Theology in the Raw

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What happens when the story you grew up believing meets the people whose voices were missing from it?
Peter Beinart joins Preston to discuss how spending time with Palestinians challenged his understanding of Israel, Jewish identity, and the relationship between safety and freedom. They explore his experience of October 7, the history of Palestinian displacement, his comparison with apartheid South Africa, and why he believes the conflict is bigger than Hamas. Peter also reflects on the personal cost of challenging his community’s assumptions and why he argues that nationalism can become a form of idolatry.
Peter is Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the Newmark School of Journalism at the City University of New York, a contributing opinion writer at The New York Times, Editor-at-Large of Jewish Currents, an MS NOW political commentator, and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He writes the Beinart Notebook newsletter on Substack. His latest book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning, is a New York Times bestseller and winner of the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction.

Chapters
00:00 Introduction
08:00 Peter’s experience of October 7
10:35 Rethinking Israel after meeting Palestinians
13:52 The history Peter grew up believing
18:44 Understanding 1948: Independence and the Nakba
23:43 Grieving October 7 and opposing Israel’s response
26:40 Why this conflict is bigger than Hamas
32:01 Lessons from apartheid South Africa
35:05 Why Peter calls Israel’s system apartheid
40:59 America’s role and support for Israel
45:19 The personal cost of speaking out
48:19 Judaism, Zionism, and nationalism as idolatry
52:47 Is there hope for equality and freedom?
56:29 Extra Innings: American evangelicals and Israel

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What happens when immigrants who came to the U.S. legally lose their status and face deportation? And what happens to their American-born children when the country their parents could be sent to is considered too dangerous to visit?
Matthew Soerens joins Preston to unpack some of the biggest questions and misconceptions surrounding immigration. Why don’t immigrants just come legally? Do undocumented immigrants take American jobs? What does the evidence say about immigration and violent crime? And how should Christians weigh respect for the law alongside the biblical commands to love our neighbors and welcome strangers?
Matthew Soerens is World Relief’s vice president of advocacy and policy and is the co-author of three books: Welcoming the Stranger (InterVarsity Press, 2018), Inalienable (InterVarsity Press, 2022), and Seeking Refuge (Moody Publishers, 2026), which just released a second edition. Matt also serves as the National Coordinator for the Evangelical Immigration Table, a coalition that advocates for immigration reforms consistent with biblical values.

Chapters:
0:00 Haitian families and the danger of separation
0:44 How should Christians think about immigration?
5:15 Starting with Scripture, not party talking points
10:34 Romans 13 and changing legal status
12:38 What’s happening to Haitian families in Springfield?
18:51 Why was temporary protected status withdrawn?
21:25 What can churches do for affected families?
23:58 Can people with temporary status apply to stay?
26:42 Why don’t immigrants just come legally?
35:54 Do immigrants take American jobs?
41:46 What about undocumented immigrants and the economy?
48:36 A proposed path to make things right
51:00 Do immigrants commit more violent crime?
55:25 What would mass deportation mean for the church?
58:26 What do evangelical Christians actually believe?
1:00:54 Seeking Refuge and the global refugee crisis
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Is the Book of Revelation a roadmap to the future, or was it meant to help Christians see their own world more clearly?
New Testament scholar David deSilva joins Preston to walk through Revelation from the seven churches to the New Jerusalem. They discuss why John wrote to real communities living under the Roman Empire, what the throne room reveals about Jesus’ authority, and how the seals, trumpets, and bowls speak to suffering, judgment, and faithful witness.
They also explore Revelation’s critique of empire and political allegiance. What did “Babylon” mean to John’s first readers? What does it mean to “come out of Babylon” today? And which parts of Revelation should Christians understand as future hope?
Dr. David deSilva is an ordained elder in the Florida Conference of the GMC and has served as Professor of New Testament and Greek at Ashland Theological Seminary since 1995. He is the author of forty books, including Seeing Things John's Way and his recently released Archaeology and the Revelation of John.

