Philip Yancey is one of the best-selling contemporary Christian authors, and his books helped millions find a more authentic faith long before “deconstruction” was a hashtag. His new memoir, “Where the Light Fell,” tells how he escaped the racist, fundamentalist Christianity of his youth, and his lifelong quest to find God’s grace in a world of suffering. Yancey also sympathizes with the ex-vangelical movement, and shares his concerns for the direction of the faith in America. Also this week, reactions to Josh McDowell’s decision to step back from ministry for a season of listening. Could llama spit end the pandemic? Everyone is spinning the new Pew research about evangelicals to fit their own agenda. Phil doubles down in his footwear battle with the Dutch. And, your butt is a snowflake.

News Segment:
Where in the world is Christian? [3:06]
News of the Butt [9:03]
https://futurism.com/neoscope/scientists-toilet-identifies-butthole
Llama antibodies treat hamsters’ COVID-19 [14:21]
https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/llama-antibodies-treat-hamsters-covid-19-could-lead-to-nasal-spray/
Josh McDowell update [20:47]
Pew research: “Evangelical” label [30:19]
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/09/15/more-white-americans-adopted-than-she[…]al-label-during-trump-presidency-especially-his-supporters/
https://www.holypost.com/post/french-friday-buckets-of-evangelicals
https://www.christianpost.com/news/whites-identifying-as-evangelical-grew-during-trump-administration-pew.html
https://religiondispatches.org/pew-finds-trump-era-increase-in-the-evangelical-label-and-yes-theyre-real-evangelicals/
https://www.holypost.com/post/episode-475-mammoths-mcdowell-making-sense-of-white-supremacy-with-robert-p-jones
Interview with Philip Yancey:
Pre-order “Where the Light Fell” (releasing 10/5/21) - https://amzn.to/39Ia7nz
“Soul Survivor” - https://amzn.to/39LdolZ
Interview start [49:25]
A memoir 40 years in the making [51:18]
Impact of family and church on faith formation [55:36]
The gift of pain [1:13:16]
https://amzn.to/3zQpdBK
The state of the American church [1:17:08]
Encouragement for ex-vangelicals [1:23:05]

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.

Senior editor of The Dispatch and constitutional attorney, David French, and Holy Post co-host, Skye Jethani, discuss why the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention should waive their attorney-client privilege in the ongoing abuse investigation. Then, French explains why the increase in self-identified evangelicals between 2016 and 2020 isn’t good news, and why he now puts “evangelicals” in three different buckets. Finally, they examine claims from some neo-fundamentalists that empathy is a sin. French says the problem in America isn’t too much empathy, but selective empathy.

SBC Executive Committee review [1:17]
https://religionnews.com/2021/09/21/sbc-executive-committee-agrees-to-pay-for-abuse-review-stalls-on-waiving-privilege/

Defining “evangelical” [15:28]
https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/did-donald-trump-make-the-church

“The American Crisis of Selective Empathy” [33:26]
https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/the-american-crisis-of-selective

Data from the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) has found that white Christians—including mainline Protestants, Catholics, and evangelicals—are the most racist religious group in America, Robert P. Jones, the CEO of PRRI, says this isn’t a bug within white American Christianity, but a feature. He discusses his new book “White Too Long” about the lingering legacy of white supremacy in the church. Also this week, apologist Josh McDowell joins those saying CRT is the greatest threat facing the church, but does his argument contradict itself? Why is belief in miracles going up if overall belief in religion is going down? Phil says we shouldn’t worry about scientists trying to resurrect woolly mammoths. Christian explains why she’s in the Netherlands. And police in the UK issue a warning about kids buying beans.

