The United States has experienced another horrific school shooting, and the country is once again debating guns. Will this time be any different? Phil asks why the U.S. is incapable of passing sensible gun regulations like Australia did 25 years ago, and why do so many evangelicals support America’s gun culture and the 2nd Amendment with religious-like devotion?
Skye then interviews Andy Crouch about his new book about the dehumanizing effects of technology. Crouch says we are drawn to tech the same way the ancients were tempted by magic. Both offer the promise of “effortless power,” but it always comes with a cost. And he says we should look to early Christianity for ways to restore dignity and personhood to our culture. Plus, critical listener responses to our recent Roe v Wade episode.
News Segment
0:00 - Intro
2:22 - Critical listener responses
Holy Post episode 508: No More Roe? & the New Scandal of the Evangelical Mind - https://www.holypost.com/post/episode-508-no-more-roe-the-new-scandal-of-the-evangelical-mind-with-mark-noll
20:58 - Baby formula
22:26 - America’s guns
Kaitlyn’s tweet: https://twitter.com/KaitlynSchiess/status/1529517008206942209
“Australia confiscated 650,000 guns. Murders and suicides plummeted” - https://www.vox.com/2015/8/27/9212725/australia-buyback
Holy Post episode 423: Is America’s Gun Culture a Blessing or Curse? - https://www.holypost.com/post/episode-423-is-america-s-gun-culture-a-blessing-or-curse-with-david-french
Interview with Andy Crouch
“The Life We’re Looking For: Reclaiming Relationship in a Technological World” - https://amzn.to/3M6EbtH
51:11 - Andy Crouch intro
53:47 - Technology and magic
59:29 - Media and superpowers
1:14:39 - Early Christianity and personhood
1:26:10 - Interview wrap-up1:28:42 - Credits
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Thank you for the thoughts on these awful experiences of the last weeks. The discussion of the differences between the Australian experience and our US gun culture are helpful. The difference in trust/distrust of the federal government seem significant.
Observations on the differences between the US and Australian experiences that might cause the difference in trust:
- Our US founding story includes a component of escaping religious persecution which is not a significant Australian shared experience. Does that makes us more sensitive in the US to mistrust government intrusion and cause a greater inherent distrust of government within the church?
- Has the experience of the Civil War (known by some as the War of Northern Aggression), Emancipation, and th…
Thank you for your recent episodes on abortion and gun violence. One point that sticks out to me, which seems to be frequently missed in these kinds of conversations, is that both sides want to selectively use the argument, "If we outlaw it, it will still happen, so what's the use?" applied only to their pet issue. Many on the left want to say, "If we outlaw abortion it will still happen unsafely in the streets, so we need to keep it legal." But many on the right will respond with something like, "That doesn't matter. This is a human life we're talking about and it's unjust in principle for abortion to be legal." And many on the right want…
I appreciated the letters read and also the previous podcast. I am a bit put off that you didn't talk with someone who is a mother and fully understands this issue in the first podcast but oh well. (I am willing if you want but I am a nobody) But I want to take it one step farther. For arguments sake lets say it is a person from conception. (An aside why don't prolife politicians pass laws so I can get insurance or claim baby on my taxes? How come you don't get a death certificate for a miscarriage?) Ok but the mother is also a person. If we decide that the lack of consent to help someone live is murder…
As requested, some details on the GOP votes on the two baby formula bills:
HR 7790 passed the House by a vote of 231-192, and did not get traction in the Senate. It provides funding to the FDA to address crises -- such as the infant formula shortage -- and prevent fraudulent products from entering the market. Many Republicans voted against it, citing concerns over the increased funding for the FDA.
HR 7791 passed the House by a vote of 414-9. It shifted focus from the FDA to the USDA. It grants the agency increased flexibility to deal with crises such as the infant formula shortage, while also creating channels for increased transparency to the Department of Health and Human…
Just listened to Episode 511 and it couldn’t have been more relevant. As an RN at Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, OK, I was at work on Wednesday during the mass shooting that killed 2 doctors, a patient and a receptionist. I had actually met Dr. Phillips, who was the primary target, when I cared for one of his patients a couple of years ago. And Dr. Husen was my wife’s doctor when she fractured her foot. To top it all off, we have been to that orthopedic urgent care where the shooting occurred twice in the past month for a sprained ankle and a broken collar bone (part of the adventure of raising 2 boys!) What if we had…