Gospel Conversations

 Welcome to Gospel Conversations   We have an amazing backlog of great talks from great speakers and thinkers going back over a decade.  So we've decided to republish some of them to supplement our ongoing offerings.  We're going to begin with some seminal talks by Ian Proven.  Ian is one of the leading Old Testament scholars in the world. And he gave a wonderful series for us on Genesis in 2011. We want to start with a few of these talks because, as you know, we emphasize the creation gospel in Gospel Conversations.  And obviously that demands we have a deep insight into the Genesis story, the creation story that set up  the ground breaking paradigms of what became Christianity.  In this talk, Ian begins by explaining the ancient Near Eastern cosmology into which the book of Genesis came and which it challenged. By comparing and contrasting Moses view of God with ancient Near Eastern religions, he highlights some of the most fundamental paradigm shifts that belief in Yahweh gave to the world, and in so doing

Did Paul have an introspective conscience over sin?  The answer is “no”’according to a classic article and Tony explains the reasoning in this podcast.

Welcome to the next installment in the Breakfast with Jesus series. There's been a long pause since I did Ezekiel chapter one. Ezekiel is such an important book and, the more I think about Ezekiel, the more it frames a lot of the gospel. 

In our last talk Andrew took us deeper into various metaphors for atonement – and asked which best fits scripture and gospel.  In this talk, Tony supplements that deep dive by zooming back out and asking, ‘what is the real question, for which the cross and salvation is the answer?’  He concludes that Penal Substitution is the answer to the wrong question and explains why.  He then refines the better question – a question for which adoption is a better answer.

In this episode of our Cross and Creation series, Andrew continues his summarising of the metaphors for the atonement.  He argues that every metaphor has its limits and cannot be pushed universally. But he argues that the adoption/sonship model of the atonement offers the best fit for the various metaphors, and that the alternative wrath of God/judicial model narrows and even distorts the grand sweep of the gospel story.   To assist with the talk Andrew has provided a short set of Powerpoint slides on the subject. Please see the "Download Documents" link on our website page - Gospel Conversations

In this talk Tony amplifies the intriguing phrase ‘Circle of Glory’ which David Bentley Hart mentioned in his final talk in our recent GC series. The phrase was coined by Gregory of Nyssa and Tony explores the extraordinary vision of the Trinity bound up in the term – and how it reveals our participation in the ‘circle of glory’. Tony does this by a detailed commentary on the original treatise of Gregory’s where ‘circle of glory’ is the climax to a transcendent vision of God and creation.

Session 5 - What is humanity’s destiny and purpose? Is heaven more like a marriage or a motel visit? In this final talk, David advocates the age-old vision of the Patristics that ‘God became human in order that humanity may become God’. This breathtaking vision is at once completely orthodox, but almost sounds blasphemous. Together Tony and David explore this vision of ‘deification’ through the work of Gregory of Nyssa and his touching homily on marriage as the culminating picture of the union between God and humanity. There are a set of notes that have been written to assist the listener to engage with this dense material. These can be found on our website - Gospel Conversations  

Session 4 - Is the Incarnation a master plan or a rescue plan? David builds on his epic book ‘YOU ARE GODS’ in this session, and widens our view of the incarnation from being a one-off rescue plan, to the master plan for all humanity. Clearly this is an intriguing thought, but it takes some deep conceptual shifts to absorb and that is what Tony and David dive into in the latter half of this fascinating topic. There are a set of notes that have been written to assist the listener to engage with this dense material. These can be found on our website - Gospel Conversations

Session 3 - Has the ‘supernatural/natural’ dualism messed up our view of creation?  David explains how both religious and secular thinking share a common dualism that distorts our view of reality. For the religious mind, the supernatural God becomes totally separate from the world of nature which it sees as material and fallen. So David and Tony turn to the mesmerising thought of Maximus the Confessor to find a more integrated view of God and creation in the wondrous vision of a ‘cosmic liturgy’.  And they argue that God has placed humanity at the centre of this cosmic liturgy as the conductor of the orchestra. There are a set of notes that have been written to assist the listener to engage with this dense material. These can be found on our website - Gospel Conversations

