Week in Review (April 22-26)
Tradwives, Non-Religious "God", a Spokane Detour, and Social Media Blues
Tradwives and an Atheist who Believed in God
Social Media Influencers and Womanhood
This week my tradwives article touched a nerve. It’s entitled: “Deconstructing the Tradwife Movement Rethinking Eve as the Hero of Humankind”. The current tradwife craze is definitely creating angst in the social media world.
That above picture is TikTok tradwife influencer, Estee Williams, who I mention in the article. FOX 11 Los Angeles did an extensive interview with her, which perhaps only serves to create even more angst and controversy.
The topics I discuss in the piece are:
What exactly is a “tradwife” and why is it trending
Are TikTok tradwives hypocrites?
Can women simultaneously embrace “traditional values” and “feminism”
Is Christianity and the Apostle Paul inherently misogynistic
Can men bake bread and women fix plumbing
Is the entire Christian gospel based upon the wrong interpretation of Eve and the “fall of man”
The current tradwife movement seems to be growing for several reasons:
A backlash against the perceived disintegration of traditional/conservative values as a whole
A burnout factor, resulting from the daily demands and complexities of American life and toxic work culture
Reflects an anxiety around societal shifts
The appeal of how social media tradwife influencers depict this lifestyle as idyllic and desirable
An outright rejection against feminism
Resignation, based upon the continuing up-hill economic battle for women
It seems one of the reasons the tradwife trend is creating controversy is that it appears to have become something of a cultural war between traditionalism and feminism, with respect to women’s gender roles. I discuss this topic more comprehensively in my article about Simone de Beauvoir and her book, The Second Sex.
I’d be interested in hearing your thoughts on the article.
The Atheist who Believed in God???
My second article this week was about a philosopher who stirred up quite a bit of angst himself.
This week I published Part Four of my series: “Philosophers You Have Never Heard Of”. In this piece, I am discussing Baruch Spinoza, who has the strange distinction of being considered an atheist but insisted upon calling his central philosophical insight, “God”.
The article is titled: “Which “God” should you believe in... or none of the above.”
Spinoza is my favorite heretic. His writings were banished to the “Index of Forbidden Books” of the Catholic Church, and he was ex-communicated from Judaism and disowned by his Jewish family.
Ouch!
I relate to Spinoza in several ways. I still remember when I was informed by that largest Christian book distributer and bookstore chain that they would no longer carry my books in their stores or online. This was on the heels of the abrupt cancellation of my two-book publishing contract with a major Christian publisher. Upon submitting the manuscript for my first book, they concluded that my spiritual journey could no longer be considered “Christian” and accused me of heresy.
For a person who is done with organized religion and the God thereof, Spinoza offers a pathway toward post-religion spirituality. His philosophical concepts about “God” have a lot to offer people in the deconstruction process such as exvangelicals and ex-Mormons. Spinoza’s metaphysics helps guard against the leaving-religion danger of “throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”
In the article I have lots of resources for those who want to explore Spinoza and his philosophy further, including Rebecca Goldstein’s Betraying Spinoza → tinyurl.com/4apb6jxu
I’d be interested in your feedback on this article. Also, let me know if there’s a philosopher you would be particularly interested in knowing more about.
In a letter to Rabbi Herbert Goldstein, who pressed Albert Einstein about his belief in God, Einstein wrote, “I believe in Spinoza’s God.” Hmmm. Atheist Spinoza’s “God”???
Baruch Spinoza was a rebel for sure.
He wrote:
“I do not know how to teach philosophy without becoming a disturber of the peace.” He definitely disturbed quite a few people.”
Speaking at ORTCON24
This year I'll be speaking at ORTCON24 in July.
ORTCON stands for “Open and Relational Theology Conference”, sponsored by The Center for Open and Relational Theology.
The conference is being held at the Grand Targhee Resort in the Grand Teton mountains of Wyoming. Like, it's the Grand Tetons! You want to go there, right? Here’s a brief video about the conference. Keep in mind that the cost includes housing and meals.
I'll share more about this in a future post, but I plan to address a few things in my part, including:
Jesus and post-theistic spirituality
Alfred Whitehead, Buddha and Carlo Rovelli walk into a bar
Rethinking the work of theology in religious deconstruction
I hope you'll consider going. There are lots of great speakers. It will be fun to meet and hang out. And... it’s the Grand Tetons!
Though I’m not interested in discussing the finer points of theology in this Week in Review, I approach religion and theology from the perspective of the philosophy of religion. In other words, I do not write as a devoted follower of a particular religion, but as someone who engages in the philosophical study of the meaning and nature of religion. This includes the analyses of religious concepts, beliefs, terms, arguments, and practices. One advantage of this approach to religion, is that I can either praise or criticize religion with some measure of indifference. I don’t have an axe to grind in making one religion right and another religion wrong.
I mentioned that the upcoming conference I am speaking at is sponsored by “The Center for Open and Relational Theology”. One might ask: What is “open and relational theology”? Good question. Unfortunately, it’s not clear cut.
You might say that “open and relational theology” offers an alternative theological framework for those who have misgivings about traditional Christian theology, but interested in a continued belief in God.
There is a stream of theological thought referred to as “open theism”, also known as “openness theology,” the “openness of God,” and “free will theism.” Among other things, this is an attempt to explain the foreknowledge of God in relationship to the free will of man. The argument of open theism is essentially this: human beings are truly free; if God absolutely knew the future, human beings could not truly be free. Therefore, God does not know absolutely everything about the future. Open theism holds that the future is not knowable. Therefore, God knows everything that can be known, but He does not know the future.
The term “open theism” was introduced in 1980 with theologian Richard Rice's book The Openness of God: The Relationship of Divine Foreknowledge and Human Free Will. The broader articulation of open theism was given in 1994, when five essays were published by evangelical scholars (including Rice) under the title The Openness of God. “Open and Relational Theology” (ORT) as a derivative of open theism, has been developed by Thomas Oord. If you have an interest in exploring open theism or ORT, check out the above mentioned books, along with these:
God of the Possible: A Biblical Introduction to the Open View of God by Gregory Boyd
Open and Relational Theology: An Introduction by Thomas Oord
Process Theology: A Guide for the Perplexed by Bruce Epperley
The God Who Risks: A Theology of Divine Providence by John Sanders
Shout Out to Brittney
Super excited this week about a book that was just released by a good friend of mine, Brittney Hartley. I endorsed her book, and plan to recommend it to any person who is in the deconstruction process and building a post-religion spirituality.
I've known Brittney Hartley for a string of years. We live close to Brittney, which means Amy and I occasionally meet her for coffee. My first contact with her was through The Center for Non-Religious Spirituality (CNRS), which I founded in 2021. Brittney completed the CNRS training and certification for non-religious spiritual direction.
You likely may already know Brittney. She is an ex-Mormon, and close to 300,000 people follow her on TikTok for her religious deconstruction guidance and her spiritual-but-not-religious outlook on life. She was recently a guest on The Mormon Stories Podcast, the longest running and most popular Mormon-themed podcast. Brittney has appeared in some of my most-read published articles on topics of religious deconstruction and post-religion spirituality.
There are several things I especially appreciate about Brittney in the space of religious deconstruction and post-religion spirituality. A lot of people in the world of deconstruction, still rely upon a Christian-oriented framework that involve things such as: a re-interpretation of the Bible, maintaining some aspects of Christian theology, and belief in the supernatural. That doesn't mean you're a Christianity-hater, you just don't want to re-hash Christianity in your path forward. Who do you go to? Brittney.
Brittney addresses a lot of deconstruction topics a lot of people stay away from such as:
Addressing deep existential dread and nihilism
Spirituality without supernaturalism
Using critical thinking and a multi-disciplinary approach to cultivating a post-religion spirituality
Brittney's book is entitled: No Nonsense Spirituality: All the Tools No Belief Required, currently an Amazon #1 Best Seller.
Here's a brief description:
“Britt Hartley offers a groundbreaking exploration that marries the rigor of rational inquiry with the depths of human spirituality. Best of all? No faith in the unbelievable is required.
Drawing from the wellsprings of science, philosophy, religion, and psychology, this illuminating work charts a course for those who seek a meaningful life without dogma or woo. Hartley draws on her work as an atheist spiritual director to provide practical guidelines for navigating a secular approach to ritual, morality, awe, transcendence, wisdom, community, intuition, connection, and meaning that can withstand the harsh truths of reality.”
