Sacred Tension

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In this episode of House of Heretics, Timothy and I discuss the importance and danger of engaging in first-person mystical practice. We also discuss why I chafe against our current culture's fixation with identity.

In this episode of Sacred Tension, I have a second conversation with the progressive Christian apologist Randal Rauser. This discussion originally appeared on Randal Rauser's YouTube channel, and I suggest that you all subscribe.

In this episode, Randal asks me questions about Satanism, including why I am drawn to the literary Satan as the ultimate outsider instead of Jesus, and why I am drawn to Satanism instead of humanism. We also discuss the Seven Tenets of The Satanic Temple, and we explore agreements and potential disagreements.

Please offer your feedback on this conversation in the comments below. If your comment is excellent I might feature it in an upcoming post. And don’t forget to join the cult … I mean Discord server.

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In this episode of Sacred Tension, I have a conversation with Christian apologist Randal Rauser moderated by John Morehead of Multifaith Matters. Randal and I discuss The Satanic Temple’s Unveiling Day and its use of the phrase “archaic superstition.” We also discuss pluralism, why I stopped believing the core claims of Christianity, what counts as “superstition," and much more.

Randal Rauser is a progressive Christian, theologian, apologist, and author of many books. Learn more about him here. John Morehead is an evangelical Christian and director of Multifaith Matters. He is committed to religious pluralism and cultivating conversations across divides.

This podcast and publication are made possible by your financial support. If you can, please upgrade to paid, and you will get an extra podcast and article every single week: https://sacredtension.substack.com/

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sacredtension.substack.com/subscribe

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Timothy and I discuss our kink scores from Aella’s kink survey, and then Timothy asks me probing questions about my Satanism, primarily about how stigmatizing and alienating the label is to non-Satanists. I explain why I stay a Satanist despite the stigma, what I love about The Satanic Temple in particular, and much more.

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In this episode of Sacred Tension, I’m joined by Buddhist and Shakespeare scholar Lauren Shufran to discuss their book The Buddha and the Bard. We discuss the similarities between Buddhist and Shakespearian wisdom, how reading Shakespeare is a mindfulness practice, how to explore beginner’s mind, and much more.

Buy Lauren’s book on Amazon

Visit Lauren Shufran’s website.

Follow the Shakespeare and Mindfulness Instagram

Please offer your feedback on this conversation in the comments below. If your comment is excellent I might feature it in an upcoming post. And don’t forget to join the cult … I mean Discord server.

This podcast and publication are made possible by your financial support. If you can, please upgrade to paid, and you will get an extra podcast and article every single week. If you aren’t able to upgrade, you are still welcome here. Please subscribe and enjoy the free content.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sacredtension.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sacredtension.substack.com

In this episode of House of Heretics, Timothy and I discuss the indictment of Donald Trump and the debased information landscape that makes it so hard to have a unanimous social reality. We also recap my recent conversation with my sister Elizabeth Schultz and discuss whether God is necessary to have a moral code.

In this episode of Sacred Tension, I’m joined by my sister Elizabeth Schultz. Elizabeth is a conservative Christian, classical educator, and homesteader. She asks me probing questions about my agnostic atheist worldview, and we compare and contrast our perspectives. We get into a lively discussion about God, why we do and don’t believe in him, whether it is possible to have a moral foundation without him, how we might find common ground across our worldview divides, and much more.

We explore fascinating differences in intuition. I situate my ethics in the fact and mystery of human consciousness, whereas Elizabeth situates her moral framework in an external God that she is accountable to. She sees evidence of God all around her, while I see none at all. She believes doubt requires further surrender to the divine, whereas doubt led me away from belief in God entirely.

I love hearing back from my audience. Please leave your comments on our discussion below, and I might feature them in an upcoming post. Be sure to also join the cult (I mean Discord server).

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In this episode of Sacred Tension, I’m joined by philosopher David Livingstone Smith to discuss his work on the history of dehumanization. We explore why “monstering” language is dangerous, how dehumanization leads to violence, and how trans people are currently being dehumanized. In the second half of our conversation, we discuss racism and David’s commitment to race abolitionism. We discuss “racecraft”, and why reifying race as a category reinforces racism.

David Livingstone Smith is a professor of philosophy, former psychotherapist, and award-winning author of Less Than Human (St. Martin's, 2011), On Inhumanity (Oxford, 2020) and Making Monsters (2021). Subscribe to his Substack:

Please share your thoughts on this conversation below. If your comment is excellent I might feature it in an upcoming article. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber, and sharing this post with a friend. Sharing Sacred Tension with friends gets you free stuff!

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In this episode of Sacred Tension, I’m joined by The Satanic Temple co-founder Lucien Greaves to discuss the recent controversy in our religious community. He was recently photographed with an alleged sexual harasser and transphobe, and we reflect on the kind of culture we want to see in The Satanic Temple and why Lucien has responded the way he has to this controversy.

In early June 2023, Lucien Greaves took a photograph with David Silverman, a controversial figure in the online atheist space. Silverman posted the photo to Twitter and it was met with outrage both within and outside of the TST community. Lucien has received calls for clarifying statements, and even his resignation.

We discuss the principles motivating Lucien’s refusal to issue statements, and why he won’t publicly denounce Silverman. We address three main concerns about his leadership:

1. The photograph might signify a friendly relationship between Silverman and Lucien. If so, what does that say about our community?

2. The photograph itself wasn’t the problem, but Lucien’s response on Twitter came off as defensive and unhelpful.

3. Lucien has seemed conspicuously silent on trans issues, so when he is photographed with an alleged transphobe, the LGBT+ community is unsure of where he stands in regard to their rights.

This was a challenging conversation to record, and I’m posting it trusting in the goodwill of our religious community. Please note that this episode was originally recorded on the 16th of June and we don’t comment on some events that have taken place since then.

Lucien Greaves has also written an article addressing this situation, which you can read here: https://www.patreon.com/posts/angry-mob-84882770

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In this episode of Sacred Tension, I'm joined by Black author, minister, and internet personality Ally Henny to discuss her new book I Won't Shut Up. We discuss the nuances of intersectionality, her insights into injustice, and what her childhood taught her about being Black in America.

Ally Henny is the author of I Won’t Shut Up: Finding Your Voice When the World Tries to Silence You. She is a writer, speaker, advocate-minister, and vice president of The Witness: A Black Christian Collective–an organization committed to encouraging, engaging, and empowering Black Christians toward liberation from racism. Ally completed her Master of Divinity from Fuller Seminary with an emphasis in race, cultural identity, and reconciliation, and she hopes to lead a church someday. Since 2014, Ally has been leading conversations about race on her blog, The Armchair Commentary, and on social media where her posts reach millions each month. She is a proud Chicago Southsider.

Find Ally Henny here: https://allyhenny.com/

By her book here: https://allyhenny.com/books/

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This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit sacredtension.substack.com/subscribe