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    Assumptions

    Daniel (a Christian) and Kyle (an Atheist) have competing world views and yet remain close friends. Each episode they try to understand each other’s viewpoint by using media to uncover how each interprets the world.
    enDaniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall34 Episodes

    Episodes (34)

    We Are Family – Season Two, Episode 1

    We Are Family – Season Two, Episode 1

    In our first episode of this new season, Kyle and Daniel introduce the themes we hope to explore throughout the upcoming episodes. As we set the stage for discussing sexuality, we talk about our different experiences of family growing up. Is raising a family a selfless or selfish act? How has the expectation of having a family changed in our generation? Why do we hope to have our own families some day?

     

    Sponsors:

    Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial’s Entrepreneur Centre and the Alberta Podcast Network. This week we suggest checking out The Young Gaffers.

    Interested starting your own podcast? Consider coming out to a class that Kyle is helping to teach.

     

    Show Notes 

    Please email us your questions, comments, or thoughts. We’d love to include them in a future episode. Send an voice recording to assumptionspod@gmail.com

    At the beginning of the episode, we heard from Rabbi Seth Goldstein, Nick Taniguchi, Tyler May, Wesley Hill, Fraser Tripp, and Barry Danylak. Our full length interviews with these and other guests will be released as episodes towards the end of this season.  

    Kyle mentioned our episode on legacy from the previous season. This episode was titled “Dance, Dance Otherwise We Are Lost” and can be found here. 

    Daniel’s website is www.danielmelvilljones.com. Kyle can be found on twitter.com/thekylemarshall or www.thekylemarshall.com

    Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

    This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

    Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, whose new acclaimed album, Blurred Harmony, is available everywhere. 

    Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

    Photography by Josh Boak

    Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, and iHeart Radio.

    Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

     

    Kyle's Internal Struggle – BONUS EPISODE 3

    Kyle's Internal Struggle – BONUS EPISODE 3

    It’s been a long time since you’ve heard from us at Assumptions. While we continue to prepare our second season, we’re releasing a short series of bonus episodes. It’s Daniel’s turn to interview Kyle and learn about his enterprising plans to start a new business dedication to content creation. This being Assumptions, the conversation included discussions on uncertainty, and confidence, mental health, and the kind of legacy we hope to leave.

    Sponsors:

    Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial’s Entrepreneur Centre and the Alberta Podcast Network. We also mention another Alberta Podcast Network show dedicated to stories, Makeshift Stories. 

     

    Show Notes 

    Kyle’s new content creation company is Media Lab YYC. If you’re in Calgary and you want help in creating audio or video content, this is your place.

    Our Season 1 Episode on legacy and why we create is relevant to our conversation and also happens to be one of our favorite episodes.

    Daniel described C. S. Lewis’ seminal essay “The Inner Ring.” You should definitely read it.

    Kyle mentioned the new Pixar film Coco. And Kyle being Kyle, he created a video detailing his experience watching the film.

    Kyle and Daniel were recently interviewed by Rebecca Florence Miller for Patheos Evangelical. We are pretty happy with how this interview turned out. 

     

    Credits:

    Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

    This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

    Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, whose new acclaimed album, Blurred Harmony, is available everywhere. 

    Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

    Photography by Jen Hall

     

    Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

    Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to hear what you have to say and hope to include it on future episodes. 

    Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes (that really helps us get the word out!) and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

    Daniel's Highs and Lows – BONUS EPISODE 2

    Daniel's Highs and Lows – BONUS EPISODE 2

    It’s been a long time since you’ve heard from us at Assumptions. While we continue to prepare our second season, we’re releasing a short series of bonus episodes. Our show is all about worldview, and up until now we’ve been discussing the ideas that shape us. But one’s worldview should never be divorced from one’s life. So in this episode Kyle interviews Daniel to learn what has changed in his life and how it’s influence his Christian worldview. 

     

    Sponsors:

    Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial’s Entrepreneur Centre and the Alberta Podcast Network. We also mention The Expat’s Podcast, another Alberta Podcast Network show. Go show them some love!

     

    Show Notes:

    The quote from Mike Cosper appeared in this interview with Richard Clark.

    Daniel took a course with Malcolm Guite, whose books on poetry, language, and the Christian faith are amongst Daniel’s biggest influences. Daniel suggests starting with his book of advent poetry, or his biography of Samual Coleridge.

    Daniel listened to the audiobook of Bruce Springsteen’s memoir, Born to Run. Daniel highly recommends it. 

    Daniel is working his way through Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

    Daniel briefly mentioned Springsteen’s Broadway show, and recommends this review of it from the New York Times.

