Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!

There has perhaps been no other figure more celebrated yet more vilified, more appreciated yet more misunderstood, more eulogised over and yet more criticised and condemned, than the controversial French born theologian John Calvin. To some Calvin is little more than the originator of the theological system we call Calvinism today, even though he had nothing to do with the formulation of such a system. To others he was the tyrant of Geneva, and yet others would see him as one of Europe’s most significant and impactful thinkers.

This week the Curious team have the great honour of interviewing Matt White, a keen observer and student of John Calvin. Together with Matt, Pete and the Curious team walk-through the life, thinking and influence of John Calvin, warts and all. They’ll be exploring Calvin the student, the person seeking asylum, the unwilling organiser, the gifted thinker and strategist, the father and husband, the leader, influencer and reluctant reformer. This episode will look at the high points of Calvin‘s life, his Institutions, his development of Geneva as a “school of Christ”, as well as his low points, his controversial run-in with Servetus.

In this fifth episode of our series, The Road to Reformation, the Curious team take a no-holds-barred dive into Calvin’s life and influence, asking why he has often been labelled a misery or a tyrant, and why perhaps such characterisations may not be particularly accurate.

Join the Curious Team this week in what promises to be a very intriguing and revealing episode.

Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you that offers some insight into this weeks theme…

The Life and Times of John Calvin - ChristianHistoryInstitute.org

Calvin: A Biography - TheGospelCoalition.org

John Calvin - Ligonier.org

What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes….here’s a list of the best we've come across on the Reformation;

Nick Page — A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation

Diarmaid MacCulloch — Reformation (Europe’s House Divided)

Richard Rex — The Making of Martin Luther

Andrew Pettegree — Brand Luther

Michael Reeves — The Unquenchable Flame

Peter Marshall — Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation

Bruce Gordon — Calvin

In addition, check out this great podcast from our friend Matt White, delving into the life and thinking of John Calvin. Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify

Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com

Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious

Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!

Who was Ulrich Zwingli? How does a priest, turned soldier, turned protester, turned reformer, end up dead on a field in a five kilometre square piece of land in the Swiss town of Kappel? What were the forces, the difficulties and conflicts, and the significant personalities that came to bear on Zwingli? Who were his supporters and how dangerous were his enemies?

This week the Curious team take a look at the phenomenon that was the Swiss reformation, reflecting on the significant role Ulrich Zwingli came to play in igniting, developing and establishing it.

In this fourth episode of our series, The Reformation Road, the Curious team launch into Zwingli’s life, influence and legacy. What impact the events in Switzerland came to have on the European reformation.

Join the Curious Team this week as they step in to the extraordinary events of Zwingli’s life.

Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you that offers some insight into this weeks theme…
The Life and Thought of Zwingli - ChristianHistoryInstitude.org

9 Things You Should Know About Ulrich Zwingli - TheGospelCoalition.org


What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes….here’s a list of the best we've come across on the Reformation;

Nick Page — A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation

Diarmaid MacCulloch — Reformation (Europe’s House Divided)

Richard Rex — The Making of Martin Luther

Andrew Pettegree — Brand Luther

Michael Reeves — The Unquenchable Flame

Peter Marshall — Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation

In addition, check out this great podcast from our friend Matt White, delving into the life and thinking of John Calvin. Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify

Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com

Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious

Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!

Few in church history could ever fully comprehend the enormity of impact the event of October 31st, 1517 in Wittenberg could produce on the global church. Martin Luther’s inquisitive protest against the machinery of indulgences, was launched initially as an invitation for clear and theologically intelligent minds to critically reflect on the validity and value of indulgences

This week the Curious them take a look at the enigma that is Martin Luther. What was his home life like? Was it overly strict? Was it supportive and loving? How did the University of Erfurt shape his thinking? How did Luther’s ‘lightening bolt’ experience recalibrate his perspective and values? What were the 95 thesis really all about? What was Luther really trying to achieve in making them public? And why was the Diet of Worms in May 1521, so incredibly significant for Luther and decisive for the Reformation?

In this third episode of our series, “The Road to Reformation”, the Curious team launch into Luther, his beginnings, his early convictions, his formulating discontent, and his eventual public display, challenging the might of the Holy Catholic Church!

