This week I had the pleasure of speaking with Matt Halstead about his new book “The End of the World as You Know It” which focuses on End Times prophecies and apocalyptic literature. We touched on everything from the psychological drives behind our fascination with the future to the importance of maintaining a questioning mindset in matters of faith. We kicked things off by acknowledging the trauma and anxiety that can often accompany these teachings, especially for those who grew up in...

** Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5U0kztmTnxk In response to a listener suggestion, as well as having enjoyed Bonnie Kristian's recent newsletter on the topic, I looked into the recent Harrison Butker commencement address controversy. I had a few thoughts! I talk briefly about the situation, how I largely think of it in terms of protected religious speech, more progressive options within Christianity, the good questions raised by conservative counter-reactions in support of...

You know her and love her — my friend and recurring guest Kristen Tideman joined me this week for another listener-powered Q&A session! We recommended voices outside Christianity who provide thoughtful commentary on religion and culture, considered why some Christians seem to have a gentle certainty in their faith while others wrestle with doubt, recommended resources for those interested in psychology but not necessarily at a graduate school level, and wrapped with our Q&A...

How many times has someone told you that you have to watch The Chosen, the smash hit TV series depicting the life of Jesus? My buddy Jeff Martin and I break down season 1 episode 1, reacting to all manner of interesting details from my own liberal Christian therapist perspective and Jeff’s more moderate Evangelical lens. We get into psychology, Biblical studies, theology, history, and even some parenting territory. I’m very curious how much appetite there is for continuing with episodes like...

My guest this week is Lauren Auer, a licensed counselor specializing in religious trauma. She grew up in the evangelical world and initially opened her practice with a faith-based approach (hence the name Steadfast Counseling) but found herself questioning her own beliefs as she witnessed concerning changes in her church community and started receiving a lot of religious trauma cases in her practice, despite not explicitly advertising this specialty. We discussed the overt and more subtle...

After kicking things off with our usual game of "Bar, Bank, Church or Dispensary?” and “Ways we are becoming our dads” segments, we talked about Josh and Tony's work on the recently concluded Emerged podcast, an ambitious 10-episode series examining the Emerging Church movement.  We debated the semantics and cultural implications of the "California sober" lifestyle and whether it really counts as “sober,” getting into the healthcare differences between so-called “abstinence” and “harm...

This week, I sat down with Katelyn Beaty and Roxanne Stone, the fantastic hosts of the Saved by the City podcast. I asked them for their take on the "masculinity crisis" some have described in our cultural moment. From their experiences dating in New York City to their observations about the dearth of male role models in many kids' lives, they painted a picture of the loneliness, frustration and loss of purpose afflicting a lot of guys these days.  Many traditionally male-coded traits and...

The spiritual education of children can be daunting, especially when parents have more questions about God than answers. Does this necessarily lead to a dead end, or are there tools available when we have very little “bedrock” on which to stand? Meredith Anne Miller feels that mainstream Christian children's education focuses too heavily on making kids obedient, rather than inviting exploration. Meredith advocates for an approach centered on wonder, curiosity, and relationship -- sharing...

I was joined by editor, podcaster, and novelist Jason Kirk to discuss how he put his Evangelical upbringing — barely distinguishable from my own — into his recent novel Hell Is A World Without You. We also discussed the power of storytelling to capture the overlap of complex ideas, fear of Hell, queer affirmation, Dune, and more.  **Watch this episode on YouTube** https://youtu.be/69-5jPEmrBE Jason’s Book “ Hell Is a World Without You”:...

On this week’s episode, I spoke with Elias Dummer, a musician, marketer, and former singer-songwriter of the Canadian Christian rock band The City Harmonic. We talked about the power and potential of contemporary worship music, exploring its role as a "spiritual technology" and its ability to unite people across various divisions -- class, race, theology, etc. And yes, in case you are wondering, I had to set aside my own personal distaste for Contemporary Christian Music and worship music,...

In this conversation, Tim Whitaker of The New Evangelicals joins Dan for a dual-feed special episode to discuss the upcoming book by Richard B. Hays, a respected New Testament scholar (Duke), and his son Christopher (Fuller), titled 'The Widening of God's Mercy: A Thoroughly Biblical Account of LGBTQ Affirmation in the Church.' They explore the potential impact of the book and the various reactions it has received. They also discuss the importance of acknowledging the harm caused by previous...

Dan spoke with friend and frequent guest Sarey Martin Concepcion about the intersection of intellectual humility and our Christian faith journeys, attempting to tie this together with his recent set of “Still Christian” episodes. They discussed how Sarey was raised in a fundamentalist evangelical strain of Christianity that valued certainty and correct doctrinal beliefs above all else. This made it challenging to embrace intellectual humility -- acknowledging what one can and cannot be...

On this month's Generation Gap Culture Hour, Dan, Josh, and Tony play a round of “Bar, Bank, Church, or Dispensary,” consider ways they are becoming like their dads, discuss the impact of the forthcoming gay-affirming book by New Testament scholar Richard B. Hays, the New York Magazine attempted takedown of Andrew Huberman, and more. **Watch this episode on YouTube** https://youtu.be/g5vmzxlRTLI RESOURCES MENTIONS: Richard Hays’ Book “The Widening of God’s...

