Patio Thoughts: Mini-Pod

When God is For Our Enemies (wisdom from wisdom literature)

Bible Episode (if that needs to be a content warning for anyone.) Growing up in Seventh-Day Adventism, talk about the end of the world, the second coming, and Armageddon always get me riled up. What I particularly have a disdain for is the glee with which 'Christians' can find themselves in the blood and rubble of an unchecked war machine believing the will of a loving God is being accomplished. Our ability to create enemies, dehumanize them, and deny their reflection of divinity and claim a holy edict is blasphemous whether you believe in blasphemy or not. As much as we may think of the First Testament as Israel's God on a mission to take over the world no matter who stood in the way, no matter who refused to assimilate. But then there's this little book called Jonah...

Rhythm or Precision

While I get myself together after a holiday season and start scheduling more interviews, allow me a diversion. A part of recalculating is deprogramming. We have to recognize where the lines of 'truth' and 'indoctrination' got crossed. We have to access what we really know vs. what we've always believed to know what it is we truly have 'faith' in. So let's talk about Sabbath. This episode is an essay I published on my substack about the epistemic overreach that is "the Sabbath Test" through the lens of Seventh Day Adventism. https://altardthoughts.substack.com/p/rhythm-or-precision [https://altardthoughts.substack.com/p/rhythm-or-precision]

Patio Thoughts: Mini-Pod

on Church and State and being so certain of what you're looking for you miss it when it arrives.

Episode 8: Me, Myself, and ChatGPT

Get some context for the host: In this week's episode, instead of asking a guest about their experience, ChatGPT asks Will a little about his. In this 'conversation', Will reflects on the concept of 'recalculating' in life, particularly in relation to his upbringing in the Adventist faith. He shares personal anecdotes about questioning faith, carrying the past, and the interplay between faith and doubt. Will discusses the nostalgia for community experiences, the ongoing process of understanding God, and the challenges faced when leaving high-demand religions. He emphasizes the importance of navigating uncertainty and the complexities of cultural conversations, particularly around racism within Christianity.

Episode 7: Luka Pt. 3: Honesty, Paradoxes, and Transformation

Today, we’re concluding my conversation with Luka, our good Adventist child, our trans/non-binary guest who has been sharing their story the last two episodes. In this episode dive into how Luka explored faith, doubt, and the questions that were often too risky to ask directly. We’re talking about the conundrum of a desire to explore your theological questions without feeling like you’re falling prey to the author of confusion or committing an act of betrayal by believing in yourself. We will talk about educating your way to a more open theology: the differences between the Torah and the Ten Commandments, and how what we elevate or ignore shapes our moral and spiritual lives. We’ll uncover paradoxes that everyone in religious life feels at some point: being called to serve the world while believing the end is near, trying to love the marginalized while our communities only extend care to those who fit in, and the vulnerabilities of being fully trusted once you are inside that fold. We’ll also explore how to find the sacred again after deconstruction: how to see holiness in ordinary life, and create a spirituality that actually feels alive. Finally, we talk about what reflections come from carrying a marginalized perspective in faith, and what grace, insight, and resilience can be discovered when you live and question from the edges. This episode is about paradox, honesty, and transformation — please enjoy. https://www.tiktok.com/@eggsadventist