church and culture

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss whether it is okay for those who consider themselves Christ followers to be cremated, rather than pursuing a traditional burial. This has become the preferred form of disposition, and is two times more common than it was even a couple of decades ago.

Episode Links

This discussion was prompted by a recent article in the Washington Post titled “The Stunning Rise of Cremation Reveals America's Changing Idea of Death.” It is uncertain whether the rise in cremation is due to people becoming increasingly uncomfortable with death and dying, the more transitory nature of our existence, or the incredibly high costs of traditional burials. What's for certain is that this form of disposition will only continue to rise.

Dr. White discussed the fact that cremation as a form of disposition is not prohibited in Scripture. There are two passages where cremation is mentioned: 1 Samuel 31:12 and Amos 6:9-10. In neither case is the decision to burn the body condemned. However, throughout Christian history the tradition has always been to have a burial instead.

Finally, at the beginning of the podcast Alexis mentioned earlier podcasts that have surrounded the idea of “Is it okay for a Christian to….?” You can check out Dr. White's series by this same title at Church & Culture HERE. And if you missed the past podcasts, we encourage you to go back and listen to:

CCP74: On Smoking Marijuana and Drinking Wine

CCP55: On Tattoos and Cosmetic Surgery

CCP38: On Attending Diwali Celebrations and Gay Weddings

CCP22: On Yoga

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the rising trend of women identifying as “trad wives.” The typical “trad wives” are Christian, conservative, homemakers handling all of the cooking and cleaning, and many who even adopt the dress and style of the women of the 1950s. And they're increasingly gaining attention and followers on TikTok with nearly 187 million views.

Episode Links

While in a recent podcast Dr. White and Alexis discussed a group called the “never marrieds” (you can listen to that episode HERE) who are quite happy with their independence, the “trad wives” go to the other extreme, taking pride in submitting to their husbands. In an article discussed in the episode titled, “What is a 'trad wife'? These controversial women are drawing attention – and opinions,” one “trad wife” stated that she doesn't even venture out of the house without her husband's permission.

This was definitely an interesting conversation, and brought up two other podcasts on related topics that would be worth going back to listen to. These include: CCP72: On Toxic Masculinity and CCP21: On Gender.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the reality and realm of angels. A fascinating poll from the Associated Press revealed that the vast majority of Americans believe in angels - more than God, the devil, astrology or reincarnation. This begs some questions: What's so unique about angels? Why do so many people believe in them? Are they real, and if so what do they do?

Episode Links

The aforementioned poll was discussed in an AP News article titled, “Do you believe in angels? About 7 in 10 U.S. adults do, a new AP-NORC poll shows.” 70% is quite the percentage of the population. As Dr. White mentioned, he has spoken on the topic of angels at Mecklenburg Community Church. You might enjoy checking out a series called “Paranormal” that delves into several issues related to today's discussion. The first installment titled, “A Map of the Spiritual World,” specifically focuses on the world of angels.

The conversation also talked about fallen angels, known as demons. Americans are far less inclined to believe in the demonic world than they are angels - probably because angels are so much “safer.” However the denomic agents of our spiritual world are not to be ignored. Dr. White mentioned a book written by C.S. Lewis called “The Screwtape Letters” that is definitely worth a read to understand why it's to our detriment to ignore the existence of demons in our lives.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

Welcome back to the start of a new season for the Church & Culture Podcast. In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the stunning findings of a recent Pew Research Center survey titled “A record-high share of 40-year-olds in the U.S. have never been married.” The survey, conducted in 2021, found that 25% of 40-year-olds in the US have never been married, and many never intend to get married. Today's episode will explore the cultural implications of these findings.

Episode Links

In addition to the Pew study, the Thriving Center of Psychology conducted its own study of unmarried Millennials and Gen Z finding that 40% believe marriage to be an outdated tradition. (*Note: this is the 40% that Dr. White refers to in his opening remarks and is separate from the Pew study findings). You can read more about this study and its implications in an article from The Messenger titled “Marriage Deemed ‘Outdated' by Millennials and Gen Z.”

