We welcome Chris Castaldo to the program to explore the Beatitudes. In his book, The Upside-Down Kingdom, Castaldo offers a fresh perspective on these familiar teachings of Jesus, showing how they reveal God’s heart for the poor, the meek, and the persecuted. He also provides practical guidance for how we can live out these values in our daily lives, both as individuals and as a community of believers. The book is recommended for anyone seeking to deepen their understanding of the gospel and its implications for our lives today.

Castaldo argues that the Beatitudes challenge our cultural assumptions about power, success, and happiness, and call us to embrace a different way of living that is grounded in humility, compassion, and justice. Castaldo also draws on his own experiences as a pastor and theologian to provide practical guidance for how we can live out these values in our daily lives. Overall, The Upside Down Kingdom offers a fresh perspective on the Beatitudes that is both challenging and inspiring.

Chris Castaldo (PhD, London School of Theology) is the lead pastor at New Covenant Church in Naperville, Illinois. Follow him on Twitter at @chriscastaldo.

Books by Chris Castaldo

• The Upside Down Kingdom: Wisdom for Life from the Beatitudes
• Talking with Catholics about the Gospel: A Guide for Evangelicals
• The Unfinished Reformation: What Unites and Divides Catholics and Protestants After 500 Years
• Journeys of Faith: Evangelicalism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism and Anglicanism
• Holy Ground: Walking with Jesus as a Former Catholic
• Justified in Christ: The Doctrines of Peter Martyr Vermigli and John Henry Newman and Their Ecumenical Implications

Links

• Rebekah Eklund, The Beatitudes through the Ages
• The Center for Pastor Theologians

Chapters

• 00:07 Introduction
• 03:12 Introducing The Upside-Down Kingdom
• 04:11 Catholicism and Evangelicalism
• 08:03 Studying the Reformation in Italy
• 11:11 Chris’ Family History and the Beatitudes
• 12:49 Worldly vs. Biblical Measures of Success
• 17:58 The Beginnings of The Upside-Down Kingdom
• 19:14 Inaugurated Eschatology and the Kingdom
• 23:23 Addressing Cultural Assumptions
• 30:38 Meekness
• 36:32 Societal and Political Implications of Jesus’ Teaching
• 39:51 Liberal Christian Ethics
• 42:26 The Beatitudes and Catholicism
• 48:57 Hopes and Aspirations for Readers of the Book
• 52:40 Upcoming Projects
• 54:34 Integrating Our Studies
• 56:10 Lessons from Italian Christians
• 58:35 Conclusion

Participants: Camden Bucey, Chris Castaldo

Chris Castaldo compares the respective doctrines of justification of the Reformer Peter Martyr Vermigli and the Roman Catholic John Henry Cardinal Newman. Castaldo is the author of Justified in Christ: The Doctrines of Peter Martyr Vermigli and John Henry Newman and Their Ecumenical Implications. In the book, he compares the doctrines of the Reformed convert from Catholicism (Vermigli) and the Catholic convert from Anglicanism (Newman), drawing conclusions that prove insightful both for ecumenical dialogue and pastoral ministry. Rev. Dr. Castaldo serves as Lead Pastor of New Covenant Church in Naperville, Illinois. You can visit him online at chriscastaldo.com.

Books by Chris Castaldo

• Holy Ground: Walking with Jesus as a Former Catholic
• Talking with Catholics about the Gospel
• The Unfinished Reformation: What Unites and Divides Catholics and Protestants after 500 Years (co-authored with Gregg Allison)

