The Bible Got Women Wrong. Driscoll Just Agrees With It. (Dan McClellan and Dan Beecher; Data Over Dogma podcast on YouTube)

Mark Driscoll would like you to know that a strong wife is a blessing, an independent wife is a problem, and a woman is essentially a plot of raw land waiting for the right gardener to come along.

This week we take his statements apart line by line: the use of 1 Corinthians 11, the ancient household logic sitting underneath it, and the bride-price laws of Deuteronomy 22 that show exactly what "property" language has always meant. Then we head back to the Bible's actual garden, where it turns out there was never only one gardener.

Chapters:

0:00 Barely-Tone Introductions
0:28 Who Is Mark Driscoll?
1:56 The Clip, Read Aloud
4:30 Cleansing The Palate
5:01 Umbrellas And 1 Corinthians 11
5:50 No Independent Social Identity
7:25 Who Gardens The Garden?
7:54 "Look At That Property"
8:42 Virginity As Social Construct
9:33 Deuteronomy 22 And Bride Price
12:13 Yes, It's Biblically Defensible
14:01 Credit Cards And Pendulums
15:08 Marital Rape And 1 Corinthians 7
16:04 The Virginity Double Standard
18:40 A Wife As Reflection
20:49 The Bible's Actual Garden
21:39 Ezer Means Equal
22:58 Insecurity Dressed As Headship
25:01 Why Narcissists Seek Pulpits
27:02 Believe The Red Flags

Interview: 

https://youtu.be/bFqVvf5L9lI?si=47Yhe1urBwgY3lmC

‘When she turns eight they will take her’: rising number of Afghan girls being sold into child marriage

Afghanistan is seeing a resurgence in underage brides and mothers as desperate families sell their children in order to eat…

 https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/jul/15/afghanistan-girls-sold-into-child-marriage

 

West Virginia judge approved marriage license for 15-year-old Elizabeth ...

 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/AyLRhaunrcQ 

A Federal Judge Nominee Said Disabled People Shouldn’t Be Wed. In Fact, Many Can’t. – Mother Jones

On Wednesday, Justin Olson, a judicial nominee for the federal bench in the Southern District of Indiana, admitted that in a 2015 sermon, he had said marriage should not be for "our handicapped friends or our persons with physical disabilities that might prevent the robust marriage that we're called to."…

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/12/indiana-southern-district-federal-judge-nominee-justin-olson-disabled-people-marriage-benefits-cancellation-medicaid-ssi/ 

 

Polygamy (Dan McClennan; Data Over Dogma podcast on YouTube)

Look out! 'Cause this week we're looking at a controversial issue, and perhaps strangely for us, the impetus for this has nothing to do with Mormonism. No, recently a Missouri pastor named Rich Tidwell made waves in Christian circles by claiming that the Bible--yes, even the New Testament--is pro polygamy. And, really putting his matrimony where his mouth is, he has the wives to prove it.

So is the Bible as positive about plural marriage as Tidwell claims? And if so, does that mean that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints should reclaim their highly decried practice?

Then we'll move on to one of the Bible's most prolific polygamists: Solomon. Or rather, his son Rehoboam. If Solomon was wise (and really... was he?), Rehoboam was rash, impetuous and authoritarian. The apple fell far from Solomon's tiny little tree. But what is this story really about?
Interview: 

https://youtu.be/5kjBQqMSyN4?si=XyF925djdXhlTzNr

Responding to Tim Mackie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYqAUIkzPBE 

Is Trump restoring biblical values?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdjE2_vtoAM

 

“Religion and Morality” What did the founders mean? (Andrew Seidel; One Nation, Indivisible podcast Episode #017)

Andrew tackles Trump’s new Religious Liberty Commission, which had its first meeting at the Museum of the Bible and which focused heavily on the myths of Christian Nationalism, especially what the founders meant when they wrote of “religion and morality.” 

The assault on history continues with an under-the-radar story from NPR about letting the MAGA mob police the history at America’s parks and historic sites. 

Finally, Andrew wraps up with a look at the Southern Baptist Convention / SBC’s resolutions on marriage equality and Obergefell v. Hodges and delves into the question from episode 5: Could this Supreme Court overturn marriage equality? 

• Andrew’s debate with Mark David Hall is here: https://www.c-span.org/program/book-tv/influence-of-christianity-on-americas-founders/532002
• NPR reporting on on the National Park Service’s new signs: https://www.npr.org/2025/06/10/nx-s1-5429773/national-park-service-signs 
• A draft of the SBC resolutions is here: https://sbcannualmeeting.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2025-SBC-Daily-Bulletin-Tuesday-FINAL.pdf

Interview: 

https://www.podbean.com/ew/dir-hrgh6-260810cd

These evangelical men saved sex for marriage – they weren’t well prepared | Sex | The Guardian

Scores of Christian men have been raised on ideas of abstinence and 'purity' – what does that mean for their sex lives later on?…

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/jun/17/evangelical-sex-marriage 

 

"Biblical" Marriage

Love and marriage: it's an institute you can't disparage, as the great poet once said. There's a lot of talk these days about marriage. What it is, what it should be, and whether this or that kind of marriage counts as "biblical". So what is a biblical marriage, and perhaps more interestingly, is such a marriage something you would actually want?

