Data Over Dogma

What happens when you're raised to be a militant Christian nationalist Supreme Court justice, but you decide to actually study church history instead?

This week, we are thrilled to welcome social media powerhouse, educator, and musician Monte Mader to the show! You probably know her from her viral videos expertly dismantling Christian nationalist talking points, but her story starts far from the internet spotlight.

Monte shares her harrowing and fascinating journey of growing up on a remote cattle ranch in Wyoming, steeped in extreme patriarchal theology, purity culture, and doomsday rhetoric. What was it like being trained in apologetics from childhood, only to realize the history of the church didn't match the dogma she was force-fed?

We dive into the terrifying realities of purity culture, the weaponization of biblical texts against women, and the intense backlash Monte faces online for refusing to submit or be silent.

But it's not all doom and gloom! Amidst the doxxing and the hate mail, Monte shares why right now—as the mask of Christian nationalism slips completely off—is actually a time for profound, irrational hope.

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Want to see more of Monte? Follow her various socials at the following links:

Her Website: https://montemader.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/montemader?igsh=bGUyY29lamtlNGhi
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@montemader
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@montemader?_r=1&_t=ZP-971v8VHMsPv
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/@UCMfoN9bDN77VAd83ZFvwShA
Substack: https://substack.com/@UCMfoN9bDN77VAd83ZFvwShA

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Have you ordered Dan McClellan's New York Times bestselling book ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Bible Says So⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ yet???
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Most parents think their kids are pretty great. That makes sense. But if your son is the messianic savior of the world, the bragging rights are kind of through the roof. And that's what we get in Hebrews 1. The claim here is that God told the prophets about Jesus, and now all those awesome prophesies have come true.

And Hebrews 1 seems to be bringing receipts. It quotes from all over the Hebrew Bible to point to Jesus being the begotten son and to say that angels will worship him. The question is: is that what those passages actually meant? Were they really pointing to Jesus?

Then, we're taking a look at one of the weirder ancient Christian texts. It's called The Shepherd of Hermas, and for quite a while in the ancient world, it was considered scripture. So what's going on with this text? Was it a real contender to be included in the canon, or did it never stand a chance?

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Have you ordered Dan McClellan's New York Times bestselling book ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Bible Says So⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ yet???

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Beloved novelist Clive Staples Lewis (Jack to his friends)(?) went through an atheist phase in his life. But that didn't last, and when he came back to Christianity, he came back HARD! Everyone who knows his work beyond life in a wardrobe is well aware of his obsession with the Bible and Christianity.

But though he was an academic, Lewis was careful to remind people he was not a Bible scholar. He relied on the scholarship of others when he wanted to explore biblical topics. Yet he wrote extensively. So how'd he do? Were his conclusions and explorations undergirded by good data, or was he just flying by the seat of his theological pants?

This week, we brought on Leslie Baynes, author of Between Interpretation and Imagination: C. S. Lewis and the Bible to help us get a handle on Lewis and his particular brand of apologetics. She'll guide us through his view of the Bible, his explorations of Christianity, and the places he snuck it all in, even when he wasn't explicitly writing about it.

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Have you ordered Dan McClellan's New York Times bestselling book ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Bible Says So⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ yet???
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Just when you think you have biblical theology figured out, they throw you a curveball! In this case, the curve in question is the character explicitly referred to in Jeremiah as the queen of heaven. "Wait!" you might be saying to yourself, "I know heaven has a king, which is God, but what's all this about a queen!" Well, apparently yes. And Jeremiah is none too pleased about it!

Then, we're tackling a claim that American Christian nationalists have been making all over the internet lately. Did the "founding fathers" of the United States actually quote the Bible more than any other text? And did they do it expressly to make it clear that this was to be an explicitly Christian country? It's an idea that's gaining a lot of attention, but how true is it, and what are the implications for now?

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Have you ordered Dan McClellan's New York Times bestselling book ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Bible Says So⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ yet???
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For as long as there have been humans, there have been rituals. Every religion and spiritual practice has developed its own set of practices and rites, and attached sacred meaning to them. But behind the theology and mysticism, is there something happening that even the non-religious could benefit from?

This week, we welcome back Jeremy Steele to talk about his new book Rituals for Heretics, a guide to reclaiming ritual, meditation, and meaningful practices without needing to believe in magic, dogma, or blood sacrifice.

We explore questions like: What happens when you take religion out of ritual? Can people who don't practice a religion use a modified version of their rituals anyway, or is that appropriation? Why is Dan B's brain so weird? And does sandwich hurling count as ritual?

Get your copy of Rituals for Heretics here:

https://jeremy-steele.com/store/p/all-the-best-questions-signed-and-personalized-hr8jh-99b8c-47lem

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For early access to an ad-free version of every episode of Data Over Dogma, exclusive content, and the opportunity to support our work, please consider becoming a monthly patron at:

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Have you ordered Dan McClellan's New York Times bestselling book ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠The Bible Says So⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ yet???
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