This week my friends at The Ferment Podcast released an interview they did with me a few weeks ago where I got to share with their host, Adam Russell,  the story of my life from growing up as a kid that went to Benny Hinn Crusades, to my young adult ministry years where my first month on the job was burying a close mentor who died of cancer in his early 50's, to my own journey of deconstructing  and finding a more holistic and historic Christian spirituality in the process.  This was a really special conversation for me and I'm reposting it here because while bits and pieces of my own story come up in past episodes, there hasn't been one where I've intentionally set out to tell my personal story. I hope it can be of benefit to you.   Check out The Ferment Podcast at : https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ferment-podcast-conversations-about-worship-transformation/id1442128191   Consider becoming a patron by supporting Deep Talks: Exploring Theology & Meaning-Making on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast You can also listen on iTunes at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159 Subscribe to the Deep Talks YouTube page for exclusive video content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2yCyOMUeem-cYwliC-tLJg  

Dr. Clay Routledge is a brilliant psychological scientist who's primary area of research explores the psychological needs of humans to find and meaning & purpose. He's published over 100 scholarly scientific papers, several books, and has written for the New York Times and Quillette Magazine. His work has been all over the media including CNN, BBC News, CBS News, Men's Health Magazine and more.  In this conversation, we'll explore subjects like: -why America is experiencing a meaning-crisis while many poorer nations report much lower suicide rates and much higher scores in personal meaning and happiness - the science behind the growing fascination with ghosts, the paranormal, and aliens & whether there are substitute religions for "secular" people -the link between experiencing despair & one's openness to transcendent sources of meaning - the difference between "intuitive" thinking and rational thinking and how they relate to art, music, and religious experience -how movie and tv "reboots", revived interest among Russians in vintage Soviet Union era merchandise, and other forms of nostalgia are attempts at recovering a sense of meaning & purpose and much more fascinating stuff!! You can check out more of Dr. Clay Routledge's work at: https://www.clayroutledge.com or follow him on twitter at: https://twitter.com/clayroutledge   Consider becoming a patron by supporting Deep Talks: Exploring Theology & Meaning-Making on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast You can also listen on iTunes at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159 Subscribe to the Deep Talks YouTube page for exclusive video content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2yCyOMUeem-cYwliC-tLJg

Dan Kent is an author and theologian with degrees in Psychology and a Master’s in Christian Thought from Bethel Seminary. For 20 years he’s worked in Crisis Mental Health services, he’s also authored 5 books, and is currently the Editor in Chief for Reknew.org and co-host of Greg Boyd’s podcast Greg Boyd: Apologies and Explanations. He’s even owned successful local businesses here in Minneapolis. Dan’s got a brand new book coming out entitled “Confident Humility: Becoming Your Full Self Without Becoming Full of Yourself." I invited Dan on to discuss what we might call "theological psychology" and explore how deeply intertwined one's theology and mental health can be. In particular, we take a look at the theological psychology of pride, shame, and humility, and explore how one's theological and philosophical beliefs about human nature may lead them to either oppress others or to be easily oppressed by others. You can pre-order Dan's new book published by Fortress Press here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1506451926/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thatdankent-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1506451926&linkId=56ac105e4e1cd8c863099a1d55821f04 Connect with Dan Kent on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/thatdankent You can also listen to Dan regularly on Greg Boyd: Apologies & Explanations.   Consider becoming a patron by supporting Deep Talks: Exploring Theology & Meaning-Making on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast You can also listen on iTunes at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159 Subscribe to the Deep Talks YouTube page for exclusive video content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2yCyOMUeem-cYwliC-tLJg

When I recorded with Dan Kent for Greg Boyd's Apologies & Explanations, the primary focus they wanted to bring me on for was to discuss my perspective on the meaning-crisis & science/faith issues, but Dan had a bunch of other great questions for me too. Some of them were on the more speculative side of theology including questions about consciousness & this thing called panpsychism, open theism, and other fun stuff. We went for about 2 hours together talking about all this fun and important stuff! So the primary episode we both released last week contained about 45 minutes of my interview, but Dan still thought the other points of discussion were really informative and helpful so he chopped up some of the highlights and put together a bonus episode they shared on Reknew.org. I really enjoyed this discussion and I think some of the topics we covered could be helpful for others processing some of these questions, so I thought I would put it out to share with you. In this episode, I share some of my thoughts on: -Greg Boyd's work -the pros and cons of Charismatic & Pentecostal theology -some brief (and unplanned!) reflections on open theism -politics, war, & following Jesus -consciousness, panpsychism, and "prophetic" dreams -reading Genesis with ancient eyes - and more!   Consider becoming a patron by supporting Deep Talks: Exploring Theology & Meaning-Making on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast You can also listen on iTunes at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159 Subscribe to the Deep Talks YouTube page for exclusive video content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2yCyOMUeem-cYwliC-tLJg

Today's episode is actually from Greg Boyd: Apologies & Explanations where Paul was invited to fill in on an episode for Greg to discuss the meaning crisis, science and faith issues, and so much more! You can listen to more episodes of Greg Boyd: Apologies & Explanations at: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/f7vvk-41807/Greg-Boyd-Apologies--Explanations-Podcast You can read more from Greg and other's (like his co-host Dan Kent) over at Reknew.org: https://reknew.org/ Consider becoming a patron by supporting Deep Talks: Exploring Theology & Meaning-Making on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast You can also listen on iTunes at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159 Subscribe to the Deep Talks YouTube page for exclusive video content: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2yCyOMUeem-cYwliC-tLJg

