Ten years ago we were working hard on creating the study that became Behold Your God: Rethinking God Biblically. Part of that work included conducting interviews that would come at the end of each video session.
Those interviews often went on for more than an hour, but due to the time constraints of the study, only about 20 minutes of each interview has ever been seen. As a way of celebrating the upcoming 10-year anniversary of Behold Your God: Rethinking God Biblically, we are releasing complete interviews from each contributor.
Because the interviews are so long, we are releasing them in podcast-length segments. This week is part two of our interview with Anthony Mathenia and this episode, Anthony answers the questions:
The western church seems unsure that personal holiness is essential or even helpful in reaching the lost. How do you see a biblical rethinking of God’s character influencing personal holiness?
How do you promote the highest views of God in your teaching? And what do you see in modern religious practice which you feel dangerously distracts from focusing on God in the corporate setting?
What can those who are not in leadership positions do to promote a biblical rethinking of God in their church and in their home?
How do you see a biblical rethinking of God as necessary in ministering to the entire body of Christ?
How do you see idolatry manifested in congregations who believe themselves to be careful, healthy, Bible-believing churches? And can you mention specific areas where people are embracing an idolatrously low view of God and church?
When a people worship an idol in God’s name, God rejects it. Is there evidence of this reality in modern churches? Can you speak to earnest worship that is rejected by God today?
Respond to the pragmatist who has heard everything in this study but now says, “But what we are doing is working. People are coming in the door. How could this not be pleasing to God?”
Want to listen to The Whole Counsel on the go? Subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast app: https://www.mediagratiae.org/podcasts
You can get The Whole Counsel a day early on the Media Gratiae App: https://subsplash.com/mediagratiae/app

DOCUMENTATION AND ADDITIONAL READING
PART 1
(0:0 – 2:17):
──────────────────
Clash Of Worldviews In Headlines This Week: US Supreme Court Holds Hearing Today Over Texas Heartbeat Law — The Court Is Set for a Big Ruling

PART 2
(2:18 – 5:12):
──────────────────
Issues This Week: Gubernatorial Elections in Virginia and New Jersey; Will Minnesota Defund the Police? So Much at Stake in Tuesday’s Off-Year Elections

PART 3
(5:13 – 11:18):
──────────────────
International Issues This Week: Government Leaders Meet For Climate Summit And G20 Countries Commit To Corporate Tax Policy — Raising Big Questions (And Big Bills)

PART 4
(11:19 – 15:16):
──────────────────
Issues This Week: President Joe Biden Leaves For Rome Without Clear Agreement On Huge Spending Bill or Final Vote

PART 5
(15:17 – 21:58):
──────────────────
‘He Said I’m A Good Catholic’: President Biden Visits The Vatican And Reports That He Should Continue Receiving Communion — While We Receive More Moral Confusion From Pope Francis

WALL STREET JOURNAL (FRANCIS X. ROCCA AND CATHERINE LUCEY)
Biden Says Pope Told Him He Is a Good Catholic Amid Controversy Over Abortion

THE HILL (LEXI LONAS)
Biden Receives Communion In Rome

PART 6
(21:59 – 25:38):
──────────────────
Halloween, The Gender Revolution, And Twix: Shaming Your Children Into Identifying With Trans Ideology, One Candy Commercial At A Time

This is The Briefing, a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview.Part I (00:13 – 09:22) 1 Out of 8 Americans Have Been Given Prescriptions for Antidepressants — Are We Really at the Point Where the Modern Age Just Equals Depression?Antidepressants Don’t Work the Way Many People Think by New York Times (Dana G. Smith)Part II (09:22 – 13:15) ‘Puppies on Prozac and Cats on CBD’ : Evidently Our Pets Are Now as Anxious as We ArePuppies on Prozac: How to Handle Your Pet’s Anxiety by New York Times (Melinda Wenner Moyer)Part III (13:15 – 16:07) Why Is It Okay to Euthanize Our Sickly Pet But Never Right to Euthanize People? — Dr. Mohler Responds to a Letter from Young Listener of The BriefingPart IV (16:07 – 18:21) If the Fall Had Not Happened, How Could the Earth Have Provided for Population That Would Grow Exponentially And Never Die? — Dr. Mohler Responds to Letters from Listeners of The BriefingPart V (18:21 – 20:49) Why Did Georgia’s Senate Election Go to a Run-Off When the Republican Governor Won So Decisively? — Dr. Mohler Responds to Letters from Listeners of The BriefingPart VI (20:49 – 24:02) Why Is It So Hard to Share the Gospel? Does Loving People Mean That We Respect Their Choices Even When Bad? — Dr. Mohler Responds to a Letter from a 14-Year-Old Listener of The BriefingPart VII (24:02 – 25:46) Why Did God Refer to Himself as ‘We’ in the Old Testament? — Dr. Mohler Responds to Letters from Listeners of The BriefingSign up to receive The Briefing in your inbox every weekday morning.Follow Dr. Mohler:Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | YouTubeFor more information on The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, go to sbts.edu.For more information on Boyce College, just go to BoyceCollege.com.To write Dr. Mohler or submit a question for The Mailbox, go here.