Cross & Gavel Audio

This week, we enter the world of labor law theory — more specifically, the question of faith as it relates to the rights of workers. In this episode, I am joined by law professor Alvin Velazquez to talk about a paper (here) he presented at the St. Louis University School of Law Symposium focused on the question of workplace justice. We talk about his transition from serving with a major American trade union to becoming a law professor at IU-Maurer, the role of faith in advancing workplace justice, the restoration of dignity in the labor market, the application of “prophetic pragmatism” in his developing theory, and much more. Cross & Gavel is a production of CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY. The episode was produced by Josh Deng, with music from Vexento.

This week, we talk about an all too familiar topic for law students: contracts. In this episode, I am joined by law professor C. Scott Pryor to talk about his soon to be published paper in the Notre Dame Journal of Law, Ethics, and Public Policy: Person-Centered Pluralism About Contract Law (download here). Scott and I talk about the fundamentals of contract law, the moral obligation of promise, the significance of binding obligations, and much more. Scott holds a B.A. from Dordt College and an M.A. from Reformed Theological Seminary. He earned his J.D. from the University of Wisconsin College of Law. You can find many of his other thoughts in his blog here. Cross & Gavel is a production of CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY. The episode was produced by Josh Deng, with music from Vexento.

This week, we begin a new chapter in the life of the Cross & Gavel podcast, with a renewed effort to explore the interaction of Christianity and law. This new focus will be exclusive to the work being done by practitioners and academics in their field of knowledge, offering their small contributions to the great intellectual tradition that has made the “cathedral of the law” such a formative discipline to shape society and culture. We begin our journey thinking about what happens when a Christian attorney walks into a Bar. No, not that kind of bar . . . THE BAR. Yes, the dreaded exam, but also the very life of legal practice it entails. Our Virgil on this voyage is Dr. Jeff J. Ventrella. An adjunct at Trinity Law School and the Director and Chair of the truthXchange Fellowship. We welcome you on this journey with us and hope it proves fruitful in your own study and practice of law. Cross & Gavel is a production of CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY. The episode was produced by Josh Deng, with music from Vexento.

Joining me this week to talk about his brand new autobiographical work on prison ministry is Joe Ingles, who spent over 40 years ministering to prisoners on death row. His powerful book is called Too Close to the Flame: With the Condemned inside the Southern Killing Machine. RELATED CONTENT God's Law & Order - Aaron Griffith (Episode # 164) Second Chance Month - Heather Rice-Minus (Episode # 163) Break Every Yoke - Vincent Lloyd and Joshua Dubler (Episode # 138) A note to the audience: change is coming!! We will be back in a few weeks with a brand new logo and a new focus on bringining you the best conversations strcitly focused on the intersection of Christianity and law. Stay tuned and subscribe today!

Joining me today to talk about her new book on extermisn is a former homeland security official, Elizabeth Neumann. Her book is called Kingdom of Rage: The Rise of Christian Extremism and the Path Back to Peace, which looks at how we develop habits of extremism and how we can break the cycle. RELATED CONTENT Agents of Grace - Dan Darling (Episode # 168) Learning to Disagree - John Inazu (Episode # 162)  

We have a very special episode today with David L. Bahsen about work and the meaning of life. His book, Full-Time, is a challeging and important contribution for resetting our worldviews to fully embrace our role as workers and Christians. I wrote a short introduction on the Cross & Gavel Substack (here) incorporating David's work with Matthew Kaemingk's Work and Worship (listen to our chat with him here) and John Witte, Jr.'s Table Talk.

Joining me this week to talk about reconciliation and civil discourse is the author of Agents of Grace: How to Bridge Divides and Love as Jesus Loved — Dan hosts the weekly podcast The Way Home, leads the Land Center for Cultural Engagement, and speaks at churches and conferences around the country. RELATED CONTENT Joy For The World - Greg Forster (Episode # 127) Learning to Disagree - John Inazu (Episode # 162) Cross & Gavel is a production of CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY. The episode was produced by Josh Deng, with music from Vexento.

