The Theology Pugcast

Today Chris interviews another speaker from The Traditional Fatherhood Intensive--Nathan Spearing, retired Army Ranger and host of The Life on Target Podcast. Nate shares briefly on a theology of violence, as well as on how to become more dangerous. If you'd like to hear more, sign up for the Traditional Fatherhood Intensive which will be May 5-6 in Vancouver, Washington. Here's a link to the Eventbright page: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/traditional-fatherhood-intensive-purpose-provision-protection-tickets-559053583317?aff=ebdshpsearchautocomplete And here's a link to The Life on Target Podcast: https://www.spearing.co/content_type/podcasts/life-on-target

The Pugsters welcome apologist and philosopher Doug Groothuis to the show this week to talk about neither apologetics nor philosophy but music. Doug is a jazz fan who has published articles and concert reviews for “All About Jazz.” We talk about the elements that make jazz what it is, jazz performers and standards, and how jazz points to an approach to other activities beside music, including Pugcasts and teaching. Find more from Doug: https://www.douglasgroothuis.com/ https://www.lifeaudio.com/truth-tribe-with-douglas-groothuis/ https://www.allaboutjazz.com/articles-by-douglas-groothuis Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8 Order Jason Cherry’s The Making of Evangelical Spirituality: https://a.co/d/5LdNXiu

In this brief bonus show C. R. Wiley interviews Rory Groves, author of Durable Trades, about what he will be speaking about at The Traditional Fatherhood Intensive. TFI is a two-day conference being held in Vancouver, Washington, May 5-6, 2023 and will feature C. R. Wiley, Rory Groves, and Nate Spearing. To learn more and to register simply follow this link-- https://www.eventbrite.com/e/traditional-fatherhood-intensive-purpose-provision-protection-tickets-559053583317?aff=ebdshpsearchautocomplete BTW, he's a link to Rory's book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Durable-Trades-Family-Centered-Economies-Stood/dp/1725274140/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=rory+groves+durable+trades&qid=1678921876&sprefix=rory+gr%2Caps%2C157&sr=8-1

Today the Pugs reflect on a remarkable essay by Jon Haidt in which he correlates the mental health of young people since 2013 and their sex and political outlook. The mental health of all young people has been getting worse, but it is worst for liberal girls and it is best for conservative boys. Why 2013? And why does sex and political outlook make a difference? These are the questions that the Pugs ponder. Please join us for the conversation. Here's a link to the article if you'd like to read it yourself: https://www.thefp.com/p/why-the-mental-health-of-liberal Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8 Order Jason Cherry’s The Making of Evangelical Spirituality: https://a.co/d/5LdNXiu

Today's show looks at Jacques Ellul's 'Those whom God wishes to destroy He first Makes Mad' from his book The Betrayal of the West. Tom introduces the topic by looking at how civilizational self-contempt became a defining orientation of Western cultures once it took a nihilistic and idolatrous turn from the Christian vision. Once culture lost its ground and aims in true transcendence the meaning and purpose at the heart of things was eclipsed and everything become seen as limiting and oppressing the only cultural value left: absolute autonomy. The guys join the discussion with fascinating insights into how irrationality and madness now largely define the times. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8 Order Jason Cherry’s The Making of Evangelical Spirituality: https://a.co/d/5LdNXiu

The Man Who Was Thursday is considered by many critics to be G.K. Chesterton’s masterpiece. Published in 1908, it has never gone out of print. It’s simultaneously a comedy, a mystery, a philosophical action-thriller, a spoof on anarchism and German philosophy, and a serial romp from the real into the surreal and back. The guys talk about the book, its themes, and its relevance for today. Spoiler alert: you can’t deal with the book without giving away some of the plot, but hopefully not too much. And even with the spoilers, the book has a lot more going on than just the plotline. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8 Order Jason Cherry’s The Making of Evangelical Spirituality: https://a.co/d/5LdNXiu

Today the Pugsters take up the notorious Klaus Schawb's prediction for an ideal future: "You will own nothing and you will be happy." Just what sort of human being would you need to be in order for this to be appealing, or even make sense. Chris proposes--you would need to be a plastic pleasure monkey. But is that so? Or are there other truer ways to think about human beings? If so, what are they? On today's show the guys turn to Christian metaphysics, Aristotle, and the US Declaration of Independence to find out! Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8 Order Jason Cherry’s The Making of Evangelical Spirituality: https://a.co/d/5LdNXiu

This week’s show engages one dimension of our current identity crisis in the West by attending the increasing loss of our ability to discern, define, and acknowledge the distinction between created natures and purposes and the artificial and constructed. Tom, Chris and Glenn unpack the topic by looking at the history of this loss and some of its core ingredients: theological and philosophical errors about divinity, creation, humanity and the increased use of scientific technique in bending nature to our will and wishes. In looking at the character and consequences of this shift in Western thought and culture, the guys discuss some of the rich analysis of Oliver O’Donovan in his classic work: Begotten or Made? and Mathias Desmit’s work: The Psychology of Totalitarianism. Order Begotten of Made? from the Davenant Institute: https://davenantinstitute.org/begotten-or-made Order The Psychology of Totalitarianism: https://a.co/d/5m2mK54 Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8 Order Jason Cherry’s The Making of Evangelical Spirituality: https://a.co/d/5LdNXiu

This week’s Pugcast has another special guest. While Glenn is still away, Tom and Chris are joined by Labin Duke, the Executive Director of the Blake Center for Faith and Freedom of Hillsdale College in Somers, Connecticut. Labin introduces our audience to the fascinating history, mission, and vision of the Center. Extending the reach of the Hillsdale vision of faith and freedom into the spiritual and political barrenness of New England is bold yet opportune. The gentleman unpack the challenges as well as opportunities of such a venture as Mr. Duke further gives details about the upcoming programs offered by the Center. You’ll not want to miss this rich interview. Learn more about the Blake Center at https://blakecenter.hillsdale.edu/ Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8 Like The Theology Pugcast? Check out another show sponsored by Trinity Reformed Church in Huntsville AL: ‘Got a Minute?’ Theology, Philosophy, Economics, Politics (and more) for normal people. Featuring Rich Lusk, Larson Hicks, and the occasional special guest! https://open.spotify.com/show/4fswVZmNEfSXA1JLZzgPhj

On today’s show Chris and Tom host the show without Glenn, but they are joined by Michael Warren Davis, author of the entertaining and informative book, The Reactionary Mind. Mike helps the pugs understand the differences between conservatives and reactionaries, and why genuine conservatives are actually the latter. Along the way the conversation ambles from Savonarola (a good guy) to Nom Chomsky (a very bad one). Tune in and see why you might actually be a reactionary and why that’s a good thing. Find Michael at https://commonman.substack.com/ Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8 Like The Theology Pugcast? Check out another show sponsored by Trinity Reformed Church in Huntsville AL: ‘Got a Minute?’ Theology, Philosophy, Economics, Politics (and more) for normal people. Featuring Rich Lusk, Larson Hicks, and the occasional special guest! https://open.spotify.com/show/4fswVZmNEfSXA1JLZzgPhj

Few people today know about the remarkable career of Sabine Baring Gould. Anglican priest, father of fifteen, archaeologist, anthropologist, author of novels, short stories, hymns, biographies, and travelogues, amateur painter and ironworker, translator, preserver of folk music, the list goes on and on. Tony Esolen commented that he could only have lived in the nineteenth century. Using Baring Gould’s life as a starting point, the guys discuss Tony’s comment, examining why the nineteenth century produced such a wide-ranging genius, where we might find them today, and what we can do to begin recovering similar capacities today. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8 Like The Theology Pugcast? Check out another show sponsored by Trinity Reformed Church in Huntsville AL: ‘Got a Minute?’ Theology, Philosophy, Economics, Politics (and more) for normal people. Featuring Rich Lusk, Larson Hicks, and the occasional special guest! https://open.spotify.com/show/4fswVZmNEfSXA1JLZzgPhj

Listen in for a quick Q&A following yesterday’s episode: The New Asceticism Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8 Like The Theology Pugcast? Check out another show sponsored by Trinity Reformed Church in Huntsville AL: ‘Got a Minute?’ Theology, Philosophy, Economics, Politics (and more) for normal people. Featuring Rich Lusk, Larson Hicks, and the occasional special guest! https://open.spotify.com/show/4fswVZmNEfSXA1JLZzgPhj

In some pockets of the Protestant world ‘asceticism’ is a dirty word. It brings works righteousness and unbiblical acts of self-abuse to mind. But is that the whole story? Jesus said, ‘When you fast’ not ‘If you fast.’ In other words, it’s expected, and there’s a right way to do it. So, perhaps it comes as a surprise that self-denial is actually growing in popularity, and it’s doing so outside the church. Why is it happening, and what should we think about it. Tune in for the conversation! Article by Matthew Crawford: https://unherd.com/2022/12/the-politics-of-masturbation/ Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8 Like The Theology Pugcast? Check out another show sponsored by Trinity Reformed Church in Huntsville AL: ‘Got a Minute?’ Theology, Philosophy, Economics, Politics (and more) for normal people. Featuring Rich Lusk, Larson Hicks, and the occasional special guest! https://open.spotify.com/show/4fswVZmNEfSXA1JLZzgPhj

Today the Pugcast welcomes the versatile artist Jack Baumgartner. Jack is a farmer living with his wife and six children outside of Wichita, Kansas. Jack is a musician (the banjo you hear on this episode is Jack), a painter, printmaker, woodworker, furniture maker, and puppeteer. He’s also a thoughtful Christian whose faith is reflected in all of his work. Chris has collected Jack’s work for years. By the end of the show you’ll probably want to too. Find Jack at https://baumwerkshop.com/, https://theschoolofthetransferofenergy.com/, and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/baumwerkj/ Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

On today’s show Tom introduces the topic of atheism and its various types. Drawing from John Gray’s book: Seven Types of Atheism, the conversation unpacks and engages each type mentioned by Gray. Noting how not all atheisms are the same, the guys critically interact with each, showing the various kinds of challenges each bring to the cultural context. The result is a rich conversation around unbelief and it’s weaker and more challenging forms which require a more substantive theological critique. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

