Donavon Riley

  1. 363: Olson - Liturgy as "Action"

    book
    08/30/24
    10 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Runnin’ Down A Dream. In this episode, we dig deeper into liturgy and “action”—who’s doing what and why in Christian worship? How did the ancient pagans worship their gods, and why? What did the 16th-century Reformers teach about worship? Why should we moderns care? Mimesis, anamnesis, liturgical action, ritual, myth, sacrifices, and sacraments—we’ve got it all this week.
    363: Olson - Liturgy as

  2. 362: Olson - Putting Second Things Second

    book
    08/27/24
    10 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Do The Thing. In this episode, we discuss liturgy. What is the difference between a sacramental rite and a sacrificial rite? Why are' member berries' so juicy and delicious? Can a priest or the church affect God's actions? Can a church integrate non-Christian rites into its worship?
    362: Olson - Putting Second Things Second

  3. 361: Olson - The Duty of Resistance

    book
    08/16/24
    11 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Street-Fighting Man. In this episode, we continue our discussion of the question of when it is permissible for Christians to oppose civil authority. It’s more important than ever for Christians to grasp the fundamentals of vocation, the relation of politics to liturgy, the place of the sacraments within the worship of the church, and the life of Christians, why there cannot be such a thing as a Christian nation.
    361: Olson - The Duty of Resistance

  4. 360: Olson - Politics, Liturgics, and Integritas Sacramenti

    book
    08/09/24
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    We Worship & Adore… You? In this episode, we discuss the intersection of liturgy and politics as we read Oliver Olson’s essay, Politics, Liturgics, and Integritas Sacramenti. It’s a historical survey of liturgical practice and politics from ancient Israel to the present, discussing the importance of symbolism, meaning, and the purpose of liturgy for faith and life.
    360: Olson - Politics, Liturgics, and Integritas Sacramenti

  5. 359: Table Talk

    book
    07/19/24
    9 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Ramble Tamble. In this episode, we do a pastor’s table talk that centers on inculcating a deeper appreciation for heavenly mystery and earthly reality: prayer at home, worship on vacation, the connection of the land to God’s judgment and salvation of his people, the early church’s exegesis, Genesis snd Revelation, and Logos theology that binds the Trinity and Creeds.
    359: Table Talk

  6. 358: Melanchthon - Commentary on Romans 3:21ff

    book
    06/28/24
    10 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Tick, Tick, Boom. In this episode of Banned Books, we discuss Romans 3 while reading Philip Melanchthon’s commentary on Paul’s epistle. The main topics of conversation are the limitations of the law, faith that saves, gratuitous forgiveness and the living, and the present tense power of the gospel.
    358: Melanchthon - Commentary on Romans 3:21ff

  7. 357: Kierkegaard - Fear and Trembling

    book
    06/21/24
    10 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Life Isn’t Fair, and The World Is Mean. In this episode, we discuss Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac while reading Kierkegaard’s commentary on it and comparing it to Martin Luther and Rene Girard’s comments on it. It’s a meta-meta episode, and one of us confuses Kierkegaard’s biography with that of Nietzsche for much of the episode.
    357: Kierkegaard - Fear and Trembling

  8. 356: Francis Schaeffer - The Centrality of Death

    book
    06/14/24
    11 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    We Can Be Heroes… In this episode, we discuss death and resurrection, hierarchy and authority, corporatism, Christian nationalism, self-sacrificial love, building a body without Christ as its head, the symbolism of salvation without the Lamb, pop culture tropes, the hero's journey, and teaching Christians not to doubt their salvation.
    356: Francis Schaeffer - The Centrality of Death

  9. 355: Jacques Ellul - Making the Church Worldly

    book
    06/09/24
    10 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Watching The World Go Down in History. In this episode of Banned Books, we read "False Presence of the Kingdom" by Jacques Ellul and discuss worldly Christianity, the lessons of history, the Machine, focusing on heavenly things to answer earthly questions, seeking the origin of things, and the dangers of being trapped in the present.
    355: Jacques Ellul - Making the Church Worldly

  10. 354: Jacques Ellul - Conforming the Church to the Modern World

    book
    05/30/24
    10 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    It’s Hip to Be Square. In this episode, we discuss the errors of high anthropology, the kingdom of God, theology of glory, theology of the world, realized eschatology, adding “isms” to Christianity, the necessity of the embodied Word of God, John’s gospel, Colossians, and real antinomianism while reading False Presence of the Kingdom by Jacques Ellul.
    354: Jacques Ellul - Conforming the Church to the Modern World

  11. 353: Bede the Venerable - Transfiguration Homily for Lent

    book
    05/25/24
    10 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    This Too Shall Pass. In this episode, we discuss temporary and eternal things, transfiguration, cosmic events, dancing on the liminal edge, mammon, profiteering, earthly vocations, the Trinity, and the music of the spheres.
    353: Bede the Venerable - Transfiguration Homily for Lent

  12. 352: Gregory of Nazianzus - Letter 58 To Basil

    book
    05/17/24
    10 mins
    By Christopher Gillespie | Donavon Riley
    Dear Prudence. In this episode, we focus our discussion on prudence, temperance, and modesty regarding church, marriage, public discourse, and social media while reading Gregory of Nazianzus’ letters to Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa about their doctrine of the Holy Spirit and Basil's later death.
    352: Gregory of Nazianzus - Letter 58 To Basil