TMR 233 : R. L. Solberg : TORAHISM

RLSolbergIs Christmas a pagan festival? Must Christians keep the Law of Moses?

We are joined by R. L. Solberg—author of the excellent new book TORAHISM : Are Christians Required to Keep the Law of Moses?—for a conversation on his book-length critique of the so-called Hebrew Roots Movement and the ways in which he seeks to engage, rather than to alienate, those affected by its teachings.

"R. L. Solberg (www.RLSolberg.com) is an author, speaker, teacher and theologian based in Nashville, Tennessee where he lives with his wife of 27 years, Debra, and a big German Shepherd named Thor. They are stakeholders at the Church of the City, Spring Hill and have two spectacular daughters who are out making their mark on the world. Solberg has been pursuing theology, apologetics and philosophy, formally and informally, for more than two decades. He studied at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Theological Studies at Williamson College in Nashville, TN. He strives to communicate on complex topics with clarity and grace, bringing a creative perspective to the conversation."

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LISTEN / DOWNOAD :TMR 233 : R. L. Solberg : TORAHISM

TMR 232 : General Election Special with "Howling Laud" Hope

AlanHope"If you don’t usually vote, then vote unusually. Vote for me!"

For TMR's General Election Special—in anticipation of the UK General (S)election on 12th December—we welcome to the programme once again Alan "Howling Laud" Hope, leader of the Official Monster Raving Loony Party.

Back in 2017, "Howling Laud" joined us to discuss the history, aims and achievements of the UK's most well-known unconventional political party. This time we scrutinse the party's recently-published Election Manifesto and ask why it makes sense to "vote for insanity"—whichever party that happens to be.

In 1999, following the death of the party's founder Screaming Lord Sutch—who had led the party through its previous incarnations, such as "National Teenage Party" and "Go To Blazes Party"—OMRLP members voted for their new leader, choosing jointly a cat called Cat-Mandu and his owner Alan "Howling Laud" Hope. Although Cat-Mandu died in 2002 and now serves as one of the party's "spiritual leaders", "Howling Laud" proudly continues as the UK's longest-serving party leader.

 

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LISTEN / DOWNOAD :TMR 232 : General Election Special with "Howling Laud" Hope

TMR 231 : Bob Purse : The Many Moods of Bob

BobPurse"When did Wild Bill Hickok die? What was Liberace's favourite pie?" — "What's this grey stuff in the sink? When will clams become extinct?"

If these are things you need to know—and, believe me, they are—then do take a while to listen to TMR's latest chat with the talented singer-songwriter Bob Purse, composer of many collections of brilliant comic songs and musical recording collector extraordinaire.

Join us for just over 70 minutes of entertaining conversation—punctuated by many a musical track—as we explore a life of fascination with old and rare recordings and dip into the surreal world of a musically comedic mind.

(Bob's latest song collections (albums) "A Few More Plans" and "The Many Moods of Bob" can be found online at Bandcamp.com and Archive.org.)

 

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LISTEN / DOWNOAD :TMR 231 : Bob Purse : The Many Moods of Bob

TMR 230 : Prof. Ian Hutchinson : Can a Scientist Believe in Miracles?

IanHutchinsonScientistMiracles"Can a scientist believe in miracles?"

We welcome Prof. Ian Hutchinson, Professor of Nuclear Science and Engineering at MIT, for a conversation on his highly-informative and provocatively-entitled book, Can a Scientist Believe in Miracles? : An MIT Professor Answers Questions on God and Science, InterVarsity Press (2018).

"Ian Hutchinson is a plasma physicist and professor of nuclear science and engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He was born in England, educated at Cambridge University, and received his doctorate from Australian National University. His research group explores the confinement of plasmas hotter than the sun's centre, aimed at producing practical energy from nuclear fusion reactions, the energy source of the stars.

A frequent Veritas Forum presenter, Ian has written and spoken widely on the relationship between science and Christianity. He is the author of over two hundred research articles, and his books include Principles of Plasma Diagnostics and Monopolizing Knowledge."—IVP

 

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TMR 229 : Dr. Joshua Rasmussen : How Reason Can Lead to God

JoshuaRasmussenReasonToGodWe welcome Dr. Joshua Rasmussen (PhD, Notre Dame), associate professor of philosophy at Azusa Pacific University, for an interview on his fascinating new book, How Reason Can Lead to God : A Philosopher's Bridge to Faith, published by InterVarsity Press (2019).

