Shows
Protect Your NogginThe Mysterious MotherStacie leads us through three chapters from the Tao Te Ching that discuss the mysterious mother. What does this archetype and symbol say about our perspectives on femininity, society and the sacred? How does this differ from traditional American evangelical views of women and feminine characteristics of the divine? Is there a difference between being a source and being a creator? How can we let children and the things we cultivate grow spontaneously rather than through our constant control?
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2023-06-1235 min
Protect Your NogginSpiritual Anarchist PoetryA discussion of some of Jeff’s recent poetry related to the ways in which spirituality can influence ideas about political freedom and unpacking authoritarian ideology can help understand the ways in which religion can endorse and prop up unjust systems.
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2023-06-0559 minProtect Your NogginWhy Mexico MattersReflecting in the wake of a wave of border traffic, Jeff and Stacie explore how what's going on at the US's southern border illustrates a global sickness that will continue to lead to immigration and refugee crises around the world. Couple capitalism with climate change and we can only expect more human suffering along borders for generations to come--that is, if we have generations to spare and unless we recognize that another world is possible.
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2023-05-161h 07Protect Your NogginThe Great PengThe Great Peng is a mythical bird that transforms from a giant fish and then into a winged beast that can fly for a year and a half, to the southern sea, stirring up the oceans and propelling the cycles of nature. The cicada and the dove are skeptical about this massive bird’s existence, since they can’t comprehend how it could fly so far and so high and be so huge. They think it would take too much flapping. But the Great Peng floats on the vast warm air, without struggling. It is the opening image of the...
2023-03-2142 min
Protect Your NogginInner AlchemyWe discuss the concept of the inner alchemist, which is a metaphor for the process of spiritual transformation. First, Jeff sets up the conversation with some historical background about failed Western alchemists like Anna Maria Zieglerin (1550-75) and the demise of Chinese emperors who drank what they thought was the elixir of life that fraudulent Taoist priests concocted. Then Stacie and Sydnie join in to riff on the ways in which inner alchemy can help us navigate a sort of outer alchemy: the chemicals and plants we take into our bodies. We also talk about the ways in which...
2023-03-151h 11Protect Your Noggin#EXLUTHERANA discussion of what it’s like to deconstruct conservative Lutheranism. Lutherans tend to be a decade behind trends in American evangelicalism. Perhaps, therefore, it isn’t surprising that there isn’t as much public discourse among #exlutheran folks as there is for those who describe themselves as #exvangelical. While exlutherans will have overlapping experiences with exvangelicals, there are some peculiarities Jeff and Stacie will be discussing about their own experiences. The show concludes with a discussion of two concepts from Dietrich Bonhoeffer that seem relevant as ever: the idea of “religionless Christianity” and “cheap grace.”
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2023-02-191h 34Protect Your NogginFacing Night Time FearsJeff, Stacie, and Sydnie sit down with some old timey English ales after a long day’s work to solve a recent family mystery that intersects with a recent urban legend. Enjoy this peak into the whimsical, witchy and mystical conversations that tend to happen on tipsy evenings at the family’s old Portland home. Topics range from demons to tin foil hats to pigeon assassinations, squirrel friends and the goddess Hecate. Warning: Explicit language festooned throughout.
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2023-02-031h 09
Protect Your NogginMORTALITY CONCIERGE (AKA DEATH DOULA)Stacie helps Jeff and listeners work through some of the important questions we might have and asks questions we ought to ponder about our relationship with our own mortality. She also shares wisdom she’s learned from those who are on the precipice of death that can help us all be present in the life we have right now.
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2023-01-241h 20Protect Your NogginWhy Another Tao Te Ching?Stacie and Jeff discuss why they dedicated so much time to yet another rendition of the Tao Te Ching. They explain how their experiences deconstructing the dogmas of their church background, travel in overland vehicles, yoga instruction, philosophy and religion classes, political thought research, and confrontation of death affected their work. They explain why they avoided the definite article and gendered pronouns for “sage,” and other technical decisions they made in their work.
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2022-12-0553 minProtect Your NogginStraw Dogs"The cosmos is unbiased, treating living things like straw dogs. A sage is unbiased, treating people like straw dogs." Stacie, Sydnie, and Jeff reflect on a tough passage from the Tao Te Ching: Chapter 5, in light of the text itself and the family's experiences this difficult year of grief. Note that they were a bit tipsy with this impromptu episode, so consider it a holiday week bonus and forgive the frequent tangents.
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2022-11-2554 minProtect Your NogginSpiritual Bypassing and Other New Age Pitfalls (Pt 2)Even though they’ve been enjoying playing within New Age spaces, Jeff, Stacie and Sydnie reflect on ways in which New Age spirituality can go wrong in contemporary, capitalist society. In particular, they reflect on the phenomenon of “spiritual bypassing” as it relates to conversations surrounding grief. Topics include pseudoscience, cultural appropriation, equity within yoga, and spiritual narcissism. [Part two of two.]
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2022-11-2254 minProtect Your NogginSpiritual Bypassing and Other New Age Pitfalls (Part 1)Even though they’ve been enjoying playing within New Age spaces, Jeff, Stacie and Sydnie reflect on ways in which New Age spirituality can go wrong in contemporary, capitalist society. In particular, they reflect on the phenomenon of “spiritual bypassing” as it relates to conversations surrounding grief. Topics include pseudoscience, cultural appropriation, equity within yoga, and spiritual narcissism. [Part one of two.]
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2022-11-1855 min
Protect Your NogginSit In Silence (Tao Te Ching 56)"The wise aren’t preachy. The preachy aren’t wise. Sit in silence. Practice temperance. Smooth jagged edges. Release entanglements. Soften your gaze. Embrace oneness with the earth. This is called mystical union." After a long pause in reflection, Stacie's back with one that hits close to home.
