Homebrewed Christianity

What is the future of spirituality? That question not only shapes this podcast episode but an upcoming online summit. Homebrewed is excited to be partnering with Convergence and 25 rather epic voices to explore the future of spirituality. In this episode, I have a blast talking with Cameron Trimble and Anna Golladay from Convergence. I not only hope you enjoy it but get wise and sign up for the free online summit HERE. How is our understanding of faith being reshaped, perhaps accelerated, by the pandemic? Do faith communities have a future and what kind of courage will that require? What kind of rituals will shape the future of spirituality? What are the big theological questions of our time? How do younger generations seek spirituality? Is there a future of courageous spirituality? If so, what does that look like? Rev. Cameron Trimble is a serial entrepreneur committed to the triple bottom line – a concern for people, progress, and the planet. Driven by an adventurous spirit, she runs businesses and NGO organizations, both secular and faith-based. She serves as a consultant, a frequent speaker on national speaking circuits, is a pilot, and an author. Cameron is the CEO of Convergence, a not-for-profit made up of subsidiary companies and organizations focused on organizational transformation. Rev. Anna Golladay is the Senior Director of Communications and Marketing at Convergence. Anna has served as associate pastor in the United Methodist Church. Her ministry is undergirded by social justice and the inequity that exists both in and outside the church’s walls. She is diligent in her advocacy for full inclusion for all persons in the United Methodist Church. She is an entrepreneur, running a small online-based apparel shop called Bias & Bourbon and social enterprise, Work of Place. She spends her free time as an avid football and hockey fan and life partner to Mike Krigbaum, a small-animal veterinarian. Don’t forget to join Tripp & Diana this Lent for an open online class – Jesus De/constructed! Details here. Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My church history Prof from Wake Div, Bill Leonard, is back on the podcast. We have a wide-ranging conversation about the changing shape of religion in America. It is always a joy to reconnect with a mentor to pick some more wisdom and get feedback about some of the ideas you are working through. Dr. Bill Leonard is Founding Dean and Professor of Divinity Emeritus at Wake Forest University’s SChool of Divinity. Leonard’s research focuses on Church History with particular attention to American religion, Baptist studies, and Appalachian religion. He is the author or editor of some 25 books including Christianity in Appalachia (1999); Baptist Ways: A History (2003); The Challenge of Being Baptist (2010); Can I Get a Witness?: Essays, Sermons and Reflections (2013); and A Sense of the Heart: Christian Religious Experience in the U.S., (2014). In March 2015 he delivered the William James Lecture on Religious Experience at Harvard Divinity School and in February 2017 he gave the William Self Lectures on Preaching at McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University. His newest book, The Homebrewed Christianity Guide to Church History: Flaming Heretics and Heavy Drinkers, was published by Fortress Press in July 2017. Leonard is on the board of the Journal of Disability and Religion, The Baptist Quarterly (England), the Day1 Preaching Network, the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, and the Governing Board of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. His sabbatical research focuses on a new book, tentatively entitled: “Security or Idolatry?: A History of Religion and Firearms in the U.S.” Leonard writes a twice-monthly column for Baptist News Global, is an ordained Baptist minister, and a member of First Baptist Church, Highland Avenue (American Baptist Churches, USA) in Winston-Salem. the church’s loss of cultural privilege the changing sociology of Sunday the rapid rise of the religiously unaffiliated living through a period of institutional permanent transition changing shape of religious pluralism the changing center of faith from the congregation the rise of Christian Nationalism the history of race and religion in America fear of critical race theory Christian formation in a Biblically illiterate age how American evangelical identity got so ugly the Fundamentalization of American Religion and the move from experience to transaction from the Scopes Monkey Trial to Critical Race Theory how inerrancy migrated to natural law “you can be right about scripture and wrong about the Gospel” an account of American brokenness how big tech is ruining religion the Pornification of Religion how individualism is destroying us individually the growing lack of community for many is a judgment on the church why the West needs the church Check out these books by Dr. Leonard: A Sense of the Heart: Christian Religious Experience in the United States Baptist Ways: A History The Challenge of Being Baptist: Owning a Scandalous Past and an Uncertain Future Word of God Across the Ages: Using Christian History in Preaching The Homebrewed Christianity Guide to Church History: Flaming Heretics and Heavy Drinkers Previous Podcasts w/ Dr. Leonard Listening Beyond the Times The History and Transformation of American Christianity Faith and Politics Through Church History Don’t forget to join Tripp & Diana this Lent for an open online class – Jesus De/constructed! Details here. Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it sound like when two friends discuss their struggle with the concept of God? If those friends also have a shared interest in science, philosophy, and religion it could sound like this. My super-nerd friend, Sarah Lane Ritchie, is back on the podcast for a strikingly honest conversation about God and what is required for a “minimally viable” concept. It centers on three particular affirmations: God is personal God is transcendent God provides for postmortem existence Dr. Sarah Lane Ritchie received her B.A. in Philosophy & Religion from Spring Arbor University, an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and an M.Sc. in Science & Religion from the University of Edinburgh. She obtained her Ph.D. at the University of Edinburgh in Science & Religion with a thesis on divine action and the human mind, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of St. Andrews. She has published a book with Cambridge University Press and numerous articles in academic journals, and continues research in the field of science and religion. Sarah’s Previous Podcast Visits Staff Lounge Shenanigans Can Scientists study gods, souls, and rituals? an Integrated Physicality and the Sacred Trilogies, Atonement Power Rankings, & Sex Work at Happy Hour Everyone You Ever Loved Will Die, so Merry Christmas! Kombucha, Meditation, Tarot, and Stink Bombs Don’t forget to join Tripp & Diana this Lent for an open online class – Jesus De/constructed! Details here. Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Yesterday we launched Jesus De/Constructed, an open online class with Diana Butler Bass.  This is session one, so receive it as an invitation to join the group. We are thrilled over 3000 people have already signed up Don’t forget to join Tripp & Diana this Lent for an open online class – Jesus De/constructed! Details here.  Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What would happen if Marty McFly went back in time and gave a young Karl Barth a copy of Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age? It would be pretty close to Andrew Root’s new book Churches and the Crisis of Decline. The book came out today, so Andy and I talked about it on a live stream. Enjoy the convo, get the book, and look forward to the coming Karl Barth musical on Disney+ Andrew Root is the Carrie Olson Baalson Professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary, USA. He writes and researches in areas of theology, ministry, culture, and younger generations.  Some of his most recent books are The Congregation in a Secular Age (Baker, 2021), The End of Youth Ministry? (Baker, 2020), The Pastor in a Secular Age: Ministry to People Who No Longer Need God (Baker, 2019), Faith Formation in a Secular Age (Baker, 2017), and Exploding Stars, Dead Dinosaurs, and Zombies: Youth Ministry in the Age of Science (Fortress Press, 2018).  Andy has worked in congregations, parachurch ministries, and social service programs. He lives in St. Paul with his wife Kara, two children, Owen and Maisy, and their dog. When not reading, writing, or teaching, Andy spends far too much time watching TV and movies. Previous Visits with Andy Root Acceleration, Resonance, & the Counting Crows Ministry in a Secular Age Christopraxis with Andy Root Faith Formation in a Secular Age the Promise of Despair Don’t forget to join Tripp & Diana this Lent for an open online class – Jesus De/constructed! Details here.  Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is another zesty session of “Big God Questions” with Tom Oord. In this edition, we discuss his new book Pluriform Love, an Open and Relational account of divine revelation, and more. At the end of the episode, Tom offers to send 10 people a copy of his new book if they submit a question for a future ‘Big God Questions’ session. So send us a question HERE. We are both evangelists for Open and Relational Theology and now that it has a center you should check it out. You can also check out the doctoral program in Open and Relational Theology here. Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. Oord is an award-winning author, and he has written or edited more than twenty books. A twelve-time Faculty Award-winning professor, Oord teaches at institutions around the globe. A gifted speaker, Oord is known for his contributions to research on love, open and relational theology, science and religion, and the implications of freedom and relationships for transformation. Some Previous Tripp & Tom Pods Big God Twitter Takes Trump is (NOT) a Process Theologian & Other Questions Thomas Jay Oord wants you to know “God Can’t†Open and Relational Theology Throwdown Open and Relational Q&A with Thomas Jay Oord Why Go Wesleyan? Don’t forget to join Tripp & Diana this Lent for an open online class – Jesus De/constructed! Details here.  Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does it mean to take one’s faith seriously during an ecological collapse? How can ministers lead faith communities when so many justice issues are polarizing? These important questions and more shape this conversation with two returning guests to the podcast – Leah Schade & Wilson Dickinson. Both are faculty at Lexington Theological Seminary where there is a deep investment in these tasks and the cultivation of a more vibrant online education. Dr. Leah Schade is Assistant Professor of Preaching and Worship at Lexington Theological Seminary, A graduate of the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia, her research and experience cover the fields of homiletics and ecological theology. As an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA), Schade has served in suburban, urban, and rural settings and has worked with parishioners from a variety of cultural, racial, and economic backgrounds. Formerly the pastor of United in Christ Lutheran Church in Lewisburg, PA, Schade s ministry is marked by her experience in and passion for ecological and social justice advocacy and activism. Dr. Schade’s Books Preaching in the Purple Zone: Ministry in the Red-Blue Divide Rooted and Rising: Voices of Courage in a Time of Climate Crisis Creation-Crisis Preaching: Ecology, Theology, and the Pulpit Dr. Wilson Dickinson is a writer, pastor, and organizer who lives in his hometown of Georgetown, Kentucky. He teaches theology and directs the Doctor of Ministry and Continuing Education Programs at Lexington Theological Seminary. He is the director of the Green Good News, an organization that works with churches and schools to integrate sustainability, justice, and discipleship. Check out Wilson’s books The Green Good News and Exercises in New Creation. PREVIOUS PODCAST VISITS Leah Schade: Preaching in a time of Crisis from Corona to Climate Wilson Dickinson: Faith After a Neo-liberal Compliant Church Don’t forget to join Tripp & Diana this Lent for an open online class – Jesus De/constructed! Details here. Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan G. Duns, SJ, is a Jesuit priest and an assistant professor of theology at Marquette University. His locates his work the intersection of philosophy and systematic theology and is interested in regarding theology as practice or "way of life." He has published on Karl Rahner, Jean-Luc Marion, René Girard, and his most recent work has involved a sustained engagement with William Desmond’s metaphysics. His monograph “Spiritual Exercises for a Secular Age: Desmond and the Quest for God" argues that, when read as a form of spiritual exercise (Pierre Hadot), Desmond’s philosophy can re-awaken a sense of the Transcendent. In the conversation we discuss... the possibility of a return to Narnia problems with cranky Thomism what is happening in the cultural fascination with Zombies 5 Commandments for doing Metaphysics... after the death of Metaphysics Want to read a summary of the book and see some stellar scholars engage it? Head over here to the Syndicate consortium. Sacramental hermenutics how spiritual formation is like karaoke & why you don't have to be Bob Dylan there's a little bit of Susan Boyle in each of us Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My friend and brilliant theologian, Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim, is back on the podcast and we have a stimulating conversation about her newest book Invisible: Theology and the Experience of Asian American Women. Check out my visit to Grace's podcast -Here's the audio & here's Mandang on YoutTube:) Grace Ji-Sun Kim is Professor of Theology at Earlham School of Religion. She received her M.Div. from Knox College and her Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. She is the author or editor of 19 books most recently, Keeping Hope Alive; Intersectional Theology co-written with Susan Shaw and Embracing the Other. Kim is a Series Editor for Palgrave Macmillan Series, “Asian Christianity in the Diaspora”. Eerdmans included her in their list of Five Great Women Scholars, and the Englewood Review of Books named her in their list of Ten Important Women Theologians You Should Be Reading Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Cobb, the greatest living theologian, returns to the podcast for a birthday pod. What an honor, treat, and thrill! I hope you all enjoy this one half as much as I did :) Dr. John B. Cobb, Jr. taught theology at the Claremont School of Theology from 1958 to 1990. In 2014 he became the first theologian elected to the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences for his interdisciplinary work in ecology, economics, and biology. Books by Cobb that come up in the episode Salvation: Jesus's Mission and Ours Christ in a Pluralistic Age Process Theology Organic Marxism: An Alternative to Capitalism and Ecological Catastrophe A Christian Natural Theology, Second Edition: Based on the Thought of Alfred North Whitehead God and the World Jesus Abba: The God Who Has Not Failed Romans Is It Too Late?: A Theology of Ecology Theological Reminiscences Spiritual Bankruptcy: A Prophetic Call to Action Sustaining the Common Good: A Christian Perspective on the Global Economy For The Common Good: Redirecting the Economy toward Community, the Environment, and a Sustainable Future Previous Visits from John Cobb John Cobb: Secularizing Christianity John Cobb: Christology and Process Theology JC on JC: a conversation with John Cobb and Tom Oord on Jesus #BarrelAged A SPECIAL INVITATION from John Cobb: Why Whitehead? John Cobb goes to #TheologyBeerCamp Tag-Team Preaching with John Cobb @TheLoft_LA LIVE from Vancouver with Sallie McFague and John Cobb How Modern Metaphysics Killed God with John Cobb #FANiac Have Yourself a John Cobb Advent! #FANiac #FANiac Alert… Why Metaphysics Matters with John Cobb Fully Human, Fully Divine, & All Process! Christology with John Cobb Prayer & Process with John Cobb Theology for the People: Keller, Cobb and God Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last night Adam and I had a live stream session for the Upsetting the Powers online reading group. After an hour or so of digging into the readings from Womanist theologian Delores Williams, we took some questions from the group and it was too timely not to share. If you want to access the entire class head over here and join up. At the end of the episode, you get a special invite to join Jesus De/Constructed with Diana Butler Bass and me. :) Dr. Adam Clark is an Associate Professor of Theology at Xavier University. He is committed to the idea that theological education in the twenty-first century must function as a counter-story. One that equips us to read against the grain of the dominant culture and inspires one to live into the Ignatian dictum of going forth “to set the world on fire.” To this end, Dr. Clark is intentional about pedagogical practices that raise critical consciousness by going beneath surface meanings, unmasking conventional wisdoms and reimagining the good. He currently serves as co-chair of Black Theology Group at the American Academy of Religion, actively publishes in the area of black theology and black religion and participates in social justice groups at Xavier and in the Cincinnati area. He earned his PhD at Union Theological Seminary in New York where he was mentored by James Cone. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Andrew Schwartz is a scholar, organizer, and social entrepreneur. He is Executive Director of the Center for Process Studies and Assistant Professor of Process Studies & Comparative Theology with Claremont School of Theology at Willamette University, as well as Co-Founder and Vice President of the Institute for Ecological Civilization. He is Affiliated Faculty with the Center for Sustainability and Environmental Justice at Willamette University. His current work includes comparative religious philosophy, as well as the role of big ideas in bringing about systems change for the long-term wellbeing of people and the planet the Executive In this conversation we discus a bunch of questions sent in from the Homebrewed Community... 