When I Heard This - Podcast

Episode 186 - Marriage Is Having An Identity Crisis

What if the church has spent thousands of years talking about marriage... and we're still arguing over what it actually is? This week, the conversation gets even weirder. Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman dive into one of Christianity's biggest identity crises: marriage. Is it a sacrament? A covenant? A contract? Why did Jesus never get married if marriage is supposed to be central to the Christian life? And why does the entire conversation seem to orbit around sex? They also get into the strange language Christians have normalized over the years, including the idea of being "married to God," why Catholic priests and lifelong singles sometimes use the same phrase, and how church culture ended up creating so many different versions of the same institution. Like always, the discussion bounces between biblical history, church tradition, modern culture, and the questions people usually think but don't say out loud. There's theology, there's history, and there's at least one moment where everyone involved has to stop and ask, "Wait... are we sure this isn't kind of weird?" Hosted by Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman, When I Heard This is a podcast for people who are curious about faith but a little skeptical of polished church answers. The goal isn't to win an argument. It's to have the conversation most people avoid. 🔔 Follow or subscribe to the podcast if you enjoy honest conversations about faith and culture. 👍 Rate or favorite this episode if it made you think. 📤 Share it with someone who's ever wondered why church people say the things they say. Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rSCswkb7LOc Website: https://wheniheardthispodcast.com/link-in-bio/ Locals + X: @wheniheardthis Facebook + Instagram: @wheniheardthispodcast #ChristianPodcast #Marriage #ChurchCulture #FaithAndCulture #BibleQuestions #WhenIHeardThis

Episode 185 - Marriage Lore Gets Unhinged Fast

Why does marriage in the Bible get weird so fast? The moment you start reading the Old Testament, you're hit with questions nobody seems eager to answer. Cousins marrying cousins. Multiple wives. Concubines. Arranged marriages. People getting married way younger than anyone is comfortable with today. And somehow livestock keeps showing up in the conversation. In this episode, we continue our series on marriage by tackling some of the most confusing, uncomfortable, and frequently misunderstood marriage practices found in Scripture. Why did these things happen? Were they commanded by God? Were they cultural? And what, if anything, are Christians supposed to do with these passages now? Along the way, the conversation wanders through biblical history, church assumptions, ancient culture, relationships, faith, and several moments where everyone collectively realizes the Bible contains stories that would absolutely break the internet if they happened today. Nate asks the questions most people are already thinking, while Dr. Joseph Tillman attempts to explain why ancient marriage customs were often far more complicated than modern readers expect. The result is an honest, funny, and occasionally uncomfortable discussion about marriage, Scripture, and the gap between what the Bible describes and what it actually teaches. 🔔 Follow or subscribe to the podcast 👍 Rate or favorite the episode if it resonated 📤 Share the episode with someone who enjoys thoughtful conversations about faith, culture, and church life Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FJJ9maCD3kY Website: https://wheniheardthispodcast.com/link-in-bio/ Locals + X: @wheniheardthis Facebook + Instagram: @wheniheardthispodcast #ChristianPodcast #MarriageInTheBible #BibleQuestions #FaithAndCulture #ChurchCulture #WhenIHeardThis

Episode 184 - Marriage Was Never Just About Marriage

What if marriage was never primarily about marriage? Most people have opinions about marriage. Fewer people can explain what the Bible actually says it is. Somehow we've all inherited strong takes, relationship advice, and enough wedding industry content to last several lifetimes, but the foundational questions often get skipped. In this first episode of a new series, Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman start at the beginning and ask the questions people assume everyone else already knows the answers to. What is marriage? Where does marriage first appear in Scripture? What is it meant to symbolize in Christianity? Are there distinct roles for men and women? Is Christian marriage fundamentally different from secular marriage? And did God's view of marriage change between the Old Testament and the New Testament? The conversation moves through biblical theology, church culture, relationships, covenant, symbolism, and the surprisingly complicated reality that one of the most discussed topics in Christianity is also one of the most misunderstood. Along the way, there are plenty of side comments, observations, and moments where serious theology collides with regular human confusion. As always, Nate and Dr. Joseph approach the discussion with honesty, curiosity, a little sarcasm, and a willingness to ask questions that many people think but rarely say out loud. Whether you're married, single, skeptical, Christian, or just trying to understand why marriage matters so much in faith conversations, this episode is a solid place to start. Follow or subscribe to the podcast 🔔 Rate or favorite the episode if it resonated 👍 Share the episode with someone who enjoys thoughtful conversations about faith, relationships, and culture 📤 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/qYvdSr_-aqU Website: https://wheniheardthispodcast.com/link-in-bio/ Locals + X: @wheniheardthis Facebook + Instagram: @wheniheardthispodcast #ChristianPodcast #Marriage #BibleDiscussion #FaithAndCulture #Relationships #ChurchCulture

Episode 183 - Faith and Works Ended With Trust Issues

At some point this whole faith vs works conversation starts sounding like a group project where nobody knows how grading works. Can you get into heaven with faith but no works? Works but no faith? Are some churches accidentally turning Christianity into spiritual performance reviews? And how do you know your faith is actually faith and not just anxiety wearing Bible verses as camouflage? In the fifth and final episode of this series, Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman get into the questions that quietly sit in the back of people’s minds during church sermons, worship songs, and late-night existential spirals. They talk about faith, salvation, denominations, motives, selfishness, heaven, works, and the weird pressure Christians sometimes feel to constantly prove they’re spiritually productive. The conversation keeps circling back to trust. Trusting God. Trusting your motives. Trusting that faith actually means something beyond just endlessly auditing yourself like a Christian IRS agent. There’s also a healthy amount of sarcasm, overthinking, and “wait hold on” moments because this show refuses to pretend faith conversations are always neat and polished. Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman approach theology the same way most people actually process it: honestly, awkwardly, occasionally skeptically, and with enough humor to survive church culture without becoming unbearably weird about it. If this episode resonated with you: 🔔 Follow or subscribe for more conversations about faith, church culture, theology, and real-life questions 👍 Rate or favorite the episode if it hit a little too close to home 📤 Share this episode with someone who has ever overthought their own salvation at 1 AM Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/pVWRm4RkFkY Website: https://wheniheardthispodcast.com/link-in-bio/ Locals + X: @wheniheardthis Facebook + Instagram: @wheniheardthispodcast #FaithAndWorks #ChristianPodcast #ChurchCulture #FaithQuestions #BibleDiscussion #Christianity

Episode 182 - Faith and Works Isn’t Graded on Effort

At what point does “doing good works” start sounding like a performance review nobody asked for? Episode 182 continues the ongoing discussion about faith and works according to scripture, except this time the conversation gets painfully close to the way people actually think about effort, productivity, church culture, and whether Christians secretly believe God is grading participation with a clipboard somewhere. Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman talk through questions like whether it matters if you’re actually good at the work you’re doing, whether getting paid while doing good works somehow “cheapens” them, and whether works carried a different weight in the Old Testament compared to the New Testament. Which turns into a surprisingly honest conversation about motivation, intention, accountability, and the weird spiritual math people create for themselves. The episode also digs into how modern faith conversations sometimes sound less like scripture and more like corporate performance metrics with Bible verses attached. There’s sarcasm, pushback, uncomfortable observations, and multiple moments where the conversation feels way too relatable if you grew up around church culture. As always, Nate and Dr. Joseph Tillman approach the discussion in a way that feels thoughtful, grounded, and accessible whether you’re deeply involved in church, skeptical of organized religion, or somewhere in the middle trying to figure out why everyone talks like they already know the answer. Follow or subscribe to the podcast 🔔 Rate or favorite the episode if it resonated 👍 Share the episode with somebody who has absolutely wondered if faith is being graded on effort 📤 Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/mIL4JLh8hMc Website: https://wheniheardthispodcast.com/link-in-bio/ Locals + X: @wheniheardthis Facebook + Instagram: @wheniheardthispodcast #FaithAndWorks #ChristianPodcast #BibleDiscussion #ChurchCulture #FaithQuestions #PodcastDiscussion