In this episode, Nate and Ben discuss the onset of their respective PhD programs and the value of reading tough texts in community. They discuss how this led to developing a Commissioned Community around reading Christopher Watkin’s Biblical Critical Theory. They discuss how Watkin’s book isn’t about spoon-feeding answers; instead, it’s about equipping us all to have insightful dialogues on cultural issues using the Bible. They also touch on the concept of secularism as a Christian idea, tracing it back to Augustine’s City of God and City of Man. While culture changes over time, some antithesis remain the same, and Watkin is able to utilize the the story of Scripture to do what the tools of critical theory and modern French philosophy try to do in vain. The end result is a constructive engagement of culture, rather than a deconstructive or destructive one.