Join the Curious Team this week as they step in to the extraordinary events of 1517 and it’s immediate aftermath on the European church.

Further Reading
Here’s a bit of homework for you that offers some insight into this weeks theme…
Luther's Early Life - LutheranRefromation.org

Luther's Early Years - ChristianHistoryInstitute.org


What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes….here’s a list of the best we've come across on the Reformation;

Nick Page — A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation

Diarmaid MacCulloch — Reformation (Europe’s House Divided)

Richard Rex — The Making of Martin Luther

Andrew Pettegree — Brand Luther

Michael Reeves — The Unquenchable Flame

Peter Marshall — Heretics and Believers: A History of the English Reformation

In addition, check out this great podcast from our friend Matt White, delving into the life and thinking of John Calvin.

Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com

Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious

Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!

Some imagine that justification by faith, the great rallying cry of the reformation, was a specifically Protestant invention, and more particularly, a Luther invention! Yet as early as 1511 (6yrs before Luther), Cardinal Gasparo Contarini came to an understanding of justification by faith, and was desirous to debate it within the Catholic hierarchy.

That being said, the church collective, was not in a very healthy state in the fifteenth century. The corruptive systemic elements of simony (clerical offices for sale), immorality, and indulgences (purgatory for sale), were deeply entrenched in the Catholic Church. Humanism and the renaissance were question biblical interpretation under the cry; Ad fontes—“to the sources!” Whilst irritants like John Wycliffe and his Lollards, and Jan Hus and his Hussites were causing no end of friction!

In this first episode of our brand new series, The Reformation Road, the Curious team launch into faith in the fifteenth century. What were the influences, the burgeoning practices, the defective thinking that summoned the need for such a seismic change as a Europe-wide reformation ? Who were the instigators, the key personalities that caused many to look beyond the present to see alternative possibilities?

Join the Curious Team this week as they step back in history and seek to review pre-reformation forces that would herald irreversible change.

Further Reading
In an attempt to maintain balance, we have listed below brief overviews of the reformation from both Protestant and catholic perspectives…

The State of the Church Before the Reformation - ModernReformation.org

Searching for Gospel-Centred Theology Before the Reformation - TheGospelCoalition.org

What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes. We’ve been getting stuck into the following;

Nick Page — A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation

Diarmaid MacCulloch — Reformation (Europe’s House Divided)

Richard Rex —The Making of Martin Luther

Andrew Pettegree — Brand Luther

Michael Reeves — The Unquenchable Flame

Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com

Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious

Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!

In his book A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation, writer Nick Page claims that the effects of the sixteenth century European reformation, created and defined denominational identities, changed our perspectives of God, living and the afterlife, reshaped the map of Europe, and hugely affected our present ideas of sovereignty, individuality, and democratic rights.

In this introductory episode to a brand-new series on the reformation, the Curious team speak with Nick Page about his book, God, history, and the key players and movers within the reformation. In an attempt to set the scene for the following episodes, Nick paints the landscape in broad brush strokes, attempting to define just what sixteenth century Europe looked like, and the significant players and their inevitable impact.

This stands to be a very different series for the Curious Team as they tackle the reformation, looking at it from an historical as well as theological perspective. Be sure to tune in to what will be a rip-roaring ride of facts, figures, key personalities and major movements


Further Reading
In an attempt to maintain balance, we have listed below brief overviews of the reformation from both Protestant and catholic perspectives…
Introducing the Reformation - TheGospelCoalition.org

The Reformation - Catholic.com

What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this series. So here goes. We’ve been getting stuck into the following;

Nick Page — A Nearly Infallible History of the Reformation

Diarmaid MacCulloch — Reformation (Europe’s House Divided)

Richard Rex — The Making of Martin Luther

Andrew Pettegree — Brand Luther

Michael Reeves — The Unquenchable Flame

Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com

Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious

Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!

