The Westminster Podcast
Westminster Media
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"...to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever." Follow The Westminster Podcast to listen to stories, interviews, and archive audio from Westminster Theological Seminary in Glenside, PA. Featuring interviews and in-depth conversations with renowned authors, theologians, pastors, and historians, The Westminster Podcast is meant to help listeners in deeper exploration of the Christian faith. Visit wm.wts.edu to Read, Watch, and Listen to more content like this.
Episodios
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On the Nature and Kingdom of God w/ Harrison Perkins 01.06.2026 57mThis episode of the Westminster Podcast features Harrison Perkins in conversation with Nate Shannon, exploring Perkins’ scholarly work on James Ussher and a newly released volume of his previously unpublished theological manuscripts. The discussion traces Perkins’ journey into church history and highlights Ussher’s significance as a Reformed theologian deeply engaged in preaching, catechesis, and historical polemics against Rome, particularly in the context of the Reformation in Ireland. Drawing from newly translated archival sources, Perkins presents Ussher as a model of doctrinal clarity and pastoral faithfulness, demonstrating how consistent theological commitments shaped his ministry across diverse and turbulent contexts, including the English Civil War. The episode underscores the enduring importance of doctrinal preaching, the integration of theology and pastoral ministry, and the value of recovering historical voices like Ussher for the life of the modern church.
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Apocalyptic Vision and Enduring Faith: The Book of Daniel w/ Iain Duguid (Pt. 2) 25.05.2026 1h 15mIn this second episode on Daniel, Nate Shannon and Ian Duguid turn to the book’s apocalyptic visions, exploring how they reshape our understanding of history, suffering, and God’s ultimate purposes. Far from offering speculative timelines, Daniel’s visions reveal a world marked by escalating opposition to God’s people, yet firmly under the sovereign rule of the Ancient of Days. In the midst of confusion, fear, and unanswered questions, the message is clear: the kingdom belongs to the Son of Man, and faithfulness, however costly, will not be in vain. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate. Thanks for listening!
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Kingdoms Rise, God Reigns: The Book Daniel w/ Iain Duguid (Pt. 1) 18.05.2026 1h 7mIn this episode of the Westminster Podcast, Nate Shannon and Ian Duguid unpack the Book of Daniel, moving beyond familiar stories to uncover its deeper theological and pastoral message. Together, they explore how Daniel’s structure, apocalyptic imagery, and historical context equip God’s people to endure suffering with confidence in His sovereign rule over every kingdom. Far from abstract prophecy, Daniel presses a decisive question: will we trust the passing power of earthly kingdoms, or the everlasting kingdom God alone establishes? If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate. Thanks for listening!
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Biblical Counseling in Latin America w/ Claudia Barerro 11.05.2026 52mThis episode of the Westminster Podcast features Claudia Barrero in conversation with Nate Shannon, exploring her journey from a Roman Catholic background and aspirations in medicine to a calling in psychology shaped by a growing evangelical faith. Barrero reflects on the tension between secular therapeutic frameworks and a biblical understanding of human nature, and how the Lord used her experiences in Colombia and Peru to lead her toward a Reformed perspective on counseling as a form of discipleship and gospel witness. The conversation highlights the challenges of practicing biblical counseling in a Latin American context where it is largely unknown, often misunderstood, and must be carefully contextualized amid cultural distrust, hierarchical church structures, and the influence of both secular psychology and prosperity-driven religious movements. Ultimately, Barrero presents counseling as a means of helping both believers and non-believers reckon honestly with God, suffering, and the need for a Savior, while also calling attention to the broader needs of the church in Colombia for deeper theological formation, active membership, and a more comprehensive grasp of Scripture’s authority in all of life. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate. Thanks for listening!
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The Council of Nicea & The Church Today w/ Randy Caldejo and Blake Franze 04.05.2026 49mThis episode of the Westminster Podcast features Blake Franze and Randy Caldejo in conversation with Nate Shannon, reflecting on their experience at the 1700th anniversary conference of the Council of Nicaea in Istanbul. The discussion explores the enduring theological significance of the Nicene Creed as both a historical response to heresy and a continuing model for faithful doctrinal clarity grounded in Scripture. Drawing from the global and ecumenical nature of the conference, the conversation highlights the unity and diversity of the worldwide church, the urgent need for theological education amid rapid church growth, and the importance of recovering a robust, Scripture-shaped theological method. The episode also reflects on how ancient confessional truths continue to inform modern challenges, from ministry in closed countries to emerging issues like artificial intelligence, calling the church to ongoing reformation and faithfulness in every age. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate. Thanks for listening!
