Everyone seems to be talking about “deconstructing” faith, but researcher Josh Packard says it’s better to describe young people as “unbundling” faith. He joins Skye for a conversation about Springtide Research Institute’s new report on the State of Religion and Young People, and why Gen Z has such a negative perception of the church and such an inflated view of themselves. Also this week, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a case that could overturn Roe v. Wade. With some pro-life activists ecstatic, and pro-choice activists apoplectic, the Holy Post crew discusses what a post-Roe country could look like, how the pro-life movement could evolve, and what lessons we can learn from the era of Prohibition. Plus, the word “sorcery” was the fastest-growing search term on Bible Gateway in 2021. Should it have been “asininity”?

News Segment

0:00 - Intro

3:26 - Fastest-growing search term on Bible Gateway
https://religionnews.com/2021/12/02/why-sorcery-was-the-fastest-growing-search-term-on-bible-gateway-in-2021/

14:23 - Supreme Court and Roe v. Wade
https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/how-southern-baptists-became-pro-life/

48:31 - Sponsors

This episode is sponsored by Abide: http://abide.co/holypost

Interview with Josh Packard
Springtide Research Institute report: https://www.springtideresearch.org/research/the-state-of-religion-2021

49:36 - Intro
51:12 - Major findings from report
55:06 - Implications of unbundling
1:05:55 - Values gap
1:18:41 - Impact of religious communities on flourishing
Other resources:
www.wsj.com/articles/young-people-say-disconnect-keeps-them-from-church-11635163200

A recent survey found that 49 percent of pastors reported conspiracy theories were spreading within their congregations. This is especially prevalent within evangelical communities. Although evangelicals are supposed to be known as people of the “good news”—which is what the word “evangelical” literally means—in many places they’ve become the largest consumers and spreaders of “fake news.” In this special episode co-produced with the Love Thy Neighborhood podcast, Skye Jethani and Jesse Eubanks take a closer look at the origins and impact of fake news. How we should define what’s “fake”, why it’s become such a problem, and what can Christians do about it.

Love Thy Neighborhood podcast: https://lovethyneighborhood.org/ltnpodcast/
Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com
0:00 - Intro
2:04 - War of the Worlds
7:40 - What is fake news?
https://www.newsguardtech.com/special-reports/special-report-2020-engagement-analysis/
https://lifewayresearch.com/2021/01/26/half-of-u-s-protestant-pastors-hear-conspiracy-theories-in-their-churches/
https://guides.lib.umich.edu/fakenews
10:25 - Fake news in the church
https://www.businessinsider.com/pastors-quit-after-qanon-radicalize-congregation-2021-3
12:01 - Follow the money
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-political-science-review/article/abs/partisan-polarization-is-the-primary-psychological-motivation-behind-political-fake-news-sharing-on-twitter/3F7D2098CD87AE5501F7AD4A7FA83602
23:17 - Episode sponsors
With God Daily: http://withgoddaily.com
The Movie Proposal: https://www.themovieproposal.com
25:35 - Technology
Jason Thacker: https://jasonthacker.com
https://news.mit.edu/2018/study-twitter-false-news-travels-faster-true-stories-0308
31:03 - Reclaiming truth
https://www.allsides.com
https://www.businessinsider.com/christians-are-often-victims-of-conspiracy-theories-health-falsehoods-2021-4

Today, privilege has become a dirty word that is automatically associated with sinfulness, but Dominique Gilliard, author of “Subversive Witness: Scripture’s Call to Leverage Privilege,” says it doesn’t have to be. He explores the many biblical characters who used their privilege redemptively rather than selfishly, and challenges us to rethink our assumptions about who is really privileged in our society. 

Also this week, a new study reveals how our preferred news source shapes our political and cultural beliefs—especially for those on the more conservative end of the spectrum. As the Supreme Court hears arguments about Mississippi’s new abortion law, Tish Harrison Warren says we need to rethink our definition of feminism to include women who are pro-life. Plus, Phil goes to an indoor waterpark, and the Japanese have an innovative new energy source.

