Thank you for joining us.

Today we are joined by someone that I think is a very interesting writer and thinker

and communicator. First came into contact with him when I was in Congress. He was then, I believe,

I think I'll have this right, the head of the ethics and religious liberty commission for the

Southern Baptist Convention. Some things have changed in Dr. Russell Moore's life. Some things have

not. So let's find out what and why from one of the more prominent theologians and Christian

thinkers in the United States, and that is Dr. Russell Moore, who is also the author of a brand new book

losing our religion, not to be confused with the old song, losing my religion from R.A.M.

for those that are as old as I am. I think in the 80s or 90s, losing our religion, which we're

going to get into because the data actually supports exactly what he is saying. So with that,

welcome Dr. Moore. How are you? I'm doing great. Thanks for having me. My pleasure. I like smart people.

Who are analytical and critical thinkers, even if I may wind up with a different conclusion,

that to me is not the worst thing in the world. The worst thing in the world is somebody can't

tell me why they believe what they believe. That's it for me. So I want to start with a young Russell

Moore, a grandmother who is Roman Catholic, father who may have been a Baptist preacher or somebody in

your family who is a Baptist preacher if I remember correctly. My grandfather, yes. All right. So how,

tell us about a young Russell Moore growing up in the Luxe, Mississippi.

Well, I grew up in a really good close-knit church community, Southern Baptist church,

all of my life, and then went through a kind of spiritual crisis about the age of 15.

That I've seen a lot of people go through it where you look around and you say, is this really real

or is this just kind of what it takes to be a good person in the South, or to be a good American,

or to whatever? And so I went through a prolonged kind of spiritual crisis, and actually it was my

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