Is Infinite Scrolling Bad for Your Health
In less than a generation, social media has evolved from direct electronic information exchange, to virtual gathering place, to retail platform, to vital 21st-century marketing tool. Despite the belief that Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey sparked modern social media, the history of social media began almost two centuries earlier, on May 24, 1844, when Samuel F.B. Morse tapped on telegraph keys.
I am part of a declining population who started using social media (mainly MySpace and Facebook) well before there was ever a TikTok or Instagram. The scrolling feature of social media wasn’t really a thing yet.
This week, a major psychology group released a study asserting that infinite scrolling and other social media features are detrimental to youth mental health. This is the report released by the American Psychological Association. The report comes nearly a year after the APA issued a landmark health advisory on social media use in adolescence. And last month, a book was published by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt that argues that smartphones and social media have created a “phone-based childhood,” sending adolescents’ rates of anxiety, depression and self-harm skyrocketing. The book is entitled: The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.
Can I be honest about something?
I don’t like most social media, but using the tools of social media relate to my professional work. Sometimes it feels I am forced into social media. For me, doing anything on TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter is like pulling teeth and I resist it. I realize, it’s just me. Many people truly enjoy the many different forms of social media. It’s all good. I’m not trying to rain on anyone’s parade. This is just me.
Sometimes I feel that too much of my waking life is influenced in one way or another by social media. A part of me relishes the days when there was only Facebook, and you mainly used it to post photos of a road trip, and how pissed you were that the Detroit Lions messed up again. I don’t read my Amazon reviews, I don’t care how many social media followers I have, being an “influencer” doesn’t excite me, and I refuse to learn the editing tools to enhance and package-up TikTok videos.
Oh well. I’ll shut up now. I have stuff to do. Back to managing my social media.
David Archuleta Follow-Up
One of my most-read recent articles was: Remember David Archuleta? The Courage To Walk Away.
David Archuleta became an overnight American Idol sensation at age 17 (now 34), he also became a default “ambassador,” like it or not, for the Church of Latter-day Saints, in which he had been raised his entire life. Coming to terms with his sexuality and a faith crisis led to him leaving the Mormon church.
An update on the story is that he made a special appearance on American Idol where it all began many years ago. He also released the official music video to his most recent and controversial single, Hell Together.
Headed to Spokane
This weekend Amy and I are headed to a Spokane wedding. We took a few detours and it was worth it.
Happy Birthday Jessica
Jessica’s birthday is Sunday.
There are so many things I appreciate about Jessica - she is kind-hearted, loving, compassionate and cares deeply about people. Jessica is a critical thinker and stands her ground in her own convictions. She is also an adventurer - loves kayaking, white water rafting, and plans to hike the Appalachian Trail.
She graduated with honors with a degree in Social Work, and then went on to earn her MSW. Her university presented her with the distinguished honor of the Social Work Leadership Award. Jessica is a couple years into her social work career - case management in the foster care system.
Jessica worked her way through college with part-time employment at a social work agency in Nashville, and a domestic violence shelter in Middle Tennessee. In the summers, Jessica has traveled worldwide to places including Honduras, El Salvador, and Ecuador on service projects because she has a special love in her heart for that part of the world and people of Central America.
Jessica is wise beyond her years, grounded, and has a maturity to her that amazes me. She is funny, good with people, and I always enjoy her. That's not to say Jessica has always had things easy. She hasn't. Life is not without disappointments, heartaches, hardships, difficulties, wounds and scars, and Jessica has had her fair share, no doubt about it. But she has walked through these times of suffering with grace. Yes, Jessica is my daughter. But even if she wasn't and knowing what I do, if I had the first choice out of 7+ billion people to choose someone for my team, it would be her.
Happy Birthday, Jessica! Love you always and forever. It's a privilege and gift to be your dad. I could not be more proud of all you have achieved, all you have endured, all you have grown, all you have given to others and the world.
In Summary
Tradwives is trending but Estee Williams may not be the best spokesperson.
Spinoza’s “God” may have appeal to people who are done with religion.
Let’s meet at the Grant Tetons in July at the ORTCON24 Conference!
My good friend Brittney wrote a best-selling book worth reading.
Can we re-wind the social media clock to the MySpace guy?
What appears to be a detour may be the most important leg of the journey.
I don’t like being called a tradwife. I like lady of leisure better. The toxicity of the rat race made me a housewife with the loving support of my husband. I feel fortunate, not many people could afford it