Homebrewed Christianity Podcast: Recent Episodes
Dr. Tripp Fuller | Theologian, Philosopher, Minister
The #1 Theology podcast on planet earth with Dr. Tripp Fuller.
Each episode features an extended interview with a different scholar from a variety of perspectives. Enjoy.
I am thrilled about this episode in the ongoing Process This series on Artificial Intelligence. In this episode, my series co-host and author of God-Like: A 500-Year History of Artificial Intelligence in Myths, Machines, Monsters, Kester Brewin, is joined by philosopher John Caputo. The conversation occurred at the intersection of artificial intelligence, technology, and theology. They explore the mystical and philosophical implications of AI, reflecting on humanity’s relationship with technology and the future of AI in reshaping our understanding of existence. They also touch on key figures such as Heidegger and Derrida, addressing both the potential and peril of technological advancements. Whether you’re a theology nerd or a curious mind, this interdisciplinary dialogue promises an enlightening exploration into AI and the human future.
John David Caputo (born October 26, 1940) is an American philosopher who is the Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion Emeritus at Syracuse University and the David R. Cook Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Villanova University. Caputo is a major figure associated with postmodern Christianity and continental philosophy of religion, as well as the founder of the theological movement known as weak theology. Much of Caputo’s work focuses on hermeneutics, phenomenology, deconstruction and theology.
Previous Episodes with Jack
- What to Believe?
- Tillich and a Radical Theology of Culture
- John Caputo on the End of Religion
- The John Caputo Book Party!
- the journey form Radical Hermeneutics to the Weakness of God
- Homebrewed Christianity’s 5th Birthday with John Caputo
- Get Lost in Order to be Saved! John Caputo on Radical Theology
- John Caputo says “GOD…perhaps”
- on the Future of Continental Philosophy
- Why Go Derrida with John D. Caputo
- Caputo Returns
- Stargazing with Nietzsche and Caputo
- Keller-riffic + Caputo Tells Pete the “lack” is BS
- Theology For the Subversive People! Caputo + Jonnie
- Fresh Jack Caputo for a Nerdy Thanksgiving!
- Bootlegged Christianity with Philip Clayton, Jack Caputo, Bill Mallonee, Peter Rollins, & Jay Bakker
Join our upcoming class!Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
In this edition of the Process This: Artificial Intelligence series we are joined by AI pioneer, computer scientist, and theologian Dr. Anne Foerst. Anne offers a deep dive into the fascinating
intersection of AI and theology, urging us to consider the profound ethical, social, and theological questions as we march into an increasingly AI-driven future. As a member of MIT’s earliest explorations of embodied AI, she brings a unique perspective to a conversation increasingly shaped by the emergence of large language models of AI.
Dr. Anne Foerst is a Professor and chair of Computer Science at St. Bonaventure University. She teaches Computers and Society, Cybersecurity Ethics, and other interdisciplinary courses. She is also the director of the individualized major program at SBU. Her research focuses on the theological implications of Artificial Intelligence and the personhood of robots. Previously, she has worked as a research scientist at the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and was also affiliated with the Center for the Studies of Values in Public Life of Harvard Divinity School. While in the artificial intelligence lab at MIT, she served as theological advisor for the Cog and Kismet projects, two attempts to develop embodied, autonomous social robots that resemble human infants in their ability to learn and develop more mature intelligence levels.
Check out her book God in the Machine: What Robots teach us about God and Humanity.
In the conversation, we discuss…
- Defining Artificial Intelligence
- Anthropomorphism and AI
- Personhood and Ethical Challenges
- AI in Religious Contexts
- Social Robots and Human Development
- Ethical Implications of AI
- AI and Human Evolution
- The Role of Community and Ethics
Join our upcoming class!Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
On this episode, I am joined by a leading Jacques Ellul scholar, Dr. Michael Morreli, as we unpack his reflections on technology, idolatry, modernity, and Christian Anarchism. If you enjoy the conversation, check out his book Theology, Ethics, and Technology in the Work of Jacques Ellul and Paul Virilio.
Michael Morelli is Assistant Professor of Theology & Ethics and Program Manager, Life-Long Learning at Northwest Seminary & College (a founding member of ACTS Seminaries, and affiliate of Trinity Western University). He holds a PhD in Theological Ethics from the University of Aberdeen, Scotland, is the author of Theology, Ethics, and Technology in the Work of Jacques Ellul and Paul Virilio: A Nascent Theological Tradition (2021), and editor of Desert, Wilderness, Wasteland, and Word: A New Essay by Jacques Ellul and Five Critical Engagements (2023). He publishes and presents on a variety of topics within the fields of theology, morality, culture, politics, and technology. He has also worked in local church ministry and continues to serve the church in a lay capacity.
Follow Michael’s work on Twitter: @mchlmorelli
- 00:00 Introduction to the Podcast and Dr. Morelli
- 04:31 Michael Morelli’s Academic Journey
- 14:03 Jacques Ellul’s Background and Influences
- 19:25 Understanding Technique and Its Implications
- 32:28 The Idol of Technology and Its Consequences
- 37:09 Power Dynamics and Non-Power in Modernity
- 46:54 The Dark Side of Innovation
- 47:12 War and Technology: A Chilling Connection
- 48:04 Propaganda and Political Power
- 51:29 The Seduction of Technology
- 54:39 The Role of Idols in Modern Society
- 57:42 The Ethics of War and Political Decisions
- 01:00:38 The Future of Technology and Society
- 01:14:16 Christian Anarchism and Local Governance
- 01:22:47 Hope and Despair in Modern Times
- 01:36:26 Upcoming Projects and Final Thoughts
Join our upcoming class!Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
I am thrilled about this episode in the ongoing Process This series on Artificial Intelligence. In this episode, my series co-host and author of God-Like: A 500-Year History of Artificial Intelligence in Myths, Machines, Monsters, Kester Brewin, is joined by Lord Tim Clement-Jones. He is one of the leading voices in the UK House of Lords on AI regulation and online safety. He served as the Chair of the House of Lords Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence and co-founded the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Artificial Intelligence. He is the Liberal Democrat House of Lords spokesperson for Science, Innovation and Technology and is a founding member of the OECD Parliamentary Group on AI and a former Consultant to the Council of Europe’s Adhoc Committee on AI (“CAHAI”).
He brings great wisdom, passion, and wit to the debates he’s participated in. His book Living with the Algorithm – Servant or Master? – is a very clear-sighted explanation of why and how AI should be regulated, and what progress is being made.
About the Book
The rapid proliferation of AI brings with it a potentially massive shift in how society interacts with the digital world. New opportunities and challenges are emerging in unprecedented fashion and speed. AI however, comes with its own risks, including the potential for bias and discrimination, reputational harm, and the potential for widescale redundancy of millions of jobs. Many prominent technologists have voiced their concern at the existential risks to humanity that AI pose. So how do we ensure that AI remains our servant and not our master?
Our purpose in this book is to identify and address these key risks looking at current approaches to regulation and governance of AI internationally in both the public and private sector, how we meet and mitigate these challenges, avoid inadequate or ill considered regulatory approaches, and protect ourselves from the unforeseen consequences that could flow from unregulated AI development and adoption.
Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
After 16 years of online theological exploration, Homebrewed Christianity is leveling up. I am joined by David, the HBC tech-guru David, to let you in on a few new projects we just launched and let you know a bit about what’s on the horizon.
Class and Bring the Ivory Tower to Your Screen!After almost 2 years of work behind the scenes, I am thrilled to announce the launch of Theology Class!Almost 10 years ago, we started doing online classes & the supporting members of the HBC community (Elders & Bishops) had access to them after they wrapped up. With 45 classes it got extremely difficult to organize them and make them easily accessible to the community. To remedy this, we dreamed up the Theology Class platform. It will make it easy for the community to see all the classes we’ve done and access them when and where they want, giving you the power to learn at your own pace and convenience. It is hard to describe how much work we put into this, but for those of you who have been supporters of HBC or joined any of the classes, thank you for making this possible! Get access to seminary-level classes.
Learn from top scholars.
Dive deep into what interests you.
Go at your own pace.
Process This SubstackHow does Process This work?Process This: The central Process This feed will feature posts, often including video and audio, of my own curated intellectual journey, touching on different intellectual interests of mine. They will tend to hover around the intersection of religion, philosophy, science, and culture since that’s where my research, writing, and teaching end up.1. Podcasts: There are also channels for two different podcasts. Homebrewed Christianity is the podcast I started in 2008 and features interviews with scholars across the disciplines. The goal is to bring the wisdom out of the ivory tower so more people can reflect, wrestle, and work through their questions of faith with deeper resources. The Theology Nerd Throwdownis a show I do with one of my best friends, Rev. Bo Sanders, and in it, we have fun nerdy conversations about something God-ish. 2. Process This Guides: As things get going, an important intention for Process This will be developing resource guides on the more engaging topics. Think of these as digital bibliographies that curate books, articles, interviews, videos, and framing questions to help the interested reader understand the conversation in the academy. A perk of having such a nerdy community will be bringing together what I have found with what y’all bring. 3. Process This Themes: I have conversations with scholars in different disciplines with various research interests, so we will intentionally help you connect the dots by having a series on specific themes. Each series will have a unique community member episode at the beginning and end, with opportunities to engage and contribute. At the end of a series, we hope those on the journey have a more integrated exploration than individual episodes alone can provide. Join our first conversation on Artificial Intelligence!
You can check out our film The Road to EdmondJoin us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Brian Zahnd returns to the podcast to discuss his fresh book The Wood Between Worlds. In the conversation, we discuss his kaleidoscopic theopoetics of the cross, the glorious metaphor of the One Ring in The Lord of the Rings, Trump’s ability to channel the speech of Mordor, and his mission to evangelize Christians smitten with empire religion. After you hear this, you will want to grab your ticket to Theology Beer Camp so you can hang out with BZ in the flesh!
Renowned for his intellectually stimulating sermons and his deep-rooted respect for the church’s rich history, Brian Zahnd provides a platform for pastors to interact with leading theologians and is a sought-after conference speaker. His literary contributions, including When Everything’s on Fire, Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God, A Farewell to Mars, and Beauty Will Save the World.
Check out his new book The Wood Between Worlds
If you haven’t heard Andy Serkis read The Lord of the Rings, do yourself a favor and be transformed by peak narration.
Previous Episodes with BZ
- God, Violence, Empire, & Salvation
- Learning to Pray & Change in the Pulpit
- Talking Tolkien with BZ
Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
In this episode of Homebrewed Christianity’s Process This series on Artificial Intelligence, Tripp is joined by Noreen Herzfeld, a professor of science and religion, about the intersections of AI, ethics, and theology. They discuss the relational aspects of human existence often overlooked by technology, the theological perspectives on embodiment and relationship in the context of AGI, and the ethical challenges AI poses in caregiving and military decisions. Additionally, the episode highlights the significant environmental costs of AI technologies, with startling statistics about server farm energy consumption, and examines the Vatican’s stance on ecological issues and AI’s sustainability. Religious wisdom is emphasized as crucial in navigating the ethical and ecological questions posed by AI.
Noreen L. Herzfeld is Reuter Professor of Science and Religion at St. John’s University and senior research associate with ZRS Koper. A theologian and computer scientist, she is the author of several books, including The Artifice of Intelligence: Divine and Human Relationship in a Robotic Age and In Our Image: Artificial Intelligence and the Human Spirit.
Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Step into the interactive world of the inaugural ‘Process This‘ series, a journey into the realm of Artificial Intelligence and the human future. Kester Brewin returns to the podcast to set up a series of interviews with scholars across the disciplines, all helping us wrestle with the reality of AI and how it is reshaping humanity and our future. This episode dives into the technological, ethical, spiritual, political, and economic questions surrounding AI. Unearth the historical evolution of societal views on slavery, the implications of AI on the workforce, and the significant role of films, literature, and myths in shaping our perception of technology and social issues. Engage in lively discussions with renowned scholars and experts and contribute to the conversation through shared resources and suggestions for future topics.
To listen to the series of interviews and participate, engage, and get extra content along with a growing collection of related resources, head over to our new substack – Process This!
Kester Brewin is an author, speaker, 25-year veteran of the classroom, and now Head of Communications at the Institute for the Future of Work, a research charity exploring how AI impacts the UK labour market. His most recent book, God-Like: a 500-year History of AI, is not only a powerful telling of humanity’s ongoing relationship with technology and a reflection on the current questions surrounding AI, but it is also a powerful and compelling work of radical theology.
Previous Episodes with Kester* Adult VBS with Walter Brueggemann, Kester Brewin, and Kristen Howerton * Let Sleeping Gods Die w/ Kester Brewin * Plundering Religion with Kester Brewin, Peter Rollins, & Barry Taylor #Mutiny * Artificial Intelligence & the Future of Religion
Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Philip Clayton was my PhD advisor and remains a mentor and friend. We scheduled a live stream session where we planned to explore contemporary options for the doctrine of God by developing a typology of live options, but when we learned of Moltmann’s passing, it seemed fitting to pivot our plan and reflect on the life, thought, and impact of Moltmann for Christian Theology.
As a scholar, Philip Clayton (Ingraham Professor, Claremont School of Theology) works at the intersection of science, philosophy, and theology. As an activist (president of EcoCiv.org, President of IPDC), he works to convene, facilitate, and catalyze multi-sectoral initiatives toward ecological civilization. As a disciple of Jesus, he finds himself energized by the Spirit in the Quaker community.
Previous Podcast Convos w/ Philip Clayton* The Christology Ladder * Christ, Christmas, & the Incarnation * How to Think Theologically * On the Meaning of Life * on the Mindfulness of Nature * The Theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg w/ Philip Clayton * Finding God in Everyone and Everywhere w/ Philip Clayton and Andrew Davis * Can a process theologian be an Evangelical & other questions with Philip Clayton * The #GodDebacle w/ Philip Clayton and LeRon Shults * Philip Clayton on the Shape of Postmodern Theology * Party Time with Philip Clayton for “The Predicament of Belief” * Bootlegged Christianity with Philip Clayton, Jack Caputo, Bill Mallonee, Peter Rollins, & Jay Bakker * Philip Clayton on The Resurrection, Trinity, Eschatology & the Predicament of Belief * Coming to Jesus with Daniel Kirk & Philip Clayton
Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Practical Theologian and friend of the pod, Andrew Root, is back on the podcast to discuss the most contentious parts of his newest book Church in an Age of Secular Mysticisms. Our conversation delves deep into some tenuous topics: secular mysticisms, identity politics, spiritual memoirs, the politics of recognition, Rousseau’s anthropology, post-COVID parties in Paris, the modern moral order, JK Rowlings, tribal politics, and the intersections of practical theology with contemporary social and cultural philosophy. So, buckle your safety belts because this will be a provocative journey.
Join us for the online Bonhoeffer Salon! You can sign up here.
You can also join us ONLINE or at Princeton Theological Seminary for The Church, The Pastor, And Resonance In An Accelerated Age Theological Conversations With Hartmut Rosa.
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* the Church after Innovation * Churches and the Crisis of Decline * Acceleration, Resonance, & the Counting Crows * Ministry in a Secular Age * Christopraxis with Andy Root * Faith Formation in a Secular Age * the Promise of Despair
Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood, authors of Baptizing America: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism, joined me for a live-streamed conversation where we discussed the book and a bunch of listener questions inspired by their recent lectures linked below.
Lecture One: How Mainline Protestants Helped Build Christian Nationalism
Lecture Two: How Mainline Protestants Still Perpetuate Christian Nationalism
In the face of a rising threat to both church and democracy, “Baptizing America” provides an urgent examination and an enlightening critique exposing the dangerous undercurrents of Christian Nationalism. How can Mainline Protestants spot such practices in their own activities? A crucial call to reckon with influences before it’s too late.
Brian Kaylor is a Baptist pastor with a Ph.D in Political Communication. He serves as President & Editor-in-Chief of Word&Way, a Christian publication founded in 1896.
Beau Underwood is senior minister at Allisonville Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Indianapolis, Indiana, and a Senior Editor with Word&Way. He is also pursuing a doctorate in Public Affairs. Adriene Thorne is the senior pastor of The Riverside Church in New York City.
Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
In this episode, Tripp is joined by Dr. Benjamin Chikca. They delve into the intriguing intersection of theology, ethics, and video games, spotlighting Chicka’s book, ‘Playing as Others: Theology and Ethical Responsibility in Video Games.’ The discussion spans topics such as the impact of cultural and ethical narratives within indie video games, the relevance of figures like Paul Tillich and Emmanuel Levinas, and the evolving representation of diversity in gaming. In the conversation, we discuss:
- Exploring the Intersection of Theology, Ethics, and Video Games
- The Genesis of his book,”Playing as Others”
- The Real-Life Impacts of Video Game Culture
- Gamergate and its Aftermath
- Embracing Culture Through Video Games
- Humanizing the Other Through Video Games
- Papers, Please – An Ethical Playground
- The Neuroscience of Gaming and Ethical Transformation
- The Power of Immersive Storytelling
- Cultural Anxiety Manifested in Video Games
- Real-Life Impacts and Community Building
Benjamin J. Chicka is Lecturer in Philosophy and Religious Studies at Curry College in Milton, MA. He is a philosophical theologian whose work connects classical American pragmatism, process theology, and ground-of-being theology. Such bridge-building between supposedly incompatible positions reflects his conviction that intrareligious pluralism is as important as interreligious pluralism for the future of theology.
Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Tripp & Diana were pumped to have Tim Whitaker from The New Evangelicals join us for this edition of Ruining Dinner and our upcoming open online class – Faith and Politics for the Rest of Us. Our contemporary public square is increasingly chaotic, toxic, and repulsive. Yet, our challenges as a people, nation, and species are growing. The rise of Christian Nationalism repulses a growing number of Christians who have a hard time thinking and speaking from a more vibrant theological vision. We are bringing together several alternative theo-political visions to introduce a multiplicity of vibrant, yet neglected traditions in public theology. With the help of some of the most powerful voices in the academy, participants will be introduced to these traditions and get to put them into action as we wrestle with our present moment, discovering the potential for an alternative public Christian witness. In a time where the public square is increasingly tribal and algorithmically addicted to outrage, over-simplification, and performative politics, a tour of these rich yet neglected theological traditions can inspire and fund a more vibrant Christian voice in the public square as we seek to embody the love of neighbor to which we are called. This class is donation based (including 0), so join the fun and tell your friends:) www.FaithAndPolitics.net
Come hang out with us at Theology Beer Camp, Oct. 17-19 in Denver. Yse the code HOBBITCOTTAGE for a discount
If you want to join our regular online hangs, head over to Diana’s substack community, the Cottage, or the Homebrewed Community.
