Can documentary filmmaking tell us anything useful about how to live our lives? Are people worth listening to for their own sake? And when is that film about Bart and his dad Tony going to be released?

These questions and others came up during Bart’s chat with his friend John Wright, the Northern Irish filmmaker working on the documentary With Whom I Am Well Pleased. The upcoming film is about Bart’s transition out of Christian faith, and his father’s response to it as a well-known Christian evangelist.

See the film’s trailer HERE and leave your email address on that page if you’d like to know about it when the film is ready to watch. John Wright’s personal website is HERE. Contact Bart HERE.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

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In this episode of Humanize Me, Bart reads a letter from a listener whose wife worked really hard over many months to get a coveted new job, only to have her mother attribute all her success to God instead. Bart responds.

To get in touch with Bart yourself, contact him HERE!

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Bart chats with Brian Kateman of the Reducetarian Foundation about his mission to help reduce our meat consumption by encouraging people to simply eat less meat. This exciting new movement is composed of individuals who have committed to eating less red meat, poultry, and seafood, whatever the degree or the motivation. Not everyone is willing to completely eliminate animal products from their diet, so it’s an appealing idea and Bart finds much common cause during this conversation.

Included in this episode:

• Effective Altruism and how to maximize the efficiency of your philanthropic work
• How Brian discovered explanations outside of religious ones, and became secular
• Some of the reasons people engage in the ‘reducetarian’ idea, and what the movement is about
• The similarities between reducetarianism with respect to eating meat and humanism with respect to religious belief
• Why the reducetarian movement is based on what works, rather than more abstract ideas
• How people can get involved

Visit Reducetarian.org for a great intro to the movement. Order Brian’s book, the Reducetarian Solution, HERE. Let Bart know what you think of this HERE. Rate us on iTunes please! Thanks and enjoy.

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Here’s a 20-minute episode from Bart Campolo on how to initiate conversations with people about life after religious belief, even when you live in the Bible Belt.

During the episode Bart mentions the Radiolab episode here: From Tree to Shining Tree.

Here’s a sample dinner invitation:

Dear Jojo,

This may seem strange, but for a long time I’ve been wanting to invite some friends over for dinner and a conversation about, well… about ways of pursuing goodness that have nothing to do with believing in God. I’ve been reading and listening to some inspiring stuff lately (link to a few examples), but I haven’t found many opportunities to talk with others who are thinking about how to make the most of their lives. Anyway, this may not be your thing at all, but if you’re interested, let me know. The date I have in mind is Friday, January 15, at 7pm at my place, 123 Main Street.

Your friend,

Bobo

Here’s one Bart and Marty actually used:

Hey You!

Listen, Marty and I are on our way to Michigan to visit her mom, but before we go I want to put an idea in your head and a date on your calendar.

For nearly two years now, while I’ve been building up the humanist chaplaincy at USC and Marty’s been managing operations for Friends in Deed in Pasadena, both us have been desperately missing our little close-knit fellowship back in Cincinnati. It was nothing fancy, mind you; just a weekly potluck dinner with some thoughtful conversation, a short, inspirational message, and a few goofy games to bring the group together and keep the kids happy. Even so, we ended up with lots of great, family-style relationships.

Anyway, we’re tired of waiting for the Magic Fairy of Community, and so we’ve decided to just dig in and use that same formula here in LA, for us and anyone else who wants to feel more meaningfully connected. Think of it as a low-maintenance church for people aiming to be good without talking about God. Or don’t, if that freaks you out. Either way, if you like the idea of a intentionally building a new circle of friends, we’d love for you to join us. If not, however, don’t worry about it. I think we’ve got the makings of a nice little group already.

We’re going to start off with a potluck picnic at this spot (link to location map) in Griffith Park on Sunday, July 10 at 5 – 7pm and keep doing it weekly after that. Marty and I don’t expect anyone – including ourselves – to show up every Sunday, but we know better than to think people can get close-knit without seeing each other regularly.

I’ll close with love, because that’s what we’re after.

Love,

Bart

Good luck![/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

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Once in a while, we run into people who we have so much in common with, it’s an instant connection and leads to a long conversation. This is one such conversation, between two well-known progressive Christian ministers who both stopped believing in God in recent years and left Christianity in public ways.

Although Bart Campolo and Jim Mulholland share many aspects of their stories with each other, some of the ways they have journeyed since leaving faith are different. Listen in on Bart’s conversation with Jim, which includes some talk about:

• Why Bart and Jim respectively left Christianity
• What to call themselves now that they’re no longer Christians
• Why Bart and Jim’s experiences of leaving Christianity are so different in certain ways
• Jim’s marriage at the time, and to what extent his transition played a part in it ending
• How ‘walking with God’ really means ‘walking alone’ and how to adjust to knowing that
• How happiness is a fundamental instinct and tends to be where the search for meaning begins
• Allowing those you love to go beyond you, ideologically
• Whether certain psychoactive drugs can be used to provide experiences that will help people
• Death and mortality, and how to think about the end

Check out Jim’s website at LeavingYourReligion.com, and his book Leaving Your Religion: A Practical Guide to Becoming Non-Religious is available HERE. To get in touch with Bart, go HERE.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

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Your life is going to end someday. How do you live when you know life is finite? In this clip, Bart Campolo and Hemant Mehta talk about the moments of connection, awareness and sensation that make life worth living to its fullest.

It starts with a question by Hemant, recorded for his own podcast last summer: Why has the military had such a hard time adjusting to the idea of Humanist chaplains? Bart replies that he suspects that military chaplaincies have a lot to do with helping people deal with death, and they don’t see what nonreligious people could offer on that subject. He adds that some of that perception is valid, because “if there’s one thing I haven’t seen the secular community do well, it’s to help people face death.”

That leads to a conversation about the subject of life’s inevitable ending, and how secular people should think about that. Life is infinitely valuable, especially in its finitude, argues Bart. Listen to the episode for more thoughts along those lines.

Listen to Hemant’s great podcast The Friendly Atheist HERE. Get in touch with Bart HERE with any thoughts on this or any episode of Humanize Me, and if you want to help Bart reach more people with this podcast, please rate us on iTunes.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]

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