In this episode, we welcome back Pastor Ed Romine to discuss his book The Booming Baritone Bell of England, specifically his third chapter: “The Christ-Centered Hermeneut: A Christ-Centered Hermeneutical Foundation for Spurgeon’s Evangelism”. What is Hermeneutics, and how should the methodological principles of interpretation be tuned to the type of text we are engaging with? Given Spurgeon’s view of the Bible, how does (and does not) that mean he interprets the Bible like any other book? What did Spurgeon mean by “spiritualizing” the text, and how did he think that should be limited when both interpreting and preaching the text of Scripture? Moreover, Ed gives us a sample of a worship service at The Metropolitan Tabernacle and how the Word of God was at the center. He also helps us understand the distinction between expositions and sermons, and gives us some insight and samples into how these played out for those attending. Ed writes, “For Spurgeon, all of the Bible speaks of Christ Jesus”. Listen in and hear how that was the case, and why that matters for today.

Book: The Booming Baritone Bell of England

Check out: First Baptist Church of Provo

Past interview with Dr. Romine about Spurgeon: Part One, Part Two

Other resources:

Tethered to the Cross by Thomas Breimaier

Spurgeon the Pastor by Geoffrey Chang

Interpreting Scripture with the Great Tradition; Contemplating God with the Great Tradition by Craig Carter

In this episode, we welcome Dr. Stephen Presley to discuss his book Irenaeus of Lyons: His Life and Impact. Who was Irenaeus (c. AD130-200), and why does he matter? From a deep engagement with the Bible, to a key figure in the development in both Biblical Theology and Apologetics – Irenaeus combines both the desire for rigorous analysis and pastoral care. What was his apologetic method, and how did he view the relationship between faith and reason, Scripture and philosophy? What was the “rule of faith”, and did he subordinate Scripture to tradition? Who was the God Irenaeus worshipped, and is it valid to call him “Trinitarian”? Dr. Presley takes us through some highlights from the gnostics – and how their errors are relevant to issues faced by Christians today, and how Irenaeus can aid us in understanding how to approach both the gnosticism being identified, and how the essentials of the Christian faith contrast and respond to him. How do Christians, on one hand, balance the unity and diversity of Christianity – and yet know where the line is between Christianity and what can fairly be deemed non-christian? Listen in as Dr. Presley takes us through this, as well as some basics of his anthropology, Christology and addresses the claims the Irenaeus believed men can become gods.

Book: Irenaeus of Lyons: His Life and Impact

Other books by Dr. Presley:

Cultural Sanctification: Engaging the World Like the Early Church

Biblical Theology in the Life of the Early Church

Irenaues: Against Heresies, The Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching

Other resources:

LDS Gospel Topics Essay: “Becoming Like God”

Wrestling the Angel by Terryl Givens

The Gnostic New Age by April DeConick

Early Christian Doctrines by J.N.D. Kelly

Veritas by Ariel Sabar

A Christian’s Pocket Guide to Mary: Mother of God? by Leonardo De Chirico (and here)

Scourby: The Gospel of John

In this episode, we welcome back Pastor Jason Wallace of Ancient Paths TV to discuss some of his recent video “The Patristic Roots of the Reformed Faith”. Who was John Henry Newman and what does he represent to so many who likewise seek certainty in the midst of a chaotic and fallen world? What was his actual argument on the development of doctrine, and what are some reasons Protestants should be skeptical? What is really at stake in this moment in regard to the perfect storm of perfectionism, mysticism, distorted ecclesiology – and the activism that dominates so much of the frustration today? Listen in as Pastor Wallace takes us through the mess of history, and how Protestants should adhere to the standard that should be the basis upon which developments should be determined as legitimate and faithful, or innovative and destructive. Far from “ceasing to be Protestant” as we are “deep in history” – perhaps, the opposite is the case: To accept the truth of a messy history is to begin to be Protestant. Moreover, actually dealing with history exposes the twin errors of the fantasy of imagined unanimity and the false claim of apostasy and the need for restoration. Reform, not revolution, should be the Protestant cry - with the clear recognition about the necessary and fallible church being subject to the infallible Word of God. Far from needing a personal “burning of the bosom”, or prioritizing some ecclesiastic authority’s equivalent – the Apostolic authority is not found within one’s own heart, subjectively, nor is it found in a continuing (or restored) office, charismatically; rather, Christ and the Apostles’ authority are to be found in what we have that has truly and historically come from them in Scripture. Listen in as Pastor Wallace gives his earnest plea that the Christian message continues to be Christ and Him Crucified rather than either the hollow mysticism of a new monasticism, or a new Caesar and the tyranny of a “new Christendom”.

Video: “The Patristic Roots of the Reformed Faith”

Channel: Ancient Paths TV

“An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine” by John Henry Newman

• declared a “saint” by Pope Francis (Oct. 13, 2019)
• declared a “doctor” by Pope Leo XIV (Nov. 1, 2025)

Also mentioned:

“The Failure of Eastern Orthodoxy” (also here and here)

“Cyril Lucaris: Calvinist Patriarch/Orthodox Saint” (also here and here)

Also check out a previous interview here.

Other resources:

The Courage to Be Protestant by David Wells

The Patristic Roots of Reformed Worship by Hughes Oliphant Old

Justified in Christ: The Doctrines of Peter Martyr Vermigli and John Henry Newman and Their Ecumenical Implications by Chris Castaldo

“No Longer Accretions. The Problem of Roman Catholicism in Dialogue with Gavin Ortlund”; Engaging Thomas Aquinas by Leonardo De Chirico