Homebrewed Christianity

It’s time for a nerdy cross-over podcast episode. Tripp is joined by Pete Enns of The Bible for Normal People, and they have a bunch of fun trying to lure you to take a one-question survey that just happens to be God-Ordained. We also discuss Pete’s recent blog post on adaptive Christianity, the God of the Bible, and other nerdy nuggets. If that wasn’t enough, Pete and Tripp discuss some of the exciting things going down at Theology Beer Camp. Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tripp and Tony connect after their spring family outings and share stories before Tony gives some quality guidance for the Fuller Family’s upcoming trip Rome. Things we discuss… Plans for Theology Beer Camp & how to dominate the God-Box go HERE and signup for an invite to Beer Camp tickets Tony shares about his time with his daughter in Turkey Tripp discusses his family trip to Paris and Belgium Tripp shares about his Truman Show nightmare Tony gives a very thorough guide to visiting Rome. I am now double pumped about it! Download Tony’s Rome Recommendations HERE You check out Tony’s writing retreat to Rome 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

I love hanging out with Diana Butler Bass. She doesn’t hate hanging out with me, so we decided to do monthly live hangs with our supporters called Ruining Dinner. Each time we get together, we discuss whatever is happening in the public square at the intersection of religion and politics. This episode is a little taste of what happens on the live zoom. To be a part of future zoom sessions and get access to the entire session, join Diana’s newsletter community, the Cottage &/or the Homebrewed Community. 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