The data from both surveys makes it clear that marriage, as we've traditionally known it, is in a free-fall. Whether because of reasons such as the cost of having a wedding or the increase in people living together before marriage, what our culture seems to have lost is the vision that marriage was created and ordained by God. It was woven into the very fabric of creation. Dr. White delivered a series at Mecklenburg Community Church to help people understand the significance of marriage titled “Holy Matrimony.” You can find other series he's given on the topics of both marriage and family HERE.

The conversation also touched on singleness, looking at this idea from several angles. First, since the pandemic culture seems to have become almost complacent about their state of loneliness. Dr. White wrote about this in his recent book Hybrid Church, and how we've essentially created a pandemic of loneliness with Gen Z. Second, there are some who view singleness as a sin. Our culture needs a good theology of singleness. Dr. White referenced an article from Christianity Today titled “Singleness Is Not a Sin.”

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how those outside the Christian faith often perceive the God of the Bible - particularly the Old Testament - as a moral monster. Largely this is due to the (sometimes) bloody violence found in its pages including holy wars, ethnic cleansing and even child sacrifice. Frankly, even those who consider themselves Christ followers find themselves grappling with the same questions as non-believers.

Episode Links

If today's conversation proved to be a good primer for you, but you'd like to go deeper on this topic, we suggest that you get a series that Dr. White delivered at Meck called “The Bloody Bible.” The series installments explore whether God is the same God in both testaments of the Bible, punishments, sacrifices and slaughters found in Scripture, and finally the differences between Christianity and Islam. If you're new to the Christian faith, and aren't even sure what is meant by “two testaments,” you may want to also check out a series called “How to Bible” which reviews the basics of reading and understanding the Bible.

Another resource that Dr. White mentioned that is very helpful is a book he wrote called Christianity for People Who Aren't Christians: Common Answers to Uncommon Questions. If you're engaging in conversations about the Christian faith with unchurched friends, family members, coworkers, etc., this would be great to have on hand to give to them so that they can explore more questions about the Bible like these.

Finally, there were several stories from the Bible that were discussed in today's conversation. We would encourage you to read: Genesis 22 (for the story of Abraham and Isaac), Exodus 12 (on the Passover), Deuteronomy 7 (on the slaughter of the Canaanites), Numbers 31 (on the conquest of the Midianites), Matthew 5-7 (the Sermon on the Mount) and Matthew 26 (the Last Supper).

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, the idea for the topic came from a series Dr. White delivered at Mecklenburg Community Church called, “Is it okay for a Christian to…” This series explored questions that both Christians and non-Christians have about what is or is not okay to do once you cross the line of faith. So, is it okay for a Christian to smoke marijuana and drink wine?

Episode Links

When trying to determine whether the Christian faith allows you the freedom to do something, it's important to put those questions through a biblical framework that Dr. White outlined. For more on this framework and how to apply it to your life, check out his book After “I Believe”: Everyday Practices for a Vibrant Faith. It's also an excellent book to read whether you are new to the Christian faith or have been a Christ follower for years.

As the Bible is key to knowing whether it's okay for a Christian to do (or not do) something, there were a number of Scripture references that Dr. White gave that we wanted to gather for you:

* On your body being a temple of the Holy Spirit, read 1 Corinthians 6:19-20.

* On the benefits of wine for your body and mental health, read 1 Timothy 5:23, Psalm 104:15 and Ecclesiastes 9:7.

* On Jesus' words about wine, read Luke 7:34 and Mark 14:25.

* On warnings about your personal freedom leading others astray, read 1 Corinthians 8:9, Romans 14:21 and 1 Corinthians 10:31.

Finally, Dr. White read an excerpt from a Christianity Today article titled, “A Toast to My Journey with Wine” which you can read HERE.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they take a break from discussing what's happening in culture to talk about how to become a student of culture. While Dr. White touched on this briefly in the podcast's inaugural episode CCP1: Welcome to the C&C Podcast, this episode really dives down into his practices for staying on top of what's happening in our world and how the church should respond and engage.

Episode Links

Being a student of culture is something Dr. White considers vital to his role in the church. He has a daily practice of reviewing more than 15 periodicals to see how they are engaging the news. The three he suggests to be most helpful for a true exploration of cultural events are: The Atlantic, National Public Radio, and The Washington Post. And for those in the Christian world he recommends: Christianity Today Magazine, UVA's Hedgehog Review, and Q from Gabe Lyons. Don't have time to read through multiple articles looking for important cultural trends? That's why Dr. White selects the four most relevant stories and posts these each day at churchandculture.org on our Daily Headline News.

He often uses these cultural stories and findings as the source of inspiration for topics for his twice-weekly Church & Culture blog, which you can subscribe to for free on the Church & Culture website. Once you subscribe, you'll receive the blog delivered straight to your inbox every Monday and Thursday.

Dr. White also uses his extensive research and study of culture to pour into the many books that he has written. There were five books specifically mentioned in this episode that are particularly relevant for the understanding of today's culture: Serious Times: Making Your Life Matter in an Urgent Day on understanding history as it relates to today's culture; A Mind for God which is extremely important for developing and maintaining a Christian mind and worldview; The Rise of the Nones: Understanding and Reaching the Religiously Unaffiliated to understand the alarming rise in those who claim no religious affiliation whatsoever; Meet Generation Z to grasp what makes this generation particularly unique and a primary mission field for the church; and finally his latest release, Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital Age looking at the digital revolution that has taken place in our day and the need for the church to adapt. Also, for help with how to quickly and efficiently read a book, Dr. White recommended “How to Read a Book” by Mortimer Adler.

Finally, the concern with people creating a “Daily Me” was brought up during today's conversation. This is the idea that people tend to cultivate their news feed through social media to only show them stories that align with their political and ideological beliefs. You can listen to the recent podcast episode CCP71: On Social Media and Mental Health for a deeper look into this topic.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the spirit of toxic masculinity that has invaded the church - something at the forefront of sexual abuse scandals and stories of domineering male leadership. As Dr. White said, he's truly sickened by this.

Episode Links

An earlier podcast episode - CCP8: On Purity Culture - explored how the church sometimes tries to excuse sexual abuse within its walls by creating a caricature of men who are hopelessly ruled by their sexual desires, therefore attempting to put the blame for the incidents on the women involved.

This spirit of toxic masculinity can also move outside the church and into the home, particularly when it comes to the idea of submission in marriage. Dr. White explored the deeper meaning of the words found in Ephesians 5, particularly in verse 21 that says: “… submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” The idea is that husband and wife are to submit to one another. There are a number of excellent series that Dr. White has delivered at Mecklenburg Community Church in the area of marriage and family. You can find all of those messages HERE. One series that we want to highlight that is particularly relevant to today's topic was called #MeToo.” While it talked about the cultural implications of the #MeToo movement, it also has an installment called #HomeToo that talks about this need for husbands to also submit to their wives.

For information on some of the statistics and data shared during this episode, check out the following resources: Paul J. Wright, “Pornography Consumption and Extramarital Sex Attitudes Among Married U.S. Adults: Longitudinal Replication,” ResearchGate; “How Many Women Watch Porn?” Fight the New Drug; “Child Abuse Statistics,” Child Help; and “Child Maltreatment Report 2021,” Children's Bureau.

Finally, several podcasts would be worth going back to listen to as they relate to today's conversation. The recent episode “CCP67: On the Secrets of Hillsong and the Duggars” touched on male toxicity within both the church and the home. The episode “CCP21: On Gender” looks at the idea of gender stereotypes and how these might affect what it means to be a godly man. If we want a full picture of a godly man and how he is called to treat women, we should look no further than Jesus. He leveled the sexual playing field by uplifting the role of women in culture. This is being fleshed out well in the series The Chosen, and you can listen to the podcast “CCP54: On ‘The Chosen'” for more about that series.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a recent article written by Kelsey Kramer McGinnis for Christianity Today titled, “Worship Music Is Emotionally Manipulative. Do You Trust the Leader Plucking the Strings?” To be sure, there is much here to consider, particularly whether the music is serving to connect you with God or simply to the songs themselves… or even the people singing them.

