How to Disagree Without Losing Your Mind (on the That’ll Preach Podcast)

I was recently invited onto the That’ll Preach Podcast to discuss ways to reform our discourse. Take a listen!

Why Democracy Needs Fairy Tales (Orthodoxy Series) That‘ll Preach

We’re back in Chesterton’s Orthodoxy looking at his take on how fairy tales inform our virtues and teach us about joy. Our modern craving for novelty reveals a weakness rather than a strength for God continues to do the same things over and over again, but finds joy in them. Children find joy in repetition because they do not lose their wonder for the world through cynicism. We also look at how democracy relies on tradition to give former generations a “vote” in how we live our lives. A failure to appreciate tradition disconnects us from the stabilizing forces of society.  Quotes from Orthodoxy "Tradition means giving votes to the most obscure of all classes, our ancestors. It is the democracy of the dead. Tradition refuses to submit to the small and arrogant oligarchy of those who merely happen to be walking about." "There is the great lesson of Beauty and the Beast; that a thing must be loved before it is loveable." "Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, "Do it again"; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, "Do it again" to the sun; and every evening, "Do it again" to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.” 
  1. Why Democracy Needs Fairy Tales (Orthodoxy Series)
  2. The Suicide of Thought (Orthodoxy Series)
  3. Should We Take the Bible Literally or Spiritually? with Ryan Hurd
  4. Was the Apostle Paul Abandoned by His Wife? with Dr. Matthew Colvin
  5. Divorce, Remarriage, and the Apostle Paul’s Wife with Dr. Matthew Colvin

The ‘Sin’ of Empathy? (with Hannah Anderson and Joe Rigney)

The moral character of empathy has recently been a subject of contentious online debate among Christians. Joe Rigney and Hannah Anderson, who have both engaged in these disputes with their different concerns, join me for an extended discussion of the question, hoping to clear up some misunderstandings on both sides, and to break some differences down to size.

Within the conversation we mention various articles and other material.

Joe Rigney
The Enticing Sin of Empathy
Dangerous Compassion
Do You Feel My Pain?
Man Rampant Interview

Abigail Dodds
The Beauty and Abuse of Empathy

Paul Bloom
The Case Against Empathy
Against Empathy

Edwin Friedman
A Failure of Nerve
My summary of A Failure of Nerve

Brené Brown
On Empathy
Daring Greatly
Shame and Empathy