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2022-10-2008 min
Protect Your NogginSynchronicity and Dreams with the FamilyStay tuned for the always fascinating takes from Rick Mallinson, Jeff's pop. He shares some interesting connections that happened recently, illustrating Carl Gustav Jung's concept of synchronicity. Stacie and Syd return and chat about dreams, nature hikes, and Rick's encounter with a guru in 1970. Come virtually join in on the casual conversation.
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2022-10-1732 min
Protect Your NogginRetractions: SexyJeff offers his final retractions episode, reflecting on his book Sexy: The Quest for Erotic Virtue in Perplexing Times. Topics include purity culture, ethical porn, monogamy, deconstruction, virtue theory, the Tao Te Ching, and mysticism.
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2022-10-111h 18
Protect Your NogginRetractions: Standing Boldly and Religious EpistemologyThis is sort of a show about how a Christian university could save the world--if only a Christian university were possible--and if only the spirit of Molech handn't staged a hostile takeover of an otherwise radical movement. Jeff explains what he was up to when he presented a funded lecture on the topic of confessional Lutheran thought, yet started to unravel his entanglement in confessional Lutheran though through the generous support of confessional Lutheran donors. This is in response to the Trembath lecture which is available in several formats by checking out our show notes at protectyournoggin.org. The...
2022-10-0141 min
Protect Your NogginRetractions: Demon Semen and Semi Divine God KingsJeff discusses the reasons why he wrote an article about the Hebrew Bible's account of semi-divine beings making the Nephilim, giant god-human hybrids, and what it means for navigating life today in a postmodern world, run by a modern economy, informed by an ancient text. This article isn't rejected so much as identified as the first part of the unravelling of Jeff's confidence in the American evangelical interpretive tradtion. This isn't for everbybody, but if it is relevant to your background, it might help frame some of the dissonance many experience.
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2022-09-3041 min
Protect Your NogginRetractions: Faith, Reason & Revelation in Theodore BezaThis is part of a short series of episodes in which I look back on stuff I (Jeff) wrote in the past and reflect on ways my thinking might have changed, and what I might want to reject. In this episode, while I generally stand by my take on the history of thought within the Genevan Academy, under the rectorship of Theodore Beza (John Calvin’s right hand man), I explore ways in which I didn’t see how much the form or style of theology he propagated has had negative, unintended consequences on Western culture, especially that of Amer...
2022-09-2641 min
Protect Your NogginNaked (Part Two)In this part, we discuss the history of nudist spirituality in Christian movements from the second century till the present. Adamites ancient and revived, and the Christian connections to the founding of the naturist movement in America are discussed. Stacie answers whether she went on the World Naked Bike Ride.
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2022-08-141h 19
Protect Your NogginNaked! (Part One)Nudism in American culture, reflections on nudity in the Garden of Eden, a recent news story about a French nudist who shot someone at the beach, the history of Christian naturism, the Christian nudist sect called the Adamites, hot springs culture, & our experience with various opportunities to be naked in public, including at least Jeff’s participation in Portland’s World Naked Bike Ride. Part one focuses on our personal stories and how our church upbringing affected our body images and comfort with being naked. TW: Brief mention of sexual trauma.
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2022-08-1357 min
Protect Your NogginResurrection of the Body Reconsidered (Part 2)In part 2 Jeff answers: What do we think of the historical arguments for the resurrection of Jesus? This is all about apologetics and philosophy of religion over the Christian centuries and whether the evidentialist arguments are viable these days.
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2022-08-051h 46
Protect Your NogginResurrection of the Body Reconsidered (Part One)Jeff answers listener questions about our current take on the concept of Jesus’ resurrection and the nature of belief in the bodily resurrection of humans. This is not an exhaustive manifesto but presents candid reflection on twenty years of teaching and researching the historical development of Christianity and philosophical and historical arguments for Jesus’ resurrection. We discover that the biblical texts and early Christian teaching on the subject is more complicated than we might expect. P1: What do the biblical texts and the early Christian community think about the nature of Jesus’ resurrection and the resurrection bodies of hum...
2022-08-031h 38
Protect Your NogginWe Got Some Explaining To Do (Mail Bag)Jeff and Stacie respond to listener emails and voice messages, largely unpacking our perspectives on the Bible, inerrancy, LGBT inclusion, and traditional social values within conservative Christianity. We also weigh in on the leaked letter from LCMS president Matthew Harrison to the board of regents at Concordia University Wisconsin. If you have known us in our old lives within the orbit of American evangelicalism and conservative Lutheranism, this may infuriate you, but we mean only to share with you honestly what we’re thinking and experiencing these days. Stick through hour and ten minutes of banter to hear a di...
2022-06-061h 51
Protect Your NogginGod The State and Mikhail BakuninAn examination of atheistic strands of anarchism, focusing on Mikhail Bakunin (1814–1876), author of God and the State. This episode is content packed, with just Jeff this time. If you don’t want so much academic content, feel free to skip to another episode.
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2022-05-301h 18
Protect Your NogginOrigin StoriesWhat happens when you reject the state’s official paperwork and driver’s licenses? When did you begin, and why does that matter politically and spiritually? Who owns you and your biological material? We explore these questions with our old pal Jon David Johnson, with whom Jeff played music back in the day as The Bloodhound Shuffle. He has a unique interpretation of the Bible and political history that you may not agree with, but we found interesting and helpful as a sort of thought experiment, through which we can reframe our origins as biological beings and the relationship betw...
2022-05-161h 05
Protect Your NogginJesus AnarchyJeff lays out his take on Jesus and freedom, and lays out a summary of the biblical narrative from a Christian Anarchist perspective. One need not commit to a particular perspective on how to apply these ideas to contemporary life. There is value in first examining the moral ideal of Jesus, which invalidates the way of domination, injustice and inequality, and then taking a while to ponder how we might work toward the mission of the radical sage from Galilee. We discuss the ways in which the concept of inerrancy presents problems for intellectual life within church-related higher education...
