Heavy Things Lightly

Hello and welcome to WAWTAR! The question today..."do you believe in the bible?" John breaks this down. What does the question really mean? Are we talking literal? Or is something mystical happening. This rabbit hole may go a little deep... Does the deep immersive experience interest you? You should consider becoming a Vanguard Field Worker for Mozambique! Check out our Join FTF page: ht...

Uncle Seth wants to know what would happen if aliens showed up tomorrow. Would America fall apart or come together? It gets heated, that's what we know for sure! Does the deep immersive experience interest you? You should consider becoming a Vanguard Field Worker for Mozambique! Check out our Join FTF page: https://first-things.org/opportunities for more info, or email Daniel at danielpadrnos...

Ah the crack cocaine of postmodernists. Equality! Heers takes a look at what our modern culture is binging on these days, but also at old world societies and their binges. Equality might be the intellectual food de jour, but history has shown this is just one course in a whole slew of dishes going back in time. Links: Audi #DriveProgress Super Bowl Commercial: “Daughter”: https://www.youtube.com/w...

WAWTAR is happy to bring back Derran Reese to have a conversation about Protestantism and where it stands in the modern world. Derran Reese is a professor at Abiline Christian in Texas and is the co-author of "Development in Mission: A Guide for Transforming Local Poverty and Ourselves." His experience includes extensive time spent overseas in a missionary capacity as a protestant in add...

Jeremy Firth of Salt Lake City joins John Heers to talk about what it was like being a Mormon missionary and the important lessons learned from the experience. What is it like knocking on doors all day? Being rejected constantly? And doing it for months at a time? Come find out in our second installment of the Immersion Series. Does the deep immersive experience interest you? You should consider b...

Fr. Peter Heers is an Orthodox priest, author, and founder of the "Orthodox Ethos" website and podcast. He is joined by Fr. Silouan Justiniano, a monk and iconographer in the Orthodox tradition. In part two the discussion turns to "covidism" and perennialism in the Orthodox church. Links: The Orthodox Ethos - https://orthodoxethos.com Hieromonk Silouan Iconography - https://hie...

Fr. Peter Heers is an Orthodox priest, author, and founder of the "Orthodox Ethos" website and podcast. He is joined by Fr. Silouan Justiniano, a monk and iconographer in the Orthodox tradition. Today in pt 1 of this 2 part series they talk about perennialism, its temptation, and what it means for us New Worlders. Links: The Orthodox Ethos - https://orthodoxethos.com Hieromonk Silouan Ic...

Daniel Padrnos, Executive Field Director for First Things Foundation and previously a Field Worker in Sierra Leone comes on for an honest take at what deep cultural immersion does to you. Daniel spent 2 years living and working in Sierra Leone, sometimes in the capital, but mostly in the remote village of Kailahun. During that time he underwent a profound change which he discusses. Does the deep i...

Welcome back and welcome to a small announcement. This week we kick off a monthly (maybe biweekly series) talking about immersion and something like "flow." WAWTAR will bring on Field Workers, artists, and people who are looking to talk about deep immersion. Think you are a person like that? Reach out to Andrew at andrewschwark@first-things.org and let him know with a small pitch. For al...

Today John talks with Kilts Khalfan (a pen name, see bio below) to talk about how the West has lost its nations and instead adopted the corporation as its uniting principle. In effect, the West has become populated with Vending Machine People . Today is a dive into that idea. Bio (from the Dragon Common Room website): "Anticonservative, but definitely not antiChrist, Kilts is a Medieval think...

Hello and welcome back to "Why Are We Talking About Rabbits?" Paul Kingsnorth returns as a guest to talk about his path to Orthodoxy, what it took to get there and what Orthodoxy is in the modern world.  Kingsnorth is an English writer and thinker currently living in Ireland. Growing up he was actively involved in protests, at one point going so far to chain himself to a bridge. He has w...

This week WAWTAR takes a brief look at the telos underpinning almost all modern stories. The show Ozark provides a great contrast to that of Crime and Punishment by Feydor Dostoevsky. Redemption vs nihilism.  Beauty vs chaos. The material vs the spiritual.  You should definitely check out Keipi Restaurant 👉 www.keipirestaurant.org WAWTAR now has a Facebook group: Why Are We Talking About (More) R...

Welcome back Uncle Seth! This week it's monsters and how we deal with them in our culture. Also abortion and what the heck is going on there. But really, the question Heers and Seth try to come to grips with is, "What ideal is our country elevating above all else?" WAWTAR now has a Facebook group: Why Are We Talking About (More) Rabbits? Join us for more conversation at: https://www...

Orthodox priest, speaker, writer and long time friend of FTF joins Heers to talk about his ministry, the challenges men and women face in contemporary culture, and of course, the structure of reality. This one goes deep and you wont want to miss a second! Links: St. Paisios Brotherhood - https://www.stpaisiosbrotherhood.com/ Bulgakov, Philosophy of Economy - https://tinyurl.com/2p8dvwac Pageau, Th...

From a recent talk that John gave concerning the death and dying in the Old World. How do different cultures confront the ultimate unknown? And what is the status of the soul in our modern age? WAWTAR now has a Facebook group: Why Are We Talking About (More) Rabbits? Join us for more conversation at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/797121200908155 If you like this podcast, please consider leaving...

A growing trend in the NBA for seasons now has been the rise in players missing game time. As in more and more players are missing more and more games (previously unimaginable). is this laziness? Or is a reflection of something deeper, something tied to our western work ethic that is breaking down? WAWTAR now has a Facebook group: Why Are We Talking About (More) Rabbits? Join us for more conversat...

On a recent (domestic!) flight, Heers had the chance to see a rather interesting movie called the Night of the Kings, from the Ivory Coast (link below). The story it tells is fascinating and old world, but does everyone receive the story in the same way? Are other narratives constructed to fit a particular world view? Here comes a heavy dose of universal storytelling...lightly. Links: Night of the...

Most of us at one point or another have been on the receiving end of that phrase. Maybe we've even dished it out a few times. But what can this seemingly innocuous statement tell us about the culture we live in? To do that we go back to Aristotle and Plato and it gets old world fast here on WAWTAR. WAWTAR now has a Facebook group: Why Are We Talking About (More) Rabbits? Join us for more conv...

Jonathan Pageau rejoins John and WAWTAR for a sprawling conversation that winds between themes of Orthodoxy, proper aid, the internet, America, and what the future may hold for us. It's a lot of heavy ideas done lightly. Jonathan Pageau is a professional icon carver & founder of the Symbolic World podcast: https://thesymbolicworld.com/content/videos/ WAWTAR now has a Facebook group: Why A...

Fellow podcaster and philologist Richard Rohlin joins WAWTAR today to explore the roots of European Christianity and by extension American Protestant Christianity. Along the way John and Richard talk about Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and the history of the European church (just a little anyways). Links: Amon Sul Podcast: https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/amonsul WAWTAR now has a Facebook group: Why A...

Using three stories pulled from our work and observations on science and thought today, John wonders aloud about the decline of meekness. He dives into the bicameral mind, the overthrow of the old gods and the rise of a new, singular one. Please consider helping our sister organization as they attempt to continue giving critical care to Guatemalans and Nicaraguans: he-he.org WAWTAR now has a Faceb...

Uncle Seth! Need we say more? Today he and John talk about the new (old?) American God: politics. Seth and John take a little "test" designed for middle school students to help determine where they land on the political spectrum. Are Seth's new world ideals Liberal? Are John's old world leanings Conservative? Time to find out... Links: Political Views Survey: www.first-things.o...

This week Heers talks with Fr. Deacon Ananias about science, scientism, and our cultural obsession with it. Borrowed from Fr. Ananias's website: "Fr. Deacon Ananias Sorem, PhD is CEO, Founder, and President of Patristic Faith. Father is an Orthodox apologist and Professor of Philosophy at Fullerton College and Carroll College... Father is the author of several articles and peer-reviewed...

Today on WAWTAR, Heers is excited to bring on the authors of the book, Development in Mission. Monty Lynn, Rob Gailey, and Derran Reese discuss poverty alleviation, the traps missionaries and foreign aid workers can easily find themselves in, and how we can all adopt a better method moving forward. From their book description: "Jesus's words, "Blessed are you who are poor," are...

This week Heers takes a look at a new world phenomena of becoming our own kings and queens. In Haiti this even goes so far as building castles...with moats. But in breaking all this down we need to examine what royalty throughout history and whether or not we really want the same today... WAWTAR now has a Facebook group: Why Are We Talking About (More) Rabbits? Join us for more conversation at: ht...