Derek Rishmawy, Alastair Roberts, and Brad East engage in a discussion about the concept of 'holy ambition' within the context of ministry. They explore the balance between ambition and faithfulness, the impact of social media on pastoral ambitions, and the fears associated with ministry today, including the fear of cancellation. The conversation emphasizes the importance of seeking God's approval over personal recognition and the need for pastors to dream big while remaining grounded in their faith.

Chapters

This is a rerelease of a previous episode.

In response to a listener question, Derek, Matt, and Alastair go deep on the doctrine of creation. They ask and answer questions about whether creation is real, what counts as worship, what makes a doctrine of creation thick or thin, and whether we need to be thinking about God at all times.

Timestamps:
On the Excitement Meter [0:00]
Wherein Lies the Deepness? [2:13]
Reality and Goodness [10:30]
Participatory vs. Intrinsic Value [14:12]
A Dim Reflection [15:53]
Curiositas [18:57]
Not Everything Is Worship [22:39]
Children of the Earth [40:44]

Derek Rishmawy, Alastair Roberts, James Wood, and Joe Minich explore whether modernity deserves our praise or criticism. They examine the goods and challenges of the modern world, from medical advances to technological disruption, asking how Christians should thoughtfully engage rather than simply retreat or embrace uncritically.

• 00:00 Introduction and Setup
• 02:10 Defining Modernity - What Are We Talking About?
• 07:54 The Goods of Modernity - Why People Embraced Change
• 17:13 The Revolutionary Character of Modern Life
• 25:33 Freedom From vs. Freedom For
• 30:44 The Problem of Collective Agency
• 39:05 Rising Risks and Diminished Control
• 46:00 The Church as Ark - Finding a Third Way
• 55:33 Critical Engagement vs. Simple Acceptance

Alastair, Joseph, Brad, and Derek explore the themes of enchantment and disenchantment in theology and culture. They reflect on Charles Taylor’s analysis of the “disenchanted” modern age, the loss of a sacramental imagination, and the ways Christians might recover a sense of wonder, mystery, and divine presence in creation. The conversation considers both dangers—superstition, romantic nostalgia—and opportunities for faithful re-enchantment through Scripture, liturgy, and daily discipleship.

Chapters
00:00 – Introduction: What is enchantment?
04:15 – Charles Taylor and the “disenchanted age”
09:02 – Medieval vs. modern imagination
14:27 – Superstition, magic, and the dangers of false enchantment
19:40 – Re-enchantment and the Christian imagination
26:03 – Sacramentality, symbolism, and divine presence
32:55 – The role of worship in shaping perception
38:21 – Wonder, mystery, and recovering joy in creation
44:10 – Disenchantment as protection against idolatry
49:35 – Faithful ways of living with re-enchanted vision
55:28 – Closing reflections and further resources

This episode of Mere Fidelity is about the boundaries and controls on theological and typological biblical interpretation - essentially asking "what are the brakes on theological exegesis?"

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Derek Rishmawy, Alastair Roberts, and Brad East explore the tension between:

The Promise: Rediscovering richer, deeper ways of reading Scripture that go beyond simple historical-grammatical methods - finding typological patterns, narrative connections, and symbolic meanings that link Old and New Testament figures and events (like seeing Jesus as the new David, or Joseph as a type of Christ).

The Problem: The legitimate concern that once you start reading Scripture typologically or allegorically, where do you stop? What prevents interpretation from becoming purely subjective, limited only by the interpreter's imagination?

Key Discussion Points:

1. Steelmanning the critics - Derek asks Alastair to acknowledge valid concerns about "wax nose" interpretations that can be twisted to support any position
2. Historical precedent - How the apostles themselves read the Old Testament in ways that seem to go beyond original authorial intent
3. Different paradigms for meaning - Brad argues for multiple faithful readings within proper bounds, using his "infinite sets" mathematical analogy, while Derek pushes back with concerns about authorial intention
4. Practical controls they suggest:
   • Alastair emphasizes grounding readings in the text's own literary patterns and connections
   • Reading within the "rule of faith" (basic Christian orthodoxy)
   • Alastair's "tree" metaphor - distinguishing between core interpretations (strong branches) and speculative ones (thin branches you don't put weight on)
   • Reading in community rather than in isolation
   • Alastair's key point - Understanding meaning as something that unfolds through time, not just locked in original context
   • Brad advocates for reading Scripture with multiple paradigms (not just Paul's argumentative style, but also narrative like Song of Songs)

The conversation shows Derek wrestling with concerns about going beyond authorial intention, while Brad takes a more "maximalist" approach and Alastair provides detailed textual grounding for typological readings. They ultimately argue that while there are real dangers in uncontrolled typological reading, the solution isn't to abandon these deeper interpretive methods but to practice them more carefully and responsibly.

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Chapters

01:21 Grammatical Historical vs. Typological Exegesis
03:40 Steel Man Strikes Again
06:07 If This Were Wrong, How Would We Know?
09:05 Wax Nose
11:07 Gifted Interpreters and Accessibility
13:01 The Gigi Rule
16:48 Infinite Ways to Get It Right
19:08 Stories and Arguments
22:05 It's Alive!
26:19 Choose Your Own Adventure
29:14 More Anachronism Please
30:23 Anachronism and Authorial Intention
34:39 How Meaning Works
40:10 Asking the Text a Question
43:02 Practice Safe Reading
51:32 Resources

In this episode of Mere Fidelity, the hosts engage in a deep discussion about covenant theology, exploring its significance in scripture and its role in Reformed theology. They debate the load-bearing nature of covenant language, its historical context, and its relationship to other theological concepts. The conversation highlights the complexity of covenant theology and its evolution over time, emphasizing the importance of understanding scripture through multiple lenses while recognizing the unifying role of covenant in redemptive history.

Chapters