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Our Hope is in Help w/ Pierce Hibbs 27.04.2026 54mBrandon McLean Smith is Joined by Pierce Taylor Hibbs to talk about his new book Our Hope is in Help. The conversation covers the concept of autonomy and how none of us can truly be independent from the Lord. We rely on his for everything and thus should always be quick to seek help from him and others. Buy your copy of Our Hope is in Help now. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate. Thanks for listening!
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The Scottish Tempest — Episode 4: Blood and Fire 24.04.2026 5h 36mDriven from England as the fires of Marian persecution begin to consume the very church he helped build, John Knox watches from exile as his friends burn, his flock scatters, and his life’s work is undone. What begins as grief hardens into fury, as Knox wrestles not only with the suffering of his people but with his own absence from their trials, forced into a retreat that feels like betrayal. But the terror engulfing England was not born overnight. Behind the flames lies a dynastic crisis decades in the making—Henry VIII’s obsession with legacy, a marriage unraveling under political and theological strain, and a young princess shaped from birth to be a pawn in the ruthless game of European power. As Queen Mary ascends the throne, the personal becomes apocalyptic: a kingdom convulses, a church is purged by fire, and Knox is left to ask not only how it happened, but what must now be done. Warning: This episode contains some graphic depictions of Martyrdom so listener discretion is advised. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate. Thanks for listening!
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Irish Monasticism w/ Stafford Carson & Todd Rester 20.04.2026 46mIf you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate. Thanks for listening!
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Prayer, Gratitude, and the Christian Life w/ Dr. Greg Parker Jr. 13.04.2026 52mRecorded live at the Kuyper Conference in Grand Rapids, this episode features a conversation with Greg Parker Jr., a theologian and scholar of Herman Bavinck, reflecting on his academic journey, current work in theological education, and research in neo-Calvinism. Parker discusses his engagement with Abraham Kuyper’s pastoral theology, particularly his exposition of the Heidelberg Catechism and the Lord’s Prayer, highlighting themes of ascent and descent as a framework for understanding prayer, the Christian life, and communion with God. The conversation also explores the importance of translating and retrieving Bavinck’s works for the church, the pastoral dimension of systematic theology, and the need for careful theological engagement with contemporary questions such as human identity, bioethics, and artificial intelligence. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate. Thanks for listening!
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Confessional Theology and the Neo-Calvinist Vision w/ Dr. Gray Sutanto 06.04.2026 32mRecorded live at the Kuyper Conference at Calvin University, this episode features a conversation with Dr. Gray Sutanto, alumnus of Westminster Theological Seminary and professor of systematic theology at RTS Washington, D.C. Sutanto reflects on his academic work in neo-Calvinism, particularly his efforts to retrieve and clarify the theological legacy of figures like Abraham Kuyper and Herman Bavinck. He highlights the coherence between neo-Calvinism and confessional Reformed theology, emphasizing that neo-Calvinism is not reducible to cultural transformationalism or theonomy, but rather represents a historically rooted, theologically rich movement seeking to articulate Christianity as a comprehensive worldview in the modern age. The discussion also explores the nature of theological retrieval, arguing for a model that is both historically grounded and constructively forward-looking. Sutanto outlines how neo-Calvinism exemplifies this balance by drawing deeply from the Reformed tradition while addressing the intellectual and social challenges of modernity—particularly in its articulation of common grace, sphere sovereignty, and the relationship between church and state. The episode concludes with reflections on the reception of neo-Calvinism in English-speaking contexts, the importance of recovering Bavinck’s broader corpus, and the ongoing task of cultivating a robust, confessionally rooted theology that speaks meaningfully to contemporary cultural and ecclesial life. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate. Thanks for listening!
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Has Science Made God Unnecessary? w/ Ransom Poythress 30.03.2026 1h 3mIn this episode of the Westminster Podcast, Dr. Ransom Poythress, professor of biology at Houghton University, reflects on the relationship between Christian faith and the scientific enterprise, beginning with Psalm 104 as a vision of a world created and sustained by God. He addresses the limits of hyper-specialization and the scientific method, arguing that science itself depends on realities—mind, order, and a knowable world—that are best explained within a Christian framework. Moving beyond critique, Dr. Poythress casts a positive vision of science as a meaningful Christian vocation, where the pursuit of knowledge, healing, and stewardship reflects the biblical themes of creation, fall, and redemption, inviting believers to engage science with humility, wonder, and worship If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate. Thanks for listening!
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Song of Songs w/ Dr. Iain Duguid 23.03.2026 58mNate Shannon is joined by Iain Duguid as they explore the depths of the Song of Songs. They discuss the challenges of translating poetry, the interpretive strategies, and the profound biblical insights into love, marriage, and Christ's relationship with the church. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate. Thanks for listening!
