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Understanding the Postmodern Mind and the Emerging Church

For the last six years I have been studying, wrestling with, evaluating, and teaching what has become popularly known as the “postmodernism” movement. Recent events have led...

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Understanding the Postmodern Mind and the Emerging Church

For the last six years I have been studying, wrestling with, evaluating, and teaching what has become popularly known as the “postmodernism” movement. Recent events have led...

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The New Prophets: Authority, Experience, and the Collapse of Trust

byC. Michael Patton

The New Prophets: Authority, Experience, and the Collapse of Trust

Podcast culture is telling us something—and it’s not just about who people are listening to, but why they trust them.

As voices like Joe Rogan and Shawn Ryan rise, trust in institutions continues to collapse. Government, media, and even scientific authorities are no longer seen as stable sources of truth. But this does not mean truth itself is disappearing. It means confidence in those who interpret and deliver truth is fading.

In this episode, I make a critical distinction: science isn’t collapsing—trust in interpreters of science is. Science is a method. But people don’t live by methods—they live by meaning. And when the messengers lose credibility, people begin looking elsewhere for something to anchor their understanding of reality.

The deeper issue is that we are no longer building complete worldviews. Instead, we are assembling beliefs like a playlist—pulling ideas from wherever they resonate without asking whether they actually fit together. But a real worldview must answer real questions: What is ultimate reality? How do we know anything? Are there real morals? What is our purpose? What happens after death?

When those questions go unanswered, a vacuum is created. And that vacuum never stays empty.

This is where the “new prophets” begin to emerge—not from institutions, but from experience. And in a world that no longer trusts shared authority, experience itself begins to take the throne.

This episode sets the stage for understanding how we got here—and why what replaces truth may be far more dangerous than what we lost.

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The New Prophets: Authority, Experience, and the Collapse of Trust

2026-04-08

C. Michael Patton

Israel, the Camaro, and the Faithfulness of God

2026-04-08

C. Michael Patton

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Theology Unplugged

The New Prophets: Authority, Experience, and the Collapse of Trust 2026-04-08
The New Prophets: Authority, Experience, and the Collapse of Trust Podcast culture is telling us something—and it’s not just about who people are listening to, but why they trust them. As voices like Joe Rogan and Shawn Ryan rise, trust in institutions continues to collapse. Government, media, and even scientific authorities are no longer seen […]
Israel, the Camaro, and the Faithfulness of God 2026-04-08
Israel, the Camaro, and the Faithfulness of God Can a promise from God mean more than the original hearer understood without meaning less than what God actually said? In this episode of Theology Unplugged, we look at one of the most important questions in biblical interpretation: how should Christians understand Old Testament promises in light […]