The Tealos Podcast: Recent Episodes
Gracia Gormong, Silas Vermilya, & Natalie Cotherman
Welcome to the Tealos Podcast. We are just a bunch of confused college students trying to understand philosophy and theology. The world is a wild place and not much makes sense, but we do our best.
This episode interviews Rev. Dr. Kirsten Guidero, theology professor and Episcopal clergy, as we continue(d) to celebrate Women's History Month and dig deeper into the effects of gender and theology.
How did Donald Trump become the ideal presidential candidate for white evangelical Christians? The moment when John Wayne replaced Jesus as Lord.
In this episode of the Tealos Podcast, Gracia, Silas, and special guest Hannah Knodel interview Dr. Kristin Kobes Du Mez—an American historian of politics, gender, and religion. Her new book, Jesus & John Wayne, outlines the history of American Evangelicalism over the course of the last century. She explains how the distortion and corruption of gender roles and identity have become a foundational tenet of evangelical values. Her research demonstrates how Trump was the perfect advocate for Christian nationalist values.
Happy International Women's Day! In this episode, Silas, Natalie, & Gracia interview Dr. Anneke Stasson, Associate Professor of Humanities and History at Indiana Wesleyan University about the role of women throughout church history and into the present day.
"Every worship service tells a story. It's worship practices intentionally or unintentionally communicate a message that forms our reason for living. When Christian worship digresses from telling the story of Christ to one of personal motives and aspirations, that reason is lost."—Living Christ: Embodying Jesus' Life in Worship Through the Christian Year by Daniel Rife
In this episode, Gracia & Silas interview Daniel Rife—professor, author, and worship director at College Wesleyan Church. Daniel helps us understand what the Christian Year is and how it provides a sacred rhythm not only for our church services but for the entire Christian life.
Silas, Natalie, & Gracia talk through the wild year of 2020--the ways they've grown, things they've learned, and silly stories made along the way!
Why do so many conservative Christians continue to support Donald Trump despite his many overt moral failings? Why do many Americans advocate so vehemently for xenophobic policies, such as a border wall with Mexico? Why do many Americans seem so unwilling to acknowledge the injustices that ethnic and racial minorities experience in the United States?
In this episode, Natalie interviews Dr. Andrew Whitehead, sociologist and author of the award-winning book Taking America Back for God, which points to the phenomenon of "Christian nationalism," the belief that the United States is, and should be a Christian nation. The first comprehensive empirical analysis of Christian nationalism in the United States, Taking America Back for God illustrates the influence of Christian nationalism on today's most contentious social and political issues.
Description: Dr. Miranda Cruz, Theologian & Church Historian, helps us understand what Christian Nationalism is, where it comes from, why it’s problematic, and what we—as Kingdom people seeking reconciliation—can do in this polarizing political season.
WARNING: The audio quality in this episode is terrible due to Natalie & Gracia being idiots. We are fully aware and hope Silas is never absent again.
Why does there seem to be such a schism between science and religion, particularly in the American Evangelical tradition? And as a scientist who studies the empirical, how do you reconcile the mystical and the unknown? In this episode, the Tealos podcast interviews Gracia's older brother Ethan Gormong, a chemistry PhD student at the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities), who shares his insight and experience of being both a person of faith and a person of science...and how the two might not actually conflict at all.
At times, it seems as though the Christian faith hinges on the existence of a heaven and hell. But some wonder...what if we simply ceased to exist? What if there is nothing after we die? Is there still room for faith, God, and virtue in a “meaningless” world view? In this episode, Silas, Gracia, and Natalie explore the possibility and moralistic impact of believing in nothing after death.
Finally, back together in the Northwoods of Spooner, Wisconsin, Gracia, Natalie, and Silas continue the eschatology series with a discussion of purgatory. Mark Nauertz, a Catholic student at the University of Mary (Bismarck, ND) and a long-time friend of Gracia, joins the Tealos podcast to help explain not only purgatory but other Catholic concepts that can help Protestants broaden their faith understanding.
