Good Faith

Can You Really Change Your Brain by Changing Your Thoughts?
 
Neurosurgeon, Iraq War vet, and author Dr. Lee Warren shows Curtis Chang how to perform "self brain surgery"—no scalpel, just the brutal truth: your automatic thoughts are rewiring your brain every day, and a lot of them are lying to you. Curtis and Lee dig into neuroplasticity, why you keep looping the same stress scripts, how gratitude can hijack anxiety, and they connect the dots between brain science and faith as represented in Philippians 4 and Romans 12. If you're stuck in anxiety, trauma, or toxic patterns, this episode could be a wake-up call—and a way forward.
 
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02:38 - How Do Thoughts Reshape the Brain?
07:39 - Personal Story: Grieving and Neuroplasticity
11:08 - Philippians 4 and Neuroscience
18:01 - Gratitude as a Brain Switch
21:51 - Neuroscience vs. Classic Therapy
31:03 - Building New Habits and Synaptic Pruning
32:28 - The "Self" in Self Brain Surgery and the Holy Spirit
44:07) - Wisdom to Know What Can and Cannot Change
52:34 - Epigenetics and Generational Influence
56:49 - Final Word: Hope and Agency
 
Mentioned In This Episode:
Dr. Lee Warren's The Life-Changing Art of Self-Brain Surgery
Philippians 4:6–8 (ESV)
Romans 12:1–2 (ESV)
2 Corinthians 10:5 (ESV)
Romans 5:3–5 (ESV)
Deuteronomy 5:9-10 (ESV)
Summary: Study finds epigenetic changes in children of Holocaust survivors
Chris Voss's Never Split the Difference
The Original Serenity Prayer
 
More From Dr. Lee Warren:
Listen: The Dr. Lee Warren Podcast
Dr. Warren's website
Dr. Warren's  No Place to Hide
Dr. Warren's  Hope Is the First Dose
Dr. Warren's  I've Seen the End of You
 
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The Good Faith Podcast is a production of a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization that does not engage in any political campaign activity to support or oppose any candidate for public office. Any views and opinions expressed by any guests on this program are solely those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Good Faith.

Responding To The Minnesota Surge Leads To A Pastor's Arrest!
 
Curtis Chang sits down with Rev. Mariah Tollgaard for an on-the-ground look at ICE raids and immigration enforcement in Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota. They break down masked agents, rapid detentions, and MSP Airport deportation flights—plus the church-led pushback through mutual aid, constitutional observer trainings, and clergy protests that led to Reverend Tollgaard's arrest. It's a faith-and-civil-rights wake-up call: what neighbor-love demands when ICE shows up in your city, and why accountability matters.
 
03:11 - Setting the Scene: ICE Occupation in Minnesota
08:19 - How Are Churches and the Community Responding? 
00:10:24 - Faith-Based Activism, Public Witness, and Arrests of Faith Leaders 
15:46 - Theological Reflection on Resistance
17:55 - Biblical Basis for Protest 
24:25 - Minnesota's Unique Response and Context 
29:52 - Corporate Complicity and Airport Protests 
34:02 - Spiritual Courage Rooted In History
36:36 - A Call to National Solidarity 
38:48 - Closing Prayer
 
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Mentioned In This Episode:
How to Contact Your Elected Officials: Ballotpedia's Who Represents Me tool
Matthew 22:34-40 (ESV) - The Second Greatest Commandment
Ephesians 6:10–19 (ESV) - The Whole Armour of God
Hebrews 12:1-17 (ESV) - The Great Cloud of Witnesses
Nearly 30,000 Minnesotans trained as constitutional observers
In The Twin Cities, A Massive Strike Against ICE
Ernst Frenkel's The Dual State: A Contribution To The Theory Of Dictatorship (pdf)
David French: An Old Theory Helps Explain What Happened to Renee Good
Good Faith episode 215: David French: Dual State America and Authoritarianism - Renee Good and the Trump Administration
 
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The Good Faith Podcast is a production of a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization that does not engage in any political campaign activity to support or oppose any candidate for public office. Any views and opinions expressed by any guests on this program are solely those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Good Faith.

How Can Christians Turn Groans into Growth By Responding to Ecological Grief?
 
In this episode of the Good Faith Podcast, host Curtis Chang talks with Dr. Jonathan Moo, a decorated professor of both the New Testament and Environmental Studies, about why Christian creation care belongs at the center of discipleship. Drawing from Romans 8, Colossians 1, and Genesis 1–2, Moo connects biblical hope for new creation with practical action on climate change, stewardship, and loving our neighbors by caring for the places they depend on and enjoy. The conversation explores how faith and science can work together, why "dominion" looks like Christ-shaped service, and how small, local projects—from Uganda to Texas—offer tangible models of environmental renewal. Dr. Moo offers us a bigger vision of human flourishing, plus concrete next steps for Christians and churches to live joyfully and faithfully in God's world.
 
