Deep Talks | Cultural Theology with Paul Anleitner

Stephen Roach is the founder of The Breath & the Clay Creative Arts Organization, host of Makers & Mystics podcast, author, and a multi-instrument professional musician. In today's episode, I talk with Stephen about the role music plays in the flow state, altered states of consciousness, and what Charismatics might call "encountering the Presence of God" in worship. We discuss examples of altered states of consciousness in the Bible, Christian theories of consciousness, psychedelics, evolution, and following the Way of Jesus in a Post Secular Age. Check out Stephen's "Makers & Mystics" podcast here: http://www.makersandmystics.com/   Find out more about The Breath and The Clay here: http://www.thebreathandtheclay.com/ If you find this podcast to be helpful and you want to see it continue ad-free, would you consider becoming a supporter on Patreon? Members of the Deep Talks Patreon Community receive bonus Q & A Episodes, articles, charts, discussion forums and more. https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast To Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159   Connect with Paul Anleitner on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/PaulAnleitner

Today's podcast is also available on video at: https://youtu.be/O6O5ATk5nMc Ashley Lande is a former psychonaut, author, and artist. I talk with her about her journey from atheism into psychedelic exploration and why she says she's done with psychedelics. We talk about experiencing God, altered states of consciousness, encountering "spiritual entities" on psychedelic trips, and the dark side of many communities that organize around psychedelic experiences. You can learn more about Ashley at: https://www.ashleylande.com/ Read Ashley's article "These Luminous Counterfeits" in Ekstasis Magazine at: https://www.ekstasismagazine.com/blog/2021/10/6/psychedelics If you find this podcast to be helpful and you want to see it continue ad-free, would you consider becoming a supporter on Patreon? Members of the Deep Talks Patreon Community receive bonus Q & A Episodes, articles, charts, discussion forums and more. https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast To Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159   Connect with Paul Anleitner on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/PaulAnleitner  

Today’s podcast is also available on video at: https://youtu.be/UU8XR6qgfu4   Two past guests on Deep Talks return to have a joint conversation about some of the deeper reasons for the decline of church attendance & Christian affiliation in America.  Glenn Packiam and Andrew Root have recently released books exploring some of the deeper philosophical forces at work in American culture that have contributed to the decline of church attendance, pastor burn-out, and the loss of vision and mission for many Christians particularly in Evangelical & Mainline Protestant contexts. What can we learn from this? Is there any reason for hope? Rev. Dr. Glenn Packiam (Doctor of Theology and Ministry, Durham University) is associate senior pastor at New Life Church in Colorado Springs, and lead pastor of one of its eight congregations, New Life Downtown. A Senior Fellow at Barna Group, a visiting fellow at St. John’s College at Durham University, and an adjunct professor at Denver Seminary, Glenn is the author of several books, including The Resilient Pastor, Blessed Broken Given, and Worship and the World to Come. He is also an ordained priest with the Anglican Church of North America. For Glenn's new book "The Resilient Pastor: Leading Your Church in Rapidly Changing World": https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09B2NBH7R/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 Andrew Root (Ph.D., Princeton Theological Seminary)is the Carrie Olson Baalson Professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary, USA. He writes and researches in areas of theology, ministry, culture and younger generations.  His most recent books are Churches and the Crisis of Decline (Baker, 2022), The Congregation in a Secular Age (Baker, 2021), The End of Youth Ministry? (Baker, 2020), The Pastor in a Secular Age: Ministry to People Who No Longer Need God (Baker, 2019), Faith Formation in a Secular Age (Baker, 2017), and Exploding Stars, Dead Dinosaurs, and Zombies: Youth Ministry in the Age of Science (Fortress Press, 2018). For Andy's new book "Churches and the Crisis of Decline : A Hopeful, Practical Ecclesiology for a Secular Age": https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09B2L7JJB?notRedirectToSDP=1&ref_=dbs_mng_calw_3&storeType=ebooks If you find this podcast to be helpful and you want to see it continue ad-free, would you consider becoming a supporter on Patreon? Members of the Deep Talks Patreon Community receive bonus Q & A Episodes, articles, charts, discussion forums and more. https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast To Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159   Connect with Paul Anleitner on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/PaulAnleitner

This is part 2 of the two part live lecture. Again, audio quality is very much "live" :) In this session, we'll explore some of the history behind Culture War Christianity and ask whether or not this response to the threat of cultural exile in America was ever theologically sound or effective. Special thanks to Everyday Church in Minneapolis for hosting these sessions. Part 1 is available here: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-eabu5-11f9e87 If you find this podcast to be helpful and you want to see it continue ad-free, would you consider becoming a supporter on Patreon? Members of the Deep Talks Patreon Community receive bonus Q & A Episodes, articles, charts, discussion forums and more. https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast To Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159   Connect with Paul Anleitner on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/PaulAnleitner

This week's episode is part 1 of a live lecture I recently gave at Everyday Church in Minneapolis, MN. The purpose of this 2 part lecture is to give an introduction to some of the core principles of my particular framework for doing cultural theology and then to begin to do a bit of narrative and value comparison between the Guiding Stories of American macro-culture and the Kingdom of God. This is necessary groundwork for part 2 of the lecture which will focus in on assessing common evangelical understandings of the Guiding Story which contributed to the brand of Culture War Christianity that emerged in the 1980's. Special thanks to Everyday Church for inviting me in to share with their community. Apologies in advance for audio quality. This again was a live event and not a controlled podcast studio space, and audio reflects that live character. If you find this podcast to be helpful and you want to see it continue ad-free, would you consider becoming a supporter on Patreon? Members of the Deep Talks Patreon Community receive bonus Q & A Episodes, articles, charts, discussion forums and more. https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast To Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159   Connect with Paul Anleitner on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/PaulAnleitner