Chapters
0:00 Introduction
5:12 Who Was Revelation Written For?
10:21 Who Was John?
12:11 Jesus and the Seven Churches
16:19 Prophecy and John’s Authority
20:40 The Real Cities Behind the Seven Churches
26:49 Revelation, Empire, and Political Allegiance
35:19 Speaking Prophetically to Our Own Political Side
40:25 The Throne Room: Who Is Really in Charge?
46:21 What Does the Scroll Represent?
49:05 The Seals, Trumpets, and Bowls
55:17 Is Reading Revelation as Prediction Overrated?
58:34 How Should We Read Revelation Today?
1:02:44 Babylon and the Roman Empire
1:10:14 What Does “Come Out of Babylon” Mean?
1:13:23 The New Jerusalem and Revelation’s Future Hope
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Fariza Gulomikova grew up in a Shia Ismaili family in Tajikistan. As a child, she saw how much a person could lose by leaving Islam. Then her cousin became a Christian, and the kindness she encountered at his church challenged everything she thought she knew about Christians.
In part three of our Understanding Islam series, Fariza tells Preston about her childhood, her encounter with Jesus at age 11, her family’s response to her conversion, and the challenges of starting over in the United States. She also shares what she wishes Christians understood about their Muslim neighbors.

Chapters
0:00 Fariza’s decision to become a Christian
0:32 Introduction to part three of Understanding Islam
2:23 Growing up in Tajikistan during a civil war
5:31 Sunni, Shia, and Fariza’s Ismaili background
12:22 Growing up as a girl in a Muslim majority country
17:47 The pressures and dangers Fariza saw women face
26:41 Fariza’s people, language, and culture
29:10 Her childhood view of Christianity
31:34 The cousin who changed her view of Christians
33:32 The kindness that drew her toward Jesus
34:30 Fariza’s encounter with Jesus at age 11
36:45 What she was taught about Jesus in Islam
38:44 Fariza’s advice for Christians talking with Muslims
43:39 How her family responded to her conversion
47:33 Starting over in America
52:28 Islam, terrorism, and stereotypes
55:28 Searching for belonging in Christian communities
58:41 Fariza’s final word to Christians
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How does the Qur’an compare to the Bible? Do Muslims read it the way evangelical Christians read the Bible? And if the Qur’an is Islam’s sacred text, why are the Hadith so important for understanding what Muslims believe and how they live?
In part two of our series on Islam, Preston sits down with Dr. Gabriel Said Reynolds, a Catholic Qur’an scholar and the Crowley Professor of Islamic Studies and Theology at the University of Notre Dame. He earned his Ph.D. from Yale University and is the author of The Qur’an and Its Biblical Subtext, The Qur’an and the Bible, and Christianity and the Qur’an.
Together, they explore how Muslims understand the Qur’an, where it came from, how it took shape, and how its form and use compare with the Bible. They also discuss Muhammad’s relationship to the Qur’an, the early Islamic conquests, passages concerning violence and women, and why reading the Qur’an by itself does not necessarily tell you how Muslims will interpret or apply it.
Gabriel’s books explore how the Qur’an engages earlier scriptures and what that relationship can tell us about the emergence of Islam. His latest book, Christianity and the Qur’an, was published by Yale University Press in 2025.
You can find more of Gabriel’s work on his YouTube channel, Exploring the Qur’an and the Bible.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Why reading the Quran alone isn’t enough
00:42 Introducing Dr. Gabriel Said Reynolds
02:15 How Gabriel began studying Islam
05:31 What is the Quran?
09:03 Where did the Quran come from?
12:24 Did Muhammad write the Quran?
14:13 How does the Quran compare to the Bible and Psalms?
19:13 The biggest differences between the Quran and the Bible
21:42 Violence and the early Islamic conquests
27:10 How early Muslims treated Christians and other conquered peoples
32:29 Does the Quran command violence?
39:32 How Muslims interpret difficult Quranic passages
43:28 Is Islam inherently violent?
47:25 What does the Quran say about women?
49:58 Polygamy and the disputed passage about striking wives
52:29 Modesty, honor, and women in Muslim societies
59:07 What are the Hadith, and why do they matter?
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