From Plato’s Republic all the way to the trope of the faithless priest, there’s a rich tradition of thought focused on heroic modes of unbelief—elites who mislead others in a self-sacrificial manner in order to promote social stability. In this episode, we ask, Is it noble to tell people a lie that seems to make them happier? 

Addiction in North America is nothing new, of course. What’s changed in recent years, however, is the sophistication behind our mind-altering technologies. In the episode, we discuss our addiction to mood control and consider its implications for the church.

A thoughtful listener recently posed the question about the alleged difference between joy and happiness. In numerous books and sermons, joy is represented as something that transcends one’s immediate circumstances and happiness is portrayed as relatively superficial. Is this true? And when did the opposition emerge? (We think it might have a little something to do with C.S. Lewis.) Join us as we discuss joy vs. happiness. 

Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids, Michigan recently announced that it’s slashing its humanities department in an effort to boost student enrollment and offer more “market value” for degrees. From a business standpoint, this might make some sense, but what precisely is a liberal arts college without any liberal arts? And what does this say about Christianity’s abiding emphasis on the life of the mind? Join us as we dive into the subject.

We get older and discover that life is often deeply ambiguous. Confoundingly, the Bible often matches that ambiguity. People come down with terminal illnesses. Some are healed. Some are not. If scripture is supposed to help us make sense of human experience, what do we do when it appears to raise more questions than answers? We invite you to think alongside us on this issue.

Whether we recognize it or not, we all have a philosophy of life—a basic notion of what the good life is. But the problem isn’t just that we fail to live up to our own standards. The problem is that we’re often blissfully unaware of our life philosophy, simply taking it for granted. In this episode, we explore some of the implications of the examined life. 

We’re excited to announce that we’ve just launched TOL Connect, an online discussion forum for podcast listeners to continue the discussions we’ve begun on the podcast. In this episode, we talk about the what, why, and how of TOL Connect. Practically speaking, it’ll tell you how to join and how it works.

Pride Month continues to be a challenge to Christians as we make our way through a culture that increasingly views us as pariahs. Here, we continue to press into the conversation about how we respond to our rapidly shifting cultural landscape. 

Usually, our church conversations about our possessions turn on warnings about rampant materialism. But what if there’s a spiritual component to taking care of our things? From gardening and basic home maintenance all the way to renovations and car restorations, most of us will recognize the spiritual disciplines hardwired into these pursuits if we pause and think about it for a moment. Join us we talk about it.

A recent article by Ted Gioia on the decadent state of our culture pushed us to ask, “Are things really that bad?” It’s a question on many people’s minds these days, so we decided to explore it on this episode.