    Daniel’s currently attending St. Mary’s University, in Calgary Alberta. 

     

    Credits:

    Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

    This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

    Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, whose new acclaimed album, Blurred Harmony, is available everywhere. 

    Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi, who has his own YouTube channel. 

    Photography by Jen Hall

     

    Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

    Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to hear what you have to say and hope to include it on future episodes. 

    Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes (that really helps us get the word out!), and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

    The Search For Transcendence – BONUS EPISODE 1

    The Search For Transcendence – BONUS EPISODE 1

    It’s been a long time since you’ve heard from us at Assumptions. While we continue to prepare our second season, we’re releasing a short series of bonus episodes. On this episode, Kyle and Daniel talk about the movies and music they’ve been consuming and how they reflect our post-religious culture. 

     

    Sponsors:

    Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial’s Entrepreneur Centre and the Alberta Podcast Network. We also mention another Alberta Podcast Network show dedicated to sports, Tight Ends. Kyle’s new content creation company is Media Lab YYC. Go show them some love!

    The film Jigsaw and the rest of the Saw franchise is discussed. We briefly mention our previous episode dedicated horror films. Kyle alluded to the video he created on his experience watching all 8 of the Saw films.

    Daniel mentioned Earworm, Vox’s excellent YouTube series devoted to appreciating pop music.

    Daniel also mentioned the biblical story of Job. An excellent and beautifully created video overview of Job can be found here.

    More information on David Lowery’s films can be found here. Daniel’s interview with the director is here. 

    We mention the Canadian philosophy Charles Taylor and his book, A Secular Age

    The band Arcade Fire’s is discussed, including the cover art for the second LP, Neon Bible. Win Butler’s Twitter account can be found here.

    For my information on Bono’s faith, check out this YouTube series where he discusses the Psalms. 

    Daniel’s unnamed online friend is Michael Wright with Fuller Studios, whose interview with David Lowery can be found here.

    Here is the music video for the song ‘We Exist’.

     

    Further Reading: 

    After this podcast was recorded, the following essay was written that does a terrific job discussing the yearning for transcendence found at the end of Arcade Fire’s latest album.

     

    Credits:

    Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

    This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

    Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, whose new acclaimed album, Blurred Harmony, is available everywhere. 

    Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi, who has his own YouTube channel

    Photography by Jen Hall

     

    Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

    Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to hear what you have to say and hope to include it on future episodes. 

    Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes (that really helps us get the word out!), and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

    Concluding Thoughts – Season One, Episode 9

    Concluding Thoughts – Season One, Episode 9

    Kyle and Daniel pause to look back on their conversations. They walk through each episode asking questions like, what did they learn about each other? How did their opinions changed? What surprised them? They also gather up any loose ends discussed over the season and announce their plans for Season Two.

     
    Media Discussed:

    Daniel’s Lego Yellow Submarine can be found here.

    The origins of Assumptions can be found way back in 2013 when a younger Daniel and Kyle talked about books and movies for Kyle’s other podcast. For a blast of that 2013 nostalgia, that YouTube channel holds up well. 

    That inspiring Atticus Finch quote from To Kill a Mockingbird reads, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

    Links for media discussed in Episode 1: We Are Made of Stories can be found  here.

    Mike Cosper’s podcast is called “Cultivated” and his quote about the role of podcasts in a divided age can be found in the bonus interview with Richard Clark on CT’s “The Calling”.

    Daniel quotes from Saint Augustine’s Confessions, from Book I part 7 (this is from R.S. Pine-Coffin’s translation for Penguin Classics):

    “Who can recall to me the sins I committed as a baby? For in your sight no man is free from sin, not even a child who has lived only one day on earth… What sins then, did I commit when I was a baby myself? Was it a sin to cry when I wanted to feed at the breast? I am too old now to feed on my mother’s milk, but if I were to cry for the kind of food suited to my age, others would rightly laugh me to scorn and remonstrate with me. So then too I deserved a scolding for what I did; but since I could not have understood the scolding, it would have been unreasonable, and most unusual, to rebuke me. We root out these faults and discard them as we grow up, and this is proof enough that they are faults, because I have never seen a man purposely throw out the good when he clears away the bad. It can hardly by right for a child, even at that age, to cry for everything, including things which would harm him; to work himself into a tantrum against people older than himself and not required to obey him; and to try his best to strike and hurt others who know better than he does, including his own parents, when they do no harm to him and refuse to pander to whims which would only do him harm. This shows that, if babies are innocent, it is not for lack of will to do harm, but for lack of strength. 

