Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
A conversation with Richard Bruxvoort Colligan about depression, grief, joy, anger, and the strange comfort of being honest.
I wasn’t expecting to like Richard Bruxvoort Colligan’s book Dangerous Songs as much as I did.
I’ve spent a lifetime around Christianity, and I have very little patience left for theology that explains away suffering. Richard doesn’t do that.
Neither do the Psalms.
They make room for joy, gratitude, anger, dread, depression, grief, confusion, and hope. They don’t tell us to cheer up. They don’t pretend everything happens for some easily explained reason.
Sometimes life is wonderful. Sometimes it is terrible. Usually it is both.
Richard and I talk about why these ancient songs still sound so human, why honest faith has room for despair, and why knowing somebody else has been through this door before us matters.
A very good conversation about a very good book.
_____
worldmaking.net
Dangerous Songs: The Psalms and a Gloriously Disrupted Life
bookshop.org/a/99692/9798889836247
_____
00:00 Loss is part of life - Richard explains why sadness, outrage, and dread belong in an honest account of being human.
01:03 Meet Richard - We begin with names, Lutheran roots, music, theology, grief work, and the Psalms.
03:50 I wasn’t expecting to like this book - I explain why Dangerous Songs surprised me and why Richard’s writing got my attention.
07:05 The Psalms saved my life - Richard reads about depression, music, faith, and the ancient songs that became his companions.
10:18 A little personal history - We talk about Rochester, my father’s illness, Billy Graham, and some old memories.
12:38 Why write about the Psalms? - Richard tells me how music, mystery, and some troubling biblical passages drew him in.
17:59 What did the Psalms sound like? - We talk about the clues left behind by ancient musical texts and what we simply cannot know.
20:29 Singing together matters - Richard explains why community song has become central to his work.
23:13 The whole range of being human - We turn to thriving, groundedness, joy, gratitude, and the complicated emotional world of the Psalms.
28:20 Like a tree beside water - Richard reflects on Psalm 1, belonging, rootedness, and what it means to feel grounded.
32:07 When life is simply terrible - We leave easy gratitude behind and begin talking about suffering.
36:00 Naming desolation - Richard talks about sadness, outrage, dread, and why naming what is real matters.
37:04 After another shooting - I read Richard’s reflections on gun violence, grief, Psalm 94, and refusing to explain away the inexplicable.
41:32 The Bible is not a neat system - Richard explains why the Psalms sound more like human experience than systematic theology.
43:40 My only friend is darkness - Psalm 88 gives us something rare: despair without a tidy ending.
45:35 The depths of depression - We talk about clinical depression and why these ancient songs belong in the conversation.
48:06 Nobody gets out without singing the blues - Richard remembers the collapse of a faith that promised everything would work out.
49:37 Living with depression - Richard talks personally about medication, therapy, friendship, self-care, and change.
53:14 You are not alone - We talk about one of the great gifts of art and the Psalms: somebody else has been through this door.
55:54 The Psalms are good company - Richard explains why they never tell us simply to get over it.
57:40 Life is complicated - Richard closes with a prayer for this heartbreaking, wonderful, bewildering life.
59:16 Why this book stayed with me - I tell Richard why I found Dangerous Songs so unsentimental and truthful.
_____
frankschaeffer.substack.com/p/the-psalms-dont-ask-us-to-pretend?utm_source=youtube
A conversation with Richard Bruxvoort Colligan about depression, grief, joy, anger, and the strange comfort of being honest.
I wasn’t expecting to like Richard Bruxvoort Colligan’s book Dangerous Songs as much as I did.
I’ve spent a lifetime around Christianity, and I have very little patience left for theology that explains away suffering. Richard doesn’t do that.
Neither do the Psalms.
They make room for joy, gratitude, anger, dread, depression, grief, confusion, and hope. They don’t tell us to cheer up. They don’t pretend everything happens for some easily explained reason.
Sometimes life is wonderful. Sometimes it is terrible. Usually it is both.
Richard and I talk about why these ancient songs still sound so human, why honest faith has room for despair, and why knowing somebody else has been through this door before us matters.
A very good conversation about a very good book.
_____
worldmaking.net
Dangerous Songs: The Psalms and a Gloriously Disrupted Life
bookshop.org/a/99692/9798889836247
_____
00:00 Loss is part of life - Richard explains why sadness, outrage, and dread belong in an honest account of being human.
01:03 Meet Richard - We begin with names, Lutheran roots, music, theology, grief work, and the Psalms.
03:50 I wasn’t expecting to like this book - I explain why Dangerous Songs surprised me and why Richard’s writing got my attention.
07:05 The Psalms saved my life - Richard reads about depression, music, faith, and the ancient songs that became his companions.
10:18 A little personal history - We talk about Rochester, my father’s illness, Billy Graham, and some old memories.
12:38 Why write about the Psalms? - Richard tells me how music, mystery, and some troubling biblical passages drew him in.
17:59 What did the Psalms sound like? - We talk about the clues left behind by ancient musical texts and what we simply cannot know.
20:29 Singing together matters - Richard explains why community song has become central to his work.
23:13 The whole range of being human - We turn to thriving, groundedness, joy, gratitude, and the complicated emotional world of the Psalms.
28:20 Like a tree beside water - Richard reflects on Psalm 1, belonging, rootedness, and what it means to feel grounded.
32:07 When life is simply terrible - We leave easy gratitude behind and begin talking about suffering.
36:00 Naming desolation - Richard talks about sadness, outrage, dread, and why naming what is real matters.
37:04 After another shooting - I read Richard’s reflections on gun violence, grief, Psalm 94, and refusing to explain away the inexplicable.
41:32 The Bible is not a neat system - Richard explains why the Psalms sound more like human experience than systematic theology.
43:40 My only friend is darkness - Psalm 88 gives us something rare: despair without a tidy ending.
45:35 The depths of depression - We talk about clinical depression and why these ancient songs belong in the conversation.
48:06 Nobody gets out without singing the blues - Richard remembers the collapse of a faith that promised everything would work out.
49:37 Living with depression - Richard talks personally about medication, therapy, friendship, self-care, and change.
53:14 You are not alone - We talk about one of the great gifts of art and the Psalms: somebody else has been through this door.
55:54 The Psalms are good company - Richard explains why they never tell us simply to get over it.
57:40 Life is complicated - Richard closes with a prayer for this heartbreaking, wonderful, bewildering life.
59:16 Why this book stayed with me - I tell Richard why I found Dangerous Songs so unsentimental and truthful.
_____
frankschaeffer.substack.com/p/the-psalms-dont-ask-us-to-pretend?utm_source=youtube
