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Gospelbound

Gospelbound

By: The Gospel Coalition Collin Hansen
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Gospelbound, hosted by Collin Hansen for The Gospel Coalition, is a podcast for those searching for firm faith in an anxious age. Each week, Collin talks with insightful guests about books, ideas, and how to navigate life by the gospel of Jesus Christ in a post-Christian culture.2020 The Gospel Coalition Christianity Politics & Government Spirituality
Episodes
  • Andrew Wilson Wants to Help You Pursue Happiness

    Andrew Wilson Wants to Help You Pursue Happiness
    Jun 30 2026
    Andrew Wilson is one of the happiest guys I know. So it only makes sense that he would write a book called Happiness: What It Is, Where to Find It, and How to Make It Last Forever, published by Crossway. He’s the expert. I’m delighted when I see Andrew at a TGC conference, or a retreat for The Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics. I look forward to every chance to spend time with him. He writes in this book, “Nothing is more honoring to a friend, a child, or a spouse than saying they make you happy. Nothing is more demeaning to them than telling them they don’t.” I can say, with no reservation, Andrew makes me happy when we’re together. Ok. But where does that leave the rest of us? If we’re not naturally happy? If we’re not feeling happy right now? If we’re not hanging out with Andrew? The Declaration of Independence, 250 years ago, put happiness at the center of life’s aim: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Andrew covered that statement in his excellent earlier book, Remaking the World: How 1776 Created the Post-Christian West. Given the anniversary, I plan in this interview to sneak in a question or two about that fateful year. And we’ll discuss much more, including the difference between joy and happiness, whether God promises happiness, and why millennials grew up to be sad. In This Episode: 00:00 – What makes us genuinely happier 00:40 – Why Andrew Wilson wrote a book about happiness 04:29 – Happiness, sorrow, and biblical examples of deep joy 07:26 – Is joy different from happiness? 11:53 – Does God promise happiness to Christians? 13:35 – Why millennials became less happy as adults 19:41 – Freedom, responsibility, and the limits of liberation 23:21 – The “problem of superfluous happiness” 26:01 – How pursuing happiness helps us fight sin 29:23 – Why virtue, gratitude, and humility make us happier 32:53 – Compassion versus empathy 34:15 – Turning delights into disciplines 37:06 – Remaking the World and America’s 250th anniversary 39:48 – What makes the United States unique? 47:08 – Discovery, defense, temperament, and optimism 48:55 – Closing and book recommendations Resources Mentioned: Happiness by Andrew WilsonRemaking the World by Andrew WilsonGenerations by Jean M. TwengeThe Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan HaidtThe Expulsive Power of a New Affection by Thomas Chalmers — — — 📫 SIGN UP for my newsletter, Unseen Things: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/podcasts/gospelbound 🎁 Help The Gospel Coalition build up a renewed church for tomorrow. Let's Build Together: Donate Today at https://www.tgc.org/together 🎧 Don’t miss an episode of Gospelbound with Collin Hansen ▫ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gospelbound/id1499898207 ▫ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0kRYr5FTKr5ru1N7MR65Br ✅ SUBSCRIBE: ▫ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thegospelcoalition ▫ TGC Updates: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/newsletters Use code “GOSPELBOUND” for 25% off tuition. Learn more at downlinememphis.com/virtual-institute or email info@downlineministries.com for group pricing and discounts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    50 mins
  • New Resources Help You See God by Connecting Scripture (with Ben Gladd)

    New Resources Help You See God by Connecting Scripture (with Ben Gladd)
    Jun 16 2026
    Different preachers get excited about different aspects of the sermon. Some collect and deploy excellent illustrations. Others just nail the application week after week. Others can really reach your heart. What really fires me up are the connections between the Old and New Testaments, the way God’s plan of redemption unfolds in familiar and new ways from Genesis to Revelation. So you know I’d be excited about an excellent new resource, the CSB Connecting Scripture New Testament, edited by G. K. Beale and Benjamin Gladd. This study Bible includes a robust cross reference system that will help you see Old Testament quotations, allusions, and parallels within the New Testament so you can see all 66 books as a unified story from God. You’ll also find book introductions, study note commentary, articles, charts, and infographics. In This Episode: 00:00:00 – Why continuity between Old and New Testament wording matters 00:00:41 – Introducing the CSB Connecting Scripture New Testament 00:01:53 – Ben Gladd and the mission of the Carson Center 00:04:06 – Why another study Bible? 00:07:06 – Green and blue fonts: changing the reading experience 00:08:24 – Quotations, allusions, and the “connective tissue” of Scripture 00:11:06 – Why Old Testament allusions matter for Bible study 00:12:46 – John 6, grumbling, and Israel in the wilderness 00:13:46 – Mark 1, John the Baptist, and the burning bush 00:15:41 – “Fishers of men” and Jeremiah 16 00:18:55 – Reading Revelation through Old Testament “emojis” 00:22:07 – John 1:1, Genesis 1:1, and Christology 00:27:47 – How the apostles read the Old Testament 00:31:19 – Guardrails for identifying legitimate allusions 00:35:36 – Do English translations obscure biblical connections? 00:42:27 – How pastors can use the study Bible in sermon preparation 00:44:19 – Why pastors should use the Old Testament for illustrations 00:48:31 – The Carson Center’s Concise Bible Commentary 00:53:44 – Learning from Don Carson and G. K. Beale 01:00:11 – Dictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament 01:00:44 – Biblical Theology Briefing podcast 01:02:34 – A future Connecting Scripture Old Testament 01:05:19 – Closing Resources Mentioned: CSB Connecting Scripture New Testament edited by G. K. Beale and Benjamin L. GladdKeep Watch for Biblical Allusions by Ben GladdESV Study BibleCSB Study BibleNIV Study BibleConcise Bible Commentary from the Carson Center and CrosswayDictionary of the New Testament Use of the Old Testament edited by G. K. Beale, D. A. Carson, Benjamin L. Gladd, and Andrew David NaselliNew Studies in Biblical Theology seriesPillar New Testament Commentary seriesBiblical Theology Briefing Podcast with Ben Gladd and Matthew Harmon — — — 📫 SIGN UP for my newsletter, Unseen Things: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/podcasts/gospelbound 🎁 Help The Gospel Coalition build up a renewed church for tomorrow. Let's Build Together: Donate Today at https://www.tgc.org/together 🎧 Don’t miss an episode of Gospelbound with Collin Hansen ▫ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gospelbound/id1499898207 ▫ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0kRYr5FTKr5ru1N7MR65Br ✅ SUBSCRIBE: ▫ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thegospelcoalition ▫ TGC Updates: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/newsletters Use code “GOSPELBOUND” for 25% off tuition. Learn more at downlinememphis.com/virtual-institute or email info@downlineministries.com for group pricing and discounts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    1 hr and 6 mins
  • C. S. Lewis, the New Atheists, and the Failure to Disprove God with Alister McGrath

