Anabaptist Theological Perspectives

Theology from an Anabaptist perspective.

Episodes

Nov 15, 2025

27 min

Jerry Eicher of Anabaptist Theological Perspectives tackles the recent rise of anti‑Jewish sentiment in Christian circles, disentangling religious theology from political noise. Guests and figures cited include Tucker Carlson, Kirk Cameron, Douglas Murray, and key Pauline theology.Topics covered: whether Jews are God’s chosen people, why God chose Abraham, Paul’s redefinition of “Jew” to include believing Gentiles, and how Jewish cultural structures have been divinely preserved. Key points: the chosen status is rooted in faith, God builds on prior revelation rather than discarding it, Gentiles enter the promise by being made “spiritual Jews,” and Christians should avoid judging Jews by exclusively Christian standards or sliding into anti‑Israel rhetoric.Practical takeaway: engage the topic theologically and humbly, resist politicizing religious truth, and be cautious about the “anti‑Israel rabbit hole” while recognizing the cultural importance of Jewish continuity in Western civilization.

Nov 8, 2025

20 min

Host Jerry Eicher of Anabaptist Theological Perspectives examines the theology behind how the gospel is presented, focusing especially on challenges faced by ex‑Amish listeners. He critiques a works‑based understanding (including a Luther-influenced view) that equates 'stopping the law' with dying to the old self, and explains why that framework ultimately exchanges one works gospel for another.Eicher lays out the Anabaptist emphasis on the distinction between the old man and the new man and presents three core points: Christ fully paid the debt of the old man; the old man has been crucified with Christ and should be regarded as dead by faith; and God births a new man in believers who is righteous by nature and enabled to live holy. He urges preachers to restore the fullness of the new‑creation gospel.

Nov 8, 2025

45 min

Jerry Eicher of Anabaptist Theological Perspective reflects on his unexpected journey into prophecy, including a pre‑COVID novel (Chosen to Die/The Road to Armageddon) that later echoed real events and led to church disciplinary fallout and his resignation.He surveys end‑times themes: the role and preservation of the Jewish nation, Romans 11 and Zechariah 14, the nature of God’s ‘‘wooing’’ of Israel, the Great Tribulation, martyrdom, and why he rejects the modern rapture doctrine as a 19th‑century innovation.Listeners can expect personal testimony, biblical interpretation of prophecy, practical implications for believers during tribulation, and a call to see the broad scriptural arc connecting Old and New Testament promises about Israel and the church.

Nov 2, 2025

48 min

This sermon message, “The Wooing of the Human Heart,” unpacks how God pursues relationship with humanity—especially the nation of Israel—by insisting on truth rather than mere displays of power. The speaker traces the theme from Abraham through the Song of Solomon, Isaiah, Jeremiah and into Romans 11, using vivid images like the warrior-lover, the vineyard parable, and the language of divorce and restoration.Key topics include election and foreknowledge, the preserved remnant, Israel’s fall and future restoration, the grafting of Gentiles into the olive tree, and the role of discipline and consequence in God’s wooing. The message emphasizes God’s determination to win a free-willed love and the church’s call to humility within God’s covenantal plan.No external guests are featured; the episode is a reflective sermon aimed at helping listeners understand biblical pictures of divine love, judgment, and ultimate reconciliation.

Nov 1, 2025

26 min

Jerry Eicher of Anabaptic Theological Perspectives examines the growing mixing of church and politics in light of recent events surrounding Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA, and emerging voices like Candace Owens and Ali Beth Stuckey. Eicher warns about the historical dangers of church-state entanglement, traces contemporary problems—women speaking to men in political-tinged church spaces, OnlyFans controversies, and the rise of polarizing media figures—and urges a return to non-political, biblical church leadership.Topics covered include the leadership vacuum at Turning Point after Charlie Kirk, concerns over women-led political influence, biblical roles for men and women, Jordan Peterson’s cultural observations, the OnlyFans debate and its pastoral implications, and historical parallels to Constantine and the state church. Eicher calls for churches to draw back from political entanglement and reassert traditional church authority and teaching.

