Weird Religion

Let us discuss a DANGEROUS TV SHOW. And of course, we’re talking about a very family friendly Jesus TV show—The Chosen. What is the state of the evangelical search for validation, for legitimacy, in the American religious landscape today? Has Christian TV arrived? Can we tell who is an “evangelical” by what they purchase, what they consume? The Last Temptation of Christ (1988 film): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095497/ Artifact: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/the-chosen-dallas-jenkins-interview-season-4-1235909988/ Dallas Jenkins: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dallas_Jenkins Ronald Numbers, The Creationists: https://books.google.com/books?id=GQ3TI5njXfIC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false “Name it and Frame It” Phony Doctorates in the Church: https://www.apologeticsindex.org/2794-name-it-and-frame-it-phony-doctorates-in-the-church The National Association of Evangelicals: https://www.nae.org/ The “Bebbington Quadrilateral”: https://www.baylorpress.com/9781481314435/the-evangelical-quadrilateral/ Leah Payne, “‘Sound of Freedom’ and the Media Fueling Belief in America’s ‘Special Role’ in Human History”: https://www.prri.org/spotlight/sound-of-freedom-and-the-media-fueling-belief-in-americas-special-role-in-human-history/ The “Holiness Movement”: https://www.thearda.com/us-religion/history/timelines/entry?etype=3&eid=13 Randall J. Stephens, The Fire Spreads: Holiness and Pentecostalism in the American South: https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674046856

We celebrate the religious aesthetic—and mourn the loss—of Precious Moments creator Sam Butcher. A pastel-colored, Christian-infused aesthetic embodied by Precious Moments may of course prompt a reaction: like the “Precious Mutation” of Keith Busher. Did evangelical art (and theology) ever grow up? How can this couple have been married 25 years when they are children: https://www.preciousmoments.com/twenty-five-happy-years-together-figurine Jesus said: “wise as a serpent, gentle as a dove”: https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Matthew%2010%3A16 Daniel Silliman obituary of Sam Butcher: https://www.christianitytoday.com/2024/05/sam-butcher-precious-moments-art-artist-chapel-obit/ The Sam Butcher story on the Precious Moments website: https://www.preciousmoments.com/butcher-story/ Keith Busher, the “Precious Mutator” (Instagram): https://www.instagram.com/preciousmutator/?hl=en; (Etsy): https://www.etsy.com/shop/PreciousMutations Precious Mutations story: https://www.today.com/home/precious-mutants-are-terrifying-version-precious-moments-figurines-t161577 Thomas Kincaid, “The Painter of Light”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Kinkade The “Precious Moments Chapel” mural: https://www.preciousmoments.com/blog/history-of-precious-moments-chapel-hallelujah-square Later Sam Butcher paintings of nude bodies: https://x.com/danielsilliman/status/1795890318853767351 Garbage Pail Kids example: https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/120329100954-garbage-pail-kids-leaky-lindsay.jpg?q=w_1248,h_1732,x_0,y_0,c_fill

Today we’re discussing a book by religion and philosophy professor Jeffrey Kripal (Rice University), called How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else (University of Chicago Press, 2024). He seems to be suggesting…that we should believe…in impossible things. Miracles. Levitation. UFOs. Archetypes. And many other things Leah and Brian were told not to believe in during their time in secular graduate programs, of the type that Kripal himself would seem to teach in. What is happening here? We explore. Join us. “Authentic” was the 2023 Merriam-Webster word of year: https://www.georgefamilyfoundation.org/news/blog-post-title-three-x9s6e-h4jbh#:~:text=Merriam-Webster Leah Payne, award winner, for God Gave Rock and Roll to You: https://www.christianitytoday.com/2024/12/christianity-today-book-awards-2024/? Here is the book on the publisher’s website, Jeffrey Kripal’s, How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everything Else: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/H/bo216049049.html “dual aspect monism” // double-aspect theory: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double-aspect_theory Jeffrey J. Kripal: https://profiles.rice.edu/faculty/jeffrey-j-kripal Jonathan Z. Smith: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Z._Smith Jonathan Z. Smith, “Religion, Religions, Religious”: https://womrel.sitehost.iu.edu/Rel433%20Readings/SearchableTextFiles/Smith_ReligionReligionsReligious.pdf Jonathan Z. Smith, “In Comparison a Magic Dwells”: https://classics.osu.edu/sites/classics.osu.edu/files/Magic_Dwells.pdf Russel McCutcheon, Critics Not Caretakers: https://www.routledge.com/Critics-Not-Caretakers-Redescribing-the-Public-Study-of-Religion/McCutcheon/p/book/9781032467924 Mircea Eliade: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mircea_Eliade The Nietzsche book Brian was trying to remember: The Birth of Tragedy: https://www.gutenberg.org/files/51356/51356-h/51356-h.htm Book Leah mentioned, that she taught this past semester: Charles Freeman, Holy Bones, Holy Dust: How Relics Shaped the History of Medieval Europe: https://www.amazon.com/Holy-Bones-Dust-History-Medieval/dp/0300184301 Carlos Eire, They Flew: A History of the Impossible: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300280074/they-flew/ The mystery of where socks go in the washer: https://youtube.com/shorts/lh64cnjDsWg?si=P15MsWcO3Op2eC3t The Coach bag Brian is describing, note outer side pocket, and there is an identical one on the other side: https://photos-us.bazaarvoice.com/photo/2/cGhvdG86bWFjeXM/0f759b29-68af-5b3c-85e7-cc3983a4cd24

Feeling spiritually vulnerable while you are in an airport? You are not alone. Looking for a Popeye horror film? You are not alone. Naming your child Muhammed in the UK this year? You are not alone. Flocking to Orthodoxy as a young man? You are not alone. Committing acts of microfeminism? You are not alone. Portland airport Beni the Therapy Llama: https://www.npr.org/sections/shots-health-news/2024/11/03/nx-s1-5173755/therapy-animals-portland-airport-llama-alpaca The new most popular baby name in the UK: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/most-popular-100-baby-names-34251941 The Late Great Hal Lindsey: https://religionnews.com/2024/12/05/the-late-great-hal-lindsey/ Young men flock to Orthodoxy: https://nypost.com/2024/12/03/us-news/young-men-are-converting-to-orthodox-christianity-in-droves/ The two heads of St. Thomas: https://religionnews.com/2024/12/05/when-it-comes-to-venerating-st-thomas-aquinas-are-two-heads-better-than-one/ Are you a microfeminist: https://www.npr.org/2024/12/04/g-s1-36686/microfeminism-ashley-chaney-sexism 12 acts of microfeminism (image on cover) from: https://www.instagram.com/micahlarsen_/ Book mentioned, We Have Never Been Woke: https://www.city-journal.org/article/review-of-we-have-never-been-woke-by-musa-al-gharbi Popeye horror film: https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/news/gruesome-popeye-horror-film-trailer-sees-classic-character-brutally-murder-helpless-victims/ar-AA1uO0tq

When, and why, did Catholics stop saying “and also with you” in response to “The Lord be with you,” and instead start saying, “and with your spirit”? And how would you respond to the ecstatic worship practice of “running the aisles”? We discuss the aesthetic we’d want—in heaven. Brian gaslights himself and all academics about “change.” Leah sings several times and claims to be a “pilgrim.” Some very serious talk about the communion ritual. And craniosacral therapy. And with you vs. And with your spirit: https://www.npr.org/2008/08/11/93419478/catholics-will-no-longer-recite-and-also-with-you Let Google google for you!! https://blog.google/products/search/generative-ai-google-search-may-2024/ Matthew 8:8: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%208%3A8&version=NIV “Running the Aisles” as an ecstatic worship practice: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_the_aisles Cy Twombly, Leaving Paphos: https://gagosian.com/exhibitions/2009/cy-twombly-leaving-paphos-ringed-with-waves/ Craniosacral therapy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craniosacral_therapy

The Swiss have created a new way to confess sins. Brian does something he vowed he would never do. Digital oligarchs will rule our future. A mysterious man passes by outside dressed like a priest of the Pacific Northwest. The Film Her (2013): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1798709/ “Hey Alexa, Are You Sexist?”: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/12/us/alexa-bots-female-voice.html Oligarch for Sort Of Post-Evangelicals Peter Enns: https://www.eastern.edu/peter-enns AI Jesus hears confessions (Vice article): https://www.vice.com/en/article/ai-jesus-is-now-taking-confessions-at-a-church-in-switzerland/ AI Jesus hears confessions in Switzerland (video we played): https://www.dw.com/en/switzerlands-ai-jesus-answers-questions-of-faith/video-70737962 Checking on the term “double dog dare”: https://www.quora.com/What-are-the-origins-of-the-term-double-dog-dare

One of the biggest religious storylines of 2023 has been: the huge number of people leaving their faith communities. Because Christianity is the #1 by volume religion in America, the loss has been felt heaviest there. Why has this been happening? And how many have left? A new book shares the latest research, and the data may shock you (= clickbait)!!! We review and comment and teach. The Great Dechurching (new book): https://www.amazon.com/Great-Dechurching-Leaving-Going-Bring/dp/0310147433 Ryan Burge, PhD: http://ryanburge.net/ Ryan Burge substack, “Graphs About Religion”: https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/ “Good Faith” podcast interview with Great Dechurching author Michael Graham: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-great-dechurching-with-david-french-and-michael-graham/id1594454747?i=1000631285992 Peter’s Choi’s book on George Whitefield: https://www.amazon.com/George-Whitefield-Evangelist-Religious-Biography/dp/0802875491 Buck Williams: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buck_Williams

Beware, lest ye try to convict others in court, that ye have never sinned! We review some recent weird religious news with an eye toward non-obvious stories. From dreams of living forever to Taylor Swift promoting witchcraft: while away this thirty minutes with us. Lori Vallow statement, opens with “he who is without sin throw the first stone”: https://youtu.be/uJ4nFtSsa3U On the woman caught in adultery story: https://www.bibleodyssey.org/passages/main-articles/the-woman-caught-in-adultery-john-81-11/ Bonus story: Natalee Hollaway’s murderer claims to have changed his ways, to born again Christianity: https://www.christianpost.com/news/joran-van-der-sloot-claims-hes-now-born-again-christian.html The man who thinks he can live forever: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11679715/Tech-tycoon-45-spends-2-million-year-team-doctors-regain-teenage-body.html The longevity industrial complex: https://www.axios.com/2023/09/24/longevity-podcasts-huberman-rogan-science Pastor locks himself into cage with lions to show divine protection: https://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/world-news/pastor-goes-cage-full-lions-31066685 Historian Mary Beard on men getting obsessed with the Roman Empire: https://time.com/6317735/men-roman-empire-mary-beard-history/ Church buildings going empty: https://slate.com/business/2023/07/church-real-estate-development-west-park-presbyterian.html Taylor Swift promotes witchcraft: https://www.movieguide.org/news-articles/taylor-swift-promotes-witchcraft-on-tour-in-willow-performance.html Religious Group Shinzo Abe assassination: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/10/shinzo-abe-assassination-japan-unification-church-moonies/675114/

We prepare to engage in the yearly ritual of scholars in our field: the annual meeting of the American Academy of Religion (AAR) and Society of Biblical Literature (SBL), abbreviated AAR-SBL…or is it SBL-AAR? The order makes all the difference. Quality tips are shared to survive an academic conference of this type. Brian shares the tale of his first panic attack, and leaks crucial details from one of his conference presentations—about the Puritan leader Cotton Mather and his belief that the bones of biblical giants had been uncovered in America. The Society of Biblical Literature (SBL): https://www.sbl-site.org/ The American Academy of Religion (AAR): https://aarweb.org/ The annual meeting online program book (you can search presentations by last name and keyword): https://sbl-site.org/meetings/Congresses_ProgramBook.aspx?MeetingId=43 Cotton Mather: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_Mather Bozeman, To Live Ancient Lives: https://uncpress.org/book/9780807896273/to-live-ancient-lives Bryce Traister: https://fccs.ok.ubc.ca/about/contact/bryce-traister/ The text of Cotton Mather’s first letter to the Royal Society about the giant bones: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2936986?origin=crossref&seq=1

Gather ‘round for an episode recorded in front of a LIVE AUDIENCE in Portland, Oregon! We take a piece of listener (e)mail and answer the call: to talk about books that have been deeply impactful for our lives and research—books that anyone could read and learn a lot. From classics in the early history of sociology to ritual to women in the church to child sacrifice, it’s a magic carpet ride of books. Max Weber, The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Protestant_Ethic_and_the_Spirit_of_Capitalism Émile Durkheim, The Elementary Forms of Religious Life: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Elementary_Forms_of_the_Religious_Life Gianni Vattimo, ideas in this book about the incarnation Brian mentioned: http://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-future-of-religion/9780231134941 On the “deep incarnation” idea: https://inters.org/gregersen-incarnation Catherine Bell, Ritual Theory, Ritual Practice: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/ritual-theory-ritual-practice-9780199733620 Jon Levenson, The Death and Resurrection of the Beloved Son: https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300065114/the-death-and-resurrection-of-the-beloved-son Anthea Butler, Women in the Church of God in Christ: https://uncpress.org/book/9780807858080/women-in-the-church-of-god-in-christ/ Brian’s third book that we didn’t have time to talk about! Mark Smith, The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-origins-of-biblical-monotheism-9780195134803

The aftermath of the July 2023 Congressional UFO hearing has been fascinating, infuriating, mysterious, and ominous. We get you caught up, and present a chilling conspiracy theory about what has become already one of the most famous airplane disappearances of the past several decades—Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 in 2014. The Congressional UFO hearing on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/live/KQ7Dw-739VY?si=7iKLViEo9ZS-iy8_ Wikipedia page for the whistleblower (David Grusch) claims: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Grusch_UFO_whistleblower_claims NPR summary of the UFO hearing: https://www.npr.org/2023/07/27/1190390376/ufo-hearing-non-human-biologics-uaps The Hill article puts the situation accurately in Brian’s opinion: https://thehill.com/opinion/technology/4134891-a-monumental-ufo-scandal-is-looming/ Jesse Michels interview with David Grusch: https://youtu.be/kRO5jOa06Qw?si=lu69_M0SlBdCh9qE Joe Rogan interview with Jeremy Corbell and George Knapp: https://open.spotify.com/episode/04gQ8km0XhEitU1Vz4lA3j Malaysian Air (MH370) mystery on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaysia_Airlines_Flight_370 Netflix show about MH370: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDg0m2Q3H8c The orbs video where the orbs take the plane: https://youtu.be/iZPHGJHXNXg?si=45OdsZWDvCA0_Q81 Reddit threads on the orbs video are wild: https://reddit.com/r/UFOs/s/drEbOTTmDD Some have compared this conspiracy to the Netflix show “Manifest”: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8421350/ Seems maybe the orbs video has been debunked…but you can always go double conspiracy on it! ​​https://twitter.com/528vibes/status/1693008013278302498?s=20 Article Leah mentioned: “Prophetic Failure and Chiliastic Identity: The Case of Jehovah's Witnesses”: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2776152

Let Halloween feelings shower over you as you listen to this, our Halloween episode. One of us loves the horror genre on TV and movies, and the other absolutely does not. One of us can barely handle even watching the trailer for one of these films. Children of the Corn (1984): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087050/ The Satanic double scene in The Passion of the Christ: https://youtu.be/YgwXF60RTik?si=vEv3anusf4rTpoI7 The TV version of Stephen King’s IT: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099864/ The original Scream, 1996 (opening scene clip): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sn5SkCvPEYo Signs (2002): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286106/ The Village, 2004 (trailer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTGyhwvdY6k Arrival, 2016 (trailer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFMo3UJ4B4g Smile (2022 film) (the trailer we played part of): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcDK7lkzzsU The Black Phone: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7144666/ Brandon Grafius, Reading the Bible with Horror: https://www.amazon.com/Reading-Bible-Horror-Scripture/dp/1978701683 NOPE (trailer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In8fuzj3gck The Haunting of Hill House (TV): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6763664/ Midnight Mass (TV trailer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89UV8vmWXlY The Cabin in the Woods (2011): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1259521/ Using liking scary movies romantic compatibility: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2582872/Do-like-horror-movies-surprising-questions-tell-relationship-likely-last.html

What would it be like to grow up in a household guided by the principles of Ayn Rand’s Objectivist philosophy? We talk to Things Not Seen radio host Dr. David Dault, of Loyola University Chicago, about being expoed to the ideology of Ayn Rand at a young age. If you’ve ever wanted to know about Rand’s “Objectivist” idea but were too afraid to ask, we’ll take you there. Along the way, Brian mispronounces Ayn’s name, David shares several fascinating and vulnerable personal stories, and we review the dystopian novella Anthem, ending with the hard question: Are these principles of radical self-interest compatible with Christianity? David Dault: https://www.luc.edu/ips/about/faculty/daviddaultphd.shtml Things Not Seen Radio: https://www.thingsnotseenradio.com/ Ayn Rand on the pronunciation of her first name: https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2011/1015/Six-things-you-probably-didn-t-know-about-Ayn-Rand/The-name-s-not-Ann The Ayn Rand Institute: https://aynrand.org/ Max Stirner: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/max-stirner/ Ayn Rand’s Anthem: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthem_(novella) “Paul Ryan and Ayn Rand” (Washington Post): https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/what-ayn-rand-says-about-paul-ryan/2012/08/13/fd40d574-e56d-11e1-8741-940e3f6dbf48_blog.html Matthew Sitman, Know Your Enemy: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/know-your-enemy/id1462703434 Jordan Peterson on Ayn Rand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9aHYj93xJY

As longtime Weirdo Listeners know, we don’t always have guests—but when we do, they win awards. Or they should. New York Times contributor Sam Kestenbaum won a 2023 Wilbur Award this past spring and now an AAR Journalism Award for a captivating article on Kathryn Krick—a Christian social media celebrity and charismatic preacher who frequents parks in the Los Angeles area to perform healings and exorcisms. The article is called “Demontime: How a former actress-turned-Christian EDM singer from small-town New York became a Pentecostal faith healer for the TikTok era”: https://thelandmag.com/krick-ministry-faith-healer/. —> In honor of the awards, we’re rebroadcasting this, one of our most popular eps from 2022! In which we talk with Sam about the article and the person behind it. Updated Notes: Kathryn is still going strong… Kathryn Krick on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ApostleKathrynKrick [[where the majority of her activity seems to be now?]] Kathryn Krick on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@_apostlekathrynkrick [[she seems to have stopped posting new material here??]] Sam Kestenbaum on Twitter: https://twitter.com/skestenbaum Kathryn Krick’s church webpage: https://5fchurch.org/leadership Interview with Sam Kestenbaum: https://therevealer.org/insights-from-a-religion-reporter/ Sam’s website: https://samkestenbaum.com/ Sam’s Wilbur Award: https://religionnews.com/2023/03/28/religion-communicators-council-names-2023-wilbur-awardees/ Sam’s AAR award: https://aarweb.org/AARMBR/Publications-and-News-/Newsroom-/News-/2023/2023-Journalism-Awards.aspx

Rebroadcasting a popular season finale from several years ago. Aliens are the quintessential sci-fi topic. Leah admits she used to watch Alf. Brian watched Alf too! We all did. Was The History Channel ever really respectable? The true utopian technology prophets will tell us when everything has been illuminated at the same time. Is it possible that… UPDATED SHOW NOTES Ancient Aliens is doing live shows now, on tour: https://bit.ly/46rjfsE Ancient Aliens on the History Channel: https://www.history.com/shows/ancient-aliens

To celebrate what appears to be a departure of people of some amount from “Twitter” (now “X”?!), we run to the new “Threads” app and find dueling weird religious stories to share: (1) Leah finds a joke that leads to rumination on “premillennial dispensationalism” (2) and Brian offers an engaging TikTok sermon by “Real Talk Kim.” Threads has lost 80% of its daily users: https://gizmodo.com/threads-has-lost-more-than-80-of-daily-active-users-1850707329 Musk erodes Twitter’s brand with X thing: https://time.com/6297303/twitter-x-rebrand-cost/ Leah’s rapture joke Thread: https://www.threads.net/@drleahpayne/post/Cvca3OrACHj/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D One third of pastors share end-times theology of “Left Behind” (in 2016): https://www.christianitytoday.com/news/2016/april/sorry-left-behind-pastors-end-times-rapture-antichrist.html Premillennial dispensationalism: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/003463730910600105 Brian’s Real Talk Kim Thread: https://www.threads.net/@realtalkkim/post/CvFP7Vuv_5m?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA%3D%3D; if the Thread link doesn’t work, it’s here on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@realtalkkim/video/7257640531201625390?lang=en Real Talk Kim: https://realtalkkim.com/ Real Talk Kim talking about her life: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=309314860357378

Rebroadcasting because we are jonesing for a new season of Stranger Things. Monsters, the 1980s, neon clothes, loaded memories of teenage drama, and a time when malls ruled supreme over the lives of adolescents. We talk about the Cold War and the child abduction fear craze in the 1980s and wonder: Why are we looking back on this era with fondness, exactly? UPDATED SHOW NOTE Stranger Things Season 5 (the final season) updates: https://www.popbuzz.com/tv-film/stranger-things/season-5-release-date-cast-plot-trailer/ (Terminator legend Linda Hamilton joins the cast in an undisclosed role; production suspended currently due to strike; was scheduled to begin filming in June 2023; S5E1 titled “The Crawl”; S5 storyline will take place entirely in Hawkins, with Will Byers as the main focus…)

HEY. Tune in for musings on the definition of a mustache, a profound application of 1 Corinthians 6:12, and a note on our episode rhythm during what’s left of July and on into August and September. In short: we’ve worked to create content this summer around travel and so on, and we’ll continue to be a little every-other-week-ish until maybe September, when we’ll get back into an every-week-new-content rhythm for the school year. And we’ll rebroadcast some “classics” in the gaps. We love you. 1 Corinthians ch. 6: http://web.mit.edu/jywang/www/cef/Bible/NIV/NIV_Bible/1COR+6.html Does a beard include a mustache? https://www.quora.com/Does-the-word-beard-include-moustache-too

This week we’re reviewing recent religion news in order to: explore the location of falling gold dust of God’s presence…discuss the latest UFO surprises…get specific how about AI will kill us…be shocked that Silicon Valley is trying to build God and control humanity…and understand “Seven Mountains Theology.” Read these stories along with us, or listen to us tell you about them: Aspen Ideas Festival spirituality: https://www.axios.com/2023/07/01/aspen-ideas-festival-2023-postcard UFO under a building? https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/ufo-hunter-claims-spaceship-too-30477150 Government to make UFOs public? https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4097653-senators-to-offer-amendment-to-require-government-to-make-ufo-records-public/ 7 AI human extinction scenarios: https://inews.co.uk/news/science/ai-humans-extinct-seven-deadly-scenarios-how-likely-2376633?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email Restaurant hires fake priest to spy on employees: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254594/california-restaurant-had-a-fake-priest-hear-workers-confessions-labor-department-says Bethel Church tries to take over California town: https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/how-bethel-megachurch-conquered-redding-18170873.php “The Woman Who Bought a Mountain for God” (Atlantic), Seven Mountains theology: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/06/christian-movement-new-apostolic-reformation-politics-trump/674320/ Leah Payne with PRRI on popularity of charismatics: https://www.prri.org/spotlight/the-future-of-born-again-evangelicalism-is-charismatic-and-pentecostal/ “Silicon Valley’s Quest to Build God and Control Humanity”: https://www.thenation.com/article/economy/silicon-valley-artificial-intelligence/ Mysterious creature in Illinois: https://www.theintelligencer.com/opinion/article/mysterious-creature-reported-downtown-alton-18167740.php Mormons try to save Great Salt Lake from drying up: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/its-promised-land-drying-mormon-church-works-to-save-the-great-salt-lake/ar-AA1d0p0G

What do we know, based on social scientific data, about what it takes for children to carry on with the faith of their parents? We dive into a new book by two noted authors on the topic. The results are strange, shocking, exciting, depressing, and intriguing. Worth thinking about as a bigger story of what religion has become for us in the 21st century. This might be a part 1 of a 2 part thing. So watch for part 2 later maybe. Christian Smith and Amy Adamczyk, Handing Down the Faith: How Parents Pass Their Religion on to the Next Generation (Oxford, 2021): https://www.amazon.com/Handing-Down-Faith-Religion-Generation/dp/0190093323 Fig. 2.3 from the book about faith retention 10 years later based on parenting styles (showing remarkably little difference in church attendance, across all parenting styles, for kids of parents who placed a “high importance” on religion): https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZAb_kYpIRxnQ_Jlbx1_V-Mx91Pdz8Bv-/view?usp=sharing; we partly misspoke here in the podcast about what we were seeing—it is parents with “authoritative” style (i.e., the “good” style), not “authoritarian,” who saw the highest rate of kids reporting they NEVER attending religious services, but only for those “authoritative” parents who placed a very low value on religion. It’s a complicated set of data. Have at it. Example review of the book, by Clara Gerhardt, Samford University: https://christianscholars.com/handing-down-the-faith-how-parents-pass-their-religion-on-to-the-next-generation-2/ David Brooks, in The Atlantic (March 2020): “The Nuclear Family Was a Mistake”: https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/03/the-nuclear-family-was-a-mistake/605536/ The Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga movie is called A Star is Born (sorry everyone). Bradley Cooper on his faith and his father: https://aleteia.org/2021/06/04/covid-reveals-actor-bradley-coopers-devotion-to-his-mom/ Christian Smith, The Bible Made Impossible: https://www.amazon.com/Bible-Made-Impossible-Biblicism-Evangelical/dp/158743329X