Episode Links

In general, people seem to have lost a sense of the true meaning of worship. For this reason, Dr. White delivered a series at Mecklenburg Community Church called “Worth-Ship” to explore what it means to truly give honor and worth to God.

Dr. White referenced the call to worship found in Scripture, specifically in Psalm 100 that says: “Shout with joy to the Lord, all the earth! Worship the Lord with gladness” (vv. 1-2, NLT). In The Message translation of the Bible, verse two is written this way: “… sing yourselves into his presence.”

The potential for worship music to manipulate our hearts and minds has been considered for a while now. Here are two additional news stories mentioned in this episode that are worth the time to read:

Bob Smietana, “How Bethel and Hillsong Took Over Our Worship Sets,”
Christianity Today, April 12, 2023.

W. David O. Taylor, “Hymns and Neurons: How Worship Rewires Our Brains and Bonds Us Together,”
Christianity Today, August 29, 2022.

It is not only worship teams who can be susceptible to creating emotionally manipulative songs and experiences. It's also necessary for teaching pastors to make sure they are delivering a message rather than a performance. This was touched on during previous podcast episodes such as “CCP51: On Prosperity Preaching” and “CCP31: On Celebrity Pastors.”

The discussion then shifted to online worship experiences, as a Pew Research Center study found that many adults still choose to attend church online and are very satisfied with the online worship experience. This was further explored by Dr. White in his book Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital World.

Finally, when churches such as Mars Hill and Hillsong began to be investigated for their failings, a lot of people were quick to lump all large churches into the same bucket. We suggest that you go back and listen to two previous podcast episodes, especially considering that when the church was birthed into existence it was a megachurch! Those episodes are: “CCP40: On Criticism of Mega Churches” and “CCP53: On Asbury and Revivals.”

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the recent decision made by the U.S. Surgeon General to release an official statement on the harm that is being done to teens through the use of social media. It is causing an alarming rise in mental health issues, with studies finding that excessive use of social media has been linked to cyberbullying, disrupted sleep cycles, reduced physical activity, body-image issues, an increase in self-harm, exposure to pornography, and increased rates of depression and anxiety. Sadly, many parents consider themselves helpless to do anything about it.

Episode Links

In his latest book Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital Age, Dr. White has an entire section on social media as it relates to the church, and how to think Christianly about it. Because it is clear that the church cannot remain silent about the harmful effects that social media has on our society. To help with this, Mecklenburg Community Church offers an on-demand class through the Meck Institute called “FaceTime: What Parents Need to Know About Technology, Social Media, Video Games and More.”

Along with that class that is designed to serve parents, Dr. White gave a series at Mecklenburg Community Church that stresses the importance of parents being informed, involved, and in charge. It's called “The Under-Protective Parent” and is available on Church & Culture HERE.

There are several stories that have been in the news of late related to this topic that were mentioned during today's conversation and that have been shared through the Daily Headline News on Church & Culture:

Matt Richtel, Catherine Pearson and Michael Levenson, “Surgeon General Warns That Social Media May Harm Children and Adolescents,” The New York Times, May 23, 2023.

Julie Jargon, “Why 16 Should Be the Minimum Age for Social Media,”
The Wall Street Journal, June 10, 2023.

Naomi Nix, “Meta Starts Task Force in Fight Against Child Pornography on Instagram,”
The Washington Post, June 7, 2023.

Ayana Archie, “Montana Becomes the First State to Ban TikTok,”
NPR, May 18, 2023.

Michaeleen Doucleff, “Major Psychologists' Group Warns of Social Media's Potential Harm to Kids,”
NPR, May 9, 2023.

