The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion

This class amplifies last class' emphasis on spirituality, showing how four famous individuals crafted their own sense of what's important into a way of life that affected millions.BuddhaJesusMalcolm XRosa ParksHope you enjoy!

Class #22 treats the basic question, “What is Spirituality in the first place?” – a kind of 30,000-foot view of this topic. (The 30-foot view comes next class!)We look at various definitions, and the possible content ofwhat it means to be ‘spiritual.’ The Tree of Contemplative Practices that suggest themultiple ways of being spiritual is here: https://maiaduerr.com/tree-of-contemplative-practices/Our email for comments, questions or stories is [email protected].

Something we all assume we have, is a soul. And we treat this assumption in today's class, as a necessary precursor to our next few classes on "Spirituality". For spirituality is the taking care of, the use of, the remembering, of one's soul. We have contributions today by Cornel West, but mostly we ask about how "soul" is connected to an authentic life, not just in some afterlife, but in today's times as well.As usual, contact us at [email protected].

So, you play by the rules; you do your faith right; you read in your scriptures that a good life has its rewards, and that evil or bad behavior/faith has no future. So that's what you do, and then bad things DO happen, anyway. What went wrong?We speak of the various ways religions justify god's being or behavior when the bad or wrong things happen. Usually, they protect their god from charges of wrong-doing or complicity with evil. It's called Theodicy, or the justification of god when evil happens.We look at 6 ways religions justify evil happening, ways that keep their gods from association with evil.

Class 19 introduces, with several videos, how some famousrituals in the faiths of the world create meaning – through – action. Action that undergirds the faith. Action that roots the faith, and interweaves the faith and the heart.Rituals are not long or boring meaningless events. When donewell, with intention, they center and root the person in the faith, giving them real-life, real-time expressions of belief, as if the believer lives in the day of the faith’s beginning days.Marc is on his own today; Chandler has the day off.How Religion Gets Made is the first star in the constellation of courses in the academic study of religion series, The TechnicolorDreamcoat of Religion.As usual, contact the show at [email protected].

Rituals may seem to some folks boring, but the ritual in religion is what absolutely GROUNDS a person in their faith. They do, not just think or believe. In a ritual, one puts one's faith into practice, and over time, that practice deepens and makes religion - if it is ever to be real - then REAL. Big promise, but anyone who does rituals - from athletes to musicians to the military - know that the ritual practices are the key to what one feels one can, ought, and should do. At the right moment, a person who's schooled in the rituals of their practice or faith can make monumental decisions and sacrifices for what? Only what they have practiced.This Class shows how powerful rituals are to not just our everyday lives, but our deepest spiritual lives as well.As always, thanks to Mars Hill University, where I taught this class for 22 years, and for allowing us to record these pod-classes in the University's Memorial Library. And, my email for communications and questions is [email protected] your critical thinking; don't "practice" becoming someone's bitch.

Today we conclude our discussions on how stories, narratives and mythologies form the very heart of how religions get made, with a look at how our religious myths get used, and abused. What may have been a truth for one time and place, when written down and lasting like, forever, is picked up by a distant culture in time and space and used - even weaponized - by that later culture.As always, thanks to the Mars Hill University Library.The link for world scriptures online is https://archive.sacred-texts.com/index.htm.

As we begin to wind down the power of stories, we look at creation stories, and how that unconsciously affect us, even when we don't - we think - agree with what they said or meant way back in the day.There is one fascinating website we want you to look at: https://www.lyingforjesus.org/Bible-Contradictions/We'll finish up our look at stories, narratives and myths in Class 17 next time.Thanks for watching or listening. Here is Marc's email for your questions: [email protected].

The Power of Stories in Religion, part ii. Marc and Chandler go through some actual religious myths and creation stories, but comparing these also to everyday myths we have, like, on our dollar bills, or even to placebos!! Lots of stuff to chew on here. Thanks for stopping by our class. If you have a question or a recommendation, let us know, [email protected]

Today's class is Part 2 of a two-part class on the power of stories we're calling "The Stories We Tell Ourselves". Religions begin, and continue, with powerful, and often silent stories about the way things ought to go. This class features 7 positive stories that unify and bring peace and community, stories that we can easily correlate with "religion."Got questions? We'd love to hear them, and even address them on the show. Send them to [email protected].

With stories, we make our worlds ... and the gods who populate them. Stories link and unite the physical plane with the metaphysical dimension, no matter our time, our place, or our condition.Gracious acknowledgement to slam poet Daniel Beaty: There is a clip of a Ted Talk that we ask you to pause the video here, and take a look at. How Humans Rule the World, by Yuval Harari. Here's the link: Thanks to Mars Hill University for its generous use of space to record this class.

This class, we see the effects of centuries of anthropomorphism -- all those 'isms that describe god: monotheism, polytheism, deism, and even agnosticism and atheism. Every one is an imagination-driven idea in history that suggests the kind, number, and nature of the gods we have.Looking for questions to address on the show. Got one? [email protected].

