EPISODE 73 - The Church and Therapeutic Culture with Albert Norton

Josh Bowman welcomes Albert Norton back to the show. Bert is a practicing attorney and author of several books on the tension between religion and postmodernism. Today, we specifically consider how understanding this tension might inform the life of modern churches and intellectual discipleship. 

His most recent book is The Discovered Self, concerning what he regards as a dangerous inward turn to the therapeutic worldview. We previously discussed his 2023 book, The Mountain and the River: Genesis, Postmodernism, and the Machine, in Episode 40. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXdva8y7ghs&list=PL1B7f66VCvfZnkwh_UjXjhXEg5P8dUq0q&index=32   

Our conversation addresses themes of postmodernism, universals and particulars, ideology, totalitarianism, fascism, epistemology, Christian intellectuals in the church, and much more.

Bert’s substack, “Sir Toast” - https://albertnorton.substack.com/ 

The Mountain and the River - https://www.amazon.com/Mountain-River-Genesis-Postmodernism-Machine/dp/1943003815?ref_=ast_author_dp 

The Discovered Self - https://www.amazon.com/Discovered-Self-Identity-Therapeutic-Age-ebook/dp/B0F1V4LL7B?ref_=ast_author_dp 

Check out Bert’s reflections on the 2025 Ciceronian Society conference here: https://albertnorton.substack.com/p/the-ciceronian-society 

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The 2026 Ciceronian Society Conference will be held March 12-14 at Creighton University in Omaha, NE.  

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