Questions From The Pew - WOS

Season 2 of Questions From The Pew is almost upon us! This season, Lucas and Reichert will be discussing whether the term “Evangelical” is still a useful one in our day and age, ideological deconstruction and reconstruction, Christian higher education, and so much more. You can now also support QFTP financially through Patreon if that is something you would like to do. So join the conversation. All this and more on this season of Questions From The Pew!

Christianity was birthed from the margins of a world empire. Its founder was no man of power in the traditional sense; neither were its first adherents people of influence. It grew in the crucible of persecution and, in an unforeseen turn, was declared the state religion of the same empire that sought to destroy it. American Christianity is a far cry from those early days. For centuries, Christians have enjoyed a considerable level of influence and comfort. The name of God is invoked in many corners of American life and there is still some level of deference for the pastorate.

But the culture is steadily severing its ties with historic Christianity in an attempt to perpetuate an inclusive and tolerant society. The realm of politics is a battleground for this. One politician calls for further separation between church and state while another panders to religious constituents to garner more votes. There are those who think that Christians and Christianity have no place in politics, while others celebrate politicians’ supposed Christian faith. Politics is inescapable and those in power often align themselves with values and movements that will simply lead to their election. 

Christians with strong, biblically faithful, and theologically informed convictions are caught in the middle. How did we get here? What is one to do when Christian values are upheld by opposing parties? Is one party more aligned with Christianity than the other? Can Christians separate their faith from their vote? Should they? All that and more on this edition of Questions from the Pew.

At any major book store, you’ll find a self-help section filled with books that teach you how to have a good life or think positively. YouTube channels that offer guided methods of living well are in no short supply. There are also personality tests which help you discover your true self and unlock your hidden potential. But is there any truth to these things?

Traditionally, Evangelical Christianity has upheld prayer and personal Bible reading as the normative Christian practices for spiritual formation. Other practices that reflect self-help methods or religious mysticism are often disregarded. Yet our culture has become increasingly interested in a more holistic understanding of what it means to be human. This in turn has led to a discussion within the Church of what it means to not only be human, but also how Christians ought to interact with what are commonly viewed as shallow self-help guidelines.

In a society that accepts all paths to personal wholeness, whether that be through religion, exercise, or meditative practices, how are Christians unique? Does self-discovery have any place in the life of a Christian?  Can holiness and personal wholeness co-exist? All that and more on this edition of Questions from the Pew.

Questions From the Pew is driven in large part by the listener. The show and its hosts hope to engage with the questions that are weighing on the hearts and minds of people sitting in the pew, Christian or not, so questions and comments are invaluable. Thanks to all the feedback from listeners, this episode takes on a different feel. It’s time to do a bit of housekeeping.

Who are Lucas and Reichert? If you haven’t seen it already, they sometimes look at questions and issues from slightly different angles. What does this mean for the questions asked on the podcast and how they engage with them?

Listeners have asked about how far one can extend the interpretive method talked about in S0E03 The Bible Tells Me So. If historical and cultural context play such an important part in how the Bible is interpreted and applied, how does that affect how we engage with the LGBT+ movement? Are there other things that we should pay attention to when reading and interpreting the different parts of the Bible?

There was a lot of engagement with the previous episode: S1E5 Statements. There are certainly other questions that could have been asked alongside those discussed in the episode. What might a faithful Christian response to and engagement with official statements look like? That episode clearly scratched an itch and we dive a little deeper into the topic. All that and more on this edition of Questions from the Pew.

We live in a highly divisive and dualistic world. You’re either this or that, either on my team or on the opposition, one of us or one of them. There seems to be no middle ground. Right in the center of that, and perhaps adding to the division, multiple Christian groups have released so-called “statements” on certain points of theology and practice. These statements often have to do with a hot-button issue, such as Social Justice’s relationship to the gospel or how churches should engage with the LGBTQ+ community.

While the statements themselves can certainly provide a point of commonality between all those who sign it, there can be multiple unintended consequences to releasing them. With the advent of social media, conversations that were once internal are now open for all to see. Family conversations are now worldwide discussions which create even more lines of division. Are the advantages of formal Christian statements undercut by the polarization that follows them? What place do these modern statements have in the history of the church? When is the right time to write up a Christian statement or should we simply abandon the idea of statements altogether? All that and more on this edition of Questions from the Pew.

“Our stories are being told.” Of late, that phrase has become a rallying cry for minorities of all kinds. Embedded within the histories of any people group are their sense of identity, values, and aspirations. Sadly, those histories are not always told. It isn’t surprising then that the people whose histories have been forgotten are those outside of the majority culture. They are the ones who are on the fringe, those who hold the least power and influence. But now that minorities of all colors and creeds have more access to the cultural megaphone, many insist that these forgotten histories be brought back to the forefront of the American conscience.

It’s been said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. But what happens when history has been forgotten? If cultural histories live on in the people who tell and embody them, what happens when those storytellers die and their stories die with them? More importantly, how do we bring those histories back into the light? How do we recall what has been lost to time? How do we remember what has been forgotten? All that and more on this edition of Questions from the Pew.

In the first part of our discussion we talked through what elements characterize high quality or good art, and also what pitfalls low quality or bad art often succumb to. We had some fun and leaned into each other’s inner nerd with our examples, but now we turn our attention to perhaps a more nuanced issue, namely the culpability of the artist.

When we create something, we access the divine spark that is in all humans, what Christians refer to as the Image of God. In doing so, we give life to a particular and specific expression of the divinity that is inside each and every one of us. The very act of creation is a sacred and holy practice, one which not only represents our personal experience, but also connects us to a long line of influences and tradition.

Yet what do we do with ill-intentioned art? Perhaps a more difficult question, what do we do with well-intentioned art that has adverse consequences in society? Can a pure-hearted artist’s creation ever be deemed immoral? Or is all art simply a distillation of humanity to be observed and reflected upon, without judgement? All this and more on this edition of Questions from the Pew.

Holidays are a defining characteristic of all cultures. It’s a time for the members of a group, whether national or religious, to reflect on a defining aspect of who they are. They can commemorate historical events, celebrate acts of heroism, and remind us of those who’ve passed on. The forms that these holy days take are nearly as numerous as the number of existing holidays, but the function is almost always the same. They connect us to the identity of the group we occupy and give us narratives for flourishing within it.

So it is in our American context. Our holidays tell stories of who we are, where we’ve come from, and what we value. Unfortunately, many of these narratives originate solely from a majority perspective, and often turn a blind eye to the struggle of minority groups. Enter Juneteenth. A lesser known holiday who’s adherence and celebration honors the freedom we as Americans enjoy, while also admitting and lamenting the struggle that many minority groups have had in attaining said freedom. Perhaps Juneteenth is the most American of any holiday.

Emanuel Padilla and Michael Yorke join us in conversation on this episode as we talk about the History of Juneteenth, how holidays shape our thinking, and how we can give due diligence to both America’s triumphs and shortcomings in the retelling of our own history.

Art. It comes in diverse media and is created by even more diverse individuals. It is inextricably tied to the human experience. It is the way we communicate ideas, esteem values, and effect change. And all of this wrapped in beauty. The appreciation of what our hands create is something that separates humans from the rest of the animal kingdom. This appreciation is not just merely being pleased with our work, but the ability to interpret, analyze, and assign value to it. Those things look different for each person. Oftimes art is viewed as subjective. But what can be agreed upon is the value of art.

In this episode, we sit down and talk about what makes art - in all its forms - both good and bad. Without offering strict definitions or standards, we talk about what we mean when we deem art “good” or “bad” and the implications of those categories.