How To Be a Border-Stalker | Jon Ward

In this episode of Sacred Tension, I’m joined by Jon Ward to discuss his new book Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Failed a Generation. We discuss his role as a border-stalker between cultural and religious boundaries, why the Evangelical movement struggles with understanding minority experience, his own religious journey after leaving Evangelicalism, and much more. 

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Sacred Tension: Armageddon | Bart Ehrman

In this episode of Sacred Tension, I’m joined by renowned New Testament scholar Bart Ehrman to talk about his new book Armageddon: What the Bible Really Says About the End. We discuss what led him out of the Christian faith, why it’s important to understand the Bible, what the Bible really says about abortion, and the consequences of a fundamentalist reading of Revelation. 

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On Being a Border-Stalker

In his book Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Failed a Generation, journalist and Christian Jon Ward writes about how he never felt completely at home in his conservative Christian environment. He writes,

All my life I have been a mearcstapa, or a border-stalker. Mearcstapa is an Old English word used in Beowulf. Painter and author Makoto Fujimura used this term, and his modern translation of border-stalker, to describe those who “are uncomfortable in homogenous groups” and yet are still present in them, and thus they live “on the edge of their groups, going in and out of them.

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The Satanic Temple is a Church for Imperfect People

I recently co-authored a piece with Murphy Fawkes for Free Inquiry responding to some common criticisms of the Temple.

The Satanic Temple is far from perfect. It is made up of human beings and is therefore a profoundly flawed institution. But, as we argue in the article, that’s also the point. TST has enshrined imperfection and growth in the 6th Tenet, which reads, “people are fallible. If one makes a mistake, one should do one’s best to resolve any harm that might have been caused.”

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Sacred Tension: Sibling Rivalry | Elizabeth Schultz

In this episode of Sacred Tension, I’m joined by my sister Elizabeth Schultz. Elizabeth is a classical educator, homeschooler, conservative, and homesteader. We debate the truth claims of Christianity, whether a truly pluralistic society is possible, and if Christian revelation is necessary for a functional society. We also discuss healthy ways to engage people we love across profound differences.

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