The Holy Post

Kaitlyn Schiess, author of 'The Ballot and the Bible,' discusses how scripture has been used and abused in American politics. She highlights the differing approaches of George W. Bush and Barack Obama and the surprising reason Obama cited scripture more often. The podcast also covers sleeper hits fueled by conservative audiences, China's hiring of 'full-time children,' and the complexities of political songs and movies.

Expert on religious and educational structures, John Walton, discusses the decline of moral formation in American society. The hosts debate the interpretation of the Second Commandment regarding images of God. Dr. Walton also shares insights on biblical interpretation and the crisis of biblical illiteracy. Snakes falling from the sky in Texas is a bizarre news story discussed in this episode.

A new survey of worship leaders finds that four megachurches have cornered the worship music market. Should we care who is writing the songs we sing in church, and what gets lost when market forces influence local ministries? A sermon clip has gone viral showing a megachurch pastor scolding people who arrive late or leave early because they are treating the “church like it’s a religious show instead of a welcoming family.” But are people acting like church is a show because that’s the model church leaders have created? We explore the history of how churches came to copy theaters and its impact on the church’s mission and power. Then, Phil talks to Karen Swallow Prior about her new book, “The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis.” She explains how the current crisis in evangelicalism finds its roots in trying to preserve Victorian values rather than biblical ones. Also this week: a celebrity bear is above the law. Patreon Bonus:  Holy Post Office -  How do you justify the O.T God who commanded Israel to annihilate other nations, with the New Testament themes of loving our enemies? https://youtu.be/IMEMzA8rJZQ 0:00 - Intro   1:49 - Show Starts   4:10 - Theme Song   4:27 - Sponsor - Hiya Health   5:36 - Animal News   14:05 - How we choose worship music in church   34:55 - JD Greear’s recent viral clip   56:03 - Sponsor - AG1 To get your FREE 1 year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 free travel packs with your first purchase, go to athleticgreens.com/HOLYPOST    57:32 - Sponsor - Blueland To get 15% off your first order, go to Blueland.com/HOLYPOST   58:38 - Interview Intro Karen Swallow Prior   1:03:36 - How Victorian literature influenced Evangelicalism    1:12:20 - Evangelicialism and Empire   1:24:43 - Broadening our imagination   1:36:43 - End Credits Links mentioned in news segment:   Hank the Tank: Fugitive burglar bear captured in California https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66429736 Few worship leaders avoid Hillsong, Bethel songs — despite controversies and scandal https://religionnews.com/2023/07/11/few-worship-leaders-avoid-hillsong-bethel-songs-despite-controversies-and-scandal/ JD Greear’s sermon clip - https://twitter.com/laurchas22/status/1687426921586622464 Other resources:   The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis by Karen Swallow Prior https://amzn.to/3qm5F9N Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/   Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus   Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost   Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.  

