Can we live humbly and still post that photo on Instagram? In the digital age, humility isn't so straightforward. With the smartphone at our fingertips, is pride just one selfie away? Many of tech’s biggest names have been anything but humble. Tesla, Edison, Jobs, Zuckerberg, Musk. Does that mean their inventions will re-make us in their image? Or …

The word "temperance" may make us think of prohibition, but this virtue isn't some outdated legislation. Today's technologies are creating all new challenges. Should we be prohibiting them now? It’s the season of Virtues! We’re exploring the old-school virtue of Temperance—including how a technology in the 1800s changed the course of American polit…

Can we live simply without tossing our smartphone-life in the trash? We found answers in Sister Act II and walk-in closets. This season, we're doing something new, and it begins with the virtue of Simplicity. We live in a complex world. Can technology help simplify it? Or does it only make things worse? Chris and Adam look at Simplicity in the face…

Wow, we've got a new set of episodes coming our way—and Adam & Chris have decided to unveil a twist—while possible moving even closer to the Platonic ideal of Device & Virtue. Support our new season at https://www.deviceandvirtue.com/patreon Leave us a feedback voicemail at https://www.deviceandvirtue.com/talk-back Learn more about your ad choices.…

Quotes from this episode: "With the Bible in our hands, it's time to improvise church again and to see what the spirit is calling us to and how the spirit is opening wide our imagination for what the church can be today." "We're doing a bit like what jazz musicians do. We immerse in the biblical story and we improvise on that biblical story, the Bi…

Byron Borger, owner of Hearts and Minds Bookstore speaks with Dru Johnson about literacy, theology, and the need for bookstores to cultivate the Christian imagination. AI Generated Takeaways —The decline in reading and literacy rates among Americans is a concern, particularly among younger generations. —Books play a crucial role in personal growth …

Appropriately: An AI generated summary of our conversation: The conversation explores the influence of technology on humanity and the reciprocal relationship between the two. It discusses the impact of smartphones and identifies key technologies that have shaped the world. The balance between screen time and creativity is examined, along with the c…

If not, what about our soundboards and electric guitars? If you thought the answer would be straightforward, you don't know us! Adam and Chris deep into the intertwining histories of church music and technology. From early debates over instruments in worship services to the effects of platforms like Spotify on today's songwriting, they explore the …

In the first half of this episode, Dru Johnson talks with Preston Sprinkle about his journeys into the LGBTQ+ communities, theologies, and conversations and the psychological research in that field. He also discusses his convictions about biblical views on sexuality that emerged from this quest. In the second half of this episode, Preston and Dru t…

In this episode, we discuss Stephen T. Pardue's newest book Why Evangelical Theology Needs the Global Church.由centerforhebraicthought

Audio editing (and strategic bleeping) by John Viinalass. In the first half of this extra long episode: We discuss the strange biography of Ben "Doc" Askins, from combat medic to seminary student to Army physician's assistant (PA) to Psychiatric PA researching psychedelic medicine and trauma. In the second half of this extra long episode: We discus…

NEW THIS SEASON! Leave us a 90-second voice message about this episode. We may feature it in a future segment! Pulpit AI could save your church hours of social media work every week. Could it kill the sermon in the process? We interview pastor and entrepreneur Michael Whittle. He wants to make the sermon more valuable than ever, and he created Pulp…

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Ownership is not an option. Forget magazines—does it seem like today we subscribe to just about everything? You’re not wrong—from reading books to driving cars—80% of new businesses offer a subscription. Has software changed ownership forever? Chris & Adam explore how technology has changed how we pay—and all the implications. No longer do we buy M…

The Biblical Mind and the Center for Hebraic Thought are entering a new phase after ending a formal partnership with The King’s College. Additionally, CHT director of operations and TBM editor Celina Durgin will leave her position at the center on July 28, 2023. In this mini episode, Dru and Celina provide a bit more context, and Celina bids the CH…

NEW THIS SEASON! Leave us a 90-second voice message about this episode. We may feature it in a future segment! When’s the last time you got a handwritten letter, or stared out the window, or went on vacation without checking email? Did the Internet kill the good ol’ days, or is this just nostalgia talking? Chris and Adam dive into the book 100 Thin…

Dr. Michael W. Austin is a Professor of Philosophy at Eastern Kentucky University, an author, and a speaker. He has published 12 books; most recently, he co-edited and contributed to QAnon, Chaos, and the Cross: Christianity and Conspiracy Theories. Most of his teaching, writing, and speaking is focused on ethical questions related to character and…

