The SkyePod - Air Mail

Summary

The SkyePod - Air Mail Episode Summary

Release Date: July 25, 2025
Host: Skye Jethani
Producer: Mike Strehlow

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In this engaging "Airmail" episode of The SkyePod, host Skye Jethani and producer Mike Strehlow delve into a variety of listener-submitted questions, offering deep insights into topics ranging from pop culture debates to theological discussions. Below is a detailed summary of the key points, enriched with notable quotes and timestamps to guide you through the conversation.

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1. Star Wars Trilogies Debate

Timestamp: 01:04 – 07:57

The episode kicks off with a challenging question from a listener named Philip, who asks Skye to choose between watching the Star Wars prequel trilogy or the sequel trilogy—both of which he describes as less favorable compared to the original trilogy.

• Skye's Perspective:

  • Critical Analysis: Skye expresses his disdain for both trilogies but finds the prequels slightly more coherent due to their alignment with George Lucas's original vision. He cites specific inconsistencies, such as the portrayal of the Jedi and their attire, which "has so many things that don't line up properly that annoy me" ([03:28]).
  • Quote: "I think the prequel trilogy had consistency with Star Wars mythology, even though it's terrible" ([02:56]).

• Mike's Take:

  • Sequel Trilogy Critique: Mike shares his disappointment with the sequel trilogy, particularly criticizing the treatment of iconic characters like Luke Skywalker. He likens the sequels to "improv on a $400 million budget" ([06:29]).
  • Hope for the Future: Both agree on the potential for a future reevaluation of the Star Wars saga, hoping for a reboot that honors the original trilogy without the baggage of previous iterations.

2. Handling Doubts in Christian Faith

Timestamp: 08:01 – 16:51

A listener named Maddie poses a profound question about reconciling biblical passages where Jesus rebukes individuals for lacking faith with the contemporary Christian understanding that doubts and questions are acceptable and even beneficial for faith growth.

• Skye's Insight:

  • Contextual Understanding: Skye argues that many of the supposed rebukes are actually reassurances. For instance, when Gabriel tells Mary "don't be afraid" ([09:40]), it's not a condemnation of fear but a comforting assurance.
  • John the Baptist Example: He references Luke 7, explaining how Jesus responded with compassion to John the Baptist's doubts, highlighting that doubts are met with understanding rather than condemnation.
  • Quote: "I think he [Jesus] has compassion for our doubts and tries to help us in our doubt" ([11:00]).

• Mike's Contribution:

  • Contrasting Old and New Testament Approaches: Mike contrasts the Israelites' often condemned doubts in the Old Testament with the New Testament's more compassionate approach, emphasizing that genuine, honest doubt is not frowned upon.
  • Childlike Faith: He references a discussion on having a "childlike faith," associating it with curiosity and the natural tendency to ask questions, which aligns with the idea that doubt can coexist with strong faith.

3. Reading and Preparing for Interviews

Timestamp: 17:03 – 23:40

Bruce from the audience inquires about Skye's method for reading the extensive list of books discussed during interviews on the podcast.

• Skye's Strategies:

  • Selective Reading: Skye emphasizes that he only reads books he is genuinely interested in, which transforms the reading process from a chore into an enjoyable activity.
  • Academic Techniques: Drawing from his seminary education, he employs skimming techniques to grasp the main arguments and decide which sections merit a deeper read.
  • Collaborative Efforts: With Mike Strehlow assisting by summarizing books, Skye manages his reading load more effectively, especially while working on his own book, "World Born in You."
  • Quote: "I choose books I want to read, so I can ask in-depth questions and respect the author's work" ([19:48]).

• Challenges and Adaptations:

  • Handling Poorly Written Books: Early in his career, Skye recounts instances where he had to cancel interviews due to the poor quality of a book, reinforcing the importance of selective reading.
  • Evolving Responsibilities: As Skye becomes busier with writing his own book, he adjusts by reducing the number of book-focused interviews, allowing more time for quality reading.

