Stories Are Soul Food

Latest Episodes:

92: Storytelling After Roe v. Wade Oct 24, 2022

Show notes

This episode juxtaposes abortion and hospitality. We live in a post-Roe v. Wade world -- can we apply those lessons to storytelling now? How do evangelicals do with that cultural fight? Does fiction have a place in it? (Not the way you probably mean it.) The guys dig deeper into the themes of Episode 90, exploring the meaning of "proof" and poor ways of obligating belief. Familiar SASF themes emerge in this episode -- specifically, the importance of a good meal outweighing the value of "good" propaganda. Comparisons between October Baby and Juno are made. And you'll get to hear about grandmothers and the random acts of kindness that inspire the next generation more than all the political sloganeering in the world.

#StoriesAreSoulFood #SASF #RoevWade #hospitality #Juno #OctoberBaby #Stories

IT'S HERE! Pre-Order the 4th installment of the Ashtown Burial Series at ashtownburials.com.

91: Naughty Words Oct 17, 2022

Show notes

A listener writes in to find out why, as a pastor's kid, Nate uses expletives like "hell" and "damn" in Notes from the Tilt-a-Whirl. (Shh, don't mention that Nate has written worse.) This leads to a discussion of the sliding scale of bad words -- truth is, no word is bad intrinsically. Seriously: a word's badness or goodness is dependent on how it's used -- on its place in the STORY. (This is SASF, people, you should have seen that coming.) Or, if you prefer to look at it this way, EVERY word is bad -- if used in a way God wouldn't. This naturally leads into a discussion of the nature of evil. Brian tries to lump Nate in with Augustine. Nate resists: Evil is not black goo you can add to things! And so this episode goes.

#StoriesAreSoulFood #SASF #BadWords #StrongLanguage #Augustine #Stories

91: Naughty Words Oct 17, 2022

Show notes

#StoriesAreSoulFood #SASF #BadWords #StrongLanguage #Augustine #Stories

IT'S HERE! Pre-Order the 4th installment of the Ashtown Burial Series at ashtownburials.com.

90: Truth is Not Proof Oct 10, 2022

Show notes

Here's an interesting truth that Nate once tried out on his roommate: pure, syllogistic reasoning is not persuasive. In fact, unvarnished truth does not "prove" anything -- by that we mean that it does not obligate belief as well as, say, story might. And you'll notice that people seldom believe the things they do for logical reasons: they come to their beliefs by narrative paths, and construct the logic to defend as needed. So, what does it mean to "obligate belief"? When is truth not persuasive? Why are Christians the one who often need to hear this most? These and other rhetorical intricacies occupy this episode of SASF.

#StoriesAreSoulFood #Rhetoric #EthosPathosLogos #Proof #Logic #character

90: Truth is Not Proof Oct 10, 2022

Show notes

#StoriesAreSoulFood #Rhetoric #EthosPathosLogos #Proof #Logic #character

IT'S HERE! Pre-Order the 4th installment of the Ashtown Burial Series at ashtownburials.com.

89: Moses Was A Wizard Oct 03, 2022

Show notes

Is a book with a good witch a bad book? The guys use the Wizard of Oz as a jumping off point for this lengthy discussion of magic, which listeners know is a favorite SASF hobbyhorse. Nate claims that moderns have lost an appreciation for the miraculous in an attempt to describe the natural. In reality, everything is magic. But Brian objects: if everything is magical, then nothing is. Nate responds with MOSES AND THE WIZARD DUEL. Of course Tolkien and Lewis -- and Gandalf and Jadis -- also feature in this discussion that will get you thinking about your favorite stories... and how our scientists have crossed the line into witchcraft long ago.
#SASF #StoriesAreSoulFood #magic #science #Tolkien #CSLewis

89: Moses Was A Wizard Oct 03, 2022

Show notes

IT'S HERE! Pre-Order the 4th installment of the Ashtown Burial Series at ashtownburials.com.

88: Write Novels Like Jonah Sep 26, 2022

Show notes

Episode ocho-ocho is about narrative architecture, but that sounds boring so we made the headline more interesting, having been inspired by one of SASF's favorite novels, Evangellyfish. In point of fact, though, this week's episode is fantastic: The guys get into a discussion of favorite (living) novelists, with disagreements aplenty. If you've been looking for novel recommendations for adults, this is the episode for you. And when the guys move into film, and how to structure new stories based on old ones that work, you'll just have to listen to get Nate's take on Terrence Malik... Nipples on the Batsuit and jumping the shark are also discussed. Oh, and Nate loops back around to tie a bow on his disappointment with the end of Cobra Kai.

#SASF #StoriesAreSoulFood #NDWilson #Evangellyfish #JessWalter #LeifEnger #TerrenceMalik #MarilynneRobinson

88: Write Novels Like Jonah Sep 26, 2022

Show notes

#SASF #StoriesAreSoulFood #NDWilson #Evangellyfish #JessWalter #LeifEnger #TerrenceMalik #MarilynneRobinson

IT'S HERE! Pre-Order the 4th installment of the Ashtown Burial Series at ashtownburials.com.

87: Top Gun Cobra Kai Medley Sep 19, 2022

Show notes

The guys discuss feedback from the Rings of Power sort-of-watchalong. Then, in a shocking turn of events, one of the guys is accused of being too critical of a film--and the critical one is Brian. Nate defends the honor of Top Gun 2, and even a bit of Cobra Kai (always with filters, people). They get into a discussion of character and when you can allow bad things to happen to main characters. They venture far afield in this SASF medley -- perhaps they were just relieved to not be watching Rings of Power.

#SASF #NDWilson #StoriesAreSoulFood #TopGunMaverick #CobraKai