Reviews For Theology in the Raw

I used to listen to every episode. I forgave Preston when he had an anti-Israel episode where the guest claimed that Jews controlled the media. But in October, when his first interview after Oct. 7 claimed everything was fine in the Middle East until the Jews arrived, I gave up. I cannot trust someone who so easily falls into anti-semitic tropes and will not challenge obvious conspiracies. After Tucker Carlson had the anti-semitic Munther Isaac on his show, I thought it would be interesting to see if Preston Sprinkle’s Palestinian guests were cozy with him. But Preston did one better, he interviewed Isaac himself this January.

Preston Sprinkle has consistently provided the other side of the coin arguments that are missing from canned Christian arguments. You can tell that he is hungry for more of God and takes us on that journey with him. His reliance on scriptural integrity lends credence to all his podcast conversations.

Listened to both episodes on kephale/ about 4 hours worth of podcast! But I’m grateful Dr Sprinkle landed where he did in a very gracious and humble and scholarly way. Yes, headship is definitely servant and love oriented or it’s not what God is requiring from husbands. Not talking about a dictator, rather a self giving broken man who wants the absolute best for his wife and fam.

Thank you for your interview with Dr. Rev. Munther Isaac. It is eye opening, and important for Christians in the west to realize that yes, Christians do exist in the Middle East. It’s our duty to show not only solidarity but support as well. I appreciate your perspectives on the various topics you have presented, highly recommend this podcast.

This podcast should be renamed “Obsessed with Complementarianism”. The host just can’t leave the subject alone. It’s like the very nature and truth of the Christian faith hinges on upholding patriarchal structures in virtually every aspect of society. Let it go, man. Let it go. Discussions would be a lot more interesting if you dropped your own quest to keep this vestige of what John MacArthur sowed into your life.

I appreciate the guest list Preston has on the show, but his interview style can be frustrating to listen to. He is constantly equivocating and stumbling over his words. He never just asks a question, then listens, then responds thoughtfully. He jumps all over his guests responses and then verbally second guesses his own opinions on air. Wish I could like it but I can’t.

I like Preston’s brand of Christianity. He truly seems to care for others and the truth. Love the curious conversations.

I really enjoy this podcast and am thankful for Preston’s character and humility. I think he does what he does well… i do wish he had more black women on…black guests in general to speak on these matters…but maybe he doesn’t feel it’s his lane?? Idk overall I enjoy it

As an Imam, I appreciate this show. However, failing to center the occupation on its objects, leaves this moment unfulfilled. I hope you can bring Palestinian voices: religious scholars from the occupied people, to share their truths. Failing to do so, is failing to give listeners a complete picture and humanizes and centers the occupiers.

I want to thank you for that episode, it gave me some framework as to how to engage in a healthy conversation with someone who doesn't share a similar curiosity or desire to be united in Christ. And, that it’s okay to agree to disagree-i think we forget that is an option. It wasn’t a waste of time, and I pray you find peace with that experience!

In a world of hostility, Preston is a thoughtful conversation partner, who embodies, in semi-long form conversations, the “grace and truth” that Jesus was known for (John 1). Out of the many podcasts I’ve listened to, this is one I come back to regularly. For a Christian in our time who is looking to live in the grace and truth of Jesus, it really is one of the best.

It’s really hard to get a read on what Preston believes and the recent podcast with Jared was frustrating to listen to. Preston was very defensive and wasn’t seeking to understand what Jared was saying. He kept dismissing Jared’s questions and wasn’t willing to have a theological discussion. I think the way a person handles these kinds of conversations is very telling and his defensiveness didn’t sit well with me. I wish he would’ve stopped trying to manage conversation so much and engaged Jared’s questions on a theological level instead of continuously cutting him off and moving on when he responded with valid arguments. I will say I really like that he has people on the podcast with different perspectives. Very interesting to listen to differing options on topics although I recommend holding what’s said here up to the scriptures because I personally can’t trust that this podcast is biblically solid.

So so thankful for Preston’s perspective and the people he has on his show. I’ve learned so much over the years and have been stretched in really cool ways! So thankful!