Joining me this week to talk a little church history and political theology is the author of Cultural Santificaiton: Engaging the World like the Early Church — Stephen O. Presley. Stephen is a senior fellow for religion and public life at the Center for Religion, Culture, and Democracy (CRCD) and associate professor of church history at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS). Profile page here. RELATED CONTENT The Contested Public Square - Greg Forster (Episode # 113) Cross & Gavel is a production of CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY. The episode was produced by Josh Deng, with music from Vexento.

Joining me this week to talk about her new spiritual biography of J.R.R. Tolkien is Holly Ordway. She is the Cardinal Francis George Professor of Faith and Culture at the the Word on Fire Institute and Visiting Professor of Apologetics at Houston Christian University. Her other two books on Apologetics and Tolkien can be found here and here (respectively). For more, check out her website and Twitter account (@HollyOrdway).   Listen to my earlier conversation with Holly here on her book, Tolkien's Modern Reading. The Namárië Forum ("go towards goodness") is an opportunity for us to step back from the mandates (and madness) of law and practice, and into a space for contemplation and imagination regarding the outworking of God in our day and age. In the words of Makoto Fujimura, "[c]ultivating our imagination is essential to fully realizing our potential as God's creatures." For a brief background to this Forum, check out my article  here.

In this week's discussion, David VanDrunen returns to the studio to talk about his new short companion on the natural law (buy here). David is the Robert B. Strimple Professor of Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics at Westminster Seminary California (faculty page here). He has written a number of other popular books, ranging from Divine Covenants and Moral Order: A Biblical Theology of Natural Law, Natural Law and the Two Kingdoms: A Study in the Development of Reformed Social Thought and Politics after Christendom: Political Theology in a Fractured World. RELATED CONTENT Bridging the Civil & Divine - Karen Taliferro (Episode # 133) Mere Natural Law - Hadley Arkes (Episode # 159) Cross & Gavel is a production of CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY. The episode was produced by Josh Deng, with music from Vexento.

In honor of Second Chance Month, we continue our conversation on criminal justice by focusing on the history of law and order in America. My guest today is Aaron Griffith—assistant professor of modern American history at Whitworth University and the author of God's Law & Order: The Politics of Punishment in Evangelical America. RELATED CONTENT This is our third episode on criminal justice this spring. Watch the first episode with Matthew T. Martens here and the second with Heather Rice-Minus here. Cross & Gavel is a production of CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY. The episode was produced by Josh Deng, with music from Vexento.

In honor of Second Chance Month, I am joined by the President of Prison Fellowship, Heather Rice-Minus, to talk ministry in cells and the work that remains to be done for reintroducing prisoners into normal life. Follow their work on their website, here. RELATED CONTENT This is our second episode on criminal justice this spring. Watch the first episode with Matthew T. Martens here. Cross & Gavel is a production of CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY. The episode was produced by Josh Deng, with music from Vexento.

Joining me this week to talk about his brand new book, Learning to Disagree: The Surprising Path to Navigating Differences with Empathy and Respect, is John Inazu. He is the Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law & Religion and Professor of Political Science (by courtesy) (bio page). Also check out his Substack here. RELATED CONTENT Confident Pluralism - John Inazu (Episode # 55) The Witte Lectures - John WItte, Jr. & John Inazu (here) Blessed Are The Peacemakers - Ken Sande (Episode # 114) Cross & Gavel is a production of CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY. The episode was produced by Josh Deng, with music from Vexento.

Joining me this week to talk about reforming criminal justice is the preeminent Christian thinker on matters of law and order, Matthew T. Martens. His new book, Reforming Criminal Justice: A Christian Proposal, is an essential text for helping students and practitioners alike integrate their faith with the legal profession. Buy it here. This is the first of three Spring episodes looking at the criminal justice system. RELATED CONTENT Break Every Yoke (Episode # 138). Romans 13 (Epsiode # 131) Cross & Gavel is a production of CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY. The episode was produced by Josh Deng, with music from Vexento.

