More Than This

This week we are talking about the idea of absolutes and relativism. Our society makes claims that are absolute but cloaked in the language of relativism. What is the role of faith - defining and holding absolutes, the strength to live with everything being uncertain, or a mix of both? Listen to Kate and Dave talk through all these things.

Long before zombies and apocalypses were common talk, certain Christian groups were talking about the end of the world. A lot. In this episode, we offer a "field guide" to how some Christians think about the end of the world, and we talk about how the way we view the future impacts the present.

We often refer to evangelicalism on this show, but just what are we referring to when we do that? Glad you asked! This week, we have special guest Daniel Silliman on to break down some of the history and defining characteristics of American evangelicalism. We get into some funny conversations about evangelical subculture and how this religious movement gained traction. 

Daniel Silliman is a historian who writes about religion and American culture. He is currently finishing a history of evangelical book markets and bestselling novels, including Left Behind, Love Comes Softly, and The Shack. He earned his PhD from the University of Heidelberg, in Germany, and before that worked as a newspaper reporter in Atlanta, Ga. He posts very interesting content on religion and current events at https://twitter.com/danielsilliman - he's a great person to follow.

 We’re calling this episode Stranger Love, and we are talking broadly about the issue of immigration in the US. We talk a lot about the political divide regarding immigration, how the Bible might begin to inform our thinking, and how the treatment of foreigners and strangers among us matters.  

It’s really hard to talk about abortion without people losing their minds. That’s why we’re calling this episode Mission Impossible. Kate and Dave talk about some ways to move past the binary and how the average American may be a bit more nuanced in their views. 

This episode is about people of Christian faith and same-sex attraction. Kate and Dave lay out some of positions Christians take in how they think about sexual orientation, and they share how their thoughts and relationships have shifted over time. There is special emphasis paid to the importance of engagement and relationship over against detached doctrine. Have grace for them as they sort through what has regrettably become a  divisive issue.

Kate and Dave talk about the phenomenon of Christian worship music. We learn some of Dave's confused cultural upbringing, including attending bonfires to burn CD's and cassettes of "evil" music. Kate expresses her sincere desire to catch a deer panting. It's good fun - come sing along.

In this last episode of our series on race, Dave sits down with two leaders in diversity, Pascal Losambe and Daniel Juday. The conversation begins with the contours of the diversity conversation and what feels important about diversity work and moves on to talking about fake diversity. The episode finishes with talking about some unintended consequences and weak points of the modern diversity movement. Don't miss this important episode.

This week, Kate and Dave talk about one of the most famous splits in history, bigger than Brad & Angelina, when the Protestant Church split off from the Catholic Church. There’s been some movement in the recent 10-15 years for certain protestants to reconsider some of the “higher” church traditions, particularly Catholicism, so we’re calling this episode Flirting with Rome. We talk about some of the similarities and differences between Catholicism and Protestantism and what we as Protestants appreciate about the Catholic tradition.

This is the second of a three-part series on race. On this episode, Dr. Erik Peterson joins Dave to talk about the origin of our notions of how people differ based on skin color. This is a foundational issue for any productive conversation about race.

Speaking of race, check out Erik's podcast, Speaking of Race. Erik and his colleagues do an in-depth look at the social history of race. You can find it on iTunes:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/speaking-of-race/id1293760639?mt=2

or go the show website:

http://speakingofrace.ua.edu/podcast