Outlaw God

149 episodes listed below

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Lutheran theology under pressure.

The gist

Outlaw God works through Lutheran theology with a hard focus on proclamation rather than religious self-improvement. Recent episodes linger over Psalm 51, Moses, Joseph, Luther, suffering, sacrifice, and the difference between law and gospel.

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About Outlaw God

Outlaw God is a dense Lutheran theology podcast organized around proclamation, scripture, and the Reformation’s account of law and gospel. It is not a broad survey of religious history. It is narrower and sharper than that. Recent episodes work through Psalm 51, David, Moses in the cleft of the rock, Joseph, sacrifice, suffering, repentance, divine election, and the human will. The show’s method is patient. A biblical passage is treated as a theological problem, then pressed through Luther, scholastic categories, mysticism, and the practical question of what preaching actually does. The tone can be blunt. It resists easy devotional answers, especially when suffering is turned into self-purification or repentance is reduced to identifying a bad act and trying to reverse it. That gives the show its edge. It keeps returning to the claim that sin, repentance, election, and faith are revealed through God’s word rather than mastered by human explanation. Episodes often move like lectures with interruptions and clarifications. They assume some appetite for doctrinal vocabulary. Actual sin, original sin, sacrifice, the cross, the Lord’s Supper, divine election, and the fourfold interpretation of scripture all appear as live arguments rather than museum pieces. The show also has a recurring concern for preachers: the law must be preached fully, and the gospel must not be replaced by moral therapy or a theory of personal growth. Its best fit is the listener who wants Lutheran theology in full strength. It rewards attention more than casual sampling. At times the excerpts include repeated network announcements and promotional openings, but the main substance is sustained theological argument. Outlaw God stands out because it treats Reformation theology as a present-tense fight over preaching, not as a tidy historical inheritance.

Made for: For listeners who want serious Lutheran doctrine, close biblical interpretation, and Reformation categories handled at length. It suits preachers and listeners comfortable with dense argument.

What sets it apart: Outlaw God sets itself apart by treating preaching, not speculation or self-improvement, as the decisive theological event. Its episodes turn biblical texts into sustained arguments about law, gospel, sin, repentance, suffering, and election.

In their own words

The Outlaw God podcast is about moving from theological speculation to proclamation. Featuring Dr. Steven Paulson and co-hosted by Caleb Keith.

As heard by us

Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026

Outlaw God makes Lutheran readings of scripture concrete by connecting doctrine to preaching, repentance, suffering, and the spoken promise of the gospel.

Outlaw God turns biblical passages into sustained theological arguments, with Stephen Paulson and Caleb Keith tracing how Luther understood law, gospel, sin, repentance, suffering, and divine election.

Read our full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Moses gets a rock cleft; you get a hard question about what preaching is supposed to do.

Press play if you want

  • to hear Stephen Paulson and Caleb Keith question your tidy checklist of sins through Psalm 51
  • to follow Joseph's story without being handed a suffering-makes-you-stronger moral
Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
law and gospelPsalm 51Lutheran preachingsin and repentancesuffering and sacrificedivine electionMoses and JosephReformation theology

Talks about

Podcasts like Outlaw God

Episodes

  1. 1

    Problem of Death

    ·41m
  2. 2

    Christ in the Cleft

    ·53m
  3. 3

    David's Last Words

    ·37m
  4. 4

    Free Faith Not Free Will (HWSS 25)

    ·45m
  5. 5

    Divine Election through Preaching

    ·34m
  6. 6

    When Suffering Replaces Preaching

    ·49m
  7. 7

    Perfecting Pain

    ·33m
  8. 8

    Mysticism Through Suffering

    ·37m
  9. 9

    Suffering As a Means of Faith?

