Open To Truth

What are we saying when we say something is "beautiful"? We are all interested in having beauty be part of our lives, which has led many to wonder whether some things are objectively more beautiful than other things. We discuss this in the context of various creative arts and the power beauty has in our lives. Stay Curious!

Neuralink, Synthetic Biology, and Advanced Audio/Visual AI.  Each come with amazing benefits to society, and yet there is reason to be concerned about their widespread adoption.  Sadly, our ethical considerations often lag behind the arrival of new tech, so let this episode be one step in the direction of preparing our hearts and minds for surprising technologies that are right around the corner. Stay Curious!

The Hero's Journey has been regarded as THE story, the monomyth, the archetype of archetypes, the grand narrative, in which all narratives find their home. At the most basic level, it is the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth or starting from the known, venturing out into the unknown, and returning to the known again.  We take the 30,000 ft. view of the Hero's Journey, try to understand in the context of prominent films and literature, and apply it to our everyday lives.   Stay Curious!

Thanks for writing in to the show! We love interacting with our audience.  We discuss the desirability of heaven, value or disvalue of natural theology, and how to think about the relationship between inerrancy and historicity. Stay Curious!

Did Jesus have to die on the cross and what did he accomplish in doing so? Various atonement theories attempt to answer this such as Penal Substitution, Christus Victor, Moral Exemplar, Ransom Theory, and Announcement Theory among others. We discuss each one briefly and assess the merits of each. Stay Curious!

We all have a unique perspective. Our life experience influences how we think and the wisdom we can bring to a conversation, even a theological one. Yet, we can still wonder about the projects known by their reference to identity such as black theology, queer theology, feminist theology, and disability theology among others. How should we think about these labels and what do they really mean? To what extent do these projects carry specific political commitments to the table in their theologizing and hermeneutics? Stay Curious!

Political division and polarization in America have reached a fever pitch. Civic discourse has become a landscape nearly devoid of the intellectual virtues.  And in the midst of this, we still make our decisions in a largely democratic fashion where hardly anyone actually is informed on any important topics.  Could these negative phenomena be the result of a more systemic problem in how we govern ourselves - that is, is democracy itself to blame? Our guest Dr. Jason Brennan, professor at Georgetown University, explores alternatives to democracy that may in fact produce more of the good results we actually care about.  We discuss the traditional reasons democracy has been praised and supported, and examine ways it falls short, and notable alternatives to it.  We closely look at epistocracy, or rule by the knowers, that perhaps the most informed among us should have the greatest say in policy. For a more detailed treatment, check out Jason's book Against Democracy anywhere books are sold. Stay Curious!

Have you ever had a new experience or idea that has led you to have even more questions about something in the Bible? Or wondered about what the Bible even is? Or what to do with it? We sure have and our guest Dr. Pete Enns has too! Pete has been a spiritual luminary for us as we have navigated our shifting ideas regarding faith, theology, and the Bible.  We talk all about the impact and consequences of exploring new ideas regarding the Bible, how to raise your kids and lead others in the midst of deconstruction, the messiness of the Bible, and what we are supposed to be doing with it.   Pete's latest book How the Bible Actually Works is a fantastic, accessible piece for thinking about the challenges and joys of biblical interpretation.  Make sure to get your copy today! Stay Curious!

Some streams of modern biblical scholarship have pointed out the mythological nature of certain biblical texts and have attempted to "demythologize" them - to sift out the supernatural, wild bits in order to find the moral, theological principles embedded in the stories.  Is this the right interpretative method? Maybe at times.  We'll talk about a few of these.  But maybe not at others.  That is, something significant may be lost when we do this.  We'll talk about a few of these too - including the resurrection of Jesus. Stay Curious!

Sharing one's faith has always been a central "right-practice" in the Christian faith.  Following Jesus well means sharing him with others in some way. But, how best to do it? What are the various forms of sharing that manifest throughout the church? We share stories of our own evangelistic efforts and how we consider the endeavor in light of the deconstruction journey. Stay Curious!

If it hasn't happened already, it is likely you will have a season of doubt in your spiritual walk.  Doubt regarding even the key claims of your faith.  New evidence, perspectives, and experiences can lead to really tough questions concerning your worldview.   Some have described what happens next as deconstruction.  The "house" we build of our worldview needs to be rearranged in some ways to accommodate new inputs.  We talk about important moments in our personal lives of facing tough questions, how to handle doubt, and try to give language through metaphor to the experience of rearranging, of deconstruction, and of reconstruction. Stay Curious!