News Segment:

0:00 - Intro/Thanksgiving highlights
12:41 - News of the Butt
20:50 - PRRI media study
https://www.prri.org/spotlight/why-we-divide-republicans-by-media-trust-the-oan-newsmax-effect/
36:29 - Feminism and pro-life
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/28/opinion/feminism-abortion-pro-life.html
50:11 - MyPillow ads
52:17 - Holy Post merch
https://www.holypost.com/shop

Interview with Dominique DuBois Gilliard:

“Subversive Witness: Scripture’s Call to Leverage Privilege” - https://amzn.to/3Dm9igF

53:32 - Introduction
57:31 - Defining privilege
1:04:45 - How stories in Scripture help us
1:08:20 - Accountability in leveraging privilege
1:21:08 - Interpreting the rich young ruler
1:26:49 - Fruit in ongoing repentance

Other resources mentioned:
“Rethinking Incarceration: Advocating for Justice That Restores” - https://amzn.to/3E9n8nK

The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

French Friday leaves the world of politics and theology behind to join David French and fellow nerd Skye Jethani for a journey through the pop-culture countryside of geekdom in a special episode. They begin with a breakdown of Dune, the film adaptation of Frank Herbert’s classic sci-fi novel. Was it too faithful to the book? The dorky duo then debate why the Disney-era Star Wars sequel trilogy was a failure, but The Mandalorian series works brilliantly. They discuss the best movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and whether the future of the MCU is doomed. Then things heat up when French and Jethani cross streams as French argues that DC’s recent movies—including Justice League—are masterpieces, and Jethani disagrees. Which nerd will triumph? Listen to find out.

PATREON BONUS: https://www.patreon.com/posts/58871092
0:00 Intro
1:21 Dune
12:54 Star Wars
28:32 Marvel
43:17 DC

In case you haven’t noticed, the evangelical movement in America is a mess. Some say we should let it all burn down. Others fiercely defend the historic and theological richness of the tradition. Dan Stringer says there’s a third option that is honest about evangelicalism’s failures, while also valuing its strengths. Kaitlyn interviews Stringer about his new book “Struggling with Evangelicalism: Why I Want to Leave and What It Takes to Stay.”

 Also this week, former Trump national security advisor Michael Flynn says the U.S. should only allow one religion. Skye explains why the Pilgrims did not come to America for religious freedom, and Christian explores healthy and toxic patriotism. Then, what should we conclude from the Kyle Rittenhouse verdict? Plus, orcas are attacking yachts and Phil celebrates World Toilet Day.

Thanks to the Grow Center for sponsoring this episode. More information about The Ray Bakke Certificate of Biblical and Entrepreneurial Thinking is available here: https://www.thegrowcenter.com

News Segment

0:00 - Intro
04:07 - World Toilet Day12:28 Animal News: Orcas attacking yachts
https://www.yachtingworld.com/cruising/orca-attacks-rudder-losses-and-damage-as-incidents-escalate-133968

18:43 - Michael Flynn says U.S. should mandate one religion
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnists/2021/11/20/michael-flynn-john-hagee-ed-stetzer-one-religion/8649034002/?gnt-cfr=1

42:45 - Kyle Rittenhouse verdict
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/11/kyle-rittenhouse-right-self-defense-role-model/620715/https://robertpjones.substack.com/p/free-as-f-kyle-rittenhouse-whiteness

Interview w/ Dan Stringer “Struggling with Evangelicalism: Why I Want to Leave and What It Takes to Stay” - https://amzn.to/3FIPkyc

54:43 - Interview Start & Guest Background
59:55 - Shifting perspective on evangelicalism
01:04:13 - Importance of remembering our history/tradition
01:12:46 - Communal repentance
https://urbana.org/message/litany

01:16:46 - Learning from each other
01:22:37 - Is this the moment for renewal?
01:27:06 - What next? Responding after pain

The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Are faith and science irreconcilable belief systems? Not according to Dr. Francis Collins, the Director of the National Institutes of Health and founder of BioLogos. He talks with Phil about his journey from atheism to faith, his role in overseeing the country’s response to Covid-19, and why America’s culture war is literally killing people. Collins also explains why the Covid vaccines are safe and should be embraced by Christians as an answer to prayer.

Then, The Council for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood’s attack on a small Texas church backfires, leading to a conversation about God and gendered language. The editor of World Magazine leaves in protest as yet another evangelical institution takes a sharp turn to the right. Are we witnessing the final fury of a dying religious right? Plus, Phil was unknowingly on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. And, a meaningless archeological discovery in Michigan.