In this episode, the guys discuss mythology and its significance for Tolkien. Glenn presents several theories about myths and their roles in cultures as a doorway into understanding Tolkien’s goal of creating a mythology for England. In the process, the guys explore some of our current cultural mythologies and the lessons and deeper meaning of myth in general and Tolkien in particular. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

Today Chris responds to the truism attributed to Francis Bacon, "Knowledge is power." The question he raises is, "If that is all there is to it, what does that imply--that forms of knowledge that don't lead to power are worthless, do they fail the test of knowledge then?" Chris warns, this is the road to totalitarianism. It isn't a fast road, necessarily--but it certainly gets you there eventually. Tune in to see what the Pugsters have to say about why the old truism isn't entirely true. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

Christmas is around the corner and the guys reflect on the Incarnation and some of its implications. Reflecting upon Luke 2:8-20, Shepherds and Angels, Tom introduces the topic of what is implied by the heavens being open upon the Incarnation. The guys take the topic in many fascinating directions, including the issue of joy and beatitude, and music in light of Christ. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

As suggested by a Grumbler on Facebook, the Pugsters discuss C.S. Lewis’s ideas on the Tao from The Abolition of Man. For Lewis, the Tao is a kind of natural law that is the foundation for human knowledge, ethics, etc. The guys tease out some of the implications of the idea of the Tao in the Abolition of Man as well as pursuing some of their own thoughts on the topic. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

Today the Pugcast welcomes Dr. Hans Boersma, author of Heavenly Participation and many other edifying books onto the show. In this episode Dr. Boersma reflects on a talk he gave recently at the Touchstone Conference in Chicago. In the talk he up-ended many misconceptions concerning hierarchy in the Christian understanding of God and his creation. He does this by reflecting on the work of the man who coined the term, "hierarchy"--Dionysius the Areopagite. Tune in and have your thinking turned upside down! Find Dr. Boersma’s work: https://www.hansboersma.org/ Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

This week’s Pugcast presents a rich conversation with Dr. Michael Hanby, Associate Professor of Religion and Philosophy of Science at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family at the Catholic University of America. Dr. Hanby has been at the forefront of cultural analysis with works critically engaging modern science and sociology, unmasking their problematic theological and philosophical underpinnings, unpacking the cultural havoc such underpinnings have resulted in. In view of his recent talk at the Touchstone Conference, The Politics of Nothingness, where Dr. Hanby digs deeply into the flood of causes which have led to the present crises in our culture, the Pugsters have a deep conversation with Dr. Hanby, especially about the important work of Augusto Del Noce on the Problem of Atheism. This conversation is a real treat! Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

What happened to fertility around the world? The numbers have dropped dramatically. Once we talked about the "Population Bomb.” Now people talk about the "Birth Dearth.” It seems counterintuitive that we have fewer kids the more we can afford them. Kevin DeYoung recently discussed the Case for Kids in an important essay published in First Things in the November 2022 issue. The Pugsters talk to Kevin about this important subject and why he thinks that it is a spiritual malaise that is at the root of it. Connect with Kevin’s work at https://kevindeyoung.org/ Support the Theology Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

Today on the Pugcast Glenn and Chris interview Dr. John West of the Discovery Institute of Seattle, Washington. Glenn and Chris had the privilege of speaking alongside Dr. West at the Slaying Leviathan conference sponsored by Evangelical Reformed Church in Tacoma. The interview covers a wide range of topics including: intelligent design, Darwinism and its weaknesses, and why there is a drift in Christian higher education into liberalism. Enjoy! Find more about the Discovery Institute at https://www.discovery.org/ Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

Today the Pugcast is joined by Brad Littlejohn and Steven Wedgeworth of The Davenant Institute to discuss a new book entitled, Protestant Social Teaching. The Pugsters have long admired the work of the Davenant Institute and are impressed with their new book. Please join us as we think about social issues in light of the Christian faith and the contributions Protestants have made to the teachings of the Church. Learn more about The Davenant Institute: https://davenantinstitute.org/ Order Protestant Social Teaching: https://davenantinstitute.org/protestant-social-teaching Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

Mere Christianity might be the most important work of apologetics in the last 100 years or more. Copies sold are in the millions. But it is not only a popular success, it is a profoundly insightful and deep work--C. S. Lewis understood the Christian faith better than any other writer in living memory, with the possible exception of G. K. Chesterton. Today the Pugsters reflect on the riches of Lewis's greatest apologetic work. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

Listen in for a quick question and answer session following yesterday's episode: The Elites vs. Humanity. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

On today’s ‘live’ episode Tom unpacks insights from John Rist's book: What is a Person? After noting the rich conception of the human person which arose out of classical realist and Christian theological sources, which supplied a robust view of the unique gift and dignity of each human made in the image of God, called by the Gospel to eternal communion with God, Rist then notes the rise of philosophical and political elites who rejected the transcendent vision of Christianity, and embraced philosophies which undercut the personhood of human beings, to the point that apart from themselves, elites began to promote visions which saw the bulk of human beings as inferiors and dependent on their lies for their own safety and survival. Glenn and Chris bring into the discussion many fascinating insights, and all three recognize the elitist agenda continues today, often out in the open. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

Since we’re getting close to Halloween, Glenn brings the topic of witchcraft to the table today. The guys begin by discussing historic ideas of witchcraft and the witch trials of Renaissance and early modern period. Note that some of these beliefs get us into PG-13 territory. The Pugsters then turn to witchcraft in the modern world, discussing Wicca and witchcraft around the world as well as the growing belief in the supernatural among college students. Although the kinds of witches described in witch hunting manuals only existed in the minds of the people of the day, the guys agree that demonic manifestations are very real even if only obvious in some parts of the world today. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

Dirty Harry is one of Clint Eastwood's best known films. It is also violent, full of profanity, and sprinkled with gratuitous nudity. How could anyone possibly mistake it for a Christian film? Today Chris makes a case for just that--he's not saying you should watch it as a family--or even that you should watch it. He makes the argument instead that it is a film that only makes sense within a Christian worldview--within a Christian framework of meaning. It is filled with subtle allusions to Christ--but the Jesus hinted at in Dirty Harry is not meek or mild. He's angry--and for good reason. Today's episode was inspired by an essay published in Law and Liberty by Titus Techera--you can find it here: https://lawliberty.org/dirty-harrys-justice/ Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

Today the Pugcast welcomes French Reformed theologian Yannick Imbert onto the show! Yannick is the author of a new book on J. R. R. Tolkien, "From Imagination to Faerie: Tolkien's Thomist Fantasy". The book is a scholarly treatment of Tolkien's theological outlook and how it shaped Tolkien's understanding of language, myth and imagination. The Pugsters focus in primarily on Tolkien's views on language and how those conflict with contemporary understandings which are largely based on a set of assumptions informed by materialism. Enjoy! Purchase From Imagination to Faerie: Tolkien's Thomist Fantasy on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Imagination-Faerie-Tolkiens-Thomist-Fantasy/dp/1666710458 Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

Today the Pugcast is joined by Ken Myers, the man behind Mars Hill Audio. Mars Hill Audio was founded by Ken in 1993 after working for National Public Radio and serving as editor of Eternity Magazine. Among conservative Christian intellectuals Mars Hill Audio is an important resource for keeping up with the intersection of Christian thought and cultural trends in the western world. Ken is a long time friend of Chris, but all the Pugsters are big supporters of Ken's work. By the time the interview is over you'll probably want to download the Mars Hill Audio app to your phone. Unfortunately there were some technical glitches during the recording of the interview--but we think this is a pretty great episode nonetheless. We hope you enjoy it! Visit https://marshillaudio.org/ to find Ken’s work with Mars Hill Audio. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

On today’s show Tom unpacks insights from Rhys Laverty's article: A Theory of Everything: Christology as a Hope for Evangelical Metaphysical Revival. The guys delve into fascinating topics of how the early theologians of the Church redefined the philosophical as they put its tools and insights into the service of unpacking the Biblical doctrines of Trinity and Christology. The guys look into the question of how Christology in particular gave a set of categories which can help us today in clarifying the biblical understanding of human nature and ethics by supplying it with resources to spell out these core claims in fuller and richer ways, helping us engage the philosophical and metaphysical claims of today's pagan alternatives with a robust Christian vision of completeness in Christ. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

Today’s show returns to the subject of the disenchantment and reenchantment of the world. The Pugsters discuss an article arguing that technology in the form of the bots and algorithms that control so much of online life function today much like the angels and demons of the premodern world, with the tech gurus who are behind it all functioning like priest-kings with data analysts as their prophets. A lively conversation around techno-paganism, techno-gnosticism, and the implications of online life in general follows. Article: https://thesymbolicworld.com/articles/technology-and-the-return-of-the-old-gods/ Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

There is something new under the sun—totalitarianism. Often confused with authoritarianism or tyranny, totalitarianism is a modern phenomenon, only possible in modernity. It is also uniquely deadly in its implications. So, what is it about modernity that makes totalitarianism feasible, and what makes it different from earlier forms of political oppression? The pugsters explore the modern character of totalitarianism on today’s Pugcast. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

Today the Pugcast welcomes Dr. David Deavel on to the show to discuss G. K. Chesterton in all of his enormity. Perhaps best known among evangelicals for his book Orthodoxy, Chesterton also wrote detective fiction about a priest named, Father Brown, as well as longer works of fiction such as the remarkable, The Man Who Was Thursday, biographies about Francis of Assisi and Thomas Aquinas. He’s also known for a “Third Way” economic theory known as Distributism. Today’s show ranges over all the large legacy of this larger than life man. Enjoy! Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

On today’s show Tom unpacks Hans Boersma’s short article: Viral Submission: on the Emerging Totalitarianism of the New Biopolitics. The guys define and engage biopolitics and how the recent pandemic exposed how it’s encroachment into the sacred territories of our life, health, work, and community relationships are becoming claimed by governing and global political agendas at fundamental odds with true human flourishing and our higher spiritual ends. Article (Available to Touchstone Subscribers) : https://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=35-03-021-v Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8 Register for the Welcome to Negative World conference: https://www.negworldconference.com/ Our recording platform has been dealing with some bugs lately, so please excuse the bit of glitchiness at points.