Chandler and Marc speak more about how Anthropomorphism affects the utter QUANTITY of the gods humans have 'made,' and their QUALITY as well. What if seeing gods only as extensions or projects of ourselves means they become ... boring?We're looking for your questions to address on future episodes. The place to start is with Marc's email: [email protected] your critical thinking; don't become someone's bitch.

Anthropomorphism is this class' theme: projecting human attributes onto a divine being.Chandler and Marc explore the theological, psychological and anthropological terrain of how humans have made gods ... out of themselves. If a 'god defined is a limited god', then there's nothing like seeing god as something like yourself to diminish god. Your critical thinking will be really active for this class!!Send us your questions: [email protected]. We'll get to them in a near-future episode.

This is a short class, b/c Chandler's and my schedules have been unusually tight, and we could not align this time. BUT, I have a short intro today for our next few classes.Today's class is called "Are you ready for God?Or Necessary Misunderstandings"We start to talk about WHAT god is by respelling this idea of god as "g-o-d" ... which contains silent, unvoiced hyphens, and is an expansion, or metaphoric lengthening of the idea of god, with g-o-d.We conclude with a short clip of ⁠Morgan Freeman's series on God with National Geographic⁠.As usual, my email is [email protected]

In this class we talk about the varieties of religious experiences, with the thesis: "We don’t experience things as THEY are; we experience things as WE are."We mention Celtic 'thin places,' talk about what has to happen in an authentic experience of the divine/holy/sacred (It ain't all sweetness and light, believe me!), dreams and other things we "experience" as religious.Ask us a question, and we'll respond on a future episode!!Don't be someone's bitch; do your own critical thinking!As usual, my email is [email protected]

Class 7: SIX WAYS OF BEING RELIGIOUSToday’s class explores six legitimate, time-tested ways that people have been 'religious' around the world: Sacred Ritual, Right Action, Devotion, Shamanic Mediation, Mystical Quest, and Reasoned Inquiry. Which one (or ones) do you use? Lots of visuals and videos! Do your critical thinking, so no one makes you their *itch.Videos in this ClassSix Blind Men & the Elephant: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=evGn3Dm_fYMEmpathy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCy8Cfvoe6gJewish Prayer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE63Hb0vz4wIslamic Prayer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrTGuP1cFTQHmong Ritual: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3rtdkZNy1QShamanic Ritual – Samena Tribe (Venezuela) – By “Extreme Nature” Video no longer availableSufi Whirling Dervish: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoWYBAx4VLcAnd as always, Marc’s email is [email protected]

Today, Chandler and Marc run through the myriad of ways that "religion" can be shaped toward the societal and personal "Good"... but ALSO how it can be bent and shape-shifted into ways that are BAD for human beings and human society.Our email is [email protected]

Welcome back! Today, Chandler and Marc speak about "what all religions do". We discuss -thriving-(re)solving alienation, guilt and death, and-religion as a kind of "immortality projects" we take on.Like this podclass? Let others know and rate it please on your podcast platform. Don't like it, let us know!As usual, my email is [email protected].

We're outside today, on the banks of the world's 3rd oldest river: The French Broad. CLASS 4: What are some common tasks all religions share? What are some common things that all religions do? Especially important here is the framing of the world "as it is" and showing "how it should be" by participation in a religious community. Along the way, we practice critical thinking aloud.My email is [email protected]. Let me know if you like the show (tell others, pls!) or if you have a question, comment, or critique.

We continue our introductory phase of our class, by speaking briefly on "What IS Religion, Anyway." We include some classic and personal definitions of what religion is, and conclude that religion comes from the Latin "religio," that means to bind together, or rebind what has been separated. Just what do religions bind together???Marc's email is [email protected]

This time Chandler and Marc talk about the imaginary beginnings of "religion," NOT to discredit anyone's faith, but to portray how we "get" religion, how religion (whether good or otherwise) grows stronger, and how critical thinking may be your best friend to stay most true to one's religious practices.Thanks to the Library at www.mhu.edu.

The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion series inaugurates with our first class, entitled "How Religion Gets Made." This is class #1, a critical thinking examination about how the imaginary becomes real, normal and, well, religious!!If you like this, please tell folks! And kindly give us a fair rating.Marc Mullinax and Chandler Schroeder

For his next podclass, Marc Mullinax teams up with Chandler Schroeder to bring you a series of podclasses, the first of which is called "How Religion Gets Made," premiering on July 1, 2025, on...a. YouTube - maybe preferred if you like strong visuals. To sign up, click “⁠The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion⁠“ or (⁠https:www.youtube.com@TechnicolorDreamcoatofReligion⁠)andb. Apple and Spotify podcast platforms. Just search for "The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion"

Teaser Episode for "The Technicolor Dreamcoat of Religion," with my co-host Chandler Schroeder.Coming Soon will be the first Semester/Season, an Introduction to the Imaginative world-making processes of HOW religion gets made.The episodes will be visual, but also uploaded as audio files. If you are a visual learner, you may want to join the YouTube class here or https://www.youtube.com/@TechnicolorDreamcoatofReligion