Below is a summary and my thoughts of Episode 485 of the Holy Post podcast. Topics covered in this episode include:

• Water parks
• Japanese fuel sources
• How voter perspectives are divided by new source
• Feminism including pro-life
• Privilege from a Biblical perspective

Summary

The hosts discussed research conducted by PRRI about news sources and outlook on the country. It was divided between Republican and Democrat, and concluded that divides between Republicans can be clearly seen depending on what new source they trust. Ultimately, their sentiments on if immigrants help for hurt the country; if they feel like a stranger in their own country; and if the US is at risk for losing their culture, were all looked at. All of them, it showed, were higher for Republicans than Democrats; however, it depended on what news source they received information from to determine how much higher. Either way, the hosts pointed out that the statements asked to be ranked by the respondents could’ve been more hot-button issues for the Republicans, and the Democrats my exhibit the same division if given more relevant topics to them.

They also talked about a paper published in the New York Times about pro-life women being left out of feminism. From what I understand, the article discusses how pro-choice has become such an over-arching conviction in the feminist movement that those who don’t agree with it are no longer welcome. This causes people who want to help women feel like they are not able to do so, at least under the label of being a “feminist”. Instead, there needs to be collaboration on both sides on issues like parental leave and government policy to help women before an abortion is even considered.

The person they interviewed, Dominique Gilliard, talks about his book, “Subversive Witness: Scripture’s Call to Leverage Privilege”. He gives an overview of what its about, and talks about some examples of how privilege is exhibited in Scripture. He also talks about what Christians should be focused on and concerned with, what privilege is, and how it can be leveraged in a Godly way.

My thoughts

This episode was very interesting because it gave a deeper understanding of what it means to be Christian. The interview with Dominique Gilliard was especially interesting to me because it is yet another layer to doing right in the eyes of God. In the modern day, there is a lot of talk about social privilege and social justice. From the conversation alone, I was able to understand that the only perspective that matters is the Biblical perspective, and there are countless examples in the Bible that illustrate the correct way to go about things. His book seems very insightful, and I have added it to my to-read list.

The news separation was not particularly shocking, as it is somewhat common knowledge now how conservative Republicans feel about certain issues. I agree with what the hosts said about the Democrats possibly having other issues that would divide them or just being more united. It would be interesting to have a similar study done, not necessarily to focus on the news source, but for different age ranges and what and how strong their beliefs are on particular topics.

The New York Times article seemed like a piece of good news. It feels like the pendulum is swinging from only extreme beliefs being welcomed back to a place where people can have differing opinions and still work together. Like the host said, it is impressive to even see a paper like this posted in the New York Times to begin with. Overall, I agree with what the paper said. There are different things that can be done by both sides of the spectrum to reduce the prevalence of abortion and provide women with better options.