Fans have written into the show, and we respond to their questions.  Your question could be featured on an episode -  so, be sure to write in! Either way, we respond to 100% of emails.  We'd love to hear from you and interact.  You can reach us mailbag@opentotruth.com.   Stay Curious!

Have you seen all the hubbub about Bitcoin and wondered what it's all about, but at this point you are too afraid to ask?  Join the club! It is a complex topic to get a handle on precisely because it touches on a number of disciplines such as philosophy, politics, economics, computer science, and others. Luckily we aren't on our own to figure this out.  Our guests are here to help guide our exploration of this topic and what it means practically in our lives.  Andrew Bailey is associate professor at Yale-NUS college and Bradley Rettler is assistant professor of philosophy at University of Wyoming.  They have formed, with their colleague Craig Warmke, a research collective called "Resistance Money" where they aim to understand and evaluate the cryptocurrency phenomenon and Bitcoin more specifically. We discuss what Bitcoin is, how it works, whether it is money and how it compares to other forms of money like the US Dollar and gold, and also whether Bitcoin is good - good for you and good for the world.  Ther

How you should use the Bible will depend on what your goals are. Do you want to grow spiritually? Become acquainted with an extremely important document in the history of Western Civilization? Are you wanting to experience God through its messages? Do you want to know spiritual truths? We should think carefully about this, since the goal you are using it for should inform how you use it. In this episode, we talk about the Bible as Literature, the Bible as Scripture, and the Bible as a Formation Tool. What are the implications for ideas like "authority" and "inspiration"? Stay Curious!

There are big implications for thinking that the Bible is one book.  The reality is that the Bible is actually many "books", a whole library of books in one volume, where "books" is used generously to mean stories, poems, songs, parables, history, law, prophecies, letters, and more.  In this episode, we discuss the notion of genre and how it applies to the Bible-library and consider several particular genres, their main texture, and the implications for interpretation in light of genre.   Stay Curious!

Have you ever been in a church service where someone reads a passage from a version that sounds really different from a version you are familiar with?  How can that be - why is the language used so different across translations?  Sometimes there are significant departures in meaning and even theology! In this episode, we explain what leads translator-interpreters to make the choices that they do.  Which version of the Bible you should use depends on what your goals are - and we examine the best versions for the various goals. Stay Curious!

You may have seen "Stoicism" trending on various social media platforms in recent years.  The revitalization of this ancient philosophical perspective on the good life has taken on interesting manifestations, some amounting to mere slogans and Instagram quote-accounts, to fusions with New-Age and eastern mysticism.   What makes Stoic thought have rebirths is that it claims something that resonates with many people across cultures - that true happiness/contentment/joy can only be found within.  Even though the strategies and practices differ on how to "achieve" this joy, the underlying principle has some merit.  We talk all about this in this episode and contrast it with other prominent views.  Is Stoicism really the best path to the good life? Join the Conversation and Stay Curious!

Few topics have garnered more attention in the past decade than Transgenderism.  Of course, it is not just a topic - it's about people.  Real people going through extremely challenging circumstances and also real people trying to understand these folk's experiences the best that they can. Please extend some grace toward us as we navigate these ideas - the popular terms used in the discussion come with quite a bit of baggage, and some people use them in different, even contradictory, ways.  As it happens, we think this is the main reason there is so much consternation from the various perspectives.  We try to explore the nuances of these terms while upholding a commitment to understanding the truth of the matter and affirming our love for all people, no matter what.   As always, please join the conversation and stay curious.

2021 has us thinking about the good we can do to make a better future.  For ourselves, our family, our community, and our nation.  But have you had the experience of being overwhelmed by the various causes to which you could give your time and resources? What should we do? What will lead to the most good?  If you are a person of faith, how does this question relate to your theology? Clint and Tony articulate some of the philosophical and practical challenges to thinking clearly on this broad topic in ethics.  We invite you to Join the Conversation and Stay Curious!

How difficult is it for human beings to survive in the wild? What are the costs and benefits of modern society and even regular human interaction? The hit History Channel show, Alone, is a gameshow where 10 contestants are dropped off alone in the wilderness, with 10 items, and film their own experience in the hopes of being the last person standing, outlasting others who have voluntarily or involuntarily, due to illness or other things, drop out.  In this episode, we continue our theme of reviewing and seeing what we can learn from cultural phenomena.  There are fascinating philosophical and ethical considerations brought to the fore by this show.  Join the Conversation!