Soapbox Redemption Podcast

Last updated on: August 16, 2019 at 4:34 pm By Andrew

After having some very cool conversations with other authors, philosophers, and theologians, I’ve decided to timestamp these conversations and launch the Soapbox Redemption podcast. The vibe of the podcast will follow that of my blog; the big questions, served with swagger. Topics will include philosophy, religion, science, well-being, and culture. I’ve already snagged some very cool guests in my friend and coauthor Adam Lee (from the Patheos Nonreligious channel), James McGrath (another Patheos Progressive Christian) Massimo Pigliucci (philosopher and author), and... Read more

Thoreau, Holmes, and Wallace on Truly Living

Last updated on: June 29, 2019 at 3:23 pm By Andrew

“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” It’s a moving line, allegedly by Thoreau (pictured left), but it’s actually misquoted. Though the first and second parts of the quote are similar in nature, the misquotation may very well be a blending of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden and Oliver Wendell Holmes “The Voiceless”. The first part is definitely from Thoreau’s Walden: “The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What... Read more

Williamson on Our Deepest Fear

Last updated on: May 5, 2019 at 7:54 pm By Andrew

I remember hearing a shortened version of this beautiful poem from a moving scene in the movie Coach Carter. The full version is actually taken from author, speaker, and activist Marianne Williamson’s (who’s also running as a 2020 Democratic nominee for Presidency) poem “Our Deepest Fear” from her book Return to Love. Incredibly moving words that ring close to one of my favorite verses, Matthew 5:14-16: You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be... Read more

Religion Professor Podcast with James McGrath

Last updated on: March 16, 2019 at 10:31 am By Andrew

Adam and I had a very fun discussion on James McGrath’s ReligionProf Podcast. We had the privilege of meeting James at our exchange at Butler University, where he is a Religion Professor. Many of you know also know James as he’s a fellow Patheos Progressive blogger. It’s been a real privilege to have been able to meet James, not to mention collaborate with fellow Patheos bloggers in person (James @ Religion Prof, Adam @ Daylight Atheism), along with continuing the... Read more

Humanism: Past, Present, and Future

Last updated on: November 25, 2018 at 9:44 pm By Andrew

Earlier this year I wrote about MLK Jr on a Christian humanism which inspired me to do this follow up post on the past, present, and future of humanism. MLK Jr’s call, in “Letters from a Birmingham Jail”, was to the Church, but specifically church leadership, in turning a blind eye to racial segregation and failing to take non-violent action. It was his view that this was the ultimate failure of actualizing the call of the Teacher; that a Christianity without a... Read more

Indianapolis Book Tour with Adam Lee

Last updated on: October 24, 2018 at 9:55 pm By Andrew

The Meta tour continues! Adam and I are back it with another double header in my hometown. We’re up first at Butler University on Thursday at 7pm. Our discussion, “A Christian Humanist, a Secular Humanist, and a Theologian: On God, the Big Questions, and Ending Human Trafficking”, will be moderated by Dr. Charles Allen, theologian, Episcopal priest, and chaplain of Grace Unlimited, the Episcopal/Lutheran Campus Ministry at Butler. On Friday, we’re at Crosspoint Church in Fishers at 7pm. Our discussion,... Read more

Rollins on Participation

Last updated on: August 6, 2018 at 8:04 pm By Andrew

Another one from Rollins on the idea of belief as subjective “participation”. The question of “Does God exist?” is frequently debated in philosophical form, abstract and impersonal, on how it is more/less logical to posit God as the source of existence. For Christianity, though, this ultimately misses the mark. “However, from a Christological perspective, the question itself, which everyone seems to take for granted, now comes to signify something else entirely. Instead of the words, Do you believe in God? meaning... Read more

Douglass on Exposing Slavery

Last updated on: July 15, 2018 at 5:39 pm By Andrew

A powerful sentiment from Frederick Douglass on “exposing slavery”, even the more salient coming from an autobiographical vantage point. I feel at liberty to speak on this subject. I have on my back the marks of the lash; I have four sisters and one brother now under the galling chain. I feel it my duty to cry aloud and spare not. I am not averse to having the good opinion of my fellow-creatures. I am not averse to being kindly regarded... Read more

Newberg on the Neuroscience of Spirituality

Last updated on: July 5, 2018 at 3:17 pm By Andrew

Andrew Newberg, Eugene D’Aquili, and Vince Rause’s book Why God Won’t Go Away is outstanding. Their research on the neuroscience of spirituality is fascinating. As the title of the book suggests, the neurological manifest of spiritual and mystical experiences are undeniable. Whether or not there is an actual ontological source, we all subjectively/epistemologically have these transcendent experiences at the level of the brain. Imaging studies of the brain during these experiences (prayer, mediation, etc.) – the actual physiological manifest is aptly... Read more

On Metaphysical Necessity

Last updated on: June 8, 2018 at 4:05 pm By Andrew

The to timeless question “Why is There Something Rather Than Nothing?”, one of the hallmarks of classical theism in the various expressions of the cosmological argument is the concept of metaphysical necessity, to Aristotle’s logic that there must be a First Cause (an UnMoved Mover or Uncaused Cause), or else nothing would exist. Expressed in a variety of different ways by Aristotle, Aquinas, and Leibniz, with the problem of change, principle of causality, and principle of sufficient reason applied to existence itself, the focus is... Read more

What is the Jewish festival celebrating the giving of the Law at Sinai?