The fundamentalist literal reading of the Bible leads to some pretty interesting views - one of them being an actual mark that followers of the antichrist receive that destines their souls to eternally serving this beast in hell. Crazy stuff. Unfortunately it's not really true... like at all... 

Back in the 19th century, the Dismal Dane went on a rampage against the church with the greatest and most deadly weapon he had - a pen, in the battlefield of his day - the newspaper column. What resulted was an attack that is just as much relevant for us as it was for the Dutch almost 200 years ago. 

Don't waste your life. Waste someone else's! 

This episode is not about long skirts or grape juice or hell (but we might get there eventually). For now, let's take a moment to go to the core of what fundamentalism is and where we might find it. 

Evangelical Christianity is often centered around the gospel message, which is often reduced to words spoken. Is this all that Jesus intended? Is there something missing? Is The Godfather overrated? I'll answer at least two of those questions in this episode.

Tearing apart, criticizing, and demolishing is easy, building is not. So as we are deconstructing elements of our faith, where do we begin the process of reconstructing that which is good? How do we put back together the Lego house, currently scattered across the floor in a million pieces, into something better than before? 

If you are flying in an airplane and decide to deconstruct it, don't be surprised when you crash. Deconstructing is insanely beneficial for the growth of a Christian, but where's the line? When is deconstruction dangerous? When does deconstruction become demolition? 

How does an atheist feel when they walk into a store and hear Christian music playing? In this episode, I sit back down with Mike to talk about Christian music. Although not a Christian, he grew up on Steven Curtis Chapman, DC Talk, Kirk Franklin, etc. The conversation leads us into the present, which deepens the conversation far beyond music and into the psychology of evangelism and Christian witness from the perspective of an nonbeliever. 

Apologetics is typically an intellectual approach to defending the "faith." Philosophy, logic, science, etc. But is this really what we should be defending? Did Peter know that his encouragement to believers to continue doing what is good despite pushback and persecution would be used to justify arguing with atheists centuries later? 

Mike, a pastor's kid who lost his faith while attending Christian college, shares his story, his struggles, and his own unique perspective on Christianity.  In this episode, I interview my long time best friend and cousin, the person who has influenced me more than anyone else, the one who taught me how to think deeply, and the person with whom I share a closer bond than anyone else on the planet.