Homebrewed Christianity

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Kenneth R. Miller: How we Evolved to have Reason, Consciousness, and Free Will Apr 18, 2019

Show notes

I am pumped to share this episode with you. For a long time I have enjoyed the work of biologist Kenneth R. Miller and over the course of this conversation we cover a number of topics which include...

How the poetry of Thomas Merton help bring Ken back to faith
His role in the debates between Creation Science, Intelligence Design, and Evolution
"if Augustine and Aquinas were around today, they would be evolutionists"
on the craft of being a baseball umpire
the nature of Biblical truth and scientific discovery
stories from the legal battles over Intelligent Design
the overwhelming evidence for a common ancestor
how humans are unique among the natural world
the failure of Sam Harris' argument on free will
a sweet E.O. Wilson story on free will and its necessity for science
his friendship and disagreement with Stephen Jay Gould about NOMA
Ken's theory of mind and consciousness
he argues against Nagel about the nature of consciousness
we discuss emergence via complexity

Kenneth R. Miller is Professor of Biology. He did his undergraduate work at Brown, and earned a Ph D in 1974 at the University of Colorado. He spent six years as Assistant Professor at Harvard University before returning to Brown University in 1980. His research work on cell membrane structure and function has produced more than 60 scientific papers and reviews in leading journals, including CELL, Nature, and Scientific American.

You should definitely follow him on twitter and check out his visit to the Colbert Report.

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David Congdon + Travis McMaken: Dialectical Theology Apr 10, 2019

Show notes

The dynamic duo of dialectical theology - David Congdon & Travis McMaken - are on the podcast. These two scholars, friends, and theological provocateurs are here to bring you some dialectical theology. This conversation was recorded in their hotel room at the American Academy of Religion. Their room may or may not have had a bunch of crystals surrounding a giant collection of analytic theology texts. Travis was on the podcast in the past talking about Why God loves Justice and Why Go Barthian?. David joined the podcast to talk Bultmann’s Mission of Demythologizing. If you are inspired you should go join the Society for Dialectical Theology In this podcast we discuss.... - the day David convinced Travis the bodily resurrection wasn't necessary - dialectical theology's relationship to theological tradition - what does the term "event" mean for DT? - humans are messed up and are not the solution of our problem - the kenosis of the patriarchy - theology for the religiously unaffiliated - sadly Travis has no inner-life - how Badiou should relate to Theology... a theology of the trace - what makes an event christian - the contrast between dialectical theology and salvation history - tripp gets upset about theology without existential register - David is not happy about St. Andrews, analytical theology, or NT Wright's historical confidence - analytical investigations of Kierkegaard aren't cool - doing historical investigations doesn't lead to the existential encounter of faith - the need to embrace the secularity of faith Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community.

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Reza Aslan: the birth of god, the problem of identity, and Pete Buttigieg Apr 04, 2019

Show notes

Reza Aslan is back on the podcast with the release of God: A Human History in paperback. Reza Aslan is a best-selling author (Zealot, No god But God), commentator, professor, and producer for The Leftovers (HBO), Of Kings and Prophets (ABC), Rough Draft (Ovation), and Believer (CNN). In our conversation we discuss a bunch of topics...

the birth of God in human history
cognitive science of religion
evolutionary account of religion
Reza resists scientific reductionism
what comes first, myth or rituals?
what is going on in religion?
why religion is not primarily about beliefs, but identity
the ignorance of ignoring religion
a prophetic voice in a multi-traditioned culture
Reza's enthusiastic endorsement of Pete Buttigieg for President
why Donald Trump is personified evil
a minister who will not stand against racism is failing
parenting in a multi-faith family

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Anthony Le Donne: Learning Religion in the Game of Thrones Apr 01, 2019

Show notes

Earlier this week we were joined by A. Ron from the Bald Move podcast. His co-author for Gods of Thrones and historical Jesus scholar, Dr. Anthony Le Donne, is on the podcast talking comparative religion in the Game of Thrones. We have too much fun and get to a bunch of topics...

