r/DeconstructionZone

July 3 show sucked because of audio software issues.

Hi everyone,

I’m a postgraduate researcher at Bath Spa University (UK) doing a small qualitative study exploring how young people make sense of growing up in Christian environments.

I’m especially interested in how people understand things like belonging, identity, authority, morality, guilt/shame, and personal change in those contexts - whether that experience was positive, difficult, complicated, or somewhere in between. I’m interested in how people themselves interpret their experiences over time.

You can take part if you:

Are aged 16-18
Were raised in a Christian context (any denomination or background)
Are currently in the UK (or recently lived here)

It doesn’t matter if you’re still practising, no longer practising, questioning, or somewhere in-between.

What taking part involves
One online interview (45-60 minutes, Microsoft Teams)
A relaxed conversation about your experiences growing up in a Christian setting
You choose what you want to talk about
You can skip questions or stop at any time

Ethics & safety
This study has full ethical approval from Bath Spa University’s Research Ethics Committee, following BERA (British Educational Research Association) guidelines.

A quick note because this sometimes comes up:

UK universities don’t use “IRB numbers” like US institutions
This study has been formally approved through university ethics procedures
Everything is confidential and anonymised
Data is stored securely under UK GDPR rules
Safeguarding procedures are in place if needed

If you’d like more info or want to take part, you can contact me here:

Ruth Lloyd
ruth.lloyd24@bathspa.ac.uk

I’ll send an information sheet first, and you can decide after reading it whether you want to take part.
University: Bath Spa University
Ethics approval: Granted via institutional research ethics process ( in adherence to BERA (2018/2024)
Participants: Ages 16–18 (Gillick competent)
Safeguarding: Protocol in place
Data: Anonymous, GDPR compliant
Supervisor oversight: Yes

A novel argument for the existence of God is presented, based on demon-
strating that prior to its puzzling emergence, the seven-day week was un-
imaginable, undesirable, and (socially) infeasible. Indeed, we argue that
game theory reveals that the launch of a Sabbath-cycle, like the seven-day
week initially was, cannot have occurred without extra-human support.
The argument gains additional force by a) noting how the Pentateuch is an
­ insightful “sociological witness” to the infeasibility of the Sabbath-cycle’s
inauguration; b) integrating it with the (weaker, but complementary) Kuzari
argument, on the infeasibility of propagating a false myth of mass revela-
tion; c) considering two unattested possibilities—that a human king might
legislate a Sabbath-­ cycle and that it might emerge via an iterated game; and
d) noting theologically attractive features of the argument, including that
the week’s spread means that a divine gift to one people became a blessing
for humankind