Diana Butler Bass, Ph.D., is an award-winning author, popular speaker, inspiring preacher, and one of America’s most trusted commentators on religion and contemporary spirituality.
Previous Episodes with Diana & Tripp* The Resurrection of Jesus * 2024: The Sequel * The Christology Ladder * The Indictment Edition of Ruining Dinner * American Saints in a Cynical Age * Ruining Dinner… and Date Nights * Welcome to the Post-Christian Century * Ruining Christmas Dinner * Ruining Election Night Dinner * The Over-Rated Genie God * Bad Blood, Civil War, and other Soothing Topics * Shall the Fundies (Keep) Winning?, Abortion, and Black Holes * 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
Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
In this exhilarating discussion with Ilia Delio, we are taken on a profound journey through the intersection of theology, science, and the future of humanity in the shadow of burgeoning technological advancements. Delio, known for her insightful work on integrating science and religion, shares invigorating ideas from her latest book, “The Not Yet God,”delving into how our traditional understanding of divinity must evolve in the face of our rapidly changing world.
In this conversation, we cover…
- The Not Yet God: Reimagining Divinity in an Evolving Universe
- Technology as the New Cosmology
- The Challenge of the Global Super Organism
- The Trinity and the Future of Humanity
- Embrace the New, Preserve the Core
- A Call to Action for the Digital Age
Check out her new book The Not-Yet-God here.
Ilia Delio, OSF, PhD is a Franciscan Sister of Washington, DC, and American theologian specializing in science and religion, with interests in evolution, physics, and neuroscience and the import of these for theology.
Ilia currently holds the Josephine C. Connelly Endowed Chair in Theology at Villanova University and is the author of twenty books, including Care for Creation (coauthored with Keith Warner and Pamela Woods) which won two Catholic Press Book Awards in 2009, first place for social concerns and second place in spirituality. Her book The Emergent Christwon a third-place Catholic Press Book Award in 2011 for the area of Science and Religion. Her recent books include The Unbearable Wholeness of Being: God, Evolution and the Power of Love (Orbis, 2013), which received the 2014 Silver Nautilus Book Award and a third-place Catholic Press Association Award for Faith and Science. Ilia holds two honorary doctorates, one from St. Francis University in 2015 and one from Sacred Heart University in 2020.
Ilia’s previous visit to the podcast:
- Bonaventure & the Cosmos in Process
- Catching a Cosmic Faith
- the Entangled God of My Heart
Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
In this episode, I am joined by philosopher Tad Delay to discuss his new book, The Future of Denial: The Ideologies of Climate Change. We dive into the critical need for humanity to confront and adapt to the climate crisis. The discussion explores the intricate connections between psychoanalysis, religion, and climate denial across the ideological spectrum. It critiques the inadequacy of current mitigation efforts and emphasizes the urgency of adopting adaptation strategies. The narrative delves into the role of renewable energy, novel legal and grassroots activism, and the importance of preparing for climate migrants, while also considering the socio-economic and psychological impacts of climate-induced migrations.
You can get the book from the publisher Verso discount link 25% off or use promo code DENIAL at checkout.
Check out Tad Delay’s podcast, which explores the book on Apple or Spotify.
In this conversation, we discuss…
- Psychoanalysis Meets Climate Crisis
- The Complex Web of Climate Denial
- The Political Economy of Climate Action
- Liberalism, Capitalism, and Climate Denial
- Personal Actions and Political Realities
- Living with Climate Change: Personal and Community Impacts
- Exploring Material Incentives and Social Narratives
- The Seduction of Technological Fixes for Climate Change
- Mitigation vs. Adaptation: Strategies to Combat Climate Change
- The Limits of Tree Planting and Carbon Capture Technologies
- Addressing Climate Migration and Ethical Challenges
- The Role of Humanities and Community in Climate Action
- Envisioning Futures: Doom, Adaptation, and Opportunity
Check out Tad’s previous visit to the podcast: God Is Unconscious: Psychoanalysis & Theology
Tad DeLay, PhD is a philosopher, religion scholar, and interdisciplinary critical theorist. His books include Against: What Does the White Evangelical Want?, The Cynic & the Fool, and God Is Unconscious. He is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy in Baltimore.
Tad on Social media:Twitter: @taddelayFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/taddelayauthorWebsite: taddelay.comJoin our upcoming class, FAITH & POLITICS FOR THE REST OF US!Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Brian McLaren joins me in this episode to discuss his new book Life After Doom. In it, we wrestle with redefining faith, civilization, and ecological consciousness. We delve into theological reflections, reinterpreting religious practices to align with Jesus’s teachings, advocating for a paradigm shift in societal structures, and emphasizing the urgent need for sustainable living. Moreover, we discuss creating inclusive spaces for spiritual growth and action.
Here’s Brian’s new book, Life After Doom: Wisdom & Courage for a World Falling Apart
In the conversation, we discuss Kim Stanley Robinson’s provocative book Ministry for the Future.
Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English
teacher and pastor, he is a passionate advocate for “a new kind of Christianity” – just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good. He is a faculty member of The Living Schooland podcaster with Learning How to See, which are part of the Center for Action and Contemplation. He is also an Auburn Senior Fellow and works closely with the Wild Goose Festival, the Fair Food Program, Vote Common Good, and Progressive Christianity. His recent projects include an illustrated children’s book (for all ages) called Cory and the Seventh Story and The Galapagos Islands: A Spiritual Journey, and Faith After Doubt. His newest book is Do I Stay Christian? and we are going to read it together.
Previous Episodes with Brian* Should I Stay Christian if I Don’t Believe? * a God Worthy of Love * Saying Yes to Christianity * Questioning Christianity * Do I Stay Christian? * God – Pray – Driscoll * Faith Beyond Fear in an Age of Terror * 20 Years of Religious Decline * A New Kind of Road Trip * Parenting for the Common Good * We need a new story! Avoiding spiritual and planetary collapse * Brian McLaren & Pando Populus
Join our upcoming class, FAITH & POLITICS FOR THE REST OF US!Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Grace Ji-Sun Kim and Susan Shaw are back on the podcast to discuss their newest co-authored book Surviving God: A New Vision of God through the Eyes of Sexual Abuse Survivors. In the conversation, they discuss how traditional ways of thinking about God are highly problematic, contribute to the problems of sexual abuse, and are not reflective of the God of love and justice at the heart of the gospel. We also find out about their next partnership.
Susan M. Shaw is professor of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Oregon State University. Grace Ji-Sun Kim is a professor of theology at Earlham School of Religion and host of the Madang podcast.
The Book: Surviving God: A New Vision of God through the Eyes of Sexual Abuse Survivors
Previous Episodes with Grace & Susan* The Story of a Process Southern Baptist Feminist (Susan) * Godly QnA * a Theology of Visibility * What is Intersectional Theology?(Susan & Grace) * The Prophetic Life of the Spirit * Embracing the Other and Reading the Bible * Keeping Hope Alive
Join our upcoming class, FAITH & POLITICS FOR THE REST OF US!Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
I recently returned to my old hometown, Winston-Salem, NC, for a live podcast at Lot63 in Old Salem. There, I was joined by two of my old Profs at Wake Forest University Divinity School, Dr. Bill Leonard and Dr. Craig Atwood, the brand new Dean of the Divinity School, Dr. Corey Walker, and music from a fellow alum Kyle Caudle.
In this half of the live show, I talk with my former Church History Professor, Bill Leonard, and the new Dean of Wake Forest University Divinity School, Corey Walker. It was one epic live show and a powerful and provocative conversation!
Corey D. B. Walker is Dean of the School of Divinity at Wake Forest University. As a scholar, he’s committed to a broad vision of human flourishing. His research, teaching, and public scholarship span the areas of African American philosophy, critical theory, ethics, and religion and American public life. An accomplished scholar and academic leader, Dean Walker has held faculty and academic leadership appointments at Brown University, University of Virginia, Virginia Union University, and Winston-Salem State University and visiting professorships at Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Union Presbyterian Seminary, and the University of Richmond. Dean Walker is the 2023-2024 Phi Beta Kappa Frank M. Updike Scholar. He is author and editor of several books and has published over sixty articles, essays, and book chapters in a wide variety of scholarly journals and publications. A much sought after speaker, Dean Walker engages congregations and communities across the nation and has appeared on a variety of media programs in the United States and abroad.
Bill Leonard is the Founding Dean and Professor of Divinity Emeritus at Wake 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. 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.
If you live in Winston-Salem, you can join us LIVE at Lot 63 for a zesty podcast recording. Info here.
If you’re considering a future in theological education, Wake Forest University’s Divinity School is a top choice. My family and I are proud alumni, and we all cherish the education and experiences we gained there. With the dynamic leadership of Corey Walker as the new Dean, the future of the school is bright!
Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
I recently returned to my old hometown, Winston-Salem, NC, for a live podcast at Lot63 in Old Salem. There, I was joined by two of my old Profs at Wake Forest University Divinity School, Dr. Bill Leonard and Dr. Craig Atwood, the brand new Dean of the Divinity School, Dr. Corey Walker, and music from a fellow alum Kyle Caudle.
In this half of the live show, I talk with my former historical theology Professor, Craig Atwood. Not only did I take historical theology with him, but he facilitated one of the most fun and intense independent studies on the thought of Friedrich Schleiermacher. Dr. Craig Atwood is the premier Moravian historical theologian. He is best known for his books Community of the Cross: Moravian Piety in Colonial Bethlehem, which won two major awards, and Theology of the Czech Brethren from Hus to Comenius. He is also the author of over 50 academic articles, chapters in books, encyclopedia articles, book reviews, and church publications.
If you live in Winston-Salem, you can join us LIVE at Lot 63 for a zesty podcast recording. Info here.
If you’re considering a future in theological education, Wake Forest University’s Divinity School is a top choice. My family and I are proud alumni, and we all cherish the education and experiences we gained there. With the dynamic leadership of Corey Walker as the new Dean, the future of the school is bright!
Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
A few weeks ago, I partnered with the Center for Open and Relational Theology & St. Andrew UMC to put on the first preaching conference for Open and Relational Preachers! It was TONS of fun and I got to meet some amazing clergy.
In the first segment, I am joined by Dr. Casey Sigmon & Dr. Nichole Torbitzky to give a process theological reflection of the liturgical shape of worship. Then Jeff Wells, Tom Oord, and Vikki Randall join Nicole and I to discuss their new book Preaching the Uncontrolling Love of God.
For decades, millions of Christians have been leaving church behind. Among those who have stayed, not only individuals, but entire congregations are rejecting traditions that fail to address the challenges of our contemporary world. They yearn, instead, for a profound relationship with the ever-present God who is loving, inclusive, persuasive, and uncontrolling.
This rich and diverse collection of sermons, essays, and worship elements explores how to preach, teach, and practice Open, Relational, and Process theological perspectives in local faith communities. It is a powerful resource for pastors, ministers of worship arts, lay church leaders, professors of preaching, worship, and practical theology, and anyone seeking a deep understanding of God that aligns with the Bible, science, and inclusive love and justice for all life on Earth.
Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
The most influential academic text arguing against the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ divine image bearers into the life of the Church is Richard Hays’ “The Moral Vision of the New Testament.” He has changed his mind and has a new book developing a theological framework for the full inclusion of LGBTQ people in Christian communities.
In this live stream, Daniel Kirk joined me to explore his former professor’s evolution on the issue, why it’s about time for Richard (and lots of other faith leaders) to say so publicly, and how to think ethically with scripture. Those familiar with Daniel’s previous visits to the podcast will know that he has argued publicly for full inclusion based on the logic of scripture for years, even to the point of being denied tenure in evangelical spaces that demand silence. When this new book was announced, I wanted to have him back on to unpack things and hopefully lure more straight allies to find their voice.
Daniel Kirk (Ph.D., Duke University) is an award-winning New Testament scholar whose work takes place at the intersection of history, biblical interpretation, and real life. He is currently broadening his intellectual and vocational horizons by studying to be a Physician Assistant. Look for upcoming work to have a robust dose of science and politics mixed into the biblical conversations.
Here are some resource links from Daniel:
- Enfleshed (resources for creating queer-affirming spaces, especially in church gatherings)
- Peculiar Faith by Jay Emmerson Johnson
- The Widening of God’s Mercy by Christopher B. Hays and Richard B. Hays
- The Gospel of Inclusion: A Christian Case for LGBT+ Inclusion in the Church by Brandan J. Robertson
- God and the Gay Christian: the Biblical Case in Support of Same-Sex Relationships by Matthew Vines
Previous Episodes w. Dr. Kirk* on ROMANS + Biblical Authority, Jesus’ Adoption, and Post-Penal Atonement * How Paul Preaches Christmas * A Man Attested by God * The Secret Chart to the END OF TIME (kind of) * TNT Easter-Cast * Kirk talks Paul w/ Tripp & Pete Rollins
Lexington Theological Seminary is the sponsor for this Episode.Lexington Theological Seminary is a pioneer in online theological education. Both the Doctoral and Masters programs are designed with the flexibility and contextual focus needed for the working student. You can learn more by heading here.
Here are a few episodes with a couple of their Profs
- Leah Schade & Wilson Dickinson: Faith During an Ecological Collapse
- Leah Schade: Preaching in a time of Crisis from Corona to Climate
- Wilson Dickinson: Faith After a Neo-liberal Compliant Church
Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Barry Taylor and Tripp Fuller discuss the changing religious and spiritual space and how it shows up in culture. They reflect on the shift in the Western conversation in the last 25 years. Barry raises a growing awareness in how the concept of religion people thought they were updating, reorienting, and morphing, wasn’t ultimately finding traction in the historic religious institutions.
Barry Taylor‘s work is focused on the intersections between religion, theology and culture, with a particular emphasis on the impact and interplay of contemporary digital life on religion and belief (particularly Western Christianity). He is particularly interested in religion where it is least obvious and in cultural clinamens- the behavior and phenomena that escape our categorizing and thus provide opportunity for re-framing how we think and approach life. Barry works with GCAS as the Chair of the Theology department. Check out his books: Sex, God, and Rock ‘n’ Roll: Catastrophes, Epiphanies, and Sacred Anarchies & Entertainment Theology: New-Edge Spirituality in a Digital Democracy
Previous Episodes w/ Barry
- Plundering Religion
- What Would Paul Do?
- Theology of Rock
- MORE… Theology of Rock
- F-it Theology
- The Birth of God
- Profano Theology Live
Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
In this episode, Bo reflects on his own deconstruction story, the pace of spiritual change in America, and drops a sweet audiological image. Tripp pitches his deconstruction typology and gets Bo to power rank 3 different theologians’ definition of theology.
Check out Bo’s webpage and his podcast with Randy Woodley, Peacing it All Together.
Bo’s new podcast exploring the legacy of his Father Dr. Martin Sanders can be found here.
JOIN our next class, GOD AFTER DECONSTRUCTION with Thomas Jay Oord
Come to THEOLOGY BEER CAMP.
Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community.
Kristian Smith is joining Tripp to unpack the intersection of cigars, spirituality, and community. Kristian is a pastor, stylist, theologian, spiritual director, host of the Holy Smokes podcast, and minister of an online faith community. https://www.holysmokesmovement.com & https://www.kristianasmith.com
Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
We have all been talking about AI of late and I have been on a bit of a reading deep dive about it. I am thrilled to have my friend Kester Brewin back on the podcast to talk about Artificial Intelligence & the future of religion. His new book, God-like: A 500-Year History of Artificial Intelligence in Myths, Machines, Monsters is out and 100% zesty. It is way too good for y’all not to check it out. It is not only a powerful telling of humanity’s ongoing relationship with technology and a reflection on the current questions surrounding AI, but it is also the most compelling radical theological text I have read. It demonstrates the symbolic starvation of a marketized public square, the wisdom of what has been harbored in religious reflection, and the need for the return of theology beyond religion. It is also practical theology at its best. It ends with a compelling call to community without an addiction to nostalgia or an allergy to the sacred. I would say more, but you can listen to our conversation.
In the year 1600 a monk is burned at the stake for claiming to have built a device that will allow him to know all things.
350 years later, having witnessed ‘Trinity’ – the first test of the atomic bomb – America’s leading scientist outlines a memory machine that will help end war on earth.
25 years in the making, an ex-soldier finally unveils this ‘machine for augmenting human intellect’, dazzling as he stands ‘Zeus-like, dealing lightning with both hands.’
AI is both stunningly new and rooted in ancient desires. As we finally welcome this ‘god-like’ technology amongst us, what can learn from the myths and monsters of the past about how to survive alongside our greatest ever invention?
Previous Episodes with Kester* Adult VBS with Walter Brueggemann, Kester Brewin, and Kristen Howerton * Let Sleeping Gods Die w/ Kester Brewin * Plundering Religion with Kester Brewin, Peter Rollins, & Barry Taylor #Mutiny
Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
I have been friends with Tony Jones for a long time. For over 12 years, he has been working on his memoir, and it was worth the wait. The God of Wild Places: Rediscovering the Divine in the Untamed Outdoors is now out in the world and we got to sit down in his living to record this conversation about it. Longtime listeners will be familiar with Tony since he has been on the podcast over 30 times in the last 16 years, but this visit is different. You will hear a vulnerable conversation between two friends, including challenging stories, laughter, and reflection on faith in life’s darkest moments.
If you aren’t following our new podcast, Emerged: an Oral History of the Emerging Church Movement, you won’t want to miss the latest episode. In it, we are joined by Nadia Boltz-Weber, Brian McLaren, and Doug Pagitt as we dig into all the backlash the emerging church movement generated. We laughed quite a bit while creating it
Tony Jones is the author of The God of Wild Places and contributing writer to several outdoors periodicals. He’s written a dozen books, including Did God Kill Jesus? and The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life, hosts the Reverend Hunter Podcast, and teaches at Fuller Theological Seminary and The Loft Literary Center. He writes a weekly newsletter on Substack.
Previous Episodes with Tony Jones* Homebrewed Christianity’s 15th Birthday Party * Pete Enns & Tony Jones Love Baseball * Camp Games & a Little Theology * The Future of Evangelicalism is (NOT) David Brooks * the Post-Emergent Church * Tony Jones & Peter Rollins on #TheGreatDebacle * Devilpalooza * There are tons… you can scroll them here
JOIN our next class, GOD AFTER DECONSTRUCTION with Thomas Jay Oord
Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
On this edition of the Theology Nerd Throwdown, Tripp & Bo nerd out about…
- post-Covid Easter worship
- the United Methodist Breakup over LGBTQ inclusion
- how frustrating LOTS of aging institutions can get
- the connection between the Religious Nones & Political Independents
- how the BoDaddy plans to demolish all beer-chugging challengers at Theology Beer Camp
- Tripp gives Bo 6 thesis for understanding the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead & Bo gets him to explain and unpack them
- why Bo loves “AL” theologically
- why the conservative obsession with the physical resurrection and liberal naturalizing of the resurrection trigger Tripp theologically
Check out Bo’s webpage and his podcast with Randy Woodley, Peacing it All Together.