Session 2 - Has ‘original sin’ distorted the Christian view of humanity? Augustine’s doctrine of original sin eventually became ‘total depravity’ and it assumes that humans are intrinsically bad and cannot desire the good. It has become the pervasive anthropology of much of Christianity – but is it right? David and Tony explore the alternative view through the theology of the great Nicholas of Cusa who declared that at heart all humans desire the good – and thus they desire God. There are a set of notes that have been written to assist the listener to engage with this dense material. These can be found on our website - Gospel Conversations

Session 1 - Is the mind a machine? Nothing is more topical than the spectre of ‘artificial intelligence’ and the grim picture of humanity it suggests. David uses our experience of thought and language to demolish the fallacies behind this mechanistic picture of thinking. But he does not end there. He lifts our vision of language from a personal experience to a participation in something bigger than all of us – transcendence and the divine mind. There are a set of notes that have been written to assist the listener to engage with this dense material. These can be found on our website -  Gospel Conversations

The 2023 Pamela Nutt lecture, sponsored by PLC, Sydney. David Bentley Hart addresses the subject, "What does Beauty tell us about God?"

In this latest edition in the Cross and Creation series, Tony and Andrew explore some of the metaphors for what happened at Calvary. None of them really fit the Penal Substitution metaphor.  They range over several metaphors like reconciliation, and redemption, but focus in on adoption and dominion; Calvary was the great battle for dominion of the cosmos, and we are adopted into that kingship won at Calvary.  The episode begins with a recap of our journey thus far.

In this panel discussion, two Christian indigenous leaders explain some of their spiritual heritage and how they have found deep resonances with the creation gospel in them. David Hart joins in, and explains that, far from being heretical, their views are close to the original views on creation developed by the church Fathers – and in particular the brilliant 7th century theologian Maximus the Confessor. The panel consisted of Australian First Nations Pastors Ray Minniecon and Gabriel Bani with David Benley Hart. Moderated by Tony Golsby Smith. Recorded at St Johns, Glebe, Sydney on Aug 17th 2023.

David Bentley Hart on Suffering This is the first talk from David Bentley Hart during his visit to Australia. He addresses the vexed topic of suffering based on his book ‘The Doors of the Sea’. This talk is followed by a long series of questions which take the topic – and David’s views – deeper and more personal.

Tony opens up the wild, imagery laden world of Ezekiel 1 in this talk. He views it through the lens of literature and imagery in particular.  And he explains how it is among the most innovative and paradigm shifting chapters in the history of the Old Testament – as Ezekiel discovers the ‘ubiquitous God’ who operates far beyond the tidy religious confines of Jerusalem – a Jerusalem that is about to be destroyed anyway.

The Grand Inquisitor (2) on Miracles as a counterfeit for faith Tony gives us a second talk on the Grand Inquisitor and his assault on God and the re-vitalised Christ. In this talk Tony explains why the Inquisitor sees the human desire for miracles as false religion – and something that denies God what he wants. God wants his presence on earth not spectacular invasions of normalcy – which miracles are.  So they cannot be the staple diet of a faithful life. Instead we must recognise the sacred space of the natural world we live in… and this theme will take us right back to Ezekiel!

In this session they Tony and Andrew look at some of the alternative theories of atonement over the history of the church – and how they have led to the dominance of the ‘penal substitutionary atonement’ theory of today. As always, our spirit is one of inquiry and discovery not dogma – so Andrew and Tony will continue to examine different perspectives around this theory that is so central to our faith.

Tony Golsby-Smith introduces the upcoming Gospel Conversations conference to be held in Sydney on the 25/26th August. He expresses the excitement that we all hold in anticipation of his visit. He also explains that Gospel Conversations is not just inviting a big name but rather a speaker who can help us to put the Lord Jesus Christ on a much higher pedestal than traditional Protestantism has done in the past.