A new chatbot based on OpenAI claims to have a “biblical worldview” and invites users to ask questions directly to the Apostle Paul. Is this a helpful tool, or another step closer to replacing Christian community with artificial intelligence? Then, a new article in The Atlantic says 40 million Americans have stopped attending church because our culture is addicted to work and no longer values community. But is it all the culture’s fault, or does the church also carry some blame? Washington Post columnist, Christine Emba, is back to discuss her new report about the masculinity crisis. She explains why voices on the far right are engaging men with a message of misogyny and anger, while voices on the left aren’t trying to engage men at all. Is there a better way out of the crisis? Also this week—toxic zombie worms Patreon Bonus:  Interview with Amy Peeler on her Barbie movie article https://www.patreon.com/posts/87033946   0:00 - Intro   1:43 - Show Starts   2:55 - Theme Song   3:19 - Sponsor - Sundays Dog Food Get 35% off your first order of Sundays. Go to www.SundaysForDogs.com/HOLYPOST or use code HOLYPOST at checkout.    4:30 - Animal News   11:32 - Christian AI Chatbot   30:01 - Why Americans stopped going to church   58:14 - Sponsor - Sponsor -  Faithful Counseling Get 10% off your first month at Faithful Counseling.com/HOLYPOST   59:18 - Sponsor - Caldera Lab Get 20% OFF with our code HOLYPOST at calderalab.com   1:00:57 - Interview Intro   1:06:28 - Responses on the right to the masculinity crisis   1:17:14 - Responses on the left to the masculinity crisis   1:25:25 - Solutions   1:36:51 - End Credits Links mentioned in news segment:   Toxin-secreting hammerhead worms are invading the D.C. area. How to stop them. https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/07/22/hammerhead-worms-invasive-poisonous-dc/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=U+S++Reservists+to+Boost+NATO&utm_campaign=U+S++Reservists+to+Boost+NATO   A worm has been revived after 46,000 years in the Siberian permafrost https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/28/world/worm-resurrected-frozen-siberian-permafrost-intl-scli-scn/index.html   Meet the Christian creators designing chatbots ‘with a biblical worldview’ https://religionnews.com/2023/07/20/meet-the-christian-creators-designing-biblically-inspired-chatbots/ The Misunderstood Reason Millions of Americans Stopped Going to Church https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/07/christian-church-communitiy-participation-drop/674843/ Other resources: Men are lost. Here’s a map out of the wilderness https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/10/christine-emba-masculinity-new-model/ Chistine Emba’s previous appearance on The Holy Post https://www.holypost.com/post/episode-510-the-sbc-report-and-rethinking-sexual-ethics-with-christine-emba   Rethinking Sex: A Provocation by Christine Emba https://amzn.to/3DFfd2Y   And There Was Light: Abraham Lincoln and the American Struggle by Jon Meacham https://amzn.to/3QmS6Sm Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/   Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus   Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost   Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.  

The presidential campaign of Ron Desantis recently fired a young communications staffer who created and posted a video celebrating fascism. It turns out the man has a history of engagement with racist, misogynist leaders of the Alt-Right movement. David French explains why so many conservative young men are being drawn to the Alt-Right, and how they are now occupying more influential roles within the American conservative movement and the Republican Party. Then, Skye Jethani and David French discuss the new Christopher Nolan movie, Oppenheimer. Was the U.S. justified in creating and dropping the A-bomb? And what lessons does the movie have for us today? 0:00 - Theme Song   0:17 - The New Right and the recent troubles of alt-right men   32:48 - Sponsor - Hiya Health Go to hiyahealth.com/HOLYPOST to receive 50% off your first order   33:54 - Lessons from Oppenheimer   58:49 - End Credits   Other resources: David French: https://twitter.com/DavidAFrench   https://www.holypost.com/   Support us and find premium content by going to https://www.patreon.com/holypost   The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

Hollywood is struggling. Fewer people are going to theaters, but this week saw the opening of two huge movies including Barbie. Can the movie revive Hollywood, or will its social commentary drive more Americans away? Florida’s anti-woke policy is now revising how its public schools teach history by saying enslaved people benefited from the skills they learned. What’s really behind the move to downplay the evil of slavery? Dr. Carmen Imes is back to discuss her new book “Being God’s Image.” She says the Bible has a radical message of human dignity and equality, but Christian communities often unknowingly undermine this ethic. Plus, Elon Musk rebrands Twitter, and scary stories from the beach. Patreon Bonus:  Getting Schooled - Trinity and Gender 101 https://www.patreon.com/posts/86648271 0:00 - Intro   1:48 - Show Starts   2:35 - Theme Song   2:56 - Sponsor - Faithful Counseling Get 10% off your first month at FaithfulCounseling.com/HOLYPOST   4:08 - Scary Stories from the Beach   10:57 - Barbenheimer and Conservative outrage over Hollywood   31:39 - Florida trying downplay slavery   45:12 - Twitter changing to X   51:40 - Sponsor - Center for Pastor Theologians Visit cptconference.com and use code HOLYPOST to get $10 off your registration fee to the Center for Pastor Theologians Conference   52:50 - Sponsor - AG1 To get your FREE 1 year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 free travel packs with your first purchase, go to athleticgreens.com/HOLYPOST   54:20 - Interview Intro   59:56 - What it means to be God’s image   1:12:24 - What the Church gets wrong about the Image of God   1:22:00 - How Jesus is and isn’t the Image of God   1:30:43 - End Credits Links mentioned in news segment:   ‘Barbie’ breaks box-office records while crushing right-wing outrage https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/23/opinions/barbie-movie-right-wing-opposition-obeidallah/index.html New Florida standards teach students that some Black people benefited from slavery because it taught useful skills https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-florida-standards-teach-black-people-benefited-slavery-taught-usef-rcna95418?utm_medium=10today.us.sat.rd.20230722.436.1&utm_source=email&utm_content=article&utm_campaign=email-2022   Twitter is turning into X. Analysts don’t see the treasure map. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/07/24/elon-musk-x-twitter-rebrand-logo/ Other resources:   Being God’s Image by Carmen Imes - https://amzn.to/44FTPGA   Bearing God’s name by Carmen Imes - https://amzn.to/3Obi3S9   Carmen Imes’ course on Seminary Now - https://seminarynow.co/being-gods-image   Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/   Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus   Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost   Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.  