Bo’s new podcast exploring the legacy of his Father Dr. Martin Sanders can be found here.
JOIN our next class, GOD AFTER DECONSTRUCTION with Thomas Jay Oord
Come to THEOLOGY BEER CAMP.
Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community.
In this live session, Tom Oord and Tripp Fuller will joined by Josh Patterson of the (re)Thinking Faith podcast to discuss the nature of faith after certainty and the role of scripture for a faith in transition.
You can access all 10 videos now by joining the class at www.GodAfterDeconstruction.com
- God After Deconstruction: Check out our upcoming class, book, and in-person events
- Theology Beer Camp: head over here to get info on 2024 camp
- Check out the ORTcon 24 event this coming summer
- Check out ORTline 24 – an amazing online event with TONS of open and relational theologians
Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. He is an award-winning author, and he has written or edited more than twenty-five books. Oord directs a doctoral program at Northwind Theological Seminary and the Center for Open and Relational Theology. He won the Outstanding Faculty Award twelve times as a full-time professor and now speaks at institutions across the globe. Oord is known for his contributions to research on love, open and relational theology, science and religion, and freedom and relationships for transformation.
Some Previous Tripp & Tom Pods* Big God Questions * Christ, Christmas, & the Incarnation * the Death of Omnipotence! * Brian McLaren & Thomas Jay Oord: a God Worthy of Love * Process This! * Process Theology QnA * Authority, Atonement, Abortion, and a Big Hug * from Pluriform Love to Divine Revelation * 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?
Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
James McGrath is back and we have some serious fun geeking out about theology and Science Fiction!!
What is the difference between a god and a powerful alien? Can an android have a soul, or be considered a person with rights? Can we imagine biblical stories being retold in the distant future on planets far from Earth? Whether your interest is in Christianity in the future, or the Jedi in the present–and whether your interest in the Jedi is focused on real-world adherents or the fictional religion depicted on the silver screen–this book will help you explore the intersection between theology and science fiction across a range of authors and stories, topics and questions.
James in action at the Theology Beer Camp GEEK stage!James F. McGrath is Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature. His PhD from the University of Durham became the basis for his first book, John’s Apologetic Christology, published by Cambridge University Press in the SNTS Monograph Series. He has also written a “prequel” about the broader context of monotheism and Christology in ancient Judaism and Christianity, The Only True God: Early Christian Monotheism in Its Jewish Context, published by University of Illinois Press. More recently, he has published What Jesus Learned from Women, which explores the topic of the historical figure of Jesus and the influence the women mentioned in the Gospels had on him.
In addition to his work on the New Testament and early Christianity, Dr. McGrath also researches the Mandaeans (the last surviving Gnostic group from the ancient world) and their literature. The two-volume critical edition, translation, and commentary on the Mandaean Book of John (which he produced together with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) represents the first such academic edition of the complete work in English based on all known manuscripts. Another area of specialty is the intersection of religion and science fiction. On that subject, he is the author of Theology and Science Fiction and The Battle of Ranskoor av Kolos (Black Archive #52), editor of Religion and Science Fiction and co-editor of Time and Relative Dimensions in Faith: Religion and Doctor Who. He blogs at Religion Prof.
Previous Episodes w/ James The A to Z of the New Testament * What Jesus Learned from Women * Exploring the Matrix Resurrections * *Early Christian Monotheism
Join us at Theology Beer Camp October 17-19, 2024!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
I am excited to share this conversation with Thomas Jay Oord. In it, we discuss what we’ve learned from surveying thousands of people in faith transition – the reasons, the process, and the possibilities after faith deconstruction.
Are you navigating the challenging landscape of faith deconstruction, seeking a path that affirms your deepest intuitions and values?
Join theologians Dr. Thomas Jay Oord and Dr. Tripp Fuller for a transformative online class, “God After Deconstruction.” This six-week journey is designed to embrace the uncertainty, explore profound topics, and offer a constructive, hope-filled vision of God grounded in open and relational theology. In this course, we aim to foster a thoughtful and inclusive space where participants can explore a variety of topics crucial to the journey of reconstructing their spiritual beliefs.
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
This week, we are joined by Diana Butler Bass as we discuss the historical Jesus, the resurrected Christ, and a host of questions from members of the online class.
To join the class, head over to www.CrossanClass.com
Diana Butler Bass, Ph.D., is an award-winning author, popular speaker, inspiring preacher, and one of America’s most trusted commentators on religion and contemporary spirituality.
Previous Episodes with Diana & Tripp* 2024: The Sequel * The Christology Ladder * The Indictment Edition of Ruining Dinner * American Saints in a Cynical Age * Ruining Dinner… and Date Nights * Welcome to the Post-Christian Century * Ruining Christmas Dinner * Ruining Election Night Dinner * The Over-Rated Genie God * Bad Blood, Civil War, and other Soothing Topics * Shall the Fundies (Keep) Winning?, Abortion, and Black Holes * 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
John Dominic Crossan, professor emeritus at DePaul University, is widely regarded as the foremost historical Jesus scholar of our time. He is the author of several bestselling books, including The Historical Jesus, How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian, God and Empire, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, The Greatest Prayer, The Last Week, and The Power of Parable. He lives in Minneola, Florida.
Previous Podcast Episodes with Dom & Tripp* Brian McLaren & John Dominic Crossan: The Message of Jesus & the Judgement of Civilization * Brian Zahnd & John Dominic Crossan: God, Violence, Empire, & Salvation * Why the Biblical Paul is Awesome * Christian Resurrection & Human Evolution * The Cross & the Crisis of Civilization * The Coming Kingdom & the Risen Christ * The Parables of Jesus & the Parable of God * How to think about Jesus like a Historian * the Last Week of Jesus’ Life * Jesus, Paul, & Bible Questions * Saving the Biblical Christmas Stories * the most important discovery for understanding Jesus * The Bible, Violence, & Our Future * Resurrecting Easter * on the First Christmas * From Jesus’ Parables to Parables of God * Render Unto Caesar * on God & Empire
Lenten Online Class w/ John Dominic CrossanFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
I’m excited to announce that tickets for Theology Beer Camp are now on sale! This year, we’ll be hanging out October 17th to 19th in Denver, Colorado. Grab your calendar and save the dates to join 20+ scholars, 20+ God-Pods, and over 500 people like yourself.
As always, this year promises to be filled with enlightening discussions, delicious brews, and the opportunity to connect with like-minded theology enthusiasts. This year’s confirmed keynote speakers include Ilia Delio, Brian McClaren, John Thatamanil, and Diana Butler Bass!! We will be announcing more speakers, podcasters, musicians, and more over the next few months, including several exciting additions to the camp expereince.
To learn more about the event, our lineup of speakers, and what’s in store for you at Theology Beer Camp, check out the event website at theologybeer.camp. We will keep updating the site as we reveal more details and contributors.
I love Theology Beer Camp and spend all year planning and thinking about how to level up the fun each year. My favorite part is getting to meet so many of you in person. Take advantage of this certified zesty opportunity to dive deep into theological nerdom while enjoying tasty beverages and building lifelong connections with other great nerds!
Presale tickets end soon! Get your tickets today.
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
People often ask me, “Tripp, in 17 years of podcasting, what’s your favorite interview?” I can never answer the question because there are so many different kinds of interviews. I love episodes with my scholarly friends who repeatedly return to the podcast, but for this nerd, I am thrilled to introduce listeners to scholars who rocked my world. In this episode, I talk with a legend in science and religion, Dr. Robert McCauley. He is a pioneer in the cognitive science of religion, and his work has greatly impacted the academic community. It was an honor to unpack so many themes in his work and I can’t wait for y’all to hear it!
Robert N. McCauley is William Rand Kenan Jr. University Professor of Philosophy at Emory University and the founding Director of Emory’s Center for Mind, Brain, and Culture. He is the author of Why Religion Is Natural and Science Is Not and Philosophical Foundations of the Cognitive Science of Religion. He is also the co-author, with E. Thomas Lawson, of Rethinking Religion and Bringing Ritual to Mind. With George Graham, he co-authored Hearing Voices and Other Matters of the Mind: What Mental Abnormalities Can Teach Us About Religions. He has been elected president of both the Society for Philosophy and Psychology and the International Association for the Cognitive Science of Religion, and he will serve as a Gifford Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen in 2021.
Are you new to the cognitive science of religion? If so, you won’t want to miss Bob’s regular columns at Psychology Today.
In this conversation, we discuss…
- the origin of the cognitive science of religion
- implicit cognition and its role in studying religion
- the anthropological story of religion’s birth
- why religion is natural, and science is not
- how literacy reshapes human cognition and the shape of religion
- the changing role of science in the study of religion
- the power of explanatory pluralism
- what light on religious practice and experience is gained through the application of an evolutionary lens
- the different evolutionary theories of religion and how they interact with the developmental psychology
- how CSR can be a tool for understanding culture
Here are two lectures if you want to dig into more of Bob’s workFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
This week, we are joined by Dr. Jennifer Garcia Bashaw as we discuss how historical Jesus scholarship can challenge and shape Christian practice, along with a host of questions from members of the online class.
To join the class, head over to www.CrossanClass.com
Jennifer Garcia Bashaw (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is Associate Professor of New Testament and Christian Ministry at Campbell University in North Carolina. She is an ordained Baptist minister and has a passion for teaching the Bible and training pastors. Jennifer is a Nerd-in-Residence for the Bible for Normal People and is the author of Scapegoats: The Bible through the Eyes of Victims & The Gospel of John for Normal People.
Jennifer’s Previous Visit to the Podcast
- the Gospel through the Eyes of the Victim
John Dominic Crossan, professor emeritus at DePaul University, is widely regarded as the foremost historical Jesus scholar of our time. He is the author of several bestselling books, including The Historical Jesus, How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian, God and Empire, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, The Greatest Prayer, The Last Week, and The Power of Parable. He lives in Minneola, Florida.
Previous Podcast Episodes with Dom & Tripp* Brian McLaren & John Dominic Crossan: The Message of Jesus & the Judgement of Civilization * Brian Zahnd & John Dominic Crossan: God, Violence, Empire, & Salvation * Why the Biblical Paul is Awesome * Christian Resurrection & Human Evolution * The Cross & the Crisis of Civilization * The Coming Kingdom & the Risen Christ * The Parables of Jesus & the Parable of God * How to think about Jesus like a Historian * the Last Week of Jesus’ Life * Jesus, Paul, & Bible Questions * Saving the Biblical Christmas Stories * the most important discovery for understanding Jesus * The Bible, Violence, & Our Future * Resurrecting Easter * on the First Christmas * From Jesus’ Parables to Parables of God * Render Unto Caesar * on God & Empire
Lenten Online Class w/ John Dominic CrossanFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
John Caputo is back on the podcast! If you are new to Homebrewed Christianity, you may not be familiar with Jack. Still, he is a longtime friend of the pod, a top-tier postmodern philosopher who radically returned to his theological roots. In his new book What to Believe? , he gives a beautiful introduction to his articulation of radical theology inspired by a Tillichian departure.
If you no longer “believe in God,” the Supreme Being of classical theology, or you never did in the first place, is there anything you still ought to believe, anything you should cherish unconditionally, no matter what? In this lively and accessible book, addressed to believers, “recovering” believers, disbelievers, nonbelievers, and “nones” alike?to anyone in search of what they really do believe?the acclaimed philosopher and theologian John D. Caputo seeks out what there is to believe, with or without religion.
John David Caputo (born October 26, 1940) is an American philosopher who is the Thomas J. Watson Professor of Religion Emeritus at Syracuse University and the David R. Cook Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Villanova University. Caputo is a major figure associated with postmodern Christianity and continental philosophy of religion, as well as the founder of the theological movement known as weak theology. Much of Caputo’s work focuses on hermeneutics, phenomenology, deconstruction and theology.
Previous Episodes with Jack
- Tillich and a Radical Theology of Culture
- John Caputo on the End of Religion
- The John Caputo Book Party!
- the journey form Radical Hermeneutics to the Weakness of God
- Homebrewed Christianity’s 5th Birthday with John Caputo
- Get Lost in Order to be Saved! John Caputo on Radical Theology
- John Caputo says “GOD…perhaps”
- on the Future of Continental Philosophy
- Why Go Derrida with John D. Caputo
- Caputo Returns
- Stargazing with Nietzsche and Caputo
- Keller-riffic + Caputo Tells Pete the “lack” is BS
- Theology For the Subversive People! Caputo + Jonnie
- Fresh Jack Caputo for a Nerdy Thanksgiving!
- Bootlegged Christianity with Philip Clayton, Jack Caputo, Bill Mallonee, Peter Rollins, & Jay Bakker
Lenten Online Class w/ John Dominic CrossanFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
This week, Brian McLaren and John Dominic Crossan join us as we discuss Jesus’s civilizational significance, hear his teachings in their historical context, examine the habit of interpreting Jesus against his intentions, and answer a host of questions from members of the online class.
To join the class, head over to www.CrossanClass.com
Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English
teacher and pastor, he is a passionate advocate for “a new kind of Christianity” – just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good. He is a faculty member of The Living Schooland podcaster with Learning How to See, which are part of the Center for Action and Contemplation. He is also an Auburn Senior Fellow and works closely with the Wild Goose Festival, the Fair Food Program, Vote Common Good, and Progressive Christianity. His recent projects include an illustrated children’s book (for all ages) called Cory and the Seventh Story and The Galapagos Islands: A Spiritual Journey, and Faith After Doubt. His newest book is Do I Stay Christian? and we are going to read it together.
Previous Episodes with Brian* Should I Stay Christian if I Don’t Believe? * a God Worthy of Love * Saying Yes to Christianity * Questioning Christianity * Do I Stay Christian? * God – Pray – Driscoll * Faith Beyond Fear in an Age of Terror * 20 Years of Religious Decline * A New Kind of Road Trip * Parenting for the Common Good * We need a new story! Avoiding spiritual and planetary collapse * Brian McLaren & Pando Populus
John Dominic Crossan, professor emeritus at DePaul University, is widely regarded as the foremost historical Jesus scholar of our time. He is the author of several bestselling books, including The Historical Jesus, How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian, God and Empire, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, The Greatest Prayer, The Last Week, and The Power of Parable. He lives in Minneola, Florida.
Previous Podcast Episodes with Dom & Tripp* Brian Zahnd & John Dominic Crossan: God, Violence, Empire, & Salvation * Why the Biblical Paul is Awesome * Christian Resurrection & Human Evolution * The Cross & the Crisis of Civilization * The Coming Kingdom & the Risen Christ * The Parables of Jesus & the Parable of God * How to think about Jesus like a Historian * the Last Week of Jesus’ Life * Jesus, Paul, & Bible Questions * Saving the Biblical Christmas Stories * the most important discovery for understanding Jesus * The Bible, Violence, & Our Future * Resurrecting Easter * on the First Christmas * From Jesus’ Parables to Parables of God * Render Unto Caesar * on God & Empire
Lenten Online Class w/ John Dominic CrossanFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Tripp and Bo nerd out and discuss preaching the atonement, liturgical frames, baking bread with kids, theological shoewear, and a Styper-themed show-and-tell.
Check out Bo’s webpage and his podcast with Randy Woodley, Peacing it All Together.
Bo’s new podcast exploring the legacy of his Father Dr. Martin Sanders can be found here.
JOIN our next class, GOD AFTER DECONSTRUCTION with Thomas Jay Oord
Come to THEOLOGY BEER CAMP.
Follow the podcast, drop a review, send feedback/questions or become a member of the HBC Community.
Ryan Burge returns with a stack of charts as we explore the changing shape of theological education and ministry. Check out the video below to see the charts with your eyes.
Ryan P. Burge is an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University. Author of numerous journal articles, he is the co-founder 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.
Previous Visits from Ryan Burge
- The Sky is Falling & the Charts are Popping!
- Graphs about Religion & Politics w/ Spicy Banter
- a Year in Religion (in Graphs)
- Evangelical Jews, Educated Church-Goers, & other bits of dizzying data
- 5 Religion Graphs w/ a side of Hot Takes
- Myths about Religion & Politics
Lenten Online Class w/ John Dominic CrossanFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
In this episode, we are joined by Rev. Brian Zahnd & John Dominic Crossan. Brian kicks things off by sharing how Dom’s work on the historical Jesus and his conflict with Rome challenges us today. We end up tackling a host of questions from members of the online class and end with a conversation on the resurrection.
To join the class, head over to www.CrossanClass.com
Brian Zahnd is the founder and lead pastor of Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri. Known for his theologically informed preaching and his embrace of the deep and long history of the church, Zahnd provides a forum for pastors to engage with leading theologians and is a frequent conference speaker. He is the author of several books, including When Everything’s on Fire, Sinners in the Hands of a Loving God, A Farewell to Mars, and Beauty Will Save the World.
John Dominic Crossan, professor emeritus at DePaul University, is widely regarded as the foremost historical Jesus scholar of our time. He is the author of several bestselling books, including The Historical Jesus, How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian, God and Empire, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, The Greatest Prayer, The Last Week, and The Power of Parable. He lives in Minneola, Florida.
Previous Podcast Episodes with Dom & Tripp* Why the Biblical Paul is Awesome * Christian Resurrection & Human Evolution * The Cross & the Crisis of Civilization * The Coming Kingdom & the Risen Christ * The Parables of Jesus & the Parable of God * How to think about Jesus like a Historian * the Last Week of Jesus’ Life * Jesus, Paul, & Bible Questions * Saving the Biblical Christmas Stories * the most important discovery for understanding Jesus * The Bible, Violence, & Our Future * Resurrecting Easter * on the First Christmas * From Jesus’ Parables to Parables of God * Render Unto Caesar * on God & Empire
Lenten Online Class w/ John Dominic CrossanFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Enjoy this panel discussion on “Deconstructing Divinity & Embracing Diversity” featuring Catherine Keller and John Thatamanil with Tripp Fuller at the “God After Deconstruction” live event at Drew University in February 2024.
ONLINE CLASS: Register now for the “God After Deconstruction” online class with Tripp Fuller and Thomas Jay Oord now available at http://www.GodAfterDeconstruction.com.
LIVE EVENT: Don’t miss the next “God After Deconstruction” live event on April 12-13, 2024 at St. Andrew UMC in Highlands Ranch, CO, with the Persuade preaching conference being held April 11-12, 2024 at the same venue. Register now at http://www.GodAfterDeconstruction.com.
Dr. Thatamanil is Professor of Theology & World Religions at Union Theological Seminary in NYC.Previous Podcast visits from John* God – the Ground, the Between, the Personal * What we do when we do theology * A Comparative Theology of Religious Diversity * Theology Without Walls * Non-duality, Polydoxy, and Christian Identity
Catherine Keller is George T. Cobb Professor of Constructive Theology in The Graduate Division of Religion of Drew University. If you are new to Catherine Keller and Process Theology this is the book to start with – On the Mystery: Discerning Divinity In Process.
Previous Podcast visits from Catherine
- Theology in the Capitalocene
- Theology in Process
- Apocalyptic #ProcessParty with Catherine Keller & Jacob Erickson
- Theological Possibilities with Catherine Keller
- God-ish?:Logos of Theos in a (Seriously) Uncertain Time
- on Cloud of the Impossible
- Catherine Keller on Process, Poetry, & Post-Structuralism
- 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
Lenten Online Class w/ John Dominic CrossanFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
In this thought-provoking conversation with Freya Mathews, we delved into the depths of panpsychism, nature, and eco-philosophy. Freya illuminated the interconnectedness of these ideas, emphasizing how our current ecological crisis demands a profound reevaluation of the very assumptions that gave rise to modernity.
Panpsychism, the view that consciousness is a fundamental aspect of the universe, became a central theme. Freya articulated how recognizing the sentience within all things challenges the human-centric perspective that has led to environmental exploitation. She passionately argued that a shift towards an eco-philosophy rooted in panpsychism can help us cultivate a more respectful and reciprocal relationship with the natural world.
As we explored these concepts, it became clear that responding to our ecological challenges requires more than just surface-level solutions. Freya urged us to rethink our place in the world, to question the Cartesian dualism that separates mind from matter, and to embrace a holistic understanding of existence.
In this enlightening conversation, Freya Matthews inspired a call to action—to not only address the symptoms of our environmental crisis but to fundamentally transform our worldview, recognizing the intrinsic value and agency of all life forms on this planet.
Freya Mathews is Emeritus Professor of Environmental Philosophy at Latrobe University. Her books include The Ecological Self (1991, 2021), Ecology and Democracy (editor) (1996), For Love of Matter: a Contemporary Panpsychism(2003), Journey to the Source of the Merri (2003), Reinhabiting Reality: towards a Recovery of Culture(2005), Ardea: a philosophical novella (2016), Without Animals Life is not Worth Living (2016) and The Dao of Civilization: a Letter to China (2023). She is the author of over a hundred essays, chapters and articles in the area of ecological philosophy. Her current special interests are in ecological civilization; indigenous (Australian and Chinese) perspectives on “regenerativity” and how these perspectives may be adapted to the context of contemporary global society; panpsychism and the critique of the metaphysics of modernity; and conservation ethics. In addition to her research activities she helps to care for a private conservation reserve in northern Victoria. She is a fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.
Lenten Online Class w/ John Dominic CrossanFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
It is time for a Theology Nerd Throwdown! That’s right, the original TNT co-host is back! We have some fun catching up on the world of Bo Sanders, his moves to Portland, and his new Methodist appointment in Idaho. Next week, we will be back live to nerd out with our geeks out. Get ready.
Lenten Online Class w/ John Dominic CrossanFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Are you ready for some theological fun? Watch one of the greatest living Biblical scholars tell 450 day-drinking progressive Christians how cool the Biblical Paul was. This is a live podcast with John Dominic Crossan from Theology Beer Camp. It was a ton of fun and will give you a taste of what goes down at camp. If you want to hang with us this year in Denver, head over here and get your info. If you want some more time with Dom Crossan, then join our upcoming class on the Historical Jesus.
Our Conversation from Theology Beer Camp Dom’s Lecture from Theology Beer CampPrevious Podcast Episodes with Dom & Tripp* Christian Resurrection & Human Evolution * The Cross & the Crisis of Civilization * The Coming Kingdom & the Risen Christ * The Parables of Jesus & the Parable of God * How to think about Jesus like a Historian * the Last Week of Jesus’ Life * Jesus, Paul, & Bible Questions * Saving the Biblical Christmas Stories * the most important discovery for understanding Jesus * The Bible, Violence, & Our Future * Resurrecting Easter * on the First Christmas * From Jesus’ Parables to Parables of God * Render Unto Caesar * on God & Empire
Lenten Online Class w/ John Dominic CrossanFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Over the last few years, I have returned more often than I could have imagined to the work of Reinhold Niebuhr and his vision of Christian Realism. Between the rise of Trump, growing disappointment in Biden, and inaction on the most pressing issues… to name a few… my inherent optimism in the democratic experiment has waned. So, I decided to have Dr. Kevin Carnahan on the podcast to unpack Christian Realism and how this particular theological lens could help me wrestle with my growing disease.
Kevin Carnahan is Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Central Methodist University in Fayette, MO. He recently stepped down after five years of service as co-editor of the Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics, is the former president of The Niebuhr Society, and author of multiple books and articles on religion, ethics, and politics. He lives in Columbia, MO with his wife and two daughters.
For more fast, nerdy fun hot takes from Kevin, check out his TikTok:)
Kevin’s recommendations for those wanting to get into Niebuhr are Langdon Gilkey’s On Niebuhr and Reinhold Niebuhr and Christian Realism by Robin Lovin.
You can also check out these two previous episodes with Scott Paeth on Niebuhr: On Reinhold & Richard Niebuhr and Why Go Niebuhr?
Lenten Online Class w/ John Dominic CrossanFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
What happens when a progressive Christian historian and theologian talk about everything you aren’t supposed to discuss at dinner? Let’s find out:)
If you want to join our regular online hangs, head over to Diana’s substack community, the Cottage, or the Homebrewed Community.
Diana Butler Bass, Ph.D., is an award-winning author, popular speaker, inspiring preacher, and one of America’s most trusted commentators on religion and contemporary spirituality.
Lenten Online Class w/ John Dominic CrossanPrevious Episodes with Diana & Tripp* The Christology Ladder * The Indictment Edition of Ruining Dinner * American Saints in a Cynical Age * Ruining Dinner… and Date Nights * Welcome to the Post-Christian Century * Ruining Christmas Dinner * Ruining Election Night Dinner * The Over-Rated Genie God * Bad Blood, Civil War, and other Soothing Topics * Shall the Fundies (Keep) Winning?, Abortion, and Black Holes * 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
Lexington Theological Seminary is the sponsor for this Episode.Lexington Theological Seminary is a pioneer in online theological education. Both the Doctoral and Masters programs are designed with the flexibility and contextual focus needed for the working student. You can learn more byheading here.
Here are a few episodes with a couple of their Profs
- Leah Schade & Wilson Dickinson: Faith During an Ecological Collapse
- Leah Schade: Preaching in a time of Crisis from Corona to Climate
- Wilson Dickinson: Faith After a Neo-liberal Compliant Church
Upcoming HBC ProjectsFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
I am thrilled to have Dr. Scott MacDougall back on the podcast. He recently published The Shape of Anglican Theology Faith Seeking Wisdom, which explores the distinctiveness of Anglican theology. The book describes its boundaries and names its particular characteristics, finally concluding that Anglican theology is a wisdom theology that seeks to build the capacity for faithful Christian discernment in belief and practice. You will hear a brilliant theologian reflecting on his tradition and the deep joy of his faith. Talking with Scott is always a pleasure, and I hope you enjoy it.
Scott MacDougall was born and raised in Central New York. He attended college in the greater New York City area, receiving his B.A. from Hofstra University. Following a career in the not-for-profit sector, he undertook the formal study of theology. MacDougall received his M.A. in theology from the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church in 2007 and his Ph.D. in systematic theology from Fordham University in 2014. At the American Academy of Religion, he co-chairs the Anglican Studies Seminar and serves on the steering committee of the Ecclesiological Investigations Unit. MacDougall has served as Co-Editor in Chief of the?Anglican Theological Review and was the inaugural Theologian to the House of Deputies of the Episcopal Church.
Previous Episodes with Scott* More Than Communion * The Infinite Mystery & Diverse Doxology of God w/ Elizabeth Johnson * Christian Feminist Theology with Elizabeth Johnson, Monica Coleman, and Cindy Rigby
Lenten Online Class w/ John Dominic CrossanUpcoming HBC ProjectsFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Philip Clayton and Diana Butler Bass joined me for a livestream exploration of different Christologies. This was part of our recent class, The Cosmic Christ, but after so many class members wanted to share it, I decided to go ahead and post it on the podcast.
If you enjoy the conversation, you can grab the rest of the class by heading over here.
As a scholar, Philip Clayton (Ingraham Professor, Claremont School of Theology) works at the intersection of science, philosophy, and theology. As an activist (president of EcoCiv.org, President of IPDC), he works to convene, facilitate, and catalyze multi-sectoral initiatives toward ecological civilization. As a disciple of Jesus, he finds himself energized by the Spirit in the Quaker community.
Previous Podcast Convos w/ Philip Clayton* Christ, Christmas, & the Incarnation * How to Think Theologically * On the Meaning of Life * on the Mindfulness of Nature * The Theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg w/ Philip Clayton * Finding God in Everyone and Everywhere w/ Philip Clayton and Andrew Davis * Can a process theologian be an Evangelical & other questions with Philip Clayton * The #GodDebacle w/ Philip Clayton and LeRon Shults * Philip Clayton on the Shape of Postmodern Theology * Party Time with Philip Clayton for “The Predicament of Belief” * Bootlegged Christianity with Philip Clayton, Jack Caputo, Bill Mallonee, Peter Rollins, & Jay Bakker * Philip Clayton on The Resurrection, Trinity, Eschatology & the Predicament of Belief * Coming to Jesus with Daniel Kirk & Philip Clayton
Diana Butler Bass, Ph.D., is an award-winning author, popular speaker, inspiring preacher, and one of America’s most trusted commentators on religion and contemporary spirituality.
Previous Episodes with Diana & Tripp* The Indictment Edition of Ruining Dinner * American Saints in a Cynical Age * Ruining Dinner… and Date Nights * Welcome to the Post-Christian Century * Ruining Christmas Dinner * Ruining Election Night Dinner * The Over-Rated Genie God * Bad Blood, Civil War, and other Soothing Topics * Shall the Fundies (Keep) Winning?, Abortion, and Black Holes * 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
Upcoming HBC ProjectsFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
EMERGED PODCAST
God After Deconstruction: @Drew Feb 9-10 @Denver April 11-13
ORTcon July 8-12:
Ring Lake Ranch July 14-20
ORTline Feb. 22-24
Theology Beer Camp 2024
A long-time friend of the podcast, Doug Pagitt, returns to the podcast! He’s been a regular guest since episode 2… 15 years ago. In this episode, Tony Jones joins me as Doug reflects on the end of the church he planted Solomon’s Porch and the ongoing legacy of the Emerging Church Movement.
Doug Pagitt is an American author, pastor, social activist and executive director of Vote Common Good. A leading voice for progressive Christianity, Doug makes frequent national media and speaking appearances. A proud, concerned and hopeful American, Doug Pagitt is a social activist. He is Co-founder and Executive Director of Vote Common Good, a national political non-profit dedicated to inspiring, energizing, and mobilizing people of faith to engage in civic life.
Pulling from his experience as an author, pastor and business owner, Doug consults for and trains churches, denominations, politicians, businesses and non-profits throughout the United States on issues of culture, leadership, social systems, Christianity and Progressive Evangelicalism.
Doug has authored 10 books on spirituality, Christianity and leadership, including: Flipped (Random House 2015), The Inventive Age Series (SparkHouse 2012), and A Christianity Worth Believing (Jossey-Bass 2008). His latest book, Outdoing Jesus: Seven Ways to Live Out the Promise of Greater Than (Eerdmans 2019), is a hopeful and provocative commentary on biblical good news exemplified through present-day ordinary people making extraordinary contributions.
In 2000, Doug was founding pastor of Solomon’s Porch, a Holistic Missional Christian Community in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He also founded and remains active with the Greater Things Foundation, a charitable non-profit for empowering and fostering more beautiful, inclusive, and life-giving communities.
Some of the previous episodes with Doug Flipped LIVE show * Doug wants the church to get inventive * Discussing the Debate… in 2012 * Christianity Worth Believing w/ Tim Ponder * Rollin’ Gospel Revival w/ Doug & Tony in character * EPISODE TWO*… Doug and Tim Conder talk to a church historian PART ONE & PART TWO
Upcoming HBC ProjectsFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
One of the ongoing tensions for Biblical scholars is the gap between the shared knowledge within the academy and the need for more awareness among the larger public. Most ministers are aware of the tension this creates in the congregation, but the public square is no better. A friend and New Testament scholar, Dr. James McGrath, is back on the podcast to discuss his new book to tackle this problem. You will not want to miss The A to Z of the New Testament: Things Experts Know That Everyone Else Should Too!
James F. McGrath is Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature. His PhD from the University of Durham became the basis for his first book, John’s Apologetic Christology, published by Cambridge University Press in the SNTS Monograph Series. He has also written a “prequel” about the broader context of monotheism and Christology in ancient Judaism and Christianity, The Only True God: Early Christian Monotheism in Its Jewish Context, published by University of Illinois Press. More recently, he has published What Jesus Learned from Women, which explores the topic of the historical figure of Jesus and the influence the women mentioned in the Gospels had on him.
In addition to his work on the New Testament and early Christianity, Dr. McGrath also researches the Mandaeans (the last surviving Gnostic group from the ancient world) and their literature. The two-volume critical edition, translation, and commentary on the Mandaean Book of John (which he produced together with Charles Haberl of Rutgers University) represents the first such academic edition of the complete work in English based on all known manuscripts. Another area of specialty is the intersection of religion and science fiction. On that subject, he is the author of Theology and Science Fiction and The Battle of Ranskoor av Kolos (Black Archive #52), editor of Religion and Science Fiction and co-editor of Time and Relative Dimensions in Faith: Religion and Doctor Who. He blogs at Religion Prof.
Previous Episodes w/ James
- What Jesus Learned from Women
- Exploring the Matrix Resurrections
- Early Christian Monotheism
Join Our Advent Class, The Cosmic ChristUpcoming HBC ProjectsFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Thomas Jay Oord is back on the podcast! This episode has two different parts. The first is a live QnA from ORTcon23. The wide-ranging God questions came from the event attendees and were inspired by some fantastic conversations throughout the gathering. In the last bit, Tom and I discuss all the nerdy fun that went down at the Open & Relational stage at Theology Beer Camp.
- God After Deconstruction: Check out our upcoming class, book, and in-person events
- Theology Beer Camp: head over here to get info on 2024 camp
- Check out the ORTcon 24 event this coming summer
- Check out ORTline 24 – an amazing online event with TONS of open and relational theologians
Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. He is an award-winning author, and he has written or edited more than twenty-five books. Oord directs a doctoral program at Northwind Theological Seminary and the Center for Open and Relational Theology. He won the Outstanding Faculty Award twelve times as a full-time professor and now speaks at institutions across the globe. Oord is known for his contributions to research on love, open and relational theology, science and religion, and freedom and relationships for transformation.
Some Previous Tripp & Tom Pods* Christ, Christmas, & the Incarnation * the Death of Omnipotence! * Brian McLaren & Thomas Jay Oord: a God Worthy of Love * Process This! * Process Theology QnA * Authority, Atonement, Abortion, and a Big Hug * from Pluriform Love to Divine Revelation * 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?
Join Our Advent Class, The Cosmic ChristFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
I am thrilled to have Dr. Hanna Reichel on the podcast for the first time! Our conversation centers around their newest book After Method.
Hanna Reichel is Associate Professor of Reformed Theology at Princeton Theological Seminary. Reichel is an internationally recognized Barth scholar and constructive theologian.
After Method assumes the impossibility of doing theology right–and moves beyond it. Organized as a conversation in two voices—with systematic-theological commitments represented by Karl Barth and constructive-theological commitments represented by Marcella Althaus-Reid—this book calls the redemptive potential of any methodological program into question. Indeed, the search for a full and complete theological account of reality has only further fragmented theological discourse. Thus, Hanna Reichel argues that method cannot “save” us—but that does not mean that we cannot do better. After Method harnesses the best insights systematic and constructive theologies have to offer in their mutual critique and gestures toward a “better” theology.
Utilizing architectural metaphor, Reichel pulls from systematic and constructive approaches to develop an understanding of theological work as conceptual design, responsibly ordering and structuring given materials for a purpose. This necessitates a more realistic adaptation to reality for theology, expanding its standards to encompass the experiences and perceptions of people and speaking the truth available to it. The honesty, humility, and solidarity generated through the failure of method liberates theology to a more playful and tentative cruising of different approaches and redirects its attention to “misfits” and outsiders. Equally demanding and self-relativizing, the resultant ethos is better able to do justice to the reality of the world and the reality of God than doctrinal orthodoxy or methodological orthopraxy.
Join Our Advent Class, The Cosmic ChristFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
I hope that no matter where you are in life, you have been able to enjoy the holiday season by eating good food, spending time with friends and family, or at least getting some rest. If the holidays don’t tend to provide comfort, then you can escape and take shelter in The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy with Nick Polk from Tolkien Pop! as well as Tolkien Scholar Dr. Craig Boyd!
As we enter the eye of the storm that is the holiday season, we will kick off our run of Christmas movies with The Lord of the Rings (the extended editions, of course). Because, in fact, The Lord of the Rings are Christmas movies. The Fellowship is led by a supernatural man with a white beard, the company departs from Rivendell to begin their quest on December 25th (Christmas Day), and there are plenty of Elves to go around! To solidify the argument even further, Tolkien wrote his children Letters from Father Christmas (Santa Claus) every year during the Christmas season in their adolescence. In these letters, Tolkien told of Santa and his elves fighting off a goblin army. We even see glimpses of Tolkien’s invented Elvish language script in the letters. The legendarium was partly developed in and through a Christmas fantasy world sandbox.
We talk about all these things and more as a sort of “pregame” into our Christmas Movie Marathon and will come back with another “postgame” livestream with Dr. Craig Boyd and some other special guests that you won’t wanna miss. So, with all that said, let’s go on a Middle-earth Christmas adventure!
Craig A. Boyd is Professor of Philosophy and Humanities at Saint Louis University. Among the books he has published are The Virtues: A Very Short Introduction, with Kevin Timpe (Oxford University, 2021), Virtues and Their Vices, co-edited with Kevin Timpe (Oxford University Press, 2014), and A Shared Morality: A Narrative Defense of Natural Law Ethics (Brazos Press, 2007). His scholarly articles have appeared in such venues as The Heythrop Journal, Christian Scholar’s Review, Christianity & Literature, New Blackfriars, and American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly.
Nick Polk (Tolkien Pop!) is the production editor for Mallorn, the academic journal of The Tolkien Society. His most recent research includes his essay entitled “Middle-earth in South Park: The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers as Parody.” Other than Tolkien, his other loves include his wife Kelly, coffee, and punk. Nothing sounds better than starting the day reading a Tolkien book with a cup of coffee and ending it in a moshpit with loved ones.
One Stream to Rule them ALL: Prepping for a LOTR Christmas Movie Marathon https://t.co/xCDvZ3ZIHv
— Theology Nerd (@HomebrewedXnty) November 30, 2023
Join Our Upcoming Advent Class, The Cosmic ChristFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
This is a fun conversation with Thomas Jay Oord & Philip Clayton. We have a good time digging into some of the biggest theological questions surrounding Christmas and the Incarnation. Enjoy & then join our upcoming online class, The Cosmic Christ.
Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. He is an award-winning author, and he has written or edited more than twenty-five books. Oord directs a doctoral program at Northwind Theological Seminary and the Center for Open and Relational Theology. He won the Outstanding Faculty Award twelve times as a full-time professor and now speaks at institutions across the globe. Oord is known for his contributions to research on love, open and relational theology, science and religion, and freedom and relationships for transformation.
As a scholar, Philip Clayton (Ingraham Professor, Claremont School of Theology) works at the intersection of science, philosophy, and theology. As an activist (president of EcoCiv.org, President of IPDC), he works to convene, facilitate, and catalyze multi-sectoral initiatives toward ecological civilization. As a disciple of Jesus, he finds himself energized by the Spirit in the Quaker community.
Previous Podcast Convos w/ Philip Clayton* How to Think Theologically * On the Meaning of Life * on the Mindfulness of Nature * The Theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg w/ Philip Clayton * Finding God in Everyone and Everywhere w/ Philip Clayton and Andrew Davis * Can a process theologian be an Evangelical & other questions with Philip Clayton * The #GodDebacle w/ Philip Clayton and LeRon Shults * Philip Clayton on the Shape of Postmodern Theology * Party Time with Philip Clayton for “The Predicament of Belief” * Bootlegged Christianity with Philip Clayton, Jack Caputo, Bill Mallonee, Peter Rollins, & Jay Bakker * Philip Clayton on The Resurrection, Trinity, Eschatology & the Predicament of Belief * Coming to Jesus with Daniel Kirk & Philip Clayton
Join Our Upcoming Advent Class, The Cosmic ChristFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Throughout the Theology for Normal People series, we have featured interviews with theologians from different parts of the church. In this episode, Dr. Ryan Duns, a Jesuit priest and theologian at Marquette University, returns to the podcast to share how he thinks in and with the Catholic tradition. It was a beautiful and enlightening conversation that blends his narrative, exploration of the Catholic tradition, and wisdom he’s gained, introducing it to students in the classroom. I had so much fun we went on a Tolkien excursion at the end, which is a sign I’m having fun.
Ryan G. Duns, SJ, (twitter) 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
Hear Dr. Duns answer the big 8 God questionsinterested 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.
You can check out our previous conversation here: Spiritual Exercises for a Secular Age.
Join Our Upcoming Advent Class, The Cosmic ChristFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Ryan Burge is back and he has a bunch of charts to get us chatting! To stay up to date with Ryan’s regular release of graphs about religion, follow his substack here, IG here, and formerly twitter here.
Ryan P. Burge is an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University. Author of numerous journal articles, he is the co-founder 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.
Previous Visits from Ryan Burge
- Graphs about Religion & Politics w/ Spicy Banter
- a Year in Religion (in Graphs)
- Evangelical Jews, Educated Church-Goers, & other bits of dizzying data
- 5 Religion Graphs w/ a side of Hot Takes
- Myths about Religion & Politics
Join Our Upcoming Advent Class, The Cosmic ChristFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
My friend, Dr. Bethany Sollereder, is Lecturer in Science and Religion at the University of Edinburgh. She received her PhD in Theology from the University of Exeter and an MCS in interdisciplinary studies from Regent College, Vancouver. She specializes in theology concerning evolution and the problem of suffering. Her current work is about the theological possibilities and human vocation in the light of irreversible changes in ecological degradation.
She is also interested in the intersection between psychology and faith, particularly how different approaches to theology can affect people’s experience of suffering. This interest led to the publication of “Why is There Suffering? Pick your own theological adventure” (Zondervan 2021), the first pick-your-own-ending theology book. Dr Sollereder is working in a broader research program in what she has called “Compassionate Theodicy.”
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 visits to the podcast
- Celebration, Suffering, & the Future of Science + Religion
- Theology and the Ecological Crisis
Join the upcoming class Live Before You Die and read The Courage to Be with me, Elgin, and Dan.Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
I am thrilled to have my friend Dr. Adam Clark back on the podcast. This conversation captures so many of his most potent observations about the task of thinking theologically in the key of liberation. Enjoy
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
Join me and Pete as we tackle some Big God questionsIgnatian 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:* From Contemplation to Liberation * The Living & Liberating Mystery * Cancel Culture, Rogan, Whoopi, Chappelle, & the NFL * Gary Dorrien & Adam Clark: James Cone and the Emergence of Black Theology * 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
Join the upcoming class Live Before You Die and read The Courage to Be with me, Elgin, and Dan.Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Elgin & Aaron recording at the tailgateWhen I started the podcast over 15 years ago, Elgin was an infant, and today he is here hosting the podcast! Elgin decided to join the upcoming class, Live Before You Die, and has been collecting a stack of questions as he read through Paul Tillich’s The Courage to Be. Yesterday, we were tailgating at the Wake Forest vs Florida State football game with Arron Simmons and his family. What does a podcaster do when their teenager has a bunch of questions about existentialism, and you are tailgating with an existentialist philosopher? You hand them mics!
Dr. Aaron Simmons is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Furman University.
- Here’s Aaaron’s website with tons of resources & his newsletter
- His previous visits to the podcast include Camping with Kierkegaard, Faith After Deconstruction, ”Do I Have a Soul? & other cultural preferences in bold,” ”Off-Road Religion & Pandemic Philosophizing,” ”Smells Like Teenage Phenomenology” &
“Whose Christianity, Which Postmodernism?”, Philosophy & the Experience of God - Youtube Channel, “Philosophy for Where We Find Ourselves”:
- TedX Speaker: “The Failure of Success”
- check out Aaron’s books here
Join the upcoming class Live Before You Die and read The Courage to Be with me, Elgin, and Dan.Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
I was in Minneapolis speaking at the Festival of Homiletics and ended up at a bottle release party at Surly Brewing with my friend Tony Jones. There, we shared stories from our time in the Emerging Church Movement, what we learned, all the friends we made, and where we’ve all ended up. We decided then to do a class exploring the movement and process our learning with a bunch of its participants. From there, the idea took off, and we decided it would be best to turn it into a podcast series and invite people to contribute to a more significant oral history. In this episode, you will hear about the project, what we’ve been doing, and how you can be a part of it.
EMERGED:A Crowdfunded Podcast to Preserve an Oral History of the Emerging Church Movement – For a decade at the beginning of the 21st century, a small group of pastors, missionaries, and theologians set out to change the church. They were mostly GenXers, mostly men, mostly white, mostly evangelical. They planted churches and wrote books and ran conferences. They were quoted in the New York Times and Time Magazine, and they landed on the cover of Christianity Today and the Christian Century. And then, almost as quickly as it appeared, the emerging church movement disappeared. In this multi-part series launching January 2024, Tony Jones and Tripp Fuller will journey through the electrifying, tumultuous, ever-evolving years of the ECM through interviews, stories, and opinions from some of the movement’s pivotal figures.
WE’LL TACKLE QUESTIONS LIKE:
- What were the precursors to the ECM?
- What catalyzed the movement?
- How cohesive was it, really?
- When and why did interest switch from the evangelical church to the mainline?
- Did it become too political?
- Did the movement ultimately fail, or did it infiltrate and change the church?
GET ACCESS: http://www.emergedpodcast.com
Join the upcoming HBC Class! Live Before You Die: Existentialism in Psychology & TheologyFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Everyone doesn’t have to be a theology nerd, but if you want to know what it sounds like when we have fun, this conversation with John Thatamanil is exhibit A. Over the years, John and I have had multiple conversations on and off the podcast, and everyone is a complete joy. I am always wholly hyped when it is over and have a stack of ideas brewing in my head for weeks. This episode is no exception! Not only do we go deep into an adequate ontology for the breadth of religious experience, explore some Tillichian connections with Whitehead, and transformative explorations across religious pluralism, but we get personal about how the activity of thinking theologically is an intimate form of engagement with God. Relistening to this episode made me excited about my next conversation with John.
Dr. Thatamanil is Professor of Theology & World Religions at Union Theological Seminary in NYC.
Check out these books by John* Circling the Elephant: A Comparative Theology of Religious Diversity * The Immanent Divine: God, Creation And the Human Predicament: God, Creation, and the Human Predicament * Theology Without Walls: The Transreligious Imperative
Previous Podcast visits from John* What we do when we do theology * A Comparative Theology of Religious Diversity * Theology Without Walls * Non-duality, Polydoxy, and Christian Identity
Join the class – Theology For Normal PeopleDive into a transformative, four-week online course that seeks not just to answer eight of the most poignant God questions, but also to unravel the very fabric of theological thought.
Guided by renowned theologians, the course invites participants into the heart of Christian tradition, exploring the diverse schools of thought and the nuances that define them. Hosted by Dr. Tripp Fullerand Dr. Pete Enns, this journey transcends simple answers, beckoning participants to engage with the methodology and complexity of theological thinking. INFO TO JOIN HERE
Things on the Homebrewed Horizon!An Open Online Class Exploring ExistentialismJoin me and Pete as we tackle some Big God questionsFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
How do liberal Protestant Christian theologians think? Few people are as capable as our guest, Dr. Paul Capetz, at articulating the heart of liberal Protestantism. Paul has been a friend for a long time. We first met at Claremont School of Theology when he was on sabbatical and we quickly realized how much we enjoy getting nerdy together. In this episode, we discuss his new book, Recovering Protestantism’s Original Insight and how liberal Protestantism inherited Luther’s critical theology.
In the conversation, we discuss…
- how to engage historical criticism of the Bible as a modern Christian
- the role and function of tradition for theologizing
- the contrast between Calvin and Luther when it comes to Biblical authority
- can the Bible help us think about ethics today?
- the need to free the Bible from an ancient worldview
- the existentialist impact of Gospel proclamation
- the priority of education within liberal Protestantism
- how to be honest in wrestling with and discerning our history
- America’s anti-intellectualism and its deep desire to repress its history
- Paul tells the story of the Presbyterian church wrestling with same-sex marriage
- the relationship between liberal and liberation theologies
Paul E. Capetz is professor of historical theology emeritus at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, and is currently minister at Christ Church by the Sea in Newport Beach, California. He is the author of God: A Brief History and co-editor of James Gustafson’s Moral Discernment in the Christian Life.
Previous Episodes w/ Paul Capetz* Existentialist Philosophy, Politics, & Theology * Calvin’s 500th Birthday * The Big Theological Throw Down with John Cobb & Paul Capetz
Join the class – Theology For Normal PeopleDive into a transformative, four-week online course that seeks not just to answer eight of the most poignant God questions, but also to unravel the very fabric of theological thought.
Guided by renowned theologians, the course invites participants into the heart of Christian tradition, exploring the diverse schools of thought and the nuances that define them. Hosted by Dr. Tripp Fullerand Dr. Pete Enns, this journey transcends simple answers, beckoning participants to engage with the methodology and complexity of theological thinking. INFO TO JOIN HERE
Things on the Homebrewed Horizon!An Open Online Class Exploring ExistentialismJoin me and Pete as we tackle some Big God questionsFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Have you ever read a book that you loved because it was uncomfortable? One that extended questions you’ve raised and challenged the answers you were attracted to? Maybe a book that, when you got done, you knew you needed to reread it? That happened when I finished Dr. Clark’s Reclaiming Stolen Earth: An Africana Ecotheology. So, I imagine you can guess how excited I was when he agreed to join the podcast!
Jawanza Eric Clark is professor of global Christianity at Manhattan College, NY. He holds a BA from Morehouse College, an MDiv from Yale Divinity School, and a ThM and PhD from Emory University. He is editor of Albert Cleage Jr. and the Black Madonna and Child, and author of Indigenous Black Theology: Towards an African-Centered Theology of the African-American Religious Experience. He is currently co-chair of the Black Theology unit of the American Academy of Religion.
Things on the Homebrewed Horizon!An Open Online Class Exploring ExistentialismEnter here to win Dr. Douglas’ book and a bunch of others Join me and Pete as we tackle some Big God questionsFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Kelly Brown Douglas won the 2023 Grawemeyer Award in Religion for her newest book, Resurrection Hope, and she is here on the podcast to talk about it!
The Rev. Dr. Kelly Brown Douglas is Interim President of the Episcopal Divinity School and Canon Theologian at Washington National Cathedral. From 2017 to 2023, she was Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary and Professor of Theology. She is considered a leader in the field of womanist theology, racial reconciliation, and sexuality and the black church. Her Orbis books include The Black Christ, What’s Faith Got to Do with It? and Stand Your Ground: Black Bodies and the Justice of God.
Things on the Homebrewed Horizon!An Open Online Class Exploring ExistentialismEnter here to win Dr. Douglas’ book and a bunch of others Join me and Pete as we tackle some Big God questionsFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Dan Koch is one of my favorite people. He reached out to connect in person when he
was thinking of starting a podcast, and since then, he has not only produced several quality podcasts, but I have grown to love having him in my life. Like all good elder millennials, nothing says, “dude, I love being your friend,” like a quality mixtape. In this episode, we make a playlist centered on our existential dread
If you liked this, check out his music podcast – Pretty Good Vibrations analyzes and celebrates pop and rock music and its crucial role throughout our lives. Dan hosts the You Have Permission podcast and has seven years of podcasting experience, including previous shows Depolarize!
(politics/psychology) and Reconstruct (theology). He holds a Master’s of Counseling Psychology and has completed doctoral coursework at Northwest University in Kirkland, WA. His research focuses on spiritual abuse, and his “Development of the Spiritual Harm and Abuse Scale” was published in 2022 by the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion. In his clinical therapy practice, Dan specializes in working with religious issues, including religious trauma, and utilizes a cognitive-existential modality. He is skilled in making academic research accessible to a broad audience, keeping things interesting while responsibly maintaining the right amount of nuance.
Check out the upcoming class I am doing with Dan exploring existentialism!You can check out my previous convos with Dan here
- Only Friends Share Mixtapes
- Dabbling in Heresy
- You Have Permission to be Awesome with Dan Koch
- The Best Antidote to Rampant Partisanship with Dan Koch
- Religious Trauma, Bracketing Belief, & the Best Reason to Believe in God
- The Evangelical Youth Group Fantasy Draft
- Science and Spiritual Experience #Experiencing God
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
It is impossible to tell my own story without sharing about Philip Clayton. Not only have I read all of his books, many multiple times, but his guidance in graduate school and continued friendship have been a deep blessing. On top of that, Philip is a brilliant theologian. In this unique conversation, you will hear how a deep personal faith in Christ animates this philosophical theologian and leading scholar of Religion & Science. This is just the first episode in a series exploring how to think theologically. To get the entire series, hear Philip answer the 8 big God questions, and join thousands of others in conversation, join the class Theology for Normal People.
As a scholar, Philip Clayton (Ingraham Professor, Claremont School of Theology) works at the intersection of science, philosophy, and theology. As an activist (president of EcoCiv.org, President of IPDC), he works to convene, facilitate, and catalyze multi-sectoral initiatives toward ecological civilization. As a disciple of Jesus, he finds himself energized by the Spirit in the Quaker community.
Join the class – Theology For Normal PeopleDive into a transformative, four-week online course that seeks not just to answer eight of the most poignant God questions, but also to unravel the very fabric of theological thought.
Guided by renowned theologians, the course invites participants into the heart of Christian tradition, exploring the diverse schools of thought and the nuances that define them. Hosted by Dr. Tripp Fuller and Dr. Pete Enns, this journey transcends simple answers, beckoning participants to engage with the methodology and complexity of theological thinking. INFO TO JOIN HERE
Previous Podcast Convos w/ Philip Clayton* On the Meaning of Life * on the Mindfulness of Nature * The Theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg w/ Philip Clayton * Finding God in Everyone and Everywhere w/ Philip Clayton and Andrew Davis * Can a process theologian be an Evangelical & other questions with Philip Clayton * The #GodDebacle w/ Philip Clayton and LeRon Shults * Philip Clayton on the Shape of Postmodern Theology * Party Time with Philip Clayton for “The Predicament of Belief” * Bootlegged Christianity with Philip Clayton, Jack Caputo, Bill Mallonee, Peter Rollins, & Jay Bakker * Philip Clayton on The Resurrection, Trinity, Eschatology & the Predicament of Belief * Coming to Jesus with Daniel Kirk & Philip Clayton
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
I am THRILLED to have Reggie Williams back on the podcast! This is a powerful conversation exploring Bonhoeffer and his critique of religion. Dr. Williams is the Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at McCormick Theological Seminary and author of Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus: Harlem Renaissance Theology and an Ethic of Resistance.
This was one of the live stream sessions from the online class Bonhoeffer and the Future of Faith. To access Dr. Williams and all the other contributor’s excellent lectures head over here. These live streams were inspired by the contributor’s address, their reading selection from Bonhoeffer, and class member questions.
Here’s Reggie’s previous visits to the podcast:
- Reggie Williams: Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus
- Debating, Praying, and Living with Tyrants
Theology Beer Camp 2023!!Don’t miss your chance to hang with 15+ theologians, 15+ God-Pods, and a bunch of theology nerds like yourself.Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Nothing says friendship like permission to dabble in heresies together. In this episode, a group of friends who happen to be scholars of philosophy, psychology, science, and religion try to make each other uncomfortable by sharing a heresy. This podcast format was inspired by Kevin Kelly, who got Tim Ferris to try it on his show. We all had some fun. Let us know what you think about the format and how we might change it up in the future.
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.
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.
Dan Koch is one of my favorite people. He reached out to connect in person when he was thinking of starting a podcast, and since then, he has not only produced several quality podcasts, but I have grown to love having him in my life. Pretty Good Vibrations analyzes and celebrates pop and rock music and its crucial role throughout our lives. Podcast veteran and host Dan Koch (You Have Permission Podcast) has been a professional musician for most of the last 20 years: songwriter for the emo-pop band Sherwood, then as a commercial composer since 2012. Multiple episode styles include bracket-style tournaments, chronological walk-throughs, and deep dives into genres, artists, and eras. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Sarey Martin Concepción is a writer, podcast producer, and filmmaker with roots in L.A. and Portland, OR. She has an MA in Theology and the Arts from Fuller Theological Seminary and works as communications director for Blueprint 1543, which cultivates integration between theology and the psychological sciences. Currently, she’s working on a feminist, sci-fi short film (winemakermovie.com). Before pursuing independent fiction and nonfiction projects, she worked for 10 years as part of Rob Zombie’s production and management team. More at secretartproject.com.Sarah, Dan, Sarey & Myron’s Previous Podcast Visits* Myron Penner: Sex, God, & Gender * Science and Spiritual Experience #Experiencing God * The Living & Liberating Mystery #ExperiencingGod * Bad Theology… Good God! * Philosophy & the Experience of God * The Evangelical Youth Group Fantasy Draft * Religious Trauma, Bracketing Belief, & the Best Reason to Believe in God * Sex, God, & Gender * Navigating Philosophy & Religion * a Minimally Viable God Concept * 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 * Only Friends Share Mixtapes * You Have Permission to be Awesome * The Best Antidote to Rampant Partisanship
Theology Beer Camp 2023!!Don’t miss your chance to hang with 15+ theologians, 15+ God-Pods, and a bunch of theology nerds like yourself.Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Dr. Aaron Simmons is here to discuss his new book, “Camping with Kierkegaard: Faithfulness as a Way of Life.” It’s a banger! Ohhh and listen close to the episode to learn how to score a sweet incentive when you grab the book
Dr. Aaron Simmons is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Furman University.
- Here’s Aaaron’s website with tons of resources & his newsletter
- His previous visits to the podcast include, “Faith After Deconstruction,” ”Do I Have a Soul? & other cultural preferences in bold,” ”Off-Road Religion & Pandemic Philosophizing,” ”Smells Like Teenage Phenomenology” &
“Whose Christianity, Which Postmodernism?”, Philosophy & the Experience of God - Youtube Channel, “Philosophy for Where We Find Ourselves”:
- TedX Speaker: “The Failure of Success”
- check out Aaron’s books here
Theology Beer Camp 2023!!Don’t miss your chance to hang with 15+ theologians, 15+ God-Pods, and a bunch of theology nerds like yourself.Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
In this episode, I am joined by chief mycelium enthusiast and advocate, Merlin Sheldrake. We recorded in person at the Center for Process Studies’ 50th Anniversary event in Claremont, CA. Come dive beneath the forest floor as we venture into the intricate and mesmerizing realm of fungi. Dr. Merlin Sheldrake, renowned biologist and author of the critically acclaimed book “Entangled Life,” pulls back the curtain on the hidden networks that underpin our ecosystems, nourish our trees, and have the potential to reshape our understanding of the world around us. Not only that, but we unpack the ways his research has inspired a larger process-relational vision.
Merlin Sheldrake is a biologist, writer, and speaker with a background in plant sciences, microbiology, ecology, and the history and philosophy of science. He received a Ph.D. in tropical ecology from Cambridge University for his work on underground fungal networks in tropical forests in Panama, where he was a predoctoral research fellow of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. He is a research associate of the Vrije University Amsterdam, works with the Society for the Protection of Underground Networks (SPUN), and sits on the advisory board of the Fungi Foundation.
Matt Segall, Merlin, Peter Sjöstedt-Hughes, and TrippMerlin’s research ranges from fungal biology, to the history of Amazonian ethnobotany, to the relationship between sound and form in resonant systems. A keen brewer and fermenter, he is fascinated by the relationships that arise between humans and more-than-human organisms. He is a musician and performs on the piano and accordion.
In the conversation, we discuss…
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- Merlin’s intellectual origin story
- How did studying the history of science reveal unexamined metaphysical prejudice within the sciences
- How “nothing but” scientific explanations and blinds us to a deep account of experience
- Why the bifurcation of nature isn’t helpful for science or the humanities
- The many invisible lives of plants, fungi, & soil
- The moment Merlin found the need for a process style metaphysic
- Panpsychism!
- How growing up a Sheldrake shaped his religious and spiritual outlook
- Why Godsplainers are the worst;)
- Don’t kill the questions!
- Spiritual experiments in truth
You may remember when Merlin’s Dad, Rubert Sheldrake, was on the podcast. You can listen to it here: From the Science Delusion to Psychedelic Religion.
Theology Beer Camp 2023!!Don’t miss your chance to hang with 15+ theologians, 15+ God-Pods, and a bunch of theology nerds like yourself.Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Dr. Willemien Otten is the Dorothy Grant Maclear Professor of Theology and the History of Christianity at the University of Chicago Divinity School. In this conversation we discuss: How Dr Otten became a medievalist What is missed by skipping church history between Augustine, Aquinas, to Luther What Augustine gets right about sex and bodies How… Read more about Willemien Otten: Medieval Wisdom for Contemporary Theology
The good doctor Daniel Kirk joined me for some live QnA as we spread the word about our upcoming OPEN ONLINE CLASS – Romans: A Guide to the Most Misused, Problematic, & Prooftexted Letter in the Bible. Venture into the depth and richness of Paul’s letter to the Romans in this dynamic five-session online course.… Read more about Daniel Kirk: on ROMANS + Biblical Authority, Jesus’ Adoption, and Post-Penal Atonement
I am THRILLED to have two remarkable philosophers join me to unpack philosophical deconstruction and how it can help reframe the ongoing process of deconstruction. Bruce Benson and Aaron Simmons are both accomplished postmodern philosophers, with a bunch of books on my bookshelf. This episode was even better than my high expectations! After you listen,… Read more about Bruce Benson & Aaron Simmons: Faith After Deconstruction
What a fun conversation! Ilia Delio and Bruce Epperly joined me for an in-person conversation at ORTCON23. Since Ilia wrote a book on Bonaventure and Bruce is in the middle of writing one, it was the perfect time to get to know the 13th Century philosopher, theologian, and Saint. Ilia Delio, OSF, PhD is a… Read more about Ilia Delio & Bruce Epperly: Bonaventure & the Cosmos in Process
A Bible scholar and a theologian answer a bunch of really important questions while having some fun. Pete Enns joined me live on the HBC YouTube channel (that you should follow) to tackle some fun nerdy questions. If this experience isn’t painful and you think it would be fun to hangout with us, then join… Read more about Force Ghosts, a ‘Biblical’ Jesus, & Pre-Human Religion w/ Pete Enns & Tripp Fuller
Earlier this week I spent three days in Springfiled, MO preparing and planning Theology Beer Camp. I was joined by Tim Whitaker from the New Evangelicals, as we visited a number of the breweries and food trucks bringing the goods to camp and spent some time with the amazing team at The Venues, our hosting… Read more about A Special #TheologyBeerCamp Update
Dr. Matthew Thiessen is associate professor of religious studies at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. He is the author of Contesting Conversion: Genealogy, Circumcision, and Identity in Ancient Judaism and Christianity (awarded the Manfred Lautenschlaeger Award for Theological Promise), Paul and the Gentile Problem, and Jesus and the Forces of Death. Soon he will release a new book,… Read more about Matthew Thiessen: Jesus & the Forces of Death
How does the work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer help us think ethically about the Christian Nationalism? What is the task of public theology during the rise of facist religon ? In this conversation my co-host Dr. Jeff Pugh and I are joined by Dr. Lori Brandt Hale to discuss her work on Bonhoeffer and its applicaton to… Read more about Lori Brandt Hale: Bonhoeffer & Christian Nationalism
How does the work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer help us think ethically about the climate crisis? What is the shape of theology in the Anthropocene? In this conversation my co-host Dr. Jeff Pugh and I are joined by Dr. Dianne Rayson to discuss her work on Bonhoeffer and ecology. This was one of the live stream… Read more about Dianne Rayson: Bonhoeffer & Theology for the Anthropocene
I am thrilled to have my friend and Barthian Travis McMaken back on the podcast. This time we are joined by his co-editor for the Karl Barth volume in the Classics of Western Spirituality volume, Ash Cocksworth. I really enjoyed this volume of one of my favorite series and I hope this conversation communicates what… Read more about The Spirituality & Politics of Karl Barth: Travis McMaken & Ash Cocksworth
Adam Clark is back on the podcast! Adam is not only a dear friend, a brilliant theologian who taught two previous HBC classes on Black Theology and the legacy of James Cone, but Adam is the first theologian we are announcing for Theology Beer Camp 2023!! In this episode, we will hear Adam reflect on… Read more about Adam Clark: From Contemplation to Liberation
This podcast was recorded LIVE at Petty Thieves Brewing Co in Charlotte, North Carolina. We were celebrating the release of Leah Robinson’s new book Bad Theology: Oppression in the Name of God. Obviously Leah would need to be there, but we were also joined by nerdy friends of the podcast, Sarah Lane Ritchie and Ben Boswell. Dr.… Read more about Leah Robinson: Oppression in the Name of God
What happens when a progressive Christian historian and theologian talk about all the things you aren’t supposed to discuss at dinner? When Diana and I get together each month we call it ‘Ruining Dinner. ‘ What happens when right before your scheduled live stream Donald Trump is indicted on seven counts related to the documents… Read more about The Indictment Edition of Ruining Dinner w/ Diana Butler Bass
The dominant Religion & Science conversation in America is deeply shaped by American Christianity. In his new book Dr. Cootsona invites us beyond a Christian-centric perspective. What he reveals is a much more lively conversation that is enhanced by a deep religious pluralism. I was pumped to talk to him about it!
Greg Cootsona is a speaker and writer in science and faith, emerging adults, C. S. Lewis, and Christian life and thought. He teaches in religion, humanities, philosophy, and sociology at California State University, Chico and co-directs Science for the Church. Here’s the book.
- Here’s Greg’s personal webpage: https://www.gregcootsona.com.
- Greg’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/GregCootsona
- Here’s the landing page on Science for Church’s website, which also has a way to sign up for the excellent weekly newsletter.
- Here’s the IG account: https://www.instagram.com/scienceforthechurch/
Theology Beer Camp 2023!! Soon and very soon the pre-sale tickets will go live for camp. If you want to get the info and invite to grab your ticket when it goes live head over here:)Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
When one of your heroes writes a book to share the wisdom they have collected in life and you have a podcast… this episode happens.
Kevin Kelly is Senior Maverick at Wired magazine. He co-founded Wired in 1993, and served as its Executive Editor for its first seven years. His newest book is Excellent Advice for Living, a book of 450 modern proverbs for good living. He is co-chair of The Long Now Foundation, a membership organization that champions long-term thinking and acting as a good ancestor to future generations. And he is founder of the popular Cool Tools website, which has been reviewing tools daily for 20 years. From 1984-1990 Kelly was publisher and editor of the Whole Earth Review, a subscriber-supported journal of unorthodox conceptual news. He co-founded the ongoing Hackers’ Conference, and was involved with the launch of the WELL, a pioneering online service started in 1985. Other books by Kelly include 1) The Inevitable, a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller, 2) Out of Control, his 1994 classic book on decentralized emergent systems, 3) The Silver Cord, a graphic novel about robots and angels, 4) What Technology Wants, a robust theory of technology, and 5) Vanishing Asia, his 50-year project to photograph the disappearing cultures of Asia. He is best known for his radical optimism about the future.
You can check out Kevin Kelly’s first visit to the podcast here: The Sherpa of the Technium and Future Czar of TechnologyWant to get a free copy of Kevin Kelly’s new book Excellent Advice for Living and the new book I edited of my favorite fount of wisdom John Cobb? Well I will draw three names from those who submit their own nugget of wisdom below.Loading…
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
John Dominic Crossan returns to the podcast to discuss the connection between human evolution and Christian resurrection. It was a blast! In the conversation, we mention some Dom’s books, including The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church’s Conservative Icon, God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now and How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian: Is God Violent? An Exploration from Genesis to Revelation.
John Dominic Crossan is an Irish-American biblical scholar with two-year post-doctoral diplomas in exegesis from Rome’s Pontifical Biblical Institute and in archeology from Jerusalem’s École Biblique. He has been a mendicant friar and a catholic priest, a Co-Chair of the Jesus Seminar, and a President of the Society of Biblical Literature. His focus, whether scholarly or popular, in books, videos, or lectures, is on the historical Jesus as the norm and criterion for the entire Christian Bible. His reconstructed Jesus incarnates nonviolent resistance to the Romanization of his Jewish homeland and future hope of a transformed world and transfigured earth. Crossan’s method is to situate biblical texts within the reconstructed matrix of their own genre and purpose, their own time and place, and to hear them accurately for then before accepting or rejecting them for now.
Previous Podcast Episodes with Dom & Tripp* The Cross & the Crisis of Civilization * The Coming Kingdom & the Risen Christ * The Parables of Jesus & the Parable of God * How to think about Jesus like a Historian * the Last Week of Jesus’ Life * Jesus, Paul, & Bible Questions * Saving the Biblical Christmas Stories * the most important discovery for understanding Jesus * The Bible, Violence, & Our Future * Resurrecting Easter * on the First Christmas * From Jesus’ Parables to Parables of God * Render Unto Caesar * on God & Empire
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Ryan is back with some fresh graphs and data for us to unpack. It was a bunch of fun, and the takes got spicer throughout. Since he’s got a new edition of The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going coming out, we decided it would be fun to have a teach-in and spend three hours digging into the most up-to-date research. With his precise and accessible descriptions, backed up by a multitude of charts and graphs, you’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the nones and their impact on American society. Plus, we will have a bunch of fun. Info and Join up HERE.
Ryan P. Burge is an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University. Author of
numerous journal articles, he is the co-founder 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.
Previous Visits from Ryan Burge
- a Year in Religion (in Graphs)
- Evangelical Jews, Educated Church-Goers, & other bits of dizzying data
- 5 Religion Graphs w/ a side of Hot Takes
- Myths about Religion & Politics
Live in Minneapolis? Going to the Festival of Homiletics? Come to the FREE live podcast!Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
This is one special episode! I had the privilege of talking to Hugh Howey, the author behind the new post-apocalyptic show Silo on Apple TV+. It was one wonderful conversation about a fantastic new series. I can’t exaggerate how much I enjoyed Silo. The first two episodes are now available for your streaming pleasure.
Who is Hugh Howey?Hugh Howey is a literary explorer, venturing into the uncharted territories of science fiction and dystopian fiction with the same curiosity and fearlessness as a space-faring adventurer. When he’s not busy crafting intricate and gripping tales of survival and rebellion, you can find him sipping on a cup of coffee and dreaming up new worlds to conquer.
Hugh is the New York Times bestselling author of WOOL, SAND, BEACON 23, MACHINE LEARNING, and HALF WAY HOME. The SILO drama series, based on Hugh Howey’s trilogy, premiered on Apple TV+ in May 2023. A series based on BEACON 23 will release in 2023 on AMC. Hugh is attached as Executive Producer on both of these projects, and co-created AMC’S upcoming EVERGREEN with Matt Mikalatos. His works have been translated into dozens of languages and have been published in over 40 countries.
What is Silo on Apple TV about?Get ready to be transported to a post-apocalyptic world where the air is toxic, the ground is barren, and society is confined to a massive underground silo. Join a band of rebels as they fight against the oppressive ruling class and uncover the dark secrets that threaten to destroy everything they hold dear. With stunning visuals and heart-pumping action, “Silo” is a thrilling ride you won’t want to miss. So buckle up, put on your gas mask, and get ready to journey deep into the unknown.
Live in Minneapolis? Going to the Festival of Homiletics? Come to the FREE live podcast!Upcoming Online Teach-in – The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are GoingJoin Dr. Ryan Burge, a leading expert in American religion, for an online teach-in exploring the fascinating world of “The Nones” – the increasingly significant group of Americans who claim no religious affiliation.
In this interactive session, Dr. Burge will take you on a journey through his newly updated book, “The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going.” With his precise and accessible descriptions, backed up by a multitude of charts and graphs, you’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of the nones and their impact on American society.
Discover how the nones have grown from just 5 percent in 1972 to a staggering 23.7 percent in 2018, making them as numerous as both evangelical Protestants and Roman Catholics. Get an inside look into the different subgroups of nones, such as atheists and agnostics, and learn about the factors that lead an individual to return to religion.
Whether you’re a student, scholar, or just someone who wants to know more about America’s changing religious landscape, this online teach-in is for you. With an ever-growing collection of statistical and demographic information, this learning opportunity is more compelling than ever.
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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* Churches and the Crisis of Decline * Acceleration, Resonance, & the Counting Crows * Ministry in a Secular Age * Christopraxis with Andy Root * Faith Formation in a Secular Age * the Promise of Despair
Live in Minneapolis? Going to the Festival of Homiletics? Come to the FREE live podcast!Upcoming Online Class: Bonhoeffer & the Future of FaithWhy does a theologian like Dietrich Bonhoeffer still excite our theological imagination? What is it about his work in a different era that still engages some of the most cutting edge theological work done today? Join us for the new Homebrewed Christianity class, “Bonhoeffer and the Future of Faith” as we listen to and learn from internationally known scholars working in areas such as climate change, prison reform, racial tensions, pastoral care, and Christian Nationalism. These scholars, generations removed from Bonhoeffer’s day, find inspiration in him for the continuing task of theology to interpret and respond to global challenges in our day. Together this class will think about Bonhoeffer’s enduring question to the church of his day, “What is Christianity for us today?” How we are responding in our time to this question will determine the shape of faith for our day and beyond.
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Michael DeJonge is Professor and Chair of the Religious Studies department, where he teaches about the history of Christian thought, theories and methods in religious studies, and religion in modern society. He holds the endowed Chair named in memory of James F. Strange, who was a respected colleague and beloved teacher in the department for forty years. He’s been teaching at USF since earning a Ph.D. in Religion from Emory University in 2009. He has been a Fulbright Scholar, a Fellow of the Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies, a Volkswagen/Mellon Fellow at the Leibniz-Institute for European History in Mainz, Germany, and Visiting Dietrich Bonhoeffer Professor of Theology and Ethics at Union Theological Seminary in New York.