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St. Patrick: Missionary to Ireland w/ Todd Rester 16.03.2026 47mIn light of St. Patrick's Day tomorrow, Nate Shannon is joined by Westminster professor of Church History Todd Rester to reflect on the life and witness of St. Patrick. Moving beyond popular legends, the conversation traces Patrick’s remarkable story from his upbringing in fifth-century Roman Britain, to his capture and enslavement in Ireland as a teenager, to his eventual return to the very land of his enslavement as a missionary of Christ. Drawing from Patrick’s own Confession, Dr. Rester highlights the humility, Trinitarian orthodoxy, and deep sense of divine providence that shaped Patrick’s life and ministry. They also consider why Patrick remains such an important figure for the church today. Rather than treating him merely as a subject of historical curiosity, the discussion explores how Patrick was remembered, read, and spiritually imitated in the centuries that followed. His example of self-denial, gospel conviction, and sacrificial love for a hostile people becomes a testimony to the grace of God at work in history.
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Digital Identity w/ Justin Poythress 09.03.2026 56mNate Shannon is joined again by Justin Poythress to discuss the complex issues of digital identity, its impact on relationships, and how Christians can navigate the digital age with biblical wisdom. Their conversation explores the influence of social media, online relationships, and the importance of representing Christ in digital life. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate. Thanks for listening!
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Daily Grace and Deep Sorrow w/ Jeremy Schmucker 02.03.2026 47mJeremy Schmucker joins Nate Shannon to recount the Lord’s providential leading through sorrow, theological formation, and vocational redirection. Raised in a Christian home and later shaped by a wide range of evangelical contexts, Jeremy describes a growing conviction that ministry must be ordered not merely around giftedness (including music) but around the shepherding of souls through the Word. That path eventually brought him to Westminster for the MATS and into a deeper appreciation of the gospel’s coherence, especially the already/not yet reality that acknowledges both Christ’s finished victory and the real presence of grief, scars, and longing in this not-yet age. At the heart of the conversation is the loss of Jeremy and Kristen’s daughter, Sophia, who was stillborn in February 2014, and the way the Lord met them with sustaining mercies “daily.” From Kristen’s written reflections on God’s faithfulness in suffering emerged The Daily Grace Co., a ministry that has grown into a global publishing effort marked by a deliberate resistance to “Christian celebrityism” and a determination to keep the focus on Christ rather than personalities. Jeremy reflects on the importance of embodied presence in pastoral care, the need for theological clarity joined to genuine charity, and a vision for serving both individual believers and local churches with resources that are accessible, Christ-centered, and rooted in the church’s historic confession.
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Who Am I, Really? The Gospel and the Modern Self w/ Justin Poythress 23.02.2026 50mIn this episode, Nate Shannon interviews Rev. Dr. Justin Poythress about his forthcoming book Who Am I and What Am I Doing With My Life? The conversation explores the modern “identity crisis” often expressed in debates about sexuality and gender but argues that these are only surface manifestations of a much deeper question: what it means to be human. Poythress explains that contemporary culture’s emphasis on radical self-creation, amplified by social media, limitless vocational options, and hyper-individualism, has produced both unprecedented freedom and profound instability. When identity becomes something we must invent rather than receive, the result is anxiety, paralysis, and constant comparison. This pressure affects everyone, not just teenagers or those wrestling with gender questions; adults experience it through work, retirement, politics, and online self-presentation. The gospel, Poythress argues, reframes identity entirely. Rather than constructing ourselves from scratch, we discover that much of who we are is “given”, created by God and shaped in relationship to Him and others. Christianity does not suppress the human desire for growth and transformation but redirects it: true becoming happens through union with Christ, not self-invention. What modern self-help and identity movements seek, meaning, stability, and a better self, is fulfilled in conversion and sanctification. The Christian life therefore answers the identity crisis not by rejecting identity language, but by redeeming it, grounding our being and becoming in communion with God.
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The Shorter Catechism: A Tool for Theological Depth w/ Dr. S.A. Fix 16.02.2026 48mIn this episode of the Westminster Podcast, host Nate Shannon engages with Dr. S.A. Fix, an Old Testament scholar, to discuss the significance of John Thompson and his work on the Shorter Catechism. They explore the historical context of American Presbyterianism, the Adopting Act, and the impact of the Great Awakening on the church. Dr. Fix emphasizes the importance of confessionalism and the value of understanding theology as a means to glorify God and deepen one's faith.
