Weird Religion

We’re talking with host of Things Not Seen Radio host and professor David Dault about the X-Files. Enough said. Check out David Dault’s massive and amazing catalogue NOW: https://www.thingsnotseenradio.com/ Dr. David Dault at Loyola Chicago: https://www.luc.edu/ips/about/faculty/daviddaultphd.shtml X-Files on Hulu, S4E14: “Memento Mori”: https://www.hulu.com/watch/f3a2f201-c27e-42bf-a621-45a3a4341f92New York Times, Meet the Nun who wants you to remember that you will die: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html Chris Carter on the new UFO government report: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/25/opinion/chris-carter-aliens-ufo-xfiles.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

In this week’s News Roundup, we’re going to marry God, pronounce on Bible translations on Tiktok, and make a very convoluted analogy to the JEDP Pentateuchal source critical scheme!!This week’s stories: A woman marries the Holy Spirit; husband objects: https://religionnews.com/2021/06/04/kenyan-woman-marries-the-holy-spirit-in-anglican-ceremony/Anthony Bourdain’s voice raised from the dead: https://variety.com/2021/artisans/news/anthony-bourdain-fake-voice-roadrunner-documentary-backlash-1235020878/The JEDP thing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_hypothesis Are people coming back to church: https://religionnews.com/2021/06/30/millions-skipped-church-during-pandemic-will-they-return/ TikTokers on Bible translations: https://religionnews.com/2021/07/14/three-of-the-most-mistranslated-words-in-scripture-according-to-tiktok-theologians/ (examples in clips: CaptainDadPool on TikTok on hell: https://bit.ly/3xNf495; Lordofbored on TikTok on Lucifer: https://bit.ly/3rflF9E) A young living goddess: https://aninjusticemag.com/the-young-goddess-whose-feet-never-touch-ground-64f6c40046b5 Homeopathic doctor from CALIFORNIA sells fake Covid immunity cards: https://people.com/crime/homeopathic-doctor-allegedly-sold-fake-covid-vaccine-cards/ The shaming of Amy Grant: https://medium.com/belover/the-shaming-of-amy-grant-3f8327c36803 Religions people consider the ethics of AI: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/07/16/opinion/ai-ethics-religion.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage Franklin Graham ads come down: https://religionnews.com/2021/07/16/british-borough-apologizes-for-removing-bus-ads-promoting-franklin-graham-festival/Mike Pompeo says don’t let the woke left socialists get you down: https://www.radioiowa.com/2021/07/16/dont-let-the-woke-left-socialists-get-you-down-pompeo-tells-iowa-crowd/ Jeremiah Wright, not “God bless America”: https://youtu.be/Ix-AMYos0Js Instagram is the new SkyMall! https://debugger.medium.com/instagram-has-become-skymall-68b9f2fbbc30  No beards, Mormons! https://www.sltrib.com/religion/2021/07/15/latest-mormon-land-new/

We take a deep breath and watch Darren Arnofsky’s maybe brilliant maybe dumb yet deeply religiously inspired and definitely provocative 2017 film mother! Film critic Joel Mayward joins us for support. Brian tries to ex(man)splain. Leah is not having it. (Warning: this episode contains some disturbing content, and also a heaping of razor sharp film criticism by Dr. Joel Mayward.)Trailer and other clips from mother!: https://bit.ly/35RV2xE Darren Arnofsky’s mother! and Cinematic Parables, by Joel Mayward: http://www.transpositions.co.uk/darren-aronofskys-mother-cinematic-parables/ Joel Mayward’s review of mother!: https://cinemayward.com/review/mother/ The Unknown Girl (2017): https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_unknown_girl Joe’s Mayward’s Cinemayward: https://cinemayward.com/

A very short episode dedicated to our friend Javier Garcia, who died recently. He was 34 years old, a Bonhoeffer scholar, director of an Honors program, a surfer, mountain climber, brother, son, and friend. With the flare-up of a long-brewing and continuing and still bitter disagreement between Brian and Leah about the quality of the show Battlestar Gallactica. Obituary for Javier Garcia: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BZo3zlxU7itzSDufQgl3RsjPW6WpWBr4/view?usp=sharing Recovering the Ecumenical Bonhoeffer, by Javier Garcia: https://www.amazon.com/Recovering-Ecumenical-Bonhoeffer-Thinking-Tradition/dp/1978700067 YouTube playlist of Javier Garcia talking about great texts (Hannah Arendt, Kierkegaard, Homer, Gandhi, and Augustine): https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCPifuu_9CY2FW6f8z8MYvhksWk6b9YNN

We’re talking about the spirituality of the biggest financial scam in history—with the star-creator and director of an award winning and genre-bending new film: A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff. Alicia Jo Rabins and Alicia J. Rose join us for a conversation about excommunication, success, failure, the artistic process, “cycles,” and mysticism. And UFOs. A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff: https://www.akaddishforberniemadoff.com/ Film trailer: https://vimeo.com/459483146 “What A Kaddish for Bernie Madoff Taught Me About Mourning,” in the Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2021/03/what-kaddish-bernie-madoff-teaches-about-mourning/618315/ Alicia Jo Rabins: https://aliciajo.com/ Alicia J. Rose: https://www.aliciajrose.com/

Conservatives take on Super-Conservatives. Major drama just went down at the annual convention for the nation’s most prominent Protestant “denomination,” the Southern Baptists. Who are “Baptists”? And how did Joe Baptist create the modern Baptist movement? What is happening with Moore and Moore? Brian interviews Leah and if you listen to this, you will have a decent starter kit to understanding Baptists. Ruth Graham, New York Times, “Southern Baptist Vote Signals Further Fractures in American Evangelicalism”: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/16/us/southern-baptist-convention-evangelicalism.html Anthea Butler, White Evangelical Racism: https://uncpress.org/book/9781469661179/white-evangelical-racism/ Shout-outs to scholars of Baptists: Doug Weaver: https://www.baylor.edu/religion/index.php?id=931783 João Chaves: https://www.baylor.edu/religion/index.php?id=944632 Eileen Campbell Reed: https://utsnyc.edu/faculty/eileen-campbell-reed/ Andrew C. Smith: https://www.amazon.com/Fundamentalism-Fundraising-Transformation-Southern-Convention/dp/1621902277 James Byrd: https://divinity.vanderbilt.edu/people/bio/jimmy-byrd Beth Moore leaves the Southern Baptists: https://religionnews.com/2021/03/09/bible-teacher-beth-moore-ends-partnership-with-lifeway-i-am-no-longer-a-southern-baptist Beth Moore apologizes for supporting complimentarianism: https://www.washingtonpost.com/religion/2021/04/07/beth-moore-women-complementarianism/ Leaked Russel Moore letter: https://religionnews.com/2021/06/02/leaked-russell-moore-letter-blasts-sbc-conservatives-sheds-light-on-his-resignation/ Meet Ed Litton: https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/religion/2021/06/16/southern-baptist-convention-ed-litton-pastor-new-president-sbc/7713144002/

Back with a full episode next week; for now, we provide a not-ominous-at-all programming note.

Bob Ross: Soothing TV painter, guru to Millennials, and a ghost hawking Mountain Dew. A postmodern capitalism horror show. Purity. Sounds. Avoidance and/or acceptance of darkness. The roaring 20s will lead to a new war. Bob Ross paints and then drinks a bottle of Mountain Dew: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRrWjdO9NVQPaula Abdul dances with Gene Kelly for Diet Coke: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok5O3iXCv88 Alston Ramsay, “Sex, Deceit, and Scandal: The Ugly War Over Bob Ross’ Ghost”: https://yhoo.it/2Sf0Dej Bob Ross, “Island in the Wilderness”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLWEXRAnQd0 Bob Ross, “Secluded Bridge”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrAMRxBB5KI Thomas Kincaid, The Painter of Light: https://bit.ly/3ikPlQj Daniel Siedell, “The Dark Light of Thomas Kinkade”: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/cultivare/2012/05/the-dark-light-of-thomas-kinkade/ Bob Ross, Have to Have Opposites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTMxjADudbc

A religion in the news roundup with some surprising stories. Mother Theresa a cult leader. Interpreting the Torah. Your face will become a skull. Rachel Hollis is out of touch. Zaprudurian. This UFO thing is not going away and Brian is getting excited. A lot going on. Links below to each story. Some covered more in depth, and some in the lightning round. Was Mother Theresa a cult leader? https://www.getreligion.org/getreligion/2021/5/25/another-trial-by-media-in-defense-of-mother-teresa-why-she-is-a-saint-not-a-cult-leaderRachel Hollis who is something of a guru is saying dumb things: https://aninjusticemag.com/the-rachel-hollis-drama-is-why-i-dont-trust-influencers-586eef3c2a15 White evangelicals, Hispanic Protestants, Mormons most likely to believe in QAnon: https://religionnews.com/2021/05/27/survey-white-evangelicals-hispanic-protestants-and-mormons-most-likely-believe-in-qanon/The 18 mile secret wire above Manhattan: https://historyofyesterday.com/why-theres-a-secret-tiny-wire-above-manhattan-4dc3f364330e How pop culture set the stage for coming ufo report: https://www.nbcnews.com/pop-culture/movies/how-pop-culture-set-stage-coming-ufo-report-better-or-n1268673Nun telling us we are goin to die: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html Mark Driscoll / Mars Hill podcast from CT: https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/podcasts/rise-and-fall-of-mars-hill/teaser-trailer-mars-hill-podcast.htmlProud to be an American: https://religionnews.com/2021/05/27/king-james-saves-the-god-bless-the-usa-bible-lee-greenwood-elite-source-kirkpatrick/Wuhan lab leak conspiracy theory (Leah’s choice): https://www.npr.org/2021/05/27/1000780650/every-possible-explanation-for-covid-19-should-be-investigated-expert-saysWuhan lab leak conspiracy (Brian’s choice): https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-57267729 Remembering the Satanic Panic re: D&D: https://medium.com/belover/the-1980s-hoax-that-dungeons-dragons-killed-kids-d6e1559390621984 happening in 2024 now: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-57122120Atheist says let’s get rid of BC/AD and BCE/CE: https://ephromjosine.medium.com/atheist-against-c-e-3446e0c05069 Young Evangelicals have changing views on Israel: https://religionnews.com/2021/05/26/survey-young-evangelicals-largely-backed-biden-and-have-shifting-views-on-israel/ God told me to put money down: https://www.wsj.com/articles/god-told-me-to-put-money-into-hertz-how-small-investors-are-upending-wall-street-11622113200

We’re talking about conspiracies: Is the world only what it seems to be on the surface, or is there some theory about what is really happening behind the scenes? Are Americans particularly into conspiracy theories, or do we just think we’re the best at everything? We interview psychologist Dr. Michael Wood (at the time a lecturer at the University of Winchester in the UK) about who has the best conspiracy theories and why people believe in them at all. And in the Kitsch Corner: We elevate the human spirit and aural imagination with a song about how a certain president is the leopard king prophesied in the book of Revelation.Aliens on 60 Minutes: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ufo-military-intelligence-60-minutes-2021-05-16/ Dr. Michael Wood: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-wood-research/?originalSubdomain=uk QAnon: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/qanon-nothing-can-stop-what-is-coming/610567/ Hans Wormhat on Why Toucans are FAKE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f--6BBIl7aY Third Eagle of the Apocalypse: “It’s Prophesied”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLT66yJBYbA The core of this episode was released on December 3, 2018, as 017 THE CONSPIRACY: https://www.weirdreligion.com/seasonone/2018/12/3/the-conspiracy