The Theology Pugcast

The Pugs respond to a book review by Robert Bellah of Harold Bloom’s, The American Religion, from all the way back in 1992. Bloom contended that beneath the surface of an ostensible Christianity lurked an American version of Gnosticism. Bloom rejoiced, many people at the time objected, but has Bloom been proven right 30 years later? Tune in and find out what the Pugs have to say.Article: https://www.newoxfordreview.org/documents/book-review-the-looming-triumph-of-gnosticism/?shem=aimgspeLearn more about the Theology Pugcast and contact us: https://www.theologypugcast.com/Support the Theology Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8Learn more about First Pres. Battle Ground: https://www.solochristo.org/Connect with WileyCraft Productions: https://wileycraftproductions.com/

In this episode, the Pugs welcome back Dr. Natalie Atwell to discuss her new book, Humanity Under Siege. After more than twenty years as a licensed clinical mental health therapist, Dr. Atwell noticed that the cases were becoming stranger. This led her on a quest to figure out why, and she concluded that there was a spiritual dimension that counseling had largely ignored. She then worked on diagnostic tools that could determine whether “other influences” were causing mental health problems in patients. This book is the result. The Pugs have an engaging conversation with her about her work and a range of related topics surrounding the spiritual dimensions of mental health therapy.Order Humanity Under Siege: The Unseen Realm and the Spiritual War Against the Mind: https://a.co/d/06M3hOF3Support the Theology Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8Learn more about First Pres. Battle Ground: https://www.solochristo.org/Follow Glenn Sunshine on Substack: https://substack.com/@glennsunshineConnect with WileyCraft Productions: https://wileycraftproductions.com/

This week’s podcast looks at the important book by Tobias Rose-Stockwell: Outrage Machine: how tech amplifies discontent, disrupts democracy, and what we can do about it. The pugs engaged the book, recognizing that the author is correct to note how social media and contemporary technology serve as environments of spiritual and moral formation. But what is being formed is something that actually makes worse the passions, such as an anger, rather than fosters virtue. This is where classic Christian moral psychology and spiritual formation become key ingredients in a proper solution to the vice producing machine. The pugs also engage the question of how a concern for solidarity first prior to any concern for democracy is key to a Christian spiritual formation.Support the Theology Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8Learn more about First Pres. Battle Ground: https://www.solochristo.org/Follow Glenn Sunshine on Substack: https://substack.com/@glennsunshineConnect with WileyCraft Productions: https://wileycraftproductions.com/

In this episode, Glenn leads off the discussion by citing recent claims by scientists that we need to reduce global population by more than half by 2200 for the sake of the planet. The guys note the failed predictions of Paul Ehrlich’s 1968 book The Population Bomb that have led to disastrous things like China’s one child policy and constant calls for reducing population even as we’re facing a birth dearth. They also bring in other failed predictions of imminent ecological disaster and note the importance of human creativity in solving problems, such as reducing the rate of severe poverty despite dramatically increasing population since Ehrlich’s book.Support the Theology Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8Learn more about First Pres. Battle Ground: https://www.solochristo.org/Follow Glenn Sunshine on Substack: https://substack.com/@glennsunshineConnect with WileyCraft Productions: https://wileycraftproductions.com/

Today the Pugs reflect on an essay from Matthew B. Crawford’s Substack entitled, The Fate of Liberty in the American Experiment. One feature of the essay is a reflection on the understanding of virtue assumed by the American Founders, does it have more in common with the classical understanding or is it modern in character. If the latter, is the experiment doomed? If the former, is there any hope that we can recover it? Tune in and judge for yourself!Substack Article: https://mcrawford.substack.com/p/the-fate-of-liberty-in-the-american?r=1gxyb8&utm_campaign=post-expanded-share&utm_medium=webSupport the Theology Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8Learn more about First Pres. Battle Ground: https://www.solochristo.org/Follow Glenn Sunshine on Substack: https://substack.com/@glennsunshineConnect with WileyCraft Productions: https://wileycraftproductions.com/