"Do you value reason, science, and independent thinking? Are you skeptical of beliefs that people maintain merely "on faith", yet you remain interested in the big questions of life? Do you hope there could be a greater purpose to the universe, if only that were realistic?

If so, then philosopher Joshua Rasmussen can encourage you in your journey. Beginning with his own story of losing faith and the belief in any ultimate purpose in life, he then builds a bridge to a series of universal truths about ultimate reality. Using only the instruments of reason and common experience, Rasmussen constructs a pathway—step by step, brick by brick—that he argues can lead to meaning and, ultimately, a vision of God."—(from the back cover)

Joshua Rasmussen is the author of Defending the Correspondence Theory of Truth and Necessary Existence. He lives in Azusa, California, with his wife, Rachel, and their four children.

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TMR 227 : Antony Rotunno : Adventures In Retrospect

ARJCsepiaWe welcome once again the teacher, musician and blogger Antony Rotunno, for the second half of a two-part interview on his music albums Through Life (2019) and Adventures In Retrospect (2017). Whereas in the first programme we discussed his most recent album, in this second half we look back at the 2017 album, and informally chat about various subjects as we play some of the songs.

Through Life (2019) and Adventures In Retrospect (2017)—both of which are recommended by TMR—can be heard and purchased via Bandcamp.

Antony has joined us several times throughout the life of TMR for conversations on a variety of subjects.

[All the songs in this podcast are Copyright © 2019 Antony Rotunno, all rights reserved, and used by TMR with kind permission.]

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LISTEN / DOWNLOAD : TMR 227 : Antony Rotunno : Adventures In Retrospect

TMR 226 : Philip Kraske : 11/9 and the Terrorist Who Loved Bonsai Trees

PhilipKraskeIn the run-up to the eighteenth anniversary of 9/11, we welcome the author Philip Kraske for a conversation on his exciting new novel, 11/9 and the Terrorist Who Loved Bonsai Trees, a thriller that—though it is a work of fiction designed to intrigue and entertain—also imaginatively explores possibilities that might cast light on events such as 9/11. In the words of key 9/11 researcher, Dr. David Ray Griffin:

"Most of us who continue to do research on 9/11 focus primarily on the question of what really happened that day. There will eventually be a definitive answer to that question that can be summarized in a few pages. But what is the meaning of 9/11, what are its implications? Philip Kraske's superb thriller, 11/9 and the Terrorist Who Loved Bonsai Trees, as the title implies, holds up a mirror to 9/11, providing a way of understanding this horrendous event. The hilarious book-ending riff of Trudy's comedian boyfriend sums up both the stupidity and the irony of it all."—David Ray Griffin

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TMR 225 : Joel Furches : Researching Deconversion

JoelFurchesWe are joined by the behavioural psychologist and Christian thinker Joel Furches for a conversation on his ongoing research into the contemporary phenomenon of deconversion from Christianity to Atheism.

Drawing upon his background in psychology, sociology and education, Joel shares with us patterns he is finding in case-study data that may help to explain why some people abandon Christianity and turn to Atheism. Observing various commonalities in such people's backgrounds—such as "wooden" notions of biblical inerrancy, legalism and isolationism—Joel argues that cultural factors like these may well play significant parts in fuelling "deconstruction" of belief and lead to equally dogmatic unbelief.

We also talk about Christian apologetics more generally, including the term itself, and consider which approaches—evidentialist or presuppositionalist—best suit different situations.

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TMR 224 : Antony Rotunno : Through Life

ARJCsepiaWe welcome once again our good friend, the teacher, musician and blogger Antony Rotunno, for the first half of a two-part interview on his latest album Through Life (2019). In this first programme, quite personal at times, we chat about issues related to the music—love and war, inspiration and influence—and play several of the songs.

Through Life (2019) and Adventures In Retrospect (2017)—both of which are recommended by TMR—can be heard and purchased via Bandcamp.

Antony has joined us several times throughout the life of TMR for conversations on a variety of subjects.

[All the songs in this podcast are Copyright © 2019 Antony Rotunno, all rights reserved, and used by TMR with kind permission.]