4. Conversion to Catholicism through Early Church Fathers

Timestamp: 24:21 – 27:34

Meg shares a personal story about a friend raised in a Protestant evangelical home who, after studying early Church Fathers like Augustine and Aquinas, converted to Roman Catholicism. She seeks understanding of this significant theological shift.

• Skye's Analysis:

  • Exclusive Language: Skye points out the crucial term in Meg's question: "the only faithful way." He suggests that this exclusive stance may stem from a "convert zeal," where positive experiences in another tradition can lead to a rigid belief in its superiority.
  • Appreciating Diversity: While acknowledging the friend's genuine spiritual awakening within Catholicism, Skye cautions against universalizing this experience as the singular path for all Christians.
  • Quote: "To make Catholicism necessary or normative for everyone is where it probably goes too far" ([27:19]).

• Educational Clarification:

  • Differences Between Catholicism and Protestantism: Although the transcript cuts off before Skye provides a detailed comparison, he hints at addressing foundational theological distinctions to help listeners understand the nature of such conversions.

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This episode of The SkyePod offers listeners a thoughtful exploration of complex topics, blending cultural critique with deep theological reflection. Skye and Mike's candid conversation not only addresses the questions at hand but also provides a model for engaging thoughtfully with both pop culture and matters of faith.

Transcript

[Sky Jutani]

Foreign. Hello, and welcome to the Sky Pod, brought to you by Holy Post Media. I'm Sky Jutani. I'm joined by our producer today, Mike Strehlow. Hey, Mike.

[Mike Strehlow]

Hey, Sky. How are you?

[Sky Jutani]

Good. Heading out of town tomorrow? Mini vacation.

[Mike Strehlow]

Where are you going?

[Sky Jutani]

Cape Cod.

[Mike Strehlow]

Wow, fancy.

[Sky Jutani]

Yeah, I've never been there.

[Mike Strehlow]

You gonna eat some crab or lobster?

[Sky Jutani]

No, I will not.

[Mike Strehlow]

Why? Why?

[Sky Jutani]

Because I don't eat sea bugs, Sky. I like fish. I'm into fish.

[Mike Strehlow]

Okay.

[Sky Jutani]

Not bugs.

[Mike Strehlow]

But not bugs.

[Sky Jutani]

Right. Exoskeleton.

[Mike Strehlow]

No crab, no lobsters, no coffee. I mean, I just worry about you sometimes, Sky.

[Sky Jutani]

I don't know. Just keeping my kosher options open. All right, all right. We're here to do an airmail episode. That's an episode where we take questions from Holy Post plus subscribers, listeners, whoever. Mike, you've got a slate of questions. You're here to represent the audience. Hold my feet to the fire. Challenge my answers.

[Mike Strehlow]

No dodging these questions.

[Sky Jutani]

No dodging.

[Mike Strehlow]

Okay, first one, Serve them up. All right. From Philip. This is just kind of mean. Philip, if you had to watch one Star wars trilogy that's not the original trilogy, would you watch the prequel or the sequel?

[Sky Jutani]

Oh, it is mean. This is like, would you rather be shot or poisoned?

[Mike Strehlow]

Okay. I mean, they're not that bad, Sky.

[Sky Jutani]

No, but it's a choice between two terrible things.

[Mike Strehlow]

That's. That is accurate, right? I mean, I.

[Sky Jutani]

You're dying. Either way. It's just one.

[Mike Strehlow]

Either way.

[Sky Jutani]

Okay, means of the.

[Mike Strehlow]

All of these movies that you don't like, is there one that you're like, well, that one's not bad.

[Sky Jutani]

I think the Force Awakens wasn't terrible.

[Mike Strehlow]

Wasn't terrible. I was gonna say I enjoyed the Force Awakens.

[Sky Jutani]

The Force Awakens had potential. I. I didn't like how derivative it was.