All theology is NOT good. There is real deal Bad Theology and it kills. Practical theologian and one of my new favorite podcast guests, Leah Robinson is here for a nerdy party. Dr. Leah Robinson is Associate Professor of Religion at Pfieffer University. You should also follow her on twitter. In this conversation we discuss… how to be a Southerner living in Edinburgh Leah resists being “all up on Barth’s butt” what is Practical Theology & how Leah got into it our shared interest in Peter Berger’s image of a Sacred Canopy how theology changes once you realize it is (in part) a social construct how to decipher if a theology is practically good or bad the task of processing one’s own religious history dealing with Southern Baptist baggage and staying Christian Tripp manages to bring up LOTR & why he loves this specific audio version… you are welcome. processing purity culture & kissing ‘kissing dating good bye’ good bye Leah doesn’t recognize a DC Talk reference but said she was a Skillet person. She does like Norma Jean & Cool Hand Luke. Tripp explains evangelical youth group “gold bonding” to Leah and how to make a Red Neck Martini Leah gives advice to bringing whiskey to AAR by repurposing a wine bra. 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 heard Dr. Ryan Burge on the Crackers & Grape Juice podcast, started following him on twitter, and knew I wanted to have him on HBC. We had a very fun time! After listening, you will want to check out his new book 20 Myths about Religion and Politics in America. Ryan P. Burge is an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University. Author of numerous journal articles, he is the cofounder of and a frequent contributor to Religion in Public, a forum for scholars of religion and politics to make their work accessible to a general audience. Burge is a pastor in the American Baptist Church. Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. William Greenway returns to the podcast to talk about his most recent book, Reasonable Faith for a Post-Secular Age: Open Christian Spirituality and Ethics. Bill is Professor of Philosophical Theology at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. I absolutely loved the book and had a complete blast in this conversation. If you missed it you will want to go back and check out his first visit to the podcast on The Challenge of Evil. About the book… Our global community desperately needs an overt awakening to an age of reason and faith. Reasonable Faith for a Post-Secular Age meets this need by interpreting faith not in terms of belief in propositions but in terms of living surrender to having been seized by agape for every Face, including one’s own. Virtually all faith traditions, from Buddhism to Humanism to Wiccan, are rooted in agape and therefore share considerable spiritual and ethical common ground (a truth long veiled). In contrast to ethically feckless secular rationality—over which a devastating, global social Darwinism currently runs roughshod—faith qua living surrender to agape grounds moral realism, awakens us to love for all creatures, and inspires struggles for justice. Inspired by the philosophy of Emmanuel Levinas and Christian spirituality, Greenway engages, on the one hand, intellectuals like Stanley Hauerwas, Richard Rorty, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, Jeffery Stout, Charles Taylor, and Bernard Williams, and, on the other, contemporary debates over consciousness, free will, evil, and metaethics. He details the character of secular rationality’s devastating scission from moral reality and clarifies the promise of understanding faith and spirituality in terms of agape. Books from Dr. Greenway A Reasonable Belief: Why God and Faith Make Sense The Challenge of Evil: Grace and the Problem of Suffering Reasonable Faith for a Post-Secular Age: Open Christian Spirituality and Ethics For the Love of All Creatures: The Story of Grace in Genesis Agape Ethics: Moral Realism and Love for All Life Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why Stay Christian? A growing number of people are asking this question. My friend Brian McLaren has a new book coming out exploring it. Today we get to hear John Cobb’s response. At 97 years old, John has a lot of wisdom to share. This episode is an invitation to an upcoming online class, Christianity in Process, where you will get an introduction to Process theology with John Cobb. The class is donation-based, including 0, so head on over and join the fun. We are also giving away a library of John Cobb books… so get on it:) 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. Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Dominic Crossan joins me and Diana Butler Bass to discuss a bunch of questions and topics from Jesus De/Constructed class members. This is the live stream of the QnA. s Previous Visits from Crossan to the podcast Render Unto Caesar Resurrecting Easter with John Dominic Crossan John Dominic Crossan on the First Christmas From Jesus’ Parables to Parables of God with John Dominic Crossan John Dominic Crossan on God & Empire!  Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Helen K. Bond is Professor of Christian Origins & Head of the School of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh. She returns to the podcast for a wide-ranging conversation tackling topics from members of the HBC online Lent group, Jesus De/Constructed. In our chat we discuss… what is the difference between the historical Jesus and the Christ of faith? how does a historical Jesus scholar do their work? the cultural/social/political/religious matrix of the historical Jesus the role of honor and shame in Jesus’ culture the entanglement of religion and politics what is the scholarly consensus around the historical Jesus? the political potency of Pilate’s pagan foreign troops in town for the Passover what does it mean for Jesus to be an Apocalyptic Jewish figure? it’s the end of the world, but what do “end” and “world” mean? how did the ancient world understand religion, divinity, and god-talk? how should we understand the titles of Jesus in the NT and his historical self-consciousness? what does it mean for Jesus to be the Christ? why does Paul say so little about the historical Jesus? what occasioned the composition of the Gospels? you should listen to Helen’s first visit to the podcast…the First Biography of Jesus… PS it is the Gospel of Mark how does seeing the Gospels as biographies change the way we read them? go get Helen’s new book Women Remembered: Jesus’ Female Disciples the role and status of women in the early church how the transitions within the early church brought back the patriarchy Tertullian and the Montanists Helen’s favorite female followers of Jesus was Jesus a feminist? what do we know about Mary, the mother of Jesus? the historical Jesus’ brother James the cross & resurrection 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