2022-05-051h 49
Protect Your NogginThe Meaning of Life According to AuggieThis show is a collection of recordings with Jeff and Stacie's son Auggie, who died recently. It includes free form speculation about spirituality, the mythologies behind popular culture artifacts, and what Auggie thought the point of life was. As you'll see, there's a consistency from start to finish. At the end, you can hear a song written by Jeff and Auggie, and performed by the whole family many years ago. It too captures our family's general perspective on life.
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2021-11-261h 04
Protect Your NogginAre We Living In The End Times?A lecture Jeff recently gave on the history & significance of end times thinking in the context of the Jesus freaks, the Calvary Chapel movement & church history in general. There’s also a personal application to facing doom and personal death in the second half of the talk. If it didn’t come across perfectly: Jeff’s ultimate point was to confront the reality of societal and ecological dangers, but also to suggest that the true way of Jesus is to help bring healing and repair to the world through love.
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2021-11-181h 32
Protect Your NogginNew Calvinism and AuthorityStacie and Jeff reflect casually on their experiences within the revival of reformed theology in Southern California during the 1990s, then chat with Luca Azuma, alumnus from Concordia University’s history program, who has written on the history of the young, restless and Reformed response to non-denominational evangelicalism, and what this means about authoritarianism, masculinity, and dogmatism. We realize we paint with a broad brush at times. We recognize there are sophisticated forms of Reformed thought that don’t resemble what some prominent “Reformed” folk espouse, but we are now talking about popular forms of Calvinism, especially in indep...
2021-11-041h 36
Protect Your NogginHow To Survive The Apocalypse: Taoist & Christian Advice ComparedJeff Mallinson explains how ancient Taoists and early Christians both faced worlds that were uncertain, violent & riddled with factionalism & war. According to him, both approaches to life encouraged a sort of spiritual anarchism, which is the central topic of this outside lecture in the CUI Heritage Garden. Anarchism here refers to the idea that the state serves its own interests, rather than ours & is thus not to be trusted let alone worshipped. The sage-disciple will avoid the very systems of domination that work to enslave us & steal our joy, albeit in a nonviolent way. The difference between Taoism & Christianity...
2021-09-291h 13
Protect Your NogginIs Liberal Arts Education Bad for Your Health?Jeff discusses the positives and pitfalls of the liberal arts, the Western classical tradition, and anarchist ideas about schooling, then shares the audio of his opening convocation address this week at Concordia University Irvine, in which he shares ways in which church related universities can offer a liberating experience, given the right commitments. If you want to skip to the convocation address, that starts half an hour in.
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2021-08-2750 min
Protect Your NogginIs Empathy Bad for Your Health?We got wind of an odd idea in American evangelicalism: some are provocatively and or implicitly saying that empathy is a sin. It leads, it seems, to too much tolerance and not enough doctrinal purity. We discuss this, a negative article written about Jeff and his views on science at church related universities, and why we had to take bit of a pause for the last few weeks of our road trip down from Portland.
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2021-08-231h 03
Protect Your NogginThe Only Good SexReflection on Stacie’s hypothesis that American Christian beliefs about hierarchy and inequality in the home are negatively affecting the sex lives of evangelicals and others whose ideologies or theologies reject the basic equality of all partners in a sexual relationship. Also a discussion of why people fight at campsites and the conditions in which people can be genuine friends. This season, we're talking about nourishment, and this is a casual investigation into the nourishing role of positive, healthy and non-coercive sexuality. Stuff We Mention Relationship quarrels during camping Hormones, menopause, and rel...
2021-07-141h 25
Protect Your NogginBRAINWORMS, DISINFORMATION AND ONLINE PROPAGANDAMany of us know people who have been infected by blatant falsehood. Guest Sean Nowlan, a student at Jeff’s university, helps break down what’s going on with foreign powers using online technology to sow disinformation and divide their rival nation. We discussing the connection between American evangelical belief and receptivity to disinformation. We conclude with the best ways to help friends and family find a way out of false ideologies concocted via disinformation.
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2021-04-101h 07
Protect Your Noggin#CHURCHTOO with Emily JoyUnderstanding and confronting sexual abuse in the church. Emily Joy was instrumental in starting the Twitter hashtag #CHURCHTOO & has written a book by that same name. We discuss her perspective on the various ways in which American evangelicalism’s way of thinking makes abusive relationships more likely, harder to address, and more painful for those who suffer from the abusive behaviors. Stacie starts out the show by sharing a moving testimony about her response to the book. Opening music by Landon Mills. Content Warnings: sexual abuse/rape, spiritual abuse
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2021-03-291h 28
Protect Your NogginEVOLOVE by Bohemian Artist and Mystic Isaac FrazeeJeff reads an abridgement of Isaac Frazee, Evolove: The Quest and Findings of an Efficiency Expert (1929). This book explores several themes related to the emphases of our podcast. Frazee’s work is largely unknown today but reflects interesting challenges to industrialism, unquestioned capitalism, and religiosity that gets in the way of the way of Jesus. There is a bit of Christian anarchy and Christian socialism possibly behind this text.
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2021-03-171h 10
Protect Your NogginThe Liberal Arts as Medicine for Our Ailing TimesA keynote lecture Jeff gave to the TriCampus Undergraduate Conference, a collaborative effort of Concordia U., Irvine, Fresno Pacific U., and Pepperdine U. It took place on Saturday, 2/27. Jeff explains how a college education, properly done, can be a helpful tool in pushing back against the crisis of truth and the global gaslighting the powers that be have been using against us all for ages. CW: There is brief mention made of Tara Reid’s allegations of sexual assault against Joe Biden.