    ·35m
  10. 10

    Plainly Speaking and Preaching

    ·42m
  11. 11

    Moses Accuses and Kills

    ·41m
  12. 12

    Attack on Grace

    ·47m
  13. 13

    God's Presence, Favor and Glory

    ·39m
  14. 14

    Sublimation Message

    ·31m
  15. 15

    Following God's Backside

    ·39m
  16. 16

    The Infinite Law

    ·46m
  17. 17

    Ministry of Death

    ·49m
  18. 18

    Negative Theology

    ·39m
  19. 19

    Year End Announcement from 1517

    ·2m
  20. 20

    Written vs Spoken

    ·40m
  21. 21

    The Goals of Mysticism

    ·40m
  22. 22

    Doctrine vs. Preaching

    ·42m
  23. 23

    Imperatives and Indicatives (HWSS25)

    ·31m
  24. 24

    Special Episode: Bondage Of The Will

    ·1h 3m
  25. 25

    Threat and Accusation

    ·47m
  26. 26

    Second Use of the Gospel?

    ·48m
  27. 27

    Proclamation Not Speculation

    ·38m
  28. 28

    The Law Before Sin

    ·36m
  29. 29

    Silencing God's Law

    ·35m
  30. 30

    Mysticism's Silence of the Lamb

    ·39m
  31. 31

    Mysticism Through Love

    ·34m
  32. 32

    Mysticism and the Mind

    ·33m
  33. 33

    Overlooking Idiocy (Acts 17:26-34)

    ·33m
  34. 34

    Paul's Preaching

    ·45m
  35. 35

    Finding the Unknown God

    ·47m
  36. 36

    Method of Mysticism

    ·41m
  37. 37

    With and Without God's Word

    ·38m
  38. 38

    A Right Sacrifice

    ·47m
  39. 39

    Cain and Abel

    ·47m
  40. 40

    The Sandbox

    ·55m
  41. 41

    Imagine The World Before The Fall

    ·41m
  42. 42

    Where There Is Law There Is Free Will

    ·50m
  43. 43

    There Is No Sin Where There Is No Law

    ·44m
  44. 44

    Chaos and Silencing the Law

    ·42m
  45. 45

    Psychologizing the Gospel

    ·48m
  46. 46

    The External and Internal Distinction

    ·40m
  47. 47

    Out of the Cave

    ·45m
  48. 48

    Plato's Cave

    ·47m
  49. 49

    Out of The Cave

    ·43m
  50. 50

    Judging the Spiritual Man

    ·46m
  51. 51

    Ecclesiastical and Doctrinal Authority

    ·45m
  52. 52

    Who Is A Saint

    ·45m
  53. 53

    What Is the Church?

    ·50m
  54. 54

    What is the Remnant?

    ·59m
  55. 55

    What Is The Church?

    ·50m
  56. 56

    Luther and the Trojan Horse

    ·48m
  57. 57

    Did Luther Stand Alone?

    ·47m
  58. 58

    What Is Hiding?