News Segment

Where in the world is Christian? [00:47]

Christian’s research and wooden shoes [4:51]Police issue warning over children ‘buying large quantities of cans of beans’ [9:31]
https://www.unilad.co.uk/viral/police-issue-warning-over-children-buying-large-quantities-of-cans-of-beans/

Firm raises $15m to bring back woolly mammoth from extinction [16:44]
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/sep/13/firm-bring-back-woolly-mammoth-from-extinction

Josh McDowell’s speech and apology [22:45]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/christian-author-josh-mcdowell-apologizes-for-comments-about-black-minority-families/2021/09/20/1ad27238-1a3d-11ec-bea8-308ea134594f_story.html

New stat: Do you believe in religious miracles? [35:41]
https://twitter.com/ryanburge/status/1439949279192301573

Interview with Robert P. Jones

PRRI - https://www.prri.org“The End of White Christian America” - https://amzn.to/3Eu1OK2“White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in America Christianity” - https://amzn.to/3ArH57r

PATREON BONUS: https://www.patreon.com/posts/56402290/Interview Start [44:18]

The white Christian shuffle [48:26]Al Mohler and the SBC’s racist history [51:35]https://www.baptistpress.com/resource-library/news/first-person-racial-superiority-confronting-the-truth/

Theology of white Christianity [55:31]

Data from “Deep Roots: How Slavery Still Shapes Southern Politics” [1:07:59]
https://amzn.to/3u0lIHQ

More data: Thermometer vs. race index [1:11:10]

United Daughters of the Confederacy - catechisms [1:15:24]

Does church attendance affect racist attitudes? [1:20:22]

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.

Why are people inside the church often no healthier or happier than those outside? Author Alan Noble says we are suffering from a kind of mass psychosis and going to church won’t solve it. His new book, “You Are Not Your Own” challenges our understanding of identity and purpose, and calls us to a less modern, more Christian, vision of life. Also this week, progressive philosopher and political activist, Cornel West, says liberals need Jesus. What can we learn from him about critiquing our own tribe rather than judging others’. Plus, are white evangelicals keeping the guitar industry alive? And Phil brings us a new batch of animal news. Has the shark messiah been born in Italy?

News Segment:

Australian ducks learn how to swear [2:47]
https://www.cnet.com/news/aussie-ducks-learn-to-swear-can-say-you-bloody-fool-like-a-human/

Rare shark “virgin birth” [5:20]
https://www.sciencealert.com/a-baby-shark-has-just-been-born-but-the-mother-lived-in-an-all-female-tank

Fender: 1 in 3 guitars are bought by people who play in worship bands [8:52]
https://www.relevantmagazine.com/culture/music/fender-one-in-three-guitars-were-bought-by-people-who-play-in-praise-and-worship-bands/

“Cornel West on Why the Left Needs Jesus” and critiquing our own tribe [10:58]
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/08/cornel-west-jesus-progressives/619741/

“The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill” podcast [22:25]
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/podcasts/rise-and-fall-of-mars-hill/

PATREON BONUS: https://www.patreon.com/posts/56161614

Interview with Alan Noble:

“You Are Not Your Own: Belonging to God in an Inhuman World” - https://amzn.to/3ntxAAV

Interview Start [31:35]
A metaphor for modern Western society [33:49]
Church is not the solution [39:37]
Pre-modernity is not the solution [42:33]
Paradox of identity in modern society [48:08]
Christian understanding of identity [54:24]
Deconstruction and identity [1:04:54]
A vision for Christian community [1:08:53]

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

Last week, Texas passed a law effectively banning abortion after the sixth week of pregnancy, and the Supreme Court did not immediately strike it down. Both pro-life and pro-choice advocates have erupted in response. But what does the law really mean? Phil, Skye, and Kaitlyn get into the weeds and explain why the Texas law isn’t the victory many assume. Then, Christina Dent shares about her unexpected journey from a conservative, Southern, Bible school graduate, to drug legalization advocate. She tells Skye about the unexpected casualties caused by America’s war on drugs, and what a more Christian response to the crisis could look like. Plus, China bans kids from playing video games. Is it a smart policy we should copy, or proof that communism is evil?