Today's Episode is also available as a video at: https://youtu.be/f1tFOfMh2NU My friends from the Movies While They Sleep podcast join me to discuss where we may be able to find God and deep meaning embedded within some of the best films of the past couple years. Have movies replaced church as the primary place people go to in order to find guiding stories? Some of the films discussed include: The Green Knight Dune The Batman Sound of Metal Nightmare Alley A Hidden Life Check out Mitchell and Matthew's work on the Movies While They Sleep podcast at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/movies-while-they-sleep/id1553827672 If you find this podcast to be helpful and you want to see it continue ad-free, would you consider becoming a supporter on Patreon? Members of the Deep Talks Patreon Community receive bonus Q & A Episodes, articles, charts, discussion forums and more. https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast To Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159   Connect with Paul Anleitner on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/PaulAnleitner

Today's episode is also available as a video at: https://youtu.be/6UV3Ea2E9jg   Today's episode is a recording of a conversation I had as a guest on The Vast podcast exploring some of the ideas I wrote about in last month's piece for Ekstasis Magazine entitled "The God We Thought Was Dead". I really enjoyed the conversation with these gentlemen and I hope you find it to be helpful. You can check out The Vast podcast at: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-vast-podcast/id1558428782 You can read my article for Ekstasis magazine at: https://www.ekstasismagazine.com/blog/2022/2/16/the-god-we-thought-was-dead   If you find this podcast to be helpful and you want to see it continue ad-free, would you consider becoming a supporter on Patreon? Members of the Deep Talks Patreon Community receive bonus Q & A Episodes, articles, charts, discussion forums and more. https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast To Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159   Connect with Paul Anleitner on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/PaulAnleitner

Today's episode is also available as a video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/h_fL-zlqyfE In today's episode, I'm sharing a sermon on one of my favorite books of the Bible. How does the ancient book of Ecclesiastes provide timeless wisdom even as we wrestle with our modern meaning-crisis? Is everything meaningless? For one of the core sources I draw upon in this sermon, you can check out this scholarly paper on Ecclesiastes here: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/harvard-theological-review/article/abs/meaning-of-life-in-ecclesiastes-coherence-purpose-and-significance-from-a-psychological-perspective/6F176FEDB39125D1B71AAB25E352E0E5 f you find this podcast to be helpful and you want to see it continue ad-free, would you consider becoming a supporter on Patreon? Members of the Deep Talks Patreon Community receive bonus Q & A Episodes, articles, charts, discussion forums and more. https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast To Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159   Connect with Paul Anleitner on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/PaulAnleitner  

Today's episode is also available as a video at: https://youtu.be/knl_8xviEGU As Americans begin a month long celebration of Black history, I thought it would be valuable to explore the personal history and theology of one of America's premier Black theologians- Dr. Dwight Hopkins. This episode originally aired in June of 2020, but is worth revisiting. Dr. Dwight N. Hopkins was born and raised in the segregated south, but through the support system of his loving family and the African American church community, he grew to become a renowned theologian. Hopkins is the Alexander Campbell Professor of Theology at the University of Chicago Divinity School. Graduating from Harvard, Hopkins went on to earn PhD's from Union Seminary and the University of Cape Town (South Africa). Those of you who listen to this program regularly know that I have credited Dr. Hopkins as being the one who's work first exposed me to the idea of culture as spirit, aesthetic, and labor.  In today's conversation, I talk with Dr. Hopkins about: -his personal journey of faith and calling into theology -how his experiences in African American church communities shaped his interest in cultural theology -culture as spirit, aesthetic, and labor; and if "spirits" aren't just psychologically symbolic -how he would theologically and personally evaluate the recent phenomenon of the tearing down statues and monuments throughout America (his answer surprised me!) -and more! If you find this podcast to be helpful and you want to see it continue ad-free, would you consider becoming a supporter on Patreon? Members of the Deep Talks Patreon Community receive bonus Q & A Episodes, articles, charts, discussion forums and more. https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast To Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159   Connect with Paul Anleitner on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/PaulAnleitner

Today's podcast is also available in video format at: https://youtu.be/XsZRjC-EOLw Would a corporate ethics or emotional intelligence employee training course from a healthy American company work aboard a Klingon "Bird of Prey" ship in Star Trek? Probably not. (Don't worry, you don't have to be a Trekkie to understand the thought experiment in today's video!) That's because, whether we are aware of it or not, there is an assumed narrative structure in our culture that informs our ethical norms. But we bump up against a real problem in postmodernism with the claim that any transcultural, overarching guiding story is an attempt to colonize other cultures and that ethics can only be relativistic cultural guidelines . If this is true, would we every be able to say that particular ethical norms in the fictional Klingon or the ancient Spartan culture are wrong? In my last conversation with John Vervaeke and Paul VanderKlay, John brought up a sincere concern about Christianity as a force of cultural assimilation. To use Star Trek lingo, does Christianity function like the Borg? Or do we need to distinguish between Christendom and The Way of Jesus? #culturaltheology #theologyofculture #startrek #scienceandfaith If you find this podcast to be helpful and you want to see it continue ad-free, would you consider becoming a supporter on Patreon? Members of the Deep Talks Patreon Community receive bonus Q & A Episodes, articles, charts, discussion forums and more. We even have a MONTHLY Group Hangout on Zoom so you can build relationships with others across the world and practice theology and meaning-making together. Help us reach our first goal of 300 patrons in order to sustain weekly, ad-free theological and philosophical education to anyone with an internet connection! https://www.patreon.com/deeptalkstheologypodcast To Subscribe & Review on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/deep-talks-exploring-theology-and-meaning-making/id1401730159   Connect with Paul Anleitner on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/PaulAnleitner