Game of Thrones as a secular apocalypse narrative
GOT and LOTR (Lord of the Rings)
eucatastrophe in LOTR
the end of ethical theories
how Martin sees the nature of religion
the influence of Catholicism and Roman religion
the cultural phenomenon of GOT and its growing tribe
anxiety, agency, and our global crises
White Walkers and the Ecological Crisis
blood and incest
introduction to comparative religion in Westeros
why fan theory is awesome
from canonical texts to post-canonical TV
how GOT tackles changing norms
the historical Jesus had warts
GOT and the emergence of a promo-democracy
how to finish the books if Martin can't
an aside on the politics of historical Jesus research

Anthony Le Donne is Assistant Professor of New Testament at United Theological Seminary. He is the author/editor of seven books and serves as an editor of the Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus.

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A. Ron of Bald Move: Game of Thrones and Professional Podcasting Mar 27, 2019

Show notes

WINTER IS COMING! A. Ron of the Bald Move is on the podcast talking podcasting, online community, and Game of Thrones (GOT). It is fun.

Not only is A. Ron host of my favorite GOT podcast, but he recently put out a two volume exploration of the religions of GOT. George R.R. Martin, author of GOT, recognized that many fantasy works (like LOTR) may explore religious themes, but they rarely have a rich tapestry of religious life. That is not a problem in Westeros.

I hope you enjoy the episode and get prepared for part two late this week with Dr. Anthony Le Donne.

In our conversation we cover a bunch of ground, including:

How A. Ron fell in love with science fiction and fantasy
forming community online and the Bald Move
the Game of Thrones (GOT) experience
what explains the cultural phenomenon that is GOT
what is Martin getting at in the end game of GOT
thinking through the redemptive arcs in GOT
what are the motivations of the white walkers
the Wall as the DMZ zone of the ancient war
who is going to end on the iron throne... will there be a proto-democracy
why we need more dire wolves
Cleganebowl!!!

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Michael Ruse: Darwinian Existentialism Mar 21, 2019

Show notes

Michael Ruse was a complete treat as a guest. He is an insightful, energetic, and humorous conversation partner. On top of that, as a philosopher of science, Dr. Ruse brings a career's worth of insights into the present state of the religion and science conversation. I have quite a bit of gratitude that Dr. Ruse took his time to join the podcast. During the podcast we discuss:

the changing shape of the relationship between Religion - Science
the battle over Creationism
is there a purpose?
the meaning of life
the problem of holism
evil, violence, and the problem of war
the New Atheism as a Secular Religion
moving beyond original sin
growing up Quaker during war

Michael Ruse is Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Program in the History and Philosophy of Science at Florida State University. He's a British-born Canadian philosopher of science who specializes in the philosophy of biology and works on the relationship between science and religion, the creation–evolution controversy, and the demarcation problem within science.

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Robert Wright: From Mindful Resistance to the New Agnosticism Mar 18, 2019

Show notes

I am super duper pumped to share my conversation with Robert Wright. For a long time I have enjoyed Bob's podcast, books, and his new post-Trump newsletter. His return to the podcast follows my visit this past week on his own, which was a bunch of fun.

Here's a number of topics we tackle:

Why Buddhism is True
The problem with getting rid of prayers of confession from worship
Why everyone could use a class in evolutionary psychology
Western love of secular buddhism
Robert asks Tripp about confirmation and facilitating experiments in truth
What is a "wet baptist"?
The role and desire of religious rituals
Can religions leave competition behind? Can Christianity become a wisdom tradition?
The New Agnosticism
The hard problem of consciousness
"purpose" in the story of evolution
the possibility of moral progress
how a simple theist may end up being more accurate than the New Atheists
how Process theology's multiple ultimates gives a different way to connect eastern and western religious traditions
the problem of religious pluralism and how to do solve it
why I hope Bob talks with Simon Conway Morris

Want to check out more of Robert's work? Here's a few places to go.

