Cultural Update: The Pope Speaks on War; Supreme Court Rules on Conversion Therapy; Christian Crypto Culture

Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith & Culture

Talbot School of Theology at Biola University / Sean McDowell & Scott Rae

Talbot, Church, Christianity, Christian, Culture, Biola, Sean Mcdowell, Religion & Spirituality, Scott Rae, Think Biblically

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 3 April 2026

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The Pope’s Call for Peace: Scott and Erik analyze Pope Francis’s Palm Sunday homily, where he argued that Jesus cannot be used to justify war. They discuss whether this represents a shift toward pacifism and how it contrasts with the historic Christian "Just War" tradition. Supreme Court & "Talk Therapy": The hosts break down the recent 8-1 SCOTUS decision favoring a Christian therapist in Colorado. They explore why the court viewed the state's ban on conversion "talk therapy" as an uncon...

Transcript

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0:00.0	On Palm Sunday, the Pope weighs in on the subject of war. The Supreme Court rules on conversion
0:08.7	therapy, a provocative piece on the connection between Christian faith and Bitcoin, and questions
0:14.7	about the impact of AI and technology on our ability to think. These are the stories we'll cover.
0:21.8	We'll address some of your questions as usual. I'm your host, Scott Ray, and sitting in for the irreplaceable Sean McDale is my
0:26.5	Talbot colleague in theology, Dr. Eric Tannis, who I'm sure will do a great job of replacing him today.
0:33.1	Thanks, Scott. Good to be with you. This is the Think Biblically Weekly Cultural Update
0:36.9	from Talbot School of Theology.
0:38.7	Eric, we have four great stories today.
0:40.9	But let's start with this first one.
0:42.7	On Palm Sunday, the Palm Sunday homily, which is a sermon, delivered in Vatican Square,
0:49.6	Pope Leo had strong words for those who used the name of God, particularly the name of Jesus, to justify
0:55.5	war. He put it like this, and this is, I quote, brothers and sisters, this is our God, Jesus,
1:01.8	King of Peace, who rejects war, whom no one can use to justify war. He goes on to say that this,
1:08.5	he does not listen to the prayers of those who wage war, but rejects them.
1:14.5	He says, to be a little clear, I think he repeated that, but he said, God rejects the prayers of leaders who start wars and have, quote, hands full of blood, and insists that Jesus cannot be invoked to justify any wars. He says, quote,
1:32.1	Jesus did not arm himself or defend himself or fight any war. He revealed the gentle face of God
1:38.3	who always rejects violence. Rather than saving himself, he allowed himself to be nailed to the cross.
1:47.2	Now, Eric, the Pope did not speak against any war in particular, but the applications were not hard
1:51.5	to make, referring to the current war in Iran, and I think it could be applied to also the Russian
1:57.1	Ukraine war now entering its fourth year.
2:07.4	So, Eric, I'm interested as a theologian on this, what do you make of the Pope's comments here?
2:08.3	Well, I always try to think about who it is that's making the comments.
	...

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