Religion on the Mind

Tony Jones and I are joined by Jeff Green (Virginia Commonwealth University) and Daryl Van Tongeren (Hope College) to ask the vital question, "How can we get the benefits of religion without the potential dangers of religion?" Together we investigate what factors contribute to religion's positive and negative outcomes. Through this lens, we discuss ideological homogeneity, our need for certainty, cognitive dissonance, and how meaning-making can be such a strong motivator.Jeff's Faculty Page: https://psychology.vcu.edu/people/faculty/green.html Daryl's Faculty Page: https://hope.edu/directory/people/van-tongeren-daryl/index.htmlDaryl's Book "Humble: Free Yourself from the Traps of a Narcissistic World": https://www.amazon.com/Humble-Yourself-Traps-Narcissistic-World/dp/1615198571Tony's Website: https://reverendhunter.com/Help Fund Sarey's Movie (Now funding stretch goals!): http://winemakermovie.com/___________________________________________Follow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/Or Twitter: twitter.com/DanKochFaith deconstruction resources: www.soyouredeconstructing.com/Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankoch Email about the "sliding scale" for thePatreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: www.dankochwords.com/yhp.htmlJoin Dan's email list: www.dankochwords.com/Artwork by sprungle.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guests today are Shelby and Nate Hansen, co-hosts of the Almost Heretical Podcast, to talk Biblical canonization. Shelby says, "Scripture is supposed to aid us in making the world better, and it's not an end in and of itself." Driven by canon-specific patron questions, this conversation covers things like inspiration, orthodoxy, the Apocrypha, and more.https://almostheretical.com/Almost Heretical Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/almost-heretical/id1330499441A High View of Scripture Book: https://www.amazon.com/Scripture-Authority-Formation-Evangelical-Ressourcement/dp/0801027780Follow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/Or Twitter: twitter.com/DanKochFaith deconstruction resources: www.soyouredeconstructing.com/Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankoch Email about the "sliding scale" for thePatreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: www.dankochwords.com/yhp.htmlJoin Dan's email list: www.dankochwords.com/Artwork by sprungle.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I'm joined for a rare in-person chat with author and long-time friend Sara Billups to discuss her new book "Orphaned Believers: How a Generation of Christian Exiles Can Find the Way Home." Using the text to structure our conversation, Sara shares about the impact of being raised Evangelical in the 80s and 90s. We cover consumerism, sensationalism, fear, exceptionalism, and more.Sara’s Website: https://www.sarabillups.com/about-saraOrphaned Believers Book: https://www.sarabillups.com/orphaned-believersSubscribe to Sara's Substack: https://sarabillups.substack.com/Sara's IG: @sara.billupsFollow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/ Or Twitter: twitter.com/DanKoch Faith deconstruction resources: www.soyouredeconstructing.com/ Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!) Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankoch Email about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.com YHP Patron-only FB group: tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98 Website: www.dankochwords.com/yhp.html Join Dan's email list: www.dankochwords.com/ Artwork by sprungle.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My guest today, Meredith Ann Miller, is an author, pastor, and parent with over 20 years of experience in children's ministry and curriculum. Well-steeped in empirical research, Meredith's work offers ideas like "Your faith questions are wonderful and worthy; Nothing needs to be solved today," and "You are connecting your good kid to the God that made them so." We also cover listener questions addressing therapeutic moralistic deism, cultivating a trust-based paradigm in raising children, and more.Pre-order Meredith's Book: "Woven: Nurturing a Faith Your Kid Doesn't Have to Heal From": https://www.amazon.com/Woven-Nurturing-Faith-Your-Doesnt/dp/1546004351Meredith's for kids "Ask Away" Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ask-away/id1517893876 The Very Good Gospel by Lisa Sharon Harper: https://lisasharonharper.com/the-very-good-gospel/Love & Perfectionism in Raising Kids Episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/you-have-permission/id1448000113?i=1000582889496Church Is Good For You Episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/you-have-permission/id1448000113?i=1000522907595Follow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/Or Twitter: twitter.com/DanKochFaith deconstruction resources: www.soyouredeconstructing.com/Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankoch Email about the "sliding scale" for thePatreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: www.dankochwords.com/yhp.htmlJoin Dan's email list: www.dankochwords.com/Artwork by sprungle.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am joined today by my friend Zach Bolen, vocalist and songwriter of the band Citizens. As long as he’s writing songs about his faith, Zach feels that he must “write songs that are bringing people to a table, rather than trying to push people further away." We discuss Christian music industry pressure, Zach's experience working at Mars Hill Church, cultivating diverse ideological relationships, and more.www.zachbolen.comFollow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/ Or Twitter: twitter.com/DanKoch Faith deconstruction resources: www.soyouredeconstructing.com/ Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!) Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankoch Email about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.com YHP Patron-only FB group: tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98 Website: www.dankochwords.com/yhp.html Join Dan's email list: www.dankochwords.com/ Artwork by sprungle.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today I'm joined by three friends and collaborators — Sarey Concepción, Myron Penner & Kristen Tideman — to discuss the findings of a survey we conducted for leaders in the Post-Evangelical world. We asked questions like "What is the most helpful thing the post-Evangelical community can do for its own community members?", "What do you see as the top redeeming qualities (if any) of mainstream evangelicalism?" and "What might a healthy future for organized Christianity look like (if you think such a thing is desirable)?" Discussing the survey’s findings, we cover topics like potential blind spots, physical vs. virtual gatherings, and the future of the post-evangelical movement.Homebrewed Christianity’s Theology Beer Camp Debrief Episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/homebrewed-christianity-podcast/id276269040?i=1000583231654Follow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/ Or Twitter: twitter.com/DanKoch Faith deconstruction resources: www.soyouredeconstructing.com/ Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!) Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankoch Email about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.com YHP Patron-only FB group: tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98 Website: www.dankochwords.com/yhp.html Join Dan's email list: www.dankochwords.com/ Artwork by sprungle.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

