Religiosanity
Religiosanity
Rutgers Presbyterian Church
Talking about religion and keeping our sanity. Knowledge and humour are our best defenses against bigotry. The Rev. Andrew Stehlik, Th.D. (theologian and anthropologist) takes layperson Peter Rinaldi on deep dives into the sources of religious phenomena. We are talking about religion honestly, respectfully and humbly. #Religion #Anthropology #Science #History #antibigotry
Episode 131: Genesis 15 and the Lie of Greater Israel .
Genesis Pastor Andrew takes comments from Mike Huckabee, the US Ambassador to Israel, on Tucker Carlson's show as a jumping off point to spotlight the various levels of either willful blindness or astounding stupidity at work within the fundamentalist community and greater Israel regarding a desire to use a promise in the 15th chapter of Genesis to delineate modern borders. We also mentioned why surname Netanyahu is de facto blasphemy - especially for this war criminal.
Mar 17
33 min
Rescuing Baal From Epst31n as well as Evangelicals
Jeffrey Epsxxxn was a despicable person—but let’s leave the ancient god Baal out of it. Baal re-entered public discussion this week after reports revealed that Epstein named a bank account after the ancient deity, triggering a wave of misinformation about Baal’s character and role in ancient religion. In this episode, Pastor Andrew—an expert in the ancient Near East—works to clear up the confusion and set the record straight.
Feb 10
39 min
Episode 129: A Catholic Couch Convert who started argument with TWO POPES
If causing the last Pope to slip faster into the afterlife wasn't enough, now U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance has an audience with the NEW Pope, and presents this Augustinian scholar with an English translation of St. Augustine's "City Of God." What's behind J.D.'s lame gift? Pastor Andrew breaks it all down for us.
Sep 5, 2025
31 min
Episode 128: The Playground Anthropology
Pastor Andrew returns from his study leave/vacation with some anthropological discoveries made in a surprising place--the playgrounds of the Czech Republic!
Jun 4, 2025
19 min
Episode 127: Demonic Possession of the Self-Defeating Kind
Pastor Andrew makes the case that the MAGA movement that elected a convicted criminal for a second term is not merely brainwashed, but is rather under a form of demonic possession, a kind that is very self-defeating.
Apr 27, 2025
28 min
Episode 126: J.D. and the Pope
Pastor Andrew breaks down the back-and-forth between Vice President J.D. Vance and Pope Francis. Vance invoked ordo amoris to defend his general approach to immigration and refugees, and the Pontiff (without naming him directly) "corrected" him, in an inspiring statement placing the teachings of Jesus over church dogma.
Feb 21, 2025
24 min
Episode 125:Racist Dogwhistles and the Origins of Apartheid in South Africa
Trump's offer of refugee status to "persecuted" Afrikaans prompts Pastor Andrew, as a way to shed light on the racist dogwhistle that policy move is, to lay out the origins of apartheid in South Africa, religions' role in those origins, and also its role in apartheid's collapse.
Feb 16, 2025
29 min
Episode 124: My God, My God
Pastor Andrew takes us on a deep dive into one of Jesus' last words on the cross, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" and encourages us to take it in via its literary context, seeing it as "an early church attempt to preach to itself about the meaning of Jesus’ suffering."
Feb 7, 2025
38 min
Episode 123: Case for Religious Education in Public Schools
When well-meaning leaders, anxious to adhere to the separation of church and state, lean too far in to the “zero religious education” stance, instead of calling on academia to sift through standards and material and come up with a curriculum, we get the current situation we are in—a public at large more susceptible to bad theology at best and fundamentalism, fanaticism, and conspiracism at worst. Pastor Andrew makes the plea for cold, objective, religious eduction now.
Jan 9, 2025
43 min
Episode 122: "Hey Hey Jesus" US Christo-Fascist Radio
Pastor Andrew is back from vacation with a report on the phenomenon that is called "Christian Radio" but under a thin veneer it is actually "Christo Fascist Radio." On a surface it is saccharine sweet but it only hides and masks sinister dangerous American pseudo-christianity.
Dec 8, 2024
31 min
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