I just listened to this debate and I was so uncomfortable with Prestons performance. He talked over Jared, never let him answer completely. I am a lifelong Catholic and I am embarrassed by this debate. I just started following this podcast, I will unfollow it now. Preston, get a grip, you sound like amateur…

I love the way Preston explores theological issues from all perspectives, making sure a guest is given an opportunity to explain their position. Preston constructs steel men arguments and not straw men arguments, but is not afraid to express his well-reasoned opinion and where he may not have an opinion. Preston is not afraid to criticize the church or himself or fellow Christians when we’ve taken the wrong path. Preston’s approaches and opinions are ultimately scripturally-based. I like to listen to him to learn how to talk to people who have different opinions than me to engage them in a loving manner.

My husband and I really enjoy listening to Theology in the Raw. As global workers, we really enjoy how Preston seeks to understand others and brings multiple perspectives on the podcast. He discusses relevant issues in Christianity in the world. I don’t have to agree with everything he says in order to learn and take away many things. I am constantly sharing different episodes with friends. The most recent episode on Israel with the Israeli Rabbi is an episode I wish the whole world could hear. Is does an excellent job sharing the weightiness of the duality of truth in Israeli and Palestinian history. It helps define Jewishness and Zionism. Having my own Jewish history, it was special to hear an explanation of what it means to be Jewish and to be included in the definition. Thanks for your all the effort you do Preston to put together insightful episodes!

I loved this interview. I grew up learning the one view that we are to watch and pray for Israel and basically all the signs of Jesus return have to do with Israel. I truly don’t know another viewpoint on the return of Christ that doesn’t involve a global war against Israel right before the return and therefore we are to always support Israel. It’s hard for me to even listen to any narrative that doesn’t uphold them.

This guy is so afraid to be disagreeable to every worldview on earth. Soft ball weak sauce minister.

I have been listening to this podcast for several years now and have genuinely appreciated Preston’s willingness to address difficult topics and get answers from multiple different perspectives. Based on his Q/A podcasts and podcasts where he covers a particular topic himself he does not seem to shy away from what he believes the Bible to say, even if that truth is difficult or unpopular. That being said, he doesn’t always challenge his guests with hard questions but appears to go along with them when they are making clearly biased or provably inaccurate statements (best recent example is the episode from a Palestinian Christian’s perspective, where he arrogantly stated Americans don’t know history then gave a laughably bad description of the origins of American independence). I understand he wants guests to feel free to speak their minds, but it would be helpful if he pushed back a little more to expose some of the potential flaws or give the guests an opportunity to better justify their beliefs. Just take each podcast with a grain of salt.

Thank you for presenting 2 “opposite” views our perspective on this current disheartening Israel Hamas war. Thank the Lord for your podcast. I am Asian immigrant but saved in Christ yet struggled to come to terms with confusing narrative on this war.

Preston is both authentic and intelligent. He has challenged my understanding of Scripture and the “truth” engrained in so much of what evangelicals support/ proclaim innocently, but incorrectly because it is not based on what the Bible actually says. I appreciate that he is willing to speak truth to power.