But marriage is only one side of the coin. What happens when the relationship doesn't work out to plan? Does the Bible have anything to say about divorce, and if so... is it authoritative?
Interview: 

https://youtu.be/josnjFOYjrA?si=_HraNO7M5_gD_NaI

Abused

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bm_Ozma50Ao

Married or Single? (John Donvan; Open to Debate podcast)

Marriage has long been considered a goal to aspire to and a conventional path to happiness. But over the last few decades, the traditional view of marriage as the cornerstone of adult life has been questioned. Changes in economic conditions, gender roles, and cultural values have fueled a reevaluation of whether marriage is still desirable or necessary for personal fulfillment and social stability. 

Those who believe it’s better to get married argue that married individuals report better physical and mental well-being, compared to single adults. They also experience economic and social benefits. 

Those who believe it’s better to be single say singledom helps promote independence, allows individuals to make decisions freely, makes it likely to create broader social networks and communities, and feel more fulfilled than they would if they felt pressured to be partnered. 

Whether you are in a relationship or not, we debate the following prompt: Married or Single?

Interview: 

https://opentodebate.org/debate/married-or-single/

Opinion | Less Marriage, Less Sex, Less Agreement - The New York Times

The upshot, polling suggests, is that men are becoming grumpier and more resentful of women's success, and more drawn to conservative authoritarian populists, from Donald Trump to misogynist internet personalities like Andrew Tate. 

The Glocalities survey concluded that around the world the "radical right increasingly finds fertile ground among young men, which is already impacting elections." Representative Matt Gaetz suggested that it doesn't matter if Republicans antagonize female voters because they can be replaced by male voters...

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/29/opinion/marriage-sex-gender-divide.html

Trump team moves behind the scenes to shift the GOP platform on abortion and marriage

The Trump campaign and its allies are working to stop the party's right flank from getting key spots on the committee to write the Republican National Committee platform...

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/trump-team-shift-rnc-gop-platform-abortion-marriage-rcna152677

Marriage is not as effective an anti-poverty strategy as you’ve been led to believe

Policymakers know how to solve child poverty – and these measures are far more effective than efforts to put two married parents in every household…

https://theconversation.com/marriage-is-not-as-effective-an-anti-poverty-strategy-as-youve-been-led-to-believe-218682

Pope says LGBT blessings are for individuals, not approval of unions | Reuters

"When a couple comes forward spontaneously to ask for them, one does not bless the union, but simply the people who together have requested it. Not the union, but the persons," Francis said. 

Francis stressed that such blessings should not be given in a liturgical context. The document says they should be delivered discreetly and never with any of the pomp or ceremonial accoutrements found at weddings...

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/pope-says-lgbt-blessings-are-individuals-not-approval-unions-2024-01-26/

Advocates plan for battle as DeSantis preps 'Don't Say Gay' expansion

The measure, House Bill 1069, would also add additional restrictions for lessons about "human sexuality" through high school and require that "all school-aged students" are taught to abstain from sexual activity outside of marriage. 

Florida teachers would also be encouraged to promote "the benefits of monogamous heterosexual marriage" in reproductive health courses under the bill, which would also extend the ability to challenge school library books considered inappropriate for young readers to individuals nationwide…

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3939606-advocates-plan-for-battle-as-desantis-preps-dont-say-gay-expansion/

Texas property tax bill excludes divorced, LGBTQ couples from getting relief | The Hill

But the GOP-backed legislation does not propose granting tax relief to all Texas families, and only couples in heterosexual marriages are entitled to benefits. Couples with at least one partner who has been divorced are also ineligible. Couples who had or adopted children before they were married also can't use those children to improve their tax liability...

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/3882955-texas-property-tax-bill-excludes-divorced-lgbtq-couples-from-getting-relief/

Women Need To Marry, 'Settle Down,' So They Stop Voting For Democrats: Jesse Watters | HuffPost Latest News

As for Watters' own married life, he told a creepy story earlier this year on Fox about how he deliberately let air out of the tires of the car of his love interest Emma DeGiovine, who was a producer on his show, so he could offer her a ride. She hopped right in. "It worked like a charm," he gloated. .

Watters was married at the time to his first wife, Noelle Inguagiato, who filed for divorce over DeGiovine. Watters later married DeGiovine...

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jesse-watters-settle-down-democratic-women-voters_n_636d78ebe4b0ca9acf22a210

Fifty million people now trapped in modern slavery in a ‘surge of exploitation’ | Slavery | The Guardian

New estimates say the past five years has seen 10m more people enslaved and millions more children forced into early marriage…

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/sep/12/ten-million-more-people-now-trapped-in-slavery-report-says