The Best Thing to Happen to Lutheranism Since Calvinism

I may have tacked notices to the side of the Outhouse before about resources (in particular, audio resources), but this time, seriously, this is my Favorite. Is WHI too stodgy for you? Is WWDTM not theological enough? Well, from Pirate Christian Radio (the same venue that resurrected Issues, etc.) comes Table Talk Radio, where Law & Gospel is taken seriously (just like WHI), but the hosts don’t take themselves seriously (even more so than WHI) — a theological game show where (just like on WWDTM) the points are like charity on a calvinist blog (i.e. meaningless).

Those hosts, by the way, are a pair of LCMS Lutherans: Pastor Bryan “Iron Preacher — Hyah!” Wolfmueller and Evan “Lowly/Guilty/Radio-Clown Seminarian” Goeglein. They lead each other and various call-in guests through too many different games to list completely. Many are rip-offs of well-known game shows (Who Wants to be a Theologian, Table Talk Jeapordy, Biggest Loser, Iron Preacher, Mythbusters), but they have also devised plenty of unique formats (Law and/or Gospel, Bible Bee, Which Ladder, Praise Song Cruncher, …). About the only thing all the games have in common is that the points are like a second kingdom to a Theonomist (i.e. meaningless).

Any frequenter of the Confessional Outhouse would enjoy Table Talk Radio. They are unrelenting advocates of many of the same issues we champion: Law/Gospel distinction, Theology of the Cross instead of Glory, preaching that proclaims Christ, a high view of the Sacraments (although being Lutherans, their view is of course a little too high), objective/external over subjective/internal, the importance of sticking to our historical, confessional roots, rather than trying to make the church “relevant”, etc.

As exemplified above, my Favorite running joke from the show is “Table Talk Points are like [fill in the blank] (i.e. meaningless).” And my Favorite running joke from the show is to poke fun at the stereotypical “Calvinist Blogger” (Isn’t it strange how there are more Calvinist Blogs than there are actual Calvinists? It’s like they have five blogs each!) It’s funny because it’s true — I have at least 1 2 3 4 5 Calvinist blogs!

I first heard about TTR on Dec 3 (at Circle of Eight, thank you Lisa!). In the 24 days since, I whetted my appetite on a few recent episodes, and then I’ve been mainlining podcasts from the back of the archive. I’ve gotten to the middle of show #24, not to mention plowing through a pile of Table Scraps (Table Talk Radio’s Internet Exclusive Editions). If you want a place to get started, I’d suggest their recent Praise Song Cruncher Marathon. You’ll find sweet relief and vindication for every awful contemporary chorus you’ve had to suffer through.

Give it a listen, and I bet you one million Table Talk Points that Table Talk Radio will become your Favorite Lutheran theological game-show-based podcast.