Religion on the Mind

Earlier this year, I released a 4-part series called End Times Anxiety, chronicling mental health and related challenges of younger folks who had been adversely affected by Left Behind and similar visions of the Rapture and end of the world within conservative Protestant theology and culture. Throughout working on that project, I found myself continually asking myself and others, “Why did they buy...

Many of you heard the news about Jean Vanier, founder of L’Arche International and one of my own lifetime spiritual heroes, when it came to light in February that he had sexually abused multiple women under his care as their spiritual director. This was not like Harvey Weinstein -- Vanier was a world-renowned spiritual leader and thinker; he was on his way to sainthood. Jennifer Kelly (former dire...

Jon Steingard, singer of Contemporary Christian rock band Hawk Nelson, made quite a splash in some Christian circles a couple months back when he announced that he was no longer a Christian and did not believe in God. I was able to talk at least with Jon about his own process, as well as where the two of us actually agree, and where we ultimately differ on God’s existence and attributes. We got in...

This week, we have a pretty wide-ranging conversation with Yahoo News reporter Jon Ward. Eventually, we get around to my initial goal of talking about conspiracy theories and Evangelical subculture, but along the way we also talk about:- vaccines and anti-vax movement- confederate monuments- voter suppression- free speech- partisan media- public discourse- political psychology- his charismatic Pro...

We hear four stories of white Christians coming to see the reality of systemic racial injustice in American society: a Republican corporate attorney and member of the Federalist Society, a pastor’s kid whose sisters work with refugees (one of whom married an African man), a nurse confronting disparities in medical care, and a mother thinking through her own history and wanting to give her daughter...

I’m joined by titan of modern theology Mirosalv Volf to talk about human flourishing and its relationship with theology and psychology. Which field gives us direction, and which fills out the mechanisms for how to get there? This was a fantastic conversation. For the Life of the World Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/for-the-life-of-the-world-yale-center-for-faith-culture/id150507629...

What are the big questions that high schoolers and young adults are asking in their faith communities? I asked Josh Patterson, co-host of the (Re)Thinking Faith Podcast, about his own experience as a youth and young adult pastor at the uniquely multi-cultural and theologically centrist Seneca Creek Community Church in Gaithersburg, MD. LGBTQ issues, Hell, Science, Scriptural questions, the problem...

I interview Jim and Breanna Randall, missionaries (if you want to call them that) in Myanmar. We talk about the various pitfalls that are present in modern day missions work (bad actors, psychologists breaking their oaths to do no harm, donor fragility, American/White Exceptionalism, and more), as well as some more hopeful potential ways forward. CORRECTION: I said Jamie Lee Finch was the “Worst M...

One thing that I am really encouraged by amidst all the protest and civil unrest is how many white people seem to have genuinely woken up to the presence of systemic racism in American society. But what comes AFTER that moment, specifically from a faith perspective? In terms of theology, prayer, church, and seeing ourselves as part of God’s story more broadly, what might be some next steps, ripple...

Black Americans and other people of color are understandably exhausted right now, so what better time to pull something out of the vault that speaks to our current moment? In 2017, on my old Depolarize! Podcast, I interviewed 5 Christians of color about their experience growing up non-white in America, as well as a number of issues related to Evangelicalism and politics. I’m happy to say that the...

*This was recorded before I knew the proper pronunciation of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Jonathan Haidt's names*Back in 2017, my history buff good friend Ryan Downs and I recorded a short reaction to watching the James Baldwin documentary I Am Not Your Negro. It is a timely if incomplete discussion given recent events. I recommend watching the film first -- it is available for free on Prime Video if you...

Dan is joined by author and podcaster Matthias Roberts to talk about his new book Beyond Shame and the topic of sexual shame more broadly. His own story sheds interesting light on this topic because, as a gay person, Matthias found himself feeling sexual shame over heterosexual images and potential activities that he did not find sexually alluring at all. If sexual shame can be produced without ac...

What do younger Americans (18-30 year olds) think about science, faith, and the relationship between them? Which issues “count” as “science/faith” issues? You might be surprised at some of the answers to these questions. This episode is for listeners who have enjoyed getting a “peak behind the curtain” of this massive culture change/wave that we seem to be caught up in right now. Dr. Greg Cootsona...