The video/podcasting network he started, BloggingHeads.TV
The Mindful Resistance Newsletter (it is so good)
His class on Buddhism and Modern Science
Here's his lecture from Union Theological Seminary on the New Agnosticism
Here's Robert's previous visit to the podcast from 2009

Here's the conversation I had with Robert the day before on his podcast Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community.

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Dr. Robert Kurzban: Spotting Hypocrisy and Becoming Virtuous Mar 13, 2019

Show notes

What is morality for? Where did 'the good' come from? Is the human even a trustworthy partner for asking these questions? In this episode I am joined by Dr. Robert Kurzban, an evolutionary psychologist, who has spent his life studying human behavior through an evolutionary framework. Robert was a complete blast to converse with and I grateful he took the time to talk to me off a cold email through the digital-space.

Over the course of our time you will get to know a bit about his own life and research, including....

What is Evolutionary Psychology?
A Modular Brain?
The evolutionary origins and functions of morality and virtue
How we hide our agendas from ourselves
Climate Change and the public good problem
How people of faith can endorse policies counter to the basic tenants of their faith
Religion and the abortion debate
The coercive force of spotting hypocrisy
The role of wisdom in overcoming our biological hardware

Robert Kurzban is an evolutionary psychologist and author of two very readable and enjoyable texts - Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite: Evolution and the Modular Mind and The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind: How Self-Interest Shapes Our Opinions and Why We Won't Admit It. His research focuses on the nature of evolved cognitive adaptations for social life. These include processes involved with cooperative decision making, punishment, morality, close relationships, and mate choice. He uses methods drawn from experimental economics and cognitive psychology to study these processes.

Robert is proud to have served as both the editor-in-chief of the journal Evolution & Human Behavior and President of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society.

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Karl Giberson: Physics, Cosmology, and Faith after Evangelicalism Mar 07, 2019

Show notes

Physicist and regular contributor to the religion & science conversation, Dr. Karl Giberson is on the podcast. You will get to hear the inside story of this ex-evangelical scientist's changing relationship to science and the church he first knew. Ultimately Dr. Giberson couldn't see a way for the American evangelical community to reconcile with science and today, while still a Christian, works in a Catholic context.

The topics we cover are wide-ranging and include:

Physics & Cosmology
the Multiverse (and his skepticism)
the fine-tuning of the universe
chance, randomness, and divine action
(the lack of a) literal Adam and Eve
life after evangelicalism
LGBTQ equality in the church
evangelical anti-intellectualism

Dr. Giberson holds a PhD in Physics from Rice University. Dr. Giberson has lectured on science-and-religion at the Vatican, Oxford University, London’s Thomas Moore Institute, and at many prestigious American venues including MIT, Brigham Young University and Xavier University.

Dr. Giberson has published more than 200 reviews and essays, both technical and popular, in outlets that include NY Times, CNN.com, the Guardian, USA Today, LA Times, Salon.com, Discover, Weekly Standard, Quarterly Review of Biology, Perspectives on Science & Faith, The Edge.org, and Books & Culture. He has written or co-authored 10 books, and contributed to many edited volumes. Currently, Dr. Giberson is a faculty member at Stonehill College where he serves as the Scholar-in-Residence in science and religion.

Here's Karl's critical review of Lawrence Krauss' account of Creation out of Nothing that gets mentioned.

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Rolf Jacobson: Israel's In-Your-Face, Holy God Mar 05, 2019

Show notes

You don't have to be an Old Testament hater. I know it seems popular and pretty easy to dismiss the Hebrew scriptures, BUT it is a heresy and almost all the reasons you will think of apply to the New Testament as well. Here's the deal - the reason we are easily attracted to ditching the Hebrew scriptures may be we really don't want to read, hear, and listen as they intend to be heard. For that very reason I was pumped to Rolf Jacobson write the Homebrewed Christianity Guide to the Old Testament. The book is awesome.

We talk about the book and a bunch of other things in this podcast. I also hadn't preached in 2 weeks when we recorded it, so there's a small sermonette in the middle of it. [You can avoid a sermonette in the middle of a podcast by inviting me to speak :)]

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