A Pastor and a Philosopher Walk into a Bar

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We were raised in the church, and now it's our turn to parent our kids and figure out how to pass on a healthy spiritual journey to them. We don't really know how to do it, but we know we don't want to do it in ways that we were raised on in the church.

Does that sound familiar? Bekah McNeel wrote Bringing Up Kids When the Church Lets You Down from exactly that perspective. In this episode, we chat with Bekah about her experiences growing up in the church, working in the church, being let down by the church, and then trying to figure out how she's going to raise her kids in the church. So many exvangelical parents have that same experience, trying to navigate faith and spirituality with our kids in a way that isn't manipulative, that offers choices, and that doesn't have to be deconstructed as they age. The people and resources mentioned in the conversation are:

• Mothers of Massive Resistance: White Women and the Politics of White Supremacy - Elizabeth Gillespie McRae
• Linda Kay Klein (author of Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Shamed a Generation of Young Women and How I Broke Free)
• Martin Brokenleg
• The Spiritual Child: The New Science on Parenting for Health and Lifelong Thriving - Lisa Miller

In this episode, we tasted the exquisite Nashville Barrel Company's 8 Year Rye. The tasting is at 3:57. To skip to the main segment, go to 7:26.

You can find the transcript for this episode here. 

Content note: this episode contains discussion of sex and some mild profanity.

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Our second political episode ever! Does it have anything to do with the elections occurring next week? You bet! Did we invite this guest on the show to trash nationalism some more? Sure did! BUT: Paul Miller is not our typical guest. For one thing, he's a self-described conservative patriot. He's a professor of International Affairs at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. He worked for George W. Bush. And he's a Christian (a Baptist to be specific). From that perspective, he mounts an unflinching case against Christian nationalism in his book The Religion of American Greatness: What's Wrong with Christian Nationalism.

We don't see eye to eye on everything with Paul, but we're definitely on the same page about the seriousness and the urgency of this movement within American Christianity that has taken over an entire party and is actively threatening to overthrow American democracy, or as Paul calls it, the liberal experiment of self-governance. It's important stuff, and people on opposite sides of a lot of political and moral issues should be talking to each other about it. So that's what we do here.

A couple books mentioned in the interview are:

• Mere Civility by Teresa Bejan
• The Case for Nationalism by Rich Lowry

The beverage we sample is Willett Family Estate Small Batch 4 Year Rye. The beverage tasting is at 5:11. To skip to the main segment, go to 7:00.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

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Austen Hartke is a transgender Christian man who wrote the book Transforming: the Bible and the Lives of Transgender Christians. The book is a gift to the trans Christian community, as well as to parents, church leaders, and the church in general. While the church and politicians debate and degrade transgender people's existence, they are trying to live lives without loneliness, isolation, and self-hatred. Austen's book does an incredible job of sharing the stories of real life trans and non-binary people who grew up in the church. He frames the conversation Biblically and theologically and shares his own story. We're excited to share Austen's voice and perspective, and to do something that far too few people are doing today--actually listening to the perspective and story of trans people who are trying to love themselves and love Jesus.

The resources Austen mentions in the interview are:

• Transmission Ministry Collective
• Transfaith: A Transgender Pastoral Resource - Christina Beardsley & Chris Dowd

The beverage we sample in the episode is Chicken Cock Kentucky Straight Rye from our friends at Story Hill BKC.

The beverage tasting is at 2:20. To skip to the main segment, go to 5:50.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Content note: this episode contains discussion of suicide that may not be suitable for younger listeners.

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The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.

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Cheers!

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Sometimes it's appropriate to carefully weigh all sides of an issue, patiently sorting through reasons, listening to perspectives, and respectfully dialoging with people who believe differently. We spend most of our time on this podcast trying to commend and practice that sort of thing. On the other hand, sometimes ideas are just bad, and it's appropriate to say when something is dumb or harmful and move on. As Qohelet of Ecclesiastes might say, there's a time for argument, and a time for derision. You're gonna get a little more of the second thing in this episode.

We tackle the doctrine of biblical inerrancy, the 20th century invention of white American evangelical men, which holds that the Bible is without error in the original manuscripts. We discuss where the view comes from, what seems to motivate it, the most prominent version of it accepted by contemporary evangelicals (the "Chicago Statement"), the influence it's had, and why we think it's hopelessly misguided. Towards the end we also discuss the similarities between inerrancy and originalism about the American constitution. Just to make sure we piss off as many people as possible.

Some of the resources mentioned or discussed in the conversation are:

• The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy
• "How the Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy became a litmus test"
• Five Views on Biblical Inerrancy
• Pete Enns on his panel discussion on inerrancy at the 2013 ETS meeting

The beverage featured in the episode is Laphroaig 10 Year Scotch.

The beverage tasting is at 2:26. To skip to the main segment, go to 6:00.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Content note: this episode contains profanity. We couldn't help it.

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Cheers!

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This one is for the whiskey geeks. In this special bonus episode, we join our friends TJ, Chuck, and Brian at the Power of Bourbon YouTube channel for a blind-tasting of six exquisite whiskies. Along the way, we also find time to chat a bit about our podcast and introduce ourselves to their subscribers. And now we're sharing the experience with you, so you can get to know them! What you hear here is a slightly condensed version of the livestream we did on their channel. You can find the full unedited video version here.

If you're not into bourbon, we won't be offended at all if you skip ahead to the next episode. Teaser: we have some thoughts about biblical inerrancy.

SPOILER: We reveal what bourbons we taste as we're tasting them, but if you want to know ahead of time, or want to learn more about them after you listen, here they are:

• Old Forester 117 Whiskey Row Fire Edition
• Bardstown Discovery Series #6
• Hardin's Creek Jacob's Well
• 4 Roses Single Barrel Barrel Strength OESV
• Lux Row 12 Year Double Barrel
• Woodford Reserve Master's Collection Oat Grain

Production note: this was a YouTube livestream with six people in different locations, so the quality is what it is.

Content note: this episode is entirely about bourbon, drinking bourbon, guessing what bourbon we're drinking, loving bourbon, paying too much money for bourbon, etc. So, you know, 21+.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

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Want to support us?

The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.

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Cheers!

Text us your questions!

We speak with philosopher James (Jamie) K.A. Smith about his new book How to Inhabit Time: Understanding the Past, Facing the Future, Living Faithfully Now. It's a contemplative exploration of what it means to be a temporal creature, a being constituted by a past and oriented toward a future. If that sounds heady, it's honestly one of the most spiritual and restful books we've featured on the show, and it's also philosophically informed and beautifully written. Jamie also loves music, and certain songs are featured prominently in the book, and there's a Spotify playlist that accompanies it which you can find here. The books, articles, songs, and films mentioned in the conversation are:

• Gilead - Marilynne Robinson
• Image Journal
• The Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoevsky
• Letter from Birmingham Jail - Martin Luther King, Jr.
• The Maternal Eye of Sally Mann - Sarah Boxer
• Every Time I Hear That Song - Brandi Carlile
• We Americans - The Avett Brothers
• If We Were Vampires - Jason Isbell
• I'm Not My Season - Fleet Foxes
• Wading in Waist-High Water: The Lyrics of Fleet Foxes
• About Time (movie)

The beverage we tasted is Elijah Craig Toasted Barrel bourbon.

The beverage tasting is at 4:10. To skip to the interview, go to 7:10.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Content note: this episode contains some mild profanity.

=====

Want to support us?

The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.

If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal.

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• Rate & review us on Apple & Spotify
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Cheers!

Text us your questions!

