Category: Status

Dr. Thomas Whitley and The Rev. Sam Harrelson are joined by The Rev. Lauren E. Larkin, Prof. W. Travis McMaken ("McBacon"), and The Rev. Merianna Neely Harrelson in an extravaganza of epic proportions. They discuss Clash of the Titans, why you should write a book, gendered religious language, Ancient Aliens, Alex Jones, flogging, and hate watching the world burn.

Special Guests: Lauren R.E. Larkin, Merianna Neely Harrelson, and W. Travis McMaken.

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Links:

• Our God Loves Justice: An Introduction to Helmut Gollwitzer | Fortress Press
• DET — W. Travis McMaken
• LaurenRELarkin.com | The intersection of everyday life and theology
• Ezer Uncaged
• Merianna Neely Harrelson – Pastor and Publisher
• Clash of the Titans (1981 film) – Wikipedia

Dr. Thomas Whitley and The Rev. Sam Harrelson discuss the #metoo Revolution, amplifying voices, and whether anything is worth trading your integrity.

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Links:

• TIME Person of the Year 2017: The Silence Breakers | Time.com
• A pastor’s #MeToo story | The Christian Century
• God’s Plan for Mike Pence – The Atlantic
• A Day of Reckoning and Sexual Harassment – Merianna Neely Harrelson

Dr. Thomas Whitley and the Rev. Sam Harrelson discuss Black Friday, gaming, moral questions, Evangelical strawmen, and complicity.

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Links:

• Why It’s Justified To Vote For A Morally Questionable Politician
• Southern Baptists have lost a million members in 10 years – Baptist News Global
• The End of the Social Era Can’t Come Soon Enough | Vanity Fair
• MCALLISTER: A Response To Ben Shapiro: Christians Shouldn’t Feel Guilty About Voting For Roy Moore | Daily Wire

Dr. Thomas Whitley and the Rev. Sam Harrelson are joined by Prof. Chris Frilingos to discuss his book "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph: Family Trouble in the Infancy Gospels" and why the Infancy Gospel of Thomas and Proto-Gospel of James are so important for contemporary audiences.

Special Guest: Christopher A. Frilingos.

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Links:

• Jesus, Mary, and Joseph | Christopher A. Frilingos
• Amazon: Jesus, Mary, and Joseph: Family Trouble in the Infancy Gospels — When Jesus was five he killed a boy, or so reports the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. A little boy had run into Jesus by accident, bumping him on the shoulder, and Jesus took offense: “Jesus was angry and said to him, ‘You shall go no further on your way,’ and instantly the boy fell down and died.” A second story recounts how Jesus transformed mud into living birds, while yet another has Joseph telling Mary to keep Jesus in the house so that no one else gets hurt. What was life really like in the household of Joseph, Mary, and little Jesus? The canon of the New Testament provides few details, but ancient Christians, wanting to know more, would turn to the texts we know as the “Infancy Gospels.”
• Infancy Gospel of James, or Protevangelium (M.R. James translation)
• The Infancy Gospel of Thomas
• Did early Christians believe that Mary was a teenager? It’s complicated
• Amazon.com: Jesus, Sin, and Perfection in Early Christianity (9781107105416): Jeffrey S. Siker: Books
• Amazon.com: Saving Sex: Sexuality and Salvation in American Evangelicalism (9780199942251): Amy DeRogatis: Books

Dr. Thomas Whitley and Rev. Sam Harrelson watch election returns together and discuss the impact of our choices and the role of our national patience.

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Sam is joined by The Rev. Merianna Neely Harrelson to discuss beards, doubt, faith, securing your spot in The Good Place or The Bad Place, ethics and eschatology, rededicating your life, and salvation bracelets.

Special Guest: Merianna Neely Harrelson.

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Links:

• Merianna Neely Harrelson – Pastor and publisher
• New Hope Christian Fellowship
• Academy of Faith and Leadership – Lenoir-Rhyne University
• Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is A Place On Earth – YouTube
• Plan of Salvation Bracelet – Christianbook.com
• What does it mean to rededicate your life to Christ?

Dr. Thomas Whitley and Rev. Sam Harrelson discuss the iPhone X, Airpods and Mods, prepping for the coming apocalypses, Heaven's Gate, and the theologies of nativism.