Joining me this week to talk a little jurisprudence is an Associate Professor at the Singapore Management University School of Law, Seow Hon Tan (faculty page). She is the author of the book Justice as Friendship: A Theory of Law (purchase), which looks at the idea of friendship and how it can help us formulate a more just legal system. RELATED CONTENT Bridging the Civil & Divine - Karen Taliaferro (Episode # 133) Christianity & Constitutionalism: Higher Law - Li-ann Thio (Episodes # 148) Mere Natural Law - Hadley Arkes (Episode # 159) Cross & Gavel is a production of CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY. The episode was produced by Josh Deng, with music from Vexento.

The John Witte, Jr. Lecture Series on Christianity & Law is here! A new venture from Christian Legal Society aimed at advancing the conversation on the integration of Christianity & law. In our inaugural lecture inspired by the Dutch Golden Age painters, we venture into the future of Christian jurisprudence with John Witte, Jr. himself. His remarks focus on the future of Christianity and law, with reference to a few of his recent articles on domestic and international religious freedom (provided here and here). He was joined by Professor John Inazu (Wash. U. School of Law) for a period of Q&A after the lecture. His new book comes out in April so pre-order today (here). Also check out his Substack here. Finally, if you would like to hear the introductions and concluding remarks, go here. For more on John's publications, check out his website here. SPONSOR: The Witte Lectures are sponsored by TRINITY LAW SCHOOL. SOUND: Special thanks to Josh Deng for his technical support in getting this audio rea

Joining me in conversation on immigraiton and Christian character is Rev. Dr. Jonathan C. Augustine. He recently released the book When Prophets Preach: Leadership and the Politics of the Pulpit and published a shorter version in the JCLT (here) of his upcoming article with the Howard Law Journal entitled And Who is My Neighbor?: A Faith-Based Argument for Immigration Policy Reform in Welcoming Undocumented Refugees.  For an introduction to our conversation and a summation of Jay's many, many bona fides, check out our Substack article here.

Joining me this week in our first episode of the new year is a renowed thinker and writer on constitutional theory and natural law, Hadley Arkes. Hadley is the Edward N. Ney Professor of Jurisprudence and American Institutions emeritus at Amherst College and the founding director of the James Wilson Institute on Natural Rights and the American Founding. His new book and the focus of this episode is called Mere Natural Law: Originalism and the Anchoring Truths of the Constitution. RELATED CONTENT Bridging the Civil & Divine - Karen Taliferro (Episode # 133) Summer Series on "Christianity & Constitutionalism" (see Episodes # 141 to 151) Cross & Gavel is a production of CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY. The episode was produced by Josh Deng, with music from Vexento.  

Joining me this time to talk The Abolition of Man on its 80th Anniversary is Joe Kohm, the C.S. Lewis Institute Vice President for Development and City Director for Virginia Beach. Check out their study guide here. I wrote an introduction to our conversation on our Substack here. The Namárië Forum ("go towards goodness") is an opportunity for us to step back from the mandates (and madness) of law and practice, and into a space for contemplation and imagination regarding the outworking of God in our day and age. For a brief background to this Forum, check out my article here. Related Forum-type podcasts include: Jason Thacker (Following Jesus in a Digital Age | Episode # 128), Crystal L. Downing (The Subversive Sayers | Episode # 112), and Holly Ordway (There Will Be Dragons | Episode # 108). Enjoy!

In this special Christmas Day episode, I am joined by the President of the C.S. Lewis Institute to talk about all things Narnia and Lewis. Learn more about the Institute here. Check out the devotional resource Joel's recommends for studying the Series here. Cross & Gavel is a production of CHRISTIAN LEGAL SOCIETY. The episode was produced by Josh Deng, with music from Vexento. A special thanks to Nick and Ashley Barnett for their contribution in making this podcast possible.