Note that this episode was recorded on April 30, 2020. Since that time there have arisen plenty of issues that Daniel and Kyle would have loved to have mentioned or talked about, including the over-abundance of conspiracy theories and, more importantly, the murder of George Floyd and the worldwide Black Lives Matters protests. As Kyle mentioned at the beginning of the episode, he and Daniel unequivocally state that Black Lives Matter. Daniel especially recommends the And Campaign’s statement for a Christian response to the killings. While two white guys talking about race would need to balanced by minority voices, an episode on racism and faith is something we would love to record in the future. 

Show Notes:

The Globe and Mail article on the Italians social life is here: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/world/article-the-coronavirus-quarantine-is-social-torture-for-italians/

Here is a sample video of the Italians social distancing balcony performances: https://youtu.be/EBByYjjvNzs

The video of a theatre audience reacting to Avengers: Endgame can be found here: https://www.polygon.com/2020/4/7/21212000/watch-avengers-endgame-live-audience-reactions-captain-america-thor-hammer-iron-man

The episode from our first season about church and theatre can be found here: http://www.danielmelvilljones.com/blog/2017/6/28/the-cathedral-and-the-cinema-assumptions-season-one-episode-8

There are many articles about “Zoom Fatigue”. Here is one that Daniel found interesting: https://theconvivialsociety.substack.com/p/a-theory-of-zoom-fatigue

Our episodes from our last season in which we interviewed Christians who live alone include “Bonus Episode: An Interview with Wesley Hill”, “Bonus Episode: An Interview with Joy Beth Smith”, and “Bonus: Interview with Barry Danylak.” Daniel specifically mentions the episode with Wesley Hill.

We mention our two last episodes: a bonus episode in which Kyle interviewed Daniel called “Love Reveals Itself” and in which Daniel interviews Kyle called “Losing Your Passion”. 

Daniel mentioned an episode of The Daily podcast that covers a coronavirus digital funeral: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/24/podcasts/the-daily/coronavirus-deaths-grief.html

Kyle mentioned an article about the Roaring 20s: https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/05/i-predict-your-predictions-are-wrong/611896/

The movies Kyle describes are Misery, Witness, Sunset Boulevard, Brazil, and The Thing from Another World. You can follow Kyle on Letterboxd @thekylemarshall. 

The song Daniel described and recorded  is “I Shall Not Want” by Paul Zach and W. David O. Taylor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKUVLy__jv4

We mention our previous season, Love in Our Times.

The two podcasts Kyle described creating are Putting It Together and Kyle and Dave vs. The Machine.

Kyle mentions Rosie O’Donnell’s live show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sePAgItK9sM

Daniel mentioned that the Greek word from which we get “apocalypse” actualy means “revealing” and here is an excellent video explaining how that works: https://youtu.be/UNDX4tUdj1Y

Sponsors:

Assumptions is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network. On this episode our sponsors were Park Power and Kyle’s other podcast, Kyle and David vs the Machine.

Credits:

Assumptions is written by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall and is produced by Media Lab YYC.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Show Notes:

Kyle’s five podcasts are: 

• This podcast, Assumptions
• Creative Block
• Kyle and Dave vs The Machine
• Putting It Together
• Whatever This Is

The book on suffering that Daniel is reading is Timothy Keller’s Walking with God through Pain and Suffering.

Kyle’s business is Media Lab YYC.

Kyle’s YouTube account can be found here.

The conference Kyle attended for 10 years is VidCon.

Our last episode was a bonus episode in which Kyle interviewed Daniel is called “Love Reveals Itself.”

The artist Kyle mentions is Troye Sivan.

We mention our previous season, Love in Our Times.

The song that Daniel quotes is Your Labor is Not In Vain, recorded by The Porter’s Gate.

Kyle quotes from Roger Ebert’s reply to his review of the movie Deuce Bagalow: European Gigolo. 

Daniel quotes from Matthew 3:17: “And behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Kyle quotes from John Green’s novel Turtles All the Way Down.

The book on vocation that Daniel mentions is Parker J. Palmer’s Let Your Life Speak: Listening to for the Voice of Vocation.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network. On this episode our sponsors were the Park Power and Pod Power podcasts.

Credits:

Assumptions is written by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall and is produced by Media Lab YYC.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Daniel mentions our previous set of bonus episodes, which were released in November and December of 2017. Those episodes are called The Search for Transcendence, Daniel’s Highs and Lows, and Kyle’s Internal Struggle.

Daniel proposed to Annie on the Redwood Deck at Hoyt Arboretum in Portland, Oregon.

The hymn that Daniel quotes is The Sands of Time Are Sinking.

The Steve Jobs commencement speech that Kyle refers can be found here. 

Kyle describes the films of Akira Kurosawa, many of which are found on The Criterion Channel. Kyle specifically mentions the films Seven Samurai, Ran, Yojimbo, and Rashomon. (By the way, Daniel’s favourite Kurosawa film is Ikiru.)

Kyle describes Stephen Sondheim’s musical Sunday in the Park With George and quotes from the song Move On. The book of lyrics Kyle quotes is Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes. Kyle’s successful podcast on Sondheim is called Putting It Together. Kyle also quotes from the Sondheim musical Follies and the The Road You Didn't Take.

Throughout the episode we reference the themes discussed in our second season, Love in Our Times. You can find those episodes wherever you get your podcasts.

Daniel mentions Timothy and Kathy Keller’s book The Meaning of Marriage.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is a member of the Alberta Podcast Network. On this episode our sponsor is Northwest Fest and Kyle highlights the films Scream Queen (mentioning our coverage of the film Jaws back on our episode Stories That Shape Us: Season One, Episode 2) and Angels Are Made of Light. On this episode we also highlight the podcast Let's Find Out. 

Credits:

Assumptions is written by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall and is produced by Media Lab YYC.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Show Notes:

Daniel mentioned the ending of the children’s novel The Last Battle (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Battle).

Daniel and Kyle were interviewed for patheos.com on their friendship and the origins of the podcast. We think it’s a great read and you can find it here:  http://www.patheos.com/blogs/rebeccaflorencemiller/2017/11/interview-christian-atheist-friends-podcast-assumptions

The Terrence Malick film Justin, Kyle, and Daniel watched was To the Wonder. Other films they watched together included the Before Trilogy (Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, and Before Midnight), Home Alone, Of Gods and Men, Mighty Wind, and Her. 

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by Alberta Podcast Network. This week we highlighted the show That’s a Thing‽, which Kyle recently appeared on. We are also sponsored by ATBProsper.com and the podcast Otherwise.

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by Alberta Podcast Network and this week we highlighted the Young Gaffers. This week we are also sponsored by Edmonton’s Lit Fest (use the discount code atbrocks.

Show Notes:

Our episode begins with Kyle’s interview with Fraser Tripp (https://twitter.com/frasertripp?lang=en). In that conversation Dan Savage (https://www.thestranger.com/savage-love), the Buzzfeed “I’m gay but I’m not...” video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ScSlW3FCr4), and the TV Show Rosanne (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094540/). 

We briefly mention Kyle’s studio in Calgary, Media Lab YYC (https://www.medialabyyc.com).

Daniel mentioned the quote about how marriage turns strangers into families. It comes from Eugene Peterson in his book, Where Your Treasure Is, when he says “Every marriage brings two unrelated families into committed historical encounter with each other. We need to be forced out of ourselves into encounter with other sand to demonstrate with our lives that the other is an ally and not an enemy. Strangers, through the practice of adoration and detachment, become lovers. The natural rivalries that develop between people whoa re different are counters in the act of marriage and changed into alliances. Every marriage is proof that the other is not the enemy, not the rival, not the threat, but the friend, the ally, and, at best, the lover.”

The names of the three three fates in Greek mythology are Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos.

Speaking of storytelling, our whole first season, The Stories We Tell, is dedicated to the stories that shape us.