Today’s Pugcast walks through a blog post by Jason Ananda Josephson Storm, an important secular philosopher who, among other things, is engaged in a systematic critique of Postmodernism and where things should go from there. This post deals with Zuckerberg’s Metaverse and assesses it from the perspective of 1990s Cyberpunk, where the term originated. Hint: Cyberpunk always presented a dystopian vision of the future; Zuck and others missed the point and have turned it utopian. The Pugsters walk through the blog post and riff on ideas of cultural despair, escapism, consumerism vs. capitalism, and transhumanism, among other things. Article: https://absolute-disruption.com/2021/11/04/hack-the-metaverse/ Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

In today's show the Pugs discuss a recent article in First Things by Joshua Mitchell, By the Sweat of Our Brow. It's a free ranging, yet profound treatment of the erosion of competence in daily life, among other things. Mitchell makes the argument that citizenship requires "mediating institutions" (families, small businesses, churches, neighborhoods, and the like), because without them people lack the environments in which their actions have any meaningful difference in the world. And it is only when our actions matter that we learn competence. And competence is necessary for citizenship. Article: https://www.firstthings.com/article/2022/08/by-the-sweat-of-our-brow?fbclid=IwAR3xPk1N9oE9KgRnH3aVgZ4G2Els149nFpJfS9MQ7nGDM-gFmpYyFvMpH8A Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

Join us for a mini-episode of the Pugcast in which Chris talks to James Wood about the talks he will be delivering in September at the Welcome to Negative World Conference, September 9-10 in Battle Ground, Washington! To learn more about the conference: https://www.negworldconference.com/

On today’s show Tom brings into discussion themes from Robert Geraci’s book: Apocalyptic AI: Visions of Heaven in Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and Virtual Reality. The conversation focuses on ways in which the Western Christian Apocalyptic emphasis gets changed and rethought by several key figures in the Robotics and AI research fields and promoted as a new form of salvation and immortality. Glenn and Chris add a wellspring of insight and drive the topic into fascinating places. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

That’s the provocative title of a series of articles that the guys discuss today. Belief in nature spirits was universal around the world, including among the church fathers and Christian theologians, until the 17th century, when Enlightenment rationalism consigned them to the realm of superstition. Even today, though, there are people who talk about encountering them. So what are we to make of this? Is it possible that God created intelligent beings invisible to us in most circumstances but part of the natural world? The Pugsters discuss the possibilities suggested in the articles. Articles Referenced: https://classicalu.com/why-everyone-should-believe-in-fairies/ https://classicalu.com/why-everyone-should-believe-in-fairies-part-two/ https://classicalu.com/why-everyone-should-believe-in-fairies-part-three/ https://classicalu.com/why-everyone-should-believe-in-fairies-part-four/ Support the show on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8 Register for the Welcome to Negative World Conference: https://www.negworldconference.com/

Join us for a mini-episode of the Pugcast in which Chris talks to Joe Rigney about the talks he will be delivering in September at the Welcome to Negative World Conference, September 9-10 in Battle Ground, Washington! To learn more about the conference: www.negworldconference.com To learn more about Bethlehem College and Seminary: https://bcsmn.edu/

On today’s show Chris guides a conversation on the nature of justice and its relationship to the given order of nature. For many intellectuals “justice” is an ideal that is imposed on society. Innate differences between people should be either compensated for, denied, or surgically removed. But is this really just? Perhaps the differences we see between individuals, or the sexes, are actually givens to be received with gladness and were intended to enrich our lives by making us mutually dependent on each other. Join the Pugcast as the guys discuss the limits of justice and the gifts of creation. Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8 Register for the Welcome To Negative World Conference: https://www.negworldconference.com/

Join us for a mini-episode of the Pugcast in which Chris talks to Aaron Renn about the talks he will be delivering in September at the Welcome to Negative World Conference, September 9-10 in Battle Ground, Washington! To learn more, follow this link: www.negworldconference.com

The trials and triumphs of Christian life as pilgrims in the world but not of the world. Tom introduces the topic by way of David Elliot’s article: Passing through the Sirens, the Trials of the Christian Wayfarer in the World. The conversation discusses the various biblical senses of ‘world’ and engages the biblical call to live a life resisting and renouncing the fallen world and its lingering impact while journeying deeper into the joy of Christ in Union with God. Chris and Glenn enrich the conversation, especially noting many of ways in which the contemporary church embraces much of the fallen world to its detriment. Article Referenced:https://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=25-04-034-f&readcode=&readtherest=true&fbclid=IwAR2Jc9XELqbBzsCCNlZSZkHkEPZs3ACvSdiCS-DrCvBR7QrgCdWLCHLLlUA#therest Support the Pugcast on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thetheologypugcast?fbclid=IwAR17UHhfzjphO52C_kkZfursA_C784t0ldFix0wyB4fd-YOJpmOQ3dyqGf8

Listen in for a quick question and answer session following yesterday's episode: The Most Reluctant Convert.

This week, the Pug has a special guest, Max McLean, the founder of the Fellowship for the Performing Arts. Max has brought to the stage “The Screwtape Letters,” “The Great Divorce,” and “The Most Reluctant Convert,” the story of C.S. Lewis’s conversion; most recently staring in a film adaptation of the last of these. For the first half hour of the show the pugsters spoke with Max about his work and C.S. Lewis, but continued the conversation after Max left for another interview.

We wouldn’t have Christianity without miracles, and one miracle in particular—the resurrection and ascension of Jesus of Nazareth. Odd then, isn’t it, that not so long ago, there were some people who said that we could? C. S. Lewis knew that was nonsense, and he set out in his great book, “Miracles,” to set down a case for miracles in general, and specifically, the miracles that gave us Christianity. Join the Pugcast in this episode as they discuss C. S. Lewis and Miracles.

In this episode, the Pugsters look at the idea of courtesy and manners through the lens of medieval courtesy books. These were instructions to children on how to behave derived from chivalry and from instructions to novices in monasteries. Their goal was to inculcate virtue in children before they had a chance to develop vices. The guys discuss how manners reflect how we think about other people and note that William Wilberforce’s decades-long campaign to abolish the slave trade in England was accompanied by a “reformation of manners” to change how people thought about each other as a necessary preliminary to abolition. The need to recover courtesy in our day is obvious, especially given online interactions. Article Referenced: https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2021/08/time-return-medieval-courtesy-books-john-horvat.html?fbclid=IwAR0WKjJ3ZOFdDTYoSOuwnNuEF4RIAZRUfAGga4hq9z3OQzlfvCJCnGro710

In today’s show Tom introduces the topic: how contemporary secular and nihilistic thinking owes its form to material deviations from the classical Christian understanding of God and final things. Once set in play, such altered understandings about God and final things led to the wide host of competing secular and nihilistic views about the end game of our actions and lives. Glenn and Chris bring into the talk angles and insights which show the many ways such secular and nihilistic thinking creeps into the church.

Is writing objective history impossible? Many today believe so. To these folks everything is "text,” meaning something we can interpret however we please, the implication being facts must be interpreted, and since we're the only interpreters "history" is nothing more than one person, or group's tendentious interpretation of things. (You have your interpretation and I have mine, in other words, and who's to say who is right?) This presupposes that facts don't have an author. But if there is a creator, and if he makes his purposes known, then history truly is possible, and is worth the effort. Today we explore these ideas in relation to the Book of Acts (among other things). There we get a glimpse of the end of history and what it all is leading to. Join the Pugsters as they discuss God and history in Acts and the academy.

Listen in for a quick question and answer session following yesterday's episode on Romanticism.

In this semi-live episode, the Pugsters return to Romanticism, a topic we’ve touched on in a number of other Pugcasts. After a quick explanation of Romanticism as a response to cultural stress, the guys discuss some of the pathologies that have entered Western society as a result of the Romantic movement, including Expressive Individualism. But it turns out that not everything about Romanticism was a negative. Both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were influenced by a positive version of Romanticism that rejected elements of modernity in favor of a more traditionalist vision of society.

On today’s show the guys unpack aspects of contemporary culture and its move away from ontological truth. Language, once it’s detached from referencing the real, becomes a field of competing power plays and conflict. How are Christians to enact truthfulness, avoid falsehood in their discernment of truth, and speak the truth as it become increasingly costly to do so? The Pugsters consider such questions and various ways forward.

