Rainn Wilson, Trump and St. Francis: This Week In Faith

Rainn Wilson

America’s favorite assistant to the regional manager and genuine brilliant religious commentator Rainn Wilson joined the folks at Heretic Happy Hour this week for a podcast discussion on “faith mythology.”

This week’s guest panel, which also includes author Heather Hamilton and pastor Adam Ericksen, discussed the question on if mythologizing faith brings people more meaning and depth than actually taking religious texts literal.

Wilson has become a must-read, must-listen in the faith space since The Office star released Soul Boom, a New York Times bestseller that “explores the problem-solving benefits that spirituality gives us to create solutions for an increasingly challenging world.”

His refreshing and unique take is worth a listen and further solidifies Heretic Happy Hour as the premier Progressive Christian podcast. Progressive Christian juggernauts  Keith Giles and Matthew Distefano co-host the revamped podcast which launched earlier this year. In this episode Wilson and the panel also aim take aim at the myths that people will never get along, that we will never have world peace and that humanity is doomed because of the way we are wired.

Give it a listen below.

The Trump Assassination Attempt

Now that the world has had some time to digest the attempted assassination of former president Donald Trump on Saturday, July, 13, commentators from all political persuasions and faith traditions are weighing in on what it means for the election and for civility in America.

Here’s a sampling of what faith commentators are saying:

• Christian medical doctor and author Adrian Warnock: “The level of hatred and division on both sides of the political divide is way too high at the moment. The attempt on Trump’s life has demonstrated just how febrile the situation is.” Read more here.
• Latter-day Saint columnist Daniel C. Peterson: “We have, I think, a very clear illustration of the continuing relevance of the “great man” view of history in the attempted assassination of former president Donald J. Trump on Saturday, 13 July 2024.” Read more here.
• New Visions columnist Dr. Ahriana Platten, a former Ambassador for the Parliament of the World’s Religions: “Regardless of your political position, (because a bullet could just as easily have been aimed at the other side), we must ask ourselves, “Is violence the answer I seek? Does violence calm my fears or, in the long run, does violence only lead to more violence and deeper fear?” Read more here.
• Catholic writer Julia Smucker: “Perhaps what is most dangerous about the present moment is that this is, in part, who we are: a people that puts its faith in violence to save us.” Read more here.
• General Christian columnist and screenwriter Martin Thomas Johnson: “After the assassination attempt on Mr. Trump, he and other RNC speakers committed to changing their speeches. Whatever is said at the conference now isn’t what the convention originally wanted to impress on the delegates.” Read more here.
• Pastor, professor and Progressive Christian columnist Ted Peters:  “It would be a dangerous mistake to install unity in the American household based on the sacrifice of a scapegoat, whether visible or invisible.” Read more here.
• Catholic writer Mary Pezzulo: “There are plenty of things to be shocked about right now. We all need to be careful to share good information and not let our imaginations run away with us.” Read more here.
• Former pastor and Progressive Christian writer Gregory T. Smith: “Was Donald Trump’s shooter justified? Absolutely not—political violence never is! Every liberal and conservative should agree on this.” Read more here.
• Catholic writer and former Oklahoma state Rep. Rebecca Hamilton: “We are going through a storm right now. It is a national storm, and given the immense, world-dominating power of the United States of America, it is also something of a global storm.” Read more here.
• Heretic Happy Hour Co-host and Progressive Christian Columnist Matthew Distefano: “While it is critical to hold leaders accountable for their words and actions, it is equally important to advocate for a society where retribution is resisted.” Read more here.

Saint Francis

If you haven’t had the chance to read the short biographies and meditations shared by Buddhist writer and and spiritual director James Ford , I’d recommend bookmarking his column or signing up for his Monkey Mind column’s newsletter. His historical retellings of religious figures who have made an impact throughout the ages are always entertaining and informative. This week I especially enjoyed Ford’s column on St. Francis of Assisi. Ford, who has been reflecting on Francis for years, is particularly intrigued by Francis’s connections to Buddhism and his “divine madness.” Read the whole column Zen And Saint Francis: Beyond Greed, Hate, And Delusion here.