Preston seems like a genuine nice guy. I believe that what he speaks he fully believes and that his heart is to see people united, full of Christ and loving other people. I also see Preston is a big contrarian and also loves to hear the voices of those who’s voice doesn’t get much publicity. With those later traits he often has many people on his podcast that espouse views that are harmful if you just take them for what they say. That doesn’t mean don’t listen (unless you’re not mature enough to separate the good from the bad) but it does mean to listen with wise ears. Be cautious about what you take from each episode. It is easy to be lead astray even if that is not the intent of the podcast. I’ve listened to 200-250 or so episode of this podcast and have been challenged often and even changed my views on things as a result of episodes that caused me to think and investigate more on subjects so for that I’m grateful. I’ve not written a review until now (and honestly I looked for where to email Preston to ask him this question but found only his paid subscribers can do that) because I knew the podcast was a mixed bag. But the bad of this one specific episode just prompted me to have to write a caution. In the episode about Israel and Palestine the guest started off claiming that his ancestors in the region are the decedents of those who sent missionaries into the pagan world to bring about the faith of Christian around the world. As soon as he said that (even with him saying his people joke about it) I knew it was going to be bad. The missionaries that delivered the gospel to the gentiles were Jews and this comment smacks of an anti Jew mindset. He later describes how he can trace his heritage back 13 generations I believe he said but that’s far from back to the time of the missionaries being sent from the Christian jews to being Jesus to the nations. So his vast assumption shows arrogance and also hints that anti Jew mindset of replacement theology. The issue is Preston didn’t even question this he actual acted thankful for the speakers thoughts. He didn’t ask any follow up questions and that again is the issue with this podcast. He claims to be inquisitive but his method of process is not to actually dig deep but simply to Let his guest speak and bring their points with zero questions of how or why they believe that. Someone can go on this podcast and declare nonsense and rather than even asked any basic simple questions to dig deeper the guests just espouse their points of view and it almost appears Preston agrees or doesn’t see the danger in espousing some views. I’m a huge free speech believer so of course they should be allowed to do so but often some push back is needed to clarify issues and non is given. That requires wisdom and discernment to then decide which views are good and which are bad. Which ones hurt people and which help. Then within the episode the guest makes additional claims about how the land of Israel should be called Israel-Palestine because Palestinian people are the original inhibitors of the land and only through colonization of the 19th and 20th century are Jews in the land. He blames colonization a lot and speaks of genocide by Israel. I felt like I was listening to a partisan talk show. This historians failure to acknowledge that the land is only called Palestine because in the late first century the Romans sacked Jerusalem, burned the temple and dispersed the Jews and then renamed the region Palestine in order to eradicate Jewish history showed that either he doesn’t know the story as well as he thinks he does or he was ignoring it, because it doesn’t fit the story he wants. He also claimed that Palestinians are the original inhabitants of the land, but there is zero historical documentation to prove that. They’re very name. Palestinians comes from the fact that they lived in the land after it was changedto remove Jewish history. As a Christian, I would think he would realize that the Bible clearly states that King David created Jerusalem, and that there were inhabitants of the land but they were not called Palestinians. Yes, there have always been people in the land of Israel, but for most of human history it has been a Jewish state or Jewish people and of course there have been other people, but none of them founded a country or cities that have historical recording. So all these years as he claimed where the Jews were not in the Middle East, nobody actually created a nation they just lived on the land. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be allowed to continue to live there however this guest implied if not outright believes the Jews shouldn’t be allowed to stay because in his word, they are colonizers. He also spoke very negatively of Zionism, which is simply the belief that Jewish people have of their heritage in the land, which also is the only historical record, available of settling the land and owning the land. My point in all this context is that this guest was allowed to just a spouse all of these incorrect views and because he has a PhD and because Preston doesn’t like to push back on anybody, you have to discern through all the lies or misrepresentations to find the truth. I have found this to be the case in many podcasts, but this one was so obvious and egregious that I felt the need to write a review. The unfortunate situation is this guest never acknowledged that within the charter of the Palestinian people is the belief that Israel should be annihilated. all the protest around the world with the chance from the river to the sea is a genocidal chant and belief system that says all Jews should be removed from the region, which is not a two state solution. It’s a genocidal annihilate all Jews, which is not what every Palestinian believes obviously however, it is the way the Palestinian government acts. Also, the Palestinians elected Hamas democratically in 2005 and within their charter they state their goal is to annihilate all Jews.

I don’t always agree with Preston, but he thoughtful even if he come to a conclusion I think is wrong. He usually makes me think. However, recently he had a guest that spouted poor scholarship and revisionist history to support his beliefs on the recent Israeli-Palestinian war. His wrong head views of the American War for Independence tainted his views on Israel. Or worse, he used his false American history to manipulate his listeners to believe what his views are of the Middle East conflict. Preston should have called him on that!

Preston is as genuine in person as he is on his show.

