A Christian and an Atheist Walk into a Bar

Phil and Neil Read Tolstoy's "The Gospel in Brief" So You Don't Have To

November 07, 2021 Neil Newton and Philip Thompson Season 1 Episode 6
A Christian and an Atheist Walk into a Bar
Phil and Neil Read Tolstoy's "The Gospel in Brief" So You Don't Have To
Show Notes Chapter Markers

In this episode of a Christian and an Atheist Walk into a Bar, Phil and Neil read and discuss Leo Tolstoy's The Gospel in Brief.  Much like Thomas Jefferson, Tolstoy wanted a version of the gospel that preserved the teachings of Jesus without referencing what we usually refer to as miracles or the supernatural. So is Tolstoy's "demystified" Jesus an appealing moral teacher or  just an arrogant jagoff?

For "Should I Really Care About This" your hosts reveal the hidden fascism of the oft-used terms "impactful" and "addicting."

Beers* appearing in this episode: 
Double Edged Sword, Grist House Brewing Company
*Neil was on antibiotics so he didn't have any beer. 
 


What we're drinking today
Tolstoy's "The Gospel in Brief"
How are the gospels laid out?
Dating of the gospels
Building a Version of the gospel for its basic components
Meeting the text on its own terms
Jesus as a know it all?
Does the New Testament teach us to pray or not?
Tolstoy's contradictory ideas about God
Spiritual but not religious?
Why "mircale" and "supernatural" aren't useful terms
Should I really care about this? The hidden fascism of "impactful" and "addicting."