DeJone’s Books Bonhoeffer on Resistance: The Word Against the Wheel * Bonhoeffer’s Theological Formation: Berlin, Barth, and Protestant Theology*
Upcoming Online Class: Bonhoeffer & the Future of FaithWhy does a theologian like Dietrich Bonhoeffer still excite our theological imagination? What is it about his work in a different era that still engages some of the most cutting edge theological work done today? Join us for the new Homebrewed Christianity class, “Bonhoeffer and the Future of Faith” as we listen to and learn from internationally known scholars working in areas such as climate change, prison reform, racial tensions, pastoral care, and Christian Nationalism. These scholars, generations removed from Bonhoeffer’s day, find inspiration in him for the continuing task of theology to interpret and respond to global challenges in our day. Together this class will think about Bonhoeffer’s enduring question to the church of his day, “What is Christianity for us today?” How we are responding in our time to this question will determine the shape of faith for our day and beyond.
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
A Bible scholar and a theologian answer a bunch of really important questions while having some fun.
Pete Enns joined me live on the HBC YouTube channel (that you should follow) to tackle some fun nerdy questions.
If this experience isn’t painful and you think it would be fun to hangout with us, then join us in person at Adult Vacation Bible School this summer June 30 – July 2.
Peter Enns (Ph.D., Harvard University) is Abram S. Clemens professor of biblical studies at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. He has written numerous books, including The Bible Tells Me So, The Sin of Certainty, and How the Bible Actually Works.
Upcoming Online Class: Bonhoeffer & the Future of FaithWhy does a theologian like Dietrich Bonhoeffer still excite our theological imagination? What is it about his work in a different era that still engages some of the most cutting edge theological work done today? Join us for the new Homebrewed Christianity class, “Bonhoeffer and the Future of Faith” as we listen to and learn from internationally known scholars working in areas such as climate change, prison reform, racial tensions, pastoral care, and Christian Nationalism. These scholars, generations removed from Bonhoeffer’s day, find inspiration in him for the continuing task of theology to interpret and respond to global challenges in our day. Together this class will think about Bonhoeffer’s enduring question to the church of his day, “What is Christianity for us today?” How we are responding in our time to this question will determine the shape of faith for our day and beyond.
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
John Dominic Crossan returns to the podcast to discuss the presence of empire throughout scripture and how recognizing the divine struggle against its oppression can reframe our understanding of Easter then and today. In the conversation, we mention some Dom’s books, including The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church’s Conservative Icon, God and Empire: Jesus Against Rome, Then and Now and How to Read the Bible and Still Be a Christian: Is God Violent? An Exploration from Genesis to Revelation.
John Dominic Crossan is an Irish-American biblical scholar with two-year post-doctoral diplomas in exegesis from Rome’s Pontifical Biblical Institute and in archeology from Jerusalem’s École Biblique. He has been a mendicant friar and a catholic priest, a Co-Chair of the Jesus Seminar, and a President of the Society of Biblical Literature. His focus, whether scholarly or popular, in books, videos, or lectures, is on the historical Jesus as the norm and criterion for the entire Christian Bible. His reconstructed Jesus incarnates nonviolent resistance to the Romanization of his Jewish homeland and future hope of a transformed world and transfigured earth. Crossan’s method is to situate biblical texts within the reconstructed matrix of their own genre and purpose, their own time and place, and to hear them accurately for then before accepting or rejecting them for now.
Previous Podcast Episodes with Dom & Tripp* The Coming Kingdom & the Risen Christ * The Parables of Jesus & the Parable of God * How to think about Jesus like a Historian * the Last Week of Jesus’ Life * Jesus, Paul, & Bible Questions * Saving the Biblical Christmas Stories * the most important discovery for understanding Jesus * The Bible, Violence, & Our Future * Resurrecting Easter * on the First Christmas * From Jesus’ Parables to Parables of God * Render Unto Caesar * on God & Empire
Upcoming Online Class: Bonhoeffer & the Future of FaithWhy does a theologian like Dietrich Bonhoeffer still excite our theological imagination? What is it about his work in a different era that still engages some of the most cutting edge theological work done today? Join us for the new Homebrewed Christianity class, “Bonhoeffer and the Future of Faith” as we listen to and learn from internationally known scholars working in areas such as climate change, prison reform, racial tensions, pastoral care, and Christian Nationalism. These scholars, generations removed from Bonhoeffer’s day, find inspiration in him for the continuing task of theology to interpret and respond to global challenges in our day. Together this class will think about Bonhoeffer’s enduring question to the church of his day, “What is Christianity for us today?” How we are responding in our time to this question will determine the shape of faith for our day and beyond.
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Marjorie Suchocki is one of my favorite theologians. I absolutely love each of her books and have recommended them over and over. We got to connect in person for this conversation while in Claremont celebrating the 50th Anniversary for the Center for Process Studies. Our conversation touches a bunch of different topics including the doctrine of God, religious pluralism, prayer, eschatology, the incarnation, the Psalms, and preaching. As you will hear, I beyond excited and ended up giving multiple testimonies of my affection and felt like that one Chris Farley skit
Marjorie Hewitt Suchocki is professor emerita at Claremont School of Theology, where she held the Ingraham Chair in Theology and also served six years of her tenure as academic dean.
Here’s her new book, 21 Psalms for the 21st Century. When I read it I dropped this endorsement on my social media: Marjorie Suchocki is one of the most beautiful theologians. When she writes as a philosophical theologian it is brilliant & compelling. When she invites curious Christians into a deeper theological journey she’s alluring & encouraging. When she reflects on actions like prayer or preaching, she gives you the practice back as a treasure with a deeper significance.
In this book she makes the Pslams simultaneously a reservoir of ancient wisdom and timely honest invitations into the heart of the divine.
If you read this book you will thank me. If you don’t I’ll buy your copy and gift it without judgement.
If you are new to Suchocki or Process Theology this brief PDF intro is a good place to start.
Upcoming Online Class: Bonhoeffer & the Future of FaithWhy does a theologian like Dietrich Bonhoeffer still excite our theological imagination? What is it about his work in a different era that still engages some of the most cutting-edge theological work done today? Join us for the new Homebrewed Christianity class, “Bonhoeffer and the Future of Faith” as we listen to and learn from internationally known scholars working in areas such as climate change, prison reform, racial tensions, pastoral care, and Christian Nationalism. These scholars, generations removed from Bonhoeffer’s day, find inspiration in him for the continuing task of theology to interpret and respond to global challenges in our day. Together this class will think about Bonhoeffer’s enduring question to the church of his day, “What is Christianity for us today?” How we are responding in our time to this question will determine the shape of faith for our day and beyond.
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
It’s a book release party for Thomas Jay Oord’s new book!We were joined by two other philosophers will join us – Donna Bowman & Donald Viney.In this ground-breaking book, best-selling and award-winning author Thomas Jay Oord explains why omnipotence should be rejected. But Oord offers a replacement: amipotence, the power of uncontrolling love.If we think love shapes and guides God’s power, we make better sense of life. And better sense of the Bible. Amipotence explains why God doesn’t prevent genuine evil and overcomes other obstacles to belief. An amipotent Spirit empowers all that is loving, true, beautiful, and good.No book makes a bolder but more needed argument for why God is not all-powerful. Those who care about love, scripture, and logic find what they’ve been looking for.Upcoming Online Class: Bonhoeffer & the Future of FaithWhy does a theologian like Dietrich Bonhoeffer still excite our theological imagination? What is it about his work in a different era that still engages some of the most cutting-edge theological work done today? Join us for the new Homebrewed Christianity class, “Bonhoeffer and the Future of Faith” as we listen to and learn from internationally known scholars working in areas such as climate change, prison reform, racial tensions, pastoral care, and Christian Nationalism. These scholars, generations removed from Bonhoeffer’s day, find inspiration in him for the continuing task of theology to interpret and respond to global challenges in our day. Together this class will think about Bonhoeffer’s enduring question to the church of his day, “What is Christianity for us today?” How we are responding in our time to this question will determine the shape of faith for our day and beyond.
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Dr. Pugh is joining Tripp for a conversation about the timely work of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. We will pull out 5 different reasons the return to Bonhoeffer is needed from his essay “Ten Years After,” in which Bonhoeffer wrote to the conspirators and resisters to Nazi rule in 1943. In this one short piece, ample grounds for reflecting on a society in which black bodies are under attack, bodies of all people face the specter of death and disease, and we are slipping into a global oligarchy where the wealthy will determine for us how we live our lives.
This is not the end of the conversation, but an invitation to join us and 5 other Bonhoeffer scholars as we dig into his texts and address our moment’s most pressing questions. You can join this donation-based class (including 0) by heading to www.riseofbonhoeffer.com
Previous Episodes with Dr. Pugh
- Bonhoeffer’s Religionless Christianity
- The Crisis of American Religion & Democracy: 1/6 a year later
- Jan 6th Theological Debrief: Adam Clark and Jeffrey Pugh
- 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?
Upcoming Online Class: Bonhoeffer & the Future of FaithWhy does a theologian like Dietrich Bonhoeffer still excite our theological imagination? What is it about his work in a different era that still engages some of the most cutting-edge theological work done today? Join us for the new Homebrewed Christianity class, “Bonhoeffer and the Future of Faith” as we listen to and learn from internationally known scholars working in areas such as climate change, prison reform, racial tensions, pastoral care, and Christian Nationalism. These scholars, generations removed from Bonhoeffer’s day, find inspiration in him for the continuing task of theology to interpret and respond to global challenges in our day. Together this class will think about Bonhoeffer’s enduring question to the church of his day, “What is Christianity for us today?” How we are responding in our time to this question will determine the shape of faith for our day and beyond.
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Luther’s online learning platformRolf Jacobson is back on the podcast, and we have some serious fun. In our conversation, we discuss several things seminarians learn that could be triggering to the church they grew up in. I also drop a few exciting announcements in the intro like Rolf and I will tag-team a keynote together at the Festival of Homiletics in Minneapolis this May. Plus, there will be a live Homebrewed Christianity podcast on Tuesday, March 16th, in Minneapolis, open to everyone. In the fall semester, I will start a stint as Visiting Professor of Theology at Luther Seminary, where nearly all MA and MDiv students get a full-tuition scholarship.
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 childhood cancer survivor, 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, a lifelong sufferer of Minnesota sports, and a committed board-game geek.
Previous Episodes with Rolf* The Five Most Offensive Bible Things… you Learn in Seminary * Israel’s In-Your-Face, Holy God
Upcoming Online Class: Bonhoeffer & the Future of FaithWhy does a theologian like Dietrich Bonhoeffer still excite our theological imagination? What is it about his work in a different era that still engages some of the most cutting edge theological work done today? Join us for the new Homebrewed Christianity class, “Bonhoeffer and the Future of Faith” as we listen to and learn from internationally known scholars working in areas such as climate change, prison reform, racial tensions, pastoral care, and Christian Nationalism. These scholars, generations removed from Bonhoeffer’s day, find inspiration in him for the continuing task of theology to interpret and respond to global challenges in our day. Together this class will think about Bonhoeffer’s enduring question to the church of his day, “What is Christianity for us today?” How we are responding in our time to this question will determine the shape of faith for our day and beyond.
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
John Dominic Crossan returns to the podcast to discuss how the death of John the Baptist reshaped Jesus’ own vision and how the death and resurrection of Jesus changed Paul’s eschatological hope. In the conversation, we mention some Dom’s books, including The First Paul: Reclaiming the Radical Visionary Behind the Church’s Conservative Icon, The Last Week: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus’s Final Days in Jerusalem and Resurrecting Easter.
John Dominic Crossan is an Irish-American biblical scholar with two-year post-doctoral diplomas in exegesis from Rome’s Pontifical Biblical Institute and in archeology from Jerusalem’s École Biblique. He has been a mendicant friar and a catholic priest, a Co-Chair of the Jesus Seminar, and a President of the Society of Biblical Literature. His focus, whether scholarly or popular, in books, videos, or lectures, is on the historical Jesus as the norm and criterion for the entire Christian Bible. His reconstructed Jesus incarnates nonviolent resistance to the Romanization of his Jewish homeland and future hope of a transformed world and transfigured earth. Crossan’s method is to situate biblical texts within the reconstructed matrix of their own genre and purpose, their own time and place, and to hear them accurately for then before accepting or rejecting them for now.
Previous Podcast Episodes with Dom & Tripp* The Parables of Jesus & the Parable of God * How to think about Jesus like a Historian * the Last Week of Jesus’ Life * Jesus, Paul, & Bible Questions * Saving the Biblical Christmas Stories * the most important discovery for understanding Jesus * The Bible, Violence, & Our Future * Resurrecting Easter * on the First Christmas * From Jesus’ Parables to Parables of God * Render Unto Caesar * on God & Empire
Upcoming Online Class: Bonhoeffer & the Future of FaithWhy does a theologian like Dietrich Bonhoeffer still excite our theological imagination? What is it about his work in a different era that still engages some of the most cutting edge theological work done today? Join us for the new Homebrewed Christianity class, “Bonhoeffer and the Future of Faith” as we listen to and learn from internationally known scholars working in areas such as climate change, prison reform, racial tensions, pastoral care, and Christian Nationalism. These scholars, generations removed from Bonhoeffer’s day, find inspiration in him for the continuing task of theology to interpret and respond to global challenges in our day. Together this class will think about Bonhoeffer’s enduring question to the church of his day, “What is Christianity for us today?” How we are responding in our time to this question will determine the shape of faith for our day and beyond.
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Ilia Delio, OSF, PhD is a Franciscan Sister of Washington, DC and American theologian specializing in the area of
science and religion, with interests in evolution, physics and neuroscience and the import of these for theology.
Ilia currently holds the Josephine C. Connelly Endowed Chair in Theology at Villanova University, and is the author of twenty books including Care for Creation (coauthored with Keith Warner and Pamela Woods) which won two Catholic Press Book Awards in 2009, first place for social concerns and second place in spirituality. Her book The Emergent Christ won a third place Catholic Press Book Award in 2011 for the area of Science and Religion. Her recent books include The Unbearable Wholeness of Being: God, Evolution and the Power of Love (Orbis, 2013), which received the 2014 Silver Nautilus Book Award and a third place Catholic Press Association Award for Faith and Science. Ilia holds two honorary doctorates, one from St. Francis University in 2015, and one from Sacred Heart University in 2020.
You can check out Ilia’s previous visit to the podcast here: the Entangled God of My Heart
Upcoming Online Class: Bonhoeffer & the Future of FaithWhy does a theologian like Dietrich Bonhoeffer still excite our theological imagination? What is it about his work in a different era that still engages some of the most cutting edge theological work done today? Join us for the new Homebrewed Christianity class, “Bonhoeffer and the Future of Faith” as we listen to and learn from internationally known scholars working in areas such as climate change, prison reform, racial tensions, pastoral care, and Christian Nationalism. These scholars, generations removed from Bonhoeffer’s day, find inspiration in him for the continuing task of theology to interpret and respond to global challenges in our day. Together this class will think about Bonhoeffer’s enduring question to the church of his day, “What is Christianity for us today?” How we are responding in our time to this question will determine the shape of faith for our day and beyond.
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
John Dominic Crossan returns to the podcast to discuss how Jesus the parable teller became the parable of God. You will hear him describe the nature of parables and their role in the kingdom ministry of Jesus. This parabolic framework helps him unpack the nature of the four Gospels and how they function to make space for God today. In the conversation, we mention some Dom’s books, including The Power of Parable: How Fiction by Jesus Became Fiction about Jesus The Dark Interval: Towards a Theology of Story, and Resurrecting Easter.
John Dominic Crossan is an Irish-American biblical scholar with two-year post-doctoral diplomas in exegesis from Rome’s Pontifical Biblical Institute and in archeology from Jerusalem’s École Biblique. He has been a mendicant friar and a catholic priest, a Co-Chair of the Jesus Seminar, and a President of the Society of Biblical Literature. His focus, whether scholarly or popular, in books, videos, or lectures, is on the historical Jesus as the norm and criterion for the entire Christian Bible. His reconstructed Jesus incarnates nonviolent resistance to the Romanization of his Jewish homeland and future hope of a transformed world and transfigured earth. Crossan’s method is to situate biblical texts within the reconstructed matrix of their own genre and purpose, their own time and place, and to hear them accurately for then before accepting or rejecting them for now.
Previous Podcast Episodes with Dom & Tripp* How to think about Jesus like a Historian * the Last Week of Jesus’ Life * Jesus, Paul, & Bible Questions * Saving the Biblical Christmas Stories * the most important discovery for understanding Jesus * The Bible, Violence, & Our Future * Resurrecting Easter * on the First Christmas * From Jesus’ Parables to Parables of God * Render Unto Caesar * on God & Empire
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Jeffrey D. Sachs is a world-renowned economics professor, bestselling author, innovative educator, and global leader in sustainable development. I am thrilled to welcome him to the podcast as we discuss ethics, economics, ecology, and our global future. In a new edited volume, Ethics in Action for Sustainable Development, Sachs brings together leaders from different religious and moral traditions from across the globe to wrestle with our collective task expressed in the UN’s sustainable development goals. This ground-breaking text served to inspire our conversation!
Sachs is widely recognized for bold and effective strategies to address complex challenges, including the escape from extreme poverty, the global battle against human-induced climate change, international debt and financial crises, national economic reforms, and the control of pandemic and epidemic diseases.
Sachs serves as the Director of the Center for Sustainable Development at Columbia University, where he holds the rank of University Professor, the university’s highest academic rank. Sachs was Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University from 2002 to 2016. He is President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Co-Chair of the Council of Engineers for the Energy Transition, academician of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences at the Vatican, Commissioner of the UN Broadband Commission for Development, Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah Honorary Distinguished Professor at Sunway University, and SDG Advocate for UN Secretary General António Guterres. From 2001-18, Sachs served as Special Advisor to UN Secretaries-General Kofi Annan (2001-7), Ban Ki-moon (2008-16), and António Guterres (2017-18).
Sachs has authored and edited numerous books, including three New York Times bestsellers: The End of Poverty (2005), Common Wealth: Economics for a Crowded Planet (2008), and The Price of Civilization (2011). Other books include To Move the World: JFK’s Quest for Peace (2013), The Age of Sustainable Development (2015), Building the New American Economy: Smart, Fair & Sustainable (2017), A New Foreign Policy: Beyond American Exceptionalism (2018), The Ages of Globalization: Geography, Technology, and Institutions (2020), and most recently, Ethics in Action for Sustainable Development (2022).