    I have myself seen jealousy in a baby and know what it means. He was not old enough to talk, but whenever he saw his foster-brother at the breast, he would grow pale with every. This much is common knowledge. Mothers and nurses say that they can work such that they can work such things out of the system by one means or another, but surely it cannot be called innocence, when the milk flows in such abundance from its source, to object to a rival desperately in need and depending for his life on this one form of nourishment? Such faults are not small or unimportant, but we are tender-hearted and bear with them because we know that the child will grow out of them. It is clear that they are not mere peccadilloes, because the same faults are intolerable in older persons.

    I do not remember that early part of my life, O Lord, but I believe what other people have told me about it and from watching other babies I can conclude that I also lived as they do… But if I was born in sin and guilt was with me already when my mother conceived me (Psalm 92:1), where, I ask you Lord, where or when was I, your servant, ever innocent?”’

    Links for media discussed in Episode 2: The Stories That Shape Us can be found here.

    Links for media discussed in Episode 3: Oh, the Horror! can be found here.

    Daniel quotes from 1 Corinthians 15:20-26 in the Bible: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

    Kyle mentions a Buffy the Vampire episode about that banality of eternity.

    Links for media discussed in Episode 4: Harry Potter is of the Devil can be found here.

    Links for media discussed in Episode 5: The Validity of Video Games can be found here.

    The two games released since recording the video games episode are Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Horizon Zero Dawn. Kyle mentions some video podcast.

    Links for media discussed in Episode 6: Dance, Dance, Otherwise We Are Lost can be found here.

    Daniel again mentions C. S. Lewis’ classic essay The Weight of Glory, which you should totally go read.

    Links for media discussed in Episode 7: #Stories can be found  here.

    Links for media discussed in Episode 8: The Cathedral and the Cinema can be found  here.

    Josh Larson of Filmspotting compares a movie theatre to a liturgicalexperience in his new book, Movies are Prayers

     

    Further Reading: 

    Kyle talks about how he realized that the Bible is more a worldview shaping story than a book of moral instruction. For more on how this works, Daniel again highly recommends the videos created by The Bible Project.

    Credits:

    Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

    This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

    Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, whose new acclaimed album, Blurred Harmony, is available everywhere. 

    Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi 

    Photography by Jen Hall

     

     Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

    Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or

    The Cathedral and the Cinema – Season One, Episode 8

    The Cathedral and the Cinema – Season One, Episode 8

    Daniel likes to think that weekly church service he attends tells a story that its congregation becomes immersed in. So Kyle bravely attends Daniel's church and offers his outsider's observations. They then discuss the Kyle's weekly temple experience: the movie theatre. How do these communities shape the stories of our lives?

    Important reminder! We'd love to have your questions or feedback for our wrap up episode. Please reach out to us on Facebook or email us at assumptionspod@gmail.com before July 1st, 2017. 

     
    Media Discussed:

    The Steve Martin song "Atheists Don't Have No Songs" gets mentioned. You can watch a performance of it here. (Someday it would be interesting to tackle this theme on Assumptions)

    Daniel's church is Calvary Grace Church of Calgary. The music they use comes from Indelible Grace, Sovereign Grace, and  Wesley Randolph Eader.

     
    Further Reading: 

    The idea that our cultural practices immerse us in a particular storyline is articulated by Christian scholar and philosopher James K. A. Smith. His book  You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit describes how this takes place in both a shopping centre and a church service.

    If you don't want to read but want to learn more about this, check out this playlist of 1-2 minute videos discussing the topic. http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1T3_pkcZpPUZFSc_KsOSS9ualH_H99qp

    If you really want to geek out on this concept, Smith's three volume Cultural Liturgies series is a fascinating in depth look at how this works in culture and churches. 

     
    Credits:

    Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

    This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

    Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, whose new acclaimed album, Blurred Harmony, is available everywhere. 

    Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi 

    Photography by Jen Hall

     

     Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

    Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to hear what you have to say and hope to include it on future episodes. 

    Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes (that really helps us get the word out!), and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

    #Stories – Season One, Episode 7

    #Stories – Season One, Episode 7

    Daniel and Kyle discuss how social media impacts the stories we tell about ourselves. 

    Media Discussed:

    Daniel quotes from the chapter "Honey Boo Boo and the Weight of Glory" in Mike Cosper's book Stories We Tell: How TV and Movies Long for and Echo the Truth. We discussed this book in our first episode and we borrowed from its title to name our season. Daniel recommends reading the whole chapter if you can, but here are some relevant quotes from it:

    "One way to understand social media is as a vehicle for self-broadcasting. When we post on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, we’re projecting an image of ourselves to the world. Just as Keeping Up with the Kardashians is carefully planned and edited to shape the family’s image and brand, so is our social media presence. Your Facebook timeline is your version of a reality show.

    Our presence on social media is a story we’re telling about who we are, and like the production of a reality TV show, it’s all about the editing. What we share and don’t share on social media is shaped by how we want the world to see us. With the click of a button, we can open and close doors of connectivity. No awkward conversations. Rare repercussions. Easily managed, easily edited lives. 

    Social media also provides a profound illusion; our mobile devices are designed to make us feel like the whole digital world is all about us. Our tailored choices about who we want to hear from (and who we don’t) are in place already. We open an app and feel “connected,” when in fact we haven’t connected at all; we’ve actually disconnected from the people immediately around us.

    At any moment, we can escape into a private world that’s tailored to us and that is eager for our next picture, our next status update, our next link—a world complete with a built-in system of rewards for worthy content: retweets, likes, and so on. On the web, we all star in our own show. We glory in ourselves.

    Reality TV follows a trajectory to the glory of the red carpet and the Neilsen ratings. The forward motion of social media involves accumulating fans, friends, and followers. They both aim at a kind of glory that scratches a deeply human itch, but in a way that is ultimately unsatisfying. 

    The gospel tells us that life, indeed, is heading somewhere. There’s an end to the story, and it’s an end that by God’s grace can be an experience of the greatest good and the most satisfying glorification that we’ll ever know. 

    Only that embrace will truly satisfy us, in that moment when sin’s stain is removed and, as Lewis puts it, “The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last.”  

     

    Daniel also describes C. S. Lewis's classic essay "The Weight of Glory". It is well worth reading and can be found online here. Here is the except that Daniel fumblingly tried to quote:

    "Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

     

    Further Reading: 

    Daniel mentioned talking to experienced Christian creators about the ongoing challenges of wanting to create for your own glory instead of God's. That conversation was with rapper and hip-hop label head Thomas "Odd Thomas" Terry. When Daniel asked him how he stays humble in his art, Thomas responded with:

    "In all transparency, anytime you’re doing art that is indigenous to the individual and putting it on display for the world to listen to and critique, you always have to fight your pride and perception, the way people perceive you, your affirmation, you always have to…so I don’t think it’s something that you can avoid. The pride and all that stuff and trying, sometimes slipping, into finding your self-worth, and dignity, and value in the artistry is something that I think every artist has to wrestle with—I don’t know many people who have kinda conquered that.

    It’s a constant day by day thing, like man, where am I at? How is this impacting me? So for the artist who's figured that out, I would like to talk with that person. But I think that there is a responsibility to constantly approach God with your art and with your talents and say, “God, search me and expose the areas of my life where new areas of pride because of artistry has popped up, or I’ve believed things that are untrue, or I've believed things that are exaggerated about myself.” You know those kind of things. I don’t think its special, I think everyone has to wrestle with those things, but art just tends to put it on display more. 

    You can read  the whole interview here.

     

    The Parson Red Heads, who provide our podcast's soundtrack, have released their long awaited new album, Blurred Harmony. It's getting terrific reviews, including  an 8.9/10 review from Paste Magazine. The album is available on all music services. 

    Credits:

    Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

    This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

    Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, whose new acclaimed album, Blurred Harmony, is available everywhere. 

    Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi 

    Photography by Jen Hall

     Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

    Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to hear what you have to say and hope to include it on future episodes. 

    Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes (that really helps us get the word out!), and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

    Dance, Dance, Otherwise We Are Lost! – Season One, Episode 6

    Dance, Dance, Otherwise We Are Lost! – Season One, Episode 6

    Daniel and Kyle are both creative people and both have a relentless drive to create. Why? Why create art when there is more than enough already? What happens when our art goes unseen and unvalued? Such deep questions. 

     

    The film The Matrix (1999) is briefly alluded to.

    Examples of Daniel's photography and writing can be found on his website, www.danielmelvilljones.com. Kyle's YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/user/Maddog53. 

    Kyle mentions the character actor Stephen Tobolowsky, who has a podcast called The Tobolowsky Files. http://www.slashfilm.com/category/features/slashfilmcast/the-tobolowsky-files/

    Daniel quotes the German choreographer Pina Bausch: "Dance, dance, otherwise we are lost." This, of course, is the title of our episode. The quote appears in the trailer for Wim Winders film Pina (2011) (https://www.criterion.com/films/28404-pina).