*Re-broadcast* - Habit, Virtue, Prayer & Science (#83)Bradley Wright is a Protestant professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut where he studies American Christianity, spirituality, and well-being. Sofia Corozza is a Catholic phd student at Cambridge studying child neurodevelopment. Also, she is Brad’s goddaughter, which makes for a lovely interplay between the two of them. So why care about habits and virtue? Aren’t these old fashioned notions? Well, habits are very closely linked to positive change of all sorts, and if there is one thing missing at least in our *public* life these days, virtue might top that list. Prayer seems to interact with both of these concepts regularly, and I am always asking: what is the science behind each of these? What do we know and with how much confidence?Sofia’s Blog: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/synapsesofthesoul/Bradley’s Site: http://bradleywrightphd.com/Follow Dan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/dancoke/Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochEmail about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joining me today is Amanda Held Opelt, sister of Rachel Held Evans, to talk about her book "A Hole in the World: Finding Hope in Rituals and Grief of Healing." After a season of multiple losses, Amanda found herself studying grief rituals. We talk about what she learned and consequently wrote about. We also cover her experience with international aid work, making meaning out of suffering, resilience in the context of high trauma, and more.Amanda’s Website: http://amandaheldopelt.com/Amanda's episode on The Bible for Normal People: ://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-bible-for-normal-people/id1215420422?i=1000574596668Amanda's Instagram and Twitter: @AmandaHeldOpeltFollow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/ Or Twitter: twitter.com/DanKoch Faith deconstruction resources: www.soyouredeconstructing.com/ Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!) Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankoch Email about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.com YHP Patron-only FB group: tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98 Website: www.dankochwords.com/yhp.html Join Dan's email list: www.dankochwords.com/ Artwork by sprungle.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In today's long overdue conversation, I speak with best-selling author & speaker Brian D. McLaren about his book "Do I Stay Christian?: A Guide for the Doubters, the Disappointed, and the Disillusioned." Brian says, "In a period of rapid cultural and intellectual change, having a religion that's set up and run by change-averse people creates an interesting set of challenges." We address some of the book's questions, like "Why go?", "Why stay?", and "How do we move forward?" We also cover topics like adaptability, lack of transformation, and choosing not to play by traditional hermeneutic 'rules of the game.'Brian's Website: https://brianmclaren.net/ Do I Stay Christian Book: https://www.amazon.com/Do-Stay-Christian-Disappointed-Disillusioned/dp/1250262798/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=do+i+stay+christian+by+brian+mclaren&qid=1670695731&sprefix=Do+i+stay+%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-1A New Kind of Christianity Book: https://www.amazon.com/New-Kind-Christianity-Questions-Transforming/dp/0061853992Follow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/ Or Twitter: twitter.com/DanKoch Faith deconstruction resources: www.soyouredeconstructing.com/ Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!) Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankoch Email about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.com YHP Patron-only FB group: tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98 Website: www.dankochwords.com/yhp.html Join Dan's email list: www.dankochwords.com/ Artwork by sprungle.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

*Re-broadcast* - Why I Am (Still) a Christian (#60)I’m joined by my dear friend Ben Bishop, who is both a fantastic interviewer in his own right and a former patron-only episode guest. I asked Ben to interview me on the topic of why I am (still) a Christian. No one ever asks me, “Why are you a Christian?” Or very rarely, anyway. But pretty regularly, in the context of conversations about deconstruction or Biblical inerrancy or something similar, people will ask, “Why are you *still* a Christian?” I thought it might be helpful to answer that and give one more data point for listeners as they figure out their own faith allegiances, theologies, etc. We talk about religious/Christian pluralism a good bit, as that is particularly interesting to Ben, and toward the end is when I give probably my most succinct answer to the question, drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord’s Prayer, and other basics I don’t think I could live without. Feel free to skip forward to 1 hour or so if you want to hear that concise answer before going into the weeds with us.Follow Dan on IG: https://www.instagram.com/dancoke/Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia@gmail.com -- he is accepting more work!)Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankochEmail about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: youhavepermissionpodcast@gmail.comYHP Patron-only FB group: https://tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98Website: youhavepermissionpod.comJoin Dan's email list: dankochwords.comArtwork by http://sprungle.co/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices