The Theology Pugcast

In today's show Tom raises the specter of propaganda--the form of communication seen in books like 1984 and totalitarian states, and increasingly the contemporary western world.  It was inevitable considering the fact that our elites no longer believe in metaphysics. Something must be said, but what if truth isn't an option? Propaganda is what you get in the name of truth. One of the thinkers that Tom refers to in the Jacques Ellul, the famous French thinker and aurhor of the book, Propaganda. Glenn Sunshine is away on business, but Dr. Joseph Leake, Beowulf scholar and authority on Old English and Old Norse sits in for Glenn.  

In today's show Chris introduces a subject that he's written a lot about: productive property. Sometimes it is called "real property"--but whatever the name, we're not talking about your tooth brush here. Where talking about what the Founding Fathers had in mind when they limited the franchise to holders of property. They believed that productive property is essential for liberty. It still is. Chris is joined by Glenn and Tom for another wide-ranging discussion. 

In today's episode Glenn introduces listeners to "transhumanism"--a philosophy and engineering project concerned with transcending the given limits of human nature. Transhumanists view the body solely as a machine, and the mind is somehow both dependent upon it, yet utterly distinct. (This should remind listeners a little of Descartes.) But what transhumanism actually is--for all its mechanistic notions--is just one more manifestation of the ancient hydra that has plagued western culture from the start: Gnosticism.  The Pugcast audience continues to grow--Glenn, Tom, and Chris are both pleased and a little surprised. They're grateful. Also, the show has a growing number of financial supporters on the FLF Network. Thanks are in order for those folks, too. If you would like to join this merry band and financially support The Theology Pugcast you can do so through the Fight, Laugh, Feast Network. 

In today's episode Chris begins with a simple truth: since modern welfare states are not the Kingdom of God they will end someday. This leads to a discussion of disincentives for having children in welfare states and why that spells their demise in the long run. Naturally debt is used to keep the state going in the near term, but this only make the eventual collapse that much more devastating. Since we can see evidence of the final failure of the welfare state all around it is a good idea to "short" the welfare state. Whenever you short an asset you're betting that its value will go down. The bet allocates resources into assets that will go up in value in the event of the loss of value in the shorted asset. So, what should we invest ourselves in instead of the welfare state? Chris turns to the book of Ruth in the Old Testament for clues.  Sound quality continues to improve--the Pug has discovered the source of the mysterious background noise that plagued earlier podcasts and it has been addressed. We hope you can enjoy the show better now!

In today's episode Glenn discusses an important distinction that is lost on most people today--the difference between liberty and license. The Founding Fathers of the United States understood the difference, and they did their best to structure American government in order to preserve liberty and inhibit license. We've come a long way, baby.  Is there any hope for responsible freedom, or are we doomed to live in the Servile State, as the Distributists put it? 

In today's show, Tom introduces listeners to the Barmen Declaration of 1934. He then helps listeners understand what genuine resistance to the Nazis looked like at the time, and how many German churches had been coopted by cultural trends.  In our ideological age, cut off from both nature and nature's God, totalitarianisms emerge to fill in the empty spaces in our heads and hearts. Classical Christian theism is what we need today, but most evangelicals don't know what that is. Here's the wiki page for the Barmen Declaration--https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barmen_Declaration Once again, the show is recorded on our new sound equipment! We're getting the hang of it.    

Today's show begins with Chris's memories of three LGBT networks that existed in evangelical institutions. These are not hearsay stories, the people involved remain nameless, but Chris knew them personally. Most troubling was the way these networks recruited new members and initiated them. In each case theology was twisted to provide justification for what was occurring. The stories provide a basis for considering what is known as the "Lavender Mafia" in the Roman Catholic Church. For those unfamiliar with the term, "Lavender Mafia" is the name used by socially conservative Roman Catholics for a network of homosexual priests that many people believe exists in the Roman Catholic Church. Chris then wonders aloud, "Is it unreasonable to suspect that something similar may exist in some places among evangelical clergy?"  This is a free-ranging discussion that includes reflections on some of the theological trends within evangelicalism and how those trends may serve these networks. As a bonus--this show is the first one recorded on the new recording equipment. The guys are still learning how to use it, so hopefully the sound quality will improve with each episode going forward.  

Chris is in Dallas, and Glenn is on the road, and Tom feels too lonely to record a show. So, we dig into Chris's personal vault of recorded stuff this week for a conversation with Aaron Renn, publisher of the Masculinist. Chris and Aaron are joined by David Talcott, professor of philosophy at King's College in New York City, Sam Perez, a pastor in Jersey City, and Nate Towers of Fellowship Deaconry. This is a free-range conversation about men, masculinity, the church, women, Jason Peterson, and a host of other things. Enjoy!  

In today's show Glenn provides an introduction to Protestant Resistance Theory. You may have wondered, are Christians the doormats of human history? Do we always turn the other cheek? Do you ever run out of cheeks? Is punching back ever justified, not just in self-defense, but in armed resistance against tyranny? Well, you're not the first person to wonder. Glenn provides an overview of how Christians in general, and Protestants in particular, have come to say, "Enough! Now I'm fighting back!" Naturally, Tom and Chris have things to share--and you may have guessed, they agree that there is a time to fight back.

In today's show Chris introduces listeners to two of his favorite writers--Matthew Crawford, author of Shop Class as Soulcraft, and Eric Hoffer, author of The True Believer. Both men could be described as "blue collar intellectuals" because they actually are (or were) blue collar men. Crawford is a motorcycle mechanic and Hoffer was a stevedore (a dockworker). But even though they're blue collar, their thinking is first class, not low class. Chris has been a blue collar guy over the years--having actually been a carpenter and a home improvement contractor. Chris uses his experience and the writing of these authors to raise the question, "Is one of the reasons that academe is so crazy these days because most academics have no real acquaintance with working with the physical world?" Tom and Glenn chime in with excellent commentary as usual.  Unfortunately the guys don't know how to use their new recording equipment yet--so the sound quality is not what it will soon be. Nonetheless, here is some very worthwhile content for anyone who'd like to know what it means to be a blue collar intellectual.