    ·46m
  59. 59

    Christ Born Under the Law

    ·1h 6m
  60. 60

    The Incarnation of Christ

    ·52m
  61. 61

    Jonah Must Preach

    ·41m
  62. 62

    The Word of God in Opposition

    ·45m
  63. 63

    Fueling the Mission: Supporting 1517 to Proclaim the Gospel

    ·33m
  64. 64

    The Limits of Human Nature

    ·45m
  65. 65

    Ascension of the Heart

    ·41m
  66. 66

    Struggle in the Belly of the Whale

    ·48m
  67. 67

    Jonah Can't Satisfy the Law

    ·42m
  68. 68

    An Outlaw God For The Church

    ·27m
  69. 69

    Sleeping Jonah

    ·40m
  70. 70

    Sacrificing Jonah

    ·50m
  71. 71

    Worship and Idolatry

    ·34m
  72. 72

    Reverting to an Ancient Religion

    ·44m
  73. 73

    God Hurled A Great Wind

    ·40m
  74. 74

    Jonah Runs Away

    ·48m
  75. 75

    God Calls a Preacher

    ·29m
  76. 76

    God Calls Jonah

    ·34m
  77. 77

    Incomprehensible Wrath and Suffering

    ·46m
  78. 78

    The Last Stand

    ·48m
  79. 79

    God Clothed or Unclothed

    ·47m
  80. 80

    Distinguishing God's Word

    ·44m
  81. 81

    Erasmus and the Absurd

    ·43m
  82. 82

    The Preacher's Question

    ·46m
  83. 83

    Preaching Elects

    ·49m
  84. 84

    Preaching vs Giving Advice

    ·46m
  85. 85

    Starting Backwards

    ·51m
  86. 86

    Allegorizing Scripture

    ·44m
  87. 87

    Preaching Letter and Spirit

    ·33m
  88. 88

    The Attraction of Suffering

    ·48m
  89. 89

    Christ the Hated God

    ·43m
  90. 90

    Receiving the Body and Blood of Christ

    ·50m
  91. 91

    The Lord's Supper

    ·41m
  92. 92

    Water and the Word

    ·57m
  93. 93

    What is Baptism?

    ·57m
  94. 94

    Saying Amen to the Lord's Prayer

    ·49m
  95. 95

    Deliver Us From Evil

    ·45m
  96. 96

    Lead Us Not Into Temptation

    ·50m
  97. 97

    Forgive Us Our Trespasses

    ·45m
  98. 98

    Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread

    ·56m
  99. 99

    Preaching vs. Tradition: Erasmus' Dilemma

    This episode continues exploring God's hiding in Luther's theology, focusing on Erasmus' dilemma between preaching and tradition.

    ·47m
  100. 100

    Hide and Seek with God

    Caleb Keith introduces a discussion on Luther's use and move past mysticism, focusing on the Heidelberg Disputation.

    ·38m
  101. 101

    Remembering and Repenting

    Hidden gem

    Outlaw God's Psalm 51 conversation argues that sin is known inside a sinner, not by detached analysis.

    Apr 15, 2026·36m·2 clips
  102. 102

    With and Without God's Word

    Hidden gem

    Outlaw God turns Psalm 51 into a discussion of Luther's account of sin, repentance, and the difference between God with his Word and without it.

    Apr 10, 2026·38m·2 clips
  103. 103

    Christ in the Cleft

    Hidden gem

    Outlaw God’s “Christ in the Cleft” examines Moses in Exodus 33–34 as a key setting for distinguishing law from gospel.

    Apr 2, 2026·53m·3 clips
  104. 104

    David's Last Words

    A theological discussion on David's last words from Scripture, exploring themes of faith, family, and vocation within the Lutheran tradition.

    Mar 25, 2026·37m
  105. 105

    Free Faith Not Free Will (HWSS 25)

    A theological discussion on the Lutheran doctrine of the bondage of the will, contrasting it with free will and emphasizing God's sovereignty in salvation.

    Mar 19, 2026·45m
  106. 106

    Divine Election through Preaching

    Hidden gem

    Caleb Keith and theologian Stephen Paulson continue a series on the story of Joseph from Genesis, focusing on medieval theories of divine election and suffering.

    Mar 12, 2026·34m·2 clips
  107. 107

    When Suffering Replaces Preaching

    Hidden gem

    This episode of the Outlaw God podcast introduces the story of Joseph in the pit as the central case study for how suffering replaced preaching as the mechanism of salvation in the medieval church.

    Mar 4, 2026·49m·2 clips
  108. 108

    Perfecting Pain

    Hidden gem

    ["Stephen Paulson reads 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 as a rejection of mysticism and says the power of God is in the preached \"word of the cross.\"", "He contrasts that reading with an \"absorption theory of atonement\" and says it turns religion into self-union with God without a preacher or sacraments.", "The discussion moves through Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, the Missouri Synod split, and Paulson's critique of modern church support for suffering-as-redemption in places like Minneapolis.", "He ends by setting up Moses in the cleft of the rock and Joseph in the pit as the next texts for showing Christ in the Old Testament."]

