Most of the world happens when I’m not in the room. That’s been a guiding principle for me as I’ve read and heard about all kinds of things I’ve never seen. I know some folks prefer David Hume’s assumption that anything that doesn’t resemble closely enough what one has witnessed directly is more likely delusion or deception than real testimony, and I know others would just as soon dismiss the experiences of folks not from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts as primitive or worse, but I’ll take Hamlet over Hume on these kinds of matters: “There are more things in Heaven and Earth, Horatio/ Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” And although our approaches to these matters differ somewhat, I think I found an ally in Joy Vaughan’s book Phenomenal Phenomena: Biblical and Multicultural Accounts of Spirits and Exorcism. Christian Humanist Profiles is glad to welcome Dr. Vaughan to the show to talk about her research.
David Grubbs interviews Joe Loconte about his recent book "A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War."
Somethin’s brewin’ on the podcast. I wonder what it could be? If you’ve seen the stage musical version of “The Cotton Patch Gospel” you...
Coyle Neal interviews Larry Hurtado about his recent book, "Destroyer of the Gods."