Even though the student in me was initially a bit nervous (she is an English professor after all!), I had an absolute blast talking with Karen Swallow Prior for this episode! Her newest book, and our conversation, explore the question of what is biblical/Christian versus what is just Victorian, specifically in the evangelical context. Who knew values many of us have learned to attribute to Scripture actually have their deep roots in the Victorian culture. We would do well to begin to parse those things out and ask ourselves what difference our knowing might make in how we view, and live in, the world.
Mentioned in this episode:
The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis by Karen Swallow Prior
The Strippers, J.F.K. and Stalin—or, The Importance of Serial Commas | Comma Queen
“Hurt” by Johnny Cash
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Ep. 086 with Jeffrey Bilbro, author of Reading the Times: A Literary and Theological Inquiry Into the News
Ep. 079 with Dan Kimball, pastor and author of How (Not) to Read the Bible: Making Sense of the Anti-Women, Anti-Science, Pro-Violence, Pro-Slavery & Other Crazy-Sounding Parts of Scripture
Ep. 196 with Jon Ward, journalist and author Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Failed a Generation
I generally like KSP’s perspectives. I’ve read a number of her articles and find her refreshing. She strives to find that reasonable middle ground that avoids the noisy and often toxic extremes. We have to be careful we don’t deconstruct our faith because that usually leads to an indifferent or cynical agnosticism. (like Dan Kimball has said)