Michaeleen Doucleff, “The Truth about Teens, Social Media and the Mental Health Crisis,”
NPR, April 25, 2023.

Peter Chappell, “One in five British children have a phone by age four,”
The Times UK, April 15, 2023.

Emily A. Vogels, Risa Gelles-Watnick and Navid Massarat, “Teens, Social Media and Technology 2022,”
Pew Research Center, August 10, 2022.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a survey from Lifeway that was the subject of an article titled “Most Churchgoers Say They Want to Serve, Fewer Actually Do” - and that's fewer to the tune of a mere 30%. This leaves many pastors and ministry leaders struggling with how to cultivate the drive for people to act on their desire to serve.

Episode Links

Dr. White talked about the importance of having pastors directly speak to the church about the need for people to serve - to do more with their one and only life. There are a couple series that he delivered at Mecklenburg Community Church that you may be interested in checking out. The first is one that inspired the title of this podcast episode, “Get Off Your ‘But',” which attempts to break down the four primary excuses that people have for not serving. The second is titled “Maximum Impact” and speaks not only to the need to serve, but also the need to evangelize (because the same gap that exists between intention and action with regards to serving also exists with evangelism).

Continuing on the topic of the need to evangelize, Dr. White shared a story from Ken Gire's book Seeing What Is Sacred about the ripple effect that bringing others into a relationship with Christ can have.

Finally, your S.H.A.P.E. came up frequently in today's discussion. The idea of finding your S.H.A.P.E. comes from Rick Warren's book The Purpose Driven Life. Dr. White delivered a great series at Meck called “Living on Purpose,” with the third installment of that series specifically focusing on your S.H.A.P.E.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a recent article in the Washington Post titled “The Revolt of the Christian Home-Schoolers.” The article revealed that there can be a toxic side to some pockets of homeschooling, one that creates a breeding ground for ideas tied to Christian nationalism and pitting faith against science.

Episode Links

Those who have followed the podcast or Dr. White's blog should know that he is a big proponent of homeschooling and the many benefits that it can have for children and families. This was also brought up during an earlier podcast, CCP17: On School Choice.

But the darker side of homeschooling is troubling, especially when it creates a breeding ground of bad ideology. For more on this we encourage you to listen to past podcasts such as: CCP37: On Christian Nationalism for a better understanding of whether we're called to be a Christian nation or a nation of Christians; CCP49: On Faith vs. Science to see how everything in science not only complements God's existence, but also demands it; and CCP64: On Cults and Conspiracy Theories to see how the desire for community is what can create this strange sense of belonging found in these toxic homeschooling groups.

The church needs to be an advocate for homeschooling families to be Christian biblicists, particularly when it comes to the clash between faith and science. Dr. White has delivered several series at Mecklenburg Community Church that specifically speak to this including: The Science of God, Astrophysics for People Who Are Open to God, Don't Check Your Brains at the Door, and Creation Care.

Finally, you heard Dr. White talk about his book A Mind for God. This is an incredible resource that also provides lists of books to help develop a Christian mind. You can find that book on Amazon HERE.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss two recent docuseries that have drawn a lot of attention: FX's “The Secrets of Hillsong” exploring the distressing global patterns of misconduct at Hillsong Church, as well as Prime Video's “Shiny Happy People” exposing the nightmarish home life of the Duggar Family and the Institute in Basic Life Principles (IBLP).

Episode Links

Dr. White wrote a blog on the mess at Hillsong Church titled “Should Churches Still Use Music from Hillsong?” It definitely brought up a lot of points to consider, especially when it comes to contributions through royalties. You can read that blog HERE. Dr. White wrote another blog titled “Should a Church Use NDAs” that has become a big issue for churches like Hillsong that are coming to light. And as he mentioned during today's conversation, the Hillsong docuseries left a lot to be desired, and even some people who were hurt by it. You can read “The Secrets of Hillsong: An Open Letter to the Director” to see what we mean.

