Nate reacts to the Catholic Biblical Association's new president while a hooded figure and a startled Adam and Eve steal the spotlight.

Catholics Elect a President Who Denies Jesus Is Lord & Do You Need a Preacher to Know the Gospel?

What happens when a Catholic scholarly society hands its presidency to a woman who does not believe Jesus is Lord, and in the same episode a caller wants to know if you need a preacher to understand the gospel at all? Nate opens with the news, first spotted on Protestia, that the Catholic Biblical Association has elected Amy-Jill Levine, an Orthodox Jewish New Testament scholar, as its new president. Levine has said publicly that she is not a literalist and does not read the Gospels as a record of what actually happened. From there the episode moves through Reacher star Alan Ritchson’s divorce, a caller’s confusion over Revelation 20, and a genuine theological argument over whether the gospel requires a preacher or whether the Holy Spirit does that work directly.

Do You Need a Preacher? The Biblical Bottom Line

The panel lands on a careful answer. Romans 10:14 asks how anyone can believe without hearing, and how they can hear without someone preaching. Read the full verse at Bible Gateway (ESV). But “preaching” in scripture is not limited to an ordained office. Acts 8 and 11 show ordinary believers scattered after Stephen’s death, preaching the word without title or training. The Samaritan woman in John 4 was no preacher, yet her testimony brought a town to belief. Philip was a deacon, not an apostle, when he explained the gospel on the road to Gaza. So do you need a preacher? You need someone to tell you, but that someone does not need a pulpit or ordination — just the gospel itself and a willingness to say it out loud.

For a fuller statement of what the panel believes about biblical authority and salvation, see our Statement of Faith. And for more episodes wrestling with doctrine like this one, browse our Theology Unpacked category.

When Theology Debates Devolve Into “Is Poopy a Body Part?”

Somewhere between the Trinity and free will, Doc decided to argue that Eve was transgender because she was formed from Adam’s rib. Steph’s rebuttal took an unexpected turn through sperm, sweat, and eventually the question of whether “poopy” qualifies as a body part. Nate mostly stayed out of it, letting the debate collapse under its own weight while the chat begged for it to end. It is exactly as chaotic as it sounds, and somehow still ends with a fairly solid explanation of why Adam and Eve were just two separate human beings.