Episode 479: Everything Doesn’t Happen For a Reason with Kate Bowler
The Holy Post
Phil Vischer
4.6 • 4.1K Ratings
🗓️ 20 October 2021
⏱️ 89 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The prosperity gospel isn’t just about health and wealth. Historian Kate Bowler says pragmatic values, simple solutions, and the endless quest for self-improvement, have infected most of the church in subtle ways. Kaitlyn Schiess talks to Dr. Bowler about her own battle with cancer, and how it’s helped her move beyond cliches like “Everything happens for a reason,” to embrace the larger mystery of faith.
Also this week, have elite evangelicals sold out to the mainstream media, or have populist evangelicals sold out to Trump voters? Everyone seems to be talking about the divide within evangelicalism, but is it really something new? The Holy Post crew looks at the arguments and how we could be seeing the latest version of a very old divide. Plus, Phil is fascinated by left-handed ghost squirrels.
News Segment:
Traveling with moss [1:38]
Animal Facts [5:34]
The divide within evangelicalism [14:40]
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/articles/church-state-and-the-future-of-evangelicalism/
https://markgalli.substack.com/p/the-galli-report-100821
https://frenchpress.thedispatch.com/p/evangelical-elites-fighting-each
https://www.firstthings.com/article/2021/11/the-failure-of-evangelical-elites
Interview with Kate Bowler:
Interview Start [52:19]
“Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved” - https://amzn.to/3FYKLRj
“No Cure for Being Human: (And Other Truths I Need to Hear)” - https://amzn.to/3C1jyuS
Kate’s Story [55:57]
“Blessed - A History of the American Prosperity Gospel” - https://amzn.to/2Z1aBD2“
No Cure for Being Human” Title [1:00:14]
Certainty vs. faith[1:05:31]
American pragmatism and “useful pain” [1:07:32]
Understanding fear and living after crisis [1:11:24]
Response and engagement with these books [1:18:57]
https://katebowler.com/podcasts/
The miracle of moments [1:23:35]
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to episode 479. On today's show, have elite evangelicals sold out in order to be |
| 0:06.1 | affirmed by the mainstream media, or have the populist evangelicals sold out in order to win |
| 0:10.9 | the support of Trump voters? We unpack the debate dividing the evangelical subculture, |
| 0:16.0 | and why it might not be anything new. Then, Caitlin Schess interviews Duke Divinity School |
| 0:21.5 | History Professor Kate Boller about the subtle ways the prosperity gospel affects all of us, |
| 0:27.1 | and how her battle with cancer has uncovered the lies we like to tell in the church, such as |
| 0:33.0 | everything happens for a reason. You do not want to miss this conversation, I promise. All of that |
| 0:38.8 | plus Phil regales us with squirrel facts. Here is the Holy Post. Hey, there, this is Phil. Welcome |
| 0:44.8 | back to the Holy Post podcast. I am here with Skydutani. Hi, Sky. Hi, Phil. If you're watching the |
| 0:52.2 | video, Sky is reclining today. He's a climbing. Apparently it was a rough weekend. Maybe we'll hear |
| 0:58.7 | about it, but he doesn't have the energy to even sit up on his own. And Christian Taylor, |
| 1:05.1 | hi, Christian. Hey, Phil. How are you guys doing? Good. After the theme song, we'll have to find out |
| 1:10.6 | where you've been lately and where you are now. And Jason Rugg, hi, Jason. Hey there. And here's |
| 1:17.6 | a theme song. What's the news that you like the most? Who's your favorite podcast host? If it's |
| 1:26.0 | breakfast, get your toast. It's Sky and Phil and the Holy Post. Sky and Phil and the Holy Post. |
| 1:34.6 | And sometimes Christian. Okay, Christian, it's been a couple weeks. Where, where, where have you been? |
| 1:42.3 | Yeah, you were in Holland when we last talked to you. You were being fooled by the Dutch to believe |
| 1:48.5 | that they all wear wooden shoes all of the time. And it's a perfectly natural thing. Yes, it was |
| 1:55.6 | like you were starting to fall for it. I did fall for it. I actually saw a farmer wearing wooden |
| 2:01.4 | shoes. So there was proof there. Phil, it was not some sort of mind, you know, mind control. |
| 2:07.2 | But I did. It was more effective mind control. One or the other. Well, you may have a point there, |
| 2:14.4 | but I think our listeners tend to disagree with you. They've been posting on Twitter all sorts |
... |
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