[Mike Strehlow]

Yes.

[Sky Jutani]

But it had potential. Okay. And then it all went.

[Mike Strehlow]

Okay.

[Sky Jutani]

Downhill.

[Mike Strehlow]

And then of these six movies, which was the worst one? What was the lowest low?

[Sky Jutani]

Oh, my goodness. I. I think it. There. There's E2 that are equally low, but for different reasons. Okay. I think the Last Jedi was really low because it just crapped all over the Star wars mythology and characters and betrayed what had been built up to that point. And the Clone Wars Attack of the Clones was bad because it's just terribly written and bad. Bad filmmaking. So. Okay, here's how I would. Here's how I'd put it. I think the sequel trilogy had better acting, better dialogue, and had individual scenes that were good.

[Mike Strehlow]

Yeah.

[Sky Jutani]

Okay.

[Mike Strehlow]

Okay.

[Sky Jutani]

But I felt like the prequel trilogy, though. Terrible. Was coherent. And because it actually came from George Lucas had some consistency with Star wars mythology.

[Mike Strehlow]

Yeah.

[Sky Jutani]

And I still think it's terrible. I think it's a shame that George Lucas didn't go back and watch his own original trilogy before he wrote the prequels, because there's so many things that don't line up properly that annoy me.

[Mike Strehlow]

Do you think they don't line up, or he just changed his mind on it?

[Sky Jutani]

I don't know. I have never talked to the man. But, like, I'll give you a couple of examples. One, probably the biggest one that annoys me is when you watch the original trilogy, it makes it sound like the Jedi are some ancient, forgotten, folklorish kind of religion. And yet in the prequels, they're all over the place, and everyone knows who the Jedi are, and they're like a huge dominant force in the universe. It was 20 years earlier. 20 years.

[Mike Strehlow]

A lot can happen in 20 years later.

[Sky Jutani]

That's one. Another one is in the original trilogy, Obi Wan is wearing the same clothing as Uncle Owen because they all live on Tatooine. They're just like these robes that people apparently, on Tatooine wear. Then you get to the prequel trilogy, and all the Jedi are wearing those robes. Why?

[Mike Strehlow]

Because they're all from Tatooine.

[Sky Jutani]

No, they're not. And even in Return of the Jedi, Luke has a completely different outfit. He looks like a priest, basically, wearing black and white, and he's a Jedi. But the Jedi uniform in the prequels is always these robes that moisture farmers on Tatooine were wearing, which makes no sense.

[Mike Strehlow]

He's flirting with joining the dark side. That's why he.

[Sky Jutani]

I know, but I'm just saying, like, those kinds of things drove me nuts that he. There's multiple other pieces, like. Whatever. Okay. To answer the question, though.

[Mike Strehlow]

Yes, you have to answer it. Which one?

[Sky Jutani]

Honestly, I think I'd probably watch the prequels. Wow. Even though I think they're really terribly made. The reason I would watch it is because watching the prequels doesn't completely ruin the original trilogy. And I feel like the sequel trilogy does because it ruins some of the characters, especially Luke, and it's just so derivative.

[Mike Strehlow]

All right, the people don't care, but I don't want to defend the sequel trilogy because I just don't care very much. But I've always thought how upset people got about the treatment of Luke and his character arc and how terrible they think it is. I don't buy it. I You like, I feel like I know so many people who started out idealistic in their life. Got old, something happened and they became a cynical old man.

[Sky Jutani]

Fine.

[Mike Strehlow]

So like, I don't think it's inconsistent in Luke's character.

[Sky Jutani]

I think if that were the only sin of the sequel trilogy, I probably could have figured it out. I could have dealt with it. But it was just so disjointed and not planned out in advance. I felt like Rian Johnson must have some vendetta against J.J. abrams. Cause J.J. abrams comes in and Lawrence Kasdan and they write the Force Awakens and they put all these kind of macguffins and Easter eggs and mystery boxes or whatever the heck he calls them. Like these unknown things like who's Snoke and how did Kylo Renan do all these things? And then Rian Johnson comes in for the next movie and takes all of them and just destroys them because there.

