Religion on the Mind

What better way to celebrate 50 episodes of YHP than to kick off a 4-part series on so-called “End Times” teaching/theology and mental health? As part of early research toward my doctoral dissertation in psychology, I conducted 20 interviews in August of 2019, collecting personal stories about how popular Christian notions of the End Times, like the Rapture, Tribulation, and the Left Behind series, affected people’s faith, theology, life trajectories, and overall mental health. This is Part 1 of 4, and it focuses on the basics, including what most Evangelicals understood would happen in the End Times, some of the ways that fear, anxiety and depression were tied up with it for many people, the connection between the end times, Hell, and salvation, a sense of a robbed childhood, mental health predispositions, family conflicts, and more. Come back for parts 2-4 in the coming weeks.Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochYHP 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

Plus: a working definition of “Process Theology and “Robust Christian Pluralism." Dr. Wm. Andrew Schwartz (Claremont School of Theology) walks us through four possible answers to the question of whether all monotheistic Abrahamic believers are actually worshipping the same God, including arguments for and against and various consequences of each view.- The book: https://smile.amazon.com/Christians-Muslims-Jews-Worship-Same/dp/0310538033/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=four+views+christians+muslims+same+god&qid=1578264136&sr=8-1- Andrew’s site - wmandrewschwartz.comEdited by Josh Gilbert (Gwall.Gilbert11@gmail.com)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochYHP 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

During the holiday break, I'm choosing two lesser-downloaded or well-timed episodes for re-airing. Many of us are still, or have just been, spending time with family members who are fundamentalists, or lean that way, and that can be really hard sometimes. Original show notes:“Fundamentalist” has become a theological swear word. But how does it work psychologically? Why hasn’t it “gone away”? How do religious fundamentalists make sense of their world and find meaning in their lives? And what might this tell us about non-religious fundamentalists? Psychologist Peter Hill joins Dan to talk through the model he and his co-authors developed in their book The Psychology of Religious Fundamentalism (link below). Visual Aids:Fundamentalist - Intratextual Structure: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5io539nbf6oteve/Fundamentalism%20-%20Intratextuality.jpg?dl=0Non-fundamentalist - Intertextual Structure: https://www.dropbox.com/s/u87g2auitlro9wm/Non-Fundamentalist%20-%20Intertextuality.jpg?dl=0Pete’s book: https://www.amazon.com/Psychology-Religious-Fundamentalism-Ralph-Hood/dp/1593851502Edited by Josh Gilbert (Gwall.Gilbert11@gmail.com)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochYHP 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

During the holiday break, I'm choosing two lesser-downloaded episodes for re-airing. This conversation with Philip Clayton about Panentheism (and a few other things) was fantastic, but I think maybe the thick theological terminology might have turned some would-be listeners away. Also, Phil is coming back on the podcast in the coming month or two to talk about doubt, and this is a nice precursor to that upcoming conversations.Original post:Our guest today is Dr. Philip Clayton (Claremont School of Theology), giving us his personal faith story from a secular household, through conservative Evangelicalism, and ultimately into Quakerism. We also talk about Panentheism, for which he is a major Christian advocate. Most of the nerdy stuff occurs after the ad break, starting around 54:00, so feel free to skip that stuff if you are less into the true nerdery."how i found GOD in everyone and everywhere" (great essay collection including Phil's story): https://smile.amazon.com/How-Found-God-Everyone-Everywhere/dp/193968188X/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=how+i+found+god+in+everywhere&qid=1552328138&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnullhttp://philipclayton.net/Join the Patreon for bonus episodes every month: patreon.com/dankochYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comEmail Dan: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.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 discusses the all-time most famous passage in western philosophy, Plato’s Cave Analogy, with Catholic philosopher Patrick McDonald (Seattle Pacific University). The Cave is a gift that keeps on giving (holiday-appropriate!), through various stages of growth, deconstruction, reconstruction, and on and on. Dan and Patrick discuss implications for Christians thinking through hard questions, and a lot more.Edited by Scott CangemiJoin the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochYHP 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

As it turns out, both conservatives AND liberals, depending who you talk to. But is it a valid field of research, and what do we learn about human nature from evolutionary psychology? Dan also talks with Dr. Justin Barrett (Fuller Seminary) about so-called “cultural evolution,” where the evolution of humanity moves at a much more rapid pace, and through the dissemination of information, values, stories, etc, rather than through genetic mutation and selection. And of course, they discuss what implications all of this might have for theology and Christian practice.Fuller Seminary’s Theology & Psychology Initiative: theopsych.comEdited by Laura Kondourajian Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochYHP 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 John Haught (Georgetown University), who argues that many people think we should look to the past, the deep past, for ultimate answers. This includes certain scientists who want to look to the Big Bang for ultimate explanations, or religious teachers focusing on God’s perfect design in the Garden of Eden, before everything got messed up. Others might tend to look to the so-called Eternal Present for God, or for ultimate meaning and answers. Through prayer, we may feel like we can tap directly into a timeless God, letting go of our worldly concerns, and, of course, there is some truth to this. Many philosophers have also preached something similar, that true contemplation of the One, or of capital “T” Truth, can take us out of our mortal, perishing bodies into the realm of the sublime. But Haught wants to point our attention to a third option: the future. What if the truest meaning of the grand story that we are living in right now, which includes a big bang, billions of years of lifeless space, followed by the forming of carbon, then of unicellular life, and biological progression all the way to sentient and self-conscious beings like humans -- what if the meaning of THAT story is not clear to us yet because that story is not over yet? Perhaps we do have some guideposts given to us by God along the way, but rather than looking back, we should be looking AHEAD.Tag Dan and a podcast host who you think should have Dan on as a guest:Dan’s Twitter: @DanKochDan’s FB: https://www.facebook.com/dan.koch.16youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comThe John Haught Reader: https://www.amazon.com/John-Haught-Reader-Essential-Writings/dp/1532661029The New Cosmic Story: https://www.amazon.com/New-Cosmic-Story-Awakening-Universe/dp/030021703X/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=john+haught&qid=1574117845&s=books&sr=1-1Edited by Josh Gilbert (Gwall.Gilbert11@gmail.com)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochYHP 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

