The Pugcast

Welcome to this brief preview of the Life After Secularism Conference, November 14-15 in Battle Ground, Washington. Today Chris interviews Aaron Renn to get a little sample of what he'll be talking about at the conference. The theme isn't meant to imply that Christianity will automatically fill the void left by the retreating tide of secularism; it's going to be a free-for-all and Christianity is just one of the contestants in the days ahead. Follow the link to learn more.   Register for the Life After Secularism Conference: https://solochristo.churchcenter.com/registrations/events/3172138   Learn more about WPC Battle Ground: https://www.solochristo.org/

Regular listeners will remember our conversation with Annie Crawford about the Midwestuary conference. In this episode, the Pugs talk with Paul VanderKlay, the originator of the estuary concept. They discuss what Estuaries are, how they work, This Little Corner of the Internet, and the importance of having open, free conversations with people. There’s a lot of practical wisdom in his ideas and approach, so join us in this episode to take a dive into the Estuary.   Paul VanderKlay on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@PaulVanderKlay   Learn more about the Estuary: https://www.estuaryhub.com/   Support the Theology Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8   Connect with Glenn and Every Square Inch Ministries at https://www.esquareinch.com/   Learn more about WPC Battle Ground: https://www.solochristo.org/   Connect with WileyCraft Productions: https://wileycraftproductions.com/

On today's episode the pugs talk about disturbing comments made by some medical practitioners who publicly celebrated the Kirk murder as a social good. The discussion jumps into important issues concerning medical ethics, human life, and the compassionate treatment of all divine image bearers.   Support the Theology Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8   Connect with Glenn and Every Square Inch Ministries at https://www.esquareinch.com/   Learn more about WPC Battle Ground: https://www.solochristo.org/   Connect with WileyCraft Productions: https://wileycraftproductions.com/

Paul Kingsnorth, the award winning novelist and essayist has a new nonfiction book coming out and Chris got an advance review copy. Ostensibly it's about artificial intelligence, but what Kingsnorth is really aiming as is modernity itself, aka the post-enlightenment West. And he's got a good point. There are two Wests--the old West of Christendom, and the new West--what Kingsnorth refers to as The Machine. Paul would like to go home, but where can you call home when the machine has colonized the world? The guys find themselves largely in agreement with Paul's take on things. There are quibbles here and there, but over all the Pugs give it 5 stars. Tune in to find out why.   Support the Theology Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8   Connect with Glenn and Every Square Inch Ministries at https://www.esquareinch.com/   Learn more about WPC Battle Ground: https://www.solochristo.org/   Connect with WileyCraft Productions: https://wileycraftproductions.com/

C.S. Lewis said that “reason is the natural organ of truth, but imagination is the natural organ of meaning.” In this episode, the Pugsters explore his ideas on this, noting that he is using the word “truth” in a very specific way and making a case that imagination is a vehicle to discover truth just like reason is. Not convinced? Tune in and hear the conversation.   Support the Theology Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8   Connect with Glenn and Every Square Inch Ministries at https://www.esquareinch.com/   Learn more about WPC Battle Ground: https://www.solochristo.org/   Connect with WileyCraft Productions: https://wileycraftproductions.com/

It’s nearly possible. Is it a good thing? The Pugs engage the topic of ‘ectogestation’ and ‘ectogenesis’ in this episode, and ponder the spiritual and moral implications of such advancing technologies.     Support the Theology Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8   Connect with Glenn and Every Square Inch Ministries at https://www.esquareinch.com/   Learn more about WPC Battle Ground: https://www.solochristo.org/   Connect with WileyCraft Productions: https://wileycraftproductions.com/

The Pugsters welcome Annie Crawford back, this time for a discussion based on the Midwestuary conference held in August. Annie explained the history and concept behind the Estuary movement started by Paul Vanderklay. The guys discussed a range of ideas jumping off of that with Annie. Not sure what the Estuary is? Join us and find out!     Support the Theology Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8   Connect with Glenn and Every Square Inch Ministries at https://www.esquareinch.com/   Learn more about WPC Battle Ground: https://www.solochristo.org/   Connect with WileyCraft Productions: https://wileycraftproductions.com/

Today Chris raises the question expressed in the title of this episode. Enthusiasts for Artificial Intelligence promise that chatbots will make everyone more efficient and productive--even novelists and scholars. But is that really possible considering what history's most famous creatives tell us about how they went about their work? People who've looked into their daily routines such as Oliver Burkeman (author of, Four Thousand Weeks, Time Management for Mortals) and Mason Currey (author of, Daily Rituals) inform us that people like Charles Darwin and Flannery O'Connor only worked 3 to 4 hours a day on the things we remember them for. The rest of the time they did other things--mostly unrelated. So, would they have gotten more done with the help of artificial intelligence? The Pugs have their doubts. Tune in and find out why.     Support the Theology Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8   Connect with Glenn and Every Square Inch Ministries at https://www.esquareinch.com/   Learn more about WPC Battle Ground: https://www.solochristo.org/   Connect with WileyCraft Productions: https://wileycraftproductions.com/

Jumping off an article by Bradley Birzer, the Pugs discuss the idea of Christian humanism. After Glenn summarizes the history of humanism dating back to the Renaissance, the guys discuss the difference between Renaissance and Christian humanism with secular humanism, Christian humanism in the 20th century (including the Inklings), the contributions humanism has made to culture, and the need for a recovery of Christian humanism today.   Article Referenced: https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2025/08/seeking-christendom-christian-humanism-twentieth-century-bradley-birzer.html   Support the Theology Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8   Connect with Glenn and Every Square Inch Ministries at https://www.esquareinch.com/   Learn more about WPC Battle Ground: https://www.solochristo.org/   Connect with WileyCraft Productions: https://wileycraftproductions.com/

On today's show the pugs engage an article by Oxford historian Andrew Moeller on the complicated aims and compromises of the 1930 Lambeth Conference, a watershed moment in Christianity in the West. The pugs discuss the 'gamble with the devil' that  the Church of England made, with its embrace of a modern technological understanding of reality even as it sought to remain Christian by accommodating and compromising with it. The pugs note how much of Protestantism followed suit, especially Evangelical Christianity of late.   Article Referenced: https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/03F1600B83A0FB3EE62F81EE31A36111/S002204692300060Xa.pdf/eugenics-and-the-approval-of-birth-control-at-the-1930-lambeth-conference.pdf   Support the Theology Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8   Connect with Glenn and Every Square Inch Ministries at https://www.esquareinch.com/   Learn more about WPC Battle Ground: https://www.solochristo.org/   Connect with WileyCraft Productions: https://wileycraftproductions.com/