Today the Pugsters are joined by Dr. Luke Sheahan, President of The Academy of Philosophy and Letters, and Editor of The University Bookman. Among other things, Luke is an authority on the intellectual history of conservatism in the United States. The conversation includes a discussion of some of the more important luminaries in American Conservatism, the nature of "freedom of association" and why traditionalist conservatives from a range of theological traditions often have more in common with each other than with people in their own communions. Why Associations Matter: The Case for First Amendment Pluralism Amazon;  Kansas Academy of Philosophy and Letters (APL) www.philosophyandletters.org  Conference in College Park, MD, June 2-4 Conference Schedule Register for the Conference (Put C.R. Wiley or Luke Sheahan as sponsor) The University Bookman https://kirkcenter.org/bookman/ Russell Kirk The Conservative Mind (1953) Robert Nisbet The Quest for Community (1953) Edmund Burke Robert P. George, Princeton University History of the Postwar Conservative Movement

In this episode, Moira Greyland Peat and Rachel Fulton Brown return for the first time together as Pugcast guests to explore the importance of story and imaginative fiction as a vehicle for communicating truth in ways that can transcend nonfiction. Along the way, Moira, Rachel, and the Pugsters talk about what makes stories fail, the impact of substituting ideology for truth in pop culture, the relevance of these ideas to music, and a host of related ideas. Moria’s Book: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Closet-Dark-Side-Avalon-ebook/dp/B0787XLK4H?fbclid=IwAR2Q0CTcN3yBO_dtI682Pk8TsycvpXYAgBgLWX_mpp4Njk--gcvC3JyxBGs Moria’s Music: https://soundcloud.com/moira-greyland?fbclid=IwAR3zoziXcVJZBQvR7D-Buolej162FLLBO_RMWVhjCLhaktXnYjVFMroetlE Rachel’s Poetry: https://www.dragoncommonroom.com/?fbclid=IwAR0NjL42V6WBsw-6fquyvUpeAcgO5dkRwOfPe_GXl902TsyY3gL3pxrsA10

Today the Pugsters are happy to welcome Jason Baxter on the show! Jason is the author of a new book on C. S. Lewis entitled: The Medieval Mind of C. S. Lewis: How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind. Have you ever wondered why no one seems to come close to C. S. Lewis when it comes to apologetics and fiction (except J. R. R. Tolkien, of course). Jason Baxter knows why--C. S. Lewis had a medieval mind and all of his admirers have think like modern people. So, what does it mean to think like a Medieval man? Well, for one thing, you need to read old books, really old books. But that's just a start. Listen in and find out what else is involved. We hope you like the show! Find more from Jason at jasonmbaxter.com

Ever feel like an upgraded body would be good to have? You're not alone, and there are people who are ready to help--for a price. How about an extra 10 years of life, wouldn't that be nice? Why stop there? Why not an extra 20, or 100, or 10,000? Believe it or not, there are people who think that mortality is an engineering problem. Now here's another wrinkle, there are theologians that agree. What should we think about all of this? Today the Pugsters take up the topic of H+ (or Humanity 2.0).

Today the Pugcast is joined by Mark Bauerlein, professor emeritus of English at Emory University and an editor at First Things. Mark made waves back in 2008 with his book, The Dumbest Generation: How the Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future (Or, Don’t Trust Anyone under 30). He was accused of being a luddite, and an alarmist in those halcyon days of Web 2.0. Unfortunately for us all, he turned out to be right in many of his predictions. It wasn't so much that the millennials he describes were incorrigible so much as they were betrayed by their so-called educators and technophile utopians. Tune in and find out how bad things are and what can be done about it!

This is the time of year when we get a lot of memes about how Easter is a warmed-over pagan holiday. Everything from the name “Easter” to the use of eggs and rabbits is a claimed to be connected to a pagan fertility goddess. Our resident historian Glenn takes great delight in debunking these kinds of myths, and in this episode he and the guys talk about the historical and linguistic facts about Easter and how it is celebrated along with the implications of C.S. Lewis’s idea of the “good dreams” of the pagans and why Christians buy into these misrepresentations of their own history.

Tom introduces one of the driving assumptions that is underwriting the flux and chaos of current social trends: the assumption that truth is relative, perspectival, unable to be attained apart from our individual or group filters. The guys join in with many historical and contemporary insights into some key figures and ideas which have played into the rise and dominance of contemporary relativism and they set forth some initial steps in engaging it from a rich Christian vision. Relativism (New Problems of Philosophy) by Maria Baghramian and Annalisa Coliva: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T3DQ4Y5/ref=KC_GS_GB_US_nodl#

Many Christians today reject altogether the idea of Christian mysticism, but it has a long history in the church going back to the first centuries. The early church recognized three different types of mysticism: scriptural, which involved looking for symbolic or allegorical meanings in Scripture; liturgical, focused usually on the Eucharist; and contemplative. The guys discuss each of these, arguing that although excesses have occurred, mysticism in these senses can be a legitimate expression of the faith. So if you’re skeptical about Christian mysticism, tune in to see if your misconceptions are valid!

Well, which is it, a duck or a rabbit? Today the Pugsters examine the notorious duck/rabbit problem. You probably have seen the drawing, look at it one way, and you see a duck, look at it another way and you see a rabbit. Often the drawing is used to illustrate the ambiguity of signs, and the inevitably subjective character of interpretation. But are we doing justice to the signs, or the world we live in? What if the world at large represents something larger and more real than itself? Perhaps it's not interpretation all the way down so much as it is signs pointing to the source of all meaning. Join the Pugsters as they discuss the problem. Duck Season! Rabbit Season! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17ocaZb-bGg

Tom unpacks themes from David Blount's essay on Hobbits, Tolkien and Nietzsche in relation to the differing way power and is understood and related to. Blount compares the Hobbits rejection of becoming Überhobbits in contrast to Nietzsche's dark vision of embracing the will to power. The guys engage in a variety of matters related to power, the will to power, the ring of power, and the counter vision which Christianity offers, especially as it’s expressed in the rich form of Tolkien's stories and characters. Article: https://drive.google.com/file/d/15Wq99TP7RjV5mozlB_hgnUa20Tc991OF/view?usp=sharing

Aaron Renn joins the show once again, this time to discuss an article he wrote for First Things entitled, The Three Worlds of Evangelicalism. It’s hard to miss that the social climate in which Christian ministry is conducted in the western world has become more antagonistic towards the Christian faith. What social and political developments have contributed to that, and how should Christians respond? Tune in and see what Aaron and the Pugsters think! Find more from Aaron at aaronrenn.substack.com

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Glenn thought it a good time for a history lesson on Ukraine and Russia. As you might expect, he started over 1000 years ago, but noted especially more recent history and why the Ukrainians want to get out from under Russian domination. Along the way, he noted some genuine problems with Ukraine and their treatment of Russian minorities, part and parcel of the messy way borders work in Central and Eastern Europe. The guys finish with a discussion of the theological significance of nations, noting that they seem to survive in a purified form into eternity.

Philip Rieff was one of the most incisive critics of the postmodern turn in western culture of the last 50 years. A secular Jew, he longed for a world that reflected a sacred order. His insights were as penetrating as those of Charles Taylor, but with this important difference—while Taylor described our secular age, Rieff wanted to destroy it. Tune in as Chris describes his own process of incorporating Rieff’s insights into his own thinking and writing. Naturally, Tom and Glenn have plenty to add.

What does it take to make it in the highly competitive world of New York City art? Arthur Kwon Lee knows, he’s a young painter who won awards and was featured in prestigious galleries. He worked hard and developed his skills, but led a secret life as a conservative and a Christian. Then, everything changed when he came out of the closet. Soon he was blacklisted. Join the Pugcast today as we talk about the creative process, aesthetics, and beauty—as well as what sticking to what you know to be true can cost you. Find more about Arthur Kwon Lee at arthurkwonlee.com Find more about the Genesis Council at genesiscouncil.com

Tom adds to his previous topic of speaking properly about God and takes it into the other direction. He notes that shifts in ideas of God led to shifts in ideas about Creation, the Human, and language in particular. By making God part of the same chain of 'being', language become 'capable' of referencing God without radical qualification. This leads to two idolatrous ways of referencing God: Univocally and Equivocally. The guys introduce what this means and add many insights into the significance of such a change in language for our reference to God and all else.

Today the Pugcast is joined by David Stocker, architect, and one of the principals of SHM Architects in Dallas, Texas. David is a great friend of the show, and a long-time friend of Chris. Today David will help the Pugsters reflect on the ways in which architecture speaks to us theologically--especially sacred architecture and the larger lived-in spaces known as neighborhoods, towns, and even cities.

What about science fiction? Why do many cultures share similar myths? Listen in for a question and answer session following yesterday's episode on The Fairy Tale Wars.

This weeks Pugcast was recorded live (for Chris) at Fractal Brewing in Huntsville, Alabama, with Glenn and Tom coming in virtually. The topic, “The Fairy Tale Wars,” was based on an article from Touchstone by Vigen Guroian (see the link below). Glenn walked the guys through some of the key ideas in the article, particularly how modern scholars of fairy tales don’t like them much, and modern retellings of fairy tales twist them to support contemporary agendas and sensibilities. Chris and Tom talk about the philosophical ideas and assumptions that lead to this kind of distortion of fairy tales, including particularly the rejection of traditional wisdom in favor of current fashionable interests. https://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=33-02-045-f

Analogous talk of God and its importance is the topic of the day. Christians have a reality vision that allows us to use creaturely ways of talking about God. But today many talk of God in fundamentally idolatrous ways. The guys address reality issues as they pertain to God-talk and it’s significance for worship, doctrine, and life.

Who were the philosophers that Paul addressed at Mars Hill in Acts 17? Today the Pugsters examine the outlooks of two schools of philosophy in antiquity--stoicism and epicureanism. And they look at how these schools of thought are making a come back today.

Glenn has been the subject of memes about his attitude toward Rousseau. In this episode, he explains why, focused on three areas: Rousseau as the root of Carl Trueman’s Psychological Man; his attitudes toward education and women; and his political theory, its influence on Marx, and the death toll that came from implementing it. Tom and Chris add their own observations and analysis along the way.

Tom delves into many of the often taken for granted reality implications of the Christian teaching about the Incarnation of God the Son. He explores the riches of wisdom such biblical teaching has for a true understanding of divinity, humanity, creation and its relation to God. Chris and Glenn bring into the conversation many fascinating insights, angles, and draw out further some of the deep implications of the riches we’ve been given in Christ.

Returning to a topic the Pugsters have done before, the guys discuss the annual attacks on Christmas as a rip off of pagan myths and legends. Along with discussing things like the Jesus myth and the date of Christmas, the guys turn to a lot of areas that they didn’t cover the last time around on the topic.

Welcome to a funeral for the Church Growth Movement, Pugsters! In today's show Chris explains what the Church Growth Movement was, how it changed the character of evangelicalism and helped to destroy it, and why the movement has been killed by Covid-19, and the Woke-world that has followed. Church Growth was supposed to save the church--so why is it a good thing that it is dead? Join the Pugcast crew as they reflect on what's next for Christianity in the west now that Church Growth is dead.

Listen in for a question and answer session following yesterday's episode on Plato's Revenge.