“Human beings are primarily intrinsically sinful and evil.”“God’s truth can only be found in the Biblical text.”“The body and its desires are inherently wicked.”“Emotions are not to be honored and listened to; only God’s truth should be valued.”Mark Karris (author, therapist, professor at Point Loma Nazarene University) lists these among a group of claims that he believes are a part of “Toxic Christianity.” Mark and Dan talk through a number of these (false) claims, ask why it is that they get in the way of our relationship to God and our neighbors, and consider alternate options.Mark’s Original Post - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10162264853155694&set=pb.740175693.-2207520000.1571761815.&type=3&theaterMark’s website: http://markgregorykarris.com/Mark’s Amazon author page: https://smile.amazon.com/Mark-Gregory-Karris/e/B01MZZLNV5?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1573700786&sr=8-1Deconversion Article Mark mentioned: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2v12uksryiwvscz/Breaking%20up%20with%20Jesus-%20a%20phenomenological%20exploration%20of%20the%20experience%20of%20deconversion%20from%20an%20Evangelical%20Christian%20faith%20to%20Atheism.pdf?dl=0Edited by Scott CangemiJoin the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochYHP 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

Can Christians believe that people are only “physical”? Must we have “souls” in order to be saved, to have relationships with God, to be God’s image-bearers in the world? My two guests today are biologist Kenneth R. Miller (Brown University) and philosopher Rebekah Rice (Seattle Pacific University), and they argue that there are good reasons to accept some kind of Christian Naturalism or Christian Physicalism, and that in fact one can do so and remain within the orthodx Christian tradition.The Human Instinct: https://smile.amazon.com/Human-Instinct-Evolved-Reason-Consciousness/dp/1476790264/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=kenneth+miller&qid=1573441718&sr=8-2Finding Darwin’s God: https://smile.amazon.com/Finding-Darwins-God-Scientists-Evolution/dp/0061233501/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=kenneth+miller&qid=1573441718&sr=8-1Edited by Scott CangemiJoin the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochYHP 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 is the episode that some of you have been waiting 40-some episodes for. Many of you know that I identify as a universalist, meaning that I believe that everyone will be saved in the end, whatever we mean by the word “saved.” There are a lot of reasons that people believe in Hell, and there are a lot of reasons that people don’t. Many of those reasons, maybe even MOST of the reasons, I would argue have nothing to do with actual arguments or theological reasoning, or even a close reading of the Biblical text. Most reasons, I think, are psychological. Why people ACTUALLY believe in Hell, at a more psychological level, is a very interesting question, but not one that we are spending much time on today. This episode is about the arguments themselves. The most central question is: Does Hell make sense, given the God of Christianity? The next one is - how do we make sense of various sayings of Jesus that seem to teach a painful judgement? My guest today is Brad Jersak. Brad is a Canadian theologian, author, and pastor, and his book “Her Gates Will Never Be Shut” is widely considered one of the best treatments of this question. Our first 15 min or so are spent getting our bearings with the current landscape on this topic, including some term explaining, and introducing David Bentley Hart’s new book as a centerpiece of both our conversation, and the wider theological conversation. If you want to go straight to the arguments themselves, you could skip ahead to about 18:00.Hellbound? -- https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B00D1NE8L0/ref=atv_dl_rdrThe Evangelical Universalist: https://www.amazon.com/Evangelical-Universalist-Second-Gregory-MacDonald/dp/1620322390/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=evangelical+universalist&qid=1572843722&sr=8-1Her Gates Shall Never Be Shut: https://www.amazon.com/gp/slredirect/picassoRedirect.html/ref=pa_sp_atf_aps_sr_pg1_1?ie=UTF8&adId=A09982251H1HAKCB4QUV8&url=%2FHer-Gates-Will-Never-Shut-ebook%2Fdp%2FB00IGGZRJY%2Fref%3Dsr_1_1_sspa%3Fkeywords%3Dbrad%2Bjersak%26qid%3D1572843756%26sr%3D8-1-spons%26psc%3D1&qualifier=1572843755&id=5413906602847107&widgetName=sp_atfIn: https://www.amazon.com/Incarnation-Inclusion-Abba-Lamb/dp/1082461733/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=brad+jersak&qid=1572843756&sr=8-2A More Christlike God: https://www.amazon.com/More-Christlike-God-Beautiful-Gospel/dp/1889973165/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=brad+jersak&qid=1572843756&sr=8-3Athanasius, On the Incarnation: http://www.copticchurch.net/topics/theology/incarnation_st_athanasius.pdfRazing Hell: https://smile.amazon.com/Razing-Hell-Rethinking-Everything-Judgment/dp/0664236545/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=sharon+baker+hell&qid=1572843854&sr=8-1Edited by Josh Gilbert (Gwall.Gilbert11@gmail.com)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochYHP 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