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2021-03-031h 05
Protect Your NogginFirst Aid for Relationship ConflictsJeff and Stacie try out a relationship strategy for use especially in the immediate wake of a conflict-producing event in a romantic relationship, religious community, or workplace. In order to “Taosurf” relationships, they suggest that it can be helpful to separate out a) intentions, b) actions, c) reactions, and d) resolutions. This conversation might help you think through the reasons why you get into relationship conflicts and how to not let them ruin a relationship. They discuss the difficulties of enneagram 7 and 1 relationship pairings and provide a couple examples from their own relationship to illustrate the relationship flow chart and...
2021-01-191h 13
Protect Your NogginA Tipsy New Years Eve Discussion about Setting IntentionsWhy do many set an “intention” at the start of a contemplative practice or yin yoga session? How does this relate to New Year’s resolutions? Without the normal opportunities for group festivities, Jeff and Stacie spend a quiet evening discussing the advantages and dangers of setting expectations and establishing goals. The discussion gets going after a bit of champagne, so forgive the meandering of this late-night chat. Book mentioned: Martin Laird, Into the Silent Land
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2021-01-011h 05
Protect Your NogginAmerica’s Culture of Food Fear and FreedomThis episode shares an international student perspective on American food, work & religion. We interview Jeff’s compelling student Malik, who is an international student who was stuck with us on an empty campus over the winter break. We invited candid observations from our guest, who obliged our questions but is by nature not one to offer unsolicited criticism. Nonetheless, we believe that the best way to identify and heal unbalanced aspects of our own lives is to get an outsiders’ perspective, which is what this episode brings, even as we welcomed this student to be part of our inner circ...
2020-12-291h 26
Protect Your NogginLet Your Children Flourish (Tao Te Ching 37)"The Tao does not coerce." --Lao Tzu. In this reflection, Stacie uses this chapter to help answer a question about rearing children through the way of non-domination.
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2020-12-2909 min
Protect Your NogginA True Family Christmas Special with Guest Casey TinninWe discuss the nature of a true family and the importance of maintaining boundaries, especially in religious contexts in which we believe we have good intentions but are inappropriately trying to fix others. At min 41 we interview Rev. Casey Tinnin, one of Jeff’s favorite students over the years, and someone we think of as family. He shares his story of growing up in conservative Lutheranism and ultimately coming out as gay as a Bible college student. CW: We briefly discuss suicidal ideation.
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2020-12-211h 26
Protect Your NogginFace Reality (How To Surf the Tao Lesson 6)Drawing from Lao Tzu chapters 16, 62, 70, snd 71, we explain one of the most important lessons of the Tao Te Ching: that it’s not really that hard to find the truth, but it’s hard to face the truth. This episode discusses the ways in which facing the truth can truly set us free. Most importantly, we become free from the fear that keeps us from truly living. Toward the end, Jeff speaks to religious leaders who fear death and points toward a way to secure fearless love without wavering. Stacie shares just a bit about why her work as a de...
2020-11-101h 29
Protect Your NogginStanding Boldly: Apology (Trembath Lecture Part 2)Here, Jeff isn’t saying he’s sorry for what he said in Part 1, rather he’s providing an apologia for his perspective on academic freedom within church related schools and universities. Check out the previous part, at least the first ten minutes, before heading to this part, which is more technical and deals especially with the epistemology of William of Ockham and it’s resonance with Lutheran epistemology later on.
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2020-10-281h 10
Protect Your NogginWhat Taosurfers Look Like (How To Surf The Tao Lesson 3)The ancient Taosurfers were cool cats. They had poise. They demonstrated balance. They exuded integrity and compassion. But today, Taosurfers seem like bums to some. They seem not to be players. But maybe they’re playing a different game altogether. We discuss chapters 15, 20, and 67 of the Tao Te Ching. Jeff discusses how some racists in his world led him to lose his cool; Stacie applies Lao Tzu to the situation in order to explore more effective ways of being an antidote to a toxic situation instead of internalizing the poison of hate.
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2020-09-221h 05
Protect Your NogginSensory Overload (Tao Te Ching 12)12. Focusing on flashy things blinds eyes to beauty. Listening to a cacophony of voices makes it hard to hear the truth. Too many spices will dull your taste buds. Lust for luxury will drive you mad. Riches entice men to evil deeds. Therefore, the Sage attends to essential nourishment instead of mind-numbing diversions. She selects healthy food, ignoring empty calories. Reflection This chapter is especially relevant to our...
2020-09-1608 min
Protect Your NogginS3E19 How to Tend to Religious Wolf PupsThis show is dedicated listener question about what to do when you detect that a future pastor is a wolf pup, that is, a potentially dangerous clergy person in the making. How do we nip in the bud potentially abusive behavior without being too intrusive or outrageously in people’s business? We explore the value of asking the question: What are the wrong reasons I’m doing what I’m doing in my vocation? Topics of Discussion Shadow self in Carl Gustav Jung Megachurches What makes academics tick? What makes clergy tick? Seminary and psychological evaluations Religi...
2020-09-151h 03
Protect Your NogginSoften Your Breath (Tao Te Ching 10)Can you balance your mind and body and grasp the unity of everything? Can you soften your breath and become like a sleeping baby? Can you rinse from your eyes whatever is clouding your vision?
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2020-09-0912 min
Protect Your NogginS3E16 Reading The Tower of Babel to Kids: Reimagining Sunday SchoolThis episode is dedicated to a question from a listener who works in Christian education. They ask: How do I help change the culture of a church so that it's life giving & not authoritarian? In other words, how does one practically apply some of the themes we care about at Protect Your Noggin for the wellbeing of our kids? After minute 30, we give our actual interpretation of the Tower of Babel, & we discuss why non-Christians should want the Bible taught in public schools.
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2020-09-081h 04
Protect Your NogginS3E15 Grieving our Times with a Death DoulaFor this episode, Jeff asks Stacie (a death doula, AKA, end of life doula) to take over the episode and offer comfort and wisdom to our whole society the way should would work with an individual who was facing his or her mortality. This comes from our realization that, while we want to promote hope in our times, we also don't want cheap hope, or the sort of shallow positivity that covers over injustice without remedying it. taosurfers.com protectyournoggin.org
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2020-09-0719 min
Protect Your NogginLet Go of Excess (Tao Te Ching 9)Overfill your cup: it will spill. Over-sharpen your sword: it might shatter, when it really matters. Amass wealth: you can’t protect it. Excessive pride in riches and prestige will only leave you in disgrace.
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2020-09-0209 min
Protect Your NogginS3E13 The Hebrew Bible and Moral InjuryA discussion of moral injury, how it shows up in the Bible, & how we might read accounts war and violence in antiquity. Jeff interviews guest Dr. Brad E. Kelle is professor of Old Testament & Hebrew at Point Loma Nazarene University. His academic work focuses on the OT prophets, warfare in ancient Israel, trauma studies, moral injury, and the history of ancient Israel and Judah. He is author of The Bible and Moral Injury: Reading Scripture alongside War's Unseen Wounds (Abingdon, 2020).
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2020-09-011h 22
Protect Your NogginMake Your Home in Low Places (Tao Te Ching 8)To discover the greatest good flow like water. Water pours life into all creatures without striving. It pools in places men disdain. This is how it’s like the Tao. So make your home in low places. Draw from the deep well of the heart. Offer kindness to others. Let your words be sincere. Govern justly. Let your work be your art. Remain present with everyone you encounter. Live without striving and people won’t try to pull you down.
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2020-08-2911 min
Protect Your NogginDeath to Ego! Long Live Your True Self! (Tao Te Ching Chapter 7)…the sage puts herself last yet comes out ahead. She dies to her ego yet she finds life. See how this makes her selfless? And this is how she becomes her true self.
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2020-08-2608 min
Protect Your NogginS3E10: Emancipation from Mental Slavery (How to Surf the Tao 2)Tao Te Ching chapters 3 and 12 We discuss the importance of being presence, attending to bodily needs, and the history of Western Christianity's move toward the idea that we can't do much about injustice so we should just focus on the life to come. At hour 1 or so we share the meaning of life. We end with some cooking tips from Lao Tzu.
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2020-08-251h 23
Protect Your NogginOh Mamma! (Tao Te Ching 6)The spirit of the valley is deathless. She is called the Mysterious Mother. The womb of the Mysterious Mother is called the source of heaven and earth. It flows endlessly, almost imperceptibly.
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2020-08-2406 min
Protect Your NogginDoes the University Care? Tao Te Ching 5The cosmos is unbiased, treating all living things like sidewalk chalk drawings. The sage is unbiased, treating all people like sidewalk chalk drawings. The atmosphere is like a bellows.Wind blows through seeming emptiness.It stokes fires, but never runs out of breath. Yet when blowhards talk, everyone gets exhausted.
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2020-08-1910 min
Protect Your NogginS3E7: Let It BeWe discuss the insights from the Tao Te Ching that help us all evade various forms of manipulation & mental shenanigans. In addition to some introductory matters, we explore at least 5 common pitfalls or "wipeouts" that many experience when learning to surf the Tao. Lest you become crestfallen, as hard as these temptations & challenges are at the outset, rest assured that they soon give way to deep peace for those who are ready to rest secure in the source of deep rest.
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2020-08-191h 38
Protect Your NogginA Wellspring of All That Exists: Tao Te Ching 4The Tao seems like an empty vessel, but when you pour it out, it never ceases to flow. It is fathomless! A wellspring of all that exists. (Note: Stacie was not a fan of Jeff's special effects on her voice toward the end of the recording, but she appreciates the spirit of playfulness nonetheless.) Protectyournoggin.org Taosurfers.com
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2020-08-1707 min
Protect Your NogginEmancipation from Mental Slavery: Tao Te Ching 3Idolize celebrity and success, and men will bicker in envy. Overvalue possessions, and men will turn into thieves. Flaunt what you have, and others’ hearts will become restless. The sage leads by helping men let go of longing and fulfill living needs, let go of striving and enjoy good health. The sage emancipates men from mental slavery, and restrains the crafty from their manipulations. Surf the Tao and everything will be okay.
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2020-08-1207 min
Protect Your NogginS3E4 How the TTC Helps us Outfox Religious WolvesWe made a list of seven reasons why the Tao Te Ching helps people from all (or no) faith tradition protect their noggins and learn to outfox religious wolves. In other words, this is an explanation of why we thought this text was ideal for our next set of lessons. We aren't quite ready to commit to 12 total lessons, but these 7 will likely be the backbone.
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2020-08-111h 24
Protect Your NogginSurfing the World of Opposites: Tao Te Ching 2Once we perceive beauty in the world, we also discern ugliness. After we gain knowledge of goodness, we also recognize evil ...
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2020-08-1008 min
Protect Your NogginTao Te Ching 1A tranquil meditation on the first chapter of Lao Tzu's classic. Each week this season, we will be offering two such reflections alongside regular long-form discussions. For information about our rendering of the text, check out www.taosurfers.com. For additional written commentary and show notes in general, check out www.protectyournoggin.org.
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2020-08-0410 min
Protect Your NogginS3E1 Intro to Surfing the TaoSeason one is all about Lao Tzu's classic The Tao Te Ching, and our two years of overland travel and exploration of this ancient Chinese book of wisdom. We discuss how this too can help us develop the mental, emotional and spiritual skills needed to find our own agency and avoid the wiles of unscrupulous religious folk. Show notes are always to be found at www.protectyournoggin.org Glossary of Terms we Use Throughout this Season Best Translations and Paraphrases to Use Dao De Jing
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2020-08-0456 min
Protect Your NogginS2E25 Don't Recycle (Mark 2:18-22)This is the twin parable of the new wine and old wineskins and the new cloth patch on an old garment. Religious people tend to be critical of any deviation from the way things have traditionally been done. Despite this, Jesus encourages us to not focus on the external appearances or outward manifestations of spirituality, but instead focuses on the quality of the content. Ancient wisdom may take slightly new forms in each age, but nostalgically clinging to old forms without being flexible can lead to ruin both for the content and the form of a spiritual movement. Finally...