John Dominic Crossan is back on the podcast talking about his new book Render Unto Caesar: The Struggle over Christ and Culture in the New Testament. It is always a blast to have Dom on the podcast and this is no exception! Dr. Crossan is one of the leading New Testament scholars today. Not only has he significantly contributed to the academic guild, but he has consistently written texts for a larger audience. Want to hang out with Dom? Then come join an upcoming live stream QnA where he will be tackling a bunch of Bible questions from listeners. It promises to be a nerdy good time! Previous Visits from Crossan to the podcast Resurrecting Easter with John Dominic Crossan John Dominic Crossan on the First Christmas From Jesus’ Parables to Parables of God with John Dominic Crossan John Dominic Crossan on God & Empire! 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 buddy and the New Testament scholar Matt Novenson is back on the podcast to tackle a bunch of Bible questions and topics from the Jesus De/Constructed group. It was a tour de force of the early Christian movements. In the conversation we discuss things like… the major social /cultural context of Jesus Rome’s relationship to Israel the role of the Temple in Jewish life and how its destruction changed things the historical Jesus and the many Gospels he inspired what is Apocalyptic Judaism, the Kingdom of God, and Jesus’ own message Did Jesus and his earliest followers think the world was going to end? Paul and his role in early Christianity how the discoveries of the last century have reshaped our understanding of NT times the Resurrection of Jesus and the historian Dr. 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 previous podcast visit “ Messiah, Lord, Logos, & Other Titles” and 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 THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY Louisville Seminary is a progressive theological school located in the fun and friendly city of Louisville, Kentucky. They offer the following programs: Master of Divinity, Master of Arts in Religion, Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy, the Doctor of Ministry, and dual degree options in partnership with the University of Louisville in law, business, and social work. All master’s level students who are enrolled at least half time are guaranteed a minimum of a 100% tuition scholarship. Louisville Seminary hosts various virtual and in-person visit opportunities. If you’re interested in the MDiv or MAR for this coming fall, there is still time to apply. The deadline is June 1. To learn more, to schedule a visit, or to apply, visit www.LPTS.edu. For Homebrewed Christianity listeners, if you apply to a master’s program by June 1, your application fee will be waived. Simply email the code “Homebrewed Podcast” to [email protected]. 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

Dr. Conrad Kanagy taught Sociology at Elizabethtown College since 1993 and is an established scholar in the study of American and Global Christianity. He is also an ordained Mennonite minister. You can check out his podcast, YouTube channel, and the upcoming webinar – “Jesus in the Mainline: Why is Progressive Christianity Embracing A Church Dismantled?.” Wherever you look, the metrics of the institutional church spell doom. Amid this forecast, Conrad Kanagy—long-time pastor and sociologist of religion—offers a vision of hope in what he calls the “Spirit’s dismantling of the church.” Five years ago, Kanagy learned that he had Parkinson’s disease. This devastating experience of “dismantling” gave him the courage to strip off his masks and to say things that, according to one reader, “Pastors and professors are not supposed to say!” When Covid-19 emerged two years ago, Kanagy produced a popular podcast that he has turned into a series of books receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews. Donald Kraybill, author of The Upside Down Kingdom, writes: “Conrad’s essays mingle the voice of a prophet, the eye of a sociologist, the heart of a pastor, the wisdom of an educator, and above all the candid confessions of a child of God. He may stir your ire or light your fire, annoy you or compel you to compassion. Prophetic voices do that. But you will keep on reading. I promise!” Professor Walter Brueggemann notes: “Conrad is able to cross many boundaries…he is able to juxtapose odd partners, push the extremities of exposure, and do a broad sweep of scripture. The subtext of his writing is the scriptural account wherein the biblical community of faith, in its distortion and obduracy, was dismantled in order to make way for an authentic community of mission.” Dr. Kanagy is currently writing an authorized biography of Professor Brueggemann. The author includes stories of his growing up in a strict Amish/Mennonite community, his life-long struggle with OCD and constant fear of God’s wrath and damnation, his crises in ministry, battles with cancer, and his recent diagnosis of PD. 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

Transgressive Devotion is one of the best theology books I have read in years. I was thrilled to connect with Natalie and get her on the podcast. My list of questions was ginormous… then we got on zoom and all sorts of nerdy joy broke loose. We got to about 1/3 of topics, but had so much fun! On top of some zesty theology, we discussed Justin Bieber’s doughnuts, the Chicken Big Mac, Gandalf witnessing techniques, parenting as theologians, Passion Week, and a little sing-a-long. Dr. Natalie Wigg-Stevenson is Associate Professor of Contextual Education and Theology at Emmanuel College, where she directs the MDiv and Contextual Education Programs. Her current research delves into how ethnographic methods could help create theological conversations across church, academy and everyday life. She is also interested in liturgical, feminist and queer theologies, cultural theories of practice, aesthetics, pop culture, and in decolonizing pedagogies. An ordained Baptist minister, Natalie is particularly passionate about preaching and worship, and about adult education in church settings. 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

