Randall Balmer: Wrestling With the Faith We Love

09/13/22 • 48 min

1 Listener

Many of us miss the churches of our childhood and are trying to figure out what pieces of our faith to keep and which to leave behind. My guest today knows that better than anyone. Randall Balmer is a historian of American religion at Dartmouth College, THE expert of American evangelicalism, and a pastor’s kid (PK!) of a fundamentalist preacher.

In this conversation, Kate and Randy talk about:

How to reconcile the evangelism of today with its progressive past
The cost of a more manufactured worship experience
Why they both value those stray moments of faith
What (if any) hope is there for evangelicalism
Maintaining faith when you’ve been hurt by the church

Kate ends with a blessing for when faith sometimes breaks your heart.

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No Cure for Being Human (And Other Truths I Need to Hear) is now available wherever books are sold. Order your copy, today.

Looking for some short spiritual reflections and blessings? Check out GOOD ENOUGH: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection. Available wherever books are sold.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

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In this conversation, Kate and Randy talk about:

How to reconcile the evangelism of today with its progressive past
The cost of a more manufactured worship experience
Why they both value those stray moments of faith
What (if any) hope is there for evangelicalism
Maintaining faith when you’ve been hurt by the church

Kate ends with a blessing for when faith sometimes breaks your heart.

***

Looking for the transcript or show notes? Click here.

Find Kate on Instagram or Facebook or Twitter.

Subscribe to our weekly email for blessings.

No Cure for Being Human (And Other Truths I Need to Hear) is now available wherever books are sold. Order your copy, today.

Looking for some short spiritual reflections and blessings? Check out GOOD ENOUGH: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection. Available wherever books are sold.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Previous Episode

Ibram Kendi: Showing Your Scars

Ibram Kendi and Kate Bowler have more in common than they would have liked. Historians and professors. Parents of young kids. Diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer at age 35. No history of the disease in their families.

In this conversation, Dr. Ibram Kendi (who Time magazine’s called one of the most influential people of 2020) and Kate discuss:

How a diagnosis like the one they share creates a sense of urgency in their work
How to address the policies behind health care disparities
Why addressing racism with your kids is an act of courageous living
The importance of recognizing our own fragility
Learning to celebrate scars as evidence of life

CW: colon cancer

***

Looking for the transcript or show notes? Click here.

Find Kate on Instagram or Facebook or Twitter.

Subscribe to our weekly email for blessings.

No Cure for Being Human (And Other Truths I Need to Hear) is now available wherever books are sold. Order your copy, today.

Looking for some short spiritual reflections and blessings? Check out GOOD ENOUGH: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection. Available wherever books are sold.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Next Episode

Arthur Brooks: When Success Isn’t Success

Arthur Brooks was a professional musician and spent his twenties touring all over the world. Until one day, he stopped being able to hit the notes. He had to reinvent himself entirely, and wonder... what does happiness look like after I lose the career I had worked so hard for?

Now, Arthur writes about high achievers and how they might find meaning and purpose as they experience decline in their bodies or minds or in careers through his bestselling book, Strength to Strength.

In this episode, Kate and Arthur discuss:

What he calls “The Strivers Curse” and why high achievers may not feel as satisfied by life as they age
What is more important than success and amassing wealth (spoiler alert: it has to do with love)
Why happiness is something we should take seriously (but why it is not as simple as ‘CHOOSE HAPPINESS’)

Not everyone in this community is #winning at life. For those of us who have been forced off the productivity train, fallen down the success ladder, and now find ourselves wondering if we could be more than the sum of our jobs, this conversation is for you.

***

Looking for the transcript or show notes? Click here.

Find Kate on Instagram or Facebook or Twitter.

Subscribe to our weekly email for blessings.

No Cure for Being Human (And Other Truths I Need to Hear) is now available wherever books are sold. Order your copy, today.

Looking for some short spiritual reflections and blessings? Check out GOOD ENOUGH: 40ish Devotionals for a Life of Imperfection. Available wherever books are sold.

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.