PODCAST · religion
Soul Stirrings
by Paul Patton, Ph.D. & Christianity & Communication Studies Network (CCSN)
“Soul Stirrings” is Dr. Paul Patton’s 5-7 minute attempt to provide clarifying, maybe even inspiring, nuggets of insight about faith, communication, and culture along the journey of our existence. Paul is Professor Emeritus of Communication and Media at Spring Arbor University in Michigan, a former pastor, theater practitioner, author, and playwright. This podcast, certainly assuming Judeo-Christian presuppositions, draws steadily from the biblical witness. The concept of “soul stirring” is readily tied to Jewish rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s insight that moments of inspiration come and go, yet “having been inspired never passes” (Heschel, Man Is Not Alone, Harper and Row, 1966, p. 78). In other words, if one can retrieve the inspiring insight from literature, from performance art, or even the memorable quip of a friend as circumstances invite clarity and depth, one has an oasis of the mind whenever it is needed. A “soul stirring” is a truth, an insight, an observation that stirs the
Episodes
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Ep. 4: God Talk- Confronting God Talk
In this fourth installment focused on God Talk: The Manipulative Use of Spiritual Language, Paul and Brandon begin to discuss some possible remedies. Specifically, they note the importance of confronting with questions. By doing so, a means of accountability is engaged that will challenge...
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Ep. 3: God Talk- Power Trends
In this third session focused on God Talk:The Manipulative Use of Spiritual Language, Brandon and Paul share about another price tag, or negative effects. Specifically, they discuss the abuse of power that often results from God Talk and wisdom and patience are needed to discern such scenarios.
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Ep. 2: God Talk- The Price Tag of God Talk
In this podcast, the second of a new series discussing God Talk and the manipulative uses of spiritual language, Paul and Brandon discuss some of the effects, or “price tags," of this discourse. For example, how does God Talk affect critical analysis and discussion within personal relationships…
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God Talk: The Manipulative Uses of Spiritual Language; Ep. 1 What is God Talk?
In this new series of Soul Stirrings, Paul is joined by a co-host, Brandon Knight of William Carey University, to discuss God Talk and the manipulative uses of spiritual language. Many Americans can easily recount some of the historic atrocities committed by Christians in the “name of God." But…
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Ep. 35: Fruit of the Spirit - Self-Control, Part 3
In this final podcast on the “Fruit of the Spirit,” Paul contends that self-control, the ninth “fruit of the Spirit,” is a primary instrument of hope. He offers that hope is the purpose behind persistence toward a “promised land.” Self-control helps to keep us on track in our journey, despite the...
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Ep. 34: Fruit of the Spirit - Self-Control, Part 2
In this 5-minute podcast, Paul takes a second look at the ninth and final “Fruit of the Spirit,” self-control, suggesting the biblical emphasis is on controlling the narcissistic impulses toward selfish ambition. He also takes a peek at Saint James’ emphasis that self-control is predominantly…
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Ep. 33: Fruit of the Spirit - Self-Control, Part 1
In this podcast, Paul unfolds his metaphor, “push button magic” to attempt to explain the intensifying mass mediated settings that bring the virtue of self-control—the ninth “Fruit of the Spirit”-- to the center of our life’s stage as well as the culminating responsibility in our life’s garden.
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Ep. 32: Fruit of the Spirit - Gentleness, Pt. 3
Join Paul as he takes a peek at the Apostle Paul’s notion that our “gentleness should be known to all.” Why is gentleness, like agape’ love, so essential in our engagement with others?
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Ep. 31: Fruit of the Spirit - Gentleness, Pt. 2
In this podcast, the second of three brief peeks at the nature of the 8th “Fruit of the Spirit,” gentleness, Paul discusses perhaps the most well-known reference to “gentleness” in the Bible, “A gentle answer turns away wrath” (Proverbs 15:1). What is the nature of this “gentle answer?” Paul...
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Ep. 30: Fruit of the Spirit - Gentleness, Pt. 1
In this podcast, Paul reminds listeners that the eighth “fruit of the Spirit,” gentleness, listed in Galatians 5:22-23 is a way of seeing each person as made in the image of God, of seeing each person in need of God’s mercy and grace. Gentleness is a means whereby each soul’s deepest yearning can...
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Ep. 29: Fruit of the Spirit - Faithfulness, Pt. 3
In this podcast, Paul further explores various characteristics of the seventh “Fruit of the Spirit,” faithfulness. He concludes by observing that if we’re not careful, faithfulness can become something rigidly formulaic and proudly self-justifying. Faithfulness, the 7th “Fruit of the Spirit” is…
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Ep. 28: Fruit of the Spirit - Faithfulness, Pt. 2
In this podcast, Paul continues to talk about Faithfulness, the seventh “Fruit of the Spirit.” He focuses on how all healthy relationships require the natural sacrificial element of faithfulness. Being a faithful friend or family member will certainly not always mean “getting your way.” At times...