The Pugcast finishes its Pacific Northwest Tour in Moscow, Idaho at the Nuart Theater! The theme for the show is Plato--and why he just won't go away. It is something of a cottage industry in certain pockets of the Reformed world to write off one of the most important figures in the history of western thought. Paradoxically, this puts these people on the same page with many secular thinkers--like Nietzsche for example. He didn't like Plato either. But are these folks right in their blanket condemnations of the father of classical philosophy? Augustine didn't think so--and the Pugsters agree with him. Tune in and find out why!

In today's show the Pugsters continue their Pacific Northwest Tour--this time from a boatyard in Everett, Washington! The crew is being hosted by Trinitas Presbyterian Church and the guys are addressing a question put to them by the leadership of the church--"What's the difference between 'worldview' and 'culture'? How does a worldview relate to culture, and what implications does this have for Christian ministry?"

Has inflation made a ministerial education unaffordable? It seems like it. Today a Master of Divinity degree—something that most Reformed denominations require for ordination—can leave the typical ministerial student tens of thousands of dollars in debt. This might be forgivable if pastors were paid like medical doctors, but they’re not. But we need an educated clergy, so what can be done? Join the Pugcast today for a short episode on the subject as they talk about the problem with a couple of men in Oregon City, Oregon who are trying to address the problem. Learn more about Reformation Bible Institute at rbioc.org

Listen in for a question and answer session following yesterday's live Reformation 21 – Build, Defend, Repeat episode. 

The Pugcast Pacific Northwest Tour continues in Vancouver, Washington! In today’s show the Pugcast crew address the cultural crisis the church finds itself in. It seems like the proverbial curse, “May you live in interesting times!” applies to Reformed Christians today. To meet the challenges of our time the guys look to the resources of the Reformation and the broader Christian tradition. Enjoy!

Listen in for a short question and answer session following yesterday's live episode on Owen Barfield’s ‘Saving the Appearances.’

This week, the Pugsters turn to another Touchstone article by Louis Markos, this one on Owen Barfield. Barfield was one of the Inklings along with C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and helped nudge Lewis toward Christianity. He also was heavily influenced by Rudolph Steiner’s esoteric thought and tried to Christianize it. In this episode, the Pugsters discuss Barfield’s ideas about the relationship of human beings and the natural world, which argued that in the past people had a simple, spiritual relationship with the natural world but lost it with the Scientific Revolution. The goal, according to Barfield, is to bring the two together. On the way, the guys talk about Francis Bacon, Galileo, and whether you can keep the benefits of science and technology while losing their downsides. Article Referenced: https://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=34-06-027-f

Tom introduces an article by Louis Markos entitled: Detectives of Significance. This article addresses an earlier time in Christian history which had a much deeper and wider view of reality and meaning. Part of the task of theology was to interpret such deeper meanings guided by the richly layered meanings communicated in the Bible and in creation. Markos then turns to detective stories, Sherlock Holmes and The Name of the Rose, to show how even rationalist characters desire something more than a narrow reading of reality. Chris and Glenn jump in with many insights into the rich web of meaning Christianity offers when seen in light of its engagement with truth, beauty, and goodness. Article Referenced: https://www.touchstonemag.com/archives/article.php?id=25-05-030-f

In this episode the Pugsters return to Tolkien’s essay “On Fairy Stories,” focusing particularly on the legitimacy of escape as a function of fantasy literature. Tolkien pointed out that “escape” is a positive term in all contexts except literary criticism, which points to a problem with the critics’ use of the word. The guys also get into discussions of the metaphysics of fantasy building off of Tolkien’s comments in the essay.

Evidence indicates that slavery was a universal institution. It was practiced on every inhabited continent. It isn’t a particularly western institution at all. What has been peculiar to the West is the effort to abolish it. That effort has been largely successful when it comes to legislation—nevertheless slavery is still with us. Why is that? What are the conditions in which slavery spontaneously emerges, and how can a culture address those? And what is it about Christianity that got the effort to abolish slavery underway? Tune in to learn what the Pugcast guys think.

Tom returns to the big topic of technology and addresses the rapid changes to our conceptions and interactions with its impingement upon reality. Glenn and Chris jump into the topic with Tom by supplying various insights into how the riches of Christian wisdom and virtue provide a path through the thickets of changes which allows us to use and relate wisely to the increasing impingement of technology in all aspects of our lives.

This week, the guys discuss pilgrimage. Glenn summarizes the early history of pilgrimage, noting both the practice and the arguments against it even in the early church. From there, the guys discuss more of the history of pilgrimage and talk about whether there are “thin places” made somehow holy by long centuries of prayer, or alternatively, made evil by great evil done in them in the past.

Today Chris introduces the guys to Christopher Lasch and a chapter in his book, The Revolt of the Elites and the Betrayal of Democracy. The chapter is, The Soul of Man Under Secularism. In the chapter Lasch riffs on Oscar Wilde’s, The Soul of Man Under Socialism. Wilde believed that Socialism would free people from the responsibilities of property and manual labor so that they could pursue the development of “personality”. If that sounds self-indulgent and unrealistic, that’s because it is. But that is remarkably similar to the way so many young people and tech gurus think in our time. The pugsters use Lasch and Wilde as a basis for reflection on the loony character of our time. Tune in and join the conversation!

In today’s show Tom introduces themes from Paul Tyson’s book - 7 Brief Lessons in Magic. In the book, Paul defines classical ways of seeing reality beyond the reductive naturalism of our modern way of thinking. Unpacking these classical ways, Paul engages magic and enchantment, and the ways in which they related to meaning, value, and other realities which modern reductionism cannot make intelligible within the narrow confines of its worldview. Glenn and Chris join in with various aspects of the classical vision and the distinct Christian worldview.

With Halloween merch already showing up in stores, it’s a good time to do a Pug take on vampires, so this week, the Pugsters riff off an article by John Schuler looking at the implicit philosophical ideas in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. They start off with a discussion of the difference between modernity and the “old centuries” before moving on to scientism, the nature of evil, natural and artificial symbols (in Schuler’s terms), meaning, natural law and the supernatural, and a bunch of other rabbit trails suggested by the article. Article Referenced: https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2013/09/philosophy-vampire-john-s-schuler.html Learn more about Davenant Hall’s online courses: https://davenantinstitute.org/davenant-hall

Today Chris introduces the "Metaverse"--what's that? you may ask. According to Wikipedia it is: "...the sum of all virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the Internet." Or as Robin Phillips in a recent blog post at Salvo put it, "Imagine that the relationship between the real world and the internet becomes so porous that it is impossible to tell which is which." Regardless of whether or not the masters of the universe in Silicon Valley can pull it off, the very idea that something that further blurs the distinction between Reality and virtual reality would be a good thing says a lot about the people who make the technology that we rely on everyday. It also says something about our society as well, and the philosophical undercurrents that are moving beneath it. As you can imagine the guys have a lot to say about it--and their big concern is idolatry. Article Referenced: https://salvomag.com/post/from-augmented-reality-to-metaverse?fbclid=IwAR1n9I6QEr3m5Wzaudn46BI5uVCiDhmKS8IZ5pp-zQ_XB9XRGQaw3m2kI4w Learn more about Davenant Hall’s online courses: https://davenantinstitute.org/davenant-hall

Tom introduces a classic debate between Truth, reality, and language and the removal of language from truth and reality (sophistry). He engages the ancient debate and sees similarities between it and today's deconstructive tendencies and political use of language to manipulate people. Chris and Glenn bring into the conversation many insights which help illuminate the sinister aspects of sophistry and their ever present danger in undermining the relation of truth and language. Learn more about Davenant Hall’s online courses: https://davenantinstitute.org/davenant-hall

This week, the guys look at the idea of heroes. Back in Homer’s day, “hero” was almost synonymous with the heavily armed and armored warriors that were the subjects of the Iliad, and not just the big names like Odysseus, Achilles, or Ajax. They exemplified the warrior virtues: prowess, toughness, courage, loyalty, and honor, understood as recognition and deference by others. The Middle Ages saw a major change in this largely under the influence of Christianity: humility, generosity, protection of the weak, and the like became part of chivalry, the warrior code. Today, in films ranging from The Lord of the Rings to Game of Thrones and The Green Knight, these virtues are ignored, inverted, or deliberately downplayed or distorted as unrealistic and untrustworthy. The guys reflect on what this means about our culture and the loss of nobility of character even as an ideal in our cultural imagination. Learn more about Davenant Hall’s online courses: https://davenantinstitute.org/davenant-hall

In today's show Chris presents an article that was published by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI), entitled, Darwinian Conservatism Versus Metaphysical Conservatism. The article is something of a departure for ISI, but it addresses a significant debate within conservative circles--can Darwin's evolutionary theories be used to support conservative social ethics, and conservative politics. The author, Larry Arnhart, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Northern Illinois University says yes--the Pugsters--as you probably can imagine--say, No! Chris, Tom, and Glenn are strong advocates of Metaphysical Conservatism, and they endeavor to defend it during the course of the show. Find the article here: https://isi.org/intercollegiate-review/darwinian-conservatism-versus-metaphysical-conservatism/?utm_source=Intercollegiate%20Studies%20Institute%20Subscribers&utm_campaign=af99c54e01-Intercollegiate-Review-8-5-2021&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3ab42370fb-af99c54e01-93106761&goal=0_3ab42370fb-af99c54e01-93106761&fbclid=IwAR2pm1GhBc64zVkJndR_Pf0Jft0nl6Jho9Tg0ydcRReEXlfuGCOOD0P2ymY

How emancipatory views of history draw upon yet distort Christian views of teleology in history. The guys discuss Hegel, Marx, Wokeness, liberation theology and more.

The guys are back in the seventeenth century again, looking at the beginnings of challenges to biblical authority. Progressive thinkers of the day starting with the Jewish philosopher Spinoza attacked Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch as a way of undermining orthodox Christianity: since Jesus referred to Moses as the human author of the Law, if Moses didn’t write it, then either Jesus lied or he didn’t know. Either answer would challenge the idea that he was God incarnate. After discussing Spinoza, the guys turned to a debate on Mosaic authorship between French Catholic scholar Richard Simon and Remonstrant scholar Jean LeClerc. This debate, largely forgotten today, triggered a sharp movement away from historic Christian theology into liberal Christianity by thinkers such as John Locke.