News Segment:

November livestream details [3:41]
http://patreon.com/holypost

Archaeological discovery in Michigan [5:21]
https://www.espn.com/espn/story/_/id/32486160/the-remarkable-story-man-found-162-bowling-balls-house

Phil on the Late Show [12:24]

Beth Allison Barr and our language for God [14:04]

“The Making of Biblical Womanhood” - https://amzn.to/3oSOVm3
https://www.holypost.com/post/episode-457-paul-power-patriarchy-with-beth-allison-barr

https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/how-gods-pronouns-and-the-cbmw-might-save-beth-allison-barrs-church/2021/11/11/07320aae-4337-11ec-9404-50a28a88b9cd_story.html

Marvin Olasky and the struggle between evangelicals and fundamentalists [28:52] https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/14/business/world-magazine-marvin-olasky-trump.html

https://twitter.com/drantbradley/status/1460273263590916099

Interview with Francis Collins:

Interview Start [49:28]
“Language of God” book [52:20]
https://amzn.to/3qGHG2P

Response to objections after NIH nomination [55:19]

Science and faith conflicts [57:20]

COVID-19 responses and vaccines [1:00:05]

Legacy as a visible scientist of faith [1:07:23]

Culture wars and the pandemic [1:15:21]

Other resources mentioned:

Biologos: https://biologos.org

The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Why do we expect the Christian life to be easy when the Bible clearly says it will be a struggle? Starting with the wrong expectation, says John Mark Comer, makes us spiritually neurotic and causes more suffering than necessary. He talks with Skye about his new book, “Live No Lies,” why spiritual warfare isn’t what you’ve been taught, why information alone doesn’t change us, and what it means to really be people committed to the truth.

Also this week, artificial intelligence is now offering very questionable ethical advice. Phil wonders what it means for self-driving cars. Two seminaries are suing the government over the Covid vaccine mandate, but is it really a question of religious liberty? New data says white evangelicals are those most likely to use violence to defend America, and those most likely to reject America’s founding ideal of pluralism. Does anyone else see a contradiction? Plus, skull-crushing wombat bums.

News Segment:

Deadly wombat butts [5:14]
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2020/nov/04/wombats-deadly-bums-how-they-use-their-skull-crushing-rumps-to-fight-play-and-flirt

Ethical AI trained on Reddit [13:57]
https://www.vice.com/en/article/v7dg8m/ethical-ai-trained-on-reddit-posts-said-genocide-is-okay-if-it-makes-people-happy

“Drive Recklessly” short film - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9S75Rfva9O8

Two evangelical seminaries sue to block vaccine mandates [27:32]

https://religionnews.com/2021/11/05/two-prominent-evangelical-seminaries-sue-to-block-vaccine-mandates-southern-baptist-seminary-asbury/

Study: Most white evangelicals don’t want to live in a religiously diverse country [38:06]https://religionnews.com/2021/11/01/study-most-white-evangelicals-dont-want-to-live-in-a-religiously-diverse-country/

Holy Post Updates [48:40]

Interview with John Mark Comer:“Live No Lies: Recognize and Resist the Three Enemies That Sabotage Your Peace”- https://amzn.to/3oh724y

PATREON BONUS: https://www.patreon.com/posts/58518164/

Interview Start [51:05]

Spiritual warfare and the spirituality of struggle [53:14]

Truth and lies; desert fathers and mothers [1:00:09]

Information alone vs. embodied spiritual formation [1:05:41]

Mental maps and spiritual imagination [1:13:36]

Conservative and progressive fundamentalism [1:24:14]

Other books mentioned:

“Water from a Deep Well” by Gerald L. Sittser - https://amzn.to/3kpBMPJ
“The Road Less Traveled” by M. Scott Peck - https://amzn.to/3D5t4h4
“Where the Light Fell” by Philip Yancey - https://amzn.to/3mZAzjS

The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

What is Christianity’s contribution to history and has it been positive or negative? John Dickson says Christians should obey Jesus’ command to remove the plank from our own eye and admit the many ugly truths about church history. Only then will we be able to see clearly the parts of church history that conform to the way of Jesus. Skye talks to Dickson about his new book, “Bullies & Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History.”