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TMR 223 : Brian Clegg : Before the Big Bang ?

BrianClegg

The Big Bang theory is well-established, but how complete is it? Does it describe the absolute beginning of physical reality, or is there perhaps more to be discovered that might place it in a broader cosmic context?

We welcome the award-winning British science writer Brian Clegg, author of dozens of popular science books in print, for an engaging and thought-provoking conversation on his book Before the Big Bang—an interview conducted, specially for The Mind Renewed, by TMR's "roving reporter" Mark Campbell.

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TMR 220 : Patrick M. Wood : Technocracy - The Hard Road to World Order

PatrickWood

We are joined once again by Patrick M. Wood, Editor-in-Chief of Technocracy News and Trends, who returns to the programme to discuss his latest book—Technocracy: The Hard Road to World Order.

In Technocracy: The Hard Road to World Order, Patrick Wood traces the development of the United Nations' doctrine of Sustainable Development out of the ideology of Technocracy from the 1930s, and argues that UN programmes such as 2030 Agenda, New Urban Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement are best understood as attempts to displace the current structures of free enterprise and national sovereignty in favour of a so-called "New Economic World Order"—a concept long championed by the globalist Trilateral Commission.

Examining such seemingly-unrelated factors as collaborative governance, public-private partnerships, data collection and crypto-currencies, Wood "connects the dots" in futurist style, and poses the question: Is this the kind of world we want to build—a world in which the dream of Utopia might turn into the nightmare of control?

LISTEN / DOWNLOAD : TMR 220 : Patrick M. Wood : Technocracy - The Hard Road to World Order

TMR 219 : Madam Bell Caps : On Witnesses to The Dorset Ooser

MadamBellCaps"Things go missing. Things get moved from room to room. And things happen in the gardens. It's strange. One day there's a beautiful crop of something; the next morning 'tis all gone, or 'tis all rotten on the trees. How do you explain that?"—Madam Bell Caps

We are joined by our roving reporter Mark Campbell, who shares and discuss with us a fascinating interview he had recently with the 107-year-old Madam Bell Caps (a.k.a. Isabella Caps), one of the few surviving keepers of the Ooser tradition, whose grandparents—she insists—were witnesses to the Dorset Ooser itself.

Is the Ooser just a mask, traditionally used in "skimmity riding"? Or is there something more sinister behind that peculiar face—perhaps a spine-chilling reality that few are prepared to mention? Join us as we listen to Bell's captivating words and discuss in studio this rare—indeed exclusive—conversation.

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LISTEN / DOWNLOAD : TMR 219 : Madam Bell Caps : On Witnesses to The Dorset Ooser

TMR 217 : F. Remy Diederich : Roadblocks to Self-Control

FRemyDiederichWe are joined once again by F. Remy Diederich, lead pastor of Cedarbrook Church in Menomonie, Wisconsin, for a very practical yet thought-provoking conversation on the subject of self-control in the Christian life.

Reflecting on the work of Dr. Kelly McGonigal, in her popular book The Willpower Instinct, and drawing upon his own experience in pastoral ministry, Remy shares with us reasons why so many of us experience difficulty in the areas of self-control and temptation, and offers us very practical advice on how to improve step by step with the Holy Spirit.

"Remy Diederich is the author of six books related to helping people overcome their setbacks with God's help. He is the founding and teaching pastor of Cedarbrook Church in Wisconsin, USA, and he is also the spirituality advisor for Arbor Place Treatment Center. He blogs at readingremy.com."

(Please note that none of the opinions expressed in this interview should be taken as advice in any particular case.)

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TMR 215 : K. Gordon Neufeld : Stories of Extreme Beliefs

KGordonNeufeldWe welcome once again the author K. Gordon Neufeld, one-time member of the so-called Unification Church of Sun Myung Moon, who joined us in 2014 to speak about the history, beliefs and practices of the Moonies, and to share with us from his experiences of joining, serving and eventually leaving that organisation.

This time he joins us to speak about his new book, Prophet and Loss : Stories of Extreme Beliefs, a collection of short fiction that effectively illustrates the painful dilemmas and heart-rending sacrifices of people who adopt extreme beliefs, and of those who know and love them.

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