    The article that Daniel was trying to pitch did, in the end, get published. http://www.mbird.com/2017/05/healing-wings-on-highway-winds-an-interview-with-wesley-randolph-eader/. The under appreciated piece he described receiving as a gift can be found here: http://www.danielmelvilljones.com/blog/victoria

    Many of Daniel's thoughts on the role of the gift in art making come from Lewis Hyde's book The Gift: How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gift:_Imagination_and_the_Erotic_Life_of_Property). It boasts ringing endorsements from Margaret Atwood and David Foster Wallace, so you should probably go check it out. 

    Charlie Chaplin gets a well deserved shout out, and this beautiful scene from his 1940 classic The Great Dictator is alluded to (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqyQfjDScjU). The full movie is available on YouTube and you should absolutely, 100% check it out. https://youtu.be/yPQKFDf2BEM

    Daniel quotes from David Bayles & Ted Orland's great little book Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking. (https://www.amazon.ca/Art-Fear-Observations-Rewards-Artmaking/dp/0961454733) Here's the full quote:

    "'Artist' has gradually become a form of identity which (as every artist knows) often carriers with it as many drawbacks as benefits. Consider that if artists equals self, then when (inevitably) you make flawed art, you are a flawed person, and when (worse yet) you make no art, you are no person at all!" 

    Kyle quotes from Ira Glass, the creator of the This American Life (https://www.thisamericanlife.org/podcast). A portion of this quote hangs framed in Kyle's living room:

    "Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

    Kyle mentions Lorne Michaels, the creator of Saturday Night Live, and Marc Maron, creator of the acclaimed podcast WTF.

    Kyle also mentioned the universal types of stories. More information on these can be found here: http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-universal-shapes-of-stories-according-to-kurt-vonn-1526559996

    The verse from the Bible that Daniel quotes is Ecclesiastes 12:12: "My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of the making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh."

    The comedian Rodney Dangerfield is mentioned, as the artist Vincent Van Gough. But Kyle urges you to avoid the works of Uwe Boll, especially his film Bloodrayne. 

     

    Further Reading: 

    A beautiful video of Ira Glass' words can be found here: https://vimeo.com/85040589

    Daniel's views on the role of creativity in eternity are indebted to Randy Alcorn, specially this talk he gave at a conference Daniel attended (starting at the 12:20 mark): https://youtu.be/aMelVhrxtPM

    For an overview of the biblical book of Ecclesiastes, Daniel highly recommends this beautiful video from The Bible Project: https://youtu.be/VeUiuSK81-0. (For anyone looking for an overview of the themes of the Bible, Daniel definitely recommends the rest of The Bible Project's videos.)

     

    Credits:

    Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

    This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

    Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, whose new acclaimed album, Blurred Harmony, comes out June 9th.

    Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi 

    Photography by Jen Hall

     Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

    Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to hear what you have to say and hope to include it on future episodes. 

    Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes (that really helps us get the word out!), and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

    The Validity of Video Games – Season One, Episode 5

    The Validity of Video Games – Season One, Episode 5

    Daniel's instinct is to think of video games as mostly a waste of time. Can Kyle convince him otherwise? Is the storytelling approach to video games unique to our age? Together they play the video game "That Dragon Cancer" and get emotional talking about death.   
     

    Media Discussed:

    Much of this show discusses the video game 'That Dragon Cancer' (http://www.thatdragoncancer.com), available for Mac, PC, iOS, and Android.

    We briefly mention the board games Operation and Life, and describe the puzzle game Rush Hour (http://www.thinkfun.com/products/rush-hour/).

    Video games mentioned include the Final Fantasy series, Golvellius, Tetris, the Battlefield series, the Call of Duty series, the Halo series, and Zelda: Ocarina of Time (which Kyle claims is the best video game of all time).

    Kyle first heard of That Dragon Cancer through an episode of This American Life (http://www.radiolab.org/story/cathedral/). That episode consisted of clips from “Thank You For Playing,” a documentary film on the game.

    Daniel first learned of the game through the Christ and Pop Culture Facebook Forum, which you can join by becoming a member here: https://christandpopculture.com/member-benefits/.

    Daniel said that the game was covered by Wired Magazine (https://www.wired.com/2016/01/that-dragon-cancer/), The New York Times (see below), and had meant to say The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/a-video-game-about-terminal-cancer) rather than The New York Post. 

    The only other video game that Daniel has played all the way through is the beautiful Monument Valley (http://www.monumentvalleygame.com/).