1. Books Andrew likes to use when teaching Process Process-Relational Philosophy: An Introduction to Alfred North Whitehead & Process Theology: A Basic Introduction by Robert C. Mesle On Whitehead by Philip Rose God of Becoming and Relationship: The Dynamic Nature of Process Theology by Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson 2. How Whitehead came to believe in God 3. Why Process Panentheism is the superior Panentheism shout out to Hartshorne's Omnipotence and Other Theological Mistakes why Creation Out of Nothing is the most overrated doctrine 4. Process Panenthesim & Panpsychism here's the book exploring this theme and it is FREE :) 5. Why is Process thought reaching more people now than ever? 6. If you had a dinner party with Whitehead, who are you inviting? Want to go to a dinner party at the Whitehead's? Then read Dialogues of Alfred North Whitehead. Some Previous Process Theology Episodes Godehard Brüntrup: Emergent Panpsychism & Process Theology John Cobb: Christology and Process Theology Jewish Process Theology w/ Rabbi Brad Artson Emergence, Panenthesim, Science & Process Theology with Joseph Bracken S.J. Monica A. Coleman: Process Womanist Theology 5 Reasons to Go Process w/ Monica Coleman Helene Russell: Trauma Sensitive Theology Trump is (NOT) a Process Theologian & Other Questions w/ Thomas Jay Oord Susan Shaw: the story of a Process Southern Baptist Feminist Can a process theologian be an Evangelical & other questions with Philip Clayton #TeamProcess vs. #TeamOpenTheism – Live from St. Paul A Process Spirit Christology with Joseph Bracken #BarrelAged Sallie McFague on Loving God and the World: in Memoriam John Thatamanil on Non-duality, Polydoxy, and Christian Identity Robert Mesle intro to Whitehead Catherine Keller on Process, Poetry, & Post-Structuralism The Problem of Evil & Suffering w/ Robert Mesle Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Jacob Alan Cook investigates how people move from an ideas-based sense of security about who they are and what they are doing in the world toward a more vibrant, relational posture of faith. He is actively studying and experimenting with creative practices for Christian moral formation in both the academy and local church-communities. Cook’s first book, Worldview Theory, Whiteness, and the Future of Evangelical Faith, is out now along with a series of articles on Baptist News Global introducing its hypothesis. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow at Wake Forest University School of Divinity, where he leads a research program centered on formative practices and the big question: What does it look like when churches and their people thrive as agents of justice, reconciliation, and compassion in their local communities? Check out Jacob's powerful series of articles based on the book Was Adam and Eve’s ‘worldview’ the original sin? Who needs the church when we have the biblical worldview? Why your worldview might be both more and less than biblical Putting the white in witness since the 1940s A short history of the roots of colonialism, racism and whiteness in ‘Christian worldview’ What if your ‘Christian worldview’ is based on some sinful ideas? Plan to Get Punched in the Mouth Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a celebration podcast! My friend Dr. Bethany Sollereder just landed a new job as Lecturer in Science and Religion here at the University of Edinburgh. After a celebration we discuss Bethany's newest choose-your-own-adventure style book on the problem of suffering. Then we shift directions to discuss the future of Science and Religion as a field, our coming ecological collapse, and a little Tolkien:) Here’s two of Bethany’s Books to checkout God, Evolution, and Animal Suffering: Theodicy without a Fall Why Is There Suffering?: Pick Your Own Theological Expedition Check out Bethany's previous visit to the podcast - Theology and the Ecological Crisis Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My friend and scholar of American Religion, Diana Butler Bass, is on the podcast for a little experiment. We plan to host monthly conversations about religion, politics, and culture from a progressive Christian perspective. We would love your input on the flow, format, and such - so holla :) We plan to have live stream sessions each month with our online communities. To be a part of future zoom sessions like this one, make sure you join Diana's newsletter community, the Cottage. Yes, she does have an actual cottage where she reads, writes, and zooms Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Previous Episodes with Diana & Tripp Theology and Spirituality in a Time of Rupture White Evangelical Theopolitics, John Shelby Spong, & Jesus 20 Years of Religious Decline Jesus After Religion and Beyond Fear Ruining Dinner with Diana Butler Bass and Robyn Henderson-Espinoza Evangelical Decline, the Supreme Court, and the Horizon of Possibility Debating, Praying, and Living with Tyrants Religion, Politics, & the Elephant in the Room Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What a treat! I got a real deal in-person visit from Brian and Peri Zahnd. They were in town so we recorded in my office at the Unversity of Edinburgh. The conversation was a blast... the lunch that followed was Wow:) I hope you enjoy our first time connecting IRL (in real life). Don't forget to check out Brian's most recent book, When Everything's on Fire: Faith Forged from the Ashes. Brian Zahnd is the founder and lead pastor of Word of Life Church, a non-denominational Christian congregation in Saint Joseph, Missouri. Brian and his wife, Peri, founded the church in 1981. Brian is also the author of several books, including, Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God, Water to Wine, A Farewell To Mars, Beauty Will Save the World, and Unconditional?: The Call of Jesus to Radical Forgiveness. His newest book is When Everything's on Fire: Faith Forged from the Ashes. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, you get a preview of what is going on in the Upsetting the Powers reading group. Each week we will be featuring a live session where Adam Clark and I discuss the week's theme, reading, and class questions... but wait...there's more :) there will also be an interview in which Adam talks with a fellow scholar and friend of James Cone. After you hear this I hope you join the class. Remember all the content is available for the members to go at their own pace and it is donation-based (including 0) so if you are interested come on in. Previous Episodes w/ Adam: Serene Jones & Adam Clark: Theology Matters and the Legacy of James Cone The Crisis of American Religion & Democracy: 1/6 a year later Christmas, BLM, Abortion, & the War on White Evangelicalism Jan 6th Theological Debrief: Adam Clark and Jeffrey Pugh Adam Clark: What is Black Theology? From Lebron James to the Black Panther: Black Theology QnA w/ Adam Clark Adam Clark: James Cone was right Dr. Adam Clark is Associate Professor of Theology at Xavier University. He is committed to the idea that theological education in the twenty first century must function as a counter-story. One that equips us to read against the grain of the dominant culture and inspires one to live into the Ignatian dictum of going forth “to set the world on fire.” To this end, Dr. Clark is intentional about pedagogical practices that raise critical consciousness by going beneath surface meanings, unmasking conventional wisdoms and reimagining the good. He currently serves as co-chair of Black Theology Group at the American Academy of Religion, actively publishes in the area of black theology and black religion and participates in social justice groups at Xavier and in the Cincinnati area. He earned his PhD at Union Theological Seminary in New York where he was mentored by James Cone. Dr. Gary Dorrien teaches social ethics, theology, and philosophy of religion as the Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary and Professor of Religion at Columbia University. He was previously the Parfet Distinguished Professor at Kalamazoo College, where he taught for 18 years and also served as Dean of Stetson Chapel and Director of the Liberal Arts Colloquium. Professor Dorrien is the author of 20 books and more than 300 articles that range across the fields of social ethics, philosophy, theology, political economics, social and political theory, religious history, cultural criticism, and intellectual history. Philosopher Cornel West describes him as “the preeminent social ethicist in North America today.” Philosopher Robert Neville calls him “the most rigorous theological historian of our time, moving from analyses of social context and personal struggles through the most abstruse theological and metaphysical issues.” Dorrien told an interviewer in 2016: “I am a jock who began as a solidarity activist, became an Episcopal cleric at thirty, became an academic at thirty-five, and never quite settled on a field, so now I explore the intersections of too many fields.” Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode you get a preview of what is going on in the Upsetting the Powers reading group. Each week we will be featuring a live session where Adam Clark and I discuss the week's theme, reading, and class questions... but wait...there's more :) there will also be an interview in which Adam talks with a fellow scholar and friend of James Cone. After you hear this I hope you join the class. Remember all the content is available for the members to go at their own pace and it is donation based (including 0) so if you are interested come on in. Previous Episodes w/ Adam: The Crisis of American Religion & Democracy: 1/6 a year later Christmas, BLM, Abortion, & the War on White Evangelicalism Jan 6th Theological Debrief: Adam Clark and Jeffrey Pugh Adam Clark: What is Black Theology? From Lebron James to the Black Panther: Black Theology QnA w/ Adam Clark Adam Clark: James Cone was right Dr. Adam Clark is Associate Professor of Theology at Xavier University. He is committed to the idea that theological education in the twenty first century must function as a counter-story. One that equips us to read against the grain of the dominant culture and inspires one to live into the Ignatian dictum of going forth “to set the world on fire.” To this end, Dr. Clark is intentional about pedagogical practices that raise critical consciousness by going beneath surface meanings, unmasking conventional wisdoms and reimagining the good. He currently serves as co-chair of Black Theology Group at the American Academy of Religion, actively publishes in the area of black theology and black religion and participates in social justice groups at Xavier and in the Cincinnati area. He earned his PhD at Union Theological Seminary in New York where he was mentored by James Cone. Dr. Serene Jones is a highly respected scholar and public intellectual and the 16th President of the historic Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. The first woman to head the 182-year-old institution, Jones occupies the Johnston Family Chair for Religion and Democracy. She is a Past President of the American Academy of Religion, which annually hosts the world’s largest gathering of scholars of religion. Jones came to Union after seventeen years at Yale University, where she was the Titus Street Professor of Theology at the Divinity School, and Chair of the University’s Program in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. She is the author of several books including Trauma and Grace and, most recently, her memoir Call It Grace: Finding Meaning in a Fractured World. Jones, a popular public speaker, is sought by media to comment on major issues impacting society because of her deep grounding in theology, politics, women’s studies, economics, race studies, history, and ethics. Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam Clark & Jeffrey Pugh joined me for a theological debrief on the anniversary of the 1/6 insurrection. It was a powerful conversation with two dear friends. Previous Episodes w/ Adam: Christmas, BLM, Abortion, & the War on White Evangelicalism Jan 6th Theological Debrief: Adam Clark and Jeffrey Pugh Adam Clark: What is Black Theology? From Lebron James to the Black Panther: Black Theology QnA w/ Adam Clark Adam Clark: James Cone was right The Secret Chart to the END OF TIME (kind of) with Jeffrey Pugh and Daniel Kirk God Loves Science (Fiction) with Jeff Pugh and Will Rose Jeffrey C. Pugh: Why Go Bonhoeffer? Dr. Jeffrey C. Pugh recently retired as Maude Sharpe Powell Professor of Religious Studies and Distinguished University Professor from Elon University in North Carolina. The author of six books ranging from Barth, religion and science, and the apocalyptic imagination to Bonhoeffer, Pugh’s work has focused on Christian complicity in the Holocaust and the lessons that can be applied to instruct future generations. His latest work, a chapter on his reflections while he was participating in the clergy resistance at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville is found in Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Theology, and Resistance. He and his wife Jan, a retired United Methodist minister, make their home in Charlottesville, Virginia. Dr. Adam Clark is Associate Professor of Theology at Xavier University. He is committed to the idea that theological education in the twenty first century must function as a counter-story. One that equips us to read against the grain of the dominant culture and inspires one to live into the Ignatian dictum of going forth “to set the world on fire.” To this end, Dr. Clark is intentional about pedagogical practices that raise critical consciousness by going beneath surface meanings, unmasking conventional wisdoms and reimagining the good. He currently serves as co-chair of Black Theology Group at the American Academy of Religion, actively publishes in the area of black theology and black religion and participates in social justice groups at Xavier and in the Cincinnati area. He earned his PhD at Union Theological Seminary in New York where he was mentored by James Cone. Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when three fans of the Matrix film series who happen to be religion professors get together? This. Donna Bowman & James McGrath return to the podcast for a bunch of fun. We hope you enjoy it half as much as we did. Here's previous pods with James and Donna: James McGrath: What Jesus Learned from Women Early Christian Monotheism with James McGrath: Homebrewed Christianity 68 Becoming the Best Bag of Bones You Can Be with Donna Bowman Politics, Pussy Hats, and Patriarchy with Donna Bowman God and the World Wide Web with Donna Bowman Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What does a progressive Christian do at Christmas? Do you cross your fingers the entire time? What about the Virgin Birth? The Incarnation? Last month senior Deacon Tony Jones was on the podcast responding to questions from the listeners. Afterward, I immediately got messages asking about Christmas, like those above, so we decided to talk it out. A Few Previous Podcast Visits with Tony A Deacon’s Meeting with Tony Jones Tony Jones: the Post-Emergent Church Devilpalooza: N.T. Wright, Richard Beck, Greg Boyd, Tony Jones and Duke! Soapbox Blabbery with Peter Rollins & Tony Jones Tony Jones & Peter Rollins on #TheGreatDebacle Did God Kill Jesus? w/ Tony Jones Tony Jones is the author of Did God Kill Jesus? (HarperOne, 2015) and contributing writer to several outdoors periodicals. He’s written a dozen books, including The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier and The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life, developed the iPhone app, hosts the Reverend Hunter Podcast, and teaches at Fuller Theological Seminary. Tony is a sought after speaker and consultant in the areas of emerging church, postmodernism, and Christian spirituality, writing, and the outdoors. He served as a consultant on the television show, The Path, and he owns an event planning company, Crucible Creative. Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am sure many of you were saddened by the news of Anne Rice's passing. She visited the podcast in 2010 after publicly 'quitting Christianity' and enough of the long-time listeners asked for the interview we decided to share it. My buddy Mike occasionally did interviews back then and he is the one asking the questions here. Since it was 2010 the technology was not as good, but I reworked the audio as best as I could. Here's Mike's reflection on Anne's passing In the wee hours this morning I heard the heartbreaking news that Anne Rice died, surrounded by loved ones, due to complications from a stroke. Anne revolutionized gothic horror writing with her layered, humanizing, and sensuous approach to storytelling, initiating a trend toward more sympathetic portrayals of (say) vampires, telling the story of their eternal power and anguish from *their* point of view, which became the de facto norm for later shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Twilight, and True Blood. The LGBTQ community in particular embraced her supernatural creatures’ ‘outsider’ status as their own, and she embraced them right back, becoming an early safe haven and trusted voice for queer folk. As a young evangelical growing up in the Bible Belt, her writing was *especially* forbidden, and I recall the rushes and flushes I felt as a kid when sneaking some of her fiction in grocery store aisles while my mom was shopping, a world of history, mysticism and sexuality opening up to me. When Anne publicly announced her conversion from atheism to Christianity in 2005, I was among the first journalists to cover the story, in what became an award-winning profile for RELEVANT Magazine. You can read an archive of that story in the link below. When I met Rice at a progressive Baptist church in Birmingham, she was telling her story of coming to faith with nuance and intelligence, in a conversation proctored by a Roman Catholic priest, a rabbi, and a progressive Baptist minister. In our more private conversation that followed, she explained how her deeply-felt faith came from her inner historian’s keen eye for mystery: “Well, [being Christian] certainly has to be personal experience, but I did read myself back into faith. It was