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Ep. 27: Fruit of the Spirit - Faithfulness, Pt. 1
As forgiveness is how the Lord deals with our past and present, faithfulness is how the Lord stabilizes our present and future. The gift of faithfulness interpersonally makes possible relational health. Please join Paul in this first of several podcasts that explore the Fruit of the Spirit known…
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Ep. 26: Fruit of the Spirit - Goodness, Pt. 3
In this podcast, Paul’s emphasis continues to be the sixth “Fruit of the Spirit”—goodness, and the Apostle Paul’s message to the Christians in Rome that “all things work together for good for those that love God and are called according to his purpose,” a letter written seven years before some of...
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Ep. 25: Fruit of the Spirit - Goodness, Pt. 2
In this podcast, Paul’s emphasis continues to be the sixth “Fruit of the Spirit”—goodness, and Saint Peter’s focus on this particular virtue as a foundational fruit in the process of human flourishing. Paul asks why Saint Peter asserted that “goodness” is essentially the first virtue springing…
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Ep. 24: Fruit of the Spirit - Goodness, Pt. 1
In this podcast, Paul talks about the sixth fruit of the Spirit, goodness, and how it is distinguished, in particular from “kindness.” He also discusses how our English use of the term “good” doesn’t always imply the virtuous “goodness” that makes thriving relationships and healthy community...
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Ep. 23: Fruit of the Spirit - Kindness, Pt. 4
In this podcast, Paul talks about the natural mental springboards to acts and words of kindness—compassion and empathy. The podcast references some implications from Jesus’ story of the “Good Samaritan” and takes a brief look at one of the late 20th century’s most inspiring moments of…
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Ep. 22: Fruit of the Spirit - Kindness, Pt. 3
In this podcast, Paul continues to explore kindness as a fruit of the Spirit in the garden called our life. Specifically, he ponders the inherent power of kindness to inspire, elevate, and renew redemptive vision. Typically, stories about kindness spur us to more than we’ve been and more than we...
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Ep. 21: Fruit of the Spirit - Kindness, Pt. 2
This is my second podcast on the fifth “Fruit of the Spirit,” Kindness. In my first podcast on kindness, I considered how every unkind act or unkind word is a momentary forgetting of the kindness of God. In this podcast, I want to emphasize that the Apostle Paul preached, essentially, that…
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Ep. 20: Fruit of the Spirit - Kindness, Pt. 1
In this podcast, Paul talks about the fifth “Fruit of the Spirit,” “kindness.” As a virtue with eternal significance, he reminds us that any act of unkindness or any unkind word is a momentary forgetting of the kindness of God.
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Ep. 19: Fruit of the Spirit - Patience, Pt. 2
In this podcast, Paul talks about how the mandate and virtue of patience is designed to confront our human habits of judging others prematurely, and of finding convenient excuses for a lack of empathy and caring love. He draws from Jesus’ parable of the “Fig Tree in the Vineyard,” found in Luke...
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Ep. 18: Fruit of the Spirit - Patience, Pt. 1
In this podcast, Paul talks about the fourth “fruit of the Spirit”—patience. He comments on Proverb’s 19:11 observation that patience comes from a person’s wisdom. It is a sign of wisdom when patience is a portion of the grid through which one engages with everyone else, remembering the Apostle...
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Ep. 17: Fruit of the Spirit - Peace, Pt. 3
In this third podcast on “peace,” Dr. Patton explores the idea of “peace,” the third “fruit of the Spirit,” as not just a state of mind, but also an ability to achieve that state with a steady and intentional assertiveness that provides an eternal, heavenly context for all of life’s…
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Ep. 16: Fruit of the Spirit - Peace, Pt. 2
In this podcast, Paul talks about envy as an obstacle to internal and communal well-being, and an enemy of the third Fruit of the Spirit, peace. In the cultivation of peace in the garden of our life, Patton asserts that the awareness of our own patterns of envy—weeds that can choke the precious...
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Ep. 15: Fruit of the Spirit - Peace, Pt. 1
In this podcast, Paul talks about the third “Fruit of the Spirit,” peace, and how the “peace of Christ” is to rule or “umpire” in our heart. As “umpire of the heart” (Colossians 3: 15), such peace—or lack thereof—tells us if our word or action is in keeping with the love and wisdom of Christ. A...
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Ep. 14: Fruit of the Spirit - Joy, Pt. 3
I’ve devoted the last several podcasts to a new series focused the Apostle Paul’s listing of the “Fruit of the Spirit” found in Galatians 5:22 and 23. These nine fruit include: love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I have suggested that…
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Ep. 13: Fruit of the Spirit - Joy, Pt. 2
In this podcast, Paul continues with his focus on the “Fruit of the Spirit” with a second look at the God-given virtue of “joy.” He suggests that biblically informed joy is by its very nature “paradoxical,” that is, joy and grief can be experienced simultaneously. He concludes by looking at the...
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Ep. 12: Fruit of the Spirit - Joy, Pt. 1
In this podcast, Paul talks about the second “Fruit of the Spirit,” joy. He asserts that biblically-informed joy is not to be confused with just “putting on a happy face” or easier for the up-beat personality to experience. Paul offers that the “joy of the Lord” is associated with re-asserting an...