    Kyle's other podcast is Whatever This Is (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/whatever-this-is/id532925138?mt=2).

    Daniel quotes from two articles on the game. The first is "Slaying the dragon: Video games, fairy tales, and seeing life in this world as it really is" (http://st-eutychus.com/2016/slaying-the-dragon-video-games-fairy-tales-and-seeing-life-in-this-world-as-it-really-is/), written by Nathan Campbell. It contrasts the experience of playing Fallout 4 with playing That Dragon Cancer. Here is that full quote: "Fallout 4 relies on the premise that you can be totally in control of everything — put the right machines together, make the right choices, control the world and your environment just right — and you’ll live, not just you, but the society you’re building. That Dragon, Cancer makes it clear this promise is a baldfaced lie. It doesn’t matter how good you are at pulling levers, or knowing stuff — the monster will take down the machines every time. Hope is found somewhere beyond the machine."

    Daniel highly recommends the whole article, especially since it quotes Assumptions favourites James K. A. Smith and Charles Taylor. 

    The second quote came from The New York Times' profile on the game "This Video Game Will Break Your Heart" (https://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/02/06/arts/that-dragon-cancer-video-game-will-break-your-heart.html), which quotes Amy Green, co-creator of the game. "One of the great strengths of video games is that automatically a player goes into a game expecting to have some agency,” Mrs. Green said. “And it felt like the perfect way to talk about cancer, because all a parent wants is to have some agency.”

    Finally, at the end of the show Kyle describes the video game The Stanley Parable (https://www.stanleyparable.com/). 

     

    Further Reading: 

    In addition to the outstanding St Eutychus and The New York Times pieces mentioned above, here are some additional pieces on the game.

    This short reflection was written by an atheist as he played the game. It includes the haunting line, "I have been staring at this cursor for a long time.  Help me, someone else write this.  I want there to be a God, there should be one, because these people deserve an answer." https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2016/01/13/unhelpful-ism

    For a thoughtful Christian perspective on the game, this piece from The Gospel Coalition (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/that-dragon-cancer) is helpful. Here are some interesting quotes:

    “That Dragon, Cancer” is a hard experience to reduce to language, and perhaps this is part of why Ryan Green, Joel’s father, chose the medium of video games to tell the story. Things like sorrow, pain, fear, and doubt can be named and, to a certain extent, described; but as long as they are mere words and concepts their power is limited."

    "Often, the allure of video games is that the player is granted special power and agency. One becomes a soldier, business magnate, or superhero at the press of a button. “That Dragon, Cancer”frustrates and subverts the normal expectation of agency. Players are given game-like tasks, like navigating Joel through a field of cancer cells as he clings to a handful of balloons, or racing a wagon through the hospital.

    "The facade of power and control crumbles away. It’s a brilliant piece of artistry in terms of video game design and theological heft; we players, accustomed to the power to trample our enemies, are shown our impotence in the face of a broken and fallen world. Our works cannot save Joel."

    Finally, this recent piece in The Atlantic asking if video games are better without stories sparked a small discussion over on our Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/AssumptionsPod/posts/1896209167330886)

     

    Credits:

    Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

    This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

    Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, who have a new album (Blurred Harmony) coming out on June 9th.

    Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi 

    Photography by Jen Hall

     Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

    Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to hear what you have to say and hope to include it on future episodes. 

    Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes (that really helps us get the word out!), and sha...

    Harry Potter is of the Devil – Season One, Episode 4

    Harry Potter is of the Devil – Season One, Episode 4

    Daniel grew up believing that the Harry Potter books were, quite literally, inspired by the devil. Until last year, when he read the whole series. Now, he thinks they are, at their core, essentially Christian novels. What does Kyle think of this theory. Why does our culture love these books so much? 

     
    In the episode's opening, Daniel reads from an email he received from Some Freaks (2016) director Ian MacAllister McDonald (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3283864/?ref_=nv_sr_1). 

    This episode revolves around The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter), the companion books (including Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), and the accompanying films. Specifically mentioned is Alfonso Cuaron's 2004 film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0304141/). 

    The children's book Harold and the Purple Crayon, by Crockett Johnson is briefly mentioned.

    The story of Abraham and the near sacrifice of his son Isaac, told in Genesis 22, is briefly alluded to.

    Kyle grew up reading Dr. Seuss, the Berenstain Bears, and The Little Golden Books, before picking up chapter books like the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series, The Accidental Detectives by Sigmund Brouwer, The Lord of the Rings, and Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.

    Daniel remembers sitting on the couch with his Dad, being read to from Ken Taylor's Favourite Bible Stories (https://www.amazon.com/Ken-Taylors-Favorite-Bible-Stories/dp/0842320040). Picture books include the original Winnie-the-Pooh, Beatrix Potter books, the Alfie series by Shirley Hughes, the Old Bear series by Jane Hissey, Eric Carles books, The Little Red Caboose, Richard Scarry books, Curious George, the Madeline books, and the Asterix and Tintin comics. Chapter books and read-alouds included Red Sails to Capri, The Door in the Wall, The Just So Stories,  A Cricket in Times Square, and The Chronicles of Narnia. 

    Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events gets referenced, as do George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones series, the TV shows Breaking Bad, True Detective, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the films Toy Story 3, The Matrix, and the Star Wars original trilogy, and the Marvel comic books, and CBC (the Canadian Broadcasting Cooperation). 

    Daniel botched up G. K. Chesterton's (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton) quote. It actually reads as follows: "Fairy tales do not tell children dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed."

    Further Reading: 

    Many of Daniel's ideas behind the Christian themes in Harry Potter come from John Granger's book How Harry Cast His Spell: The Meaning Behind the Mania for J. K. Rowling's Bestselling Books (https://www.amazon.com/How-Harry-Cast-His-Spell/dp/1414321880/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469084978&sr=1-1&keywords=How+Harry+Cast+His+Spell)

    Jerram Barrs of Covenant Theological Seminary has a great video describing the Christian themes in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (https://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/justintaylor/2015/03/08/why-jerram-barrs-read-harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-six-times-in-six-months/).

     

    Credits:

    Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

    This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

    Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, who have a new album (Blurred Harmony) coming out on June 9th.

    Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi 

    Photography by Jen Hall

     

     Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

    Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to hear what you have to say and hope to include it on future episodes. 

    Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes (that really helps us get the word out!), and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

    Oh, the Horror! – Season One, Episode 3

    Oh, the Horror! – Season One, Episode 3

    Daniel argues that many horror films deal blatantly with the existence of evil and often have strong religious themes. So why are they so popular amongst our secular culture? And why do most evangelical Christians avoid them like a curse of Satan? Does Kyle believe in ghosts anyways?

     
    Links to Media Discussed:

    The 1990 TV mini-series It (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099864/) and the original 1986 horror novel by Stephen King (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_(novel)).

    The 1960 film Psycho (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054215/), directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

    The poem that Kyle struggled to remember was "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge_of_the_Light_Brigade) by Lord Alfred Tennyson.

    The character "Leatherface" from the 1974 film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072271/), directed by Tobe Hooper.

    The film 2014 It Follows (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3235888/), directed by David Robert Mitchell.

    The 2016 film The Witch (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4263482/), directed by Robert Eggert.

    Kyle mentions Book of Thoth (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Thoth), an ancient Egyptian text of magic spells.

    The 1974 film The Exorcist (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070047/), directed by William Friedkin.

    The 1984 film A Nightmare on Elm Street (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087800/), directed by Wes Craven (who graduated from the prestigious Evangelical school Wheaton College).

    The TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118276/), which ran from 1997-2003 and was created by Joss Whedon.

    We discuss the work of director Scott Derrikson (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0220600/), who directed the horror films The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), Sinister (2012), and Deliver Us from Evil (2014), along with the recent Marvel film Doctor Strange (2016). He is a committed Christian (http://archives.relevantmagazine.com/culture/film/director-strange) and has frequently talked about why he thinks horror is the perfect genre for Christians (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/june-web-only/prayer-dark-mysticism-and-flannery-conversation-with-scott-.html). Daniel quoted from an interview with Christianity Today (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/augustweb-only/scottderrickson.html?start=1), which is behind a paywall. Here is the entire quote:

    "In my opinion, the horror genre is a perfect genre for Christians to be involved with. I think the more compelling question is, Why do so many Christians find it odd that a Christian would be working in this genre? To me, this genre deals more overtly with the supernatural than any other genre, it tackles issues of good and evil more than any other genre, it distinguishes and articulates the essence of good and evil better than any other genre, and my feeling is that a lot of Christians are wary of this genre simply because it's unpleasant. The genre is not about making you feel good, it is about making you face your fears. And in my experience, that's something that a lot of Christians don't want to do.

    To me, the horror genre is the genre of non-denial. It's about admitting that there is evil in the world, and recognizing that there is evil within us, and that we're not in control, and that the things that we are afraid of must be confronted in order for us to relinquish that fear. And I think that the horror genre serves a great purpose in bolstering our understanding of what is evil and therefore better defining what is good. And of course I'm talking about, really, the potential of the horror genre, because there are a lot of horror films that don't do these things. It is a genre that's full of exploitation, but the better films in the genre certainly accomplish, I think, very noble things."