This week, I speak with two sociologists of religion, Joseph Leman and Stephen Cranney, about the Hell Anxiety Scale that they developed, as well as the academic study of the overlap of psychology and religion more broadly, what other research around this topic has revealed, how they pursue this work as people of faith themselves, and whether it’s possible to be confident BOTH that there is a Hell...

I talk a lot about religious pluralism on this podcast, and therefore really appreciated this opportunity to talk with the Rev. Dr. Charles Kimball about his book Truth Over Fear and his lifetime of interreligious work. We cover Islamaphobia, fear-mongering, Sharia Law, religious liberty, and more. Truth Over Fear: https://smile.amazon.com/Truth-Over-Fear-Combating-About/dp/066426462X/ref=sr_1_1?d...

My guest Jessica Knippel is a PhD student in Women & Religion at Claremont Graduate School, and has been researching the Exvangelical / Post-Evangelical world. I was curious to talk with her about what she and other colleagues have learned about this massive exodus of mostly young people out of the American Evangelical movement, as well as figuring out where I myself and where this podcast stands...

Dan is joined by Methodist minister and astrophysicist David Wilkinson, professor of theology at Durham University and member of the Royal Astronomical Society. They talk about the so-called “fine-tuning” of our universe, the “anthropic principle” / “goldilocks enigma,” and multiverse theory as a common non-theist rejoinder for theistic arguments for God’s existence based on this fine-tuning. Whet...

I’m joined by my dear friend Ben Bishop, who is both a fantastic interviewer in his own right and a former patron-only episode guest. I asked Ben to interview me on the topic of why I am (still) a Christian. No one ever asks me, “Why are you a Christian?” Or very rarely, anyway. But pretty regularly, in the context of conversations about deconstruction or Biblical inerrancy or something similar, p...

Dan is joined by philosopher Myron Penner (Trinity Western University) and theologian Sarah Lane Ritchie (University of Edinburgh) to talk through all things Coronavirus and the Problem of Evil (mostly the “Natural Problem of Evil” but not exclusively). They discuss some interesting angles on this discussion, as well as numerous “solutions” on offer by Christian thinkers. Myron brings in some cogn...

This somewhat winding conversation with Dr. Tripp Fuller (Homebrewed Christianity Podcast) swirls around the concept of the Cosmic Christ, also known as the Universal Christ. Tripp and I attempt to answer four questions: Why attach the name Christ to Jesus in the first place? Why use the term "Cosmic" Christ? (What is that supposed to mean or signify?) How has the phrase "Cosmic" changed given evo...

I took a break from my every-other-week break with our newborn to have a conversation with one of the smartest people I know, Robbie Evans, a strategic director at a medical diagnostics company in Silicon Valley. He put together a Google Doc (linked below -- read first if you can) about some real and scary possibilities and likely projections for the US and COVID-19. This is not a time for (arbitr...

We often think of our doubts as counting *against* our faith: if we have enough reasons to believe in the “faith” column, then that will be enough to discount all the problems in the “doubts” column. But what if true modern faith will always include doubts? What if the presence of certain kinds of doubt actually shows that we are doing things right? Dan interviews Philip Clayton (Claremont School...

it isn't as nerdy as it sounds, but... I spoke with Reverend Doctor Catherine Kelsey about the beginnings of what today we would call liberal Christianity, through the work of the theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher. His way of thinking about the experience of faith has really been resonating with me lately, and Cathie wrote a great simple book about that topic. She is also quite pastoral, and I w...

Since the baby has not arrived yet, I was able to put a little something together in between formal episodes! This originally aired as a patron-exclusive episode, and was received so well that I thought it might be worth sharing with everyone on an off-week like this. Fellow Seattle Jim becker and I discuss his own story, why he now considers himself an atheist, what kind of God it is exactly that...

Dan sits down with friend and philosopher Matthew Benton (Seattle Pacific University) to talk through five common questions that come up commonly with undergraduate students at his Christian university:- How could a loving God send anyone to Hell?- Why is there so much religious diversity if one religion is (most) true?- If there is a loving God, why is there so much evil and suffering in the worl...