There are a couple podcasts we suggest that you check out where they've discussed some of the issues that lead to failings like what happened at Hillsong. These are: CCP40: On Criticism of Mega Churches, CCP31: On Celebrity Pastors, CCP4:On Pastors and Moral Failings.

A recent podcast is also worth going back to listen to as it helps explain how organizations like the IBLP draw people in, even when their practices are so extreme. It's CCP64: On Cults and Conspiracy Theories.

There are several news stories that were mentioned during today's conversation or that would be helpful for you to check out as they relate to this episode:

Roxanne Stone, “What the New Hillsong Doc Gets Right … and Wrong + Janice Lagata,”
Religion News Service, June 8, 2023.

Emily Hunter McGowin, “Shiny Miserable Family: How Bill Gothard's Ministry Missed the Sin Inside,”
Christianity Today, June 9, 2023.

Mariah Espada, “The True Story Behind the Duggar Family Docuseries Shiny Happy People,”
TIME, June 2, 2023.

Russell Moore, “We Believe in the Power of the Gospel, Not the Gospel of Power,”
Christianity Today, June 7, 2023.

Amy Julia Becker, “Opinion: Hillsong Was Extraordinary. That's The Problem.”
The Roys Report, June 5, 2023.

“Exit Music (For A Church),”
Christianity Today, June 9, 2023.

Finally, Dr. White encouraged pastors to remember that they are not above being susceptible to moral failings. He wrote about this in his book What They Didn't Teach You in Seminary which you can order HERE.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss the alarming rise in popularity of Satanism, and those who consider themselves to be part of the Satanic Temple. While the vast majority of members are essentially atheistic “believers” (meaning they do not actually worship Satan), Satan is still being upheld as a symbol of free expression and opposition to injustice among other things. You may be surprised to find out just how widespread this is….

Episode Links

In his latest book Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital Age, Dr. White writes about the transition from Christendom to “humandom” that has fueled the post-Christian world that we find ourselves in today. The idea that we don't need to answer to a higher power, but rather should allow reason to be our guide is what draws so many people to Satanism. Not only that, it's what draws them to cults, conspiracies, and even the world of the occult. Check out these past podcasts for more on these topics:

CCP64: On Cults and Conspiracy Theories

CCP58: On Your Horoscope and Starbucks

CCP35: On Scientology

CCP11: On Wicca

There are several stories that have been in the news of late related to this topic that were mentioned during today's conversation, particularly about the “SatanCon” gathering and the mess that Target has landed themselves in. Here are three recent articles to check out:

Camille Fine, “SatanCon: World's ‘Largest Gathering of Satanists' Hails Diversity, Fellowship,”
USA Today, May 3, 2023.

Abigail Anthony, “Target Partners with Satanist Brand to Create Items for ‘PRIDE' Collection,”
National Review, May 22, 2023.

Niha Masih and Jaclyn Peiser, “Target Pulls Some LGBT+ Items Days After CEO Talks Up Inclusivity,”
The Washington Post, May 24, 2023.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discussed capital punishment - something that both Christians and non-Christians wrestle with. Old Testament Scriptures reveal that capital punishment was used for a number of offenses; however, Jesus brought many Old Testament laws to completion during His time on Earth. The Bible has shaped American thinking since the country's foundation, and our laws say that the states have the right to take a life. But where should Christians land on this?

Episode Links

There is an ongoing news story that Dr. White shared recently through the Daily Headline News that prompted today's discussion. It's about a man in Oklahoma who is on death row who has had his execution stayed nine times to date. The details of the case have many questioning whether he should be punished with the death penalty. Here are two recent articles:

Emily Belz, “How an Oklahoma Death Penalty Case Shook Up Evangelical Views on Execution,”
Christianity Today, May 10, 2023.

Diana Chandler, “Oklahoma Pastor Advocates for Life of Convicted Man on Death Row,”
Baptist Press, May 23, 2023.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, the discussion was prompted by a disturbing article in the New York Times that was shared on Church & Culture's Daily Headline News. The title of the article, written by Andrew Higgins, was, “He Told Followers to Starve to Meet Jesus. Why Did So Many Do It?” Why indeed. What leads people to join a cult, especially when the leader encourages their followers to take their own lives? And what connection do conspiracy theories have to cults?

