Lately I’ve been finding myself revisiting several YouTubers who have made me think about what my life might have been like had I continued with my Religious Studies degree from LMU, instead of the meandering path through Biblical Studies at Biola, an aborted Masters in Theology at Fuller Seminary, a brief attempt at a B.A. in Anthropology at CSUF, then settling for a B.A. in Journalism, that somehow led to a career teaching technology and communication in public education for 28 years. There were a lot of personal lessons learned along the way, but there was always a thirst to understand more, especially when the parts didn’t fit where they were supposed to. Part of my struggle was that I was way too “academic” for my fellow Jesus Freaks and Calvary Chapelites and I never figured out what “tribe” I belonged to if I was going to pursue this more academic approach to religious and biblical studies. All I knew is that when I abandoned my Masters in Theology, it was because it felt like a very expensive hobby that I didn’t know how I could turn into a career. Given me a break, it was 1985.

So fast forward, 2024, I made a solid connection with my atheist friends when I lived in Orlando and continued here in Las Vegas. But I’m not one who thinks that it’s all just bullshit, and as I mentioned earlier, I’ve enjoy posts by YouTubers who share my academic appreciation for good scholarly research related to the biblical record and associated cultural, linguistic and anthropological studies. 

Here’s a list of the channels I’ve been following:


I look forward to seeing how John Green and the folks at Crash Course add to the discussion of religion, theology and human cultural history. Let’s see what we can learn. 

Resources:

Tags: academic religious studies, Crash Course, Crash Course Religions, cultural history, Religious studies

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