On Becoming Bruce Ellis Benson

It's Pride Month!  We begin the month with a reflection on pride as a vice and a virtue. My own experience of teaching Evangelical students is that they often don't know what to do with compliments since they are trying to avoid being 'prideful'. But there is nothing in the Bible that indicates that having a healthy self-respect is bad. Indeed, things that both Paul and Jesus say suggest the opposite. In this episode, we consider what something like 'proper pride' might be. I also spend some time considering the recent speech given by Harrison Butler, since he specifically mentions the kind of pride associated with Pride Month only to say that it's 'the deadly sin sort of pride'.

In this episode, I discuss some aspects of my thinking. Although I've never been a rebel, I have always asked questions, including questions that have gotten me into trouble. While I believe that most human knowing isn't certain or indubitable, that doesn't mean that there can be no sense of 'knowledge'. Finally, I discuss how improvisation is the key to my thinking.

We're back, and more critically-minded than ever! After a brief hiatus due to a recent move, Dr. Benson returns to offer thoughts on where religion -- and religions -- may be headed.

'Wokeness' has become a flashpoint in contemporary culture wars, and a major presence in media coverage of social policy, but do we really know what it means to 'be woke'? In this episode, Dr. Benson breaks down the history, context, and current state of the debates around 'wokeness.'

In this short episode, Dr. Benson discusses Ross Douthat's recent New York Times article "Four Ways of Looking at Christian Nationalism," and gives his own take on the current situation.