You may have heard feminists say, “The personal is political”—but are they right? Is the relationship between a mother and her child really a political relationship—or is it something else? In today’s show the guys discuss what else relationships like this could be. The term that they use is “pre-political”. Along the way the guys discuss the Kuyperian doctrine of “sphere sovereignty” as well as the Roman Catholic social doctrine of “subsidiarity” among other things. Enjoy!

In this episode Tom returns to the topic of Meaning in History (a three show aim) by looking at ways Modernity rejected classical Christian understanding of history and meaning and developed alternatives which borrowed from Christianity while introducing radical alternative notions which still impact us today, often unwittingly. This show has the guys discussing Vico and Herder, along with many other important themes.

Jumping off another suggested topic from our faithful listeners, the Pugsters talk about the medieval guild system. The guilds were a way to protect customers and, with export goods, the reputation of the city by guaranteeing the quality of products. They also guaranteed a level playing field for producers. Along with their economic role, the guilds performed social and spiritual functions, with the process of mastering your craft seen as a metaphor for the process of spiritual growth. Glenn clears up a lot of misconceptions about the guilds and the Middle Ages in general, and the guys talk about the quality of medieval craftsmanship vs. the disposable world created by industrialization and consumerism.

Today Chris introduces listeners to Political Scientist, Scott Yenor’s new book, The Recovery of Family Life: Exposing the Limits of Modern Ideologies. Just what is an ideology anyway? Is it merely a philosophy in different clothes? Listen in and find out why it isn’t.

This week the guys discuss how many contemporary views of history assume or draw upon aspects of Christian historical understanding, inadvertently borrowing its teleological character, even when they undermine other essential aspects of it. Christian faith altered conceptions of history and brought to the fore a notion of history as being meaningful and being directed towards culminating purposes. Secular emancipatory views which see history as progressing toward justice, or utopia, are examples that the guys get into in this important discussion.

Working from the articles in the link, the Pugsters talk about aesthetics—the philosophical field focused on questions of beauty and taste. Rather than beauty being purely in the eye of the beholder, the guys agree that beauty is objective and rooted in the transcendence of God. And that means that there is a right and wrong way to respond to beauty or the lack thereof. In this way, aesthetics is a moral issue. From there, the Pugsters explore a variety of ways that beauty is defiled, whether from viewing art as a means to shock or to produce intentional ugliness, or from kitsch, commercialism or utilitarianism, or from twisting it to support ideologies. The last is on full display in the program for the Tolkien Society’s Summer seminar this year, also linked below. https://hedgehogreview.com/blog/thr/posts/more-than-a-matter-of-taste?fbclid=IwAR3iV1ACuKg2Yv05RFI-DuLQa2jKseLYrmW3bn0OYVx_Iq1AAiSkeJpI8ck

In our time everyone is obligated to create an identity for himself. We're supposed to "self-create"--making ourselves into works of art that are utterly original, you know, like snow flakes. So why is it that people increasingly think alike and are so fearful of disapproval? In today's show the guys discuss the paradoxical relationship between mimesis (mimicry) and poesis (creation, or making). They arrive at the conclusion that only people who have mastered skills through mimesis are capable of making something new--i.e. original. Until then everyone is finger painting.

In this episode, the guys engage with fresh insights the contemporary vision of reality, human nature and purposes as they are understood from a radically immanent, materialist frame. After noting how Christian themes are often ripped from their transcendent frame and redefined with an immanent one, the pugsters evaluate not only the problems and limits of such a move but also ways in which the rich transcendental vision of Christianity has become almost foreign in this over familiar materialist setting. The conversation then turns to ways in which the classic Christian vision, especially its eschatological and teleological riches, supplies the necessary resources for restoring to Christian life a truly transcendent vision but also provide the only means for up-ending the anthropocentric turn of the contemporary vision of things. The Critical Theory lectures Glenn mentions in the episode will be at 7:00 PM on Friday and Saturday, June 11 and 12, at the Christian Reformed Church, 3275 Washington Ave., St. Joseph, Michigan.

The Pugsters return to a topic they’ve touched on before: the problems with the Enlightenment. Glenn starts off with a summary of changing ideas of authority, focusing on the transition from Reason and Revelation to Reason over Revelation to Reason without Revelation. That gets the guys into the Enlightenment, autonomous reason, and some of the problems associated with it. Glenn then looks at Romanticism as a reaction against the Enlightenment and other stress points in the period, noting both the problems with Romanticism and some of the things the Romantics got right. The conclusion points out that both the Enlightenment and Romanticism have problems, but each of them also gets things right. It’s only in the Gospel that the different strengths of each can be united and the problems avoided.

In today's episode Chris introduces the subject of mystery and the ways modern people and ancient people used the term--surprise, surprise, they didn't mean the same thing--at times, they even mean things that contradict each other. Chris also delves into the way in the modern outlook in general can mystify people and keep them from seeing the truth of things; he uses Carl Trueman's new book as a good use of reason to demystify modern ways of thinking.

The guys finish unpacking the discussion of Plato from Ed Feser's article Woke Ideology is a Psychological Disorder. After noting how Plato understands the sick society, where democracy as a social disorder leads to tyranny, the guys engage Plato's insights, noting positives and yet critiquing the limits of Plato's vision in light of the the riches of the Christian understanding of the virtue. The aim is to retrieve the riches of Christian moral reflection as it engaged classic visions of morality and carved out a fully salvic vision which also has insights for addressing the maladies of our time.

In today’s episode the guys unpack Plato's understanding of human psychology and social order. They note his positive insights as well as limits as they set forth fuller Christian insights into the ways in which improper ordering of our desires tends toward destructive political orderings.

Today the Pugcast is joined by Nate Spearing, highly decorated combat veteran with 14 years and 12 deployments in Army Special Operations. Nathan has a broad range of experiences domestically and overseas and has spent his entire professional life walking out a theology of violence as a Christian in war. Nate was homeschooled, and today is the father of five children. Along with his wife, they are educating their children at home.  Since leaving the military in 2016, Nathan has started several successful small businesses in real estate and construction. In the wake of the Covid crisis, Nathan launched www.Spearing.co to inspire and train people to live boldly — especially during times of crisis — through a variety of courses on business, self defense, and family resilience. https://spearing.co

This week, the Pugsters look at some of the themes in Michael Heiser’s books dealing with the worldview of the biblical authors. Glenn leads the discussion, which revolves around two big ideas: the idea of a heavenly court, with angelic beings having authority over areas such as nations; and the account of the Nephilim in Genesis. For the latter, Heiser uses 1 Enoch, a document that shaped much of the Jewish worldview at the time of the New Testament and had a direct influence on 2 Peter and Jude. 1 Enoch claims that the “sons of God” were angelic beings (“Watchers”) and that the Nephilim were thus half angelic, half human hybrids. Their disembodied spirits were the demons and evil spirits of the New Testament and were responsible for much of the evil in the world. The guys discuss these and other matters, including whether we need to adopt all elements of the worldview of the biblical authors, especially when they are using non-canonical sources.

In today’s show Chris introduces a term coined by the French intellectual, Paul Ricouer—the hermeneutic of suspicion. In the 19th century, theorists including Marx, Nietzsche, and Freud promoted the idea that rationality was nothing more than rationalization. Beneath the surface of any argument was something selfish and irrational. They believed that interpretation should begin with suspicion. One of the bitter fruits of this approach is the shift from persuasion through argument to identify politics. The Pugsters discuss what this means for the church.

Early postmodern promoters argued that the end of metanarratives like Christianity and the Enlightenment would lead to a peaceful plurality of group narratives, without the aim of any to dominate. This would lead to an end of oppressive worldviews with totalitarian aims. But mutations in postmodern thinking, those connected with Critical Theory, have taken a totalitarian turn, positing new absolutes along with a dominating aim. Tom leads the topic and Chris and Glenn contribute much to the discussion.

In an earlier episode, the Pugsters talked about Tolkien’s ideas of the value of pagan myth and the need to Christianize it. In this episode, Glenn picks up on that and applies it not to mythology but to culture, specifically, the religion of pre-Christian Ireland and what happened when it was Christianized. In pagan Ireland, the Druids were walking encyclopedias of everything related to the culture—religion, rituals, magic, law, history, music, …. When Ireland converted to Christianity, they assumed that religious leaders similarly had to learn everything there was to know about Christianity and culture. Along with tangents on the history of monasticism and martyrdom, the guys talked about a number of saints’ lives and the contributions of Irish Christianity to civilization.

In today's show, Chris introduces an important study of individualism that was published back in 1985 by Robert Bellah and a team of sociologists, entitled: Habits of the Heart--Individualism and Commitment in American Life". A best-seller at the time, the book is almost forgotten today, which is a shame since the world we live in is the world they warned us about and hoped we'd avoid. The team, through field research identified four forms individualism can take in the American tradition--two of which support healthy community life, and two which undermine it. The healthy forms of individualism were in decline in 1985, and the situation is worse today. Of course, the subject gives Tom and Glenn a lot to talk about. Join the discussion and see what sort of individual you are!

Celebratory fun highlights this Pugcast. As the gang records on St Patrick’s day, Tom thought it would be great to share in the celebrations by highlighting some fun-filled facts from Stephen Mansfield’s book In Search for God and Guinness. The book is far more than a story of the relation of Christianity and the Guinness family and beer. It also covers the long history of beer and the divine, and the way in which Christianity transformed and renewed the relation, as can be seen by the devout Guinness family and business and the beer sharing their name. Especially insightful is the way in which the Guinness family treated its employees. Glenn and Chris share in the discussion with wide-ranging facts and insights. This allows the conversation to lead where it may (one of the great aspects of the Pugcast), ending with Glenn sharing some rich insights on St. Patrick, Christianity in Ireland, and the Celtic Circle Cross.

