The people reported as having walked and talked with Jesus in the first century all saw him primarily as a Jewish Messiah. Jesus and his disorganized, unarmed group of disciples re-imagined as a conquering hero leading an armed resistance against the Roman Empire [image created by Andrew … thanks Andrew!] One particular Christian tenet that […]

We look at some of the common ways that this is [mis]understood, and share some other perspectives on the how’s, who’s and what’s behind it. Did the Gospel writers receive Divine guidance? Or were they hearing from some part(s) of their inner selves? [image crated by Andrew … thanks Andrew!] [note: this is a re-release […]

Given that they’re the best source we have on who Jesus is/was, it would be good to know how reliable they are. After deconstructing nearly every other aspect of the Christian faith that was handed down to me as a child, I thought it was time to do a mini-series on the question: “who is […]

No, humans did not arise out of apes. We arose out of fish! And we bear many scars and souvenirs from that journey. Yes, again!  We are indeed talking about Young Earth Creationism again, because folks: YECism is alive and well in large swathes of Western society. And they’re building a giant cultural silo — […]

Dr Joel Duff helps us critique Young Earth Creationist and Intelligent Design ideas about predation strategies in particular, and science in general This week, we talked to Dr. Joel Duff about the focus of our previous episodes on venomous snakes and the Green Jewel Wasp.  Joel not only has decades of experience at a state […]

The Emerald Jewel Wasp brings new meaning to the phrases “eating out” and “having someone over for dinner”. The Emerald Jewel Wasp is an amazing example of “Extreme Evolution.”  They propagate their own species by stinging their prey — cockroaches — three times in a very carefully orchestrated dance.   The first sting is directed at […]

The evolution of venomous snakes was an incredibly complex journey that took hundreds of millions of years. Here’s the short version of this interview (~45 minutes) … with much of the really technical scientific bits removed …. And here’s the full-length version (over an hour) of our conversation with our guest expert. Buckle up your […]

Introducing Young Earth Creationist and Intelligent Design proponents to the Emerald Green Wasp, the hooded cobra, and Ridley Scott’s Xenomorph Over the next few weeks, we’re going to do a bit of a deep-dive into the origin of defense and attack strategies in animals.  How snakes developed hollow fangs that inject a toxic venom.  And […]

Five centuries of vicious, in-house conflicts over the control of emergent Christian orthodoxy. This week’s guest — Dr. Paula Fredriksen — discusses her latest book: Ancient Christianities: The First Five Hundred Years.  Yes, that’s “Christianities” … plural!  The focus of this retrospective is the multiple strands of Christian thinking which were vying for control during […]

Professor of New Testament studies traded his traditional Evangelical faith for one that is much more authentic and relevant. In this episode, we talk to Dr. James F. McGrath about a new book he’s just published with Eerdmans: Beyond Deconstruction — Building a More Expansive Faith.  It’s a very easy reading book which is quasi-autobiographical: […]