Stuck in a suffering loop? Use agency, not blame, to move again. Sort things into Control, Influence, and Accept, then use proven psychological tools that work in real life. This episode is a blunt-but-kind guide to swapping self-pity for small, deliberate moves!

You can’t control what life throws at you, but you can pick the next right move. That’s agency. Not the lottery numbers, not the timing of a layoff, not the coworker who emails in ALL CAPS and CC-s your boss, just the next right move you can actually make.

By “agency,” I mean choosing your response inside real limits. Think of Viktor Frankl’s line we quoted in the main presentation: between stimulus and response there is a space. That space is small, but it’s powerful. It’s where we buy a breath, remember who we are, and then make a choice we won’t regret tomorrow. Sometimes the choice is tiny, but tiny still counts when it’s intentional.

Here’s the tone for this episode: I’m going to try to be direct but kind. We’ll name grief, anger, depression and we’ll talk about how to stand back up without shaming ourselves. If you’ve been feeding the self-pity loop, I get it; I’ve been there. But we’re going to try something more useful than another round of “why me?”

Keep this in mind as you listen: “Agency doesn’t mean ‘try harder.’ It means ‘try differently, on purpose.’” That’s our job—find that little space between stimulus and response, and learn what “differently, on purpose” looks like in your real life.

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Ditch the afterlife scoreboard. Widen the circle of care and acceptance now to honor shared humanity, learn from hardship, and fix the narrow doors that quietly shut people out. It’s not complicated and it’s an ages old message!

Have you ever noticed how often “narrow door” religion turns into velvet ropes and bouncers? Lots of talk about who gets in later, while real people are kept out now. Strip away the afterlife scoreboard and you start to see a simpler question: are we widening the circle of dignity here on earth, or are we guarding a narrow gate that people with a selfish agenda have created?

Welcome to Mythologizing the Bible, where we’ll be taking a look at three readings from the Christian Bible through the lens of “sacred myth.”

As we reflect on the readings for the 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, we’ll explore how Isaiah’s big-tent vision challenges gatekeeping, how hardship can teach without needing a cosmic reason, and how fairness is something we build, not just something we feel.

In this episode, we’re asking an honest question: What happens if we drop the fear-based filters and focus on the values underneath… things like our shared humanity, resilient learning, and widening the narrow doors that restrict everyday life? Because if faith is going to be a force for good, it should look less like “sorting souls” and more like opening paths for people to thrive.

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Good trouble beats fake peace… but you need to understand when to stand firm, what to negotiate, and then you need to identify one step you’ll schedule this week to protect your neighbors. Stick around and I’ll share a secular guide to principled conflict—ends vs. means, a “compromise compass,” and a practical step you can put on the calendar this week.

Jesus said, “I didn’t come to bring peace but division.” Since we’re reading this through a secular, values-first lens, what that means to us is that sometimes telling the truth creates friction before it creates healing. That’s not chaos; that’s clarity.

Here’s the thesis in plain English (borrowed from MLK): real peace isn’t the absence of tension; it’s the presence of justice. The quiet that lets harm continue? That’s not peace, it’s a lid on a boiling pot. When we fight for the common good, division is inevitable because there will always be those who push back against universal dignity. If you’ve ever been called “divisive” for asking that everyone be treated humanely, welcome to the club.

This episode is about practicing principled conflict: how to keep your heart soft and your spine strong. We’ll sort out what’s non-negotiable (things like ‘everyone gets to thrive’) from what’s flexible (things like ‘methods, timelines, messaging’). We’ll talk about when to stand firm, when to bargain, and how to act locally without burning out. We can compromise on how we include everyone, but not on whether we include everyone.

By the end, my hope is that you’ll feel steadier about naming harm, that you’ll be clearer about your next move, and that maybe you’ll be a little more practiced at rocking the boat without sinking it!

CODA Project is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Ditch the afterlife scoreboard. Widen the circle of care and acceptance now—honor shared humanity, learn from hardship, and fix the narrow doors that quietly shut people out. It’s not complicated and it’s an ages old message!

Have you ever noticed how telling the truth out loud can shine a spotlight on what’s really happening… exposing what’s broken, revealing who stands with us, and forcing a choice between comfort and courage?

Welcome to Mythologizing the Bible, where we’ll be taking a look at three readings from the Christian Bible through the lens of “sacred myth.”

As we reflect on the readings for the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle C, we’ll explore how honest speech often divides before it heals, how focusing on core values builds endurance, and how everyday allyship, like using your privilege to pull someone else out of harm’s way, can turn friction into real change.

In this episode, we’re asking an honest question: What if we drop the supernatural framing and treat these stories as a playbook for courage and solidarity where we live? What small, scheduled step would make that real this week? Because “peace” without truth isn’t peace; it’s quiet complicity.

CODA Project is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

What if blind faith isn’t a virtue but a tool for control? The simple truth is that unquestioned belief often gets weaponized, so we can do much better without it!

If you had to pick one word that holds up the entire house of religion, especially Christianity, it’s probably faith. Not compassion, humility, or even obedience (although that one tries real hard). Faith is like the duct tape of religious life: just slap a little faith on and it’ll hold… at least until you start asking questions.

But that’s the point, right? Faith is the convenient way to smooth over the contradictions, gloss over the plot holes, and explain away the parts of the Bible that make zero sense. Talking snakes? Faith. Worldwide flood that kills everything except what could fit in a big boat? Faith. A God who loves everyone but murders whole cities? You guessed it—faith. It’s the magic answer to every tough question. And for a lot of people, it works. It makes things feel simpler, more certain. Less uncomfortable.

But if faith is really “belief without evidence,” why is that considered a virtue?

That’s what we’ll discuss in this episode of Afterthoughts. Because maybe the problem isn’t just the idea of faith itself. Religious leaders use people’s need for certainty, for meaning, for hope, and they turn it into a tool of control. So, maybe the bigger issue is how faith gets weaponized.

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Blind belief is dangerous because “faith” becomes a cover for oppressive behavior. But instead of feeding the bitter roots of oppression, we can choose to live with clarity and compassion to break the cycles of harm!

Have you ever noticed how often religious belief is used to shut down questions rather than open up meaningful conversations? Whether it’s “God said it, I believe it, that settles it,” or vague claims about faith in divine plans, too often we’re told to stop thinking and just trust—especially when the answers don’t make a whole lot of sense.

Welcome to Mythologizing the Bible, where we’ll be taking a look at three readings from the Christian Bible through the lens of “sacred myth.”

As we reflect on the readings for the 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we’ll explore what happens when blind faith is held up as a virtue and how that has often been used to justify oppression, silence dissent, and demand obedience.

In this episode, we’re asking an honest question: What if “living a good life” doesn’t need divine authority at all? What if it’s not about waiting for some cosmic reward or fearing eternal punishment—but about choosing to be better, starting right now, for reasons that are visible, meaningful, and rooted in shared human values?

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What if living a good life didn’t require religion at all? Instead of blind faith in an invisible god, what if we learned to focus on the real power behind three timeless values: integrity, discipline, and compassion?

Paul told the early Christians to get rid of stuff like greed, lust, and all that good-time behavior the philosophers also warned against. And then he said, “Do it because you’ve been raised with Christ.” In other words, his moral advice came with a theological price tag.

But do we really need a supernatural reason to be decent human beings? Do we need to believe in “things above” to know it’s wrong to lie, cheat, or act like a self-absorbed jackass? I don’t think so. In fact, I’d argue that if the only reason someone is being good is because they’re afraid of hell, that’s not morality… it’s supernatural bribery.

So in this episode of Afterthoughts, we look at three values that Paul and many Greco-Roman philosophers agreed on: integrity, discipline, and compassion. Not because God commands it but because they work. They help us grow into better people, form healthier relationships, and build communities that actually function… without divine micromanagement. These are values that hold up on their own, and they still matter, maybe now more than ever.

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What if real wealth isn’t what you own but what you give away? Perhaps living a values-based life that’s based on generosity, not greed, is the foundation of a just and thriving world!

Have you ever noticed how hard people work to accumulate stuff… money, possessions, titles… and then still feel like it’s never enough? From ancient parables to modern politics, it seems like we’ve always struggled to answer the same question: What actually makes life meaningful?

Welcome to Mythologizing the Bible, where we’ll be taking a look at three readings from the Christian Bible through the lens of “sacred myth.”

As we reflect on the readings for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we’ll explore how human beings have always wrestled with greed, status, and tribal division, and how generosity, connection, and shared values might be the antidote we’ve been looking for.

In this episode, we’re asking something simple but bold: What if the real wealth in life isn’t something you can hoard but something you create by giving freely and showing up for others? Because if we want a just and thriving society, it won’t come from bigger barns or more billionaires. It will come from each of us deciding to live like people matter more than possessions.

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What kind of God demands loyalty but punishes honesty? Maybe it’s time to talk about divine wrath, heresy, and what it means to challenge sacred texts with integrity. In this episode, we’ll take a fearless look at divine contradictions, ancient heresies, and why asking tough questions might be the most faithful thing you can do!

In the main episode this week, we looked at a weird little story from Genesis where Abraham stood up to God. He literally pushed back on God’s plan to wipe out two entire cities. Surprisingly, God didn’t smite Abraham on the spot. In fact, Abraham negotiated with God, basically haggled with him, over how many good people it would take to stop the destruction. It was like a reverse auction. Fifty? Forty-five? Do I hear thirty?

It was a bold move but it needed to be done, because what God was planning wasn’t loving, or patient, or even remotely proportional. It was wrath, plain and simple. So Abraham stood up and said, “Wait… is this really justice?”

If that same wrathful, fire-raining God is supposedly one-third of the loving, peaceful Jesus you meet in Sunday School… then what kind of God are they even talking about?

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Doing the right thing isn’t easy and it’s definitely not a solo project. Standing up, starting over, and asking for help might be the most courageous things you can do.

Have you ever felt like doing the right thing is supposed to be its own reward but then found yourself wondering why it still feels so hard to do the right thing… alone? Well, the stories we look at in this episode might help explain why it’s so much easier to work together.

Welcome to Mythologizing the Bible, where we’ll be taking a look at three readings from the Christian Bible through the lens of “sacred myth.”

As we reflect on the readings for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time, we’ll explore how myths about justice, forgiveness, and fresh starts can still teach us something deeply human, especially when we stop waiting on divine approval and start relying on each other.

In this episode, we’re asking: What happens when we stop treating goodness as a transaction and start living our values in community… together? Because the truth is, courage, compassion, and second chances aren’t solo acts. They’re built on relationships, connection, and the simple but powerful act of asking for help.