05:04 - How Do Jonathan Moo's Academic and Faith and Love for Creation Intersect?
07:51 - Romans 8 and Lament for Creation
17:38 - Salvation, Resurrection, and the Earth
22:08 - Practical Examples of Creation Care
27:01 - Motivating People To Move From Enjoying Nature To Actively Caring For It
31:24 - How Do We Address Interpretations of "Dominion"?
36:32 - Jesus as Model for Dominion
39:34 - Understanding Barriers Between Evangelicals and Science 
47:16 - Engaging with Skeptics and Loved Ones
53:25 - Advice for Skeptics 
55:11 - Practical Steps for the Environmentally Concerned
 
Episode Companion:
Christians and Climate Change Guide 2
 
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Mentioned In This Episode:
Tools, Websites, and Organizations
A Rocha USA
Bull Creek Restoration Project
Climate Stewards USA
 
Books and Authors
Learn more about Aldo Leopold
Learn more about Alister McGrath
Learn more about Evelyn Waugh
Learn more about Wendell Berry
Debra Rienstra's Refugia Faith: Seeking Hidden Shelters, Ordinary Wonders, and the Healing of the Earth
 
Biblical Passages
Colossians 1:15-20 (ESV)
Romans 8 (ESV)
Genesis 1 and 2 (ESV)
Mark 12:30-31 (ESV)
 
Concepts and Ideas
Carbon Calculator (use for offsets)
Bio Sand Filters
No Till Agriculture
Mulching and Crop Rotation
 
More From Dr. Jonathan Moo:
Jonathan & Douglas Moo's Creation Care: A Biblical Theology of the Natural World (Biblical Theology for Life)
More about Dr. Moo: Whitworth professor acts as a wilderness guide
A reminder of Dr. Moo's A.W.A.K.E. acronym
 
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The Good Faith Podcast is a production of a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization that does not engage in any political campaign activity to support or oppose any candidate for public office. Any views and opinions expressed by any guests on this program are solely those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Good Faith.

What Can Christians Do and Will It Work?
 
In this episode of the Good Faith Podcast, Curtis Chang and David French name what's happening to American democracy right now: "Dual State America," where life feels normal—until the Trump administration's lawless prerogative power snaps into place. From the Renee Good case to Orwellian spin and rising political violence, they trace how authoritarianism spreads by redefining reality and daring ordinary people not to resist. French's gut-check: stop waiting for someone else to save the country—do something your grandkids will recognize as courage.
 
02:40 - What Is The "Dual State"?
06:25 - What Does The Renee Good Shooting Show Us?
11:03 - Potential For Resistance and Change
15:32 - The Dangers of Rotating Elected Authoritarians 
20:03 - The "Gradually, Then Suddenly" Collapse
24:30 - What Can Individuals Do?
35:31 - The Risk and Uncertainty of Action
37:10 - Embracing Faithfulness Over Effectiveness
47:27 - Christians and The Integrity of Words
47:58 - What Sustains David French?
 

More about the Religious Landscape Study pewresearch.org/rls
 
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Mentioned In This Episode:
David French: An Old Theory Helps Explain What Happened to Renee Good
Ernst Frenkel's The Dual State: A Contribution To The Theory Of Dictatorship (pdf)
Ernst Frenkel's Legal Sabotage: Ernst Fraenkel in Hitler's Germany
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letters from a Birmingham Jail
George Orwell's 1984
Re-read the Declaration of Independence
Read The Loosening of American Evangelicalism (article)
 
 
More From David French:
David French's New York Times pieces HERE
Follow David French on Threads
 

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The Good Faith Podcast is a production of a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization that does not engage in any political campaign activity to support or oppose any candidate for public office. Any views and opinions expressed by any guests on this program are solely those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Good Faith.

The Rise of the "Nones" and the Politics Driving People Out of Church
 
In this episode of the Good Faith Podcast, Ryan Burge joins Curtis Chang to explore The Vanishing Church and the decline of moderate American congregations, using hard data and his lived experience as a longtime pastor, political scientist, and statistician. Ryan and Curtis explore how evangelicals, mainline Protestants, Catholics, and the religious "nones" are changing—and what that means for polarization, social cohesion, and democracy in America. Burge offers a practical challenge for the lonely or spiritually curious—show up to church even if you don't believe—and makes a case for gratitude and community in an anxious age.
 
06:25 - Evangelicals: Political Shift and Homogeneity
13:59 - Mainline Protestants: Decline and Diversity
19:06 - Aging and Future of Mainline Churches
23:05 - American Catholics: Stability and Rightward Shift
28:31 - Priest Shortages and Cultural Challenges
30:36 - The Rise of the Nones
31:25 - Political Drivers of Religious Disaffiliation
40:17 - Polarization: Politics and Economics
47:54 - Addressing Polarization: Individual Responsibility
50:23 - Advice for Pastors: Preaching Beyond Politics
52:31 - Signs of Hope and Gratitude
 
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Mentioned In This Episode:
Ryan Burge's The Vanishing Church: How the Hollowing Out of Moderate Congregations Is Hurting Democracy, Faith, and Us (Why the Culture Wars Led to Polarization and What We Can Do About It)
Read Ephesians 3:10 (ESV)
Read Colossians 1:16-18 (ESV)
Danforth Center on Religion and Politics
Ryan Burge, Michael Graham, and Jim Davis' The Great Dechurching: Who's Leaving, Why Are They Going, and What Will It Take to Bring Them Back?
More about Dorothy Day
 
More from Ryan Burge:
Substack: Graphs About Religion 
Follow Ryan on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/ryanburge
More about  Ryan Burge's work
 
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The Good Faith Podcast is a production of a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization that does not engage in any political campaign activity to support or oppose any candidate for public office. Any views and opinions expressed by any guests on this program are solely those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Good Faith.