Assumptions

In this, our third bonus episode for 2020, Kyle and Daniel talk about what they are learning from the COVID-19 Lockdown.

In this, our second bonus episode for 2020, Daniel asks Kyle about what has changed in his life. The two friends talk about how their approaches to career, creativity, legacy, and self worth are changing and growing.

It has been a long time since we’ve sat down in front of a microphone. What have we been up to? In this bonus episode, Kyle asks about Daniel’s engagement, wedding, and marriage, with Daniel connecting the themes of Season Two to his own life.

On this, the last episode of our second season, Kyle and Daniel listen to some comments and questions sent in from listeners. They discuss how social media discourages proper goodbyes, why we are good to others, and tell the story of how they became friends. 

As we wind our way to the tail end of this season, we share feedback provided by our listeners. The questions spark conversations. We discuss what would bring us to conversion, how to understand sexual intimacy, and even masturbation. This episode also includes Kyle’s interview with Fraser Tripp.

This has been such a full season of conversations that our wrap up episode has been extended into a second episode. This time we discuss the many interviews we had this season and recap our conversations on marriage, loneliness, and community. 

It’s been quite the season and we’ve covered a lot of topics. Sex. Family. Romance. Gay Sex. So we decided it would be worth taking a step back and discussing what we learned, what we want to clarify, and what we want to explore further. This is the first of a two part episode where we talk about our first five episodes. It’s a great conversation.

In this bonus episode, Kyle and Daniel sit down with Dr. Barry Danylak, who has spent a lifetime studying what it means to be a single Christian and whose life is devoted to working with singles in the church. They talk about Barry’s practices as a single, celibate Christian, his scholarship on sexual ethics, and his understanding of the historical context of first century sexual ethics.

In this bonus episode, Kyle interviews Rabbi Seth Goldstein to learn a liberal Jewish perspective of the themes we’ve been discussing this season.

In this bonus episode, Kyle and Daniel interview their friend Lish Veldhuijzen to get her perspectives on the questions we’ve been discussing this season.

In this bonus episode, Kyle interviews two of his friends to get their opinions on the topics we’ve been discussing this season.

This is the second of our two-part conversation on loneliness, singleness, community, and friendship. We talk about the struggles, sorrows, and satisfactions of friendship. 

After tackling dating and marriage in our previous episodes, Kyle and Daniel begin a two-part conversation on loneliness, singleness, community, and friendship. In a culture where singleness is increasingly common, what place is their for singles? What does culture say about this, compared to the storyline of the Bible? Why is loneliness so hard and what can we do about it? Why is it so hard to find and keep good friends?

This episode begins with Daniel clarifying a few things that were misunderstood in Episode 4: Christians Are Bigots. We then get some updates about Daniel’s relationship and how it reflects his worldview. This is followed by a discussion of marriage. Does Kyle value it? What is the Christian vision for marriage? Is there marriage in Heaven?

In our second Season Two bonus episode, we talk to author and editor Joy Beth Smith about the frustrations of dating as a Christian and her insights into sexuality and what it means to be human. This was a fun and enlightening conversation. We hope you enjoy it!

In our first bonus episode of Season Two, we interview scholar and author Wesley Hill. We are really excited to share this conversation with our listeners.

Let’s talk about dating! Kyle and Daniel have slightly different approaches and very different experiences. They talk about their stories, their priorities, and how these differences affect their perspectives on this often emotionally tumultuous approach. 

After hearing Kyle’s story on the last episode, it’s Daniel’s turn to be in the hot-seat. What are his views on what the Bible has to say about LGBTQ relationships? What did Jesus have to say about sexual ethics? And how has the modern church failed in these matters? Kyle and Daniel discuss and disagree.

We all know that Kyle is bisexual. And many of us questions about what that means for Kyle and how he got here. In this episode, Kyle tells Daniel his story of how he came to understand his sexuality and they talk about the implications. 

What is the purpose of sex? Is it an act shot through with meaning and consequence, or is it just for pleasure? How does it affect our identity? When and with whom should it be done? Is sex good? How does this apply to Christians and how does it apply to the LGBQ+ community? Kyle and Daniel bravely work their way through a discussion of these weighty matters.

In our first episode of this new season, Kyle and Daniel introduce the themes we hope to explore throughout the upcoming episodes. As we set the stage for discussing sexuality, we talk about our different experiences of family growing up. Is raising a family a selfless or selfish act? How has the expectation of having a family changed in our generation? Why do we hope to have our own families some day?

It’s been a long time since you’ve heard from us at Assumptions. While we continue to prepare our second season, we’re releasing a short series of bonus episodes. It’s Daniel’s turn to interview Kyle and learn about his enterprising plans to start a new business dedication to content creation. This being Assumptions, the conversation included discussions on uncertainty, and confidence, mental health, and the kind of legacy we hope to leave.

It’s been a long time since you’ve heard from us at Assumptions. While we continue to prepare our second season, we’re releasing a short series of bonus episodes. Our show is all about worldview, and up until now we’ve been discussing the ideas that shape us. But one’s worldview should never be divorced from one’s life. So in this episode Kyle interviews Daniel to learn what has changed in his life and how it’s influence his Christian worldview. 

It’s been a long time since you’ve heard from us at Assumptions. While we continue to prepare our second season, we’re releasing a short series of bonus episodes. On this episode, Kyle and Daniel talk about the movies and music they’ve been consuming and how they reflect our post-religious culture.

Kyle and Daniel pause to look back on their conversations. They walk through each episode asking questions like, what did they learn about each other? How did their opinions changed? What surprised them? They also gather up any loose ends discussed over the season and announce their plans for Season Two.

Daniel likes to think that weekly church service he attends tells a story that its congregation becomes immersed in. So Kyle bravely attends Daniel's church and offers his outsider's observations. They then discuss the Kyle's weekly temple experience: the movie theatre. How do these communities shape the stories of our lives?

Daniel and Kyle discuss how social media impacts the stories we tell about ourselves.

Daniel and Kyle are both creative people and both have a relentless drive to create. Why? Why create art when there is more than enough already? What happens when our art goes unseen and unvalued? Such deep questions.

Daniel's instinct is to think of video games as mostly a waste of time. Can Kyle convince him otherwise? Is the storytelling approach to video games unique to our age? Together they play the video game "That Dragon Cancer" and get emotional talking about death.

Daniel grew up believing that the Harry Potter books were, quite literally, inspired by the devil. Until last year, when he read the whole series. Now, he thinks they are, at their core, essentially Christian novels. What does Kyle think of this theory. Why does our culture love these books so much?

Daniel argues that many horror films deal blatantly with the existence of evil and often have strong religious themes. So why are they so popular amongst our secular culture? And why do most evangelical Christians avoid them like a curse of Satan? Does Kyle believe in ghosts anyways?

Kyle's favourite movie of all time is Jaws, which Daniel has never seen. We sit down to watch it and then ask: why does this movie speak so deeply to Kyle? We also talk about Daniel's favourite movie, Moonrise Kingdom and examine why these different stories mean so much to us and what they say about our worldviews.

The book Stories We Tell by Mike Cosper investigates the subtle power of the stories told through movies and TV. Daniel and Kyle discuss the allure of storytelling in both of their lives and ask why, according to their differing creeds, does this desire exist?

A Christian and an Atheist have a polite conversation. Kind of. Daniel and Kyle have competing world views and yet still remain close friends. Each try to understand each other’s viewpoints. Specifically they use media to uncover how each interprets their world.