Episode Links

This is not the first time that the podcast discussion has touched on the topic of cults. We'd encourage you to go back and listen to CCP35: On Scientology and CCP18: On Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses.

Dr. White outlined the marks of a cult and, in addition to discussing the cult led by Paul Mackenzie in Kenya from the NYT article, he also mentioned the story about the doomsday cult that led a mother in Idaho to murder her two children, as well as the HBO Max show “The Vow,” a documentary series about the cult NXIVM.

One of the big takeaways is that people seem to long for community, especially when facing times of difficulty in life. This is also what can make the world of conspiracy theories so appealing, particularly when they seem to morph into a cult like we witnessed happen during the pandemic. This is what led to the rise of QAnon, predominately through social media. For more on that you should check out an excellent article written by Katelyn Beaty in Religion News Service titled, “ QAnon: The alternative religion that's coming to your church,” as well as Dr. White's blog simply titled “QAnon.”

Finally, the discussion ended with a look at why truth matters so very much. Dr. White mentioned a video from Stephen Colbert that, while intending to be comedic, was really quite prescient. You can watch the video on “truthiness” HERE. Dr. White also wrote a blog called “Choosing Our Truth Sources” to help people understand why truth is so important. He referenced a quote from Freud who said, “If it were really a matter of indifference what we believed, if there were no knowledge which was distinguished from among our opinions by the fact that it corresponds with reality, then we might just as well build our bridges of cardboard as of stone, or inject a tenth of a gram of morphia into a patient instead of a hundredth, or take tear-gas as a narcotic instead of ether” (from the New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-analysis, 1933).

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discussed a recent article by Michael Hidalgo in RELEVANT titled “When Did Christians Get So Mean?” Since the pandemic, we've watched as the world seems to increasingly thrive on spewing vitriol from behind their keyboards. But more and more this behavior is coming from those who claim to be Christ followers. The concepts of grace and loving kindness seem to have gone out the window.

Episode Links

The Bible offers very clear counsel on the power of words and the use of our mouths. Dr. White mentioned several passages that many Christians need to keep in the forefront of their minds:

“It only takes a spark, remember, to set off a forest fire. A careless or wrongly placed word out of your mouth can do that. By our speech we can ruin the world, turn harmony to chaos, throw mud on a reputation, send the whole world up in smoke and go up in smoke with it, smoke right from the pit of hell.”
- James 3:5-6, The Message

“Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.”
- James 1:19, NIV

“Too much talk leads to sin. Be sensible and keep your mouth shut.”
- Proverbs 10:19, NLT

As mentioned earlier, a lack of grace is a significant contributor to this problem, which is ironic as grace is what makes the Christian faith so distinct from other world religions. Dr. White recently delivered a series at Mecklenburg Community Church specifically on the topic of grace titled “Christianity's Most Scandalous Idea.” You can find that series HERE.

There are also two books that Dr. White suggested to listeners related to today's topic. The first is #Republic: Divided Democracy in the Age of Social Media written by Cass Sunstein. In this book Sunstein talks about the “daily ME,” where we now customize our social media feeds to see only the world that we want to see. Driven by insecurity, all this seems to do is increasingly cause hostility to ideas different from our own. The second book is The Bait of Satan written by John Bevere that explores how we are so eager to take offense at what others say and do.

Finally, if you're interested in listening to some other Church & Culture Podcast episodes that may shed further light on this topic, be sure to check out CCP6: On Anger and CCP13: On Cancel Culture.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss a very difficult topic: when, how, and who decides whether to close a church? It doesn't matter if it's a church that's been around for decades, or a church plant only a couple years into their journey, it's never an easy decision to grapple with. But between the great resignation of pastors, the widespread denominational decline and the rapid closing of churches across the country, it's a decision that many churches are having to face.