TITR is basically a Christian version of the Joe Rogan. And I love it

The content and guest speakers are always so interesting and of such a fabulous variety. I appreciate Prestons’ candor and ability to not just hear, but listen and learn, something we don’t often encounter these days. I return to this podcast over and over and I am never disappointed. It’s educational, foundational, and real-life practical for issues and challenges for today! Thank you so much for all your work! - Linda Benson, Colorado Springs, CO

While I often disagree with Preston on things like how we should engage politics and his apparent view that homosexuality (or heterosexuality for that matter) should be considered part of one’s identity, I love how thoughtful and kind he is with engaging ideas from all sides of many difficult topics. My only concern is that sometimes Preston seems to edge toward compromise or syncretism on ideas where a firmer line should be drawn

I find Sprinkle’s approach to be heretical. His views and many of his guests coddle sexual immorality. Christians should reject the subtle lies of the enemy disguised as kindness and grace.

I have been listening to Theology in the Raw sporadically for a few years now and have been helped and encouraged by so, so many episodes. Before today, I found the episodes (my favorite on this topic was actually done by Preston on the Q-Ideas podcast) on Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria to be the most helpful and my most shared episodes. However, after listening to the recent episode with Dr. Carol Tanksley, I think I may have a new favorite episode. I was raised in a wonderful Christian home and am so grateful for my the faith of my immediate family members. I was also raised in a confusing purity culture. I have been married for over 2 years now and still struggle with all of the issues discussed by Dr. Carol. I don’t think there was any one thing she said that I found more helpful than the next, but I am so grateful that these issues are being talked about out loud (not just in books and blogs) by Christians I trust. I hope to hear from more and more Christians on this topic and continue bettering myself in this area. Thank you, Dr. Carol and Preston!

I’ve been listening to the show for a few years, and while appreciate Preston’s openness to tackle issues most Christians avoid and his commitment to do it graciously, I’ve noticed a few of cringey patterns. The first is that Preston purports himself as a neutral audience; I appreciate his efforts at neutrality, but we all have a worldview and a cultural context that informs how we think, and he is no different. And it shows. Second, he softballs complementarian guests and assumes their position is the default, and hardballs egalitarian guests—but just the females. Complementarian and male egalitarian guests meet little pushback, but female egalitarians have to repeat themselves a dozen different ways and constantly return to the data (which is great, just wish this were how he engaged with everyone). Compare eps with Dr. Beth Allison Barr, Sheila Wray Gregoire and Rebecca Lindenbach, and Dr. Sandra Richter, vs eps with Rick Warren and Dr. Nijay Gupta. Third, he often accepts his guests views at face value without asking for evidence or asking them to explain their reasoning because he doesn’t know much about the topic. You don’t have to know a topic through and through to make people show their work; this is lazy interviewing, imo. Fourth—and this is a common Christian mistake—he frequently conflates exposure with expertise. Just because a person has personal experience on a topic does not mean they’re qualified to answer academic questions about it. A sample size of one ≠ data that can be extrapolated upon.

Preston humbly engages with people through a scriptural Lena’s that I so appreciate. Keep up the amazing pursuit and modeling this for others.

Bro kills it every time. So thoughtful, weighs it out; incredible service to those who want to engage humanity. Worth your time.

Preston tackles difficult topic with clarity and openness. I appreciate how he welcomes various perspectives. So many good interviews. The interview with A.J. Swoboda was particularly good.

Dr Mallon is very knowledgeable. But he paid minimal lip service to the SCIENTIFIC evidence for a young earth. ICR has ongoing research by doctoral level individuals. They are not just doing "outreach." They are amassing more and more evidence that contradicts the old earth paradigm. The flood was not even brought up in this discussion.

Modern Christianity is riddled with proud people never backing down Preston comes to the conversation always willing to admit when he doesn’t know something. He also has really excellent interview skills as a question asker. Truly appreciate what you are doing Preston. Please keep it up!

I’m continuously impressed by the range of topics explored through this podcast, the depth of conversation, and the way Preston and those he interviews can energetically engage a topic and push back or challenge each other at times while remaining respectful and believing the best of each other. I love feeling challenged to think in different ways and how Gospel truth and compassion go hand in hand. I learn so much and often recommend this podcast to friends!

I’m only specifically reviewing this recent episode with Sheila Gregoire. This is a prime example of progressive Christianity…blame the teachings of historic Christianity for real or perceived wrongs and then let’s throw out the whole thing and trade it in for a new set of beliefs. She is somehow giving ‘biblical advice’ without using the Bible. This line of thinking is what creates a slow or maybe quick drift away from THE TRUTH. What is on the alter here? My truth/ your truth? Or God’s truth?

All your guests are great, but was really encouraged by the podcast with Naghmeh!

I love learning from the people we need to learn from. Preston is such a great interviewer, but the diverse group of people the Sprinkle family collects is what impresses. Not only brining topics I never or singleminded would think of, but allowing those with personal experience and specific knowledge to speak on such topics is absolutely genius it must come from God. Thanks God for creating the desire for full understanding and perspective in your people from Theology in the Raw😊

I appreciate the wide range of topics and content covered over the extended period of podcasts. From my perspective, it would be unfair to judge this podcast on a singular episode much like I wouldn't judge a restaurant on a single meal experience. I find TITR very engaging in a vast spectrum of topics and feel challenged to think biblically on so many cultural and theological topics. As a whole, it is both academic and relatable for the listener. I'm a fan!

I judge leaders by how they treat women. Women are treated horribly on this show and constantly objectified, mocked, marginalized, and demonized. I am horrified by how women are referred to. Just another misogynist with a podcast justifying their behavior in the name of Jesus. Why would I worship your god if he hates women as much as you do? You treat women like cattle and just want us to be barefoot and pregnant.

I’m OK with raw. This podcast has been very helpful in opening me to understanding and loving deeper, but even though Dr Sprinkle offered the warning there would be some “language” The multiple uses of the F bomb was over the top for me. I couldn’t go on with the Harper interview. Definitely not a clean rating.

I often cringe listening to the podcast because sometimes Preston’s questions indicate he hasn’t actually ready the interviewed authors’ material. His questions feel very “winging it,” too long,” or not confident. I appreciate that opposite perspectives are brought up across episodes, but sometimes that feels like both-sides-ing. Have an opinion and know enough about the interviewee to call them out. Ex: Shaunti F recent podcast.

As a challenger of non or extra biblical traditions in the church I love this podcast, they don’t shy away from talking about taboo topics not usually talked about in the church. I do have some ideas for topics, I’d love to hear more about: 1/ Money in ministry. Should salaries of pastors be available to members? Should tithing be encouraged to New Testament believers? Generosity in the New Testament seems way more then 10% and mainly to the poor. (No one had excess and no one lacked). How has American culture and fear (from people in ministry) influenced how giving is addressed in churches today? 2/ Need for actual job accountability outside the church for independent or loosely connected churches. Too many incentives to cover up or hide pastor scandals if accountability ONLY comes from within the church. Tim Keller talks about this on the mars pod cast episode. 4) Communion as a sacrament as done in the American evangelical church seems way different then how Jesus introduced it and even how Paul talks about it. An actual gathering around a meal. But in our tradition it’s a cracker and juice tacked into the end of a service. Could Jesus have wanted it to be more of a community experience? Sharing a meal with your gospel family?

So disappointing that Preston is still standing by Josh Butler’s book, which has theological error and in the real world is going to hurt women. Sadly, it’s the triumph of evangelical-celebrity Bro Culture. Every theological issue cannot be “both-and”. Sad.

There are plenty of podcasts out there that will only cover any given issue from a single narrow perspective. It’s relatively easy to find podcasts that will tell us exactly what we want to hear. Theology in the Raw is not one of those podcasts. It does not shy away from controversial topics, and it commonly features guests who will discuss issues from various perspectives. If you don’t want to be challenged at all, this probably isn’t a good podcast for you. But if you are prepared to recognize that we can disagree on certain issues and STILL have fellowship with one another as brothers and sisters in Christ, this is definitely a good podcast to check out. One of my favorite things about Preston is that he WILL NOT share a personal opinion on any given topic unless he has personally done a ridiculous amount of research and study on that topic in order to come up with an informed opinion. I also appreciate the diversity of guests and the fact that they CAN disagree and still love and respect each other.