Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. The Old Testament is about three-quarters of the Bible. It is theologically and morally impossible for Christians to understand God's relationship with the world, the nature and purpose of human beings, original sin, salvation history, the person of Jesus Christ, and the foundation of the Church without it. Indeed, as far back as the second century AD, the Church condemned the heresy of Marcionism, which sought to distinguish the God of the Old Testament from the God of the New Testament and to lop off the Old Testament from the biblical canon. There is and never has been, in short, Christianity without the Old Testament. Nevertheless, much of the text remains difficult for the faithful to understand and, even more so, to explain to others, especially to those who know nothing about it. To make matters more complicated, secular critics of the faith often try to use the Old Testament against it, arguing—like the Marcionites of the past—that belief in the Old Testament is both irrational and immoral. So how should Catholics respond? What are some strategies we can employ not only to make the Old Testament accessible but also evangelically compelling? Here to help us understand the Old Testament and its enduring evangelical power, especially in a highly secularized culture, is Bishop Robert Barron.

Topics Covered

00:00 | Introduction
01:33 | Bishop Barron visits Washington
03:38 | How many Catholics read the Bible
09:37 | Understanding the Bible through the interpretive tradition of the Church
11:13 | The historical critical method of the Old Testament
13:10 | The influence of Joseph Ratzinger on Bishop Barron's biblical approach
16:00 | The otherness of God
20:28 | Why God's self-sufficiency matters for reading the Old Testament
22:57 | God as radically transcendent and personally involved
25:25 | God, creator of all people and the father of Israel
26:43 | Critique #1: The Old Testament God is violent
30:09 | Critique #2: The Old Testament God is a moody, jealous diva
32:52 | Critique #3: The Old Testament God is not the New Testament God
34:53 | Critique #4: The Old Testament is just a collection of myths
37:23 | Advice for evangelists regarding the Old Testament
39:34 | Listener Question: What is the Bible's role for Catholics
40:45 | Join the Word on Fire Institute

• Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/

NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. Hollywood is not known for being friendly to Christianity in general or Catholicism in particular, especially nowadays; unfortunately, there is no shortage of storylines and characters that mock and even demonize believers. At the same time, however, whenever the film industry wishes to depict a "religious looking" scene or add a transcendent element to the plot, it frequently employs Catholic architecture, Catholic sacramentals, and even Catholic priests to do so. What should we make of this ambivalence to the faith? What does Hollywood get wrong, and what, perhaps to our surprise, does Hollywood get right about Catholicism and the priesthood? What do these portrayals tell us more broadly about potential openness within the entertainment industry to God's existence, the divinity of Christ, good and evil, and life after death? Here to take a look at some pivotal classic and contemporary films that prominently feature Catholicism and Catholic priests, with an eye to unpacking their significance for the wider entertainment culture, is Bishop Robert Barron.

WOF 533

00:00 | Introduction

01:19 | Bishop Barron's recent watchlist

02:44 | What movies have meant to Word on Fire

04:06 | Artificial intelligence and cinema

05:10 | Hollywood and the Catholic priesthood

07:06 | Examining the evangelical strategies of Christian studios

08:43 | Boys Town (1938)

12:10 | The Exorcist (1973)

21:13 | True Confessions (1981)

24:42 | The Mission (1986)

29:07 | Calvary (2014)

32:51 | How best to portray Catholicism and the priesthood in movies

34:17 | How best to watch movies depicting the priesthood

36:04 | Listener question: How did St. Thérèse help on CATHOLICISM?

38:26 | Join the Word on Fire Institute

• Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/

NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, Senior Director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. Marxism, unfortunately, seems to be making a comeback. Despite its economically disastrous, politically oppressive, and horrifically inhumane track record, the atheistic philosophy that produced the Communist revolution and eventually led to the deaths of tens of millions of people has wheedled its way back to the center of our political culture. On the surface, this may sound surprising: Since the fall of the Berlin Wall over three decades ago, few public figures have openly identified as Marxist, and Communist political parties have typically occupied the outermost fringes of political influence. However, Marxist ideas–especially in the form of contemporary identity politics–have not only continued gathering momentum beneath the surface in universities, NGOs, the media, corporate HR departments, and government bureaucracies; high profile politicians, including the mayor of New York, Zohran Mandami, and Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, now seem to be openly advocating for Marxist policies. So how did this morally and historically discredited ideology remerge in mainstream politics? Equally important, how should Christians and all people concerned with basic human rights and the common good respond? Here to discuss the dark history of Marxism, its contemporary forms, and how the Catholic Church has, and always will, stand against it, is Bishop Robert Barron.