    The book The Secular Age (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Secular_Age) by McGill philosopher Charles Taylor.

    The 1978 film Halloween (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077651/), directed by John Carpenter.

    Daniel briefly references the biblical figure of Lazarus, whom Jesus raises from the dead in the Gospel of John, chapter 11.

    The 2013 film Ida (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2718492/), directed by Pawel Pawlikowski.

     

    Further Reading:

    Vice.com published a piece last year called "Why Are So Many Films Christian Propaganda?" (http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/why-are-so-many-horror-films-christian-propaganda). The author's perspective is antagonistic to the Christian faith and he cautions readers to be cautious watching horror flicks lest by so doing they promote Christian beliefs.

    Film critic Josh Larson of Filmspotting argues "a Christian defence of horror" in this short piece: http://t.co/WufBTSYgXS?ssr=true

    Lauren Wilford has a long piece on how the director of The Witch is a master of his craft and why the movie works so well on its own, without the feminist and Satanist controversy.  http://brightwalldarkroom.com/issue-43/2017/1/9/witch-craft-why-robert-eggers-is-our-next-great-filmmaker

     

    Credits:

    Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

    This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

    Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, who have a new album (Blurred Harmony) coming out on June 9th.

    Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi

    Photography by Jen Hall

     Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

    Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to hear what you have to say and hope to include it on future episodes. 

    Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes (that really helps us get the word out), and share and follow ...

    Stories That Shape Us: Season One, Episode 2

    Stories That Shape Us: Season One, Episode 2

    Kyle's favourite movie of all time is Jaws, which Daniel has never seen. We sit down to watch it and then ask: why does this movie speak so deeply to Kyle? We also talk about Daniel's favourite movie, Moonrise Kingdom and examine why these different stories mean so much to us and what they say about our worldviews.

    On this episode, the following media is mentioned or discussed: 

    The 1975 film Jaws (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073195/), directed by Stephen Spielberg. 

    The 2012 film Moonrise Kingdom (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1748122/), directed by Wes Anderson.

    The 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/), directed by Frank Capra.  

    The Dorothy Sayers detective novel The Nine Tailors (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nine_Tailors), which includes a climatic scene where the village, complete with animals, takes shelter from the rising flood in the village church, a Noah's Ark type imagery that is echoed in Moonrise Kingdom.

    The 2001 film The Royal Tenenbaums (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265666/), also directed by Wes Anderson.

    Daniel's favourite essay on Wes Anderson is by the Jewish author Michael Chabon. It appeared in the New York Review of Books and is titled "Wes Anderson's Worlds". Daniel loves this piece so much he would frame it if he could. (http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2013/01/31/wes-anderson-worlds/)

    Daniel's favourite essay on Moonrise Kingdom is written by his friend Jeffrey Overstreet and is titled "Moonrise Kingdom and the Divine Symphony". Daniel remembers getting shivers down his spine while reading this piece aloud to his best friend as they drove home after watching Moonrise Kingdom for the first time. Daniel's interpretation of the film is still largely based off this piece. (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2012/07/moonrise-kingdom-and-the-divine-symphony/)

    Daniel and Kyle's favourite film critic, Roger Ebert's wrote an essay on Jaws, which comes from his legendary "Great Movies" series. (http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-jaws-1975)

     

    Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

    This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

    Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads

    Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi 

    Photography by Jen Hall

    Feedback or questions can be sent to asssumptionspod@gmail.com, or by contacting us on Facebook or Twitter.

    We Are Made of Stories: Season 1, Episode 1

    We Are Made of Stories: Season 1, Episode 1

    The book Stories We Tell by Mike Cosper investigates the subtle power of the stories told through movies and TV. Daniel and Kyle discuss the allure of storytelling in both of their lives and ask why, according to their differing creeds, does this desire exist? 

    Media Discussed:

    Stories We Tell by Mike Cosper

    Like Someone in Love (film)

    Boyhood (film)

    The Raid (film)

    Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

    Harry Potter book series by J. K. Rowling

    The Shadow (radio drama)

    Gunsmoke (radio and TV drama)

    Welcome to Night Vale (podcast)

    Groundhog Day (film)

    Breaking Bad (TV series)

    Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley (poem)

     

    Credits:

    Podcast artwork by Chris Taniguchi

    Music by The Parson Red Heads