Working off the introduction to Bradley Birzer’s J.R.R. Tolkien’s Sanctifying Myth, the Pugsters talk about Tolkien, Lewis, and Chesterton and their ideas about myth and faerie. Tolkien believed that just like pagan philosophers grasped truths that were most perfectly expressed in the Gospel, the stories of myth and faerie were bits of “splintered light” that pointed beyond themselves to deeper reality. For Tolkien, pagan myths presented an almost sacramental vision of the world, though the myths need to be “sanctified” by Christian truth to avoid the dangers of paganism. The guys bring their own unique perspectives to these and related themes about the value of myth to us today.

Today the guys discuss the vexed topic of esoteric teaching and interpretation. Esoteric teaching is teaching intended to sort people into two groups--those who understand and those who do not. Why would anyone want to do that? Isn't that elitist? Isn't it undemocratic? Well, yes, it is those things--and Jesus undeniably spoke esoterically when he told parables--he said so in Matthew 13:10-17. The problem of esoteric teaching leads to a free-ranging conversation in which the guys get into what bugs them about contemporary approaches to interpretation as well as the subject of metaphysics (surprise, surprise).

In this show, Tom addresses a listeners question with reflections from past shows as well as recent insights. Tom looks at various realities, forces, and trends that have led culture to the present moment of sweeping madness. Chris and Glenn penetrate the topic with perspicacity and wisdom. René Girard shows up in the conversation, adding a fascinating gloss to the topic.

Glenn introduces concepts from medieval epistemology (i.e. the branch of philosophy dealing with knowledge and truth) and how these got challenged in the sixteenth and seventeenth century, particularly through the recovery of the ideas of the ancient Greek skeptic Pyrrho. After a foray into Descartes, who tried to answer Pyrrho, we look at Blaise Pascal, the father of probability theory. Pascal used a barometer to short-circuit Pyrrho’s approach and in the process laid the foundation for a new approach to knowledge based on probability. This new epistemology has shaped thinking in the West ever since and largely created the modern world.

Little by little, the notes and reflections of J. R. R. Tolkien have been published posthumously by his son, Christopher. Among the many volumes is the Tenth Volume in The History of Middle-Earth, entitled Morgoth's Ring. The book contains many of Tolkien's reflections on the nature of evil, mortality, and the eschatology of Middle-Earth. Among the gems is the publication of the conversation between Finrod (an Elf-Lord, the Eldar) and Andreth (a wise-woman from among the Edain--aka men). The Pugsters enjoy a free-range conversation that not only touches on the nature of evil in Middle-Earth, but also reaches our own--primary--world.

This week the Pugsters are joined by Jonathan Edwards scholar Dr. Christian Cuthbert to discuss his research at Yale on the preaching of Jonathan Edwards on the subject of warfare. In the 18th century the Connecticut River Valley was on the frontier. It wasn't unusual for Native American warrior bands to attack colonial villages--add to this the rival claims of the French and English powers in the New World and war wasn't merely a matter of debate regarding the justness of a conflict half-way around the world--it was a matter of survival, and the conflict could be 20 miles away--or right next store. The discussion is illuminating--and in some ways surprising. This is new ground in Edwards studies and Dr. Cuthbert is right at the forefront of it.

Tom introduces two contrasting cultures by talking about the Gospel and its role in shaping a culture of life. He then draws off of Benjamin Wiker's book 'Architects of the Culture of Death'. The leads into one of the core figures discussed in the book, the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer and his contribution to nihilism and pessimism. Chris and Glenn add substantive insights and reflections throughout the discussion.

Glenn, our intrepid historian, takes us back to the twelfth century to show how a new worldview developed that shaped how we study the natural world (i.e. what we call “science” but they called “natural philosophy” or “natural theology”) and changed the aesthetics of the era, leading both to early empiricism and to realism in art. Chris and Tom move the conversation into the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the undoing of the medieval ideas Glenn had explained. The nineteenth century saw the rise of modern science that changed how we think about both the material world and knowledge, which resulted not only in materialistic worldviews that denied meaning in the world but also led to a deconstruction of art and a rejection of beauty.

When the legacy of Charles Darwin is considered discussion generally focuses on the his account of human origins and whether or not evolution is a "blind watchmaker". But Darwin's influence has bled over into ethics, politics, philosophy, and other facets of human culture. Today the Pugsters discuss his broader legacy and how that influence can be resisted. As an added bonus, Chris recommends Thomas Hooker Brewing Company! https://hookerbeer.com/

In today’s show the Pugsters explore Christianity’s relationship with Classical Culture and Tom explains the impact of von Harnack’s incorrect thesis, which placed the two in opposition. The guys then explore contemporary examples of the problematic application of von Harnack in theology and the Christian life.

Glenn introduces us to the medieval distinction between the Via Positiva, an approach to thinking about God that emphasizes the things we can affirm about God, and the Via Negativa, an approach that focuses on the limitations of finite creatures to understand the infinite Creator. In general, Western Christianity has put more emphasis on the Via Positiva, also known as Kataphatic theology, while Eastern Orthodox Christianity has emphasized the Via Negativa, or Apophatic theology. Chris points out that the Via Negativa is necessary to prevent us from falling into idolatry by thinking we’ve got God all worked out. Tom brings in the transcendence of God, leading into a discussion of God’s holiness and what that means. The guys also discuss different approaches to spirituality based on a grid with Apophatic and Kataphatic on the horizontal axis, and Mind and Heart on the vertical.

While many apologists for the Christian faith have focused on defending the intellectual integrity of Christianity's factual claims, for example historicity of the resurrection of Jesus, over the last 100 years opponents of the faith have criticized the moral legacy of the faith. One of the most potent has been that Christianity has contributed to the degradation of the ecosystem. Perhaps the most significant article published in the last 50 years or so has been Lynn White, Jr.'s The Historical Roots of Our Ecologic Crisis from the March 10, 1967 edition of the journal, Science. Today the Pugsters respond to White's article and, hopefully refute his charges, and set the record straight. Here's a link to the article: https://science.sciencemag.org/content/155/3767/1203

Tom engages the timely topic of Christian Joy in the light of Christmas. Beginning with the Good News of great joy announced to the shepherds from the heavenly hosts, Tom turns to discuss the Christian notion of Joy. What is it? What is its significant to life and flourishing? What is its place in Christian existence? Chris and Glenn bring fascinating reflections into the discussion. C. S. Lewis shows up in the conversation with his rich and penetrating contemplations on the topic. Overall, it’s a great addition to the Christmas celebration of the gift of joy we’ve been given in Christ.

In this episode, Glenn walks us through a work by the early church father Athanasius about the reasons for the Incarnation. The introduction to the book by C. S. Lewis explains that we need to read old books to get around the blind spots of our own era, and Athanasius certainly helps reframe how we think about the incarnation. Tom points out that he starts with Creation, which is the foundation for the rest of his argument. He goes from there to the Fall and what that meant for Creation, and the Incarnation as the only way to restore Creation. Athanasius’s focus is primarily on God and his purposes. He doesn’t ignore our need and God’s love for us, but he takes a much bigger perspective beyond personal salvation. He also talks about why Christ had to die by crucifixion, the impact of the resurrection on the world, and a host of other topics. As usual each Pugcaster brought in his own angle on the issues Athanasius raised. Since we could do little more than give an introduction to the piece and hit a few of the places where it gives us a different perspective on the Incarnation than we usually see, we encourage you to read it for yourself. It’s available as a downloadable PDF with Lewis’s introduction here: http://www.onthewing.org/user/Athanasius%20-%20On%20the%20Incarnation.pdf

Can the things we make get too big, conversely, can they be too small? If so, what standard should we use to judge the size of things? The ancients answered these questions by using human limitations. It’s easy to see how this works in architecture, but it equally applies to other things: nations, cities, and even local churches. Today on the Pugcast the guys consider Aristotle’s thoughts on the subject, and Chris introduces a modern theorist—Leopold Kohr, and his book, The Breakdown of Nations.

The roots of festivity in the gifts of creation and new creation. Tom introduces the topic of festivity by drawing insights from Joseph Pieper’s work, exploring the true nature of and purposes of festivity in the Christian vision of things. As we enter the festive season of Thanksgiving and Advent, this topic is timely. As usual, the gang (Chris and Glenn) add to this topic, providing layers of fascinating insight into the nature of Creation, Sabbath, Worship, Joy and Celebration.

This episode begins with a brief follow up on last week’s episode on the Great Reset, focused on how we should respond and where our hope lies. From there, Glenn segues into a discussion of some elements of Tolkien’s essay “On Fairy Stories” and its connection to Doug Wilson’s summary of the Bible, “Kill the Dragon, Get the Girl.” Chris brings in the idea of archetypical stories, some of which at least are reflections or shadows of the Great Story, the story of the Gospel of the Kingdom. Tom then points out the theological implications of some of the topics from the discussion, and Glenn connects it into a sacramental vision of life and the connection between our lives, fairy stories, and the Great Story.

A proposal has been circulated among global elites and it goes by the name, ‘The Great Reset’. The values undergirding it are the standard cant—‘inclusion’, ‘fairness’, ‘equality’. It also includes promises of debt forgiveness and universal basic income. Alarmingly, the people behind it are some of the wealthiest and influential in the world. And wouldn’t you know it, their plan just so happens to include the abolition of property and the investiture of power in a global authority of some kind. Today on the Pug the guys grumble and bark back in defense of property rights as the most basic of human rights

This week Tom introduces the topic about our intellectual appetites in relation to classical Christian insight. He looks into the virtue of proper studiousness as part of our intellectual vocation and its sinful distortion by the vice of curiosity. Glenn and Chris bring in plenty of additional insight and reflective comments to move the topic along.

Glenn and the guys share thoughts on the liturgical year and the ways that holidays and sacraments guide us both in remembering the past and finding our place in God’s story.

