On Becoming

Jesus the Deconstructor

In this episode, I consider how Jesus deconstructs the religious teachings of his day. We begin with a short excursion on the brain, particularly on how the right hemisphere is where we experience things in context. Then we turn to Jesus' deconstruction. With that example, we then consider deconstruction and its role.

Interview with John D Caputo

On this episode, we have the treat of hearing from Professor John D. Caputo. As you'll hear in the interview, I've asked him to tell us about his own intellectual and religious development.

The Advent of Christmas

Have you ever wondered where all the customs that surround Christmas came from? You likely have heard that Christmas picks up on certain 'pagan' customs. But the story is much more interesting than that. In this episode, we consider how many centuries it took for the celebration of Jesus' birth to take the form it now has. It's a fascinating story.

Do You Need God to Have Morality?

It's an old question, but there are some fascinating new answers. In this episode, we explore how we make moral judgments. We consider the  evidence for the idea that morality is something we know intuitively. Our moral judgments are strongly affected by our community and tradition. Precisely because morality is based in our emotions (our 'sentiments' as some philosophers called it), having a rational discussion about morality is difficult--both because we make judgments without knowing why and because such judgments are so deeply connected to our emotions.

Foucault, Power, and Religion

The French philosopher Michel Foucault spent much of his career analysing how power works in society. In this episode, I unpack his ideas about how 'discourses' (really, anything in which humans interact) work by considering various examples, including a current Supreme Court case.

Demonising the Enemy

Perhaps the most effective strategy for silencing someone you don't like is to accuse him or her of being 'demonic' or in league with the devil. It doesn't matter, in such a case, whether the devil is real or not. Calling someone 'satanic' makes meaningful conversation impossible.

You May Be More Christian Than You Think

In this episode, I discuss the book Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World. It is a long and well informed history of Christianity. But the focus of the author, Tom Holland, is particularly on how deeply western society has been influenced by Christianity, so much so that our current cultural differences are not disagreements between Christianity and the secular but differences between competing ideals for how one lives out Christian values.

Melancholic Joy: An Interview with Brian Treanor

How does one find meaning and purpose in life? Is there something like 'the meaning of life'?
Prof. Treanor has written a rich and thoroughly engaging book, one that engages with questions about nihilism and relativism but points us toward hope and love.
In this episode, Dr Treanor elaborates on his idea of joy tinged with melancholy.

The Tech Cults of Silicon Valley

You've probably never thought that the workplace could be a cult. After all, we usually assume that cults are strange religious things. But, in this episode, I consider the case laid out by Carolyn Chen that many of the tech firms in Silicon Valley perfectly fit the definition of a cult. Her book is titled Work Pray Code: How Work Becomes Religion in Silicon Valley. She doesn't argue that work is 'like' religion; instead, she claims that, for many people in Silicon Valley, work has effectively become their religion, a religion so encompassing and demanding that it can be defined as a cult.

Understanding Football as Religion

Does it sound crazy to you that football (in both the American sense and the way the rest of the world uses the term) can be considered a religion? In this episode, we consider how football functions as a religion for many people. Along the way, I have important things to say about the human brain and how we come to our values--the things that really matter to us. I'll also be showing both how and why the 'New Atheist' conception of religion is fundamentally incorrect. The entire discussion is designed to help you come to a better understanding of what religion is and how it functions. As will become clear, it will likely never be possible for human beings simply to dispense with religion. Instead, religion is something that is constantly being improvised in many ways and pervades our lives. But you can only come to see that point if you're willing to rethink your concept of religion.