427 Historic Scandal; Christian Positions on Politics

427 Historic Scandal; Christian Positions on Politics

Uncensored Unprofessor

On Wednesday, July 23, 2025, Director of Nat'l Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard gave a Whitehouse Press Briefing. She explained her office now has documents that prove the highest level scandal in American history. This is no longer a conspiracy. Who was involved? For how long? What did they do to promote their narrative? I explain why this scandal is a nuclear water cannon compared to the squirt gun pee that was Watergate back in 1972. Unlike Watergate this more-recent scandal cost people friendships, wrecked extended families, divided churches, cost people jobs and potential jobs, and even infected how people view international relations. How can the country recover? How will trust ever be rebuilt? In the show's second half I work through various traditional positions of Christian on political engagement. What are the dominant "no" and "yes" models? In the show's opening I talk about why Boiseland has such a tiny homeless problem. Come and turn on your beautiful God-given brains with me.

426 American Christian Worldview—State by State

426 American Christian Worldview—State by State

Uncensored Unprofessor

From 2020 to 2025 the Barna Polling Agency conducted 15 minute polls on nearly 18,000 Americans and their worldview. Recently Barna published the results of that poll and displayed the percentages of population that embraces a Christian worldview. The results are both shocking and fascinating. I work through all 50 states and humorously muse aloud on the results. Which region is the most Christian? Least? What are some of the surprises? In the show's cultural-assessment opening I discuss the election campaign of Zohran Mamdani, a young Muslim running for mayor in NYC. As it turns out, Mamdani's strategy has been both employed and successful in Europe. It also reveals what the Progressive movement will be attempting for many years to come here in America. Come think and laugh with me!

425 The Lord's Prayer—My Spiritual Scaffold

425 The Lord's Prayer—My Spiritual Scaffold

Uncensored Unprofessor

Many Christians feel lost when it comes to prayer. How should one go about praying? Other believers feel aimless, "how can I come up with a novel & unique prayer every single day?!" In this episode I explain how the Lord's Prayer (Our Father, Pater Noster) serves as a scaffold for my own praying. Or, perhaps better, how the Lord's Prayer serves as a targeting system for my praying. Jesus' prayer is a prayer for soldiers. We were born into a war when we exited our mother's placenta and we were born into a war when we confessed Christ and became new creations. So I name each phrase of the established prayer and then theologically unpack what it means, peel back some layers, and even clarify how I pray with regard to that phrase. In the show's cultural-examination opening I variously discuss: the attacks on ICE agents, the rioting in Portland and Dallas and California, the ongoing opaque nature of the Epstein files, and what I want to happen with regard to what went on at Epstein's sex island. Come laugh and think with me!

424 Quick Hitter—Caitlyn Clark

424 Quick Hitter—Caitlyn Clark

Uncensored Unprofessor

In this quick hitter (21:10 mins) I variously discuss: why I prefer Christ to Messiah; the Crusades e-booklet I will give to $10+ Patreon pledges; the two sermons I recently preached; the value of asking questions in a Post-Christian culture; our recent trip to the Oregon coast (all the animals I saw, all the brokenness I witnessed); my son's experience of coaching tee-ball here in Spudlandia; our culture of non-participation with continued expectation; and the WNBA phenom, Caitlyn Clark. There is a new biography out about Caitlyn as a person. She keeps it classy when questioned about how the majority of the WNBA players resent her, take cheap shots at her. What do I admire about Caitlyn? How much is she helping the WNBA tv ratings increase? Come laugh and think with me!

423 Crusades (15) Siege of Vienna; My Challenges for Islam & Christianity

423 Crusades (15) Siege of Vienna; My Challenges for Islam & Christianity

Uncensored Unprofessor

The siege of Vienna (1683) was an epic history-making event. Sultan Mohammed II and his Grand Vizier, Kara Mustafa, eyed the "Golden Apple" of Vienna with great hunger. If Vienna, the capital of the Holy Roman Empire fell, the spoils of Poland, Germany, France, and Italy lay ripe for the picking! At first two hundred thousand Muslim soldiers fought against twelve thousand Austrians at the Vienna city walls. Weeks later sixty-five thousand Poles and Germans arrived and fought the Muslims out on the battle field. In this last episode in my Crusades series I narrate the heart-stopping battle. What finally woke Western Europe from its long-standing languor, its sleep? What kind of ostentatious things did Kara Mustafa keep at his war camp? In the show's opening I raise two challenges each for Christianity and Muslim. No, my questions are not theological. They are more simple: what will each religion do in order to safeguard the future of humanity's existence? Come and think deeply with me about our lives in Christ. 

422 Crusades (14) Dhimmitude: Life Under Muslim Rule; 1453 Sack of Constantinople

422 Crusades (14) Dhimmitude: Life Under Muslim Rule; 1453 Sack of Constantinople

Uncensored Unprofessor
Crusades

What was it like, if you were not a Muslim, to live under Muslim rule? Even though the Koran calls for religious freedom why did that not, in fact, ever serve as the way of life? How would the Muslims carry out forced religious conversions? What kind of daily realities did the Dhimmi (subjugated, humiliated) live with? How were Jews treated? Then, in the show's second half, I describe the siege, battle, and 1453 fall of Constantinople. Byzantium, later Constantinople, successfully withstood 2110 years of siege attempts. So, how did Sultan Mohammed II finally enter and capture the city, "the giant thorn" in the side of Islam? Why did the Muslims practice pederasty? Who, when a city was siezed, would be ganged raped? (Warning: graphic execution practices are described in detail.)

421 Crusades (13) 7th Crusade (Israel boms Iran; The Bible on Nat'l Boundaries)

421 Crusades (13) 7th Crusade (Israel boms Iran; The Bible on Nat'l Boundaries)

Uncensored Unprofessor
Crusades

France's King Louis IX led the 7th Crusade. But he broke with established crusader order by starting first in Tunis instead of Cyprus. Why? And what happened in Tunis? I peel back the layers of the seventh Crusade. We explore the great battle between the Mongols and the Muslims, show why Sultan Baybars earned the nickname "the merciless," and talk about the profound political spin that contemporary authors have put upon the Crusades. In the show's opening reflection I recount some of the details of Israel's bombing (and assassinations) of Iran. Why I reject the dominant interpretive Neo-Marxist frame for understanding the Middle East. Then I work through questions like: How do the people of Iran feel about the bombings? Whom did Israel specifically target? We also examine the recent peaceful riots occurring in America's major cities. Is Thailand racist to require immigration visas? Why don't they allow Cambodians and Malaysians to wander across the Thai border? To set up the immigration question I note a FB post I read from one of my former students. And then, to establish a biblical perspective, I note what the Bible has to say about national boundaries and borders. Come think and laugh with me!

420 Crusades (12) Sixth Crusade (Teachers are Quitting?)

420 Crusades (12) Sixth Crusade (Teachers are Quitting?)

Uncensored Unprofessor
Crusades

The sixth Crusade is famous for the involvement of France's King Louis IX. What was he like? Why was he so beloved? What decision did he make that led to the disastrous end of the sixth Crusade? I also clarify what I admire about Medieval Crusaders. They had something that I see nowhere in the contemporary American Church. In the show's news-review I variously comment on: the Deconversion trend at work; the number of NFL teams no longer celebrating Pride month; the unprecedented number of universal injunctions being used against Donald Trump and what it says about the Democrat party; young Americans are having more strokes than at any time in history, what's going on?; an extended reflection about a video on X.com where a 26 year old brand-new teacher explained why she's quitting; a narration of the pizza-pie-chart I made 8 years ago when I myself quit teaching college. Come laugh and think with me!

419 Crusades (11) Fifth Crusade (What about Harvard?)

419 Crusades (11) Fifth Crusade (What about Harvard?)

Uncensored Unprofessor
Crusades

A short 9 years after the fourth Crusade ended the Pope called for a fifth. And the aim still was? Taking back Jerusalem. But the Crusaders—again!—made bad strategic decisions. And then, of all weird things, in the middle of the Crusade the Sultan was visited by Francis of Assisi. I recount the exchange between those two men and reflect on the spirit of Crusading. When King Frederick of Germany, and emperor of the Holy Roman Empire finally arrived he finally regained Jerusalem. All that, and Frederick wasn’t even a Christian. In the show’s opening cultural reflection I work through the recent conflagration concerning Harvard and higher education. What is going on there that provoked Trump’s ire? Why am I a bit conflicted? Why am I enjoying no small amount of Schadenfreude? I also tell homefront tales about catching a big black spider and a conversation with a single-dad Robin I had last week. Come laugh and think with me!