In today's show Chris presents a book review published in First Things. The title of the review is "Postconstitutional America" and the book being reviewed is "The Stakes: America at the Point of No Return" by Michael Anton. The review can serve as an introduction to Leo Stauss and his followers, particularly the west coast Straussians of the Claremont Institute. These thinkers contend that America is experiencing a crisis of two constitutions--the original constitution of 1787 and what has been overlaid on it--the unwritten progressive constitution of expertise. These two constitutions emerge from two different philosophies and understandings of history and the nature of freedom and rights. If you've listened to the show before, you know that the Pugsters had plenty to grumble about--especially about the rise of the cult of expertise.

As Christians dwell in societies given over to nihilism, and as they encounter nihilism’s dreadful impact on institutions that once propped classical intellectual, spiritual, and moral virtues, they are left with limited options in preserving and protecting those virtues which sustain creaturely flourishing and aim towards their fulfillment in God. Tom, Glenn, and Chris consider ‘The Boniface Option’, a designation which Chris and Glenn bring out in relation to our friends in Idaho.

The Pugcast is pleased to welcome to the show another one of Chris's dangerous friends--John Zmirak, Senior editor of The Stream. Chris describes John as "Don Rickles meets Pope Benedict"--when you listen, you'll see why. John is a frequent contributor to the Eric Metaxas Show, and was the editor Chris's book, Man of the House. Join the gang for an at times hilarious and rambling discussion--and learn, among other things, John's nickname for David French! Article Referenced: https://stream.org/secondamendment/ John's Bio: https://stream.org/author/johnzmirak/ John on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/John-Zmirak/e/B001JS5XJU?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&qid=1602456384&sr=8-1

In today's show the Pug is proud to welcome Professor Rachel Fulton Brown! Rachel is a professor of medieval history at the University of Chicago and has begun a new video series entitled The Forge of Tolkien in which she examines Tolkien's creative process and sources of inspiration. She's also a friend of Milo Yiannopolous and has written a book about their friendship. Chris met both Rachel and Milo a couple of years ago when Rachel and Chris both spoke at the annual Touchstone conference in Chicago. The show is the typical Pugcast--it rambles all over the place, investigating all sorts of fascinating terrain. Join us! And here are some links for Rachel's work: Fencing Bear at Prayer (blog): https://fencingbearatprayer.blogspot.com/ The Forge of Tolkien (episode guide, with instructions on how to subscribe): https://fencingbearatprayer.blogspot.com/2020/08/the-forge-of-tolkien.html The Poetry Project: https://fencingbearatprayer.blogspot.com/2020/06/up-drakes-its-time-for-teaand-prosody.html Milo Chronicles: Devotions 2016-2019 (Castalia House, 2019): https://shop.aer.io/castalia/p/Milo_Chronicles_Devotions_2016__2019/9789527303573-1875 Academic homepage: http://home.uchicago.edu/~rfulton/index.html

Glenn starts this episode with an overview of the medieval understanding of the liberal arts, then focuses in on music. Music was part of the quadrivium, the mathematical arts that described objective reality. Why is that? Why is music so significant for medieval thinkers? How does music relate to the human body or to the proper functioning of the universe? Glenn explores these questions, aided and abetted by Tom and Chris. We also get into more modern ideas about music, including its role in Christian thought and practice.

"Life is short, but art is long"--so the saying goes. And anyone who has undertaken any significant task would probably say, "Amen". But when it comes to works of art there can be a sense of loneliness and futility that is singular. That was the case for J R R Tolkien. He had labored for decades on his great work--his legendarium of Middle-earth. It included histories, and languages, and mythical heroes. It was the world that The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings were situated in. It's all been published now, most of it posthumously. But when Tolkien wrote Leaf by Niggle the only thing he had to show for all of his work was The Hobbit. So Tolkien wrote a little allegorical short story of great profundity--Leaf by Niggle. And in it he proffers a consoling thought--our works will follow us. Join the Pugcast guys as they attempt to plumb the depths of Leaf by Niggle.

Tom engages the theme of how technology is increasingly being used in ever advancing ways to promote propaganda and cultivate people without many being aware of it. He reflects on how theologian Karl Barth was able to resist similar forces during the rise of National Socialism because of his deep immersion in Scripture, Reformed tradition, and Classical Christian teaching. Chris and Glenn join the conversation with fascinating insights and details related to the topic at hand. Please excuse some of the bumps and rumbles as we get used to using our new mics!

In today’s show Glenn describes the way that Geneva served as a city of refuge for Protestants during the Reformation. Not only did Geneva serve as a refuge, it became a training center, and a center of influence for Protestantism throughout Europe. With the growing hostility to the faith around the world, the guys wonder aloud if something similar might emerge today. Do we have a city of refuge?

In today's show Chris introduces listeners to his favorite magazine, and to one its Senior Editors, S. M. Hutchens (Steve to his friends). The magazine is a unique project which includes contributions from Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Orthodox writers. Chris has written for the journal a few times and has spoken at one of their conferences. Tom and Glenn join in and the foursome not only discuss what makes Touchstone unique, but also why orthodox Christians (which is to say, in part, socially conservative ones) will find themselves banding together more and more as the larger culture of the West grows ever more hostile to the Christian faith. If you would like to learn more about Touchstone, or subscribe, follow this link: https://touchstonemag.com/

Tom reconnects with Thomas Hibb's book Shows About Nothing to engage topics like the Romantic alternative to Nihilism, Horror films and their critique of American Modernism, and other films- which show how the Enlightenment was too weak a framework to carry the Christian virtue system. Chris and Glenn bring fascinating reflections into the conversation, making for an illuminating conversation about the formative impact of film on contemporary life and places in which the Christian vision can speak with redemptive profundity.

Glenn reflects on the idea that the Creation is sacramental, that is, that it points beyond itself to spiritual realities. He takes his cue from passages in Scripture that point to the Creation as pictures of truths about God and humanity. As always, Chris and Tom chime in with their own insights on nature, philosophy, and theology.

In today's show Chris reads from an essay by Colin Wright the Managing Editor of Quillette, the online journal and podcast. He describes his own experience as a liberal scientist with cancel culture. The experience has alarmed him and he despairs for the future of the sciences. Chris, Tom, and Glenn then reflect on the history of science and how materialists have unwittingly set themselves up for this. They then urge the recovery of transcendent sources of meaning and authority because without them science is doomed.  Article Referenced: https://quillette.com/2020/07/30/think-cancel-culture-doesnt-exist-my-own-lived-experience-says-otherwise/?fbclid=IwAR3S_GITrSSg5owt1kVIQ1XLQ51NUu7J3NKb4u7xkbzu9leYMhTPyWojs0U&v=322b26af01d5

Tom introduces the topic by engaging Thomas Hibb’s book: Shows about Nothing. Chris and Glenn join in with many insights and rich analysis.

In this episode, Glenn contrasts the secular, Enlightenment-inspired French Revolution with the spiritual revolution that transformed England at roughly the same time. The French Enlightenment was an anti-Christian project that provided a radical critique of society and theorized about how to fix it. Once the French internalized Enlightenment ideas, the Revolution became inevitable, though it took a government debt crisis to trigger it. The elite’s theories didn’t solve the problem, resulting in chaos and the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of French citizens. In contrast, the spiritual revolution in England from the Evangelical Revivals reached deep into the lower classes and prevented England from degenerating into the violence of the French Revolution. It also led to Wilberforce and the Clapham sect and the spiritual and moral transformation of English society. Chris and Tom chime in about the philosophical ideas of the Enlightenment and the parallels with America today.

In today’s show Chris introduces the Pugcast crew to Matthew B. Crawford and his book, Why We Drive. Crawford is known for his writing on moral agency and how the manual arts help to develop it. Self-driving cars have the potential for undermining competence and promoting greater dependency on distant institutions. If passivity is already a problem, self-driving cars will only make things worse.

Glenn starts off the discussion with “On Weeds and Fairy Tales,” an article in Touchstone by Vigen Guroian. Guroian argues that reason and imagination work together to help us make sense of the world, but only imagination lets us get beyond facts into the realm of meaning and helping us develop a moral sense. This was one of the functions of fairy tales traditionally. But Guroian notes a number of weeds that can choke out the moral imagination which he labels the Idyllic Imagination, the Idolatrous Imagination, and the Diabolic Imagination. As usual, Tom and Chris join in the exploration of all these ideas and more.

In today's show Chris reads portions of Leon R. Kass's, The Beginning of Wisdom. The book contains Kass's reflections on the book of Genesis. Kass is Jewish, and a conservative scholar teaching at the University of Chicago. His reflections on the impiety of Noah's son Ham, and how Ham's descendant Nimrod, the political leader behind the Bible's first political dystopia--Babel--are quite profound. His thoughts on the connection between impiety and totalitarianism provide the basis for discussion for Chris, Tom, and Glenn.  

This week Tom follows up his topic last week on Presentism. He introduces the topic of 'historicism' and looks at its role in setting the conditions for the current trend of turning against the past in the name of the present. Historicism comes about when the doctrine of providence gets ripped from the doctrine of creation, making human meaning and purpose merely what it is in terms of historical processes. Glenn and Chris add a plenitude of insights as the topic unfolds.

In this episode Tom introduces the topic of the intellectual fashion of making ‘present’ experience that which has utmost significance. He further shows how this idea has been wedded to the notion that the past has little significance other than being an outmoded relic of evil and oppression. This has contributed to current strands of moral zealotry unleashed against symbols and monuments from the past as well as an all out war on civilization. Chris and Glenn add further insights which shed light on this fashion from a variety of angles, making for a fascinating conversation on the topic.

Glenn starts off by talking about Tolkien and philology, the study of language to understand culture, and looks at its role in creating Middle Earth. He then notes that this idea has largely been reversed in the modern world, where we belief language shapes thought and culture. This leads to Political Correctness and the use of language as a form of thought control. Tom and Chris discuss theological and philosophical ideas surrounding this change and some of the practical effects of it in culture today.