Religion on the Mind

Latest Episodes:

Everybody Now: Climate Emergency & Sacred Duty (#87) Oct 19, 2020

Show notes

We’ve caused a turning point in the Earth’s natural history. Everybody Now is a podcast about what it means to be human on the threshold of a global climate emergency, in a time of systemic injustice and runaway pandemics. Scientists, activists, farmers, poets, and theologians talk bravely and frankly about how our biosphere is changing, about grief and hope in an age of social collapse and mass extinction, and about taking action against all the odds.On 19th October 2020, Everybody Now is being released by podcasters all over the world as a collective call for awareness, grief and loving action. With contributions from:Dr. Gail Bradbrook - scientist and co-founder of Extinction RebellionProf. Kevin Anderson - Professor of Energy and Climate Change at the University of ManchesterDámaris Albuquerque - works with agricultural communities in NicaraguaDr. Rowan Williams - theologian and poet, and a former Archbishop of CanterburyPádraig Ó Tuama - poet, theologian and conflict mediatorRachel Mander - environmental activist with Hope for the FutureJohn Swales - priest and activist, and part of a community for marginalised peopleZena Kazeme - Persian-Iraqi poet who draws on her experiences as a former refugee to create poetry that explores themes of exile, home, war and heritageFlo Brady - singer and theatre makerHannah Malcolm - Anglican ordinand, climate writer and organiserAlastair McIntosh - writer, academic and land rights activistDavid Benjamin Blower - musician, poet and podcasterFunding and Production: This podcast was crowdfunded by a handful of good souls, and produced by Tim Nash and David Benjamin BlowerPermissions:The song Happily by Flo Brady is used with permission.The song The Soil, from We Really Existed and We Really Did This by David Benjamin Blower, used with permission.The Poem The Tree of Knowledge by Pádraig Ó Tuama used with permission.The Poem Atlas by Zena Kazeme used with permission.The Poem What is Man? by Rowan Williams from the book The Other Mountain, used with permission from Carcanet Press.Follow Dan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/dancoke/Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochEmail about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Christian Movie Industry (#86) Oct 12, 2020

Show notes

I spoke with Luke Barnett and Vince Masciale, the guys behind the new indy comedy Faith Based, about a pair of misfit buddies who try and make a quick buck by directing a Christian movie and selling it to the fictitious “Christflix” streaming channel. To make their own film, they did quite a bit of market research around the Christian movie industry, so naturally I was interested to talk about that. We also get into other forms of independent faith-based art like the Christian ska and punk scene of the 90’s and 2000’s. This is a breezy, fun conversation by YHP standards, and I really enjoyed it.Faith Based Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hn6Lfa-EkNALuke on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LukeBarnettFollow Dan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/dancoke/Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochEmail about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Infertility, Babies & a Fresh Experience of God (#85) Oct 05, 2020

Show notes

Dr. Sarah Lane Ritchie joins for her inaugural regular guest spot on YHP to discuss her and Dan’s shared recent experience of having their first children. They each tell their respective stories of infertility and IVF, and various theological and psychological implications of these are discussed, including: the role of neurotransmitter’s in God’s communication to humans, CS Lewis’s idea of Joy as a “foretaste” of the Kingdom of God, Hell, wonder/awe, the multiverse, and more.Follow Dan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/dancoke/Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochEmail about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hell & Universalism in a Global Context (#84) Sep 28, 2020

Show notes

When Dr. Greg Cootsona (California State University, Chico) heard a recent episode that touched on the questions of Hell and Universal Salvation, he emailed me almost immediately and mentioned that something was lacking in our treatment of that topic: other religions and perspectives of the span of geography and time. This is especially relevant because doctrines about the afterlife tend to make a lot of claims about people outside the membership of Christianity. Naturally, I invited him back on the show to talk at length about this topic, and indeed we did talk *at length* because it is such a fascinating topic. Other than complimenting me too often (we edited out as many as we could), Greg is a perfect podcast guest!Faith + Letters Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/faith-and-letters/id1525445129Greg’s Blog: http://cootsona.blogspot.com/Follow Dan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/dancoke/Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochEmail about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Habit, Virtue, Prayer & Science (#83) Sep 21, 2020

Show notes

Bradley Wright is a Protestant professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut where he studies American Christianity, spirituality, and well-being. Sofia Corozza is a Catholic phd student at Cambridge studying child neurodevelopment. Also, she is Brad’s goddaughter, which makes for a lovely interplay between the two of them. So why care about habits and virtue? Aren’t these old fashioned notions? Well, habits are very closely linked to positive change of all sorts, and if there is one thing missing at least in our *public* life these days, virtue might top that list. Prayer seems to interact with both of these concepts regularly, and I am always asking: what is the science behind each of these? What do we know and with how much confidence?Sofia’s Blog: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/synapsesofthesoul/Bradley’s Site: http://bradleywrightphd.com/Follow Dan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/dancoke/Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochEmail about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who Are the "Spiritual But Not Religious"? (#82) Sep 14, 2020