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Links:

• MOD TABLET 4 – thisisground
• iPhone X preorders: the best way to buy Apple’s newest phone – The Verge
• Google responds to Pixel 2 XL screen burn-in and color concerns with upcoming software updates, 2-year warranty – The Verge
• Maxpedition Jumbo Versipack • Field Review – YouTube
• Heaven’s Gate

Dr. Thomas Whitley and Rev. Sam Harrelson discuss anniversaries and birthdays in the Facebook age, whether the Vikings referenced Allah in their gear, and why "The Dark Ages" is such a troublesome concept (and why we're currently in the midst of The Digital Dark Age).

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Links:

• Sam Harrelson on Instagram: “It’s here (no, I’m not going to do a dorky unboxing video…maybe)!” • Instagram
• Debunking Viral Story, Art Historian Says ‘Allah’ Does Not Appear on Ancient Viking Garment | artnet News
• Dark Ages (historiography) – Wikipedia
• 6 Reasons the Dark Ages Weren’t So Dark – History Lists

Love of books, Kindle vs hardbacks, home ownership, hell, sex, generational divides, and epistemology

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Links:

• Amazon.com: Jeffrey Burton Russell: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle
• George Michael – I Want Your Sex – YouTube

Dr. Thomas Whitley and Rev. Sam Harrelson talk about phone problems and promises, growing up, and the finale of the First Thinking Religion Bible Bracket Challenge Extravaganza.

Podium Winners:
Gold: Mark
Silver: Matthew
Bronze: 1 Samuel

Sponsored By:

• Sam Harrelson Consulting: Get a free estimate for your church or nonprofit’s website redesign or social media campaign from the experts at Sam Harrelson Consulting this summer. Promo Code: Hermeneutics

Support Thinking Religion

Links:

• Thinking Religion Bible Bracket Challenge – Challonge
• Google is tryharding at phones right now, and I love it – The Verge
• How to Get Into and Out of iPhone Recovery Mode
• The Talk Show ✪: Ep. 201, With Special Guest Matthew Panzarino
• Apple’s iPhone X notch is an odd design choice – The Verge
• Donald Trump–Russia dossier – Wikipedia
• Gospel of Mark

Dr. Thomas Whitley and Rev. Sam Harrelson are joined again by David Ray Allen Jr. to cover the Final Four of the Bible Bracket Challenge. It gets bloody this week.

Special Guest: David Ray Allen Jr..

Sponsored By:

• Sam Harrelson Consulting: Get a free estimate for your church or nonprofit’s website redesign or social media campaign from the experts at Sam Harrelson Consulting this summer. Promo Code: Hermeneutics

Support Thinking Religion

Links:

• Thinking Religion Bible Bracket Challenge – Challonge
• Saudi Arabia to allow women to drive in major milestone for country
• Twitter on Twitter: “Can’t fit your Tweet into 140 characters? 🤔 We’re trying something new with a small group, and increasing the character limit to 280! Excit… https://t.co/y1rJlHsVB5”
• MRBlog | The Price of Patriotism – The Marginalia Review of Books
• The Brick Testament
• Gospel Parallels: A Comparison of the Synoptic Gospels, New Revised Standard Version: Jr. Burton H. Throckmorton: 9780840774842: Amazon.com: Books
• ANTICHRIST NUMEROLOGY IN GANGNAM STYLE – YouTube

Dr. Thomas Whitley and Rev. Sam Harrelson compare their phones' home screens, discuss the relevance of Facebook to political campaigns, and continue the very contentious Bible Bracket Challenge Elite 8 Round to decide the Final Four. It's on.

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Links:

• Thinking Religion is creating Podcasts | Patreon
• Thinking Religion Bible Bracket Challenge – Challonge
• Facebook agrees to release Russian-purchased ads, pledges deeper look at 2016 election – POLITICO
• Arcade Fire singer on ‘fake news’ prank: I understand why Trump won now | TheHill
• Arcade Fire’s Win Butler on ‘Everything Now’ Album Rollout — The media is built for clicks now, and we were trying to see firsthand how it all works. I feel like I now understand on a much deeper level why Trump got elected. Negativity is what travels. So we learned more about how the internet functions, and how it’s an insane feedback loop. It’s like, we just played a show in London that was one of the best shows we’ve ever played there. It was honestly so fucking exciting. And at the show we sold a T-shirt where we put an ironic Everything Now logo on top of Kylie Jenner’s face. It was visually punk as hell. We knew doing that would get a lot of press pickup but every single news outlet in the world covered it. Somehow there’s a story in that, but there’s not really a story in Band Is Really Amazing at Music and Plays a Live Show and People Cry Because It’s So Beautiful. So it was really interesting to us to see what got picked up about Arcade Fire. That idea plays into what we were doing as well: We were providing the ammunition for people who wanted to write negative things about the band: Here you go! Here’s something to be outraged about!
• The Super-Aggregators and the Russians – Stratechery by Ben Thompson
• Google Play Music
• Crisis and Catharsis: The Power of the Apocalypse: Adela Yarbro Collins: 9780664245214: Amazon.com: Books
• Should A Christian Get a Tattoo?  Is It Wrong To Put Ink On My Body?
• September 23, 2017: You Need To See This (Date Setting A Sign, NOT The Rapture) – YouTube