Life consists of a number of markers that indicate whether we are doing life well. Those who are seen in good health, in reasonable wealth, and comfort, in plenty; or often a judged to being in a good place and doing something right. And yet in the upside down economy of the kingdom, these markers are seriously misleading. One can have all the wealth and health and happiness and yet be deemed as anything but wealthy, healthy or in a particularly happy place. The Laodicean Church were to experience two great shocks. The first was being told that all their markers that indicated them as a people of wealth, health and security; were misleading. They were in fact the complete opposite; poor, wretched, naked and blind. The second shock was that in spite of this deteriorating condition, this declared self deception, grace nevertheless, was to be extended to them

The church at Laodicea, remind us of the inexhaustible resources of grace. However for we fall, however self deceived we are, however many lies we believe or errors we commit; grace has big hands to catch us. Even though this Church, like that of Sardis, had nothing about it that was commendable, yet God was willing to rebuild and reconnect them.

This week the Curious Team take a look at the misguided, diluted understanding of the Laodiceans. How we can so easily fall into a false sense of security, believe ourselves to be holier and more effective than we actually are. Tune in this week for the final episode of this series, as the team seek to unpack the complex experience of the Laodiceans.


Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
The Letter to the Church in Laodicea - Ligonier.org

What was the Message to the Church of Laodicea from Jesus? - Christianity.com

How to Avoid Becoming a Lukewarm Church like Laodicea - Crosswalk.com


What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this episode. So here goes. We’ve been getting stuck into the following;

Jeffrey A D Weima—
The Sermons To The Seven Churches of Revelation (A Commentary and Guide)

Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com

Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious

Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!

Sometimes one of the most difficult aspects of faith is when we appear to be doing everything right but things don’t appear to be getting any better. All too often we mistakenly assume that good behaviour invariably equates to an easier life! The church at Philadelphia learnt that in spite of their committed devotion, they were subject to the rejection of those around them, and the persecution from those above them in authority

And yet Jesus was extremely commendable of the Philadelphian church. Like the church at Smyrna, he hadn’t a single complaint to say about them. He acknowledged their vulnerability and weakness, yet celebrated their steadfast commitment to endure and persevere. And though they were presently under threat of excommunication and isolation, Jesus would one day publicly acknowledge them and express his deep love of them

This week the Curious Team take a look at the tough experience of the Philadelphians. How we sustain faith in the midst of pressure and rejection. How we must come to an understanding that our expressing real holiness of life, does not always result in a reduction of pressure and tough times. Tune in this week as the team seek to get under the surface of the Philadelphian understanding


Further Reading
We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder…
The Little Church that Tried - RayStedman.org

To the Church in Philadelphia - Ligonier.org

What we’re reading?
As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this episode. So here goes. We’ve been getting stuck into the following;

Jeffrey A D Weima—
The Sermons To The Seven Churches of Revelation (A Commentary and Guide)

Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com

Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious

Click here to text us your thoughts and questions!

The Dutch philosopher and theologian Søren Kierkegaard wrote; “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn't true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true”. The Sardinian church were guilty of both. First they believed that they were alive and thriving, something that wasn’t true. And second they dismissed any thought of being dead and weak, something Jesus was to remind them they most certainly were.

We are all in danger of developing an acute form of self deception. We like to think of ourselves as stronger, brighter and more spiritually mature than we often are. We tend to believe our own press. We take the best of what we hear and assume that it is the entirety of who we are. And the more we listen to that voice, the less likely we are to listen to the voice of truth, the voice of Christ

The church at Sardis was commanded to do three important things; to “wake up”, to “strengthen”, and to “reaffirm”. They were called to return to what truly mattered and to give their attention to what was deeply important

This week the Curious team take a look at the staggering self delusion represented by the church at Sardis. Jesus had some very straight and plain truths to tell them, and this week the Curious team unpack them, asking how their rebuke is still very relevant to today’s church. Be sure to tune in to this weeks conversation.

Further Reading

We’ve listed some views below for you to read and ponder;

Lessons from Sardis: Finish What You Started - TheGospelCoalition.org

What Does Revelation Say about the Church at Sardis? - Christianity.com

To the Church at Sardis - Ligonier.org

What We’re Reading

As a feature to our notes, we are adding the book or books that we’ve been browsing and reading as part of this episode. So here goes. We’ve been getting stuck into the following;

Jeffrey A Weima — The Sermons to the Seven Churches of Revelation (A Commentary and Guide)

Send your questions or thoughts to: theologyforthecurious@gmail.com

Support us on Instagram @theologyforthecurious
Find us on TikTok: @theologyforthecurious