Daniel mentioned two creeds, ancient documents that specify Christian doctrine, that provide a useful boundary as to what is Christian and what is not. If a church or denomination does not hold to any of the beliefs specified in these creeds, it’s safe to assume they are no longer orthodox. The first creed is the Apostle’s Creed (https://www.churchofengland.org/our-faith/what-we-believe/apostles-creed) and the second in the more specific Nicene Creed (https://www.churchofengland.org/our-faith/what-we-believe/apostles-creed#na)

Once again, Daniel quotes from Alan Jacobs, who in is book How To Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds says that we need to spend time around people who are like-hearted, not necessarily like-minded. Here’s a great little recap of the book: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/spark/378-surge-toll-roads-how-to-think-and-more-1.4451013/we-need-a-survival-guide-for-thinking-because-we-re-bad-at-it-1.4458377

Daniel and Kyle briefly allude to the delightful TV series Stephen Fry in America (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1307789/).

Daniel refers to a short video by Tim Keller, which can be found here: https://vimeo.com/283015823

We talk more about the ways the horror genre confronts secular belief in this episode from our first season. https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/oh-the-horror-season-one q

Our episode dedicated to the purpose of sex is Let’s Talk About Sex:  https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/lets-talk-about-sex-season-two

In our interview with Joy Beth Smith, she briefly alludes to masturbation, a topic she covers in more detail in her book Party of One:  https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/bonus-episode-an-interview-1

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by Alberta Podcast Network. This week we highlighted Kyle’s new show, Putting It Together: The Music of Stephen Sondheim (https://www.albertapodcastnetwork.com/blog/2018/9/11/putting-it-together-joins-the-chorus). This week we are also sponsored by the podcast Back to School Again (https://edmontonsun.com/opinion/columnists/forbes-never-too-old-to-learn).

Show Notes:

The first part of this discussion can be found on Episode 9: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/wrap-it-up-part-one-season-two.

Our bonus episode with Wesley Hill can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/bonus-episode-an-interview. 

Revoice (https://revoice.us/) is the conference dedicated to the LGBT+ community within the historic Christian faith. Daniel’s friend Ethan attended and wrote about it here (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2018/07/31/an-undeniable-witness-reflections-on-the-revoice-conference/). Many, many others have also written about it, including Wesley himself (https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2018/08/revoice-and-a-vocation-of-yes).

Our bonus episode with Joy Beth Smith can be found here:  https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/bonus-episode-an-interview-1. 

Daniel mentioned his visit with Marc, a pastor from Door of Hope in Portland, Oregon (http://doorofhopepdx.org). Daniel loves this church.

Episode 6 on marriage can be found here:  https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/dont-get-married-season-two. 

The article on marriage after heaven being compared to friendship is found here: https://alastairadversaria.com/2014/07/23/a-new-icon-of-marriage.

Our conversation on loneliness, singleness, and community was divided into two parts. Part One (Episode 7) can be found here (https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/we-are-all-alone-part-one) and Part Two (Episode 8) can be found here (https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/we-are-all-alone-part-two).

Kyle and Daniel mentioned the podcast Start Up and their five part series on church planting. The first episode of that series can be found here:  https://www.gimletmedia.com/startup/church-planting-1-the-movement. Here is the This American Life episode that includes some of that content (and features Tim Keller): https://www.thisamericanlife.org/651/if-you-build-it-will-they-come/act-one-7.

Our bonus episode featuring Nick Taniguchi and Tyler May can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/bonus-episode-interviews.

Daniel mentions Shamballa, the EDM music festival in British Columbia: https://shambhalamusicfestival.com. 

Kyle’s new podcast on Steven Sondheim is called Putting It Together and can be found here: https://buff.ly/2N8czuI.  Kyle quotes from Sondheim’s musical “Into the Woods”.

Our bonus episode with Lish Veldhuijzen can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/bonus-episode-interview-with-1.

Our bonus episode with Rabbi Seth Goldstein can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/bonus-episode-interview-with-2.

Our bonus episode with Barry Danylak can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/bonus-interview-with-barry.

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial (this week we highlight their Entrepreneur Centre), LitFest Alberta, (get a discount with the coupon code APNrocks)  and the Alberta Podcast Network (this week we told you about Kyle’s new show Creative Block).

Show Notes:

Our first episode, We Are Family, can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/we-are-family-season-two

Daniel alludes to Kyle’s conversation about legacy on our first season here:  https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/dance-dance-otherwise-we-are.

Daniel mentions the movie The Master (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1560747/).

Our conversation with Barry Danylak also gets alluded to: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/bonus-interview-with-barry.

Daniel spoils (but highly recommends) the movie Paterson (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5247022/).

Daniel also mentions Andy Crouch’s book, The Tech Wise Family (https://www.amazon.ca/Tech-Wise-Family-Everyday-Putting-Technology/dp/0801018668).

Our second episode, Let’s Talk About Sex,  can be found here:  https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/lets-talk-about-sex-season-two

As promised, here is the infamous Monty Python sex education scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lRGIkLEYoA.

Our third episode, I Am What I Am, can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/i-am-what-i-am-season-two.

We talk about the controversy around the TV show Roseanne (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roseanne).

Kyle discusses the movie Crazy Rich Asians (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3104988/).

Daniel mentions the movie The Big Sick (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5462602/).

Our fourth episode, Christians Are Bigots?, can be found here: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/christians-are-bigots-season. Daniel’s apology/ clarification can be found at the beginning of Episode 6: https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/dont-get-married-season-two.

Kyle mentions the movie Eighth Grade (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7014006/) and Bo Burnham’s song “From God’s Perspective” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgejDl0vCsU).

Our fifth episode, I’m Going to Die Alone, can be found here:  https://soundcloud.com/assumptionspod/im-going-to-die-alone-season

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial (this week we highlight their support of the Edmonton Fringe Festival)  and the Alberta Podcast Network (this week we told you about the show Un Dad).

Show Notes:

Barry Danylak got his PhD in New Testament Studies at University of Cambridge. He is currently the community pastor of single adult ministries at Centre Street Church in Calgary. He holds graduate degrees in mathematics, Christian thought, and New Testament. He is the author of Redeeming Singleness: How the Storyline of Scripture Affirms the Single Life . He speaks and teaches all over the world on biblical singleness.

Wesley Hill refers to Barry’s work in Wesley’s book Washed and Waiting.

The organization that Barry described (and that Daniel lived amongst for a week) is called Servants of the Word.

Barry is a pastor at Centre Street Church in Calgary, Alberta.

Daniel and Barry briefly allude to  Japanese trend of lonely-deaths.

Barry quotes from Genesis 2:24: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”

Barry referred to a conference hosted by Tyndale House, Cambridge.

Barry also quotes from 1 Corinthians 7:5: “Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again.”

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial (this week we highlight the ATB Booster program)  and the Alberta Podcast Network (this week we told you about the show Mess Hall).

Show Notes:

Rabbi Seth Goldstein Rabbi Seth Goldstein was reached in Olympia, Washington, where he has been the rabbi of Temple Beth Hatfiloh since 2003. He blogs at rabbi360.com, his podcast is Torah tl;dr, and has the YouTube channel “Carpooling with Rabbi”.

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial (this week we highlight their Branch for Arts and Culture)  and the Alberta Podcast Network (this week we told you about the show Blue in the Face).

Show Notes:

Lish Veldhuijzen was reached in Victoria, BC where she is studying Traditional Chinese Medicine at Pacific Rim College.

Daniel (once again) quoted from Alan Jacob’s little book How to Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds: “These people are... not necessarily like-minded, but they are temperamentally disposed to openness and have habits of listening—and in that case are wonderfully like-hearted.”

Daniel defines his life goal as a combination of creating, collaborating, and communicating and realized this after working on a project with Lish.

Daniel referenced (and recommends) Robert Capon’s delightful book  The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection.

Lish references the Alan Watts quote: “If you will treat yourself for a while as a cloud or wave and realize that you can't make a mistake whatever you do, cause even if you do something that seems to be totally disastrous, it will all come out in the wash somehow or other.”

Lish also quotes from Eckhart Tolle.

Lish describes a conversation with her professor,  Peter Conway.

We reference our two part episode on community and loneliness, which are  Episode 7 and  Episode 8 of Season Two.

The town of Bamfield, BC gets a shout out.

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial’s Entrepreneur Centre and the Alberta Podcast Network (this week we told you about the show The Repodcasting). Check out the CKUA app, where you can listen to Assumptions and all the other Alberta Podcast Network shows.

Show Notes:

Kyle interviewed both Nick and Tyler while attending PodCon in Seattle, Washington.

Nick Taniguchi’s podcast is  Crush Hour.

Nick mentions the YouTube channel Sexplanations.

Nick mentions Kyle’s favourite conference, VidCon.

By the way, Nick’s brother Chris, who gets alluded to, designed our excellent logo.

Tyler May’s podcast on mental health is Mr. Feels and his photography business is Tyler May Media.

Tyler describes the work of musician Jon Foreman.

Tyler quotes from Colossians 3, Romans 1, and Mark 3.

Further Reading

Nick mentioned the different kinds of love that humans ought to experience. The classic text on the different kinds of love is C. S. Lewis’s book The Four Loves (and since the audiobook is the only recording we have of Lewis’s voice, it’s undoubtedly the best way to get experience it).

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial’s Entrepreneur Centre (learn more about  No-Fee All-in Digital) and the Alberta Podcast Network (this week we told you about the show The Young Gaffers). Check out the CKUA app, where you can listen to Assumptions and all the other Alberta Podcast Network shows.

Show Notes:

This episode’s guests were Barry Danylak, Lish Veldhuijzen, Nick Taniguchi, and Rabbi Seth Goldstein.

The limit to the number of Facebook friends (or page likes) one can have is actually 5,000.

Daniel quotes from Alan Jacob’s fine book How To Think: A Survival Guide for a World At Odds.

The article by Wesley Hill that much of our discussion is focused on (our full interview with him can be found here) is called Love, Again. We recommend that you read it.

Daniel refers to the Lord of the Rings books and movies, and the biblical story of David and Jonathan.

Wesley Hill wrote a whole book on friendship called Spiritual Friendship: Finding Love in the Church as a Celibate Gay Christian, which Daniel briefly alludes to.

The Harry Potter series is referred to (also we recorded an episode on those books).

The friendships in Kenneth Graham’s wonderful book The Wind in the Willows is described. 

The Joss Whedon television shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly are referred to.

Kyle briefly refers to the infamous “Mike Pence Rule.” Daniel quite likes his friend Karen Swallow Prior’s Christian response to the idea.

Daniel refers to this article by Alistair Roberts that describes how, in some ways, friendship is more important to the New Testament than marriage.

Daniel talks about this fascinating feature article in The Atlantic titled The Future of Work.

Kyle refers to Steven Sondheim’s (more details on your podcast) musicals “Merrily We Roll Along” and “Into the Woods.”

Daniel quotes from Tim Keller’s book The Meaning of Marriage, which has some great insights into the nature of friendship.

Daniel very briefly refers to the film La La Land.

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial’s Entrepreneur Centre (learn more about Junior ATB) and the Alberta Podcast Network (this week we told you about the show Work Not Work). Check out the CKUA app, where you can listen to Assumptions and all the other Alberta Podcast Network shows.

Show Notes:

Our recent episodes on  dating and  marriage are closely linked to this two part episode.

We mention the recent Stats Canada statistic from 2006 which states that, for the first time, there are more Canadians who are “single” rather than legally married. 

Once again, Wesley Hill gets mentioned. Check out our recent interview with him.

Roald Dahl’s children’s novel  Charlie and the Chocolate Factory gets referenced.

Kyle makes an annual pilgrimage to VidCon.

The cartoon that Kyle mentioned can be found here.

Daniel mentions Barry Danylak a couple times on this show. Stay tuned for our full length interview with him. For more information on Barry’s work understanding the Christian theology of singleness, check out his two books on the subject; Redeeming Singleness and the shorter A Biblical Theology of Singleness. 

Daniel quotes the lyrics to Paul Simon’s song The Boxer (recorded as Simon and Garfunkel).

The monastic organization that Daniel stayed with in London is called Servants of the Word.

The story of Hannah in the Old Testament can be found in 1 Samual 1-2. The prophet Isaiah’s hope for the barren women can be found in Isaiah 54:1-3, and the hope for the eunuch in Isaiah 56:1-8. 

Daniel read from Mark 3:31-35. And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:31-35, ESV)

Once again we mention the Purple-Red Scale and  our interview with Joy Beth Smith.

Kyle describes Simon Sinek’s book Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action.

Kyle also discusses the film Love, Simon (based on the novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli).  Kyle made a video comparing the two.

Daniel describes the ending of the C. S. Lewis children’s novel The Last Battle and briefly alludes to the controversy of which order to read the Narnia books ought to be read (the only correct answer is read them in the order of publication).

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial’s Entrepreneur Centre (check out ATB Cares) and the Alberta Podcast Network (this week we describe the show Walk Cast). Check out the CKUA app, where you can listen to Assumptions and all the other Alberta Podcast Network shows.

Show Notes:

This episode begins with Daniel clarifying some of the things he said on  Episode 4: Christians Are Bigots.

Daniel’s church is Calvary Grace Church of Calgary. Kyle visited it back in  Season One: Episode 8: The Cathedral and the Cinema.

Daniel mentions Wesley Hill’s story. We interviewed Wesley on this bonus episode.

Daniel mentioned hearing Kyle’s story, which we did on Episode 3: I Am What I Am.

Kyle mentions an episode of  Conversations With People Who Hate Me

The story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery can be found in John 7:53-8:11

They went each to his own house, but Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Early in the morning he came again to the temple. All the people came to him, and he sat down and taught them. The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” (John 8:1-11, ESV)

Our episode where we talk more about dating is  Episode 5: I’m Going To Die Alone.

Daniel described the impact of reading Timothy Keller on marriage. The quote can be found in Centre Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centred Ministry in Your City:

When we think of “sex ethics,” we usually think individualistically. What does it mean to follow the biblical sex ethic as a single Christian? It means (1) you should not have sex until you’re married, and (2) you should not marry someone who does not share a similar commitment to Christ. But does this exhaust what it means to be a light to the world in the area of sex and relationships?

Jesus urged, “Let your light shine” before the world as a city on a hill – as a counterculture (Matt 5:16). How should Christians as a community show the difference Christ makes in the area of sexuality? In our culture, appearance and money are all important criteria in mate selection. It is certainly true that most churches, even conservative ones, are basically conformed to the world in this area. What if we were community in which single men didn’t date only good-looking women but actually assessed the potential partner’s worth primarily on the basis of her character? And what if we were a community in which single women didn’t date only prosperous men but actually assessed the potential partner’s worth primarily on the basis of his character (cf. 1 Sam 16:7; 1 Peter 3:3-4)?

So it is quite possible to follow the letter of the law in individual ethics and still miss  importance of showing forth God’s glory in our community’s ways and practices. 

Tim Keller’s book devoted to marriage is The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God. Daniel has been heavily influenced by it, and recommends it to anyone interested in learning more about a gospel-centred Christian view on relationships and marriage. 

Hebrews 9-10 talk more about how Christ is the Christian’s mediator between themselves and God. 

Kyle brings up a CBC article about  marriage statistics.

The article on marriage enduring in Heaven as spiritual friendship can be found here:  https://alastairadversaria.com/2014/07/23/a-new-icon-of-marriage/. 

For more on the Christian vision of Heaven, check out this video on the overlap of Heaven and Earth.

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial’s Entrepreneur Centre (check out ATB Cares) and the Alberta Podcast Network (this week we describe the show That’s So Maven). Check out the CKUA app, where you can listen to Assumptions and all the other Alberta Podcast Network shows.

Show Notes:

Our guest today is Joy Beth Smith. Joy Beth is a managing editor with Christianity Today and the author of Party of One: Truth, Longing, and the Subtle Art of Singleness. She has also written for  The New York Times, The Washington Post, Salt Lake Tribune, Virginian Pilot, and Christ and Pop Culture, and  has been featured in The Atlantic.

Check out a few of her articles relevant to this conversation, including  ‘Just a little touching’: My own pastor excused my sexual assault and  Fat. Single. Christian. In church, being overweight and dating feels like a sin.

Once again, here is the  Purple Red Scale referred to on the show and more information about the Kinsy Scale.

We reference our recent interview with Wesley Hill.

Joy Beth refers to, but doesn’t recommend the book How To Get a Date Worth Keeping.

Daniel makes a veiled reference to this terrific Portlandia skit.

You can find Joy Beth by looking up @JBsTwoCents on your favorite social media. 

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, iHeart Radio, and through the CKUA app.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial’s Entrepreneur Centre and the Alberta Podcast Network (this week we recommend the podcast Makeshift Stories).

Show Notes:

Our guest today is Dr. Wesley Hill. Wesley is the Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at Trinity School for Ministry, an Anglican based seminary in Pennsylvania. 

He has written three books - Paul and the Trinity: Persons, Relations, and the Pauline Letters (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2015),  Spiritual Friendship: Finding Love in the Church as a Celibate Gay Christian (Grand Rapids: Brazos, 2015), and Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010) - and received his PhD from Durham University in the UK. 

Wesley has also written for many magazines and journals, sits on the editorial board for several publications, and blogs at http://wesleyhill.tumblr.com and https://spiritualfriendship.org. 

More information about the Facebook group that Daniel mentioned can be found here.

Daniel and Wesley refer to Alan Jacob’s little book  How To Think: A Survival Guide for a World at Odds. They both recommend it. 

The evangelical university that Wesley attended was Wheaton College. 

Wesley refers to two verses in the Bible. Jesus referring back to Genesis in defining marriage can be found in Matthew 19:3-6.  “And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Matthew 19:3-6, ESV)

Paul talks about the Christian life being “sorrowful yet always rejoicing” in 2 Corinthians 6:10.

Wesley refers to two examples of friendship in church history: Aelred of Rievaulx and John Henry Newman.

Daniel asks Wesley about the Nashville Statement, a conservative Christian statement on sexual ethics.

Wesley quotes Andrew Sullivan’s description of Christian church’s approach to homosexual counseling as a “vast, embarrassed silence.”

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, and iHeart Radio.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial’s Entrepreneur Centre and the Alberta Podcast Network (this week we recommend the podcast That’s A Thing).

Show Notes:

At the beginning of the episode we heard from the following friends and authors:

Rabbi Seth Goldstein

Barry Danylak 

Lish Veldhuijzen

Joy Beth Smith (who mentioned the book How to Get a Date Worth Keeping by Henry Cloud)

Our full length interviews with these guests will appear as bonus episodes later this season, starting with our next episode featuring Wesley Hill.

Daniel’s parents helped build and sail the SALTS boats around the world. The ministry is still going strong to this day.

Daniel talked about the verse in the Bible that urges Christians not to be “unequally yoked” to unbelievers: Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness? Or what fellowship has light with darkness? (2 Corinthians 6:14, ESV)

Kyle refers to Aziz Ansari’s book Modern Romance. This episode was recorded before the recent controversy around his sexual harassment of women emerged.

Kyle’s story of his first, sad sexual encounter was shared on Episode Two of this Season.

Once again, we mention our forthcoming interview with Joy Beth Smith and her discussion of the Purple-Red Scale of sexuality.

We refer to the ending of the film La La Land.

We reference the song Aaron Bur, Sir from the musical Hamilton.

Daniel quoted a line from our interview with Wesley Hill (which will be released as our next episode), in which he refers to our current cultures “cult of romance.”

Please email us your questions, comments, or thoughts. We’d love to include them in a future episode. Send an voice recording to assumptionspod@gmail.com

Daniel’s website is www.danielmelvilljones.com. Kyle can be found on twitter.com/thekylemarshall or www.thekylemarshall.com. 

Further Reading:

Speaking of Aziz Ansari, Daniel finds this Washington Post take on the controversy fascinating and relevant to our season: https://t.co/HRKo6QbMhw?ssr=true

Kyle was so inspired by the Purple Red Scale that he made a video about it. https://youtu.be/fdPVQkt0Alg

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, and iHeart Radio.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial’s Entrepreneur Centre and the Alberta Podcast Network.

Show Notes:

At the beginning of the episode we heard from the following friends and authors:

Joy Beth Smith (who was asked about the Purple-Red Scale of sexuality)

Tyler May

Wesley Hill

Nick Taniguchi

Fraser Tripp

Our full length interviews with these guests will appear as bonus episodes later this season.

Daniel referees to several passages in the Bible. The Sermon on the Mount (found in Matthew 5-7) includes Jesus’s words:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:27-28, English Standard Version). 

The story of Jesus and the woman accused of adultery is found in John 8:3-11.

“The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in adultery, and placing her in the midst they said to him, “Teacher, this woman has been caught in the act of adultery. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. So what do you say?” This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”  (John 8:3-11, English Standard Version)

Daniel mentions our forthcoming interviews with biblical scholars Wesley Hill and Barry Danylak. Expect these interviews to be released as bonus episodes later this season.

Daniel also mentioned a review written by Manhattan pastor Timothy Keller, which talks more about comparing slavery to homosexual relations in the Bible: http://t.co/QgvSXYlFl1

Please email us your questions, comments, or thoughts. We’d love to include them in a future episode. Send an voice recording to assumptionspod@gmail.com

Daniel’s website is www.danielmelvilljones.com. Kyle can be found on twitter.com/thekylemarshall or www.thekylemarshall.com. 

Further Reading:

Daniel talked about how the Old Testament law ought to be read in the context of the storyline of the Bible. This beautiful video by The Bible Project offers an elegant explanation of how the law fits into that story and you should watch it: https://youtu.be/3BGO9Mmd_cU.

The also have a video explaining the strange shellfish laws found in the Bible: https://youtu.be/WmvyrLXoQio

Daniel also discussed the New Testament letter of Philemon, and The Bible Project also made a video explaining that book: https://youtu.be/aW9Q3Jt6Yvk

Finally, Daniel’s convictions on how Christians should talk about the LGBTQ community are echoed in this blog post written in response to the conservative Christian statement on sexual ethics. We will discuss these themes more in our forthcoming interview with Wesley Hill.

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall and Josh Boak.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, and iHeart Radio.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial’s Entrepreneur Centre and the Alberta Podcast Network. This week we mention The Daveberta Podcast.

Show Notes:

Daniel describes how author (and Assumptions guest) Wesley Hill describes the desire to feel loved by others in his book 

Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality. Here is the excerpt Daniel alluded to, and we will be featuring our interview with Wesley Hill on a future episode.

"All our lives we're searching for someone who will take us seriously. That's what it means to be human," a friend of mine once mused. Whether straight or gay, people are wired, it seems, to pursue relationships of love and commitment. Maybe it's possible to be more specific: it seems that we long for the experience of mutual desire. We're on a quest to find a relationship in which we can want someone wholeheartedly and be wanted with the same intensity, in which there is a contrapuntal enhancement of desire. For many people, entering into this kind of relationship means stepping into a new world of radiant wonder and breathtaking beauty. The tingly, life-changing sense that I am wanted! and I want another person in return! makes everything look fresh and bright. 

Rowan Williams, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, expresses it this way: "To desire my joy is to desire the joy of the one I desire: my search for enjoyment through the . . . presence of another is a longing to be enjoyed . . . Romantic partners 'admire' in each other 'the lineaments of gratified desire'. We are pleased because we are pleasing." Relationships of love show both partners that they are lovable. [...]

In Wendell Berry's novel Hannah Coulter, the title character describes how she first fell in love with Nathan, the man she eventually married. "To know you love somebody, and to feel his desire falling over you like a warm rain, touching you everywhere, is to have a kind of light," she reminisces from the vantage point of her old age. "The knowledge of his desire and of myself as desirable and of my desire would come over me" without warning, she said. 

Hannah reflects, "A woman doesn't learn she is beautiful by looking in a mirror . . . She learns it so that she actually knows it from men. The way they look at her makes a sort of glimmer she walks in. That tells her. It changes the way she walks too . . . It had been a longish while since I had thought of being beautiful, but Nathan's looks were reminding me that I was." 

Kyle talks about Alfred Kinsey and his Kinsey Scale and briefly alludes to the Liam Neeson film Kinsey.

Daniel and Kyle allude to Kyle’s interview with Rabbi Seth Goldstein. We will be featuring the full length interview on an upcoming episode of this season. 

Kyle described the impact the TV sitcom Roseanne had on him, and when Ellen Degeneres came out as gay (the year was 1997). The Oprah interview that Kyle mentioned can be found on YouTube.