    C. S. Lewis, the New Atheists, and the Failure to Disprove God with Alister McGrath
    Jun 2 2026
    Alister McGrath remembers life as an atheist back in the late 1960s. He believed only what could be proven to be true. And he judged religious believers for trusting in an irrational fantasy. Looking back, though, he can see an emotional basis for what he thought were purely rational conclusions. He didn’t want God to exist, because God would threaten his freedom. As an atheist he could do whatever he wanted. He could be the center of the universe. Now as a Christian and one of the most well-known apologists in the world, McGrath sees how much desire determines what we believe about the universe. He says, “The human desire for unaccountability leads to the metaphysical conclusion that there should not be a God.” Last summer McGrath and I caught up when he was the keynote speaker at a Beeson Divinity School conference on Persuasive Preaching. I was invited to engage and respond to his presentation. Alister is a theologian and Christian apologist with a particular interest in the relation of science and faith. In fact he recently retired as a professor of science and religion at Oxford University. I know him as a godly encourager and kind interlocutor. I’ve learned a lot from him on various subjects, especially C. S. Lewis. In fact, I was listening to him at Lanier Library in Houston when he inspired me to begin work on a book about Lewis and Winston Churchill. So I’m excited to talk with him again about atheism and apologetics and a heavy dose of Lewis. In This Episode: 00:00 – Why belief cannot always be proven 00:37 – Collin introduces Alister McGrath, atheism, desire, and C. S. Lewis 02:19 – McGrath’s move from atheism to Christianity in 1971 03:58 – Conversion as a process rather than an instant transformation 05:07 – C. S. Lewis’s “Is Theology Poetry?” and Christianity as a big picture of reality 06:30 – Christianity as aligning with the deep truths of the universe 08:01 – The New Atheists and the power of rhetorical certainty 11:06 – Why the New Atheist movement faded 13:26 – How apologetics has changed over the decades 16:29 – Tim Keller’s apologetic influence 20:25 – Integrating apologetics into preaching 23:22 – Faith versus fact—or faith versus faith? 24:28 – Enlightenment assumptions and the limits of proof 26:33 – Morality, Christianity, and secularized Christian values 28:31 – Truth, meaning, and transformative belief 30:07 – “Bleakness is not an indicator of truth” 31:53 – C. S. Lewis, Winston Churchill, and wartime apologetics 35:03 – Lewis, The Problem of Pain, and the BBC broadcasts 36:52 – Lewis’s faith, academic career, and public apologetics 39:53 – The Weight of Glory and spiritual flourishing in wartime 42:39 – Lewis on marriage, forgiveness, and the Holocaust context 45:29 – The Guardian, archives, and The Screwtape Letters 48:44 – McGrath’s storytelling apologetics and closing reflections 49:38 – Gospelbound outro Resources Mentioned: Mere Christianity by C. S. LewisThe Problem of Pain by C. S. LewisThe Screwtape Letters by C. S. LewisThe Great Divorce by C. S. LewisThe Weight of Glory by C. S. LewisThe Air We Breathe by Glen ScrivenerDominion by Tom HollandThe Dawkins Delusion? by Alister McGrathMaking Sense of Us by TGC and The Keller CenterThe Keller Center for Cultural Apologetics — — — 📫 SIGN UP for my newsletter, Unseen Things: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/podcasts/gospelbound 🎁 Help The Gospel Coalition build up a renewed church for tomorrow. Let's Build Together: Donate Today at https://www.tgc.org/together 🎧 Don’t miss an episode of Gospelbound with Collin Hansen ▫ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/gospelbound/id1499898207 ▫ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0kRYr5FTKr5ru1N7MR65Br ✅ SUBSCRIBE: ▫ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@thegospelcoalition ▫ TGC Updates: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/newsletters Use code “GOSPELBOUND” for 25% off tuition. Learn more at downlinememphis.com/virtual-institute or email info@downlineministries.com for group pricing and discounts. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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    50 mins
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