On Becoming

When I first read Gadamer, it was as if my eyes were opened. Reading his work broadened my mind and helped me understand everything from theology and philosophy to what I do as a jazz musician. In this episode, I discuss some of the aspects that were so welcome to hear and put so many things into perspective.

In this episode, I conclude our discussion of forgiveness and, specifically, the idea of forgiveness oppression. Victims of abuse and violence are often pressured to forgive their perpetrators, despite a lack of remorse or a change of behaviour. I show how Jesus' teachings have been significantly distorted to create the norm of unconditional forgiveness. Finally, I consider the value and place of...

Victims of abuse and violence are often pressured to forgive their perpetrators. The idea of unconditional forgiveness—forgiveness granted regardless of apology, remorse, or change of behaviour—has become a norm for many in the west and those who refuse to forgive are often seen as resentful and bitter. Yet those imploring forgiveness are often the powerful and those asked to forgive are often min...

This episode completes the discussion begun in the previous episode, which focused primarily on the idea of faux forgiveness that I term 'moving on'. In this episode, we consider other varieties of faux forgiveness--evolving memory, changing the calculation, excusing by understanding, and balancing the books. While we'll see that they aren't actually forgiveness, they do give us many clues as to w...

In this week's episodes, I take a similar approach to forgiveness as I did to the subject of apology last week--examining various things that people often assume count as 'forgiveness' that are, at best, faux forgiveness. For this episode, I consider 'moving on' (the thing most commonly but inaccurately defined as 'forgiveness') and then begin a discussion of the next aspect, 'evolving memory' tha...

In this episode, we continue on the theme of apology. We talk about gender differences in apologising, the difficulty (at least in serious cases) of figuring out exactly what one has done wrong, the problems with the word 'apology' and the phrase 'I'm sorry', and the hope that an apology can restore a relationship.

Having discussed the issue of religious trauma this past week, turning to the subjects of apology and forgiveness seemed a natural transition. In this episode, I introduce the concept of apology and why it is problematic. In short, I think that many things put forth as 'apologies' fail to qualify as actual apologies, and often make things worse.

This episode continues the discussion of religious trauma. My focus here is on how one recovers from such trauma. One of the difficulties in recovery is that strong religious beliefs learned as a child cannot simply be left behind. Or, as Nietzsche would remind us, they might be left behind intellectually while still remaining in the emotional core of our being.

In this episode, I turn to the phenomenon of religious trauma in order to see how such trauma can affect us. Trauma is felt at the deepest core of our being, which means that simply leaving it behind will be very difficult or perhaps even impossible. Religious trauma has received very little attention by psychologists and therapists, though I've discovered some resources that can help.

In this episode, we move from focusing on Christian nationalism to the state of higher education in the Evangelical world. I consider the aspect of academic freedom and the kinds of restrictions placed on faculty at conservative Christian institutions. Since those restrictions can be found (among other places) in the institutional statement of faith, that raises the question of who gets to interpr...

In our final episode in the series on Christian nationalism, we turn to the town of Moscow, Idaho and the vision of Christian nationalists to take over the world for what they consider to be 'Christianity' or what I would term 'anti-Christian' nationalism.

We continue the discussion of Christian nationalism by going back to its roots in Christian Reconstructionism, a very peculiar reading of the Bible that leads its followers to think that Jesus' call to evangelism is really a call to take over civil governments across the world in the name of Jesus. As we'll see, the goal of Reconstructionism is to tear down the existing order with the goal of rebu...

This week's episode is the first of a short series on the phenomenon known as Christian nationalism. You have probably heard that term. Alternatively, you may have read or heard Evangelical Christians talking in way that presumes that the US is a Christian nation and it needs to become even 'more' Christian. Much of this episode interacts with an interview in Rolling Stone magazine with Dr. Bradle...

In this episode, we consider what's going on the state of Florida regarding education. Under a new law there, discussion of anything to do with sexuality is considered 'inappropriate' for all students from kindergarten to twelfth grade. Similarly, discussions of injustice that have to do with race, colour, sex, or national origin are equally off limits. In order to see why this law is so problemat...

In this episode, we consider the various meanings of the term 'queer'. As I say at the beginning of the episode, my goal is make it clear that all of us have had experiences of what it's like to be 'queer'. At the core of the discussion is a basic distinction: the centre versus the margins. We consider how those in the centre have a certain privilege, as well as the point that what counts as eithe...

This week we consider a recent, lengthy article on homeschooling. It's a troubling article, for it focuses on a married couple who were both homeschooled but decide not to homeschool their own children. Simply because of the subject, the article raises the question of what it means to be 'indoctrinated'. My comments on this topic are set in the context of what Kant and Foucault have to say about w...

Having gone through the series in which we considered whether Evangelicalism qualifies as a 'cult' and then having interviews with Tim Whitaker and J. Aaron Simmons, I offer some insights into the ways in which Christian theists and people who choose the label 'atheist' argue against one another. In effect, much of what counts as 'argument' is really a kind of bullying--a practice found on both si...

This week's episode is an interview with J. Aaron Simmons. We talk about how the Evangelical world has changed over the past few decades. Both of us see these changes as moving from being somewhat welcoming to the Other to a place where the Other is not only not welcomed but is vilified. Yet Aaron talks about how he has managed to still find a place in that world, even while making his lack of agr...

In this episode, I speak with Tim Whitaker. Both of us grew up in the Evangelical world. Those of you who've listened to this podcast know that I was more or less removed from it. We discuss the various ways in which Evangelicals have failed to read the Bible seriously and ignored some of the core teachings of Jesus.

This is the final episode in the series considering Evangelicalism from the point of view of a cult. It also concludes my own story--at least up until now--begun in Part One of The Dispensing of Existence.

In this episode, I continue my story of growing up Evangelical. I talk about my short-term missionary experience in Belgium, some aspects of my undergraduate education, and what it was like returning to Belgium as a graduate student and then studying with Gadamer on my Fulbright to Germany. Then I continue with how things went with returning to my undergraduate institution to teach and end with th...

With this episode, we come to the last of the eight aspects of cults or totalitarian movements. The dispensing of existence concerns who has the right to exist, at least according to such movements or cults. Under this rubric, I'm looking back on my life in this and the next two episodes. This episode focuses on my childhood and teen years.

In this episode, I examine the teachings of Bill Gothard, who was influenced by Rousas John Rushdoony. You've probably never heard of either, but both have been influential on the development of Evangelical thought in the past few decades. Gothard is perhaps best remembered as the forerunner to the 'purity movement', though you'll discover that he and his organisation have been deeply discredited...

In this episode, I explore themes related to Easter: the resurrection, life after death, and what the Bible actually says about hell (hint: almost nothing).

In this episode, we consider the way in which language is used in the Evangelical world. Much of that language is couched in the form of cliché, which is designed to be 'self-evident' and thus not open to further questioning. Further, the way in which words are used represents a significant departure from their usual meanings, which makes it difficult to examine many Evangelical statements.