2020-07-231h 03
Protect Your NogginS2E24 Don't Think About Pink Elephants in the Room (Matthew 12:25-32)According to Jesus, blasphemy against the Spirit is bearing false witness to the sacred. Find out more about The unpardonable sin, a.k.a. the unforgivable sin, the eternal sin, or the sin against the Holy Ghost. Mark 3:28-30 Luke 12:8-10 John 11:48
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2020-06-1557 min
Protect Your NogginS2E23 How To Help a Pal Out of a CultWhat is a cult (defined as a high? How can you get out of one? How can you help a friend who's got caught in their snare? For additional notes, go to https://www.protectyournoggin.org/podcast
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2020-05-311h 08
Protect Your NogginS2E22 Don't Register Your Patent (Mark 9:33-42)It's possible for the official leaders of a movement—even a righteous one—to completely miss the point. Meanwhile, it's possible that outsiders actually are better at understanding the movement’s mission. Jesus emphasizes faithfulness to his way over membership in the group. Moreover, in the case of the movement that Jesus was ushering in, those who harm or hinder children on their path are condemned in the strongest terms, while children themselves are held up as models of the true kingdom.
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2020-05-291h 10
Protect Your NogginS2E21: Moral Injury and The State of Politics TodayA nonpartisan discussion of the ways in which the psychological theory of moral injury parallels what most Americans are facing now, as they must choose to vote or not vote, or vote for a candidate accused of serious misdeeds. Whatever you think of Tara Reade, Joe Biden's accuser or the list of allegations against Donald Trump, being forced to decide here threatens to implicate all of us in injustice. How does this work, what light does it shed on the ways we deal with similar issues in religious communities, and how can we restore moral perspective in our chaotic t...
2020-05-211h 01
Protect Your NogginS2E20 Don’t Balance Your Books (Matthew 18:21-35)The parable of the Unforgiving Servant. Jesus invites us all to let go of spiritual & relational bean-counting & to recognize the crushing burden of indebtedness. Those of us who cling to our systems of transaction & obligation end up condemned by those same accounting systems. If we let go of those systems, we can find peace. True nature forgiveness isn't meant to allow continued abuse or to force a traumatized person to move too quickly past their pain without processing it.
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2020-05-131h 12
Protect Your NogginS2E19 Growth Beyond Our False LabelsSometimes, people keep you from adapting and thriving by labeling you in a way that limits your freedom to grow. We came to this topic because Stacie was getting to a spot where she wondered whether she might be cut out for podcasting, so instead of the episode we were planning, she applied lessons from the past couple episodes to her own life and to the question of whether we might be able to move past pre-conceived labels and self-doubt.
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2020-05-061h 04
Protect Your NogginS2E18: Embrace Your Dark Side (Matthew 7:1-5)Jesus teaches his followers to be less judgmental about the lives of outsiders and yet more discerning about abusive behaviors in their own midst. Judgment involves condemnation with contempt. Discernment involves radical honesty with deep compassion. Most importantly, discernment starts with assessment of our own situation. Jesus isn’t inviting us to negative self-talk, but rather an unflinching confrontation and merciful embrace of what psychologist Carl Gustav Jung calls our shadow selves.
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2020-04-2853 min
Protect Your NogginS2E17: The Cure for Cabin FeverDr. Betsi Little (Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology, Univ. of North Dakota & a faculty at Palomar College) shares a “Quarantine Positive Psychology Intervention Challenge” she offers to her students & provides tips for clearing quarantine head fog. Betsi's research focuses on the perceptions held of, and by, marginalized populations She lives in San Diego with her husband, toddler and beagle, Kyle.
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2020-04-1839 min
Protect Your NogginS2E16 Sell Everything (Luke 18:18-30)The false sense of security we place on material wealth is detrimental to spiritual freedom. Jesus invites us to enjoy the peace and liberation that comes from letting go of our accumulated wealth and sharing with our fellow humans. Those who respond to Jesus’ invitation will find that, instead of feeling impoverished, they will receive the inheritance of the whole world, and will be free from the manipulations of people and systems that try to control us by dangling rewards or threatening to take away what we have.
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2020-04-101h 13
Protect Your NogginS2E15 Hope in the Face of Death (Mark 9:30-41)If Jesus came to your place of worship, what would he think? If he were to tell you directly about the last being first, would you be ready to be last, least, and lost? Jeff shares a message reflecting on the teachings of Jesus related to facing death, the concept of resurrection, childlike faith, letting go, and the nature of the true church. This is a special episode of comfort and hope amid the current pandemic. A significantly abridged version of this was sent to students at Concordia University, in lieu of in-person chapel.
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2020-04-0119 min
Protect Your NogginS2E14 Entertainment Everywhere but Not A Thing To WatchWhy it’s hard to find something to inspire us on streaming services these days, why a student found it hard to read history texts in Jeff’s class, why Christians shouldn't deny science, positive and negative examples of religious responses to epidemics, and eight suggestions for filling your time up with wholesome things to watch, read and do.
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2020-03-301h 43
Protect Your NogginS2E13 Hate Your Parents (Luke 14:25-26)Obviously the way of Jesus invites us to love everyone, and this includes your parents. Moreover, it is good to seek wise counsel from people who have lived longer than you have. But Jesus teaches that it is important for you to follow what you believe to be good, true and beautiful, regardless of what your parents, teachers, and religious authorities might say. After seeking the wisdom of others, you as an individual are invited to think what you think you should think, believe what you believe you should believe, and do what you think you should do.
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2020-03-241h 02
Protect Your NogginS2E12 Peace Amid PanicReflections on our anxious times facing Covid-19 and uncertainties. A poem from Isaac Frazee. Stacie shares insights from her training as a death doula that apply to valuing life in the present. A bonus reflection from Stacie on Tao Te Ching chapter 10 closes the show out.
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2020-03-1659 min
Protect Your NogginS2E11 Be A LoserPYNWJ5 Too often, people join a religion because they think it will bring them social or material benefits, as if God were some sort of genie in a bottle. Though the way of Jesus may ultimately be the best investment one could make, it nevertheless involves letting go of a lot of things we tend to hoard. If we go halfway, refusing to trust in the nature of his new kingdom, we make fools of ourselves and distract people from Jesus’ core message.
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2020-03-1052 min
Protect Your NogginS2E10 The Liberal Arts in Christian Higher EducationCan the principles we promote on this show be applied within Christian education? While it isn't always easy, one longstanding way to do so is through the liberal arts, especially in the context of church-related higher education. Guests Joel Oesch (theology) and Daniel Deen (philosophy), two colleagues from Jeff's university (Concordia University, Irvine) discuss the difficulties and opportunities for critical thought in liberal arts institutions. Stacie is out of town this week, and Jeff will be traveling to Dallas, so we are shifting the schedule slightly. Next episode will return to our discussion of the teachings of J...
2020-03-0157 min
Protect Your NogginS2E9 Getting Out of Ruts with Lao TzuWhy it's important to read outside your normal library, meet people outside your normal sandbox, and welcome wisdom from abroad. We explain a bit about why we got into creating a new English version of the Tao Te Ching, along with two sample audio readings and reflections. This gives you a bit of a preview of what we'll be up to with season 3, which will be about Protect Your Noggin with Lao Tzu. protectyournoggin.org
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2020-02-2448 min
Protect Your NogginS2E8 Be Risky (Matthew 25:14-30)The well-known parable of the talents teaches us something unexpected: that sometimes it's not better to be safe than sorry. Sometimes, you'll be sorry if you play it too safe. This is about the character of God and whether we are free to take bold creative risks in our families, places of work, and religious communities. Go to protectyournoggin.org to find out how to get copies of the chapters.
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2020-02-1753 min
Protect Your NogginS2E7 Agency, Unconditional Positive Regard (Listener Mail)Through answering questions from listeners, Jeff and Stacie weave together a conversation about the importance of people old and young experiencing agency in their lives and how we might help young people gain agency through a concept called Unconditional Positive Regard.
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2020-02-101h 04
Protect Your NogginS2E6 Break Stuff (John 2:13-25)Equipped with the truth, Jesus demonstrates that we don’t need to be in fear of corrupt religious leaders, but are free to stir things up for the sake of what is right. Indeed, he invites us to be indignant and vocal when leaders are hurting the people they are called to serve. This is the famous story where Jesus smashes stuff up in the Temple. It's sometimes known as the “cleansing of the Temple” but it is not just a cleaning up, but a dismantling of a bad religious system that Jesus had in mind.
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2020-02-031h 01
Protect Your NogginS2E5 Proselytizing, Anxiety and Lonely FaithThe first segment responds to a question about acts of evangelism for a seminary assignment. We discuss what it means to share good news that really is good. Then, 50 minutes in we move to an interview with a young woman named Autumn who demonstrates a bit of the boldness we discussed last week. Jeff asked her to join the show after hearing her poetry, which she shared at an open mic event headlined by Micah Bournes for the Crosswise Institute. As an exercise in unpacking her poem (which you can read at protectyournoggin.org) she shares her struggles with d...
2020-01-271h 47
Protect Your NogginS2E4 Be Sassy (Luke 5:1-11) PYNWJ 2The story of Jesus calling his first disciples, the non-institutional basis for his authority, the value of boldness, and how Jesus located the holy within people rather than places and structures. This is part of a 12 part series studying teachings of Jesus that can help us protect ourselves from manipulative tactics of folks who might come in the name of Jesus, and then find empowerment in the peace to which Jesus points.
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2020-01-2054 min
Protect Your NogginS2E3 When to Engage: Just War Theory, Ram Dass and Confronting Abuse (Part 2)This second part is rather to the point (compared to some of our shows!) We start with chapter 69 of the Tao Te Ching then dive into the criteria of just war theory to discuss when and how to ethically engage problematic people in our lives, whether just annoyances or criminals. TW: sexual abuse, clergy abuse, guru abuse
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2020-01-201h 21
Protect Your NogginS2E2 When To Engage: Just War Theory, Ram Dass & Confronting AbuseThis is the first of two parts this week. We seek wisdom regarding when to engage "bad guys" in our lives, reflecting on three news stories: 1) US military action in Iraq and the question of legitimate authority in acts of war, 2) Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's act of backing out of the cult of the British royal family, and 3) the death of Ram Dass and Jeff and Stacie's initial reticence to take seriously criticisms of this pop culture icon. This will set us up for the subsequent second part, where the discussion will focus on the various principles of...
2020-01-131h 20
Protect Your NogginS2E1 Put Down the DishesProtect Your Noggin with Jesus, a twelve chapter study, is the focus for this season. Study along with us. First ten minutes: Jeff introduces season two and why we are focusing on the teachings of Jesus this round. Then Jeff and Stacie discuss the story of Mary and Martha, why religiosity gets in the way of listening to the core message too often, and why legalism can be exhausting. After the break, we discuss some of the questions we have in the study book (find out more about that at www.protectyournoggin.org).