[Mike Strehlow]

Was no answer to them. Sky.

[Sky Jutani]

But he didn't have to. He could have come up with answers number one. But he takes the main villain of the whole sequel and kills him and.

[C]

Then leaves the third movie with nowhere.

[Sky Jutani]

To go, nothing to do. I mean, it was just such a mess. Yes, it was like improv on a $400 million budget. And it's fine if you have a couple goofballs on a stage improv in one night, but not with $400 million and a 40 year old legacy that you're trying to have continuity with.

[Mike Strehlow]

I mean, I do remember being shocked when. Not surprised, I guess, but still shocked that Disney thought it was a good idea to relaunch Star wars, spend all this money, one of their most popular famous franchises, and not have an outline for the three movies. That's absurd.

[Sky Jutani]

I think they were so eager to start getting a return on their investment that they pushed through these movies before they were ready and. And destroyed the value of the thing they had just bought. Yeah, they've made so many horrible mistakes with it.

[Mike Strehlow]

And at least Andor's good.

[Sky Jutani]

Andor is really good.

[Mike Strehlow]

Yeah, we just finished that.

[Sky Jutani]

It's really, really good. Here's my hope. I hope that someday after George Lucas is gone, after this whole. Even after the younger, the original generation of Star wars fans are gone. Like my generation's gone. I hope someone comes along and is like, you know what? Enough time has passed. Let's redo the prequels and let's maybe even redo the sequel. Like pretend those movies do not exist and let's keep the original trilogy and make Something really good, because I understand why you can't do it right now, but it's just begging to be done. And someday, maybe it will be.

[Mike Strehlow]

Maybe someday. Okay, I think we answered that one.

[Sky Jutani]

We did. I'm sorry for everyone who's never tuned into this show before and started with.

[Mike Strehlow]

That question, especially not a Star wars podcast.

[Sky Jutani]

You got me on my soapbox. I had to say it.

[Mike Strehlow]

All right, moving on. Maddie has a question. There has been a lot of talk lately in the Christian circles I'm in about how doubts are fine, that God can handle our doubts and questions, and that doubts and questions ultimately grow our faith. This is a nice change from the history of shaming doubt in the church. However, I struggle with passages in the Gospels where it appears that Jesus rebukes people for not having enough faith. How do you reconcile these rebukes with the idea that God can handle our doubts and questions?

[Sky Jutani]

That's a great question.

[Mike Strehlow]

First.

[Sky Jutani]

I mean, there are many thoughts that come into my mind with this. First of all, Christian communities that shame people for doubting tend to be fundamentalist in. In their temperament. And that brings a whole lot of other baggage with it. So I think that's problematic. Number two, while there are some texts where I think Jesus rebukes people for their lack of faith, I don't think most of those texts are being read properly. I think we assume rebuke, where what Jesus, I think, is actually saying is not don't doubt. He's saying, you don't have to doubt. And in many cases, it's, why are you afraid? Why do you fear?

[Mike Strehlow]

Do you have a specific one in mind?

[Sky Jutani]

Well, that's a good one to keep in mind. Well, I mean, the Nativity story where Gabriel shows up and says to Mary, don't be afraid. Right. Is he rebuking her for feeling afraid? No, he's saying, you don't have anything to fear because I'm not here to harm you. God's not against you. He's actually for you. So a lot of the do not be afraid or why do you doubt kind of things are not, I think, meant to rebuke. They're meant to reassure, like, you don't have to doubt. You don't have to be afraid. Putting all that aside, though, I think one of the most powerful stories of doubt in the Gospels and Jesus response to is really interesting is in Luke, chapter seven. This is when John the Baptist is in prison and he sends his disciples to Jesus, saying, are you really the one? And put it in context, John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit from before the time he was born. His birth was a miracle, Right? Even before Mary, the angel appeared to Zechariah and they couldn't have children, all that. So his birth was a miracle. He was filled with the Holy Spirit from birth before he was born. While he's still in Elizabeth's womb, he acknowledges the presence of the Messiah when the pregnant Mary shows up.

[Mike Strehlow]

And Jesus called him the greatest one to ever live.

[Sky Jutani]

Yes, Jesus called him the greatest one. He was the first one to properly identify Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. I mean, it goes on and on, like his spiritual pedigree is insane. Right? And yet when he's in Herod's prison, he doubts. Now, given that pedigree and the doubting, you would think when Jesus hears that John is doubting, are you really the one? This is as justifiable a case of Jesus being upset with somebody for doubting as can be. Like he could have said, john, come on, given all that you've seen, all that you've experienced, all that you know, the presence of the Spirit, like you, of all people, shame on you for doubting. That's not what he does. Instead, he says to John's disciples, go back and tell him what you've seen, and quotes this wonderful passage about, you know, the blind see, the lame walk, the deaf hear, the good news is preached to the poor. And what Jesus is essentially saying is, John can't see because of his really dire circumstances. He's stuck in Herod's prison. So you, his friends, need to be his eyes for him. Jesus responds with an enormous amount of compassion on John's doubt and tries to help him in his doubt. If that's Jesus response to John's doubting, I think he has compassion for ours. And you see this even in the New Testament. In the Book of Jude, which is only one chapter, it's verse 22, I think, says, have compassion on those who doubt or have mercy on those who doubt. So that, I think, is the posture we see in Jesus. It's the posture we see in the New Testament. And again, I don't have nearly the spiritual pedigree that John did. So I think when I doubt because of my circumstances, Jesus responds the same way. One, you don't have to doubt. I'm here. Two, you need the help of others in your doubt. And rather than rebuking me for my doubt, I think he empathizes with it.

[Mike Strehlow]

How would you contrast that experience of John the Baptist to the Old Testament stories of the Israelites, where the Israelites often did doubt God and God often got angry for them or sorry. And God often got angry at them and would rebuke them. So what's the difference between the Israelites and John the Baptist?

[Sky Jutani]

Good question. First of all, I think God gave certain instructions to the Israelites to help them in their doubt. Right. Stones of remembrance, tell these stories to your children. Keep these scriptures on your door frames and heads and, you know, day and night, like he told them, here's what you do to keep remembering my presence and goodness. Kind of what Jesus is saying to John is like, John can't see. Go and tell him, remind him. We need community. We need the help of others in the midst of our doubts. And I think the rebuke comes more in the Old Testament when God's people don't just doubt, but deliberately abandon him to pursue other gods and false deities and ways that. So I think it's more than doubt that's going on there. It's rebellion.

[Mike Strehlow]

Yeah.

[Sky Jutani]

It'd be different if John the Baptist, when he's in Herod's prison, decides, you know what, I'm actually going to throw my lot in with Herod. I'm going to switch sides here. That would have brought a rebuke from Jesus, but that's not what happened.

[Mike Strehlow]

Yeah, it's funny, I actually just preached on all of this this last week at my church. Preached on doubt, talked about John the Baptist, we talked about Israelites. And then the other one, the other very famous doubt passage, Mark 9. The Father with the. The demon possessed son.

[Sky Jutani]

Yeah.

[Mike Strehlow]

Who? And. And that is a passage where Jesus rebukes him, rebukes his disciples for their lack of faith, for not being able to drive out the demons. And the Father comes to Jesus and says, if you can do this, please heal my son. And Jesus immediately picks up on if. And the man has the perfect response. I want to believe. Help me overcome my unbelief.

[Sky Jutani]

Yeah.

[Mike Strehlow]

And I. For me, it's this reminder that our posture around doubt is everything. If we're like the Israelites and we're complaining and kind of basically saying, God, prove yourself to me.