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Seeing Christ in Lamentations w/ Jeremy Menicucci 09.02.2026 1h 8mIn this episode of the Westminster Podcast, Nate Shannon is joined again by Jeremy Manacuchi for a searching exploration of the Book of Lamentations, one of Scripture’s most haunting and least-studied books. Beginning with the stark poetry of Jerusalem’s fall, they situate Lamentations within its historical context: the Babylonian siege, exile, and the covenantal judgment foretold in Deuteronomy. The discussion traces why the book is so emotionally and theologically difficult: its graphic imagery, its honest depiction of divine wrath, and its profound sense of abandonment, while also arguing for its enduring pastoral value. Far from being marginal, Lamentations confronts suffering head-on as the just response to sin, spoken from within the lived experience of God’s people. At the heart of the conversation is Lamentations 3, the structural and theological center of the book. Jeremy presents a compelling Christological reading in which “the man who has seen affliction” bears the full weight of God’s wrath, descends into the pit, and yet emerges with renewed hope grounded in the steadfast love of the Lord. Read as a carefully crafted whole, Lamentations moves from darkness to a single, blazing moment of hope, one that ultimately points beyond Jerusalem’s ruin to Christ himself. In that light, Lamentations is not merely a book of grief, but a profound witness to God’s covenant faithfulness, offering hope to sinners and sufferers alike through the one who was forsaken so that God might once again say to his people, “Do not fear.”
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John Murray and the Westminster Tradition w/ Paul Woo 02.02.2026 44mIn this episode, Paul Woo recounts how his academic path converged with his personal theological journey. Though initially trained in seventeenth-century theology, his long-standing passion for Presbyterian history led him to accept an unexpected invitation to pursue doctoral research on John Murray. Murray’s influence, was first felt in reading Murray on Romans 6. Definitive sanctification gave him new categories for understanding the Christian struggle against sin as a battle fought from union with Christ, where Scripture’s imperatives rest on real spiritual power rather than desperation. That spiritual and theological foundation made the doctoral opportunity compelling. Surveying Murray’s lecture notes on the Westminster Standards revealed a meticulous historical theologian, overturning the common assumption that Murray was only a precise biblical exegete rather than a scholar deeply engaged with primary historical sources. Paul then outlines his emerging dissertation project, provisionally titled John Murray the Westminsterian, which will explore how Murray’s Scottish Presbyterian heritage and confessional commitments shaped his theology, and how in turn he helped shape Westminster Seminary and the Orthodox Presbyterian Church through his work on the denomination’s confession. The conversation widens to his recent research on Trinitarian doctrine at the Westminster Assembly, particularly debates over the Son’s aseity and Calvin’s doctrine of autotheos, showing how historical dogmatics and confessional theology intersect in his work. He also discusses his editorial research for P&R Publishing’s Warfield reprints, describing the painstaking but rewarding labor of tracing Warfield’s vast multilingual sources, and reflecting on how modern digital access has transformed historical scholarship. The episode closes with reflections on Murray’s enduring legacy as both scholar and pastor, his reputation for prayer and piety, and recommendations for readers approaching Murray for the first time (especially his sermons and Redemption Accomplished and Applied) as an entry point into a theology where rigorous exegesis, historical consciousness, and lived communion with Christ remain inseparable. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate. Thanks for listening!
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Scripture and Creed: How Mark's Gospel Leads Us to Nicaea w/ Dr. Brandon Crowe 26.01.2026 39mIn this episode of the Westminster Podcast, host Nate Shannon welcomes Dr. Brandon Crowe to discuss the relationship between Scripture and the Nicene Creed in the 1700th anniversary year of the Council of Nicaea. Drawing from his recent paper, Christology: Mark on the Road to Nicaea, Crowe explains how creeds arise from Scripture rather than being imposed upon it, functioning as faithful summaries and syntheses of the Bible’s teaching. He explores how extra-biblical theological language—such as homoousios and the doctrine of the Trinity—serves to clarify Scripture’s meaning when purely biblical phrasing proves vulnerable to misinterpretation. The conversation highlights the “hermeneutical spiral” between creed and Scripture: the creed guides faithful reading of the Bible, while Scripture remains the final authority that continually tests the creed. Crowe then turns to the Gospel of Mark to demonstrate how Nicene Christology emerges from the biblical text itself. Challenging historical-critical approaches that fragment the Gospel or diminish its theology, he argues for reading Mark as a coherent narrative shaped by Old Testament imagery. He outlines four key ways Mark presents Christ’s divine identity: the Father-Son relationship, theophanies, divine saving works, and divine claims made by Jesus. Particular attention is given to episodes such as Jesus walking on the water, interpreted as an Old Testament-shaped theophany revealing God’s presence in Christ. The episode concludes by emphasizing that classical creedal Christology does not restrict careful exegesis but provides theological guardrails that enable deeper, more faithful reading of Scripture. If you enjoy this episode, you can access tons of content just like this at wm.wts.edu. If you would like to join us in our mission to train specialists in the bible to proclaim the whole counsel of God for Christ and his global church, visit wts.edu/donate. Thanks for listening!
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