Previous Episodes with Chris Castaldo

• Speaking with Catholics about the Gospel
• The Unfinished Reformation

Participants: Camden Bucey, Chris Castaldo, Jim Cassidy

Episodes

• 425 — David VanDrunen, God’s Glory Alone
• 428 — Vern Poythress, The Miracles of Jesus
• 441 — John Galbraith and Danny Olinger on John Galbraith’s Life and Ministry
• 443 — Alan Strange, Charles Hodge and the Spirituality of the Church
• 444 — Iain Murray, J. C. Ryle
• 445 — Lane Tipton, Trinity, Processions, and Missions: The Pactum Salutis
• 449 — Rob McKenzie and Bob Tarullo, Dispensationalism
• 452 — Michael Kruger, A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the New Testament
• 453 — Dennis Johnson, Walking withe Jesus through His Word
• 455 — Richard Gaffin, Jr., Calvin and the Sabbath
• 461 — Gregg Allison and Chris Castaldo, The Unfinished Reformation
• 464 — Mark Vanderhart and Cornelis Venema, The Reformed Church in Latvia
• 467 — Patricia Clawson and Diane Olinger, Choosing the Good Portion: Women of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church

Participants: Adam York, Alan Strange, Camden Bucey, Chris Castaldo, Cornelis Venema, Danny Olinger, David VanDrunen, Dennis Johnson, Diane Olinger, Glen Clary, Gregg Allison, Iain Murray, Jared Oliphint, Jeff Waddington, Jim Cassidy, John Galbraith, Lane G. Tipton, Mark Vander Hart, Michael Kruger, Patricia Clawson, Richard B. Gaffin Jr., Rob McKenzie, Robert Tarullo, Vern Poythress

We speak with Gregg Allison and Chris Castaldo about their excellent book The Unfinished Reformation: What Unites and Divides Catholics and Protestants after 500 Years (Zondervan, 2016). Rev. Dr. Allison is Professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Rev. Dr. Castaldo serves as Lead Pastor of New Covenant Church in Naperville, Illinois. We are driven to ask, Why are we accepted by God? In the final analysis, it must be Christ’s person and work and his imputed righteousness to sinners. Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone. It depends solely on Christ and not anything we do.

Episodes of Christ the Center

• Roman Catholic Theology and Practice with Gregg Allison
• Speaking with Catholics about the Gospel with Chris Castaldo

Books by Allison and Castaldo

• Allison, Roman Catholic Theology and Practice: An Evangelical Assessment
• Allison, Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine
• Castaldo, Talking with Catholics about the Gospel
• Castaldo, Holy Ground: Walking with Jesus as a Former Catholic

Participants: Adam York, Camden Bucey, Chris Castaldo, Gregg Allison, Jeff Waddington

• 370 — Donald Macleod, Understanding the Atonement
• 373 — Rita Cefalu, The Sons of God and Daughters of Man in Genesis 6
• 376 — Vern Poythress, Redeeming Mathematics
• 378 — Carl Trueman, Luther on the Christian Life
• 391 — Chris Castaldo, Talking with Catholics about the Gospel
• 393 — Tony Reinke, Newton on the Christian Life
• 398 — Bill Edgar, The History and Legacy of the Huguenots
• 400 — Jim Cassidy, Jeff Waddington, and Camden Bucey, Polemical Theology
• 403 — Kevin Chiarot, The Unassumed Is the Unhealed
• 408 — Richard B. Gaffin, Jr., The Eschatological Aspect of the Pauline Conception of the Spirit
• 411 — Daniel Strange, A Theology of Religions
• 415 — John Bolt, Bavinck on the Christian Life

Participants: Camden Bucey, Carl Trueman, Chris Castaldo, Daniel Strange, Donald Macleod, Jared Oliphint, Jeff Waddington, Jim Cassidy, John Bolt, Kevin Chiarot, Richard B. Gaffin Jr., Rita Cefalu, Tony Reinke, Vern Poythress, William Edgar

More than seventy-eight million Catholics live in the United States, representing one of the country’s largest demographics. How then can evangelical and Reformed Christians be better equipped to speak about the gospel with those Catholics? We recognize a gap between our understanding and current Catholic practice. In Talking with Catholics about the Gospel: A Guide for Evangelicals, Chris Castaldo leads us toward a better understanding of how to interact with Catholics about the gospel. Castaldo is also the author of Holy Ground: Walking with Jesus as a Former Catholic. Join us for an excellent and much-needed conversation on an important subject. See also our recent conversation with Gregg Allison on his book Roman Catholic Theology and Practice: A Evangelical Assessment.

Participants: Camden Bucey, Chris Castaldo, Jim Cassidy