The Theology Pugcast

Today Chris introduces Tom and Glenn to the Shakers--America's favorite utopian sect. If you know anything about them you probably associate them with furniture, oval nesting boxes, and the song Simple Gifts.  At their height during the Second Great Awakening there were 6,000 of them living in nearly 20 communities scattered from Maine to Kentucky. Today they are the darlings of liberalism because they renounced the household-economy, private property, and even marriage.  Naturally, this meant that they also renounced procreation. They believe heaven had come to earth with the second advent of Christ--this time as a woman--in the person of their founder Mother Ann. They believed that God had male and female natures and that the Fall of Adam and Eve in Eden had something to do with sex. Weird stuff, Gnostic too. You can learn more about them in the many museums that now preserve their artifacts. If you want to speak with real Shakers, you better hurry, there are only 2 left and they're elderly. In some ways the themes that characterized Shakerism are still with us, and some of them even seem to be growing more popular among the young in evangelicalism.  The show was recorded at Elicit Brewing, a new brewpub in Manchester, CT that the guys have wanted to try out. They found a quiet corner and everything was going swimmingly until about 3/4 of the way through when someone at the pub decided it would be a good idea to blast the music. The guys are sorry for yet another noisy show--they won't go back there again.     

In today's show Glenn proposes a controversial thesis: Machiavelli's The Prince wasn't promoting amoral political opportunism--in it Machiavelli was actually.... Well, it wouldn't be right to include a spoiler in the show notes, would it? Why not listen and find out what Glenn thinks for yourself? Once again, there is a noisy pub to deal with, but we hope the show will provide enough tasty food for thought that you can look past that. 

In today's show Tom begins an exploration of the ideology of environmentalism and the ways that the monism underlying it is infiltrating churches and theologies that wish to be seen as "relevant". Glenn and Chris push the discussion into the works of Tolkien as a faithful alternative for those who wish to cherish the created order as a gift in contrast to popular environmental ideologies. The show is a bit noisy and a little choppy because it was recorded in the main part of the pub (we were exiled from the backroom by paying customers!), and Chris received a call that he couldn't ignore late in the show.   

In today's show Chris and the guys put "niceness" into the Aristotle Virtue Analyzer to see if it makes the grade. They determined that it depends on the political economy you find yourself in. If it is a consumerist global fantasy-land--well, it's a virtue. But is that a place that human beings really want to live--it means no history, no transcendence, and no depth. It's all here and now and on the surface. But can such an inhuman and false community even last? Perhaps "niceness" still means what it meant in 12th century, "Stupid". https://www.etymonline.com/word/nice Today's show features new music by Chris's oldest son, Caleb!

In today's show Glenn explains how some evangelicals have managed to climb onto the critical theory bandwagon. He begins with a quick overview of the modernist-fundamentalist controversy of the late 19th and early 20th century, he then shows how this created a void that critical theory has recently filled. Tom and Chris along with Glenn point out the Marxist roots of critical theory, underscoring its materialism and its agonism--i.e. "progress through violence". (That's why there's no reasoning with critical theory--words, even reason itself--are merely other means for getting your way.) Can "progressive evangelicals" find their way out of this morass? The Lord knows and time will tell--but the Pugcasters are not hopeful.  

In today's show Tom returns to the theme of intellectual faithfulness in a church that has lost any sense of what that means. Glenn and Chris jump in with their thoughts.  

In today's show the Pugsters interview Dr. Benjamin Merkle, President of New Saint Andrews College. The show was recorded before an enthusiastic audience and at a different venue than the venerable Corner Pug. In this show the Pugcast invades the renowned Willimantic Brewing Company--one of the best brewpubs in Connecticut.  Dr. Merkle provides great insight into the philosophy and methods of classical learning, and Tom and Ben even get to reminisce about their days at Oxford. It was a lot of fun. We hope that you enjoy it.

Jokes about the uselessness of a liberal arts education are cliche--they also evidence the absence of a liberal arts education. The whole point of a liberal arts education is the study of things that are good in themselves, not good as a means to enjoying something else. Arts of that sort are servile--they serve a higher good.  Today Chris introduces listeners to the book, Leisure: The Basis of Culture by the late German philosopher Joseph Pieper.  Of course Tom and Glenn have a lot to add. The conversation gets into the parallel between Sabbath observance and leisure, social class and freedom, and many other matters.  Enjoy! Here's a link to the book on Amazon. 

Today we welcome to the show a friend of Glenn Sunshine: Francis Jabba, Disciple Making Coordinator for New Harvest Global Ministries in 16 African countries. Reports of the spectacular growth of Christianity in Africa are well known. What is less known is how it is happening. Glenn has visited Africa and has reported on the growth of the church in the book he co-wrote with Jerry Trousdale, The Kingdom Unleashed. In today's show the Pugcasters interview one of the leaders of this phenomenal movement. There were many remarkable things that they learned in the course of the interview--an important one being how Islam is growing in Africa through a combination of biological growth, conversion through marriage, business dealings with strings attached, and the building of mosques.  The show is a bit of a departure from the standard Pugcast fare--but that shouldn't surprise our listeners, the range of conversation on the show is pretty broad.  Here is a link to Glenn's book on Amazon. If you would like to donate to this important work in West Africa here is the contact information: New Harvest Global Ministries, P.O. Box 681691, Franklin TN. 37068. New Harvest's website is www.newharvestglobal.org  If you want to give a donation for Francis’s building, put “Francis Jabba building fund” in the Memo. 

In today's episode Tom asks the rhetorical question, "Who sets the agenda for the Christian faith?" Winsome market-oriented church growth types demonstrate through their methods that they believe people should do that.  But maybe people don't actually know what is in their best interests. Tom traces out how autonomy and "authenticity" have come to shape much of evangelicalism in our time. Chris notes that this is what underlies the call to be "relevant". Tom labels this "Humanistic Evangelicalism". But isn't this a case of tail wags dog?  By contrast Tom describes something he calls "Evangelical Humanism" and he says this is what constitutes a good Christian anthropology.