Should Christians Keep the Idea of ‘Calling’?
Episode Summary
In this episode, Dr. Dru Johnson talks with Dr. Eric Smith and Dr. Scott Booth (of Pillar Seminary) about the notion of calling in Scripture and some of the problematic thinking about Christian vocation practiced in the church. They address the following questions:
What do Christians commonly misunderstand about calling?
Is individual calling the same as a vocation/career?
What are Christians called to do as a whole?
How do you know if God wants you to be a missionary or a banker? Does it matter?
Can we demand signs and wonders from God like Moses and Gideon did?
Instead of always thinking about calling in terms of God’s miraculously revealed will in our lives, perhaps Christians should zoom out a little bit to look at the general commandments God has given us. By following these commands, we will walk more closely with Him and better discern His will, which w
Chapters
- 0:00 Introduction
- 1:58 Universal calling
- 6:35 Analyzing the Christian “culture of calling”
- 14:45 Static versus dynamic
- 19:25 Ministry training as helping people understand the Kingdom of God
- 22:40 Looking for “signs”
Transcript
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Founder and Director of the Center for Hebraic Thought
Dru Johnson (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is Templeton Senior Research Fellow and director of the Abrahamic Theistic Origins Project at Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford. He is also a visiting professor at Hope College, director of the Center for Hebraic Thought, editor of the Routledge Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Biblical Criticism series, host of The Biblical Mind podcast, and cohost of the OnScript podcast. His recent books include Biblical Philosophy, What Hath Darwin to Do with Scripture, and Human Rites: The Power of Rituals, Habits, and Sacraments. Johnson spends his time between Holland, Michigan, and Oxford, England.
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