418 Crusades (10) 4th Crusade (What about Christian De-Converters?)

418 Crusades (10) 4th Crusade (What about Christian De-Converters?)

Uncensored Unprofessor
Crusades

The Fourth Crusade was arguably the most disastrous of them all. In the year 1204 Catholics betrayed Catholics, Catholics and Byzantines betrayed one another, and Byzantine royal family members betrayed and murdered one another. What could go wrong?! I narrate the role and place of Venice in the fourth Crusade. Across the episode I also ruminate about all the Christian De-Converters we are reading about today (how to assess what they are doing), what is the difference between Islam and Christianity on the topics of being inside and outside the religious community?, and describe a recent extraordinarly beautiful trip to Northern Idaho. Come think carefully and laugh with me! 

417 Crusades (9) 3rd Crusade (My Framework Re. Bible & Violence)

417 Crusades (9) 3rd Crusade (My Framework Re. Bible & Violence)

Uncensored Unprofessor
Crusades

The Crusaders held Jerusalem and the Holy Land for a short 88 years (1099-1187). But when Caliph Saladin (a Sunni Kurd) recaptured both the relic of the "True Cross" and Jerusalem itself a third Crusade was called for by Pope Urban III. Among those who answered that call was Richard the Lionheart, the King of England who carried King Arthur's famed sword "Excalibur." In this episode I recount what preceded Saladin's re-conquest of Jerusalem, the challenges of staying hydrated for the Crusaders, the ongoing suspicions and betrayals between Byzantine and Holy Roman Empire Christians, everyday life on the Crusader march, and how Richard and Saladin finally ended their warring. In the show's opening I reflect on American students' deliquencies on their school loans. I also explain still more about the Bible and violence, delineating how I frame the question of violence and/or pacifism from Old Testament to New Testament. Come and enjoy some intellectually fresh Wagyu beef with me!

416 Why Christian Colleges Always Veer Left; American Pope!

416 Why Christian Colleges Always Veer Left; American Pope!

Uncensored Unprofessor

I'm interrupting my series on the Medieval Crusades to think with you about the question, why do Christian Colleges always slide to the Theological (and with that, Cultural) Left? I listened to a recent Theology Pugcasters podcast episode and they really got me to thinking. I add my own reflections and experiences to their insightful analysis. Then, because the Roman Catholic Church has elected a new Pope I reflect on the prospects of a Pope Leo XIV papacy. Who is he? He's from America but how American is he really? Why did the Cardinals vote him in after only 3 votes? Why do I—yes and amen—want him to be an advocate for the planet's disenfranchised populations?! Along the way I also reflect on a recent vivid X.com picture I saw and tie that into a reflection about Elon Musk now having sired 12 children. What is unique about that? What does it say about where society is headed? Come think and laugh with me.

415 Crusades (8) Second Crusade (Turn the Other Cheek)

415 Crusades (8) Second Crusade (Turn the Other Cheek)

Uncensored Unprofessor
Crusades

What happened in the Mid-East that motivated the second Catholic Crusade? Why did a monk, Bernard of Clairvaux, preach the Crusade? What happened to the armies of King Conrad and King Louis VII along the way over and down to Constantinople and Cappadocia? How did the centuries-old suspicion between Orthodox and Catholic Christians play out during the second Crusade? I examine and answer all those questions in this episode. I also offer an extended reflection on Jesus' famous words, "turn the other cheek." What did he really mean in his first-century context? I also offer an extended thought-piece on why I do not believe either the Bible or Jesus himself were against the godly use of violence and/or war. Oh, and I wonder, what is the etymology of whore? Is it possible the Arabic houris—sexified concubines waiting in the afterlife—played into the history of the word whore? Come laugh and think with me about our faith in Christ.

414 Crusades (7) Jerusalem Kingdom (Pacifism & Capitalism)

414 Crusades (7) Jerusalem Kingdom (Pacifism & Capitalism)

Uncensored Unprofessor
Crusades

Truth is? I hadn't planned on producing this episode. But way back when I was working on my PhD I learned that one has to go where the historical record takes one. So in this episode I narrate details about the Jerusalem Kingdom (the 600 square mile empire) that arose after the First Crusade. Led by different orders of Knights, the Jerusalem Kingdom became the locale for the fantastic accumulation and management of wealth all over Europe. How did that happen? What was so amazing about the Knights Hospitaller? Why did the Knights Templar explode in growth and influence? I also address an important question, why didn't the Medieval Christians practice corporate pacifism? Concerning that very question what specific factors and decisions were thrust upon them all? In the show's cultural reflection I talk about the legacy of Pope Francis and explain why I believe another Pope like Francis will follow in his wake. Come laugh and think with me.