history, reading the story of the Jews in time and realizing that there was no rational explanation for the survival of the Jewish people. It was the biggest mystery history ever offered me—how did these people survive? That was the beginning. And then the second big mystery was this: How in the world did Christianity spread the way it did, to become an international religion by A.D. 110? How did that happen? In trying to answer those two questions, I read myself back into belief. And then belief came.” She temporarily abandoned her vampires and fallen angels, saying “the truth is, I’ve found what those characters were looking for. I can’t continue those stories because they don’t work for me anymore. The vampires are not metaphors for the outsider for me, because I don’t feel like an outsider anymore. I feel like I’m included in a great big wonderful family.” She went on to write two better-than-average historical fiction novels about the early life of Jesus, but within a couple years of publishing her spiritual memoir ‘Called out of Darkness,' her sense of belonging in the wider Christian family had strained to its breaking point. In 2010 she wrote: “Today I quit being a Christian. I’m out. I remain committed to Christ as always but not to being “Christian” or to being part of Christianity. It’s simply impossible for me to “belong” to this quarrelsome, hostile, disputatious, and deservedly infamous group. For ten years, I’ve tried. I’ve failed. I’m an outsider. My conscience will allow nothing else. In the name of Christ, I refuse to be anti-gay. I refuse to be anti-feminist. I refuse to be anti-artificial birth control. I refuse to be anti-Democrat. I refuse to be anti-secular humanism. I refuse to be anti-science. I refuse to be anti-life. In the name of Christ, I quit Christianity and being Christian. Amen.” Once again, I was able to talk to Anne about this transition — this time for my friend Tripp Fuller’s podcast, Homebrewed Christianity. We were able to have an extensive conversation in which she was just as incisive and gracious as before. I’m working with Tripp to see if we can bring this conversation back from the archives. To NPR at the time, she elaborated about what this did or didn’t mean: “Certainly I will never go back to being that atheist and that pessimist that I was. I live now in a world that I feel God created, and I feel I live in a world where God witnesses everything that happens. … That’s a huge change from the atheist I was when I wrote the vampire novels... I found what the characters in the vampire novels were looking for. They were groping in the darkness; they lived in a world without God. I found God, but that doesn’t mean that I have to be a supporting member of any organized religion." I wish Anne

My friend and most zesty theologian, Adam Clark, is back on the podcast. We discuss questions sent in by the Homebrewed Community and they were spicy. I hope you enjoy it half as much as we did and check out our upcoming online reading group - Upsetting the Powers. Dr. Adam Clark is Associate Professor of Theology at Xavier University. He is committed to the idea that theological education in the twenty-first century must function as a counter-story. One that equips us to read against the grain of the dominant culture and inspires one to live into the Ignatian dictum of going forth “to set the world on fire.” To this end, Dr. Clark is intentional about pedagogical practices that raise critical consciousness by going beneath surface meanings, unmasking conventional wisdoms and reimagining the good. He currently serves as co-chair of Black Theology Group at the American Academy of Religion, actively publishes in the area of black theology and black religion and participates in social justice groups at Xavier and in the Cincinnati area. He earned his PhD at Union Theological Seminary in New York where he was mentored by James Cone. Previous Episodes w/ Adam: Jan 6th Theological Debrief: Adam Clark and Jeffrey Pugh Adam Clark: What is Black Theology? From Lebron James to the Black Panther: Black Theology QnA w/ Adam Clark Adam Clark: James Cone was right Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I absolutely love Mark Scandrette. Not only do I find his invitation to life in the way of Jesus personally compelling in deep ways, but he is a friend, mentor, and the new generation of 'deconstructors' thoughts on the emerging church movement his neighborhood experience of police violence the way the Beatitudes of Jesus invite us to a vision of reality adult confirmation online spiritual formation the 'Great Resignation' pandemic spirituality learning to love the enemies that are close to you karaoke discipleship Mark Scandrette is an internationally recognized expert in practical Christian spirituality. He is the founding director of ReIMAGINE: A Center for Integral Christian Practice, where he leads an annual series of retreats, workshops and projects designed to help participants apply spiritual wisdom to everyday life. His multidisciplinary studies in applied psychology, family health and theology have shaped his approach to learning and transformation. He is on the creative team for NINE BEATS collective, a project exploring the beatitudes as a 21st vocabulary for the living way of Jesus. A sought after voice for creative, radical and embodied faith practices, he frequently speaks at universities, churches and conferences nationally and internationally and also serves as adjunct faculty in the doctoral program at Fuller Theological Seminary. His most recent books include The Ninefold Path of Jesus, FREE, Practicing the Way of Jesus and Belonging and Becoming (with Lisa Scandrette). Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a special crossover episode with Chase Tibbs from the Faith and Capital podcast. In our conversation, Chase gives 5 reasons to go ‘Christian Socialist.’ Most theology nerds know that the overwhelming majority of theologians in the 2oth century were socialists. Barth, Tillich, Niebuhr, Guiterrez and more were all committed Christian socialists, and yet today, many Christians wrongly assume the two are incompatible. I doubt everyone is going to be persuaded, but I hope more people will come to see how Chase’s faith deeply informs his politics. You can check out our previous episode over here. Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Deacon Tony Jones is back on the podcast for a Deacon's Meeting of sorts. He joins me in answering questions from the Homebrewed Community and we have ourselves a bunch of fun. The questions for the fun came from the people. Topics we discuss include... hunting, fishing, and the land (our catch-up and outdoor stories occupy the first 25 minutes) Tony's return to ministry the changing shape of the local congregation Ground of Being &/or Personal Theism Scottish hoppy beer & the Herods... the book on the family Schleiermacher VS Kierkegaard the struggle to pray A Few Previous Podcast Visits with Tony Tony Jones: the Post-Emergent Church Devilpalooza: N.T. Wright, Richard Beck, Greg Boyd, Tony Jones and Duke! Soapbox Blabbery with Peter Rollins & Tony Jones Tony Jones & Peter Rollins on #TheGreatDebacle Did God Kill Jesus? w/ Tony Jones Tony Jones is the author of Did God Kill Jesus? (HarperOne, 2015) and contributing writer to several outdoors periodicals. He’s written a dozen books, including The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier and The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life, developed the iPhone app, hosts the Reverend Hunter Podcast, and teaches at Fuller Theological Seminary. Tony is a sought after speaker and consultant in the areas of emerging church, postmodernism, and Christian spirituality, writing, and the outdoors. He served as a consultant on the television show, The Path, and he owns an event planning company, Crucible Creative. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aaron Simmons is back on the podcast to give you a tasty preview reading group – Walking with Kierkegaard. In this episode, you get to listen in to the first session. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Rolf A. Jacobson is the Professor of Old Testament and the Alvin N. Rogness Chair of Scripture, Theology, and Ministry at Luther Seminary. Known for his humor and faithful biblical interpretation, Jacobson is an in-demand preacher and teacher. With Craig Koester, he developed and supports the Narrative Lectionary. He enjoys collaborating with other teachers and pastors. His collaborative projects include The Book of Psalms (NICOT; with Beth Tanner and Nancy deClaissé-Walford), Invitation to the Psalms (with Karl Jacobson), Crazy Talk: A Not-So-Stuffy Dictionary of Theological Terms (with five fellow Luther Seminary graduates), and Crazy Book: A Not-So-Stuffy Dictionary of Biblical Terms(with Hans Wiersma and Karl Jacobon). He is also the author of The Homebrewed Christianity Guide to the Old Testament: Israel’s In-Your-Face, Holy God. His scholarly interests include the Psalms, prophets, biblical theology, biblical narrative, and preaching the Old Testament. His voice can be heard on two weekly preaching podcasts, “Sermon Brainwave” and “The Narrative Lectionary,” as well as singing the high lonesome with a Lutheran bluegrass band, “The Fleshpots of Egypt.” A survivor of childhood cancer, he is a double, above-the-knee amputee, who generally wears a bicycle and a smile. He lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, with his beloved wife Amy, their children Ingrid and Gunnar, and a cat who thinks he is a dog. He is a loyal friend, lifelong sufferer of Minnesota sports, and committed board-game geek. The Five Most Offensive Things... you learn in Seminary Nobody wrote anything (in the Bible) There are two—no, make that three, four, five, six,—seven creation stories in the Old Testament There are no “Jews” in the Old Testament Nobody agrees on how many books are in the Old Testament The metaphor that God is a husband and the people of God are God’s wife is really offensive and yucky Other things we discuss in the conversation: a hot take on the 10 Commandments the task of teaching the Old Testament to future ministers the deep joy of ruining everyone's favorite Bible verses...'i knew the plans I have for you' - 'this is the day the Lord has made' the Lutheran & Process connection Biblical authorship and source criticism Bluegrass Hymn Sing with Richard Rohr the Biblical Creation stories and the divine hermeneutic Leviathan love the holy ghost resurrection NFT where the canon comes from how wild Ezekiel gets and the day Tripp wore an Ezekiel shirt how Biblical translations hide the Bible's rough side election as synchronicity not selectivity way too many Tripp stories...the last one is about Demons Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you ready for some New Testament hype? My friend and colleague Dr. Matt Novenson is on the podcast. We have a bunch of fun. Matthew Novenson is Senior Lecturer in New Testament and Christian Origins at the University of Edinburgh, where he is also director of the Centre for the Study of Christian Origins. Check out his books: The Grammar of Messianism: An Ancient Jewish Political Idiom and Its Users Christ Among the Messiahs: Christ Language in Paul and Messiah Language in Ancient Judaism Paul, Then and Now Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Aaron Simmons is back on the podcast to preview our upcoming reading group - Walking with Kierkegaard. In this conversation we give 5 reasons the church needs Kierkegaard today. 5 Reasons the Church needs Kierkegaard today 1. Kierkegaard reminds us that faith is about lived commitment, not simply about right belief. 2. Kierkegaard helps us see that Christian Nationalism is anti-Christ. 3. Kierkegaard shows what it means to seek faithfulness, rather than success. 4. Kierkegaard stresses the radical inclusivity of the call: "Come all who are heavy burdened." 5. Kierkegaard models what it looks like to see humility as the condition of confidence. J. Aaron Simmons holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Vanderbilt University and is currently a Professor of philosophy at Furman University in Greenville, SC (USA). He is the President of the Søren Kierkegaard Society (USA) and has published widely in philosophy of religion, phenomenology, and existentialism. Among his authored and edited books are God and the Other: Ethics and Politics After the Theological Turn; The New Phenomenology: A Philosophical Introduction; Kierkegaard’s God and the Good Life; and Kierkegaard and Levinas: Ethics, Politics, and Religion. He and his wife, Vanessa, have been married 20 years and have an 11 year old son, Atticus. Although Aaron loves doing philosophy, he would almost always rather be fishing. Check out Aaron’s youtube channel: “Philosophy for Where We Find Ourselves,” and his TedX talk (also on youtube): “The Failure of Success.” Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My buddy Dustin Kensrue is back on the podcast. We discuss his band Thrice's newest album - horizons/east. On top of being a rock star, Dustin is a member of the #ProcessParty and in our conversation, we discuss how his views of faith, politics, and more have changed and are expressed in the album. Enjoy :) This episode is sponsored by: When Amy-Jill Levine, University Professor of New Testament and Jewish Studies at Vanderbilt Divinity School, looked at the gospels, when she read them, every once in a while Jesus would say something that would take her aback. Sell all you have and give to the poor. Comments about a fiery hell. Hate your mother and your father. You Jews are children of the devil. She would read these versus, and I think Jesus what were you thinking? What did you mean? Find answers and meaning to these perplexing teachings with Amy-Jill Levine and her new study The Difficult Words of Jesus: A Beginner’s Guide to His Most Perplexing Teachings. The study includes a book, leader guide, and video sessions. With this study come learn, come be challenged, come be inspired, come be provoked, come be comforted, and come find even more of the Good News. The Difficult Words of Jesus book and Bible study components are available wherever you buy books. Explore the study at AbingdonPress.com/DifficultWords. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Wm. Curtis Holtzen is a professor of philosophy and theology at Hope International University. He is the author of The God Who Trusts: A Relational Theology of Divine Faith, Hope, and Love and has also authored chapters on pop culture topics such as The Simpsons, The Peanuts, and Bruce Almighty. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Brian McLaren joins the pod and we tackle some excellent questions. Here you will get a glimpse of what a QnA session sounds like in our current online learning group Oh God What Now: Christianity 20 years after 9/11. The class itself is 6-weeks and features a weekly session with Diana Butler Bass and Brian, along with occasional QnA sessions like this. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Myron Penner is a professor of philosophy at Trinity Western University and director of the Anabaptist-Mennonite Centre for Faith and Learning. On top of being a stellar scholar, he is a dear friend and the coolest Mennonite Canadian philosopher on planet earth :) Since we are friends, Myron managed to turn almost every question around back at me and then bring up topics he knows animate certain peculiar frustrations of mind. This made for a very unique vibe and me talking more than normal. Believe it or not, this conversation was originally over 3 hours. There is a reward for those that make it to the end. We discuss a fun follow-up podcast where we bring three of our good friends on to play a little philosophical game. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Diana Butler Bass joins the pod and we tackle some excellent questions. Here you will get a glimpse of what a QnA session sounds like in our current online learning group Oh God What Now: Christianity 20 years after 9/11. The class itself is 6-weeks and features a weekly session with Diana Butler Bass and Brian, along with occasional QnA sessions like this. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Michael Showalter is here to talk about his newest film, The Eyes of Tammy Faye. He first got his start as a founding member of the sketch comedy troupes The State and Stella, and well as co-writing and staring in the now classic film, Wet Hot American Summer. More recently, he directed The Lovebirds (Paramount/MRC), a comedy starring Issa Rae and Kumail Nanjiani. He also directed the 2017 Academy Award-nominated film The Big Sick, starring Nanjiani and Zoe Kazan, and the 2016 SXSW award-winning film Hello, My Name Is Doris, starring Sally Field, which he also co-wrote. Michael is a co-creator of TBS critically-acclaimed series Search Party, starring Alia Shawkat, and is an executive producer of the CW series In The Dark, created by Corinne Kingsbury, in which he also directed the pilot episode. In 2019, Michael directed Ray Romano in his first stand-up special in 23 years titled Right Here, Around the Corner, now available to watch on Netflix. Michael has done a number of other projects with Netflix, including co-creating the TV mini-series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp and Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later. His film credits include They Came Together, a satire of romantic comedies starring Paul Rudd and Amy Poehler, and The Baxter, inspired by the stylings of a Howard Hawks comedy. In addition to film, Michael has directed numerous episodes of television shows including Grace & Frankie and LOVE. In addition to Showalter, I am joined by my friend and scholar of religion and pop-culture - Dr. Ryan Parker. In our conversation we disuss... Pairing The Eyes of Tammy Faye with The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill, and the TV show The Righteous Gemstones. Life after the perversion of evangelical faith Lord of the Rings and the upcoming series on Amazon... Power Ranking Marvel & Star Wars on Disney+ Ryan is just now starting the Clone Wars. If it is new to you the MORTIS TRIOLOGY is amazing. What is your go-to Star Wars film? If you could only have one super power...and the one Socrates is against How if you were the Flash you should consume more carbs and erase dumb things you say Why Ryan and I love Henry at Monkish Brewing If you got to produce a graphic novel what would it be? We mention the greatest living comic book author, Jason Aaron's visit to the podcast and Ewan McGregor. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Diana Butler Bass joins the pod and we tackle some excellent questions. Here you will get a glimpse of what a QnA session sounds like in our current online learning group Oh God What Now: Christianity 20 years after 9/11. The class itself is 6-weeks and features a weekly session with Diana Butler Bass and Brian, along with occasional QnA sessions like this. Here are a few links from things we mention in the episode... If you enjoy the QnA, then consider joining the class for more - Oh God What Now: Christianity 20 Years After 9/11. Head over HERE to check out Diana's recent newsletter breaking down the recent data on American Evangelicals. To get other sweet newsletter posts from Diana join the Cottage here. In the episode, we discuss two collections of data. First is this recent study from PEW Research Center and then this study from PRRI looking at the partisan divide on perspectives about 1/6. We both mention our love for this particular John Shelby Spong book. I mention how much of loved The Eyes of Tammy Faye - a movie you should check out. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matthew David Segall returns to the podcast after 8 years! It was a blast to talk with Matt about his new book and a bunch of other process-related goodness. When you get done listening make sure you check out his YouTube channel and the new book. How did Matt end up with cosmological questions finding Alfred North Whitehead through Terence Mckenna "Whitehead is like Psychadelics, you shouldn't jump into them alone" the allure of Whitehead's vision of mind in nature the potential of a process engagement with different sciences Tripp talks about how part five of Process & Reality feels like a philosophical revival sermon the limits of science and problem of repressed reductive metaphysics what does Whitehead mean by a philosophy of organism the hot spring hypothesis for the origin of life what is in the concept 'world-soul' how does Whitehead help one think of life after physical death how Whitehead came to affirm God Matt shares the story of his own wrestling with Christianity and his reflection on the future of the faith... 'a non-denominational non-institutionalized Christian' what do we make about the power and problems that come with a religious tradition Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Excited to have one of my heroes, practical theologian, army chaplain - Joshua Morris, joining me on the podcast to explore the legacy of 9/11 and the moral injury among returning veterans. About the book... Joshua Morris privileges the voices of veterans to argue that returning soldiers need families, friends, and religious communities to listen to their stories with compassion to avoid amplifying the effects of moral injury. When society greets returning soldiers in ways that reinforce cultural norms that frame military service as heroic, rather than acknowledging its ambiguities and harmful effects, it exacerbates moral injury and keeps veterans from resolving inner conflicts and coping effectively with civilian life. Morris, a military chaplain and veteran who served in Afghanistan, knows these difficulties first hand. Using stories from other veterans, Morris helps us see how cultural assumptions about military service can complicate moral injury and a veteran's return home. Drawing from liberation theologies, ideology critique, and Antonio Gramsci's advocacy for the working class, the book suggests useful perspectives and spiritual care resources for military chaplains, religious leaders, caregivers, and concerned civilians. Morris argues that military chaplains are uniquely positioned to help returning soldiers resist the amplification of existing moral injury. Moving from "thank you for your service" to liberative solidarity can galvanize resistance and make change possible. Here's my endorsement for the book: The church has long debated war in general and the terms for a 'just' war. Recently there has been a growing interest in the moral injury of soldiers and the responsibility of both the Church and the State for them. In Moral Injury Among Returning Veterans, Morris advances the conversation by harnessing the ambiguity of military Chaplaincy for theological profundity and ecclesiological clarity. Weaving together his own experience and the testimonies of those he served in Afghanistan with a liberationist reading of Bonhoeffer, Morris invites and challenges the reader with a vision of a counter-hegemonic community. In this text, Morris reveals himself as a trusted guide to process our own failures as a church, a nation, and an academy. I am deeply grateful for this powerful text. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Brian McLaren joins the pod and we tackle some excellent questions. Here you will get a glimpse of what a QnA session sounds like in our current online learning group Oh God What Now: Christianity 20 years after 9/11. The class itself is 6-weeks and features a weekly session with Diana Butler Bass and Brian, along with occasional QnA sessions like this. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is time for a party - a book release party! Thriving with Stone-Age Minds: Evolutionary Psychology, Christian Faith, and the Quest for Human Flourishing is out and the co-authors, Justin Barrett and Pamela King, are joined by two psychological scientist clergy Joanna Collicutt, and Jonathan Jong for some nerdy fun! Check out our partner: Blueprint 1543 is an organization that develops grant projects at the intersection of faith and the sciences. With cognitive scientist Justin Barrett as one of its founders, BP1543 takes a special interest in how the psychological sciences might be integrated as a tool for a more robust understanding of human flourishing. To learn more about the Thrive Center head over here. Pam has a chapter on "Vocation as Becoming: Telos, Thriving & Joy" right over here. Additional interdisciplinary work (pubs, videos) on telos can be found here on Thrive's website here. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Diana Butler Bass and Brian McLaren continue to be two of the most trusted and influential voices in the Church. Nearing the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the three of us decided to spend 6 weeks together online exploring how Christianity has changed over the last 20 years. Each week we will be focusing on a different theme and last night we kicked things off looking at 20 years of religious decline. Not only did Diana bring the heat in the mini-lecture, but the ensuing conversation was energizing and enlightening. Before the session ended I had members of the class asking if they could share it with friends in an attempt to lure them to join the group. I figured I would go ahead and share with you all too. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My friend and process philosopher Dr. Andrew Davis is on the podcast! We have a bunch of nerdy fun. In the conversation we discuss... What does it mean that humans are a part of nature? What is entailed in an event of experience? Why do metaphysics? How are mind and value related? Why Whitehead thought God was necessary for an adequate metaphysics On the cosmological piety of Whitehead Problematizing the conceept of 'religion' from a process persepctive we mention this previous podcast episode with John Haught: the New Cosmic Story Here's Andrew's YouTube channel Andrew M. Davis is a philosopher, theologian and scholar of world religions. He is Program Director for the Center for Process Studies at Claremont School of Theology at Willamette University. A native of northern California, he was born and raised among the towering redwoods of Occidental and the meandering woodlands of Santa Rosa’s Bennett Valley. It was out these natural settings that his passion for the questions of philosophy, theology and religion first emerged. He holds B.A. in Philosophy and Theology, an M.A. in Interreligious Studies, and a Ph.D. in Religion and Process Philosophy from Claremont School of Theology. An educator and advocate of cross-cultural knowledge and religious literacy, his studies have led him to a variety of religious contexts and communities around the world, including India, Israel-Palestine, and Europe. He received the 2013 Award for Excellence in Biblical Studies, the 2017 fellowship with FASPE (Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics) and the 2020 Presidential Award for Academic Excellence. He was recently nominated and elected as a fellow for the International Society of Science and Religion (ISSR). He is a poet, aphorist and author or editor of several books including How I Found God in Everyone and Everywhere: An Anthology of Spiritual Memoirs (2018); Propositions in the Making: Experiments in a Whiteheadian Laboratory (2019); Depths as Yet Unspoken: Whiteheadian Excursions in Mysticism, Multiplicity, and Divinity (2020); Mind, Value, and Cosmos: On the Relational Nature of Ultimacy (2020); Nature In Process: Organic Proposals in Philosophy, Society and Religion (forthcoming, 2021); and Process Cosmology: New Integrations in Science and Philosophy (forthcoming, 2021). Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I loved this conversation. Once I heard that Jason was going to be releasing a book exploring the future of theory, I was interested... after reading it, I was PUMPED. Metamodernism is spectacular. This rather nerdy and cross-disciplinary conversation was so much fun. Hopefully, you will enjoy it and share it. Jason Ananda Josephson Storm is chair and professor of religion and chair of science and technology studies at Williams College. He is the author of The Invention of Religion in Japan, The Myth of Disenchantment: Magic, Modernity, and the Birth of the Human Sciences, and his brand new text Metamodernism: the Future of Theory. "For decades, scholars have been calling into question the universality of disciplinary objects and categories. The coherence of defined autonomous categories—such as religion, science, and art—has collapsed under the weight of postmodern critiques, calling into question the possibility of progress and even the value of knowledge. Jason Ananda Josephson Storm aims to radicalize and move beyond these deconstructive projects to offer a path forward for the humanities and social sciences using a new model for theory he calls metamodernism. Metamodernism works through the postmodern critiques and uncovers the mechanisms that produce and maintain concepts and social categories. In so doing, Storm provides a new, radical account of society’s ever-changing nature—what he calls a “Process Social Ontology”—and its materialization in temporary zones of stability or “social kinds.” Storm then formulates a fresh approach to philosophy of language by looking beyond the typical theorizing that focuses solely on human language production, showing us instead how our own sign-making is actually on a continuum with animal and plant communication. Storm also considers fundamental issues of the relationship between knowledge and value, promoting a turn toward humble, emancipatory knowledge that recognizes the existence of multiple modes of the real. Metamodernism is a revolutionary manifesto for research in the human sciences that offers a new way through postmodern skepticism to envision a more inclusive future of theory in which new forms of both progress and knowledge can be realized." Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Andy and I tackle a bunch of questions from Religion and the Spiritual Crisis class members. It is a bunch of fun:) You can grab the class lectures now before they get locked up in the HBC vault for members only. Andrew Root is the Carrie Olson Baalson Professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary, USA. He writes and researches in areas of theology, ministry, culture, and younger generations. His most recent books are The Congregation in a Secular Age (Baker, 2021), The End of Youth Ministry? (Baker, 2020), The Pastor in a Secular Age: Ministry to People Who No Longer Need God (Baker, 2019), Faith Formation in a Secular Age (Baker, 2017), and Exploding Stars, Dead Dinosaurs, and Zombies: Youth Ministry in the Age of Science (Fortress Press, 2018). Andy has worked in congregations, parachurch ministries, and social service programs. He lives in St. Paul with his wife Kara, two children, Owen and Maisy, and their dog. When not reading, writing, or teaching, Andy spends far too much time watching TV and movies. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get Pumped for the party - an apocalyptic #ProcessParty!! This episode is a party with two of my favorite theologians! Catherine Keller and Jacob Erickson are here to bring the zest to the people. Want to get the invite to future live streams? Sign-up for the HBC newsletter on the front page. PREVIOUS EPISODES WITH JAKE OR CATHERINE Jacob Erickson: a Theopoetics of the Earth Theological Possibilities with Catherine Keller Catherine Keller: God-ish?:Logos of Theos in a (Seriously) Uncertain Time Catherine Keller on Cloud of the Impossible Catherine Keller on Process, Poetry, & Post-Structuralism [Barrel Aged] Theology for the People: Keller, Cobb and God The Birth of God and a new JC – part 2 Keller AAR Keller-riffic + Caputo Tells Pete the “lack” is BS Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's time for another edition of live-streamed "Big God" questions with Tom Oord. This time we tackle a number of complaints and critiques of open and relational theology from twitter. Tom also shares news about his new book Open and Relational Theology. Check it out. We are both evangelists for Open and Relational Theology and now that it has a center you should check it out. Tom mentioned the launch of a new doctoral program in Open and Relational Theology. You can check it out here. Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. Oord is an award-winning author, and he has written or edited more than twenty books. A twelve-time Faculty Award-winning professor, Oord teaches at institutions around the globe. A gifted speaker, Oord is known for his contributions to research on love, open and relational theology, science and religion, and the implications of freedom and relationships for transformation. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Last night I had some live streaming fun with Diana Butler Bass. She is not only a brilliant scholar and communicator but a mentor and friend. In this conversation, we discuss her newest book, Freeing Jesus, and the way it is a culmination of a trajectory first set in Christianity After Religion. BTW you should sign up for her substack newsletter. It is awesome. Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sociologist of Religion, Dr. Gerardo Marti, drops a powerful lecture that explores secularization in three parts - the statistics, the theory, and the history. This lecture and the ensuing conversation is the kickoff of an open online reading group. Dr. Gerardo Marti is a professor of Sociology at Davidson in North Carolina. His research centers around race, ethnicity, religion, identity, inequality, and social change. Through his research, he works to uncover the dynamics of contemporary issues like diversity, religious innovation, and political power. Gerardo's previous visit to the podcast: a Sociologist on American Religion Here’s a few of his books to check out: American Blindspot: Race, Class, Religion, and the Trump Presidency The Deconstructed Church: Understanding Emerging Christianity The Glass Church: Robert H. Schuller, the Crystal Cathedral, and the Strain of Megachurch Ministry Latino Protestants in America: Growing and Diverse Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Richard D. Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst where he taught economics from 1973 to 2008. He is currently a Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University, New York City. Earlier he taught economics at Yale University (1967-1969) and at the City College of the City University of New York (1969-1973). In 1994, he was a Visiting Professor of Economics at the University of Paris (France), I (Sorbonne). Wolff was also a regular lecturer at the Brecht Forum in New York City. Professor Wolff's weekly show, Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff, is syndicated on over 70 radio stations nationwide and available for broadcast on Free Speech TV. Professor Wolff enjoys french cuisine and lives in New York City with his wife, Dr. Harriet Fraad. They have two adult children. Over the last twenty-five years, in collaboration with his colleague, Stephen Resnick, he has developed a new approach to political economy. While it retains and systematically elaborates the Marxist notion of class as surplus labor, it rejects the economic determinism typical of most schools of economics and usually associated with Marxism as well. This new approach appears in several books co-authored by Resnick and Wolff and numerous articles by them separately and together. Common to all of Professor Wolff’s work are two central components. The first is the introduction of class, in its elaborated surplus labor definition, as a new "entry point" of social analysis. The second is the concept of overdetermination as the logic of an analytic project that is consistently non-determinist. Want to sneak into Dr. Wolff's economics class? Then check out this amazing collection of his class lectures. Want to check out Dr. Wolff and his partners' collection of podcasts? Head over here. Books by Dr. Wolff The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us from Pandemics or Itself (2020) Understanding Socialism (2019) Understanding Marxism (2018) Capitalism's Crisis Deepens: Essays on the Global Economic Meltdown (2016) Democracy at Work: A Cure for Capitalism (2012) Occupy the Economy: Challenging Capitalism (2012) Contending Economic Theories: Neoclassical, Keynesian, and Marxian (2012) Capitalism Hits the Fan: The Global Economic Meltdown and What to Do About It (2009) New Departures in Marxian Theory (2006) Economics: Marxian versus Neoclassical (1987) Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices