Black Hole Sun

SPEAKER_1 (0:01)

As a long time foreign correspondent, I've worked in lots of places, but nowhere is important to the world as China. I'm Jane Perles, former Beijing Bureau Chief for The New York Times. Join me on my new podcast, Face Off, US versus China, where I'll take you behind the scenes in the tumultuous US-China relationship.

Find Face Off wherever you get your podcasts.

Dan McClellan (0:50)

Hey everybody, I'm Dan McClellan, and I'm Dan Beecher, and you're listening to the Data Over Dogma Podcast, where we increase public access to the academic study of the Bible and religion in college. We're gonna combat the spread of misinformation about the same.

How are things today, Dan?

Dan Beecher (1:06)

Things are good, man. We're gonna do some combatting today.

Dan McClellan (1:09)

Got my combat socks on.

Dan Beecher (1:13)

Get yourselves ready.

That's the second half of the show. We are assuming at this moment that by the time this reaches you all, there's a world for this to go out into.

Dan McClellan (1:27)

Yes, there is an open question about whether or not the earth will crash into the sun or the sun will expand to engulf the earth on April 8th.

Dan Beecher (1:38)

Yeah, April 8th, it's gonna kill us all.

Dan McClellan (1:43)

Yeah, so if you're listening to this, it's probably either the 15th or the 16th or maybe later if you're just irresponsible.

And we should know for sure whether or not the earth has come to the end. But our money, the line was not very great that they gave us, but our money is on the earth still being there.

Dan Beecher (2:04)

Yeah, yeah, that's our bet. I just got back from Philadelphia and I saw some of where they make our money.

Dan McClellan (2:12)

Oh yeah, you went to a mint?

Dan Beecher (2:14)

I went to the mint and I'll tell you what, there's something very funny about going to a mint right now because it just feels like, it feels like you're watching a VHS factory or something. It feels like, does anyone still use this stuff?

The physical, you see them making pennies and nickels, which are worth, which cost more to make than they are worth, and I just go, what?

Dan McClellan (2:41)

I haven't touched a penny in years. Yeah, I haven't touched a penny in years.

Dan Beecher (2:45)

Well, yeah, and then you're in Philadelphia and you're surrounded by everything Benjamin Franklin, and the number, you're suddenly reminded of the volume of quotations from Benjamin Franklin about pennies specifically, and it just becomes a whole thing. Apparently, there's a tradition of throwing pennies onto his grave, which is weird.

Dan McClellan (3:09)

Really? Like, take that, Franklin.

Dan Beecher (3:13)

Save one of these.

Dan McClellan (3:14)

A sock full of nickels, just start wailing on his grave. There was an old video of where Ben Franklin visits a kid in the dead of night to try to teach him about, was it a Mystery Science Theater 3000? I think it was a Mystery Science Theater 3000 thing.

Okay, where they watch this video. It's like one of those educational videos from like the 50s.

Dan Beecher (3:42)

Right.

Dan McClellan (3:43)

Whereas like Ben Franklin shows up in this kid's bedroom and lectures him on saving money. Oh, man, it was bad.

Dan Beecher (3:54)

Oh, Ben.

Dan McClellan (3:55)

Yep.

Dan Beecher (3:55)

He was a nut.

Dan McClellan (4:00)

They all had their issues back then.

But they also had eclipses back then. And that is what we're going to be talking about in the second segment.

Dan Beecher (4:10)

Oh, segue, man. You brought it all back around. Nice going.

Dan McClellan (4:15)

That's where the money is made or lost. In our case, lost.

Dan Beecher (4:20)

But before that, we're going to do a chapter and verse that is actually just a chapter. So let's get on to that.

This chapter and verse, we're going to act. You had suggested to me that we could do the Council at Jerusalem. And I said to you, I don't know what that is.

And you said, oh, you probably rolled your eye. We were texting, so I didn't get to hear the exasperation in your voice. But you very kindly pointed me in the direction of Acts 15

Dan McClellan (5:00)

Yes, Acts 15, the dead center of the Book of Acts.

Dan Beecher (5:06)

The Ides of the Book of Acts, if you will.

Dan McClellan (5:10)

And Peter's got to beware the Ides of the Book of Acts, because he's mentioned in Acts 15, and then he drops out of the Acts of the Apostles entirely. Peter is not mentioned again after the Jerusalem Council. Paul then takes over as the main character. Paul's main character syndrome is fed by the Jerusalem Council, and then he takes over. And then additionally, the apostles and the elders at Jerusalem, who are mentioned a handful of times, and particularly in Acts 15, they're mentioned once again in Acts 16, 4, and then they too disappear from the narrative.