News Segment:
News of the Butt - Doctors find ladybug living inside man’s colon [4:05]
https://www.odditycentral.com/news/doctors-find-ladybug-living-inside-mans-colon.html

China bans kids from playing video games during the week [9:51]
https://www.cnn.com/2021/08/31/tech/china-ban-video-games-minor-intl-hnk/index.html

Recent abortion law in Texas - overview & discussion [19:52]
https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/texas-abortion-case-scotus

https://www.wsj.com/articles/texas-abortion-law-blunder-supreme-court-samuel-alito-john-roberts-whole-womans-health-11630619631

https://religionnews.com/2021/06/30/common-ground-on-abortion-is-staring-us-right-in-the-face/

Interview with Christina Dent:

End It For Good: https://www.enditforgood.com

Christina Dent's TEDx talk: https://www.ted.com/talks/christina_dent_end_the_war_on_drugs_for_good

Holy Post Episode 433 with Bonnie Kristian: https://www.holypost.com/post/episode-433-ending-the-war-on-drugs-with-bonnie-kristian

Interview Start [52:52]
Christina’s story [53:43]
It’s not about the drugs [57:40]
Childhood risk factors for drug use [1:00:52]
Would legalizing drugs solve any problems? [1:03:41]
The question of demand [1:09:48]
Why legalize all substances? [1:21:10]
Common objections to policy changes [1:27:11]

Former megachurch pastor, evangelical wunderkind, and author of “I Kissed Dating Goodbye,” Josh Harris, has since left his wife and renounced his faith. He’s now pitching himself as an expert guide for other ex-vangelicals. What does his story tell us about the evangelical subculture? Then, strange things are happening at John Piper’s church in Minneapolis where leaders are clashing over issues of race and abuse. And some pastors are resigning after being accused of “the sin of empathy.” Then, Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobel return to discuss revisions to their 2017 book “The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb.” They stopped selling the book and revised it because one of the Christian leaders they celebrated as a “lamb” turned out to be a “dragon.” They’re now asking, why do we so often fail to spot toxic church leaders? Plus, scientists are making mini-brains from stem cells. But to their surprise, the brains have grown eyes. Leading Phil to ask, What could possibly go wrong?

News Segment

Updates from the crew (Jason’s cinnamon rolls and Christian’s film) [1:49]

Stem cell mini-brains with eyes [7:45]

https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-used-stem-cells-to-make-mini-brains-they-grew-rudimentary-eyes

Josh Harris [16:21]
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/podcasts/rise-and-fall-of-mars-hill/joshua-harris-mars-hill-podcast-kissed-christianity-goodbye.html

“Bethlehem Baptist Leaders clash over ‘coddling’ and ‘cancel culture’” [33:20]
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2021/august-web-only/bethlehem-bcs-minneapolis-resign-meyer-empathy-rigney.html

Interview with Jamin Goggin & Kyle Strobel
The Way of the Dragon or the Way of the Lamb (Revised and updated edition): https://www.thomasnelson.com/p/way-of-the-dragon/

Episode 238 (Prior conversation with Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobel):
https://www.holypost.com/holy-post-podcast/episode/1eea0773/episode-238-power-and-the-church-withjamin-goggin-and-kyle-strobel

BONUS Patreon question: What do we do with the content and impact from toxic leaders?
https://www.patreon.com/posts/55594990

Interview Start [1:00:39]

Why is there a new edition? [1:02:37]

Original story and role of book [1:06:35]

How they processed the news of Jean Vanier’s abusive behavior [1:10:43]

Discerning wolves from lambs - is there hope for progress? [1:16:17]

Ministering to people who have been deceived and hurt [1:24:04]

Is the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan the right policy? And will abandoning the country ultimately cost more American lives than staying? And who’s really to blame for the mess that’s unfolding? Skye talks with David French about these issues and more in this special bonus interview. French is the senior editor of The Dispatch, an attorney, the author of numerous books, and an Iraq War veteran. This bonus episode features the first half of Skye’s hour long conversation with David French. The full 60 minute interview is available exclusively for Holy Post patreon supporters.

Full Interview with David French: https://www.patreon.com/posts/55322869

The Dispatch: https://thedispatch.com

Three stages of recent events in Afghanistan [2:26]
Moral obligation to Afghans left behind [3:42]
https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/when-never-again-becomes-again-and

Response to refugee resettlement objections [8:53]
Afghan armies and US military support [16:26]
https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/when-the-strongest-tribe-leaves
https://www.amazon.com/Strongest-Tribe-Politics-Endgame-Iraq/dp/0812978668

Effect of US withdrawal on future US military credibility [21:12]
Who’s really to blame? [26:21]

With religious believers among the most likely to downplay the seriousness of both the pandemic and climate change, a recent article claims secular people and atheists are now more empathic and moral than conservative Christians. But is the problem really that evangelicals are less moral, or that they’re more easily deceived? Then, Matthew Soerens from World Relief talks about the unfolding tragedy in Afghanistan. What dangers do the thousands of Afghans who helped the American military face as the Taliban takes back the country, and what obligation does the U.S. have to help them? While evangelicals remain widely opposed to welcoming refugees, will they make an exception for those who risked their lives to help American troops? Plus, a strike at Nabisco threatens the country’s Oreo supply, launching Phil into a rant about cookie varieties and late stage capitalism.

Patreon Bonus with David French: https://www.patreon.com/posts/55322869

News Segment:

Nabisco strike and Phil’s rant about cookie varieties [4:22] https://www.today.com/food/workers-us-nabisco-bakeries-are-strike-t228753

Afghanistan, Haiti, wildfires, floods, heatwaves and droughts [19:12]

Christian’s history with Afghanistan

[20:40] Current situation in Afghanistan [24:40]

Are Christians less empathic and moral, or simply more easily deceived? (Discussion of article below) [32:50] https://www.salon.com/2021/08/21/staunch-atheists-show-higher-morals-than-the-proudly-pious-from-the-pandemic-to-climate-change/

Interview with Matthew Soerens: “Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate” - https://www.amazon.com/Welcoming-Stranger-Justice-Compassion-Immigration/dp/0830833595

Interview Start [56:00]

Talking with church leaders about Afghanistan crisis [58:00]

Overview of current situation and America’s history/promises in Afghanistan [59:24]

Responding to the rhetoric that opposes welcoming refugees [1:08:20] https://twitter.com/cortessteve/status/1427839604376444929?

lang=en Evangelical Immigration Table - Statement to President Biden [1:12:34]

https://evangelicalimmigrationtable.com/evangelical-leaders-insist-the-biden-administration-stand-with-afghan-allies/

Practical ways to support [1:14:22]

https://worldrelief.org/

Ongoing crisis - DREAMers and DACA program [1:17:01] https://evangelicalimmigrationtable.com/advocacy/

Phil’s Facebook page erupted after the recent episode about reparations—leading the Holy Post gang to ask about the limits of evangelical theology, and how American individualism has shaped our understanding of liberty, economics, and even theology. Then, a prayer service in Portland became a brawl between Proud Boys and Antifa involving paintball guns. Is it a harbinger of more conflicts to come? And a new survey finds Americans are far more confident than Brits they could triumph in a fight against a lion, a chimpanzee, and even an elephant. Then, Skye talks to Kara Powell, the Executive Director of the Fuller Youth Institute, about her latest book, “3 Big Questions That Change Every Teenager.” Based on extensive research, Powell explains the unique challenges young people face today, and how parents and churches can engage them with empathy while creating the right conditions for them to grow in faith.

• https://today.yougov.com/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2021/05/13/lions-and-tigers-and-bears-what-animal-would-win-f
• https://yougov.co.uk/topics/lifestyle/articles-reports/2021/05/21/which-animals-could-britons-beat-fight

• https://nypost.com/2021/08/08/pr oud-boys-antifa-clash-at-portland-prayer-service/

• https://twitter.com/drantbradley/status/1419002457527627783
• https://www.holypost.com/post/episode-467-reparations-the-review-the-response-with-gregory-thompson

• https://freakonomics.com/podcast/american-culture-1/
• https://freakonomics.com/podcast/american-culture-2/
• https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/07/16/us-is-growing-more-unequal-thats-harmful-fixable/
• https://abc7chicago.com/life-expectancy-black-lives-shorter-chicagoans-blacks-in-chicago/10794226/

• https://www.amazon.com/Sticky-Faith-Everyday-Ideas-Lasting/dp/0310329329/
• https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Young-Essential-Strategies-Discover/dp/0801019257/

• https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Parents-Helping-Teenagers-Adults/dp/0801019265
• https://www.holypost.com/post/episode-466-sermongate-stats-sexual-abuse-with-mary-demuth