413 Crusades (6) First Crusade (and Reading the Koran)

413 Crusades (6) First Crusade (and Reading the Koran)

Uncensored Unprofessor
Crusades

They started heading southeast in 1096. Three full years later, June of 1099, the Crusaders arrived at the walls of Jerusalem, multiple armies led by multiple personages. And, other than wanting to rescue the Holy Land from Muslims, they weren't even on the same page. So then, what happened when they finally sieged the walls of Jerusalem? On a related theme, what percentage of Crusaders actually were present out of the many armies that left Germania, France, and Italy? And because I find their ardor, zeal, passion, and commitment utterly fascinating, I muse about what must it have been like to share such purpose. In this sixth episode on the Crusades I also explain why there is such a divergence between Muslims who view violent warfare as a holy calling and Muslims who view jihad as a spiritual-existential effort. In the show's brief opening I reflect on the meaning of Easter and talk about a recent survey on pastors and the depths of their Christian worldviews. Come think and laugh with me!

412 Crusades (5) Three Key Pre-Crusades Battles

412 Crusades (5) Three Key Pre-Crusades Battles

Uncensored Unprofessor
Crusades

European folk, besieged in the East and invaded in the South, believed their civilization was at stake. They heard all about the Muslim invasions in the Balkans and the Muslim destruction of Christian Egypt. So the truth is there were many battles prior to the Crusades and in this episode I unpack three of those: one in Syria, one in Constantinople, and one in Southern Spain. What particular things ocurred in those battles to swing the outcome? What did the Muslims want? What did they especially want from out of Constantinople? What particular things (weather even) greatly impacted these battles? How did each respective side theologically interpret the outcome of the battles? In the show's opening I reflect on how the Gospel works inside both persons and cultures. Against shallow (popular) piety I argue the Gospel does not come to destroy the person, or the culture. And in fact? The Gospel does not come to make each respective person or culture more American. Come laugh and think with me.

411 Crusades (4) Muslim Religious Motives

411 Crusades (4) Muslim Religious Motives

Uncensored Unprofessor
Crusades

Welcome to the most-difficult-to-produce episode I've ever put out! Why? Because I am talking about Islam following the way Mohammed and the Koran talk(ed) about Islam. The West suffers from a kind of historical amnesia about both the Crusades and Islam; almost like there is a willful ignorance at work. But what did Mohammed himself offer to Muslims who go to war? With what kind of pious language did he describe jihad to the glory of Allah? To help frame the disconnect today I also explain the current perspective on religion versus how religion was always practiced, everywhere. And, to my surprise (I felt so naive) I note the reigning Protestant meme-perspective on the Crusades. To open the show I offer reflections both on today's Evangelical piety and the process of becoming who we are, as persons. We emphasize the "I'm at a crossroads!" decisions, but it is the little, daily, mundane decisions that truly shape who we are.

410 Crusades (3) Crusader Religious Motivations

410 Crusades (3) Crusader Religious Motivations

Uncensored Unprofessor
Crusades

In my first two episodes I laid out geographically-oriented motivations for Crusading. This week we explore the religious motives of Crusaders. What were they offered by the papacy in return for joining a crusade? Was every Crusader on a journey of religious gain? Were Crusaders motivated either by their own poverty or a desire to evangelize pagans? Who was more likely to join a crusade, younger or elder brothers? Why? To develop our understanding of Medieval Catholic piety I explain and explore the Catholic practice of granting indulgences. I also warn us of running history through a sieve of chronological snobbery. Moreover, I address, yet again, the Postmodern interpretation of the Crusades and explain why that take is really just a cudgel to shame and silence Christians. In the show's opening theological reflection I ask, "what is faith?" To answer that I unpack the perspective of famed (by tormented) Russian author, Fyodor Dostoevsky, who famously once wrote, "beauty will save the world." I find both his insights about human nature and the nature of faith to be both helpful and true.

408 Crusades (1) Their First Motivation

408 Crusades (1) Their First Motivation

Uncensored Unprofessor
Crusades

There are several curated narratives pertaining to the Crusades. Those narratives dominate not only our understanding of the Medieval Crusades but understandings of the Middle East today. But, what really happened? What initially, and really, motivated Holy Roman Empire Catholics to travel over 1200 miles eastward at the price of great sacrifice? To try to answer those questions we examine some of the history of Muslim expansion. I'll note how long before the Crusades it was that Muslims variously attacked and sacked Rome, Iberia (today's Spain & Portugal), and Jerusalem. Because we believe Jesus is Lord over culture and politics I also discuss President Trump's attempts to disassemble the GBM (Grinding Bureaucratic Machine). Along the way I tell some jokes, offer a tiny bit of health advice, and reflect on the horrors at work inside of contemporary Syria. Come laugh and think with me.

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