TEXT AND ROCK.
Ancient myth and artifact meet poetry and rhythm for the post-modern soul.
Hosted by Mark Shaffer and Eric Madison, TEXT AND ROCK is a weekly podcast that bridges the gap between ancient wisdom and contemporary life. Mark, an antiquarian, writer, and part-time punk rocker, and Eric, a musician, podcaster, and rhythm instructor, delve into topics ranging from biblical texts and ancient artifacts to modern spirituality and cultural critique. Their engaging discussions aim to help listeners read the Bible like an ancient and have faith like a modern.
Whether you're seeking to deepen your understanding of sacred texts, explore the intersections of faith and culture, or simply enjoy thought-provoking conversations, TEXT AND ROCK offers a unique perspective that resonates with the post-modern soul.
For more content, including poetry and video, visit www.textandrock.com.
Episodes
107 episodes
FAITH AND DOUBT 08. HOW TO THINK ABOUT THE BIBLE AS A MODERN.
Mark and an old friend talk about faith and doubt and specifically, how to think about sacred texts as a modern, the character of God recovering from violence, and why sometimes fiction tells the truth better.
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29:21
FAITH AND DOUBT 07. THE SCANDAL OF THE PARTICULAR.
Mark and an old friend talk about faith and doubt and specifically, the "scandal of the particular." Walter Breuggemann coined this term to hold in tension what it means if the God of the Bible is true, personal, and good over and against a vag...
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22:05
HOUSE OF THE WORLD. HAPPY HOLIDAYS TEXT AND ROCKERS!
Merry Christmas friends! kk here goes:HOUSE OF THE WORLD.Ancient story and artifact meets lo-fi and Mediterranean hip hop in this journey to reclaim the art of the Bible’s creation story. Poetry… in cosmological motion. haha...
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1:23:20
FAITH AND DOUBT 06. HOW TO BE FRIENDS ON THE SPECTRUM OF FAITH AND DOUBT AND MORE ON FAITH AS A CREED.
A friend of the show and I continue talking about faith and doubt. This episode we chat about how to be sincere friends with people we love all across the spectrum of faith and doubt. Serving your atheist friend might be the most Christian thin...
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25:10
FAITH AND DOUBT 05. GOD WEARS KID GLOVES.
A friend of the show and I continue talking about faith and doubt. This episode we talk about what to do when the bottom falls out-- to have faith or not to have faith?We both believe that whenever something truly horrible happens, we ac...
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19:59
FAITH AND DOUBT 04. GOD BEHAVING BADLY.
A friend of the show stops by to chat about the Faith and Doubt Series. This episode we chat about how tough questions about God from our children actually get to the heart of adult issues with faith, doubt, and being a good human.Along ...
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15:54
FAITH AND DOUBT 03. GOD AS MOSAIC, FAITH AS A CREED.
Faith & Doubt 03 — God as Mosaic, Faith as a CreedWhen you stay in the tradition long enough, you realize something unsettling: God doesn’t hold still. The moment you think you’ve got God figured out—a verse, a doctrine, a tidy metap...
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24:39
FAITH AND DOUBT 02. WHAT TO DO WITH (THE CHARACTER OF) GOD BEHAVING BADLY...
Who gets to say what God is like? For many, the early answers were simple: God is good, loving, and holy. But as you grow, those answers get more complicated. The Bible’s portraits of God are not one-dimensional—they include the God who liberat...
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20:45
FAITH AND DOUBT 01: TIME. PLACE. AUTHOR. IDEOLOGY.
What happens when the God you grew up with turns out to be a moving target? From the garden stroll in Genesis to the cosmic transcendence of the New Testament, the Bible presents wildly different portraits of the divine—each shaped by its time,...
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24:01
AN INTRO TO FAITH AND DOUBT.
Hey Text and Rockers! Just to change it up, Mark outlines the next several episodes of Text and Rock, including an introduction to the Text and Rock Blog and a 3-part series on Faith and Doubt. It's all about leaving the...
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8:25
MELT IT DOWN: CONFRONTING OUR ECOLOGICAL CRISIS.
Mark and Eric explore the creative process behind writing poetry about ecological disasters and the prophetic role of artists in identifying problems before they become mainstream knowledge.
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26:08
YOU ARE ONLY A WATCHER.
Mark and Eric talk about a philosophy of God that might work for you if simple answers do not. How does human religions actually work in real time? Is God something we can actually name and put in a box? Or it is a moving target of an ideal tha...
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23:27
MR. SMITH STAYS HOME.
Mark and Eric talk wealth gap, systemic overhaul, and the scandal of politics in the fading western empire. Along the way, they talk about Jesus as a Second Temple Period human sage, a different kind of kingdom, and how to treat people in hard ...
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23:02
AWARENESS.
Mark and Eric kick around the idea of awareness as a philosophical pillar for meaning, life, and even divinity, before performing an original poem entitled "Awareness." We hope you love it!Here is a link to all our socials an...
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35:39
PEACE.
Mark and Eric talk about how to have peace in a world of uncertainty. We hope you LOVE it!Here is a link to all our socials and our digital press... we have been quietly busy. Boom boom.
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29:05
YOUR WILD LIFE.
Mark and Eric talk about how the animals can teach us wisdom if we have eyes to see. Along with it, we chat about how to move and breathe in a culture addicted to fast wealth and fame (which the vast majority of us never actually achieve). We h...
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32:28
LIVE AT THE TOGETHER WE RISE MURAL, CEDAR RAPIDS.
Mark and Eric set up a street performance in front of the "Together We Rise" mural in Cedar Rapids, IA. The mural is a bunch of hands stacked up to the Cedar Rapids skyline, representing the need to work together to rise as a society. ...
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21:13
I'M TRYING TO QUIT!
Mark and Eric kick talk about consumerist culture and how to cultivate a life that does more good than harm. We also speculate about space archaeologists in 10,000 years, building altars in the back yard, imaginary friends, and why we'd rather ...
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32:45
RITUAL... AND A BONUS LIVE SET.
Mark and Eric kick around the theory of rituals in religious traditions, and try to help you focus on the posture of the heart that actually helps. They also introduce their new book HOLY ROLLER and pop a recent live set on the back end. <...
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37:36
THE DIVINE JOKE.
Mark and Eric talk about the upside-downside, good/evil encompassing nature of divinity and how to keep faith while being in on the joke. This one is all about why it is okay to admit you cannot know everything and are free to hold life with le...
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24:01
WELCOME TO THE REBELLION.
Mark and Eric talk about how to think about fast changing times and cultural systems which often feel out of our control. We hope you love it!Join the TEXT AND ROCK FACEBO...
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25:15
PARENTING AGAINST CULTURAL PRESSURE.
Mark and Eric talk about how to parent kids towards their natural gifting and talents and away from cultural pressure. We hope you love it!
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13:33
PLANETARY MYTHOLOGY.
Mark and Eric talk about how religion has changed in human intellectual evolution and what kind of mythology has its place in the post-modern world. So small potatoes...We hope you love it!Mark and Eric
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26:05