It's a Theological World After All

Are systems like ChatGPT really destroying the truth, or are they just reflecting our own deeply flawed human nature? In this episode of It's a Theological World After All, host Joshua Farris sits down with Professor Jimmy Alfonso Licon to explore his provocative paper, ChatGPT is bullshit partly because people are bullshitters. We dive into Harry Frankfurt’s famous concept of "bullshit&#3...

Are we witnessing the rise of a neo-pagan culture? In this episode, Dr. Joshua R. Farris sits down with Carl and Anthony to explore how pantheism and ancient pagan worldviews are actively reshaping modern society and politics. From the intensely polarized rhetoric of Christian Nationalism to Dr. Michael Heiser's "Deuteronomy 32 worldview," we unpack the unseen spiritual realities drivi...

Can the doctrine of the Trinity explain the very structure of human consciousness and the natural world? In this episode, I sit down with Fr. Andrew Hollingsworth to explore why the Trinity isn't just an abstract theological puzzle—it’s the "grammar" of reality itself. From the "triadic" philosophy of Charles Sanders Peirce to a scathing critique of AI and materialism, we dive...

As materialism fails to explain human consciousness, a new and ancient "Liturgy of Self-Making" is rising. In this deep-dive, Anthony Costello, Carl Teichrib and myself, Joshua Farris, explore how AI, Neo-Paganism, and the sexual revolution are converging to redefine what it means to be human. Is the world becoming more technological, or more theological? In this episode, we go behind the...

Is technology changing what it means to be human? Today I sit down with Matthew Burford (Founder of Tactical Faith) to discuss why modern apologetics is shifting from "winning arguments" to "reclaiming wonder." As we move deeper into the age of AI and digital distraction, Burford argues that we are facing a crisis of disembodiment. Drawing on neuroscientist Ian McGilchrist’s work o...

Is the universe a mindless machine, or is it alive? In this episode, we explore the dramatic collapse of materialism and the rise of Panpsychism—the radical idea that consciousness is a fundamental feature of all matter. From the "Hard Problem of Consciousness" to the return of ancient animism in the modern lab, we sit down with Anthony Costello and Carl Teichrib to deconstruct how modern...

Is environmentalism the new global religion? In this deep-dive discussion, we explore the shocking shift from traditional Christian stewardship to a "Dark Green" neo-paganism that is quietly reshaping our churches, our laws, and our view of what it means to be human. From the "Pachamama" rituals in the Vatican to the deification of "Mother Earth" in global policy like Agend...

Is the West Returning to Paganism? In this deep-dive episode, I sit with Carl Teichrib and Anthony Costello to peel back the layers of the modern Neo-Pagan revival. Far from being just "Halloween costumes" or "Burning Man nostalgia," we argue that we are witnessing a massive ontological shift in the Western soul—moving from the Christian Creator-creature distinction to a "One-i...

We will be watching a new multi-part podcast series that examines a major cultural and spiritual shift in the West. Rather than moving toward disbelief, contemporary culture is experiencing a renewed interest in spirituality—particularly forms resembling paganism, New Age beliefs, occult practices, altered states of consciousness, and alternative cosmologies. This shift challenges the long-standin...

Today, we're joined by Lauren Ponder, a professional Death Doula, to pull back the curtain on the "Death Positive" movement, Swedish Death Cleaning, and how to reclaim your dignity at the end of life. In this episode of It's a Theological World After All, we explore why our culture is so "death-avoidant" and how we can transform the end-of-life process from a moment of fear...

Today, we're joined by Lauren Ponder, a professional Death Doula, to pull back the curtain on the "Death Positive" movement, Swedish Death Cleaning, and how to reclaim your dignity at the end of life. In this episode of It's a Theological World After All, we explore why our culture is so "death-avoidant" and how we can transform the end-of-life process from a moment of fear...

Is God just an abstract idea, or is He the literal "Now" that holds your reality together? In this deep-dive finale, philosopher Dr. Stephen Priest explains how "fundamental ontology," the study of pure being, leads logically from atheism to the Trinitarian God. We move beyond abstract theory into the "Eternal Now," exploring why the present moment is the closest we get to...

In modern culture, we treat loss like a problem to be solved, something we're told to hurry through so we can "move on." But what if this mindset, which I trace back to the Enlightenment's focus on individual happiness, is actually making our society impoverished? I sat down with the brilliant philosopher Mikolaj Slawkowski-Rode (University of Oxford) to challenge the prevailing Fr...

I sat down with theologian Dr. R.T. Mullins (The Reluctant Theologian, author of Eternal in Love: A Little Book About a Big God) for a radical discussion that challenged centuries of tradition. We broke down why the idea of a timeless, unmoving God is not only logically incoherent but also deeply damaging to our spiritual health and personal relationships. If you suspect your theology is causing a...

What if the deepest questions about consciousness aren’t scientific puzzles… but theological ones? In this conversation, we journey through the great frontier where philosophy, consciousness studies, and theology meet. From the mystery of the “I”, to the nature of time and the eternal present, to the limits of materialism and modern philosophy’s struggle to explain subjective experience. This epis...

Public Theology in a Noisy Age: Fighting Ideas with Truth & Grace What it means to be a Christian in today’s chaotic culture and how we can be better representatives of Christ?  Don’t let shallow content, demonic influence, social media noise, and declining Christian scholarship numb you into spiritual apathy. Key Topics We Cover: How demonic influence shows up in culture, politics, and religi...

What if the biggest questions of life, who am I? Why am I here? What is consciousness? Why is it always now? Can’t be solved by science or philosophy alone? What if they require theological answers? In this conversation with Stephen Priest (Oxford and Cambridge philosopher), we explore why every deep philosophical question—from personal identity to the mystery of time, from being itself to the fou...

Can imagination lead us closer to God? Can beauty, art, and even pain reveal something deeper than naturalism allows? In this conversation with Charles Taliaferro, we explore the role of forgiveness, theological imagination, beauty, suffering, and art in pointing us toward transcendence. From the challenges of teaching about evil and forgiveness, to the limits of naturalism, to the ways literature...

Is theology disappearing from the church and public life? In this conversation with Roger Olson, we explore the decline of theology in evangelical culture, the rise of anti-intellectualism, and how “feelings over doctrine” has reshaped faith communities. From the 1966 Time cover declaring “God is Dead,” to seminaries closing their doors, to personal stories of rejection for being “too theological,...