Topics Covered

00:00 | Introduction
01:48 | Winona-Rochester's record catechumen year
02:53 | A brief overview of Karl Marx
04:55 | What is dialectical materialism?
06:40 | Class conflicts in Marx's day
08:01 | Marx's early critique of capitalism
10:55 | Marx's critique of religion
17:12 | Marxism's pursuit of Utopia
20:06 | Rerum Novarum: Pope Leo XIII responds
23:08 | Reducing history to an economic substructure
24:20 | The legacy of Marxism
26:16 | Shared views between Marxism and contemporary identity politics
28:52 | Why harmful ideas take fair guises
31:23 | Critiquing collectivism
33:08 | US politicians and Marxist ideas
36:03 | Weren't early Christians fundamentally communist?
38:08 | Shouldn't we just try Marxism?
39:26 | Thomas Merton responds to Marxism
41:07 | Is it partisan to critique Marxism?
42:51 | Listener question: How do we respond to "my truth"?
45:12 | Join the Word on Fire Institute

• Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/

NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. For the last two episodes, Evangelization & Culture Podcast host Tod Worner has been having a conversation with Word on Fire's founders about social media—a phenomenon that has certainly played a prominent role in the life of our own ministry. But what about its shadow side? How might faithful Catholics engage in social media? How might the Church? How do we cultivate a rich spiritual life in this ever-unfolding age of social media? Here to discuss this with Tod Worner and Fr. Steve Grunow is Bishop Robert Barron.

Topics Covered

00:00 | Introduction
00:49 | Examining social media's shadow side
14:32 | Can teachers of the faith use social media without oversight
22:18 | How we prepare for online ministry
27:58 | Join the Word on Fire Institute

• Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/

NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. In our last episode, Evangelization & Culture Podcast host Tod Worner began a conversation with Word on Fire's founders about social media, in which they explored the art and means of communication. In this next segment, we'll continue that conversation, now examining Catholic ministry and social media. What, if anything, does social media have to do with Pope St. John Paul II? How does it fit into Word on Fire's own principles? How would one even define social media? Here to discuss these things with Tod Worner and Fr. Steve Grunow is Bishop Robert Barron.

• Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/

NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. Today, we're bringing you a special episode—a conversation from our very own Evangelization & Culture Podcast, hosted by Dr. Tod Worner. Recently, Dr. Tod, as we like to call him, sat down with Word on Fire CEO Fr. Steve Grunow and Bishop Barron to talk about social media. But rather than retread the usual tropes of social media conversations, Dr. Tod hosts a richer and more intimate conversation on the topic through the lenses of evangelization, art, communication, and more. Please enjoy this first segment, in which we'll look specifically at the art and means of communication.

Topics Covered

00:00 | Introduction
00:55 | The importance—and challenge—of communication
05:00 | How the gospel spread before the use of mass media
10:51 | Art as evangelization
17:54 | Papal communication and early media
22:05 | Mass media figures and their influence on Word on Fire
27:51 | Join the Word on Fire Institute

• Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/

NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

Welcome back to the Word on Fire Show. I'm Matthew Petrusek, senior director of the Word on Fire Institute and the host of the Word on Fire Show. Thank you for joining us. As we continue this second half of a conversation from last year's Good News Conference in Orlando with Bishop Barron and Word on Fire CEO Fr. Steve Grunow, we'll discover the ministry's patron saints, as well as some of the lessons that Word on Fire has learned through its years of evangelization. We'll also take a look at Word on Fire's plans for the future. Here to discuss these with Fr. Steve Grunow, in this second half of an hour-long conversation, is Bishop Robert Barron.

• Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/

NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.

The Enlightenment believed reason was its own authority. Heteronomous authority was anathema. Autonomy was the ideal. Thus, the Church's hierarchical structure was viewed as enslaving. In light of this critique, Newman offered an insightful defense of freedom and truth in the Catholic Church.

Topics Covered:

• Consulting the faithful in matter of doctrine
• Conscience
• Reason and authority
• Bishops and theologians

• Article: Sensus Fidei in the Life of the Church
• Video: John Henry Newman on the Laity
• Read: On Consulting the Laity on Matters of Doctrine
• Word on Fire Institute: https://institute.wordonfire.org/

NOTE: Do you like this podcast? Become a Word on Fire IGNITE member! Word on Fire is a non-profit ministry that depends on the support of our listeners . . . like you! So become a part of this mission and join IGNITE today to become a Word on Fire insider and receive some special donor gifts for your generosity.