and how Jesus fights against our attempts at self-atonement.
    208b: Nietzsche - Seeing the alternative between Dionysus and the “Crucified”

  10. 208a: Nietzsche - Human history is built upon sacrifice

    book
    06/09/21
    3 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    God is Dead again, because of us. In this episode, we discuss whether Friedrich Nietzsche was closer to the kingdom of God than most modern Christians, and how we can learn from him.
    208a: Nietzsche - Human history is built upon sacrifice

  11. 207: A Prayer for Memorial Day

    book
    06/01/21
    7 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Gracious Lord, heavenly Father, on this day we pause to remember the sacrifices made for freedom throughout the past centuries. We do indeed owe a debt of gratitude to those who have paid dearly for the liberty we enjoy.
    207: A Prayer for Memorial Day

  12. 206a: Eagleton - Everyone knows that Nietzsche said "God is dead"

    book
    05/27/21
    4 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Nietzsche is Dead. In this episode, learning from Friedrich Nietzsche how to repent and believe in Christ Jesus as Savior.
    206a: Eagleton - Everyone knows that Nietzsche said