Please email us your questions, comments, or thoughts. We’d love to include them in a future episode. Send an voice recording to assumptionspod@gmail.com

Daniel’s website is www.danielmelvilljones.com. Kyle can be found on twitter.com/thekylemarshall or www.thekylemarshall.com. 

Further Reading

For a Christian response to the now infamous Mike Spence rule, Daniel recommends this article written for Vox by his friend Karen Swallow Prior.

Speaking of the Kinsey scale, our forthcoming interview with Joy Beth Smith will talk more about the similar Purple-Red Scale

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, and iHeart Radio.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial’s Entrepreneur Centre and the Alberta Podcast Network. This week we suggest checking out the podcast Desktop.

Show Notes:

At the beginning of the episode, we heard from Joy Beth Smith, Barry Danylak, Lish Veldhuijzen, Nick Taniguchi (who mentioned the YouTube channel sexplanations) and Rabbi Seth Goldstein.. Our full length interviews with these and other guests will be released as episodes towards the end of this season.  

Daniel quoted from (and highly recommends) the delightful book The Supper of the Lamb: A Culinary Reflection by the late Robert Farrar Capon. 

Kyle mentioned a YouTube video that compares consent to having tea. Here it is.

Kyle told the story of the first time he had sex. He also made a video about it. Here it is.

Daniel mentioned a scene in Terrence Malik’s film on the proper place for love, To the Wonder. The scene features a woman having an affair with a man to whom she is not married, and the scene gives the act with a devastating weight of consequence.

Kyle mentions the film Titanic. 

Kyle mentions the book The ABCs of LGBT+.

A couple times during this episode, we mention Wesley Hill, a guest of our podcast, who describes himself as a celibate gay. Our interview with him will be published as bonus episode later in the season. Wesley has written two books highly relevant to our season; Washed and Waiting: Reflections on Christian Faithfulness and Homosexuality and Spiritual Friendship: Finding Love in the Church as a Celibate Gay Christian.

Daniel mentions an illustration by Manhattan pastor Timothy Keller. 

Please email us your questions, comments, or thoughts. We’d love to include them in a future episode. Send an voice recording to assumptionspod@gmail.com

Daniel’s website is www.danielmelvilljones.com. Kyle can be found on twitter.com/thekylemarshall or www.thekylemarshall.com. 

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall and Josh Boak.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, and iHeart Radio.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial’s Entrepreneur Centre and the Alberta Podcast Network. This week we suggest checking out The Young Gaffers.

Interested starting your own podcast? Consider coming out to a class that Kyle is helping to teach.

Show Notes 

Please email us your questions, comments, or thoughts. We’d love to include them in a future episode. Send an voice recording to assumptionspod@gmail.com

At the beginning of the episode, we heard from Rabbi Seth Goldstein, Nick Taniguchi, Tyler May, Wesley Hill, Fraser Tripp, and Barry Danylak. Our full length interviews with these and other guests will be released as episodes towards the end of this season.  

Kyle mentioned our episode on legacy from the previous season. This episode was titled “Dance, Dance Otherwise We Are Lost” and can be found here. 

Daniel’s website is www.danielmelvilljones.com. Kyle can be found on twitter.com/thekylemarshall or www.thekylemarshall.com. 

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, whose new acclaimed album, Blurred Harmony, is available everywhere. 

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Josh Boak

Assumptions is available wherever podcasts are found, including Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, and iHeart Radio.

Don't forget to rate and review us and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial’s Entrepreneur Centre and the Alberta Podcast Network. We also mention another Alberta Podcast Network show dedicated to stories, Makeshift Stories. 

Show Notes 

Kyle’s new content creation company is Media Lab YYC. If you’re in Calgary and you want help in creating audio or video content, this is your place.

Our Season 1 Episode on legacy and why we create is relevant to our conversation and also happens to be one of our favorite episodes.

Daniel described C. S. Lewis’ seminal essay “The Inner Ring.” You should definitely read it.

Kyle mentioned the new Pixar film Coco. And Kyle being Kyle, he created a video detailing his experience watching the film.

Kyle and Daniel were recently interviewed by Rebecca Florence Miller for Patheos Evangelical. We are pretty happy with how this interview turned out. 

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, whose new acclaimed album, Blurred Harmony, is available everywhere. 

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi.

Photography by Jen Hall

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to hear what you have to say and hope to include it on future episodes. 

Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes (that really helps us get the word out!) and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial’s Entrepreneur Centre and the Alberta Podcast Network. We also mention The Expat’s Podcast, another Alberta Podcast Network show. Go show them some love!

Show Notes:

The quote from Mike Cosper appeared in this interview with Richard Clark.

Daniel took a course with Malcolm Guite, whose books on poetry, language, and the Christian faith are amongst Daniel’s biggest influences. Daniel suggests starting with his book of advent poetry, or his biography of Samual Coleridge.

Daniel listened to the audiobook of Bruce Springsteen’s memoir, Born to Run. Daniel highly recommends it. 

Daniel is working his way through Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. 

Daniel briefly mentioned Springsteen’s Broadway show, and recommends this review of it from the New York Times.

Daniel’s currently attending St. Mary’s University, in Calgary Alberta. 

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, whose new acclaimed album, Blurred Harmony, is available everywhere. 

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi, who has his own YouTube channel. 

Photography by Jen Hall

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to hear what you have to say and hope to include it on future episodes. 

Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes (that really helps us get the word out!), and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Sponsors:

Assumptions is sponsored by ATB Financial’s Entrepreneur Centre and the Alberta Podcast Network. We also mention another Alberta Podcast Network show dedicated to sports, Tight Ends. Kyle’s new content creation company is Media Lab YYC. Go show them some love!

The film Jigsaw and the rest of the Saw franchise is discussed. We briefly mention our previous episode dedicated horror films. Kyle alluded to the video he created on his experience watching all 8 of the Saw films.

Daniel mentioned Earworm, Vox’s excellent YouTube series devoted to appreciating pop music.

Daniel also mentioned the biblical story of Job. An excellent and beautifully created video overview of Job can be found here.

More information on David Lowery’s films can be found here. Daniel’s interview with the director is here. 

We mention the Canadian philosophy Charles Taylor and his book, A Secular Age. 

The band Arcade Fire’s is discussed, including the cover art for the second LP, Neon Bible. Win Butler’s Twitter account can be found here.

For my information on Bono’s faith, check out this YouTube series where he discusses the Psalms. 

Daniel’s unnamed online friend is Michael Wright with Fuller Studios, whose interview with David Lowery can be found here.

Here is the music video for the song ‘We Exist’.

Further Reading: 

After this podcast was recorded, the following essay was written that does a terrific job discussing the yearning for transcendence found at the end of Arcade Fire’s latest album.

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, whose new acclaimed album, Blurred Harmony, is available everywhere. 

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi, who has his own YouTube channel. 

Photography by Jen Hall

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to hear what you have to say and hope to include it on future episodes. 

Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes (that really helps us get the word out!), and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

 
Media Discussed:

Daniel’s Lego Yellow Submarine can be found here.

The origins of Assumptions can be found way back in 2013 when a younger Daniel and Kyle talked about books and movies for Kyle’s other podcast. For a blast of that 2013 nostalgia, that YouTube channel holds up well. 

That inspiring Atticus Finch quote from To Kill a Mockingbird reads, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

Links for media discussed in Episode 1: We Are Made of Stories can be found  here.

Mike Cosper’s podcast is called “Cultivated” and his quote about the role of podcasts in a divided age can be found in the bonus interview with Richard Clark on CT’s “The Calling”.

Daniel quotes from Saint Augustine’s Confessions, from Book I part 7 (this is from R.S. Pine-Coffin’s translation for Penguin Classics):

“Who can recall to me the sins I committed as a baby? For in your sight no man is free from sin, not even a child who has lived only one day on earth… What sins then, did I commit when I was a baby myself? Was it a sin to cry when I wanted to feed at the breast? I am too old now to feed on my mother’s milk, but if I were to cry for the kind of food suited to my age, others would rightly laugh me to scorn and remonstrate with me. So then too I deserved a scolding for what I did; but since I could not have understood the scolding, it would have been unreasonable, and most unusual, to rebuke me. We root out these faults and discard them as we grow up, and this is proof enough that they are faults, because I have never seen a man purposely throw out the good when he clears away the bad. It can hardly by right for a child, even at that age, to cry for everything, including things which would harm him; to work himself into a tantrum against people older than himself and not required to obey him; and to try his best to strike and hurt others who know better than he does, including his own parents, when they do no harm to him and refuse to pander to whims which would only do him harm. This shows that, if babies are innocent, it is not for lack of will to do harm, but for lack of strength. 

I have myself seen jealousy in a baby and know what it means. He was not old enough to talk, but whenever he saw his foster-brother at the breast, he would grow pale with every. This much is common knowledge. Mothers and nurses say that they can work such that they can work such things out of the system by one means or another, but surely it cannot be called innocence, when the milk flows in such abundance from its source, to object to a rival desperately in need and depending for his life on this one form of nourishment? Such faults are not small or unimportant, but we are tender-hearted and bear with them because we know that the child will grow out of them. It is clear that they are not mere peccadilloes, because the same faults are intolerable in older persons.

I do not remember that early part of my life, O Lord, but I believe what other people have told me about it and from watching other babies I can conclude that I also lived as they do… But if I was born in sin and guilt was with me already when my mother conceived me (Psalm 92:1), where, I ask you Lord, where or when was I, your servant, ever innocent?”’

Links for media discussed in Episode 2: The Stories That Shape Us can be found here.

Links for media discussed in Episode 3: Oh, the Horror! can be found here.

Daniel quotes from 1 Corinthians 15:20-26 in the Bible: “But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

Kyle mentions a Buffy the Vampire episode about that banality of eternity.

Links for media discussed in Episode 4: Harry Potter is of the Devil can be found here.

Links for media discussed in Episode 5: The Validity of Video Games can be found here.

The two games released since recording the video games episode are Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Horizon Zero Dawn. Kyle mentions some video podcast.

Links for media discussed in Episode 6: Dance, Dance, Otherwise We Are Lost can be found here.

Daniel again mentions C. S. Lewis’ classic essay The Weight of Glory, which you should totally go read.

Links for media discussed in Episode 7: #Stories can be found  here.

Links for media discussed in Episode 8: The Cathedral and the Cinema can be found  here.

Josh Larson of Filmspotting compares a movie theatre to a liturgicalexperience in his new book, Movies are Prayers. 

Further Reading: 

Kyle talks about how he realized that the Bible is more a worldview shaping story than a book of moral instruction. For more on how this works, Daniel again highly recommends the videos created by The Bible Project.

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, whose new acclaimed album, Blurred Harmony, is available everywhere. 

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi 

Photography by Jen Hall

 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or

Important reminder! We'd love to have your questions or feedback for our wrap up episode. Please reach out to us on Facebook or email us at assumptionspod@gmail.com before July 1st, 2017. 

 
Media Discussed:

The Steve Martin song "Atheists Don't Have No Songs" gets mentioned. You can watch a performance of it here. (Someday it would be interesting to tackle this theme on Assumptions)

Daniel's church is Calvary Grace Church of Calgary. The music they use comes from Indelible Grace, Sovereign Grace, and  Wesley Randolph Eader.

 
Further Reading: 

The idea that our cultural practices immerse us in a particular storyline is articulated by Christian scholar and philosopher James K. A. Smith. His book  You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit describes how this takes place in both a shopping centre and a church service.

If you don't want to read but want to learn more about this, check out this playlist of 1-2 minute videos discussing the topic. http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1T3_pkcZpPUZFSc_KsOSS9ualH_H99qp

If you really want to geek out on this concept, Smith's three volume Cultural Liturgies series is a fascinating in depth look at how this works in culture and churches. 

 
Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, whose new acclaimed album, Blurred Harmony, is available everywhere. 

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi 

Photography by Jen Hall

 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to hear what you have to say and hope to include it on future episodes. 

Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes (that really helps us get the word out!), and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Media Discussed:

Daniel quotes from the chapter "Honey Boo Boo and the Weight of Glory" in Mike Cosper's book Stories We Tell: How TV and Movies Long for and Echo the Truth. We discussed this book in our first episode and we borrowed from its title to name our season. Daniel recommends reading the whole chapter if you can, but here are some relevant quotes from it:

"One way to understand social media is as a vehicle for self-broadcasting. When we post on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, we’re projecting an image of ourselves to the world. Just as Keeping Up with the Kardashians is carefully planned and edited to shape the family’s image and brand, so is our social media presence. Your Facebook timeline is your version of a reality show.

Our presence on social media is a story we’re telling about who we are, and like the production of a reality TV show, it’s all about the editing. What we share and don’t share on social media is shaped by how we want the world to see us. With the click of a button, we can open and close doors of connectivity. No awkward conversations. Rare repercussions. Easily managed, easily edited lives. 

Social media also provides a profound illusion; our mobile devices are designed to make us feel like the whole digital world is all about us. Our tailored choices about who we want to hear from (and who we don’t) are in place already. We open an app and feel “connected,” when in fact we haven’t connected at all; we’ve actually disconnected from the people immediately around us.

At any moment, we can escape into a private world that’s tailored to us and that is eager for our next picture, our next status update, our next link—a world complete with a built-in system of rewards for worthy content: retweets, likes, and so on. On the web, we all star in our own show. We glory in ourselves.

Reality TV follows a trajectory to the glory of the red carpet and the Neilsen ratings. The forward motion of social media involves accumulating fans, friends, and followers. They both aim at a kind of glory that scratches a deeply human itch, but in a way that is ultimately unsatisfying. 

The gospel tells us that life, indeed, is heading somewhere. There’s an end to the story, and it’s an end that by God’s grace can be an experience of the greatest good and the most satisfying glorification that we’ll ever know. 

Only that embrace will truly satisfy us, in that moment when sin’s stain is removed and, as Lewis puts it, “The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last.”  

Daniel also describes C. S. Lewis's classic essay "The Weight of Glory". It is well worth reading and can be found online here. Here is the except that Daniel fumblingly tried to quote:

"Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

Further Reading: 

Daniel mentioned talking to experienced Christian creators about the ongoing challenges of wanting to create for your own glory instead of God's. That conversation was with rapper and hip-hop label head Thomas "Odd Thomas" Terry. When Daniel asked him how he stays humble in his art, Thomas responded with:

"In all transparency, anytime you’re doing art that is indigenous to the individual and putting it on display for the world to listen to and critique, you always have to fight your pride and perception, the way people perceive you, your affirmation, you always have to…so I don’t think it’s something that you can avoid. The pride and all that stuff and trying, sometimes slipping, into finding your self-worth, and dignity, and value in the artistry is something that I think every artist has to wrestle with—I don’t know many people who have kinda conquered that.

It’s a constant day by day thing, like man, where am I at? How is this impacting me? So for the artist who's figured that out, I would like to talk with that person. But I think that there is a responsibility to constantly approach God with your art and with your talents and say, “God, search me and expose the areas of my life where new areas of pride because of artistry has popped up, or I’ve believed things that are untrue, or I've believed things that are exaggerated about myself.” You know those kind of things. I don’t think its special, I think everyone has to wrestle with those things, but art just tends to put it on display more. 

You can read  the whole interview here.

The Parson Red Heads, who provide our podcast's soundtrack, have released their long awaited new album, Blurred Harmony. It's getting terrific reviews, including  an 8.9/10 review from Paste Magazine. The album is available on all music services. 

. 

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, whose new acclaimed album, Blurred Harmony, is available everywhere. 

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi 

Photography by Jen Hall

 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to hear what you have to say and hope to include it on future episodes. 

Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes (that really helps us get the word out!), and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

The film The Matrix (1999) is briefly alluded to.

Examples of Daniel's photography and writing can be found on his website, www.danielmelvilljones.com. Kyle's YouTube channel is https://www.youtube.com/user/Maddog53. 

Kyle mentions the character actor Stephen Tobolowsky, who has a podcast called The Tobolowsky Files. http://www.slashfilm.com/category/features/slashfilmcast/the-tobolowsky-files/

Daniel quotes the German choreographer Pina Bausch: "Dance, dance, otherwise we are lost." This, of course, is the title of our episode. The quote appears in the trailer for Wim Winders film Pina (2011) (https://www.criterion.com/films/28404-pina).