Last night Diana and I hosted the authors behind the brand new book After Jesus Before Christianity for some nerdy fun. This was a special session for our online Lent group Jesus De/Constructed. “Here is a room full of forgotten stories about what it once meant to follow Jesus. Some are so strange that they tell me what a stranger I have become to my own faith. Others are so compelling that they refresh my sense of what this ?faith asks of me.â€?— Barbara Brown Taylor “There have always been Jesus people who challenged the assumptions of Empire and created refuge for the oppressed. This noble effort to uncover movements that were silenced reminds me of the saints who sing, ‘I know Jesus for myself.’â€?— Bishop William J. Barber, II “With a prose cool, clear, and crisp, a tone positive, powerful, and persuasive, and a vision confident, collective, and collegial, After Jesus Before Christianity is good news, truth, and joy—as Christianity itself should always be.â€?— John Dominic Crossan Dr. Erin K. Vearncombe is an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto, appointed to the Office of the Dean. She received her Ph.D. in a collaborative program at the University of Toronto between the Department for the Study of Religion and the Anne Tanenbaum Centre for Jewish Studies. A specialist in writing instruction, Erin worked for five years as a faculty member of the Princeton Writing Program at Princeton University, and is currently designing a program for the Faculty of Arts and Science at the University of Toronto that will ease the transition to university-level writing for incoming undergraduate students. Her research specialty is the social origins and histories of Jesus movements in the first centuries of the common era, with a particular focus on practices of dress. Hal Taussig recently retired as Professor of New Testament at Union Theological Seminary in New York. He lectures around the country and world. The editor of the award-winning A New New Testament (2013), United Methodist minister, and author of fourteen books, his mediography includes The New York Times, Time Magazine, The Daily Show, People Magazine, Newsweek Magazine, National Public Radio, the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC, the Bob Edwards Show on Sirius Radio, The History Channel, and the Washington Post. Bernard Brandon Scott is the author and editor of many books, including After Jesus Before Christianity, The Real Paul: Recovering His Radical Challenge and The Trouble with Resurrection. A charter member of the Jesus Seminar, he is chair of Westar’s Christianity Seminar. He served as chair of the Bible in Ancient and Modern Media Section of the Society of Biblical Literature, as well as a member of several SBL Seminars including the Parable Seminar and Historical Jesus Seminar. He holds an A.B. from St. Meinrad Seminary and School of Theology, an M.A. from Miami University, and a Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University. 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

It’s always good to have a Deacon’s Meeting with one of the OG Deacons, a Senior… Arch Deacon even – Dr. Tony Jones. In this conversation we discuss… the Amazon LOTR show & my quest to peer pressure Jason Micheli into a response pod visiting Lego Land & Istambul Organizing your life around keeping Income-based repayment & my failed plan to be a prof THEOLOGY BEER CAMP why Tony loves Constantine & Monty Python The predicament of institutions, accountability, and injustice The future of evangelicalism is (NOT) David Brooks Righteous Gem Stones is a reality show & the MEGA pod might be A student asked Tripp if he was an evangelical and he was triggered A Few Previous Podcast Visits with Tony A Deacon’s Meeting with Tony Jones Progressive Christian Christmas 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. 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

Jurgen Moltmann is on the podcast! Moltmann is the most influential theologian from the 2nd half of the 20th century. In this episode, you will get to hear Moltmann answer our questions like a theological champ. His one-liners are inappropriately zesty! This is the first half of the live HBC podcast from the American Academy of Religion. You will get to hear Tony Jones and I interview the zesty German one – Moltmann! During the podcast, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of Moltmann’s ground-breaking text The Crucified God. We were also joined by Jennifer McBride and Philip Clayton. Get ready for the excitement!! 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 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