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Ep. 11: Fruit of the Spirit - Agape
In this podcast, Paul offers the “fruit of the Spirit” as the cultivated objectives in the garden called our lives. He briefly discusses the first of the nine virtures, “agape love.” He asserts that “agape love” is operationally defined as “caring about the best interests of the object of love,...
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Ep. 10: You Are God's Garden
In this podcast, Paul begins to offer an interlude of reflections during these challenging, uncertain times provoked by the threat of the coronavirus. His first is to emphasize the over-arching significance of biblically-informed metanarratives that help us understand our story, especially in the...
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Ep. 9: Your Dance with Pop Culture: Who’s Leading Whom in the Dance? Pt. 2
In this podcast, Paul gives an autobiographic glimpse into his life-long struggle with balancing “entertain me” binges with mass media and the over-arching challenge to redeem the time. He ends the program by sharing the “junk food” fantasy scenario. This is the second of his introductory…
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Ep. 8: Your Dance with Pop Culture: Who’s Leading Whom in the Dance? Pt. 1
In this podcast, Paul introduces his new series on wise engagement with the 24-7 invitation of pop culture. The series employs the metaphor of pop culture as an unrelenting, always available “dance partner” and posits the question of moral and spiritual significance, “Who’s leading whom in the...
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Ep. 7: Cultivating the Daily Habit of Bible Reading, Pt. 2
In this podcast, Paul talks about the importance of building an alphabetized index while engaged in Bible reading. In focusing, especially, on reading a chapter of Proverbs associated with the calendar date (i.e. reading the 20th chapter on the 20th day of the month).
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Ep. 5: Stewarding the Stirrings of Your Soul, Pt. 5
In the final podcast in his series, "Stewarding the Stirrings of the Soul," Paul offers more biblical examples and stories from church history surrounding the mind-building exercise of memorizing central confessions and soul-stirring inspirations.
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Ep. 6: Cultivating the Daily Habit of Bible Reading, Pt. 1
In this episode, Paul offers suggestions for developing a daily habit of Bible reading, including plans to help remember content. Emotional patterns that keep us from developing the holy habit of Scripture engagement are considered.
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Ep. 4: Stewarding the Stirrings of Your Soul, Pt. 4
Paul continues with encouragement in identifying a central confession, a "shema." In so doing, Paul suggests, we begin the intentional process of strengthening our sacred interiority. Patton gives examples of how to choose a central confession worth memorizing and re-stating daily. He concludes…
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Ep. 3: Stewarding the Stirrings of Your Soul, Pt. 3
In the third episode of the series “Stewarding the Stirrings of One’s Soul,” Paul reflects on what is meant to be an ultimate “soul stirring,” a dominant truth that serves as the hub of our cognitive wheel, what the ancient Jews called a “Shema.” He offers that our Shema prioritizes our truth...
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Ep. 2: Stewarding the Stirrings of Your Soul, Pt. 2
(Series 1, Episode 2). In the second episode of the series "Stewarding the Stirrings of One's Soul," Dr. Paul Patton continues to explore what it means to "steward the stirrings of one's soul," and how it contributes to a growing sense of "sacred interiority." When was the last time you were...
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Ep. 1: Stewarding the Stirrings of Your Soul, Pt. 1
In the first episode of the first series, Dr. Paul Patton explores what it means to "steward the stirrings of one's soul," and how it contributes to spiritual growth. How do you determine what is worth remembering, and then once you remember it, how do you move closer toward retrieving it on...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
“Soul Stirrings” is Dr. Paul Patton’s 5-7 minute attempt to provide clarifying, maybe even inspiring, nuggets of insight about faith, communication, and culture along the journey of our existence. Paul is Professor Emeritus of Communication and Media at Spring Arbor University in Michigan, a former pastor, theater practitioner, author, and playwright. This podcast, certainly assuming Judeo-Christian presuppositions, draws steadily from the biblical witness. The concept of “soul stirring” is readily tied to Jewish rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel’s insight that moments of inspiration come and go, yet “having been inspired never passes” (Heschel, Man Is Not Alone, Harper and Row, 1966, p. 78). In other words, if one can retrieve the inspiring insight from literature, from performance art, or even the memorable quip of a friend as circumstances invite clarity and depth, one has an oasis of the mind whenever it is needed. A “soul stirring” is a truth, an insight, an observation that stirs the
HOSTED BY
Paul Patton, Ph.D. & Christianity & Communication Studies Network (CCSN)
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Soul Stirrings have?
Soul Stirrings currently has 39 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Soul Stirrings about?
“Soul Stirrings” is Dr. Paul Patton’s 5-7 minute attempt to provide clarifying, maybe even inspiring, nuggets of insight about faith, communication, and culture along the journey of our existence. Paul is Professor Emeritus of Communication and Media at Spring Arbor University in Michigan, a former...
How often does Soul Stirrings release new episodes?
Soul Stirrings has 39 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Soul Stirrings?
You can listen to Soul Stirrings on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Soul Stirrings?
Soul Stirrings is created and hosted by Paul Patton, Ph.D. & Christianity & Communication Studies Network (CCSN).
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