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2020-01-061h 01
Protect Your NogginS1E15 When Forgiveness Gets WeaponizedForgiveness is a mark of the community of the followers of Jesus, according to the Apostle's Creed. It is also often said in New Age self-help circles that you should forgive because it is good for you. While we recognize the importance and power of forgiveness we also discuss some of the ways in which forgiveness is misused to keep people quiet about injustice. We discuss the problem of the just world fallacy, our frustration with the Babylon Bee, why all sins aren't equal, Tao Te Ching chapter 5, the Book of Job, and the writings of Fred Alfred and...
2019-12-301h 15
Protect Your NogginS1E14 Mythologize MeThis is more of a laid back conversational show. Imagine we're just sitting around on couches, with a fire glowing. In the first segment we discuss how myths affect the way we approach life. How some myths become outdated and need replacement. Guest Auggie Mallinson talks about Gilbert Ryle on myth and the important lessons from the animated series Bojack Horseman, which teaches us that character is formed slowly over time, and it is unhealthy for us to expect quick resolution to life challenges. In the second hour, we interview Wayne Boyd, a recently retired army chaplain who is...
2019-12-232h 00
Protect Your NogginS1E13 Flesh and SpiritWhat is it to be "spiritual"? How does this differ from magic and religion, and where does mysticism fit in? This week, we address the connection between the infinite source of all existence, and the importance of embodiment for that eternal reality to be expressed. We discuss our visit to some Voodoo spots in New Orleans. Stacie shares a bit from our translation of Tao Te Ching chapter 1. We address three listener questions that all relate to the connection between spirit and flesh, including questions about the connection between the human and divine natures of Jesus, the connection between...
2019-12-161h 39
Protect Your NogginS1E12 Keeping Your Wits About YouThe main point of this show is that we are invited to pay more attention to the wisdom that our bodily senses offer, to carefully listen to what they are telling us, and yet to not judge the stimuli too quickly. We discuss the importance of intuition, and the idea that the non-human universe is actively communicating with us through various senses even when it doesn't use human language. We start with a discussion of our new Tao Te Ching translation project and share a sample of that work. At 1:05 there's audio of Great Pyrenees w...
2019-12-091h 49
Protect Your NogginS1E11 Worldviews Ideology and Cuban ExilesChristian education in the US tends to sell folks on the idea that they offer train students in a Christian worldiview. Setting aside the question of whether they've got the right version, on this show we question the fundamental issue of whether that's a smart or healthy move in the first place. Then, in the second segment (at time marker 01:15) we discuss the ways in which Castro took over the minds of a whole island nation. TW: in our discussion of cultural hegemony we bring up the ugly practice of female genital mutilation.
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2019-12-022h 50
Protect Your NogginS1E9 Decultification: Wisdom from the Road Part 3During their sabbatical semester traveling the country and studying American religion, Jeff and Stacie spent time at a legendary hippie commune called The Farm in Tennessee. It was founded by Stephen Gaskin and author of Spiritual Midwifery Ida May Gaskin. The group voted to stop being a "cult" and changed to an intentional community in the 1980s. This show is about the lessons learned from that transition, and how it might apply to religious communities and society in general. In the process it turns out they were rather impressed by the community and even contemplated moving there. Ch...
2019-11-181h 51
Protect Your NogginS1E5 Sacrificing Kids in the Name of ReligionMolech was the underworld deity to whom some in the ancient Near East sacrificed their children. In philosopher Bertrand Russell and poet Allan Ginsberg we see folks using Molech or "Moloch" as a reference to impersonal, authoritarian religions of cruel power. Through fear, folks find themselves turning religion into the exact opposite of what they originally came for: peace is exchanged for terror, flourishing is exchanged for spiritual death. In the first hour, Jeff gives an overview of ancient Israelite relationships with Molech in segment one and then Stacie then applies this to contemporary parenting and education via the...
2019-10-212h 47
Protect Your NogginS1E4 Truth and When the Bible is Used as a Weapon“Look for truth that is like a solid granite mountain face. Let all fragile constructs dash to pieces against it.” This is not a show arguing for or against the concept of biblical inerrancy, but it is a long form reflection on the nature of truth and what it feels like when we find it. It is also about ways in which people sometimes use ideas like biblical infallibility as a tool for authoritarian control. We spend a good bit of time discussing our application of the enneagrams to our relationships, but wait for the application of this...
2019-10-142h 17
Protect Your NogginS1E3 Shame Guilt and the Shadow SelfHow the wolves tend to deny guilt but sling shame, but also how to have compassion but be wary of those wolves whose lives are a riddle. First segment: a discussion of the main theme and the distinction between shame and guilt, along with another story of Jeff getting knocked unconscious by a bully. Second Segment: discussion of a powerful lecture from Carl Gustav Jung to Swiss clergy, starting at 1:02 Third Segment: A fun but powerful game you can use to identify and confront your shadow self, starting at 1:20 Fourth Segment: w...
2019-10-072h 02
Protect Your NogginS1E2 Discernment versus Judgment and Why Some Don't Report Religious AbuseFor the first segment, Stacie shares her background in American evangelicalism: the good, bad, and ugly. Then she explains why she got into yoga. The second segment (about an hour in) is an in depth discussion of research related to the psychological reasons people either minimize abusive behaviors or fail to report them. The most important thing here is that the research suggests that protocols and procedures, including enforced mandatory reporting rules aren't enough: we need to rethink the way we educate both students and educators. That's what this project is all about. We ran o...
2019-09-301h 52
Protect Your NogginS1E1 IntroductionWelcome to our first episode. Segment 1: We'll share a bit about our backstory, focusing this time on Jeff's story (Stacie's will be on episode 2). Segment 2: We discuss research from Donald Capps that relates bad forms of religious education to torment in students. Segment 3: We address a listener call about leaving a religious group. We offer and receive lessons in outfoxing religious wolves reforming religious education so everyone can be spiritually bold, free of manipulation and filled with deep peace. After 20+ years of professional work in religious education and educational...
2019-09-191h 43