Stanley Hauerwas. Do we need to say more? The man is the preeminent living American theologian and has formed and shaped Christian thought and practice for decades. Stanley is a gift to the Church, and we loved chatting with him. We talked about sola scriptura, Kierkegaard, pacifism, how to be a Christian in America today, and much more. The audio for this episode is not to our regular standard. We apologize for that, and hope you can hang in there. It's worth it when we're talking to a treasure like Stanley.

The books mentioned in this episode are:

• Hannah's Child - Stanley Hauerwas
• Prayers Plainly Spoken - Stanley Hauerwas 
• Unleashing the Scripture: Freeing the Bible from Captivity to America - Stanley Hauerwas
• The Character of Virtue: Letters to a Godson - Stanley Hauerwas
• Beginnings: Interrogating Hauerwas - Stanley Hauerwas and Brian Brock
• War and the American Difference: Theological Reflections on Violence and National Identity - Stanley Hauerwas
• The Politics of Jesus - John Howard Yoder

We tasted the incredible 12 Year Glenfarclas. Don't pass it by if you find some.

The beverage tasting is at 4:45. To skip to the interview, go to 7:52.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Content note: this episode contains some mild profanity.

=====

Want to support us?

The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.

If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal.

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• Rate & review us on Apple & Spotify
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Cheers!

Text us your questions!

In this episode, we chat with John Walton, one of the foremost evangelical Old Testament scholars alive. Dr. Walton teaches Old Testament at Wheaton College in Illinois. John has also written groundbreaking books about Genesis 1 and 2, commentaries on Genesis and Job and many more books. We chat about creation, ancient people groups and cultures that the Bible was written in, inspiration and much more.

We sampled Toast by the always delicious Basil Hayden. Cheers!

The beverage tasting is at 6:01. To skip to the interview, go to 9:20.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

=====

Want to support us?

The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.

If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal.

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• Rate & review us on Apple & Spotify
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Cheers!

Text us your questions!

Why is "bar" part of the theme of our show (besides the obvious joke)? Kyle and Randy break this down with the help of an excellent article by Rich Manning called "The Complicated Journey from Holy Studies to Hospitality," which interviews various bartenders about their experiences in the seemingly contrasting spaces of the hospitality industry and the church.

The article gives us occasion to discuss why we do adult beverage tastings, why people are often more comfortable in bars than churches, Randy's time in the hospitality industry, what we think about the risk of alcoholism, and more. It also gives us an opportunity to tease our Patreon in our regular episode feed. If you're already a subscriber, catch the full conversation over at our Patreon page. If you're not, enjoy this teaser and consider subscribing at www.patreon.com/apastorandaphilosopher. Thanks for your support!

The bourbon featured in this episode is Noteworthy (Randy) and Bardstown Discovery Series (Kyle).

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Production note: we don't typically use our usual fancy setup for bonus content, so apologies that the audio quality is a bit lower than our regular episodes.

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The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.

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Cheers!

Text us your questions!

Deconstruction. What is it, why are so many doing it, and why are so many others apparently so threatened by it? We've said a few times on the show that we don't want to be just another deconstruction podcast, but we've never quite fully explained what we mean. So we sat down to work through our own experiences with deconstruction and what we've heard from others, to try to put our finger on what it is about it that leaves us wanting more, and to think together about what might be a richer alternative. Along the way, we try to be as respectful as we can to those going through it--which includes all of us in one way or another--and we also describe the weaknesses of some prominent critiques of it that we've heard. We hope this conversation will be beneficial to you if, like us, you've had reason to question the faith that you were given.

The book Randy mentions in the conversation is Radical Amazement by Judy Cannato.

The beverage we taste in this episode is Elliot's Revenge from the always stellar Manic Meadery.

The beverage tasting is at 8:25. To skip to the main segment, go to 10:50.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Content note: this episode contains some mild profanity, mention of abuse, and some adult language.

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Want to support us?

The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.

If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal.

Other important info:

• Rate & review us on Apple & Spotify
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• Watch & comment on YouTube
• Email us at [email protected]

Cheers!