While many hold to the belief that hell exists, opinions differ greatly on what exactly this place looks like. Is it a literal torture pit of burning flames...or a place of complete isolation and void? Is it permanent...or is nothing beyond redemption? Natalie, Silas, and Gracia explore these questions as they discuss this dark and sometimes "taboo" topic.
Sources:
“The Great Divorce” by C.S. Lewis
“Mysterium Paschale” and “Dare We Hope That All Men Be Saved? With a Short Discourse on Hell” by Hans Urs Von Balthasar
“Love Wins” by Rob Bell
“Inferno” by Dante
We sit down with Kardia Dunah to discuss her passion for the Black Lives Matter movement and why it is important. Kardia shares her experience of having a Liberian family, growing up in a predominantly white community, and how white media has impacted America’s vision of innocence, beauty, and intelligence.
(Gracia was once again unable to join the interview from her remote location in the woods of northern Wisconsin, but sends all her love and support and is greatly missed).
We sit down with JC Herring to discuss the development of the Black Lives Matter movement and why it is important. He shares his experience being a biracial student at a predominately white institution within a predominately white community.
The gospel’s key message is reconciliation, yet the Church in America is more divided than ever before. How can Christians play a role in racial reconciliation? In this episode, we interview Dr. Rusty Hawkins, an American historian who has devoted his career to understanding the history of race and Christianity in the United States. He elaborates on the direct effects of racialization in our society today and how the Church can take steps towards becoming a catalyst for systemic change.
Warning: You may also hear our second guest for the episode, a friendly lawnmower outside the window.
Readings:
Book “Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America” by Michael Emerson and Christian Smith
Article “The Case for Reparations” by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Article “The Persistent Problem” by Michael Emerson
Podcast “The Problem We All Live With” by The American Life
Does anyone really know what happens when we die? Could it be half-naked babies, streets of gold, fullness, dirt, flying, pooping, and spoons all within a present reality? Ideas of heaven are vastly diverse and yet Christians all claim to believe in it. In this episode, Silas, Gracia, and Natalie tease out their beliefs on heaven as well as popular beliefs from the Church.
Sources: The BEMA Podcast. 105: An Explosive Kingdom. Tim Mackie, "Compelled: Speaking & Living the Gospel.” C.S. Lewis, "The Great Divorce."
The Gospel provides a beautiful image of one, united kingdom—a kingdom that isn’t limited by the boundaries of this world. But if this is so, why doesn’t the Church look like this? Why is there still so much division, hatred, and polarity? In this episode, Gracia explores the topic of reconciliation and the choices that each of us have with the bricks and boundaries of our lives.
Sources: “Exclusion & Embrace” by Miroslav Volf; Sermon “Mission Center” by Steve DeNeff.
What happens when faith ceases to provide adequate answers to the big questions in life? What do we do when we look behind the curtain into the Holy of Holies and find nothing but void? In this episode, Silas unpacks his own journey through deconstruction and explains how faith seldom leads to certainty, but rather to the pursuit of asking good questions and accepting uncertainty.
Standing in front of someone completely bare is terrifying... until it isn’t. In this episode, Natalie discusses how vulnerability is essential to fruitful relationships. In a world where everyone is hiding behind walls, we can step out to be fully seen, fully known, and fully out of control.
Sources:
“Daring Greatly” by Brené Brown.
“Exclusion and Embrace” by Miroslav Volf.
The foods we eat have the power to shape our bodies, but the habits we have can shape our souls. In this episode, we explore how our habits form us into certain types of people, how we can be intentional about who we are becoming, and why what we do reveals our telos.
Sources:
"You Are What You Love: The Spiritual Power of Habit" by James K.A. Smith (2016)
"The Divine Commodity"by Skye Jethani (2009)
Welcome to the Telos Podcast! In this episode, Silas, Gracia, and Natalie spill the tea on who they are and what this podcast is all about.