The feminist movement has made significant advances in the last 50 years, but data indicates men are falling behind. Fewer men then women are graduating from college, deaths of despair are highest among men, and the phrase “toxic masculinity” is ubiquitous in the culture. Phil, Skye, and Kaitlyn discuss Christine Emba’s new article seeking a positive vision for masculinity and why it’s elusive to both the right and left. Then, Kaitlyn talked to Justin Giboney from the And Campaign about the upcoming 2024 election. How can Christians avoid the partisan polarization and culture war extremism? Giboney says we should be like Jesus who took firm positions on issues of his day, but he did not pick sides. And he explains the wisdom of the historic Black church with its commitment to Scripture and justice. Also this week, what is God trying to tell us through a surfing sea otter? Patreon Bonus:  Christian Asks - What does it mean to keep the Sabbath? https://www.patreon.com/posts/86289753 0:00 - Intro   1:34 - Show Starts   5:22 - Theme Song   5:41 - Sponsor - Magic Spoon Go to magicspoon.com/HOLYPOST and use code HOLYPOST to get $5 off   7:24 - Animal News   15:57 - Masculinity   1:03:03 - Sponsor - No Small Endeavor Podcast Follow No Small Endeavor on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. https://link.chtbl.com/LN08h4po?sid=HolyPost   1:01:56 - Sponsor - Caldera Lab Get 20% OFF with our code HOLYPOST at calderalab.com   1:04:44 - Interview Intro   1:06:10 - Lessons learned since 2020   1:14:19 - The third way   1:26:28 - The And Campaign   1:41:14 - End Credits Links mentioned in news segment:   Surfing sea otter steals surfboards, eludes capture https://www.kron4.com/news/california/photos-surfing-sea-otter-steals-surfboards-eludes-capture/   Men are lost. Here’s a map out of the wilderness https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/10/christine-emba-masculinity-new-model/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWJpZCI6IjIzODA0MzciLCJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNjg4OTYxNjAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNjkwMjU3NTk5LCJpYXQiOjE2ODg5NjE2MDAsImp0aSI6IjM1YjE2N2YzLTBmYTUtNDUxYS05YzBlLTZhNzdlOTQ2OWMzNyIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9vcGluaW9ucy8yMDIzLzA3LzEwL2NocmlzdGluZS1lbWJhLW1hc2N1bGluaXR5LW5ldy1tb2RlbC8ifQ.0jNT8W6i8HlLD8NBShNOJkovipRvdnW9kgksH6nhxSs   Chistine Emba’s previous appearance on The Holy Post https://www.holypost.com/post/episode-510-the-sbc-report-and-rethinking-sexual-ethics-with-christine-emba Other resources:   The And Campaign: https://andcampaign.org/   Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/   Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus   Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost   Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.  