Episode Links

If you're new to the podcast, you may want to check out some past episodes where the conversation has touched on some of the background issues that led to today's discussion. These are: CCP4: On Pastors and Moral Failings, CCP15: On Denominational Decline, and CCP30: On Quiet Quitting and the Church.

As Dr. White said during the conversation, the heart of the people making up the church has much to do with whether the decision should be made to save a dying church. Two blogs that he wrote illustrate what it looks like to have a church community who are all-in - “Anything for the Mission” - versus one where they're completely turned inward - “Our Spiritual Pandemic of Narcissism.”

Many listeners may be interested in finding out more about the decision that Mecklenburg Community Church made to close three of its Charlotte-area campuses in order to make a more strategic missional investment in its Online Campus. To read all about that story and more be sure to check out Dr. White's latest book Hybrid Church: Rethinking the Church for a Post-Christian Digital Age.

At the end of today's conversation, Dr. White mentioned a blog that is released annually by the Church & Culture team that serves as an encouragement to pastors who may be struggling with a church that is either dying or failing to thrive. You can read the blog “The Monday After Easter” here.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, their discussion was prompted by an article that Dr. White shared on the Daily Headline News on Church & Culture. The title of the article (which has since been updated) was “Babies without sex? Researchers are working on it. Ethicists are troubled” and you can read the full article HERE. This has to do with scientific research for a procedure that goes beyond IVF and is known as IVG - in vitro gametogenesis. While bioethicists are pondering whether this is going too far, for the Christian this leads to stronger implications as the very definition of what it means to be human is coming under attack.

Episode Links

There are two podcasts that we suggest you go back and listen to if you missed them, both related to today's topic: CCP10: On Roe vs. Wade and CCP48: On Medically Assisted Suicide. They both discuss the sanctity of human life and just how much control we should have versus what God - who created life - should have.

In today's conversation, Dr. White encouraged pastors to speak out on cultural issues of the day and to have the courage to do this. Past message series given by Dr. White at Mecklenburg Community Church can all be found on the Messages by James Emery White page of Church & Culture. Once there, you'll find that all messages are arranged in categories, and we'd suggest that you check out the Culture page for series on some of the biggest topics in culture today.

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.

In this week's conversation between Dr. James Emery White and co-host Alexis Drye, they discuss how in today's world, it truly takes courage for parents to raise their kids in a way that honors the Christian faith. And an area of parenting where people tend to struggle the most is when it comes to whether it's okay to discipline our children. Culture has shifted toward the trend of “gentle parenting” - also known as “mindful” or “intentional” parenting. But is this the best way to go? Is it even biblical?

Episode Links

There were two articles that Dr. White found to be helpful for this conversation that we want to share with you:

Jessica Winter, “The Harsh Realm of ‘Gentle Parenting,'” The New Yorker Magazine, online HERE.

Fiona Macrae and Paul Sims, “The Spoilt Generation: Parents Who Fail to Exert Authority Breeding Youngsters with No Respect for Anyone,” DailyMail, online HERE.

Additionally, there were several Scripture references that Dr. White provided that are helpful when trying to discern where the Bible lands when it comes to parenting. We'd encourage you to look at Proverbs 13:24 and 29:17, as well as Hebrews 12:5-11.

Finally, Dr. White has delivered several parenting series at Mecklenburg Community Church that have always received incredibly positive feedback. You can check these out on Church & Culture, or click the message title below for more information (the series installments are listed for you as well):

“Parent Traps”
Discipline; Peer Pressure; Faith; Education

“Parent-Child Turning Points”
When They Turn Two: Time to Shape the Will; When They Turn Eight: Time to Deepen the Relationship; When They Turn Twelve: Time to Focus on Communication; When They Turn Eighteen: Time to Let Go

“The Under Protective Parent”
The Passive Parent; Relationships; Media; God

For those of you who are new to Church & Culture, we'd love to invite you to subscribe (for free of course) to the twice-weekly Church & Culture blog and check out the Daily Headline News - a collection of headlines from around the globe each weekday.