Religion on the Mind

Black Americans and other people of color are understandably exhausted right now, so what better time to pull something out of the vault that speaks to our current moment? In 2017, on my old Depolarize! Podcast, I interviewed 5 Christians of color about their experience growing up non-white in America, as well as a number of issues related to Evangelicalism and politics. I’m happy to say that the idea that a largely white audience should spend time simply listening to stories like this *feels* more widely accepted today than it did in 2017. Nonetheless, there is always more listening to be done, and these are some powerful stories.https://8cantwait.org/http://theandcampaign.comhttps://thewitnessbcc.com/Pass the Mic Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pass-the-mic/id1435500798Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochEmail about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

*This was recorded before I knew the proper pronunciation of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Jonathan Haidt's names*Back in 2017, my history buff good friend Ryan Downs and I recorded a short reaction to watching the James Baldwin documentary I Am Not Your Negro. It is a timely if incomplete discussion given recent events. I recommend watching the film first -- it is available for free on Prime Video if you have that subscription, and rentable else -- then listening to our brief discussion.https://www.amazon.com/I-Am-Not-Your-Negro/dp/B01MR52U7T Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan is joined by author and podcaster Matthias Roberts to talk about his new book Beyond Shame and the topic of sexual shame more broadly. His own story sheds interesting light on this topic because, as a gay person, Matthias found himself feeling sexual shame over heterosexual images and potential activities that he did not find sexually alluring at all. If sexual shame can be produced without actual sexual desire as an ingredient, what does that tell us about it? Also, Dan reveals more about his own sexuality and sex life than he planned to because that is just how warm and engaging Matthias is!Beyond Shame: https://smile.amazon.com/Beyond-Shame-Creating-Healthy-Terms/dp/1506455662/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=beyond+shame&qid=1590953881&sr=8-1Queerology Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/queerology-a-podcast-on-belief-and-being/id1241721675Follow Dan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/dancoke/Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochEmail about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do younger Americans (18-30 year olds) think about science, faith, and the relationship between them? Which issues “count” as “science/faith” issues? You might be surprised at some of the answers to these questions. This episode is for listeners who have enjoyed getting a “peak behind the curtain” of this massive culture change/wave that we seem to be caught up in right now. Dr. Greg Cootsona is a religion researcher out of Chico State in California and is involved in a big research program about this topic.Greg’s HuffPo piece: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/four-surprising-things-em_b_8453820Negotiating Science and Religion in America: https://smile.amazon.com/Negotiating-Science-Religion-America-Present-ebook/dp/B082BHC8Z5/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=greg+cootsona&qid=1590348732&sr=8-3Mere Science and Christian Faith: https://smile.amazon.com/Mere-Science-Christian-Faith-Bridging-ebook/dp/B07CP42VBD/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=greg+cootsona&qid=1590348732&sr=8-1Science for the Church - https://scienceforthechurch.org/Follow Dan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/dancoke/Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochEmail about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, I speak with two sociologists of religion, Joseph Leman and Stephen Cranney, about the Hell Anxiety Scale that they developed, as well as the academic study of the overlap of psychology and religion more broadly, what other research around this topic has revealed, how they pursue this work as people of faith themselves, and whether it’s possible to be confident BOTH that there is a Hell AND that you yourself are heading there.Hell Anxiety Paper: https://www.dropbox.com/s/3liw0xh7gb1zu1i/Hell%20Anxiety%20Scale.pdf?dl=0Joseph Leman’s site: https://www.baylor.edu/BIC/index.php?id=961526Stephen Cranney’s site: https://stephencranney.github.io/Follow Dan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/dancoke/Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochEmail about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I talk a lot about religious pluralism on this podcast, and therefore really appreciated this opportunity to talk with the Rev. Dr. Charles Kimball about his book Truth Over Fear and his lifetime of interreligious work. We cover Islamaphobia, fear-mongering, Sharia Law, religious liberty, and more.Truth Over Fear: https://smile.amazon.com/Truth-Over-Fear-Combating-About/dp/066426462X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=truth+over+fear&qid=1588557139&sr=8-1Follow Dan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/dancoke/Edited by Scott CangemiJoin the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochEmail about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest Jessica Knippel is a PhD student in Women & Religion at Claremont Graduate School, and has been researching the Exvangelical / Post-Evangelical world. I was curious to talk with her about what she and other colleagues have learned about this massive exodus of mostly young people out of the American Evangelical movement, as well as figuring out where I myself and where this podcast stands among that contingent.Follow Dan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/dancoke/Jessi on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jessiknippelCentral Ave Church: https://centralavenuechurch.org/Church Clarity: https://www.churchclarity.org/Lonnie Frisbee documentary *RECOMMENDED*: https://smile.amazon.com/Frisbee-Life-Death-Hippie-Preacher/dp/B00L40IW1Y/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=frisbee+documentary&qid=1587941809&sr=8-1Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochEmail about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan is joined by Methodist minister and astrophysicist David Wilkinson, professor of theology at Durham University and member of the Royal Astronomical Society. They talk about the so-called “fine-tuning” of our universe, the “anthropic principle” / “goldilocks enigma,” and multiverse theory as a common non-theist rejoinder for theistic arguments for God’s existence based on this fine-tuning. Whether or not the multiverse can be “proven,” does it even work as a counterargument, or does it “kick the can down the road” in some way? This issue is one of the ones that pushes me toward theism and away from atheism and agnosticism, but even if it doesn’t do that for you, it seems very much worth thinking about.See photos of Dan's new son (and very little else) on Instagram: @dancokeTwitter: @dankochEdited by Laura KondourajianJoin the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Email about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comWebsite: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I’m joined by my dear friend Ben Bishop, who is both a fantastic interviewer in his own right and a former patron-only episode guest. I asked Ben to interview me on the topic of why I am (still) a Christian. No one ever asks me, “Why are you a Christian?” Or very rarely, anyway. But pretty regularly, in the context of conversations about deconstruction or Biblical inerrancy or something similar, people will ask, “Why are you *still* a Christian?” I thought it might be helpful to answer that and give one more data point for listeners as they figure out their own faith allegiances, theologies, etc. We talk about religious/Christian pluralism a good bit, as that is particularly interesting to Ben, and toward the end is when I give probably my most succinct answer to the question, drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord’s Prayer, and other basics I don’t think I could live without. Feel free to skip forward to 1:15:00 or so if you want to hear that concise answer before going into the weeds with us.Follow Dan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/dancoke/Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochEmail about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan is joined by philosopher Myron Penner (Trinity Western University) and theologian Sarah Lane Ritchie (University of Edinburgh) to talk through all things Coronavirus and the Problem of Evil (mostly the “Natural Problem of Evil” but not exclusively). They discuss some interesting angles on this discussion, as well as numerous “solutions” on offer by Christian thinkers. Myron brings in some cognitive science and Sarah brings a focus on the lived experience of suffering. Soul-making, “life is a gift,” “it’s because of the Fall,” and more approaches are discussed. The conversation is long, but it moves briskly!Biologos article: https://biologos.org/post/coronavirus-and-the-problem-of-evil?fbclid=IwAR3WoLwVdX7uIdP3pOqFIOEOjuzDiOa2nn5QyVsKlxHeMzV2W6AqtAc00MENT Wright article: https://time.com/5808495/coronavirus-christianity/?fbclid=IwAR0bWp5te66J2b0xIx_zmLi4HZXIWDyWjm3WN1LVTQ9AoDgye5gkrE7wo94Tom Oord’s response to Wright: http://thomasjayoord.com/index.php/blog/archives/we-can-lament-and-explain?fbclid=IwAR0xlA8Cygv6q_H--JIU-qr67zE1S5iFbItcVVnMadAGzVzicKRKwd4BDKcWildman article: https://www.dropbox.com/s/0aesf9qr3rq2vaq/Wildman_2007_Incongruous_Goodness.pdf?dl=0Clayton book: https://www.amazon.com/Predicament-Belief-Science-Philosophy-Faith/dp/019969527XFollow Dan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/dancoke/Edited by Josh Gilbert (Gwall.Gilbert11@gmail.com)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochEmail about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices