What is behind political Left vs Right cultural divide in America? Why do some people become convinced by conspiracies? Why do some march in Black Lives Matter protests while others fly Blue Lives Matter flags in their yards? Have you ever visited a foreign country and been completely shocked at how different the cultural values and behaviors were? In this two-part miniseries, we'll explore how culture acts as software for our minds, shaping our perceptions of reality, and programming our values...
May 02, 2023•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 176
John Mark McMillan is a platinum-selling songwriter and artist from Charlotte, North Carolina. https://www.johnmarkmcmillan.com/ In today's episode, I continue exploring with John Mark many of the themes and questions surrounding the formative power of "hunter-hero" myths that I discussed in the previous episode with Dr. Chris Green. How do these cultural stories that center around violent heroes shape the way we (especially as men) look at God, the world, and our own sense of vocation? A full l...
Apr 18, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 175
John Mark McMillan is a platinum-selling songwriter and artist from Charlotte, North Carolina. https://www.johnmarkmcmillan.com/ In today's episode, I continue exploring with John Mark many of the themes and questions surrounding the formative power of "hunter-hero" myths that I discussed in the previous episode with Dr. Chris Green. How do these cultural stories that center around violent heroes shape the way we (especially as men) look at God, the world, and our own sense of vocation? A full l...
Apr 11, 2023•49 min•Ep. 174
Has the archetypal cowboy hero of the Western film corrupted American religion and infected generations of Christian men with toxic masculinity, or is the role of these formative stories and heroes more complicated? What should we make of the relationship between Jesus and John Wayne? Dr. Chris Green joins me today to help us wrestle with the complexity of these issues and the important ramifications of our culture's guiding stories on how we read the Bible, do politics, think about the role of ...
Mar 27, 2023•1 hr 38 min•Ep. 173
As we approach the end of Lent and move into what Christians often call "Holy Week", I wanted to offer a short theological reflection on the intended message of the hope of the Resurrection to the earliest Christians - a message that is often misunderstood today. This essay is featured on my Substack page. Subscribe for free at: https://paulanleitner.substack.com/ If you find this podcast helpful and want to see it continue ad-free, would you consider becoming a supporter on Patreon? You're not ...
Mar 21, 2023•12 min•Ep. 172
Dan Kent (author and pastor at Woodland Hills Church with Greg Boyd) invited me on to his podcast Surprising God to discuss my journey in and out of Open Theism and my work done on the problem of evil in Dis-Ordered: A Christian Journey Through the Problem of Evil & Suffering. You can find out more about Dan Kent's writing, sermons, and podcasts at : https://thatdankent.com/ You can purchase Dis-Ordered: A Christian Journey Through the Problem of Evil & Suffering at: https://www.amazon.c...
Mar 07, 2023•41 min•Ep. 171
This week's episode is part 2 of a collaboration with Makers & Mystics - a podcast hosted by Stephen Roach. In it, I participate with Stephen, Chicago pastor Ted Kim, and singer-songwriter John Mark McMillan in a roundtable discussion on "Art & The Urge For Transcendence." This is Part 2 of 2. Check out the fantastic Makers & Mystics podcast here: http://www.makersandmystics.com/ If you find this podcast helpful and want to see it continue ad-free, would you consider becoming a suppo...
Feb 28, 2023•27 min•Ep. 170
This is week's episode is part of a collaboration with Makers & Mystics - a podcast hosted by Stephen Roach. In it, I participate with Stephen, Chicago pastor Ted Kim, and singer-songwriter John Mark McMillan in a roundtable discussion on "Art & The Urge For Transcendence" This is Part 1 of 2.' Check out the fantastic Makers & Mystics podcast here: http://www.makersandmystics.com/ If you find this podcast helpful and want to see it continue ad-free, would you consider becoming a supp...
Feb 21, 2023•52 min•Ep. 169
Strahan is a writer, award-winning folk musician, and spiritual director from Aotearoa, New Zealand. He is the founder of Commoner's Communion and the author of Beholding: Deepening Our Experience with God. Make sure to listen to Part 1 of my conversation with Strahan before listening to this one. In today's episode, we discuss the need to move beyond consumeristic, transactional Christianity into a more healthy and less anxious view of God. Strahan offers his insights and wisdom on how to move ...
Feb 14, 2023•39 min•Ep. 168
Strahan is a writer, award-winning folk musician, and spiritual director from Aotearoa, New Zealand. He is the founder of Commoner's Communion and the author of Beholding: Deepening Our Experience with God. In today's episode, I begin to wrap up my series on "A Quest for Meaning as a Spiritual Species" by talking with Strahan about his spiritual journey as he struggled to make sense of God while in the depths of hyper-Charismatic culture. How did he recover from liturgies of anxiety and discover...
Feb 08, 2023•54 min•Ep. 167
This is part 4 of "A Quest for Meaning as a Spiritual Species" and the second segment of my conversation with Damien Walter. Damien Walter is an expert in modern myth, sci-fi, fantasy, and storytelling. Damien has written for the BBC, Wired, The Guardian, Independent, and a host of other publications. His podcast Science Fiction with Damien Walter has been in the top charts of Apple podcasts in the UK and he leads an online community of 18,000 members interested in science fiction, fantasy, mode...
Jan 31, 2023•47 min•Ep. 166
This is part 3 of "A Quest for Meaning as a Spiritual Species" Are Star Wars and Avengers the new religious myths of our culture? What role does story play in our quest for meaning? In today's episode, I'm joined by an expert in modern myth, sci-fi, fantasy, and storytelling, Damien Walter. Damien has written for the BBC, Wired, The Guardian, Independent, and a host of other publications. His podcast Science Fiction with Damien Walter has been in the top charts of Apple podcasts in the UK and he...
Jan 24, 2023•57 min•Ep. 165
I believe humans are fundamentally a spiritual species in search of meaning and that we’re in the beginning stages of a massive culture-wide rejection of the materialistic, nihilistic story. In this new series, I talk with experts in a variety of disciplines who share this conviction and want to work towards solutions even if they disagree with me or don't hold to all of my religious/theological convictions. This is part 2 of this series, and it continues my conversation with Dr. Clay Routledge ...
Jan 17, 2023•53 min•Ep. 164
I believe humans are fundamentally a spiritual species in search of meaning and that we’re in the beginning stages of a massive culture-wide rejection of the materialistic, nihilistic story. In this new series, I talk with experts in a variety of disciplines who share this conviction and want to work towards solutions even if they disagree with me or don't hold to all of my religious/theological convictions. Dr. Clay Routledge is a leading expert in existential psychology. He is a highly cited s...
Jan 10, 2023•58 min•Ep. 163
Today’s episode is part 2 of my conversation with two Gen Z Youtubers who had read my new book and brought me on to their channels for a discussion about how the problem of evil and suffering uniquely affects their generation’s willingness to trust the Christian story. In today’s episode, we focus more on the challenge for Gen Z folks who are interested in the Christian story but struggle with the moral evils they see happening in Christian communities. Special thanks to the two excellent interv...
Jan 02, 2023•34 min•Ep. 162
In today’s episode, I sit down with a couple of Gen Z YouTubers who read my book Dis-Ordered: A Christian Journey Through the Problem of Evil & Suffering and wanted to discuss aspects of the problem of evil & suffering that feel relevant to their generation. It was a fascinating opportunity to talk about the shape of faith and the meaning crisis for Gen Z - a generation that, by their own admission, is surrounded by material abundance and yet feels a deep sense of existential dread and n...
Dec 28, 2022•58 min•Ep. 161
Patrick Miller is the co-author of Truth Over Tribe: Pledging Allegiance to the Lamb, Not the Donkey or the Elephant , and in today's episode we discuss some of the scientific and social factors that are contributing to the intense tribal polarization in America. How does the Culture War make Truth a casualty? How might Christians learn from our past mistakes and offer a better way forward? How can we navigate politically charged conversations with friends, family, and neighbors more effectively...
Oct 18, 2022•1 hr 31 min•Ep. 160
The moral psychologist Jonathan Haidt proposed in his book The Righteous Mind that humans are "90% chimpanzee and 10% bee." According to Haidt, humans have a "hive switch" that, given the right circumstances, can be switched on and move us from self-centered concerns to a euphoric sense of being connected to some larger whole. Exploring Haidt's work and the proposal of Emile Durkheim that there's an evolutionary mechanism that psychological moves us from "the realm of the profane" to the "realm ...
Oct 05, 2022•38 min•Ep. 159
Last week my debut book Dis-Ordered: A Christian Journey Through the Problem of Evil & Suffering was released, and I wanted to share a couple of excerpts from the book, including a personal story of one of my earliest recollections of a moment when I asked, "where are you, God?" This question, and a host of other questions that we often uncover as we grapple with that one, can often lead those who have suffered to abandon their trust in the Christian story and push them to leave Christian co...
Sep 13, 2022•33 min•Ep. 158
Hey everyone, this week it's the launch of my brand new book Dis-Ordered: A Christian Journey Through the Problem of Evil & Suffering , and because of all the wonderful activity I'm immersed in with the launch of this book, I thought it might be nice to just go back into the archives and pull out an important conversation from the past with Dr. John Walton. You can purchase my new book here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BBYBWWXR For those who see the Bible as inspired and authoritative, are w...
Sep 05, 2022•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 157
Paul Risse is a former psychonaut turned follower of Jesus. He writes about his journey in a new book entitled The Psychedelic Christian . You can order his book here: https://tinyurl.com/3essfdcb You can listen to my first interview with Paul Risse where he shares a more extended version of his upbringing and personal story here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-58-reconstruction-stories-the-psychedelic/id1401730159?i=1000472744039 ___________ You can pre-order my new book (release Sept...
Aug 30, 2022•1 hr 32 min•Ep. 156
In this mini-episode, I wanted to discuss Daniel Dennett's theory of what we could call an "evolutionary tournament of the gods" & Jonathan Haidt's work in The Righteous Mind on the positive social value of religion. In the waning years of our Secular Age, "the Universe" has become a popular euphemism for a sort of mindless "god" that is metaphysically necessary but is indifferent and capricious. Does this Secular God defeat Christian conceptions of God and lead humanity to a utopia of pure ...
Aug 23, 2022•7 min•Ep. 155
Author & journalist Bonnie Kristian (Master in Christian Thought, Bethel Seminary) believes that there is a knowledge crisis breaking our brains, polluting our politics, and corrupting Christian communities. What is different now about conspiracy culture, the media, and even church life that makes it feel like we don't know who or what to trust? Bonnie Kristian is the acting editor-in-chief at The Week . She also writes for Christianity Today and Reason Magazine and has been published in USA...
Aug 16, 2022•1 hr 30 min•Ep. 154
Because I've been so pre-occupied with writing my new book, I haven't been able to produced regular episodes this summer; but what I wanted to do is to make available to all of you a special bonus Q & A Episode that I normally would just share with supporters on Patreon. A member of our group, Mike, asked a great question about why we tend to focus so much on individualistic salvation and the "after-life" when it doesn't seem like Jesus gave much attention to it. Are we overly individualisti...
Jul 27, 2022•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 153
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, evo...
May 17, 2022•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 152
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: htt...
May 03, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 151
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 ...
Apr 25, 2022•1 hr 15 min•Ep. 150
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...
Apr 19, 2022•37 min•Ep. 149
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 ...
Apr 12, 2022•45 min•Ep. 148
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 Ma...
Mar 23, 2022•1 hr 26 min•Ep. 147
