Evil is certainly a powerful force in our world. We are witnessing it live in the form of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But is evil ultimately as powerful as it is popularly portrayed? Does evil perhaps contain in itself the seeds of its own destruction? Join David and Curtis in this week’s fascinating discussion about the inherent weakness of evil. 

In this special re-release, we at the Good Faith podcast want to honor the life of Jonathan Tjarks, who passed away last week. Jonathan was an NBA beat writer and podcaster for The Ringer, but he was so much more! Just 6 months ago we had the pleasure of having Jonathan join us to talk about his cancer diagnosis, the role of his faith community in caring for his family, and even a little NBA talk. Whether you caught this episode or not, we believe his hard-earned wisdom is worth hearing over and over again. Rest in the peace of God Jonathan.

In a previously recorded (but never released) episode, David and Curtis tackle the particularly vexing challenge of justice when crimes are committed. For those who do not engage regularly with the criminal justice system, these questions can feel distant, or even irrelevant. But as we are reminded, God’s repeated calls for justice throughout the scriptures don’t give the Christian such an easy out.

This week David and Curtis dive into the issue of time and how our understanding of time horizons can profoundly impact our perspective on the world, whether it is getting worse or better, and what actions that should lead us to take. As Christians who believe in eternity, we should be good at “playing the long game,” but we often let ourselves get caught up in the issues of the moment, and let our compressed time horizons lead us to fear or despair, rather than hope.

This week David and Curtis are joined by Meghan Sullivan, philosopher, teacher, and creator of the most popular class at the University of Notre Dame, “God and the Good Life.” As many of us send our kids off to college (or head off to college ourselves), Meghan helps us appreciate the role of education–and of philosophy in particular–in helping students take on the big questions of life.

This week David and Curtis are joined by Karen Swallow Prior, writer, thinker, and research professor of English and Christianity and culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Karen talks to us about the current state of affairs in social media, particularly Twitter, and compares its impact on culture and the church to another critical technology, the printing press. She discusses how these modern technologies are impacting our brains, and how we can push back against this through the simple act of reading, especially the (necessarily slow and contemplative) reading of literature.

It’s been an eventful week, and for many a deeply troubling one. But of course, no matter what end of the political spectrum you come from, weeks like this seem increasingly common. The hits just keep on coming, as do the feelings of loss and fear. So how are we as Christians to navigate such deeply troubled times? This week, David and Curtis dive into this question with some interesting thoughts from Rudyard Kipling, and some even more important (and eternal) wisdom from the Psalms.

This week David’s theological wingman Curtis returns from his July sabbatical. He’s rested and raring to go, but rather than dive into another hot political or cultural issue, Curtis actually has some remarkable insights to share about the nature of sabbath rest and the spiritual discipline of letting go, stepping away from our illusions of ultimate control and placing all our striving in God’s hands. In the second half of this episode Curtis also shares some important thoughts about the nature of remembrance and loss based on his experience at the 9/11 Memorial. If you’re a regular listener who is tempted to skip this episode because it’s not Good Faith’s regular political/cultural fare, then this episode is even more for you.

While Curtis is still on sabbatical, David talks to Justin Giboney, co-founder of the AND Campaign, about racial justice, political tribalism, and the “God gap” in the Democratic Party. They discuss the problems with left and right as they grapple with extremism, and they talk about Justin’s experiences talking about hot-button topics from a politically heterodox (but theologically orthodox) point of view.

David talks to Georgetown professor and Bush administration alum Paul Miller about Paul's new book, “The Religion of American Greatness: What's Wrong With Christian Nationalism.” Paul defines Christian nationalism, discusses what's wrong with it theologically, what's wrong with it politically, and how it invariably leads to conflict and illiberalism. They also discuss Christian underrepresentation in the academy and other elite spaces, including its causes and consequences.