On Becoming
Every other week, Dr. Bruce Ellis Benson invites you to join him in a conversation on some of the most important questions in the world of contemporary christianity. What does it mean to ‘deconstruct’ your Christianity? What is religion, and what is its future? Who — or what — is God? Dr. Benson deploys years of training in philosophy and theology, as well as experience teaching in some of the world’s most highly-regarded universities, to answer these questions and many others.
Episodes
In this episode, we turn to Alice Miller's book The Body Never Lies: The Lingering Effects of Cruel Parenting. What makes the book so important is that Miller is able to establish a relationship between the traumas we experience in childhood and the illnesses (mental and physical) we get in later life. At the root of the problem is the fourth commandment (Honour your mother and father). We end up being unable to see how we've been ...
This episode marks a new emphasis for On Becoming. While I have referred to trauma before, here it becomes a lens through which we examine high-control religion (like Evangelicalism). I begin by considering the role of cruelty in Christianity, though a recent article by David French. Next, I turn to Alice Miller's book The Drama of the Gifted Child as a way of thinking about how children are often treated with a lack of respect and...
In this episode, we take a look at various ways of framing Jesus. I grew up thinking that Jesus was supposed to be Lord of my life. But, as time went on, I came to think that this wasn't a very helpful framing. Here we'll consider other ways of framing--Jesus as Cynic philosopher, apocalyptic teacher, charismatic healer, sage, and social prophet. In short, I read Jesus like I read Socrates.
In today’s episode, we’re be looking at Jesus. As with all historical figures, establishing exactly what happened is sometimes very difficult. In this episode, we’ll talk about the gospels and why they are problematic, both because they are propaganda and because they were written so long after Jesus lived. We’ll also talk about the distinction between what has often been called ‘the historical Jesus’ and ‘the Christ of faith’.
Have you ever noticed that the God of the Bible, who is supposed to be the ultimate 'Good', is often petty, mean, and vengeful? In this episode, we'll consider, first, the argument that Feuerbach presents for how the concept of 'God' came into existence. Then we'll consider where the Hebrew concept of 'God' comes from (hint: it's not from God). Finally, we'll turn to some examples of God being jealous, petty, misogynistic, and cons...
Does being religious make you any happier? In this episode, we consider whether 'religion' might make for a happier you. The problem, as soon becomes apparent, is that there are many senses and ways of being 'religious', some of which are likely better than others at making us happier.
The idea that Christianity is about salvation seems as fundamental as any idea or concept in Christian theology. In this episode, I first ask the question 'where does this idea come from?' More specifically, how did followers of Jesus come to interpret his death as somehow providing salvation? I don't think there's a clear answer to this question, though Nietzsche provides an interesting analysis of Paul. In the remaining portion o...
How have priests or pastors served to make the slave revolt something permanent? It's that they heal the wound and inflict it at the same time. In this episode, we consider how the priest emerges in society to become the figure that channels the ressentiment of the slave and creates a new kind of being.
Both Christian and secular commentators have remarked on and questioned the close relationship between Trump and Evangelicals. Supposedly, there are such great differences between them that it's hard to see how they connect. But Trump and Evangelicals share a deep sense of ressentiment toward the world around them. In this episode, I argue that faith in Trump has replaced faith in Jesus. I use the term 'Trumpianity' to indicate som...
All of our ideas and concepts come from somewhere. So where did the notion of 'sinner' come from? In this episode, we explore the distinction Nietzsche makes between master and slave morality. We'll begin by explicating the idea of master morality and then see how that morality compares to the morality of the slave or those on the bottom of the hierarchy. Nietzsche credits the slaves with a revolt that turns the values of the maste...
This episode is the first in a new series titled 'Deconstructing Christianity', in which we will be examining fundamental Christian doctrines. We begin with the notion of sin, since that basic concept provides much of the scaffolding for Christianity as we know it. After explicating the Evangelical notion of sin, we then consider the extent it can be seen as abusive.
You may have heard that the governor of Louisiana has decreed that the Ten Commandments must be posted in all public classrooms. In this episode, we'll consider what the effect of such a move might be. But we'll also take a look at the actual commandments themselves, which turn out to be somewhat less 'moral' than one might expect.
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 w...
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.
In this episode, Dr. Benson discusses the recent Alabama ruling that mixed theology with the law, disrupted fertility care across the state, declared frozen embryoes children, and brought out an issue that has become increasingly popular with Christian conservatives in the United States: fetal personhood. Can frozen embryoes really be considered children? How does theology play into this question? What are the possible political, c...
In this episode, Dr. Benson discusses the role that Bill Ackman, a billionaire businessman and activist investor, has played in shaping debates about higher education.
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