Oct 18, 2025

30 min

Host Jerry Eicher of Anabaptist Theological Perspectives leads a thoughtful episode on how Christians—especially students—can engage evolutionary theory in university settings. Topics include the common fear around evolution, Nietzsche’s critique of removing the divine from creation, and why the long‑ages vs. 24‑hour debate misses the deeper issue.Jerry explores reading Genesis from an earthly point of view, the difference between material representation and spiritual meaning, and the dangers of flattening faith to only what is observable. He also critiques confrontational responses, highlights work by thinkers like Stephen Meyer who bring design arguments into scientific conversation, and stresses that science and religion can align when both are honestly presented.Key takeaways: don’t panic, don’t reduce scripture to a flat literalism, focus on reclaiming the role of the divine in explanations of origins, and enter academic conversations confidently and thoughtfully.

Oct 18, 2025

26 min

Jerry Eicher of Anabaptist Theological Perspectives returns to the contested topic of penal substitution, tracing its resurgence in Reformed and Baptist circles and asking whether the theory has been given too prominent a role in atonement theology.The episode surveys atonement themes—penal substitution, Christus Victor (Gustav Aulén), sovereignty versus human freedom, and the implications for reading Romans, understanding redemption, and discerning God’s glory—and argues that penal substitution is true but should be subordinate to the victory-centered Christus Victor framework.Listeners can expect historical references, three central arguments about where penal substitution belongs, critique of Calvinistic dominance, and practical implications for Christian theology and spiritual life from an Anabaptist perspective.

Oct 11, 2025

42 min

Jerry Eicher of Anabaptist Theological Perspectives explores what he calls God’s greatest work: the wooing of the human heart. He critiques Calvinist depictions of divine power, arguing that God’s true greatness is revealed through love, truth-speaking, and the cross’s paradoxical drawing power.Topics include the necessity of speaking truth in love, biblical imagery from Isaiah (the vineyard) and Romans 11, the election of Israel, the Gentiles’ grafting in, and how God’s long-term plan will ultimately win back Israel. Eicher contrasts coercive images of God with scriptural themes of relationship and covenant and references contemporary voices and theological tendencies to illustrate the stakes.Listeners can expect a theological meditation grounded in Scripture, strong critiques of certain Calvinist formulations, and an affirmation of God’s patient, truth-driven love toward Israel and the world.

Oct 11, 2025

12 min

In this episode Jerry Eicher of Anabaptist Theological Perspectives examines the clash between Charlie Kirk’s insistence that Christians must speak truth into politics and Tim Keller’s approach that urged restraint for gospel preachers. Eicher critiques Keller’s influence on church silence during cultural crises, shares personal anecdotes from Mennonite and Amish responses to COVID, and describes the consequences when the church withdraws from moral debate.Topics include the church’s role in addressing creation-level ethics, the dangers and limits of political involvement, historical lessons from Constantine and Anabaptist martyrs, and contemporary controversies such as gender-transition surgeries for minors. Eicher argues for a return to truth-speaking as the primary witness of the church, even while calling for caution about deep entanglement in political machinery.This is a solo reflection—no outside guests—combining theological critique, personal experience, and a call to reawaken the church’s prophetic voice and the attractive power of truth.

Sep 28, 2025

39 min

In this episode the host/speaker lays out a sweeping biblical case for rediscovering sacrifice as the heart of the gospel invitation. Tracing the theme from Cain, Abraham and Isaac, Saul, Solomon and David through the prophets (Micah, Isaiah) and into Hebrews and Christ’s own call to deny self, the talk contrasts a propositional, “hold-this-idea” faith with an invitational faith that requires wholehearted participation. Historical context (Wesleyan revival emphases and the 19th-century shift that followed Darwin, Freud and Marx) is used to explain how the invitational element faded and why reclaiming it matters.
Key points: God does not desire merely external offerings but the giving of ourselves; repentance is redefined as a turning to do God’s will; Jesus’ invitation to take up the cross invites active participation rather than passive belief; doing God’s will brings a foretaste of “heaven on earth” in family and church life. The speaker emphasizes that participation adds nothing to Christ’s finished work, yet it is essential for entering the life to which we are invited and for the church’s renewal.
Continuing briefly from the previous conversation, the host calls listeners to practical next steps: step across the threshold of the invitation, embrace costly obedience in everyday relationships and ministry, and practice joyful, fervent submission in family and church. The episode closes with a hopeful plea for revival — that the church might again insist on participation, sacrifice, and the visible coming of God’s will among us.

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