Dr. Thomas Whitley and Rev. Sam Harrelson discuss new iPhones, playing the expectations game, and how mobile devices have transformed learning and worshipping. Then, they launch into the "Sweet 16" of the Bible Brackets Challenge. Sorry, Esther.

Support Thinking Religion

Links:

• Thinking Religion is creating Podcasts | Patreon
• Thinking Religion Bible Bracket Challenge – Challonge
• iPhone X vs. iPhone 8: how to pick between them – The Verge
• 5 Tips for Donating After Disasters — ProPublica
• Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund
• Houston Humane Society | Pet Rescue, Animal Shelter & Pet Adoption in Houston, TX | Giving
• Animal Rescue | Animal Shelter Support | SPCA International
• Lego Eddie Izzard – Ten Commandments – YouTube

The Rev. Lauren Larkin joins Dr. Thomas Whitley and The Rev. Sam Harrelson in a discussion of how hermeneutics and worldviews affect our theologies and what sort of spaces we try to build.

Special Guest: Lauren R.E. Larkin.

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Links:

• lauren r.e. larkin (@laurenrelarkin) | Twitter
• Lust: Exposed, Forgiven and Embraced
• Between the World and Me: Ta-Nehisi Coates: 9780451482211: Amazon.com: Books
• Home – Ezer Uncaged
• Nashville Statement – CBMW
• Trump Moves to End DACA and Calls on Congress to Act – The New York Times

Dr. Thomas Whitley and Rev. Sam Harrelson are joined by David Ray Allen to discuss football schedules and the third round of the Bible Bracket Challenge to determine which book is the "best" book in the Bible and which book is the "Michigan" book in the Bible.

Special Guest: David Ray Allen Jr..

Sponsored By:

• Sam Harrelson Consulting: Get a free estimate for your church or nonprofit’s website redesign or social media campaign from the experts at Sam Harrelson Consulting this summer. Promo Code: Hermeneutics

Support Thinking Religion

Links:

• Thinking Religion Bible Bracket Challenge – Challonge
• Amazon.com: Love Between Women: Early Christian Responses to Female Homoeroticism (The Chicago Series on Sexuality, History, and Society) (9780226075921): Bernadette J. Brooten: Books
• Florida State vs. Alabama – Game Summary – September 2, 2017 – ESPN

Dr. Thomas Whitley and Rev. Sam Harrelson discuss the uncomfortableness of whataboutism and its interplay with American Christianity and continue the Bible Bracket Challenge semifinals.

Sponsored By:

• Sam Harrelson Consulting: Get a free estimate for your church or nonprofit’s website redesign or social media campaign from the experts at Sam Harrelson Consulting this summer. Promo Code: Hermeneutics

Support Thinking Religion

Links:

• Thinking Religion Bible Bracket Challenge – Challonge
• Instacart
• Whataboutism – RationalWiki
• Excerpt from “The Gospel of Mary of Magdala” by Karen L. King:

Dr. Thomas Whitley and Rev. Sam Harrelson discuss the benefit of doubting Trump's America, Evangelicals carrying water for Trump, whether Joshua is a good book to include in the Bible, and why Jude deserves some reconsideration.

Sponsored By:

• Sam Harrelson Consulting: Get a free estimate for your church or nonprofit’s website redesign or social media campaign from the experts at Sam Harrelson Consulting this summer. Promo Code: Hermeneutics

Support Thinking Religion

Links:

• Thinking Religion Bible Bracket Challenge – Challonge
• In Charlottesville, the Local Jewish Community Presses On | ReformJudaism.org
• A Brookings / PRRI Study Finds Most American Christians Believe They’re Victims of Discrimination – The Atlantic
• Pocket: Trump Can’t Save American Christianity