THREADS is the all new social network launched by the founders of Facebook, and it launched big and fast—over 100 millions accounts in the first week. Chris reflects on how social networks work like societal mirrors, and reflect some of the same issues that vexxed the early Christian church. Short Circuit episodes skip the argument—Adam or Chris gr…

Dru enjoys a more casual conversation with Matthew A. LaPine (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School), pastor of theological development at Cornerstone Church and lecturer at Salt School of Theology (Ames, Iowa). Their chat covers theological and pastoral education, considering the in-house models of megachurches and the ways in which seminary ca…

NEW Leave us a 90-second voice message about this episode. -- This month, Apple announced the new Vision Pro headset. 10 years from now, will we look back and say it changed our life? Can we ever know whether something is a Flop or the Future? Think about it. When they first came out, did folks know that the electric refrigerator or the microwave o…

NEW THIS SEASON! Leave us a 90-second voice message about this episode. We may feature it in a future segment! “Minority Report” was just a movie, right? Well, not anymore. Beat cops from Los Angeles to London are using Artificial Intelligence to forecast tomorrow’s murders. Is every crime predestined? Artificial Intelligence is everywhere, includi…

Terms like "systemic sin" or "structural injustice" immediately make many people think of contemporary ideologies that they either strongly embrace or strongly oppose, such as socialism or the much-discussed (but poorly understood) critical race theory. These charged terms are often employed in vague or unhelpful ways. The Bible has many examples o…

From social media, to the printing press, to artificial intelligence, to the pencil, technologies have often been regarded as things that can't be good or bad apart from how people choose to use them. Jason Thacker doesn't think any technology is merely a neutral tool, because as people use technology to shape the world, it also shapes them and the…

Welcome to Device & Virtue, Season 9! Leave Us a Digital Voicemail! Starting this season, *in these show notes* and at deviceandvirtue.com, you can leave us a digital voicemail. We’ve been arguing the wrongs and rights of technology and faith for 4 years. We think it's time you spoke up. If you’ve ever wanted to hear yourself featured on a podcast,…

This episode was originally published in May of 2021. We thought it was worth a reissue for our newer listeners. A new episode is coming next week. Why do we say "come to Jesus"? This Christianese phrase doesn't just show up in church—it shows up in offices, homes, and schools around America, where we speak of "come-to-Jesus moments." What about wo…

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You might have heard that being made in the image of God refers to human rationality, relationality, moral agency, or some combination of these qualities. Dr. Carmen Imes disagrees. She and Dru discuss what they think the author of Genesis was actually referring to with the phrase "image of God," in light of Carmen's latest book Being God's Image: …

Herem warfare is the commandment to exterminate all survivors. The law of herem warfare appears in the Book of Joshua and contravenes the usual motivations for going to war in the ancient Near East. Armies in that context typically killed only males and took women, children, and possessions before turning the conquered nation into a subjugated sate…

Instead of interviewing a guest, TBM host Dru Johnson and editor Celina Durgin discussed an article they co-wrote for Christianity Today: "Is It Time to Quit 'Quiet Time'?" Many people read their Bibles on their own, and some do so daily. When combined with communal study, some form of this practice is important for anyone wanting to become fluent …

This episode was originally published by OnScript podcast. Thanks to the OnScript team for letting us share this episode with our listeners. Here are the OnScript show notes for this episode: Episode: The book we’re talking about today is Tell Her Story: How Women Led, Taught, and Ministered in the Early Church with IVP Academic. In this episode, w…

Literature students who can analyze a passage from East of Eden with ease often flounder when trying to analyze a Bible passage. Why? Dr. Andrew Abernethy explains how people can overcome barriers to understanding Scripture by using skills they already have, and by seeking not just to understand, but also to savor. Dru asks Dr. Abernethy, Professor…

The rich and sad story of jazz has shaped both its sorrowful sounds and its joyful hope. William Edgar, the author of A Supreme Love: The Music of Jazz and the Hope of the Gospel, discusses the subtle and not-so-subtle ways the Bible has informed the movement and music of jazz throughout its history. William (BA, Harvard University, MDiv, Westminst…

Christians used to be known as "people of the book." Do we lose something big if we become the "people of the screen"? From Moses to Gutenberg to YouVersion App, we’re talking the digital bible with our guest John Dyer. Chris talks with John about his newest book People of the Screen. We explore how evangelicals created the digital Bible and how it…

"Knowing is an activity that all of us are involved in, all of the time," writes Dr. Esther Meek in her book Longing to Know, which turns 20 this year. "Usually knowing happens without our taking great thought to the process. But sometimes we stop and think about what we're doing. When we stop and think, what we were doing without much thought beco…