Dan's guest today is Simon Nixon, a former pastor and licensed counselor in Australia who works predominantly with domestic violence offenders in group therapy settings, helping them understand how to change their behavior and become safe partners and fathers. They discuss the challenges of such work, including the emotional difficulty and the need for a non-judgmental approach to facilitate change. Simon and Dan explore the concept of toxic and non-toxic masculinities and the importance of...

Speaking as much to himself as to listeners, Dan continues this series by recapping Part 1, then discussing two more common thinking errors, known in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy as “cognitive distortions,” that he sees in news coverage around the possibility of a Donald Trump victory in 2024. Recognizing these distortions in the media as well as our own thoughts about the election and its results can 1) reduce our anxiety and 2) align our thoughts more fully with the reality that the future...

Our very own Tony Jones (Generation Gap Culture Hour episodes, author, theologian, recovering youth ministry wunderkind) joins Dan for a very special conversation about the release of his brand new book, The God of Wild Places. Their conversation follows a three-act structure: Tony's early ministry days, then his escape into hunting while his marriage and life were crumbling, and finally the re-approaching and rethinking of his theology and faith in light of those experiences. Along the way,...

**Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/FhPSrPr0g9U In the first of hopefully many "rapid fire" mailbag episodes, Dan answers listener questions on the following topics: Books to read as you start faith deconstruction Podcasts he wishes someone else would start Oppenheimer vs. Dune Part 2 Whether Jesus’ teachings in the Gospels are compatible with other religions being viable paths to God Albums that changed how he listens to music What the Eucharist/Lord’s Supper means to him...

This week, Dan answers a listener question about how he approaches difficult biblical passages that portray God as full of wrath, punishing humans in this world for their sins and rebellion. Later, Kristen Tideman joins to discuss Dan’s answer and ask some follow-up questions. **Watch this episode on YouTube** https://youtu.be/ZHtYQQmRp9Y ____________________ Follow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/ Or Twitter: twitter.com/DanKoch Faith deconstruction resources:...

This week, Dan answers a listener question about how he approaches difficult biblical passages that portray God as full of wrath, punishing humans in this world for their sins and rebellion. Later, Kristen Tideman joins to discuss Dan’s answer and ask some follow-up questions. **Watch this episode on YouTube** https://youtu.be/STHpDBYJuQc ____________________ Follow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/ Or Twitter: twitter.com/DanKoch Faith deconstruction resources:...

In this wide-ranging conversation with Dr. Malinda Berry (Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary), Dan and Malinda cover nonviolence in the Anabaptist tradition, where Anabaptism comes from, the questionable emphasis in these traditions on martyrdom stories, our psychological instincts toward “purity,” and even exposure therapy and the idea that “time heals all wounds.” Malinda’s Faculty page: https://www.ambs.edu/employees/malinda-elizabeth-berry/ Richard Foster's Book “The Streams of...

Dan is joined by friend and musician Brian Hall (TENTS) to talk his journey through different corners of Christianity, his relationship with his highly-spiritual father, staying out of dogma, and all that as it relates to a beautiful song called “Hutah!” The song is part of Brian’s attempt to reclaim some of his bodily, charismatic birthright in a post-deconstruction landscape. As you might imagine, it’s a pretty great conversation! Brian’s band Tents Spotify...

This months Generation Gap Culture Hour features topics of Kids Birthday Parties, moss removal men who evangelize, and Josh's Crisis of "too much autonomy". **You can WATCH this episode on YouTube** https://youtu.be/y7bCOS4l7Qc _____________ Follow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/ Or Twitter: twitter.com/DanKoch Faith deconstruction resources: www.soyouredeconstructing.com/ Edited by Josh Gilbert (joshgilbertmedia.com -- he is accepting more work!) Join the Patreon for exclusive...

Dan is joined this week by Kristen and Sara Tideman, co-hosts of Help Me, Gen Z, to discuss a wide array of topics related to gender, sociopolitics, and how different generations are experiencing these cultural moments. We discuss the film Barbie and its "Oscar snubs," Taylor and Travis and the NFL culture wars, and emerging worldwide cross-cultural research showing a new, much wider political gap between Gen Z males and females.  **Watch this episode on...

NeverTrumper Peter Wehner returns four years after his last appearance, and Dan asks how he has seen the Evangelical political landscape change in the past 4 years and since 2016. They also discuss the ongoing knowledge crisis, which overlaps so much with our politics and the current state of Evangelicalism in America.  Pete’s first episode, “Trump, Evangelicals & Faith in Politics”: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/you-have-permission/id1448000113?i=1000449110716 Pete’s Atlantic...

My guest Karen Timbals shares my love of Jonathan Haidt and his Moral Foundations Theory, featured in his book The Righteous Mind. But what happens when use that framework as a lens through which to interpret commonly-used religious language? In what way do liberal and conservative churches make moral appeals to their congregants?  yourmorals.org _____________ Follow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/ Or Twitter: twitter.com/DanKoch Faith deconstruction resources:...