The article that Daniel was trying to pitch did, in the end, get published. http://www.mbird.com/2017/05/healing-wings-on-highway-winds-an-interview-with-wesley-randolph-eader/. The under appreciated piece he described receiving as a gift can be found here: http://www.danielmelvilljones.com/blog/victoria

Many of Daniel's thoughts on the role of the gift in art making come from Lewis Hyde's book The Gift: How the Creative Spirit Transforms the World (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gift:_Imagination_and_the_Erotic_Life_of_Property). It boasts ringing endorsements from Margaret Atwood and David Foster Wallace, so you should probably go check it out. 

Charlie Chaplin gets a well deserved shout out, and this beautiful scene from his 1940 classic The Great Dictator is alluded to (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqyQfjDScjU). The full movie is available on YouTube and you should absolutely, 100% check it out. https://youtu.be/yPQKFDf2BEM

Daniel quotes from David Bayles & Ted Orland's great little book Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking. (https://www.amazon.ca/Art-Fear-Observations-Rewards-Artmaking/dp/0961454733) Here's the full quote:

"'Artist' has gradually become a form of identity which (as every artist knows) often carriers with it as many drawbacks as benefits. Consider that if artists equals self, then when (inevitably) you make flawed art, you are a flawed person, and when (worse yet) you make no art, you are no person at all!" 

Kyle quotes from Ira Glass, the creator of the This American Life (https://www.thisamericanlife.org/podcast). A portion of this quote hangs framed in Kyle's living room:

"Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

Kyle mentions Lorne Michaels, the creator of Saturday Night Live, and Marc Maron, creator of the acclaimed podcast WTF.

Kyle also mentioned the universal types of stories. More information on these can be found here: http://io9.gizmodo.com/the-universal-shapes-of-stories-according-to-kurt-vonn-1526559996

The verse from the Bible that Daniel quotes is Ecclesiastes 12:12: "My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of the making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh."

The comedian Rodney Dangerfield is mentioned, as the artist Vincent Van Gough. But Kyle urges you to avoid the works of Uwe Boll, especially his film Bloodrayne. 

Further Reading: 

A beautiful video of Ira Glass' words can be found here: https://vimeo.com/85040589

Daniel's views on the role of creativity in eternity are indebted to Randy Alcorn, specially this talk he gave at a conference Daniel attended (starting at the 12:20 mark): https://youtu.be/aMelVhrxtPM

For an overview of the biblical book of Ecclesiastes, Daniel highly recommends this beautiful video from The Bible Project: https://youtu.be/VeUiuSK81-0. (For anyone looking for an overview of the themes of the Bible, Daniel definitely recommends the rest of The Bible Project's videos.)

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, whose new acclaimed album, Blurred Harmony, comes out June 9th.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi 

Photography by Jen Hall

 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to hear what you have to say and hope to include it on future episodes. 

Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes (that really helps us get the word out!), and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

Media Discussed:

Much of this show discusses the video game 'That Dragon Cancer' (http://www.thatdragoncancer.com), available for Mac, PC, iOS, and Android.

We briefly mention the board games Operation and Life, and describe the puzzle game Rush Hour (http://www.thinkfun.com/products/rush-hour/).

Video games mentioned include the Final Fantasy series, Golvellius, Tetris, the Battlefield series, the Call of Duty series, the Halo series, and Zelda: Ocarina of Time (which Kyle claims is the best video game of all time).

Kyle first heard of That Dragon Cancer through an episode of This American Life (http://www.radiolab.org/story/cathedral/). That episode consisted of clips from “Thank You For Playing,” a documentary film on the game.

Daniel first learned of the game through the Christ and Pop Culture Facebook Forum, which you can join by becoming a member here: https://christandpopculture.com/member-benefits/.

Daniel said that the game was covered by Wired Magazine (https://www.wired.com/2016/01/that-dragon-cancer/), The New York Times (see below), and had meant to say The New Yorker (http://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/a-video-game-about-terminal-cancer) rather than The New York Post. 

The only other video game that Daniel has played all the way through is the beautiful Monument Valley (http://www.monumentvalleygame.com/).

Kyle's other podcast is Whatever This Is (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/whatever-this-is/id532925138?mt=2).

Daniel quotes from two articles on the game. The first is "Slaying the dragon: Video games, fairy tales, and seeing life in this world as it really is" (http://st-eutychus.com/2016/slaying-the-dragon-video-games-fairy-tales-and-seeing-life-in-this-world-as-it-really-is/), written by Nathan Campbell. It contrasts the experience of playing Fallout 4 with playing That Dragon Cancer. Here is that full quote: "Fallout 4 relies on the premise that you can be totally in control of everything — put the right machines together, make the right choices, control the world and your environment just right — and you’ll live, not just you, but the society you’re building. That Dragon, Cancer makes it clear this promise is a baldfaced lie. It doesn’t matter how good you are at pulling levers, or knowing stuff — the monster will take down the machines every time. Hope is found somewhere beyond the machine."

Daniel highly recommends the whole article, especially since it quotes Assumptions favourites James K. A. Smith and Charles Taylor. 

The second quote came from The New York Times' profile on the game "This Video Game Will Break Your Heart" (https://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/02/06/arts/that-dragon-cancer-video-game-will-break-your-heart.html), which quotes Amy Green, co-creator of the game. "One of the great strengths of video games is that automatically a player goes into a game expecting to have some agency,” Mrs. Green said. “And it felt like the perfect way to talk about cancer, because all a parent wants is to have some agency.”

Finally, at the end of the show Kyle describes the video game The Stanley Parable (https://www.stanleyparable.com/). 

Further Reading: 

In addition to the outstanding St Eutychus and The New York Times pieces mentioned above, here are some additional pieces on the game.

This short reflection was written by an atheist as he played the game. It includes the haunting line, "I have been staring at this cursor for a long time.  Help me, someone else write this.  I want there to be a God, there should be one, because these people deserve an answer." https://www.penny-arcade.com/news/post/2016/01/13/unhelpful-ism

For a thoughtful Christian perspective on the game, this piece from The Gospel Coalition (https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/that-dragon-cancer) is helpful. Here are some interesting quotes:

“That Dragon, Cancer” is a hard experience to reduce to language, and perhaps this is part of why Ryan Green, Joel’s father, chose the medium of video games to tell the story. Things like sorrow, pain, fear, and doubt can be named and, to a certain extent, described; but as long as they are mere words and concepts their power is limited."

"Often, the allure of video games is that the player is granted special power and agency. One becomes a soldier, business magnate, or superhero at the press of a button. “That Dragon, Cancer”frustrates and subverts the normal expectation of agency. Players are given game-like tasks, like navigating Joel through a field of cancer cells as he clings to a handful of balloons, or racing a wagon through the hospital.

"The facade of power and control crumbles away. It’s a brilliant piece of artistry in terms of video game design and theological heft; we players, accustomed to the power to trample our enemies, are shown our impotence in the face of a broken and fallen world. Our works cannot save Joel."

Finally, this recent piece in The Atlantic asking if video games are better without stories sparked a small discussion over on our Facebook Page (https://www.facebook.com/AssumptionsPod/posts/1896209167330886)

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, who have a new album (Blurred Harmony) coming out on June 9th.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi 

Photography by Jen Hall

 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to hear what you have to say and hope to include it on future episodes. 

Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes (that really helps us get the word out!), and sha...

 
In the episode's opening, Daniel reads from an email he received from Some Freaks (2016) director Ian MacAllister McDonald (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3283864/?ref_=nv_sr_1). 

This episode revolves around The Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter), the companion books (including Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), and the accompanying films. Specifically mentioned is Alfonso Cuaron's 2004 film Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0304141/). 

The children's book Harold and the Purple Crayon, by Crockett Johnson is briefly mentioned.

The story of Abraham and the near sacrifice of his son Isaac, told in Genesis 22, is briefly alluded to.

Kyle grew up reading Dr. Seuss, the Berenstain Bears, and The Little Golden Books, before picking up chapter books like the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series, The Accidental Detectives by Sigmund Brouwer, The Lord of the Rings, and Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series.