[Sky Jutani]

Right.

[Mike Strehlow]

That's no good. But if our doubt comes from really, like, a lack of imagination. I'm sure this father has spent years, years and years looking for a cure for his son, who woke up every day terrified of how his son might harm himself that day, what he might do. And I'm sure he went to every doctor and every witch doctor trying to find someone who could heal him. And so when he saw Jesus, when he heard about Jesus, he was like, maybe this is the guy, or maybe I'm just going to be disappointed again. And. And Jesus picks up on it. And the man doesn't say, well, heal my son and get rid of my doubt, but just says, well, help me overcome this unbelief. And I just think, like, when we doubt God's goodness because of a lack of imagination, God meets us with graciousness over and over again.

[Sky Jutani]

I think the commonality in that story of the Father and John in Luke 7 is they're both honest. Yeah, they both tell the truth. They admit it. I think if people are worried that God doesn't like our doubts, you know, what he really doesn't like is our fakeness is pretending we don't have doubt or pretending we're full of faith when in fact we have doubts. So that Father, with such honesty says, I believe. Help me. I don't entirely believe, like, that kind of transparency. It's what Jesus says to the Samaritan woman in John 4, that the Father desires those who worship him in spirit and truth. The truth he's talking about. There is honesty to admit the truth about ourselves. So if you are in a community that shames doubt, all you're really doing is being taught how to be fake.

[Mike Strehlow]

Yeah.

[Sky Jutani]

How to fake your faith. And that's far more egregious in God's sight than just being honest about the questions, doubts, fears you have.

[Mike Strehlow]

Yeah. And I love. We, Mike, Yuri and Caitlin just did an episode on Doubt for Kirsa, Caitlyn, and they both pointed out how, you know, Jesus calls us to have a childlike faith. Well, do you know what kids are really good at? Asking questions.

[Sky Jutani]

Right.

[Mike Strehlow]

Being curious and, and. And that. That. That having a childlike faith doesn't mean a simplistic faith, that we just believe everything we're told, but we ask questions and we're curious and we pursue our doubts because, yeah, I've got three little boys and they don't stop asking questions.

[Sky Jutani]

It's fun, though.

[Mike Strehlow]

It's every day. It is fun. All right, next one here. This is kind of an inside baseball question, but interesting from Bruce. How do you read all the books you discuss in your interviews? Do you take speed reading classes, have a system to skim through them, or have people who read and summarize them for you? I've always been a reader, and I can read faster than the average person, but there's no way I could talk about all the books you discuss.

[Sky Jutani]

All right. Yeah. This is an inside baseball question. So a couple things. First of all, we are fortunate to be at a place at Holy Post Media where I'm really only interviewing people I want to interview, which means I'm only reading the books I actually want to read. That helps immensely because it's not homework at that point. It's like, oh, I want to read this book. So that's good. 2. You went to seminary. I've been to seminary. You have to read thousands of pages a semester in seminary. And you learn, when necessary, how to skim, how to get the gist of an argument. So when I need to, I can speed read a little bit. And I have done that in some cases. Like, there are some popular books that you get to a chapter, you get the main idea of the chapter, and then you realize, oh, the next third or two thirds of this chapter is just a story that's illustrating the point. And I can decide whether or not I need to spend the time reading the illustration when I've got the point. So there's some of those skills that are at play. But for the most part, because I'm reading books I really want to read, I just read the books. Now, a couple other things. I am doing fewer book interviews than I used to. Caitlin's doing some. I'm interviewing other people about things that aren't just books, which frees up space in my time to read a book. I also, in the last couple months, have gotten super busy. Cause I'm writing a book, my own book, which is the World Born in youn, which is available for Holy Post plus subscribers, being released every month as a serial. Some of you know that.

[Mike Strehlow]

And an audio version.