Readers of the Book of Joshua (and many other parts of the Bible) are inevitably confronted with the poblem of violence in Scripture. Texts referring to the destruction of whole cities or the killing of men, women, and children can cause us to question whether God is truly loving and just. In this episode, Dr. Matt Lynch discusses violence in Scrip…

“Hey Chat GPT, write a script for a podcast arguing the wrongs and rights of technology and faith…” Could AI write that? The shocking answer is… it’s close. Maybe a full yes. The revolution of Artificial Intelligence chatbots got a rocket boost in the last months when on Nov 30, 2022, OpenAI released a language model called ChatGPT, which can inter…

This episode was originally published on October, 2020. We thought it was worth a reissue for our newer listeners. The poetry in Scripture can be hard to understand. And, especially when it is embedded within a story, such as the Song of Deborah, we might be tempted to skip over it. It uses a lot of allusion and metaphor and is pregnant with imager…

Despite their shared foundations and concern for the Word of God, Christians and Jews rarely interact on the basis of faith in the modern world. Many Jewish communities, in response to centuries of antisemitism and persecution, have shielded themselves from Christians, while modern Christians often know very little about the Jewish faith. Dru inter…

Western culture relies extensively on written text to communicate. But the majority of people across the world rely far less on reading than they do on speech, body language, story, images, and their other senses. Charles Madinger joins the podcast this week to explore the concept of orality—the multifaceted way in which people were created to comm…

Despite the rich history of Armenia as an ancient Christian community, many Christians know very little about the Armenian ethnicity, culture, nation, and faith. In this episode, Dru interviews Dr. Heather Ohaneson, pastor of Armenian Martyrs' Congregational Church, about Armenian history from the early days of the church until now, along with her …

How do we approach the Bible? Do we see it merely as a "perfect rulebook"? A piece of literature to be picked apart? Or do we see it as something that threatens to transform us and upend our preconceptions, helping us live in accordance with God and His activity? In this episode, Dru interviews Marty Solomon, cohost, creator, and Executive Producer…

Device & Virtue friend & author John Dyer jumps on the podcast talking about the 10 11 year updated edition of his book From the Garden to the City. Wow, a lot changes in a decade! Ten years ago, nobody knew what Zoom was, and online church meant having a Facebook page. No matter how fast tech changes, John Dyer says it still has a place in the sto…

How do we read the Bible like adults? For many people who grew up in communities of faith, the Bible stories have been a part of their lives for as long as they can remember. But it's often not until later in life that the richer meanings of the stories come alive, misconceptions are corrected, and the voices of the biblical authors become clearer—…

What does it mean for Christ to reign over every sphere of life? Many Christians relegate faith to "spiritual" activities, such as reading the Bible, going to church, and praying. However, the Christian tradition—and especially the Reformed tradition—can guide Christians in everything from personal ethics to politics to raising chickens. In this ep…

Who hasn’t heard about Twitter these days? With all the controversy, Adam & Chris are talking about how private tech becomes a “public square”—and does Twitter have a future in 2023? Big Questions What is “free speech”? What is the idea of the public square and how does it relate? How has the long history of communications technology been controlle…

In case you missed it, this was our most popular episode of 2022. We hope this conversation encourages Christians with the biblical hope of the resurrection and the age to come. What happens to you when you die? Many Christians picture eternal life as spending time in an ethereal heaven with God, either immediately after death as a disembodied spir…

Christians know that we should read the Bible. But often, the "should" eclipses the "why"—the fact that Scripture presents a unified, powerful, mysterious story written by God for the benefit of his people. In this episode, Dru interviews Kat Armstrong, a Bible teacher, speaker, and author who aims to cultivate joyful, imaginative reading of Script…

Stained glass, digital photos, or a pile of rocks. Today, we join the co-hosts of the Embedded Church podcast and talk about how the church builds memories. It’s a podcast inside a podcast. Memories help people establish identities and build communities, and physical places are fertile ground where memories take root. But are new digital spaces upr…

The Near East carries a strange set of connotations in the modern West. On the one hand, it is the origin of our most significant ethical traditions. On the other, it is an area full of political tensions and years of violent conflict. In this episode, Robert Nicholson (Founder and President of Philos Project and CHT Senior Fellow) helps Christians…

Author Andy Crouch says that we’re doing it all wrong—smartphones aren’t giving us the life we’re looking for. We asked him how to fix it, plus whether he’d ever own a robot dog. Andy is our first returning guest to Device & Virtue! This time, he joins us to talk about his new book, The Life We’re Looking For. We take his ideas for a test drive, an…