Daniel remembers sitting on the couch with his Dad, being read to from Ken Taylor's Favourite Bible Stories (https://www.amazon.com/Ken-Taylors-Favorite-Bible-Stories/dp/0842320040). Picture books include the original Winnie-the-Pooh, Beatrix Potter books, the Alfie series by Shirley Hughes, the Old Bear series by Jane Hissey, Eric Carles books, The Little Red Caboose, Richard Scarry books, Curious George, the Madeline books, and the Asterix and Tintin comics. Chapter books and read-alouds included Red Sails to Capri, The Door in the Wall, The Just So Stories,  A Cricket in Times Square, and The Chronicles of Narnia. 

Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events gets referenced, as do George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones series, the TV shows Breaking Bad, True Detective, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the films Toy Story 3, The Matrix, and the Star Wars original trilogy, and the Marvel comic books, and CBC (the Canadian Broadcasting Cooperation). 

Daniel botched up G. K. Chesterton's (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._K._Chesterton) quote. It actually reads as follows: "Fairy tales do not tell children dragons exist. Fairy tales tell children the dragons can be killed."

Further Reading: 

Many of Daniel's ideas behind the Christian themes in Harry Potter come from John Granger's book How Harry Cast His Spell: The Meaning Behind the Mania for J. K. Rowling's Bestselling Books (https://www.amazon.com/How-Harry-Cast-His-Spell/dp/1414321880/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1469084978&sr=1-1&keywords=How+Harry+Cast+His+Spell)

Jerram Barrs of Covenant Theological Seminary has a great video describing the Christian themes in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (https://blogs.thegospelcoalition.org/justintaylor/2015/03/08/why-jerram-barrs-read-harry-potter-and-the-deathly-hallows-six-times-in-six-months/).

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, who have a new album (Blurred Harmony) coming out on June 9th.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi 

Photography by Jen Hall

 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to hear what you have to say and hope to include it on future episodes. 

Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes (that really helps us get the word out!), and share and follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

 
Links to Media Discussed:

The 1990 TV mini-series It (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099864/) and the original 1986 horror novel by Stephen King (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It_(novel)).

The 1960 film Psycho (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054215/), directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

The poem that Kyle struggled to remember was "The Charge of the Light Brigade" (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charge_of_the_Light_Brigade) by Lord Alfred Tennyson.

The character "Leatherface" from the 1974 film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072271/), directed by Tobe Hooper.

The film 2014 It Follows (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3235888/), directed by David Robert Mitchell.

The 2016 film The Witch (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4263482/), directed by Robert Eggert.

Kyle mentions Book of Thoth (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Thoth), an ancient Egyptian text of magic spells.

The 1974 film The Exorcist (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070047/), directed by William Friedkin.

The 1984 film A Nightmare on Elm Street (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0087800/), directed by Wes Craven (who graduated from the prestigious Evangelical school Wheaton College).

The TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118276/), which ran from 1997-2003 and was created by Joss Whedon.

We discuss the work of director Scott Derrikson (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0220600/), who directed the horror films The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005), Sinister (2012), and Deliver Us from Evil (2014), along with the recent Marvel film Doctor Strange (2016). He is a committed Christian (http://archives.relevantmagazine.com/culture/film/director-strange) and has frequently talked about why he thinks horror is the perfect genre for Christians (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2014/june-web-only/prayer-dark-mysticism-and-flannery-conversation-with-scott-.html). Daniel quoted from an interview with Christianity Today (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/augustweb-only/scottderrickson.html?start=1), which is behind a paywall. Here is the entire quote:

"In my opinion, the horror genre is a perfect genre for Christians to be involved with. I think the more compelling question is, Why do so many Christians find it odd that a Christian would be working in this genre? To me, this genre deals more overtly with the supernatural than any other genre, it tackles issues of good and evil more than any other genre, it distinguishes and articulates the essence of good and evil better than any other genre, and my feeling is that a lot of Christians are wary of this genre simply because it's unpleasant. The genre is not about making you feel good, it is about making you face your fears. And in my experience, that's something that a lot of Christians don't want to do.

To me, the horror genre is the genre of non-denial. It's about admitting that there is evil in the world, and recognizing that there is evil within us, and that we're not in control, and that the things that we are afraid of must be confronted in order for us to relinquish that fear. And I think that the horror genre serves a great purpose in bolstering our understanding of what is evil and therefore better defining what is good. And of course I'm talking about, really, the potential of the horror genre, because there are a lot of horror films that don't do these things. It is a genre that's full of exploitation, but the better films in the genre certainly accomplish, I think, very noble things."

The book The Secular Age (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Secular_Age) by McGill philosopher Charles Taylor.

The 1978 film Halloween (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077651/), directed by John Carpenter.

Daniel briefly references the biblical figure of Lazarus, whom Jesus raises from the dead in the Gospel of John, chapter 11.

The 2013 film Ida (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2718492/), directed by Pawel Pawlikowski.

Further Reading:

Vice.com published a piece last year called "Why Are So Many Films Christian Propaganda?" (http://www.vice.com/en_ca/read/why-are-so-many-horror-films-christian-propaganda). The author's perspective is antagonistic to the Christian faith and he cautions readers to be cautious watching horror flicks lest by so doing they promote Christian beliefs.

Film critic Josh Larson of Filmspotting argues "a Christian defence of horror" in this short piece: http://t.co/WufBTSYgXS?ssr=true

Lauren Wilford has a long piece on how the director of The Witch is a master of his craft and why the movie works so well on its own, without the feminist and Satanist controversy.  http://brightwalldarkroom.com/issue-43/2017/1/9/witch-craft-why-robert-eggers-is-our-next-great-filmmaker

Credits:

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads, who have a new album (Blurred Harmony) coming out on June 9th.

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi

Photography by Jen Hall

 Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, listen on Soundcloud, or look us up wherever you get your podcasts. 

Email feedback or questions at assumptionspod@gmail.com, or drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter. We'd love to hear what you have to say and hope to include it on future episodes. 

Don't forget to rate and review us on iTunes (that really helps us get the word out), and share and follow ...

On this episode, the following media is mentioned or discussed: 

The 1975 film Jaws (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073195/), directed by Stephen Spielberg. 

The 2012 film Moonrise Kingdom (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1748122/), directed by Wes Anderson.

The 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0038650/), directed by Frank Capra.  

The Dorothy Sayers detective novel The Nine Tailors (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nine_Tailors), which includes a climatic scene where the village, complete with animals, takes shelter from the rising flood in the village church, a Noah's Ark type imagery that is echoed in Moonrise Kingdom.

The 2001 film The Royal Tenenbaums (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265666/), also directed by Wes Anderson.

Daniel's favourite essay on Wes Anderson is by the Jewish author Michael Chabon. It appeared in the New York Review of Books and is titled "Wes Anderson's Worlds". Daniel loves this piece so much he would frame it if he could. (http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2013/01/31/wes-anderson-worlds/)

Daniel's favourite essay on Moonrise Kingdom is written by his friend Jeffrey Overstreet and is titled "Moonrise Kingdom and the Divine Symphony". Daniel remembers getting shivers down his spine while reading this piece aloud to his best friend as they drove home after watching Moonrise Kingdom for the first time. Daniel's interpretation of the film is still largely based off this piece. (http://www.patheos.com/blogs/goodletters/2012/07/moonrise-kingdom-and-the-divine-symphony/)

Daniel and Kyle's favourite film critic, Roger Ebert's wrote an essay on Jaws, which comes from his legendary "Great Movies" series. (http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-jaws-1975)

Assumptions is written and produced by Daniel Melvill Jones and Kyle Marshall.

This episode edited by Kyle Marshall.

Our soundtrack comes from The Parson Red Heads

Podcast artwork designed by Chris Taniguchi 

Photography by Jen Hall

Feedback or questions can be sent to asssumptionspod@gmail.com, or by contacting us on Facebook or Twitter.

Media Discussed:

Stories We Tell by Mike Cosper

Like Someone in Love (film)

Boyhood (film)

The Raid (film)

Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien

Harry Potter book series by J. K. Rowling

The Shadow (radio drama)

Gunsmoke (radio and TV drama)

Welcome to Night Vale (podcast)

Groundhog Day (film)

Breaking Bad (TV series)

Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley (poem)

Credits:

Podcast artwork by Chris Taniguchi

Music by The Parson Red Heads