[Sky Jutani]

And an audio version. But that's, like, eaten up a lot more of my time. And that means I don't have as much bandwidth to read actual books. So. True confession, you have helped me on.

[Mike Strehlow]

A couple of books, but just a couple. So, yeah, I helped you out on two.

[Sky Jutani]

Two books.

[Mike Strehlow]

I read the book you read.

[Sky Jutani]

And you summarized and wrote up summaries for me before an interview. Yes. But you're right. It's been two books.

[Mike Strehlow]

Yes. For the entire, what, two and a half years I've been here. You have read every other book. I mean, it's the one thing that I'm going to brag about you, sky, that, like, sets you apart. I'll have publicists who will try to get their author on the next week. And I'm just like, well, sky needs time to read the book?

[Sky Jutani]

Yeah.

[Mike Strehlow]

And they're like, what do you mean, read the book? No one reads the book. And I was like, no, we. We read the book over here. And Caitlin does too.

[Sky Jutani]

Yeah. I think one of the. There's a couple of reasons for that. One, I'm an author. I do interviews in other places, and I get kind of bored with people who don't read my book. And when we get sent books from publishers and publicists, they always have a couple pages of press release information about the author, stuff about the book, and then they usually have suggested interview questions. And that's what most podcasts and radio programs and TV shows, that's what they do. They just read the questions that they were given. They don't actually know the book. I've been on the receiving end of that so many times, and I hated it. And so I wanted to actually serve our audience by reading the book so I can ask in depth questions. And secondly, I wanted to respect the author. I mean, again, I'm on the other end of this. You put a lot of time into writing a book. You want someone to read it. And actually there's a lot of really crappy books out there. So I'm not pretending like I would be able to do this if every book I was reading was garbage. But I'm choosing again the books I want to read, so that helps a lot. And over the years, there have been a couple of times, I think, where I've had an author on the show, most of the time, they're really happy when they get the questions I have for them because it shows I read it. There have been a few cases where authors I think were caught off guard.

[Mike Strehlow]

Maybe because they didn't read the book that they supposedly wrote.

[Sky Jutani]

Possibly they were caught off guard that I was asking him questions that had to do with in depth details of their book. And they didn't know how to answer them either because they weren't prepared. They're not good on their toes. They wrote the book a year and a half earlier, forgot about it. Or they didn't write it.

[Mike Strehlow]

Yeah.

[Sky Jutani]

And it was ghost written. And they got sideways with me because they weren't prepared.

[Mike Strehlow]

We won't name names.

[Sky Jutani]

No, we won't.

[Mike Strehlow]

Speaking of not naming names, has there ever been a time, I don't. I truly don't know the answer to this, where you agreed to do an interview for the show, started reading the book, and realized halfway through, there's no way we're having this person on?

[Sky Jutani]

Well, honestly, some people might remember if you go way back in the very first book we ever did for the book club.

[Mike Strehlow]

Okay.

[Sky Jutani]

You weren't here yet.

[Mike Strehlow]

Nope.

[Sky Jutani]

Oh, gosh. We selected a book, and based on what I knew about the author and what I knew about the publisher and what I knew about the topic, I thought, oh, this is a perfect fit. And we sent the book out to the Holy Post. Plus subscribers who are eligible for the book club, all that sort of stuff. And then I actually started reading the book, and I was, like, horrified, Horrified. And we actually ended up canceling it.

[Mike Strehlow]

Wow.

[Sky Jutani]

And then had to. It was a mess. So, yeah, that was a mistake. So that's the one that comes to my mind that's pretty vivid now. There have definitely been some books, especially in the earlier years, where we were getting what we could get. And I read. I'm like, oh, my gosh, this is bad.

[Mike Strehlow]

Yeah.

