Protect Your Noggin

This is sort of a show about how a Christian university could save the world--if only a Christian university were possible--and if only the spirit of Molech handn't staged a hostile takeover of an otherwise radical movement. Jeff explains what he was up to when he presented a funded lecture on the topic of confessional Lutheran thought, yet started to unravel his entanglement in confessional Lutheran though through the generous support of confessional Lutheran donors. This is in response to the Trembath lecture which is available in several formats by checking out our show notes at protectyournoggin.org. The lecture in question was ironically pivotal for Jeff quitting churh-related higher education altogether, so enjoy the tragedy but be not afraid: it ultimately led him to a professional life he is finding joyful.

Jeff discusses the reasons why he wrote an article about the Hebrew Bible's account of semi-divine beings making the Nephilim, giant god-human hybrids, and what it means for navigating life today in a postmodern world, run by a modern economy, informed by an ancient text. This article isn't rejected so much as identified as the first part of the unravelling of Jeff's confidence in the American evangelical interpretive tradtion. This isn't for everbybody, but if it is relevant to your background, it might help frame some of the dissonance many experience.

This is part of a short series of episodes in which I look back on stuff I (Jeff) wrote in the past and reflect on ways my thinking might have changed, and what I might want to reject. In this episode, while I generally stand by my take on the history of thought within the Genevan Academy, under the rectorship of Theodore Beza (John Calvin’s right hand man), I explore ways in which I didn’t see how much the form or style of theology he propagated has had negative, unintended consequences on Western culture, especially that of American Christian culture.

As always, feel free to skip this if it doesn’t interest you. We’ll be back with more playful stuff in weeks to come.

What if you and and your friends saw some unused wasteland, and in the spirit of mystical love, you farmed it and shared the food with those in need? What might happen? A handful of folks tried this in 1649, under the inspiration of radical mystic Gerrard Winstanley (1609-76). This show discusses what happened and what we can learn today about society, private property, and empowerment of the poor. We also discuss the San Francisco Diggers and guerrilla gardening.

As a couple of kids who grew up in American evangelicalism, Tarot cards were a taboo we never even considered violating in our youth. Now, we discuss the ways in which Jungian understanding of archetypes of the collective unconscious helped us make use of Tarot for personal healing and growth.

Part 1: Our uneasy relationship with tarot, CG Jung’s idea of the archetypes of the collective unconscious, how we got into using these cards for self exploration rather than fortune telling, and why we think this all might be helpful for folks extracting themselves from unhealthy religious landscapes.

Part 2: Exploration and demonstration of the newish phenomenon of Neo-shamanistic, New Age oracle cards, which tend to involve inspirational messages for transformation and growth.

BTW: If you are an expert in tarot or oracle cards and think we’ve got something wrong, feel free to reach out and help us get it right.

As a couple of kids who grew up in American evangelicalism, Tarot cards were a taboo we never even considered violating in our youth. Now, we discuss the ways in which Jungian understanding of archetypes of the collective unconscious helped us make use of Tarot for personal healing and growth.

Part 1: Our uneasy relationship with tarot, CG Jung’s idea of the archetypes of the collective unconscious, how we got into using these cards for self exploration rather than fortune telling, and why we think this all might be helpful for folks extracting themselves from unhealthy religious landscapes.

Part 2: Exploration and demonstration of the newish phenomenon of Neo-shamanistic, New Age oracle cards, which tend to involve inspirational messages for transformation and growth.

BTW: If you are an expert in tarot or oracle cards and think we’ve got something wrong, feel free to reach out and help us get it right.

In this part, we discuss the history of nudist spirituality in Christian movements from the second century till the present. Adamites ancient and revived, and the Christian connections to the founding of the naturist movement in America are discussed. Stacie answers whether she went on the World Naked Bike Ride.

Nudism in American culture, reflections on nudity in the Garden of Eden, a recent news story about a French nudist who shot someone at the beach, the history of Christian naturism, the Christian nudist sect called the Adamites, hot springs culture, & our experience with various opportunities to be naked in public, including at least Jeff’s participation in Portland’s World Naked Bike Ride.

Part one focuses on our personal stories and how our church upbringing affected our body images and comfort with being naked.

TW: Brief mention of sexual trauma.

In part 2 Jeff answers: What do we think of the historical arguments for the resurrection of Jesus? This is all about apologetics and philosophy of religion over the Christian centuries and whether the evidentialist arguments are viable these days.

Jeff answers listener questions about our current take on the concept of Jesus’ resurrection and the nature of belief in the bodily resurrection of humans. This is not an exhaustive manifesto but presents candid reflection on twenty years of teaching and researching the historical development of Christianity and philosophical and historical arguments for Jesus’ resurrection. We discover that the biblical texts and early Christian teaching on the subject is more complicated than we might expect.

P1: What do the biblical texts and the early Christian community think about the nature of Jesus’ resurrection and the resurrection bodies of humans?