The Supreme Court has released two highly anticipated and controversial rulings about race, sexual identity, and discrimination. First, colleges and universities may no longer give preferential status to applicants based on their race. Is the end of affirmative action really the catastrophe some are claiming? And a web designer will not be required by law to create websites for same-sex weddings. Is this ruling a defeat for LGBT rights, or a victory for free speech? And why has the reporting about both of these cases been so misleading? Also this week, a new government super-computer will determine whether we should geo-engineer the atmosphere to block out the sun. What could possibly go wrong? And Phil blows things up in rural Michigan. Patreon Bonus:  Getting Schooled by Kaitlyn Schiess - Rapture Fiction 101 https://www.patreon.com/posts/85947678 0:00 - Intro   1:32 - Show Starts   3:11 - Theme Song   3:33 - Sponsor - Faithful Counseling   4:42 - Sponsor - Hiya Health   5:50 - 4th of July Recap 10:25 - Supercomputer to determine whether to block the Sun   19:08 - Correction from last week   22:00 - Affirmative Action   42:56 - Sponsor - AG1   44:26 - Sponsor - Sundays Dog Food   45:40 - 303 Creative Supreme Court Decision   1:15:06 - End Credits Links mentioned in news segment:   Supercomputer Will Help Decide whether to Block the Sun https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/supercomputer-will-help-decide-whether-to-block-the-sun/ Honestly with Bari Weiss Podcast https://www.honestlypod.com/podcast/episode/2d0698d3/affirmative-action-gay-rights-and-free-speech-what-the-supreme-courts-rulings-mean-for-america Other resources:   Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/   Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus   Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost   Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.  

Throughout the Bible, God’s people are commanded to show hospitality to strangers. But Christian Nationalists unhappy about the number of immigrants in the U.S. are redefining biblical hospitality and twisting the words of Jesus to justify the deportation of millions. What does their inversion of biblical teachings reveal about the Christian Nationalist agenda? Then, pastor, political science professor, and Holy Post Pundit, Ryan Burge, is back to talk about the surprising data around the political activism of atheists, and why the rise of non-religious Americans is dangerous for democracy and destabilizing for society. Plus, why did the media obsess over the five lives lost on the Titanic submersible and largely ignore the capsized refugee boat that killed more than 500? Patreon Bonus: Christian Asks - How Does Anger Lead Us to Idolatry? https://www.patreon.com/posts/85537876/ 0:00 - Intro   1:17 - Show Starts   2:28 - Theme Song   2:49 - Sinking of the Titan Submersible   10:11 - Christian Hospitality = Mass Deportation?   22:39 - Responding to Common Objections of Our Stance on Immigration   Sponsors   39:31 - Sponsor - Faithful Counseling   40:39 - Sponsor - Blueland   41:47 - Interview Intro   44:09 - The rise of political activism among atheists   54:11 - Political activism replacing religious impulses   1:02:59 - Religious Freedom   1:19:19  - End Credits Links mentioned in news segment:   A tale of two disasters: Missing Titanic sub captivates the world days after deadly migrant shipwreck https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/syria-migrants-boat-sinking-titanic-submersive-missing-rcna90336   The Virtue of Hospitality  https://americanreformer.org/2023/06/the-virtue-of-hospitality/ Other resources:   No One Participates in Politics More than Atheists https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/no-one-participates-in-politics-more   Ryan Burge’s Substack https://substack.com/@ryanburge   Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/   Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus   Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost   Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.  

An Air Force veteran recently came forward with whistleblower allegations that the U.S. government has possession of extra-terrestrial vehicles, more reports of UAPs (unidentified arial phenomena) have been declassified, and senators, former CIA directors, and even former President Obama are speaking publicly about UFOs. Self-identified "nerds" David French and Skye Jethani debate the evidence that we're not alone in the universe, explore the massive theological implications of discovering intelligent alien life, and conclude with a conversation around the virtue of humility and the danger of certainty. 0:00 - Theme Song   0:17 - Recent UFO Evidence   14:45 - Is the evidence credible   29:24 - Sponsor - AG1 Go to athleticgreens.com/HOLYPOST to get your FREE 1 year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 free travel packs with your first purchase   31:01 - The theological implications of alien life   1:03:00 - End Credits   Links mentioned in interview   US urged to reveal UFO evidence after claim that it has intact alien vehicles https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jun/06/whistleblower-ufo-alien-tech-spacecraft Other resources: David French: https://twitter.com/DavidAFrench   https://www.holypost.com/   Support us and find premium content by going to https://www.patreon.com/holypost   The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.