[Sky Jutani]

I remember one book, again, won't name names, that it just flat out contradicted itself. You know, one part of the book, it's making one argument, another part of the book's being there. And I brought this up in the interview to the person. That was one of those times where the author got very flustered. But, yeah, there's been some bad books. And sometimes I just. It's almost so bad. It's a little bit going back to Star Wars. Like, sometimes you just. Something is such a train wreck, you have to finish it because you're like, how could this get worse? Oh, it did. So. But that really doesn't happen anymore because I'm picking books I want to read.

[Mike Strehlow]

We get to be pickier. I mean, it's crazy how many books we get pitched. My inbox gets filled up every week with requests to be on. And unfortunately, we have to say no to a lot of those people, even though there's some good books out there. The other tip I learned, or I was taught in college, is if you read the introduction of the book and then end the conclusion, and you could probably get away with skimming the chapters or really only a lot of books, you can read just the first half of the book and then they just repeat themselves after that. And so it's a way. It depends on what the purpose is for your reading, that if you're just trying to consume some information, it's a quick way to get through books. I wouldn't recommend it for personal reading.

[Sky Jutani]

You know, I also did this a lot when I was at Christianity Today because we got stacks of books sent to us. Everyone wanted to be reviewed or interviewed or whatever. And in that role, I just learned there were a lot of books that were published which really should have just been an article.

[Mike Strehlow]

Yeah.

[Sky Jutani]

And then you realize there's articles out there that should have just been a blog post. And there are blog posts that's just been maybe a tweet.

[Mike Strehlow]

Yeah.

[Sky Jutani]

And a whole heck of a lot of tweets that just never should have been posted ever. So I think there's a little bit of a business issue behind this where someone has an idea, get some traction online in a tweet or post somewhere. And then some publisher's like, let's make a book out of that. Like, you don't have enough to sustain 200 pages of this. When you get a book like that in your lap, you're like, okay, I got it from the introduction. The rest of the book is completely superfluous. Again, that's not the kind of stuff we're doing on the Holy Post anymore.

[Mike Strehlow]

I remember the first time you told me that and I was like, that makes so much sense. Why I read so many books where the first half I loved and I was underlining constantly, and then the second half I didn't underline a single thing because it was all just repetitive.

[Sky Jutani]

Right. They had to fill 160 pages or whatever it is to justify 15 bucks.

[Mike Strehlow]

Next one. This is. I. I'm personally, I'm intrigued by this one. Meg says, I have a friend in the last few years who, who started reading early church fathers. Augustine, Aquinas, Ignatius. After being raised in a. In a good Christian family his entire life, he now believes the only way to follow God is to convert to Catholicism. Can you help me understand this leap? So grew up in evangelical home, probably at least a Protestant home. Read some Catholic church fathers now hardcore Roman Catholic.

[Sky Jutani]

Yeah. I think the, the most interesting word in that question though is only the only faithful way. And it makes me wonder. You may know many as well, but I know lots of stories of people who grew up Catholic and found it to be rote, uninspiring, whatever, legalistic in some cases. And they moved to a more evangelical church and found a vibrant faith and they kind of became zealous against Catholicism and like, no, no, no. The only real way to be a Christian, you got to get out of the Cath Catholic Church. You got to come over to this place where people, you know, are energetic and sing contemporary music or whatever the issue may. Like we all have. It's sort of that it's a convert zeal.

[Mike Strehlow]

Yes.

[Sky Jutani]

And we think we all do it.

[Mike Strehlow]

Like when I first became a believer, I was very zealous. I yeah, so I do think that's part of it.

[Sky Jutani]

And then we can over prescribe that and universalize our experience and say no, no, this is the only legitimate way. Now I wonder if part of that's what's going on with this person.

[Mike Strehlow]

I do too.

[Sky Jutani]

For whatever reason, they were really drawn to the Catholic tradition and their faith has come alive there. Wonderful. But to make that necessary or normative for everyone, that's where it probably goes too far.

[Mike Strehlow]

Before you dive into the rest of your answer, I think it would probably be helpful for many in our audience if you could give the Cliff Notes version of the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism.

[C]

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