Paul Vander Klay was a simple pastor of a small church in California. Now he's considered the pastor of the Intellectual Dark Web. His Youtube talks about Jordan Peterson, Christian theology, and what's happening in our present-day meaning-crisis started drawing tens of thousands of views, and even garnered the attention of Jordan Peterson himself who came on Paul's program to talk about these deep ideas. In our conversation together, we discuss the rise of the Jordan Peterson phenomenon, why people are so desperately searching for meaning in America today, the "Intellectual Dark Web", and a whole bunch of theological ideas!  You can check out Paul Vanderklay's Youtube channel at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGsDIP_K6J6VSTqlq-9IPlg You can also listen to audio only versions of his program at: https://paulvanderklay.podbean.com/ To support Deep Talks: Exploring Theology & Meaning-Making and the other video content I'm creating on YouTube, become a patron support on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast   To Subscribe to Deep Talks on Youtube with exclusive video content go to: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2yCyOMUeem-cYwliC-tLJg   To subscribe on iTunes/Apple go to: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159

In the second part of "Understanding Our Meaning Crisis" we'll explore how in a secular age, with more and more people claiming to have no religious affiliation, people are actually just as religious as they've ever been. We'll talk about why no one is actually an atheist, and how an NFL game might not be all that different from an ancient pagan ritual. Are things like Comic Con, Politics, & Netflix actually religious experience? Have we confused worshipping God with worshipping our country & the State? Finally, we'll explore how a "sacramental" view of the world may actually be the antidote to our meaning-crisis, and I'll offer some practical strategies for living "sacramentally" in our secular age.   To support this podcast and the other video content I'm creating on YouTube, become a patron support on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast To subscribe on iTunes/Apple go to: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159 This podcast is also available on Spotify, Google Podcasts, and most other podcast platforms You can also subscribe to the YouTube channel and see exclusive video episodes at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2yCyOMUeem-cYwliC-tLJg?view_as=subscriber  

Is it possible that we've completely misunderstood the Apostle Paul...and perhaps even the entire Bible as a result? What do these ideas like "faith and works" or "grace vs. the Law" really mean? Did even Martin Luther and John Calvin misunderstand them? Our guest in today's conversation is Dr. Matthew J. Thomas. Matthew has Doctor of Philosophy in Theology from the University of Oxford and is an expert in New Testament and early church history. He's written a book that Scott McKnight awarded as one the top 3 theology books of 2018 entitled "Paul's Works of The Law in the Perspective of Second Century Reception." He's taught at St. Patrick's Seminary, Franciscan University, and Regent College.   You can purchase Matthew's book here (warning: it is currently at a pretty hefty academic price tag): https://www.amazon.com/Perspective-Reception-Wissenschaftliche-Untersuchungen-Testament/dp/3161562755/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=matthew+j.+thomas+paul&qid=1554215169&s=gateway&sr=8-1 You can become a patron supporter on Patreon and ensure that this podcast and the videos we're creating can keep happening here (plus there's a bunch of fun benefits for patrons!): https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast   To Listen/Subscribe on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159?mt=2 Deep Talks also has a YouTube channel with other unique content! Check that out here and subscribe: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2yCyOMUeem-cYwliC-tLJg?view_as=subscriber   As always, you're questions, feedback, and comments are welcome! Thanks for listening, and please consider reviewing on iTunes to help others find out about what we're doing!  

My guest today is Dr. Preston Sprinkle. Preston is a New York Times Best Selling Author, professor, and the President of The Center for Faith, Sexuality, and Gender. He has a PhD in New Testament from Aberdeen University in Scotland. He’s authored books including Fight: A Christian Case For Non-Violence, Erasing Hell co-authored with Francis Chan, and People to Be Love: Why Homosexuality Is Not Just an Issue. In today's episode, Preston joins me for a conversation about moving beyond what we believe to figuring out why we believe it. We also talk about non-violence, hell, our interpretive biases when we read the Bible, postmodernism and more. Find out more about Preston's work with The Center for Faith, Sexuality, and Gender here: https://www.centerforfaith.com/ Grab one of Preston's books here: https://www.prestonsprinkle.com/books or take part in the Grace/Truth small group discussion materials: https://www.prestonsprinkle.com/blog/2018/7/10/grace-truth-2   You can support this podcast and the other video content Paul is creating at: https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast   For iTunes subscription/listening: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159?mt=2 For Spotify Podcast subscription/listening: https://open.spotify.com/show/0Lgkn9W8V2YHnPkEsluysm?si=MRUvUfAfS1i1ff1D4tJksw Also, check out the unique Deep Talks video content on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2yCyOMUeem-cYwliC-tLJg    

We're in the midst of a massive meaning crisis. Suicide is the SECOND leading cause of death among Americans under the age of 35. Church attendance is in decline and there is a significant rise in the "nones"- those who claim to have no particular religious adherence. But how did we get here? And are people actually less religious than they were 500 years ago, or has "religion" just evolved into something different in this secular age?   You can support this channel and podcast here: https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast   or Subscribe to videos on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2yCyOMUeem-cYwliC-tLJg   Podcast also available on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts