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Jeff Cook is back with us to dive deeper into deconstruction, inspired by our interview with Keri Ladouceur, the Executive Director of the Post-Evangelical Collective. We discuss the nature of deconstruction, its corporate, personal, and ethical dimensions, and what it implies about what's next. And because we're nerds, we also touch on ecclesiology and postmodernism.

If you'd like to ask a question about a recent episode to be featured on one of these bonus segments, email us at [email protected].

[Note: episode image generated with AI.]

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Psychologist and author Richard Beck joins us to discuss his recent book Hunting Magic Eels: Recovering an Enchanted Faith in a Skeptical Age. Richard is an engaging critic of some forms of contemporary "disenchanted" spirituality. He's also a fun dialogue partner and a good sport, who was willing to roll with Kyle's annoying philosophy questions. Some stuff we discuss in this conversation:

• Is our age really disenchanted?
• Does enchantment need to be transcendent?
• What's wrong with consumerist spirituality?
• What about the "spiritual but not religious" crowd?
• Are Catholics more enchanted than Protestants?
• What do dancing gorillas and paying attention have to do with God?
• What about mystical experiences?
• Is Kyle a narcissist and/or a sociopath?

And more!

The whiskey we taste in this episode is 4 Roses single barrel 18 year old bourbon.

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David Gushee is back on the show to discuss his book Defending Democracy from Its Christian Enemies, an erudite, timely, and disturbing take on American democracy, its struggles with authoritarianism, and its place on the global political stage. We discuss such questions as: How are government and morality related? What does the United States have in common with France, Germany, Hungary, or Brazil? How close to fascism are we? How concerned should we be? Can we be in relationship with those who support authoritarian leaders? What is ARC and why can't we remember what it stands for? And a lot more!

This is also our first ever in person interview! In case you're wondering, David is even more fun in person.

Content note: This episode has some adult themes.

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Believe it or not, this is our 100th episode! And what better way to spend it than diving back in with Peter Rollins, a guest who is unusually suited to the regular themes of our show, while also throwing some wrenches into pretty much everything we do. :-)

Picking up with where we left off in Part 1, we explore the sense in which Pete is a trinitarian Christian, some differences between Pete's and Kyle's philosophical approaches, the role of certain biblical themes in Pete's thought, his relationship to the historic Christian church, his beef with progressives, and a lot more. And we try really hard to get to the bottom of his whole negative theology thing.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

The whiskey we taste in this episode is Barrell 15 Year Gray Label bourbon.

Content note: This episode has some adult themes and mild profanity.

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Break out your dictionaries folks, this one got in the weeds a bit. But if you're familiar with Peter Rollins, you're probably not too surprised by that. Peter is a philosopher, public intellectual, and self-described anti-guru who writes and speaks extensively about concepts like the death of God, negative theology, "pyrotheology," and Atheism for Lent. He's been on our list to talk to since we started the podcast, and we're finally making it happen. And wouldn't you know it, we had so much to dig into that we had to talk to him again, so this will be a two-parter.

Fair warning: Peter has some challenging things to say, pretty much regardless of where you land on the religious or political spectrum. His ideas are not easy to swallow or to understand, but we did our best to get to the bottom of some of them. And we had a great time doing it. Let us know what you think!

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

The bourbon we taste in this episode is Weller 12.

Content note: This episode has some adult themes and mild profanity.

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Trey Ferguson of the New Living Treyslation and Three Black Men podcasts joins us to discuss his new book Theologizin' Bigger: Homilies on Living Freely and Loving Wholly. We talk about the Bible, the difference between "theologizin'" and theology, the racial dynamics of deconstruction, why evangelicals are so obsessed with "facts," why they're prone to grifters, white theology vs. Black theology, shame, heresy, Twitter (I refuse to call it X), and what "Michael vs. LeBron" has in common with theological frameworks. Trey is insightful, hilarious, gregarious, and humble. We hope you love this conversation as much as we did.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

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In this episode, Kyle and Randy discuss the philosophy of the soul and its implications for religious belief, the lived experience of faith, and even ethics. Kyle is a materialist, which means he thinks humans are physical objects, and Randy leans towards dualism, which involves belief in a soul or non-physical part of a human being. Are there any good arguments either way? What do most philosophers think? What are the implications for religion? Does any of it matter? What does it have to do with Donald Trump? This one is definitely on the headier, more philosophical side, so strap in and try to check your assumptions at the door.

The bourbon we tasted in this episode is the exquisite cinnamon bomb RD1 Brazilian amburana-finished straight bourbon.

To skip to the interview, go to 8:40. You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Content note: this episode contains some profanity.

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... drinking.

This is a more personal episode for us, particularly for Randy. As you know, we like alcohol around here, especially whiskey. In this episode, we chat about that and the presence it's had on our podcast and in our lives.

Can we have a "healthy relationship" with alcohol? What does that look like? How does that question get answered for each of us in honest ways? How do we responsibly balance our autonomy with the example we want to set for others?

Also, what kinds of conversations do we want to cultivate? (Hint: they're not necessarily churchy conversations or purely academic conversations, but conversations you might have in a bar.) What does this mean for the show going forward? And maybe most importantly, is there such a thing as a good mocktail?

The NA spirits we mixed in this episode are Monday "whiskey" and Martini Rossi Vibrante.

You can find the transcript for this episode here.

Content note: this episode contains some mild profanity.

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David Gushee is an influential Christian ethicist who famously changed his mind about LGBTQ Christians. His 2014 book Changing Our Mind (now in its third edition) has been celebrated and widely recommended as an honest and forceful reckoning with the ethical issues surrounding LGBTQ Christians and the church's complicity in their exclusion, neglect, and abuse. It is a powerful and well-researched chronicle of David's journey from a traditional stance to an inclusive one, a journey that he completed while remaining theologically conservative. We are honored that David agreed to speak with us about this important book, and we look forward to more conversations about his many others in the near future!

The bourbon we tasted in this episode is Hardin's Creek Clermont.

To skip to the interview, go to 11:32. You can find the transcript for this episode here.

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Philosopher Aaron Simmons joins us to discuss his new book Camping with Kierkegaard. It's all about living life in a way that is "worthy of your finitude," avoiding becoming an "asshole capitalist," and learning how to value the things in your life with the help of folks like Kierkegaard and Simone de Beauvoir. We discuss living faithfully, being present, living on purpose toward something you've chosen, and a lot more. There's a LOT to unpack in this one, and a couple interesting tangents that didn't make it into the final cut, so Patreon supporters, look out for those.

The whiskey we tasted in this episode is the Fercullen Irish Whiskey Blend from Bardstown Bourbon Company.

Content note: this episode contains some mild profanity. But it's philosophy, so it's fine.

To skip the alcohol tasting, go to 6:46. You can find the transcript for this episode here.

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Cheers!