Show notes

If you spend any significant time reading or listening to scholars of religion, looking at polling of religious groups, or anything like that, then you have probably heard the term Spiritual But Not Religious thrown out there. This will usually come with a sentence or two of description, something like, people who do not identify with any particular religion, or people who are neither religious nor atheist. But I wanted to go further and better understand this group, not least because many of this show’s listeners find themselves in this category. Another fact often included when the Spiritual but not Religious are mentioned is that they are the fastest growing religious group in America; yet another reason to take a longer peek under the hood.I’m joined by returning guest Terry Shoemaker, who is a researcher and professor of religious studies at Arizona State University. About a year ago he was on the show talking about what he calls culture war Christianity, and there’s a link to that episode in the show notes today if you didn't catch it.In addition to discussing the SBNR, we also talk about the possible future effects of both the pandemic and evangelical support for Trump on American religion.Terry’s episode from last year: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/to-escape-culture-war-christianity-16/id1448000113?i=1000434412065The Myth of Disenchantment - https://www.amazon.com/Myth-Disenchantment-Magic-Modernity-Sciences-ebook/dp/B0727LKR8CLosing Our Religion - https://www.amazon.com/Losing-Our-Religion-Unaffiliated-Children-ebook/dp/B010VIKQ0E/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=losing+our+religion&qid=1600044922&s=books&sr=1-1The End of White Christian America - https://www.amazon.com/End-White-Christian-America/dp/1501122320Terry.shoemaker@asu.edEdited by Scott CangemiJoin the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochEmail about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pastors, Therapist Referrals & Mental Health in the Church (#81) Sep 07, 2020

Show notes

Short interviews with three pastors in different traditions (Foursquare, Episcopal, and Presbyterian-PCA) about their process of referring congregants to therapists in their area. This is a topic that it seems to me could use some more attention, not least because pastors are in a *perfect* position to help Christians of all stripes get the mental health help that they need when they need it, and most of us will need this kind of help at some point in our lives (whether or not we take that step). We talk about referral practices, finding trustworthy therapists, finding therapists who understand where Christian clients are coming from, pitfalls and possibilities within the church around mental health, a little about some of these pastors’ own therapeutic experiences, and more.Dr. Doug Bursch / Fairly Spiritual: https://www.fairlyspiritual.org/Kira Austin-Young: https://twitter.com/kmaustinyoungJon Haralson / Grace Church Seattle: https://graceseattle.org/Follow Dan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/dancoke/Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochEmail about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Myron is a Demon Skeptic (#80) Aug 31, 2020

Show notes

My guest (and dear friend) philosopher Myron A. Penner joins me to talk about demons. His position is as follows:1. Not ruling out their existence2. Quite skeptical what we could really know about them3. Somewhat opposed morally, given how they function in human/religious affairsWe also talk about the phenomena of increased “possession” in non-Western countries, culture-bound mental health syndromes, the role of expectation in experience, some (I think) helpful concepts from psychologist Richard Beck, and more.Reviving Old Scratch: https://www.amazon.com/Reviving-Old-Scratch-Doubters-Disenchanted/dp/150640135XThe Slavery of Death: https://www.amazon.com/Slavery-Death-Richard-Beck/dp/1620327775Culture-Bound Syndromes: https://sacwellness.com/culture-bound-syndromes/Myron: https://www.twu.ca/profile/myron-pennerFollow Dan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/dancoke/Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochEmail about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Short-term Missions & Amy Peterson's Story (#79) Aug 24, 2020

Show notes

This is a wonderful and wide-ranging conversation with the author of one of my favorite books I’ve read in a long time. We talk about Amy Peterson’s missionary story and the Christian soil in which she was raised before turning our gaze to the topic of short-term missions more broadly.Dangerous Territory: https://smile.amazon.com/Dangerous-Territory-Misguided-Quest-World-ebook/dp/B01MRCB54Y/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=amy+peterson+books&qid=1598121703&sr=8-4Where Goodness Still Grows: https://smile.amazon.com/Where-Goodness-Still-Grows-Reclaiming/dp/0785225668/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=amy+peterson+books&qid=1598121703&sr=8-1Follow Dan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/dancoke/Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochEmail about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

End Times Popularity: Part 2 (#78) Aug 17, 2020

Show notes

End Times Popularity: Part 2 (#78)

Part 2 of a series that addresses the question “Why was End Times/Left Behind/Rapture theology *so popular* by the time we grew up in the 90s and 2000s?” Please start with Part 1, last week’s episode.My main argument:1. The people whose evangelizing kicked off the Jesus Movement were primarily fundamentalists and they were themselves already very focused on biblical prophecy2. In the early 70s, there was enough global chaos and uncertainty, along with one very important “fulfilled prophecy” that made it seem plausible that the world might indeed be coming to a close3. By the time Left Behind came around in the 90s, that same Jesus Movement generation held the primary places of power and influence in Evangelical circlesCovered in this episode:- The Jesus Movement generation were the ones with cultural power in the Evangelical world by the time Left Behind came out- A straightforward and literal reading of the Bible is always popular, especially in America, and it plays into a few common American characteristics- Where are they now? All four interviewees relay their current beliefs about the End Times- Sally answers some of the questions the original interview subjects answered in the End Times Anxiety series

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected