This week David and Curtis dive into the issue of time and how our understanding of time horizons can profoundly impact our perspective on the world, whether it is getting worse or better, and what actions that should lead us to take. As Christians who believe in eternity, we should be good at “playing the long game,” but we often let ourselves get caught up in the issues of the moment, and let our compressed time horizons lead us to fear or despair, rather than hope.   Show Notes: -Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling -“Imagine That” by Picture This -Sign up for David’s French Press newsletter -Follow Curtis’ work at RedeemingBabel.org

This week David and Curtis are joined by Meghan Sullivan, philosopher, teacher, and creator of the most popular class at the University of Notre Dame, “God and the Good Life.” As many of us send our kids off to college (or head off to college ourselves), Meghan helps us appreciate the role of education–and of philosophy in particular–in helping students take on the big questions of life.   Show Notes: -The Good Life Method by Meghan Sullivan and Paul Blaschko -God and the Good Life (Notre Dame course) -What is Philosophy?: Crash Course Philosophy #1 -Sign up for David’s French Press newsletter -Follow Curtis’ work at RedeemingBabel.org

This week David and Curtis are joined by Karen Swallow Prior, writer, thinker, and research professor of English and Christianity and culture at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Karen talks to us about the current state of affairs in social media, particularly Twitter, and compares its impact on culture and the church to another critical technology, the printing press. She discusses how these modern technologies are impacting our brains, and how we can push back against this through the simple act of reading, especially the (necessarily slow and contemplative) reading of literature.   Show Notes: -National Endowment of the Arts - “Reading at Risk: A Survey of Literary Reading in America” -Caleb Crain (The New Yorker) - “Why We Don’t Read, Revisited” -Sign up for David’s French Press newsletter -Follow Curtis’ work at RedeemingBabel.org

It’s been an eventful week, and for many a deeply troubling one. But of course, no matter what end of the political spectrum you come from, weeks like this seem increasingly common. The hits just keep on coming, as do the feelings of loss and fear. So how are we as Christians to navigate such deeply troubled times? This week, David and Curtis dive into this question with some interesting thoughts from Rudyard Kipling, and some even more important (and eternal) wisdom from the Psalms.   Show Notes: -Sign up for David’s French Press newsletter -Follow Curtis’ work at RedeemingBabel.org

This week David’s theological wingman Curtis returns from his July sabbatical. He’s rested and raring to go, but rather than dive into another hot political or cultural issue, Curtis actually has some remarkable insights to share about the nature of sabbath rest and the spiritual discipline of letting go, stepping away from our illusions of ultimate control and placing all our striving in God’s hands. In the second half of this episode Curtis also shares some important thoughts about the nature of remembrance and loss based on his experience at the 9/11 Memorial. If you’re a regular listener who is tempted to skip this episode because it’s not Good Faith’s regular political/cultural fare, then this episode is even more for you.   Show Notes: -Sign up for David’s French Press newsletter -Follow Curtis’ work at RedeemingBabel.org

While Curtis is still on sabbatical, David talks to Justin Giboney, co-founder of the AND Campaign, about racial justice, political tribalism, and the “God gap” in the Democratic Party. They discuss the problems with left and right as they grapple with extremism, and they talk about Justin’s experiences talking about hot-button topics from a politically heterodox (but theologically orthodox) point of view.   Show Notes: -Good Faith Debates: How Should the Church Address Racial Injustice? -AND Campaign -Compassion (&) Conviction by Justin Giboney -Sign up for David’s French Press newsletter -Follow Curtis’ work at RedeemingBabel.org

David talks to Georgetown professor and Bush administration alum Paul Miller about Paul's new book, “The Religion of American Greatness: What's Wrong With Christian Nationalism.” Paul defines Christian nationalism, discusses what's wrong with it theologically, what's wrong with it politically, and how it invariably leads to conflict and illiberalism. They also discuss Christian underrepresentation in the academy and other elite spaces, including its causes and consequences.   Show Notes: -“The Religion of American Greatness” by Paul D. Miller -Sign up for David’s French Press newsletter -Follow Curtis’ work at RedeemingBabel.org

David talks to Scott Sauls, an author and pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee. They talk about handling the exhaustion of the current moment, whether winsomeness "works," and the challenges facing pastors in the face of relentless criticism. They also address Scott's prescient warnings about the dangers of culture war obsessions--warnings that date well before the present extreme polarization.   Show Notes: -“Beautiful People Don't Just Happen” by Scott Sauls -“Jesus Outside the Lines” by Scott Sauls -Sign up for David’s French Press newsletter -Follow Curtis’ work at RedeemingBabel.org

This week Eboo Patel, a Muslim pioneer in interfaith work, joins David and Curtis to discuss his book, We Need to Build. They discuss the need to allow people of different faiths to be able to bring their whole selves, including real and significant religious disagreements, to these conversations. Eboo also helps us understand why it is so important to do more than criticize what we don’t like in the culture, but instead to adopt the more mature approach of actually building what we want to see in society.   Show Notes: -We Need to Build: Field Notes for Diverse Democracy by Eboo Patel -Sign up for David’s French Press newsletter -Follow Curtis’ work at RedeemingBabel.org

Dobbs; January 6 hearings; war in Ukraine; mass shootings. We are being overwhelmed on a weekly basis by a relentlessly heavy news cycle. In this week’s episode David and Curtis give us a break from all this to talk with us about anxiety, despair and weariness. Wait . . . what?! Yes that’s right, this is the Good Faith version of “lighter” fare! It’s actually a very uplifting conversation and you may even walk away with some helpful ways to navigate the overwhelming feelings all of us are experiencing these days.   Show Notes: -Future Tense: Why Anxiety Is Good for You (Even Though It Feels Bad) by Tracy Dennis-Tiwary -Anxiety as Opportunity for Spiritual Growth (online course by Curtis Chang) -Al Pacino “Inches” speech from Any Given Sunday -Sign up for David’s French Press newsletter -Follow Curtis’ work at RedeemingBabel.org