Also this week, a conspiracy filled speech by the actor who played Jesus in “The Passion of the Christ” has gone viral. Why are evangelicals more susceptible than others to such nonsense? And was Bonhoeffer right that stupidity is more dangerous than malice? Plus, why does the Bible forbid witchcraft? (Hint: it has nothing to do with patriarchy.) And, PETA is trying to change our language to protect the feelings of cows and chickens

News Segment:

Celebrating Halloween? [3:32]

PETA urges MLB to change ‘bullpen’ term [8:10

]https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/white-sox/peta-urges-mlb-change-bullpen-term-over-insensitivity-cows

‘Jewitches’ embracing both Judaism and witchcraft [12:20]
https://religionnews.com/2021/10/25/how-some-jewitches-are-embracing-both-judaism-and-witchcraft/

Jim Caviezel quoting Bravehart at a QAnon conference [19:25]

https://www.relevantmagazine.com/current/jim-caviezel-quoting-braveheart-at-a-qanon-conference-is-a-metaphor-for-american-christianity-if-there-ever-was-one-1/

https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/09/16/1035851/facebook-troll-farms-report-us-2020-election/

https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/8616320-stupidity-is-a-more-dangerous-enemy-of-the-good-than

https://sproutsschools.com/bonhoeffers-theory-of-stupidity/

Interview with John Dickson:

Bullies and Saints: An Honest Look at the Good and Evil of Christian History - https://amzn.to/2ZLgOE4

Centre for Public Christianity - https://www.publicchristianity.org

Interview Start [48:06]

Why church history? [49:31]

Tribalism and the plank in our own eye [53:05]

How do we explain Christians doing terrible things throughout history? [58:27]

How to talk with people about church history [1:13:00]

Is Christianity really still needed? [1:18:36]

https://undeceptions.com/podcast/christian-revolution/

The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Recent polling has found that a majority of Trump voters (52%) and a significant number of Biden voters (41%) support breaking up the country. Has our animosity and disgust for each other made reconciliation impossible? Are we heading toward a national divorce? Skye Jethani and David French discuss his recent articles about the rise of malice in our political divisions and within the church. Why have so many evangelicals embraced anger as a virtue, and how has our pragmatic theology contributed to the problem? Then, they debate the role of social media in the breakdown of national unity and the recent leak of the “Facebook Papers.” French is reluctant to blame social media companies for what is ultimately a problem with human hearts, while Skye says the tech giants must take more responsibility for the damage their platforms are inflicting.

Malice and anger in political division [00:28]
https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/personal-harassment-is-spiraling

https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/jd-vance-and-the-great-challenge

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10050039/More-HALF-Trump-voters-want-red-states-secede-union.html

Malice and anger in the church [20:34

]Social media and the “Facebook Papers” [38:11]
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/facebook-papers-democracy-election-zuckerberg/620478/

https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebook-algorithm-change-zuckerberg-11631654215

Conservative evangelicals organized into a political movement in the 1970s in response to the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize abortion. Or did they? Historian Randall Balmer argues this origin story for the Religious Right is a myth. He talks to Skye about the real origins of the movement and how it explains the current state of white evangelicalism.

Also this week, we unpack Peter Wehner’s article in The Atlantic about the breaking apart of evangelicalism. Is the church a victim of media manipulation, or is evangelicalism reaping its own rotten fruit? Plus, lawsuits between believers, training Christians for hand-to-hand combat in vehicles, and Phil’s massive magical mushroom.

News Segment:

Phil’s mushroom [2:47]

Christians training in hand-to-hand combat [8:39]
https://www.kansascity.com/news/state/missouri/article255162407.html

Mike Stone suing Russell Moore [13:14]
https://religionnews.com/2021/10/20/mike-stone-files-lawsuit-sbc-rival-russell-moore-defamation-erlc-trump-abuse/
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/church-state-and-the-future-of-evangelicalism/

“The Evangelical Church is Breaking Apart” [28:01]
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/evangelical-trump-christians-politics/620469/

https://www.holypost.com/post/episode-441-biden-s-inauguration-the-future-of-the-republican-party-with-peter-wehner

Interview with Randall Balmer:

PATREON BONUS: https://www.patreon.com/posts/57900540

“Bad Faith: Race and the Rise of the Religious Right” - https://amzn.to/3btjt7D

Interview Start [52:40]

Context for approaching this study [54:23]

What is the myth? [59:59]

Effects of dispensational premillennialism on social engagement [1:11:37]

Emergence of Religious Right in the North/Midwest [1:19:35]

Why do these origins matter? [1:25:22]

The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.