As a species, we humans traditionally do not handle paradoxical tensions well. Whether in the individual human soul or in relationship to each other, our failure to understand the wisdom of certain tensions and learn how to balance them well inevitably leads to war. History bears all the scars of our repeated cycles of war and peace (or breaks from war). We live in a moment of history where unbridled power, cruelty, dehumanization, and a collective insanity are exerting themselves in a way that is overwhelming, violent, deadly, callous, and indifferent. In this episode I explore the aspects of power and eros, what each of them has to offer us, and why these two energies are diametrically opposed to each other.

Philosophers, theologians, and storytellers alike have been grappling with the phenomenon of the 'Self' since time immemorial, trying to describe what it is and what it is not. We all experience the paradoxical sensations of both separateness and unity. The Tale of the Half-Man is an exploration into what happens when part of a unified whole chooses to separate itself and make itself a distinction. In the case of this story, taken out of a chapter of my book, "The Fire That Never Dies: Dragons of the West," and retold here; it is envisioned within the context of a paradoxical tension between the archetypal energies of the "Divine Femine" and "Divine Masculine," and how the tension between the two offers us many choices on what to do with it, and the implications of those choices.

In this final chapter of my religious deconstruction journey, I talk about how my relationship with the faith and religion of my past looks and feels today, particularly in the context of tumultuous social and political upheaval in the United States. I acknowledge both the gifts I have received from the faith and religious community of my past, as well as a continued and growing anger and frustration in the face of the rising popularity of Christian Nationalism. I also express my raw and candid thoughts about the institutions that have seeded and nurtured the obsession to replace liberal democracy with religious theocracy and oligarchy, such as the Religious Right and the Moral Majority in America. Originating in the early 70's, they have together formed a religious/political super PAC, and have been the vehicle for neo-conservative think tanks such as Focus On the Family and the Heritage Foundation, the group responsible for the drafting of the "Project 2025" document/manifesto.