Listen "What is a ‘Theology of Culture’? (#360)"
Episode Synopsis
Matthew Burdette—Episcopal priest, theologian, and editor—joins me for a wide-ranging conversation about theology and culture. We cover a little bit of everything in this one!
Matthew begins by telling me about his theology of culture, and how his approach allows God to remain distinct from culture while still being relevant to everything. We look at how both liberal and conservative Christianity can fail when they focus too much on either human goodness or human sinfulness.
Matthew also challenges common assumptions about power and privilege, arguing that gestures like land acknowledgments or other virtue signals can often mask—rather than address—real authority, and we wrestle with thorny questions about immigration, marriage, and what it means to bear the "cross" of Christian ethics in a world of undeniable trade-offs.
In the Patron-only second half, we discuss how paternalism—from COVID policies to climate change messaging to my own admitted tendency to peoples tendency to manage others anxiety for them—undermining both personal relationships and democratic governance.
Matt's Substack | Matthewburdette.substack.com
___________________________________________
Follow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/
Or Twitter: twitter.com/DanKoch
Faith deconstruction resources: www.soyouredeconstructing.com/
Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankoch
Email about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: [email protected]
YHP Patron-only FB group: tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98
Website: www.dankochwords.com/yhp.html
Join Dan's email list: www.dankochwords.com/
Artwork by sprungle.co/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Matthew begins by telling me about his theology of culture, and how his approach allows God to remain distinct from culture while still being relevant to everything. We look at how both liberal and conservative Christianity can fail when they focus too much on either human goodness or human sinfulness.
Matthew also challenges common assumptions about power and privilege, arguing that gestures like land acknowledgments or other virtue signals can often mask—rather than address—real authority, and we wrestle with thorny questions about immigration, marriage, and what it means to bear the "cross" of Christian ethics in a world of undeniable trade-offs.
In the Patron-only second half, we discuss how paternalism—from COVID policies to climate change messaging to my own admitted tendency to peoples tendency to manage others anxiety for them—undermining both personal relationships and democratic governance.
Matt's Substack | Matthewburdette.substack.com
___________________________________________
Follow Dan on IG: www.instagram.com/dancoke/
Or Twitter: twitter.com/DanKoch
Faith deconstruction resources: www.soyouredeconstructing.com/
Join the Patreon for exclusive episodes (and more) every month: patreon.com/dankoch
Email about the "sliding scale" for the Patreon: [email protected]
YHP Patron-only FB group: tinyurl.com/ycvbbf98
Website: www.dankochwords.com/yhp.html
Join Dan's email list: www.dankochwords.com/
Artwork by sprungle.co/
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More episodes of the podcast Religion on the Mind
Anxiety & OCD Across Generations (#359)
10/11/2025
When Fiction Reveals a Deeper Truth (#358)
06/11/2025
Theology Beer Camp Update
23/10/2025
Charlie Kirk: Martyr? (#354)
13/10/2025
Christianity Rising in Silicon Valley (#353)
06/10/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.