    Feb 26, 2026·33m·2 clips
  109. 109

    Mysticism Through Suffering

    Stephen Paulson and Caleb Keith of the Outlaw God podcast continue their series on medieval Christian mysticism and the theology of the cross, tracing how 14th- and 15th-century Christians facing plague and mass death began interpreting their own suffering as participation in God's suffering on the cross.

    Feb 19, 2026·37m·2 clips
  110. 110

    Suffering As a Means of Faith?

    Feb 13, 2026·35m
  111. 111

    Plainly Speaking and Preaching

    Feb 5, 2026·42m
  112. 112

    Moses Accuses and Kills

    Jan 28, 2026·41m
  113. 113

    Attack on Grace

    Jan 22, 2026·47m
  114. 114

    God's Presence, Favor and Glory

    Jan 15, 2026·39m
  115. 115

    Sublimation Message

    Jan 7, 2026·31m
  116. 116

    Following God's Backside

    Jan 1, 2026·39m
  117. 117

    The Infinite Law

    Dec 18, 2025·46m
  118. 118

    Ministry of Death

    Dec 11, 2025·49m
  119. 119

    Negative Theology

    Dec 5, 2025·39m
  120. 120

    Written vs Spoken

    Stephen Paulson and Caleb Keith discuss the interpretation of the law from Moses to the New Testament, focusing on 2 Corinthians and the distinction between law and gospel.

    Nov 19, 2025·40m
  121. 121

    The Goals of Mysticism

    Nov 13, 2025·40m
  122. 122

    Doctrine vs. Preaching

    A promotional segment for a historical fiction novel set during the Reformation, highlighting the conflicts between key figures.

    Nov 6, 2025·42m
  123. 123

    Imperatives and Indicatives (HWSS25)

    Oct 22, 2025·31m
  124. 124

    Special Episode: Bondage Of The Will

    Oct 16, 2025·1h 3m
  125. 125

    Threat and Accusation

    Oct 9, 2025·47m
  126. 126

    Second Use of the Gospel?

    Oct 2, 2025·48m
  127. 127

    Proclamation Not Speculation

    Sep 25, 2025·38m
  128. 128

    The Law Before Sin

    Sep 17, 2025·36m
  129. 129

    Silencing God's Law

    Sep 10, 2025·35m
  130. 130

    Mysticism's Silence of the Lamb

    Sep 3, 2025·39m
  131. 131

    Hide and Seek with God

    Caleb Keith introduces a discussion on Luther's use and move past mysticism, focusing on the Heidelberg Disputation.

    Aug 27, 2025·38m
  132. 132

    Mysticism Through Love

    Aug 21, 2025·34m
  133. 133

    Mysticism and the Mind

    Aug 13, 2025·33m
  134. 134

    Overlooking Idiocy (Acts 17:26-34)

    Jul 31, 2025·33m
  135. 135

    Paul's Preaching

    Jul 23, 2025·45m
  136. 136

    Finding the Unknown God

    Jul 17, 2025·47m
  137. 137

    Method of Mysticism

    Jul 10, 2025·41m
  138. 138

    Problem of Death

    Jul 3, 2025·41m
  139. 139

    A Right Sacrifice

    Jun 27, 2025·47m
  140. 140

    Cain and Abel

    Jun 19, 2025·47m
  141. 141

    The Sandbox

    Jun 10, 2025·55m
  142. 142

    Imagine The World Before The Fall

    May 28, 2025·41m
  143. 143

    Where There Is Law There Is Free Will

    May 22, 2025·50m
  144. 144

    There Is No Sin Where There Is No Law

    May 15, 2025·44m
  145. 145

    Chaos and Silencing the Law

    May 6, 2025·42m
  146. 146

    Psychologizing the Gospel

    Apr 30, 2025·48m
  147. 147

    The External and Internal Distinction

    Apr 24, 2025·40m
  148. 148

    Out of the Cave

    Apr 15, 2025·45m
  149. 149

    Plato's Cave

    Apr 7, 2025·47m