Merely Human

Season 2 Episode 4

Jay’s first monologue with this new format. Reminiscing on how much has changed since we were kids. Boom boxes, cassette tapes and figuring out lyrics as a child of the 80’s and 90’s.

Season 2 Episode 3

Interviewed in this episode is Dr. Jeffrey Bilbro. Bilbro is the associate professor of English at Grove City College in Pennsylvania. Bilbro comes on to talk directly about "Reading the Times: A Literary and Theological Inquiry into the News". Why is this important for Christians and pro-lifers to understand the dynamic of main stream news networks.

But in the first segment Jay addresses an interesting new behavior by Orcas in the Straits of Gibraltar and a little about crows.

Book...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0830841857?...

Site...

https://jeffbilbro.com

Reposting of Episode 5 of Human Things 2.0 starts with author and journalist Leah Savas of World News Group to discuss the book she co-authored with Marvin Olasky, The Story of Abortion in America starting in 1652!

This episode open with consideration of how poor arguments are on the internet. It is difficult to find anything on social media serious enough to discuss. In the future, serious academic arguments will be considered more thoroughly including revisiting bodily autonomy arguments.

The second segment sets the stage for the interview with Ben Mitchell. Three broadly defined ideas of what it means to be human are in conflict in our world. Are we purely physical beings residing in a physical universe? Is our existence the playing out of atoms colliding with atoms with only the illusion of minds and purpose? Or are we psychological beings, free to define ourselves as whatever we wish to be or feel best represents our inner self? Is the physical reality of our body less important than the desires of our heart and our psychologic identity? Or, finally, are we a dynamic union of mind and body where both the physical world and our internal lives must be reconciled as important aspects of our whole?

In 3 Things, C. Ben Mitchell joins the show to discuss the most important things for Christians to consider while living in an age where the new cycle includes fears artificial intelligence will be the end of all humanity. The first area of consideration in Al, what it is and how it is being used. The second is transhumanist and post-humanist views of humanity. A certain segment sees humanity as stage to be overcome and not a privileged existence as the image bearers of God. The last subject of consideration is a view of human beings which sees the world as better off without us.

C. Ben Mitchell held the Graves Chair of Moral Philosophy at Union University in Tennessee, where he also previously served as Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs. Dr. Mitchell also serves as the editor of Ethics & Medicine: An International Journal of Bioethics and as senior editor of Renewing Minds: A Journal of Faith, Learning, and Culture.

This episode begins with an explanation of the long form podcast as our mothership. The vision is to produce longer content that takes it time to consider points of view. From this longer format, we will excerpt shorter segments and videos to offer more concise material.

The first segment discusses the idea that peak Star Wars requires both Han Solo played by Harrison Ford and Darth Vader. They make Star Wars work better in every way.

Segment two discusses the Burning Research Lab as an argument which frequently pops up on social media. Do you save the petri dish full of embryos or the single 2-year-old child in the burning lab? The thought experiment doesn’t prove what it claims.

Finally, part 1 of a conversation with the great Scott Klusendorf where he shares his Three Things pro-lifers need to consider in the post Roe world. Point one, prudence is not compromise, inconsistency is not refutation, and finally human rights require human beings.

Season 2 begins with a little recap of the goals of the Human Things 2.0 long form podcast project.

Jay shares his commencement speech advice including:

1) Mark special occasions and celebrate every victory, big or small.

2) Every day offers new opportunities and challenges, new opportunities to mess up or a challenge to begin again.

3) Bet on yourself and don’t be afraid to lose.

4) The people we meet along the way are the most important thing in our lives.

In the 3 Things segment, Seth Drayer, Vice President of Created Equal, shares his 3 Things to help dialogue with hostile audiences on the issue of abortion.

Find more from Seth at https://www.createdequal.org

The last of season one of Merely Human Things. We are finishing up the interview with Scott Klusendorf.

The intro has some very specific ramblings from Jay concerning how easily he can get invested in silly things that would normally have little weight on greater world matters.

We've got a comparison from Brooklyn Nine-Nine about just how deeply Jay feels about the misuse of language.

After the intro Scott finishes off his list of three things. Scott Klusendorf is one of the best minds in the pro-life movement, so sit back and learn from two of the best.

Summary Episode 9

 

This episode begins with an explanation of the long form podcast as our mothership. The vision is to produce longer content that takes it time to consider points of view. From this longer format, we will excerpt shorter segments and videos to offer more concise material.

 

The first segment discusses the idea that peak Star Wars requires both Han Solo played by Harrison Ford and Darth Vader. They make Star Wars work better in every way.

 

Segment two discusses the Burning Research Lab as an argument which frequently pops up on social media. Do you save the petri dish full of embryos or the single 2-year-old child in the burning lab? The thought experiment doesn’t prove what it claims.

 

Finally, part 1 of a conversation with the great Scott Klusendorf where he shares his Three Things pro-lifers need to consider in the post Roe world. Point one, prudence is not compromise, inconsistency is not refutation, and finally human rights require human beings.

Life Training Institute’s Megan Almon joins the show to discuss Nobel Prize winning author Annie Ernaux’s Happening, a novelized telling of her experience with illegal abortion in Paris in 1963. Megan shares her Three Things in evaluating the story as a work of literature and political statement about contemporary abortion politics.

More about Megan Almon

https://prolifetraining.com/about-speaker/megan-almon/

Annie Ernaux's Happening...

https://www.amazon.com/Happening-World-Literature-Translation-Ernaux/dp/1609809483

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https://merelyhumanministries.org/donate/

We asked people who disagree with us to tell us why. We received a long message; one our producer began to reference as the The Letter. I tried to answer as briefly as possible as a segment of an episode, but the objections are wide ranging and require some discussion in unpacking. We went back into the studio and addressed it in a longer form, ultimately deciding to let the segment stand alone. Here is what we call “The Letter Episode.”