Sachs is the 2022 recipient of the Tang Prize in Sustainable Development and was the co-recipient of the 2015 Blue Planet Prize, the leading global prize for environmental leadership. He was twice named among Time magazine’s 100 most influential world leaders. Sachs has received 41 honorary doctorates, and his recent awards include the 2022 Tang Prize in Sustainable Development, the Legion of Honor by decree of the President of the Republic of France, and the Order of the Cross from the President of Estonia.
Prior to joining Columbia, Sachs spent over twenty years as a professor at Harvard University, most recently as the Galen L. Stone Professor of International Trade. A native of Detroit, Michigan, Sachs received his B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees at Harvard.
Lexington Theological Seminary is the sponsor for this Episode. Lexington Theological Seminary is a pioneer in online theological education. Both the Doctoral and Masters programs are designed with the flexibility and contextual focus needed for the working student. You can learn more by heading here.
Here are a few episodes with a couple of their Profs
- Leah Schade & Wilson Dickinson: Faith During an Ecological Collapse
- Leah Schade: Preaching in a time of Crisis from Corona to Climate
- Wilson Dickinson: Faith After a Neo-liberal Compliant Church
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
the BoDaddy Returns + I battle Tony Jones in au contraire mon frère + Longtime listeners & friends in the chat = EPIC 15th Birthday Party for Homebrewed Christianity.
I am so extremely grateful for the community around the podcast and the wonderful people who have become friends over the last 15 years. You can keep up with the fresh stuff Bo Sanders is doing here and follow Tony Jones’ work here.
The last 15 minutes of this episode are very important to me. There I give a toast to my original co-host Chad Crawford and then give a tipsy sermonic reflection on friendship. It wasn’t planned, but it does capture my love for
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John Dominic Crossan returns to the podcast to discuss how a historian thinks about Jesus. You will hear him outline the basic framework he operates from before tackling several different topics and questions sent in by members of the Easter Stories group. In the conversation, we mention some Dom’s books including The Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant, Jesus: A Revolutionary Biography, and Resurrecting Easter.
John Dominic Crossan is an Irish-American biblical scholar with two-year post-doctoral diplomas in exegesis from Rome’s Pontifical Biblical Institute and in archeology from Jerusalem’s École Biblique. He has been a mendicant friar and a catholic priest, a Co-Chair of the Jesus Seminar, and a President of the Society of Biblical Literature. His focus, whether scholarly or popular, in books, videos, or lectures, is on the historical Jesus as the norm and criterion for the entire Christian Bible. His reconstructed Jesus incarnates nonviolent resistance to the Romanization of his Jewish homeland and future hope of a transformed world and transfigured earth. Crossan’s method is to situate biblical texts within the reconstructed matrix of their own genre and purpose, their own time and place, and to hear them accurately for then before accepting or rejecting them for now.
Previous Podcast Episodes with Dom & Tripp* the Last Week of Jesus’ Life * Jesus, Paul, & Bible Questions * Saving the Biblical Christmas Stories * the most important discovery for understanding Jesus * The Bible, Violence, & Our Future * Resurrecting Easter * on the First Christmas * From Jesus’ Parables to Parables of God * Render Unto Caesar * on God & Empire
This Episode is Sponsored By Christian Theologial SeminaryAre you discerning a call to ministry or leadership? Christian Theological Seminary understands you can’t put your life on pause to complete your Master of Divinity degree. Thanks to new remote learning technology and their redesigned MDiv, you no longer have to. Their redesigned MDiv program now offers remote learning options for completing classes without eliminating the traditional in-person classroom experience. With consistent course offerings and individualized degree mapping, students can complete the required credit hours at their own pace with minimal on-site intensive days, creating an equitable experience from anywhere. They’re bringing CTS to you and opening access to excellent preparation for ministry and ordination. Learn more at www.CTS.edu
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
This is the first session with me and Diana’s Lenten class Empty Altars: American Saints in a Cynical Age. We hope you enjoy it and consider joining the group.
If you enjoy this, check out the upcoming lent group with Diana and me – Empty Altars:American Saints in a Cynical Age.
We live in iconoclastic times. All around us, saints and heroes are being knocked off or taken down from public altars. It seems that nearly everyone we once admired or held in esteem has failed us. We’ve stripped the altars of both state and church. America’s spiritual landscape is now marked by empty altars everywhere.
Taking down statues is nothing new, especially in Christian history. Cynicism and anger at failed institutions and flawed heroes is nothing new. But human beings rarely leave altars empty very long — there’s almost a pressing need to re-sanctify the geographies we inhabit. People always put statues back up.
But of who? And to commemorate what? How do we move ahead with new saints and a less troublesome iconography? What “saints” can inspire us to address the hurts of our hearts, the brokenness of our communities, and the pressing issues of our times?
Shouldn’t we just give up on the whole idea of saints anyway? Why bother?
Join Diana and Tripp this Lent as they explore “sainthood” for an American — and global — future. We’ll share stories that need to be told of “saints” you know and those you need to know in a quirky learning journey through American religious history.
Previous Episodes with Diana & Tripp* Ruining Dinner… and Date Nights * Welcome to the Post-Christian Century * Ruining Christmas Dinner * Ruining Election Night Dinner * The Over-Rated Genie God * Bad Blood, Civil War, and other Soothing Topics * Shall the Fundies (Keep) Winning?, Abortion, and Black Holes * 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
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
What do we know about the last week of Jesus’ life? Why was Jesus executed?
In this visual lecture, renowned Historical Jesus scholar John Dominic Crossan will walk us through a historical reconstruction of Jesus’ last week, ending in his crucifixion. Attending to the historical matrix of Jesus helps provide a rich context for exploring the challenge and meaning the execution of Jesus could have for us today.
You can access the online visual lecture series “Easter Stories” and join the five live QnA sessions by going to www.EasterWithCrossan.com
John Dominic Crossan is an Irish-American biblical scholar with two-year post-doctoral diplomas in exegesis from Rome’s Pontifical Biblical Institute and in archeology from Jerusalem’s École Biblique. He has been a mendicant friar and a catholic priest, a Co-Chair of the Jesus Seminar, and a President of the Society of Biblical Literature. His focus, whether scholarly or popular, in books, videos, or lectures, is on the historical Jesus as the norm and criterion for the entire Christian Bible. His reconstructed Jesus incarnates nonviolent resistance to the Romanization of his Jewish homeland and future hope of a transformed world and transfigured earth. Crossan’s method is to situate biblical texts within the reconstructed matrix of their own genre and purpose, their own time and place, and to hear them accurately for then before accepting or rejecting them for now.
Previous Podcast Episodes with Dom & Tripp* Jesus, Paul, & Bible Questions * Saving the Biblical Christmas Stories * the most important discovery for understanding Jesus * The Bible, Violence, & Our Future * Resurrecting Easter * on the First Christmas * From Jesus’ Parables to Parables of God * Render Unto Caesar * on God & Empire
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
I got to join Diana Butler Bass at the Southern Lights festival over MLK weekend where we recorded this live edition of Ruining Dinner. To be a part of future zoom sessions of the series and get access to past gatherings, join Diana’s newsletter community, the Cottage &/or the Homebrewed Community.
If you enjoy this, check out the upcoming lent group with Diana and me – Empty Altars: American Saints in a Cynical Age.
We live in iconoclastic times. All around us, saints and heroes are being knocked off or taken down from public altars. It seems that nearly everyone we once admired or held in esteem has failed us. We’ve stripped the altars of both state and church. America’s spiritual landscape is now marked by empty altars everywhere.
Taking down statues is nothing new, especially in Christian history. Cynicism and anger at failed institutions and flawed heroes is nothing new. But human beings rarely leave altars empty very long — there’s almost a pressing need to re-sanctify the geographies we inhabit. People always put statues back up.
But of who? And to commemorate what? How do we move ahead with new saints and a less troublesome iconography? What “saints” can inspire us to address the hurts of our hearts, the brokenness of our communities, and the pressing issues of our times?
Shouldn’t we just give up on the whole idea of saints anyway? Why bother?
Join Diana and Tripp this Lent as they explore “sainthood” for an American — and global — future. We’ll share stories that need to be told of “saints” you know and those you need to know in a quirky learning journey through American religious history.
Previous Episodes with Diana & Tripp* Welcome to the Post-Christian Century * Ruining Christmas Dinner * Ruining Election Night Dinner * The Over-Rated Genie God * Bad Blood, Civil War, and other Soothing Topics * Shall the Fundies (Keep) Winning?, Abortion, and Black Holes * 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
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Philip Clayton returns to the podcast! We recorded this LIVE at the 50th Anniversary conference for the Center for Process Studies. What better time than to figure out the meaning of life…. As a scholar, Philip Clayton (Ingraham Professor, Claremont School of Theology) works at the intersection points of science, philosophy, and theology. As an activist (president of EcoCiv.org, President of IPDC), he works to convene, facilitate, and catalyze multi-sectoral initiatives toward ecological civilization.
When Phil and I got done, Sarah Heath was joined by Thomas Jay Oord and Mason Mennenga for a timely exploration of love advice from a process-relational perspective. This is what nerds do late at night on Valentine’s Day:)
the new John Cobb book I edited for his 98th Birthday John Cobb is a Christian Theologian. Yet, he is just as likely to be known to economists, scientists, philosophers, environmentalists, educators, and activists. Some could say he left behind his task as a Christian theologian venturing across so many fields, but as this collection of Cobb’s theological writing will demonstrate, it is precisely his passion for the one Jesus called Abba that animated his powerful and prophetic intellectual and movement invest in so many of the most pressing and challenging centers of intellectual inquiry. Yes, Cobb is a Christian theologian, but more than that, a model of just what kind of theologian is needed in our age and beyond. This selection of essays was compiled from John B. Cobb, Jr.’s writings over the decades to celebrate his 98th birthday.
The Process Party Teach-InIf you have wanted to learn about Process theology and philosophy, but wondered where to begin, check out this one-day teach-in I helped put together. It brings together some amazing speakers for a hybrid event. You will be guided into the Process vision by some of the best communicators during this one-day teach-in. This event is donation based (including 0), so join the nerdy fun and tell your friends!
Previous Podcast Convos w/ Philip* on the Mindfulness of Nature * The Theology of Wolfhart Pannenberg w/ Philip Clayton * Finding God in Everyone and Everywhere w/ Philip Clayton and Andrew Davis * Can a process theologian be an Evangelical & other questions with Philip Clayton * The #GodDebacle w/ Philip Clayton and LeRon Shults * Philip Clayton on the Shape of Postmodern Theology * Party Time with Philip Clayton for “The Predicament of Belief” * Bootlegged Christianity with Philip Clayton, Jack Caputo, Bill Mallonee, Peter Rollins, & Jay Bakker * Philip Clayton on The Resurrection, Trinity, Eschatology & the Predicament of Belief * Coming to Jesus with Daniel Kirk & Philip Clayton
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
This episode was recorded live in Napa, CA at the ‘Love and the Power of God‘ conference. It was a complete blast! You will hear from a bunch of regulars on the podcast, as well as a few first timers.
If you have wanted to learn about Process theology and philosophy, but wondered where to begin, then check out this one-day teach-in I helped put together. It brings together some amazing speakers for a hybrid event. You will be guided into the Process vision by some of the best communicators during this one-day teach-in. You can join online or in person and watch the sessions live or on your schedule. This event is donation based (including 0), so join the nerdy fun and tell your friends!
Get some info and sign-up HERE for the Process Party.
To join the 50th Anniversary Celebration and Conference for the Center for Process Studies head over HERE
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
This is a special episode with two friends. Pete and Tony had a spectacular conversation at Theology Beer Camp where Pete shared a bit about his BRAND NEW BOOK – Curve Ball: WHen Your Faith Takes Turns You Never Saw Coming – and baseball. Since Tony’s podcast, The Reverend Hunter, is not about theology and baseball, I decided to release it here and remind you about Pete’s new book. Before they get going, Tony joins me for a full-throated HBC intro… like 15 minute style:) Enjoy.
Peter Enns (Ph.D., Harvard University) is Abram S. Clemens professor of biblical studies at Eastern University in St. Davids, Pennsylvania. He has written numerous books, including The Bible Tells Me So, The Sin of Certainty, and How the Bible Actually Works.
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. He holds an A.B. from Dartmouth College, an M.Div. from Fuller Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Princeton Theological Seminary.
Previous Episodes with Pete Enns* God-Pod Party * Adaptive Christianity & the God of the Bible * Don’t Sin. Doubt. * For The Bible Tells Me So
Previous Episodes with Tony Jones* Camp Games & a Little Theology * The Future of Evangelicalism is (NOT) David Brooks * the Post-Emergent Church * Tony Jones & Peter Rollins on #TheGreatDebacle * Devilpalooza * There are tons… you can scroll them here
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
In this episode, two of my favorite Church Historians join the podcast for a tricky but needed conversation on the changing shape of American religion. It is so much fun!
If you enjoy this, check out the upcoming lent group with Diana and me – Empty Altars: American Saints in a Cynical Age.
We live in iconoclastic times. All around us, saints and heroes are being knocked off or taken down from public altars. It seems that nearly everyone we once admired or held in esteem has failed us. We’ve stripped the altars of both state and church. America’s spiritual landscape is now marked by empty altars everywhere.
Taking down statues is nothing new, especially in Christian history. Cynicism and anger at failed institutions and flawed heroes is nothing new. But human beings rarely leave altars empty very long — there’s almost a pressing need to re-sanctify the geographies we inhabit. People always put statues back up.
But of who? And to commemorate what? How do we move ahead with new saints and a less troublesome iconography? What “saints” can inspire us to address the hurts of our hearts, the brokenness of our communities, and the pressing issues of our times?
Shouldn’t we just give up on the whole idea of saints anyway? Why bother?
Join Diana and Tripp this Lent as they explore “sainthood” for an American — and global — future. We’ll share stories that need to be told of “saints” you know and those you need to know in a quirky learning journey through American religious history.
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.
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* the Fundamentalization of American Religion * Listening Beyond the Times * The History and Transformation of American Christianity * Faith and Politics Through Church History
Previous Episodes with Diana & Tripp* Ruining Christmas Dinner * Ruining Election Night Dinner * The Over-Rated Genie God * Bad Blood, Civil War, and other Soothing Topics * Shall the Fundies (Keep) Winning?, Abortion, and Black Holes * 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
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
THIS PARTY WAS FOR PETE’S NEW BOOK. CHECK IT OUT HERE.The God-Pod Partners Include: Sarah Heath from the REVcovery Podcast * Josh Patterson from the (Re)thinking Faith Podcast * Sarey Martin Concepción from the Secret Art Project Podcast * Mason Mennega from a People’s Theology Podcast*
Experiencing God: an Open Online ClassKick off the new year with a nerdy good time. The next Homebrewed class will be a robust exploration of how the tools of science, philosophy, and theology help us discern meaning from divine encounters. We’ll discuss God-experiences as mediated through faith communities, the mind, nature, the Bible, psychedelics, and more. And we’ll do all this with an eye towards the future, exploring the possibilities for how a lived-theology could express itself in the world. Check it out here.
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Experiencing God: an Open Online ClassKick off the new year with a nerdy good time. The next Homebrewed class will be a robust exploration of how the tools of science, philosophy, and theology help us discern meaning from divine encounters. We’ll discuss God-experiences as mediated through faith communities, the mind, nature, the Bible, psychedelics, and more. And we’ll do all this with an eye towards the future, exploring the possibilities for how a lived-theology could express itself in the world. Check it out here.
This Episode is Sponsored By Christian Theologial SeminaryAre you discerning a call to ministry or leadership? Christian Theological Seminary understands you can’t put your life on pause to complete your Master of Divinity degree. Thanks to new remote learning technology and their redesigned MDiv, you no longer have to. Their redesigned MDiv program now offers remote learning options for completing classes without eliminating the traditional in-person classroom experience. With consistent course offerings and individualized degree mapping, students can complete the required credit hours at their own pace with minimal on-site intensive days, creating an equitable experience from anywhere. They’re bringing CTS to you and opening access to excellent preparation for ministry and ordination. Learn more at www.CTS.edu
Sarey Martin Concepción is a writer, podcast producer, and filmmaker with roots in L.A. and Portland, OR. She has an MA in Theology and the Arts from Fuller Theological Seminary and works as communications director for Blueprint 1543, which cultivates integration between theology and the psychological sciences. Currently, she’s in preproduction on a feminist, sci-fi short film (winemakermovie.com). Before pursuing independent fiction and nonfiction projects, she worked for 10 years as part of Rob Zombie’s production and management team. More at secretartproject.com.
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:Cancel Culture, Rogan, Whoopi, Chappelle, & the NFL
Gary Dorrien & Adam Clark: James Cone and the Emergence of Black Theology
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
Thomas Jay Oord is a theologian, philosopher, and scholar of multi-disciplinary studies. He is an award-winning author, and he has written or edited more than twenty-five books. Oord directs a doctoral programat Northwind Theological Seminary and the Center for Open and Relational Theology. He won the Outstanding Faculty Award twelve times as a full-time professor and now speaks at institutions across the globe. Oord is known for his contributions to research on love, open and relational theology, science and religion, and freedom and relationships for transformation.
Some Previous Tripp & Tom Pods* Process This! * Process Theology QnA * Authority, Atonement, Abortion, and a Big Hug * from Pluriform Love to Divine Revelation * 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?
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Experiencing God: an Open Online ClassKick off the new year with a nerdy good time. The next Homebrewed class will be a robust exploration of how the tools of science, philosophy, and theology help us discern meaning from divine encounters. We’ll discuss God-experiences as mediated through faith communities, the mind, nature, the Bible, psychedelics, and more. And we’ll do all this with an eye towards the future, exploring the possibilities for how a lived-theology could express itself in the world. Check it out here.
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
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.
Dan Koch is one of my favorite people. He reached out to connect in person when he was thinking of starting a podcast, and since then, he has not only produced several quality podcasts, but I have grown to love having him in my life. Pretty Good Vibrations analyzes and celebrates pop and rock music and its crucial role throughout our lives. Podcast veteran and host Dan Koch (You Have Permission Podcast) has been a professional musician for most of the last 20 years: songwriter for the emo-pop band Sherwood, then as a commercial composer since 2012. Multiple episode styles include bracket-style tournaments, chronological walk-throughs, and deep dives into genres, artists, and eras. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Sarey Martin Concepción is a writer, podcast producer, and filmmaker with roots in L.A. and Portland, OR. She has an MA in Theology and the Arts from Fuller Theological Seminary and works as communications director for Blueprint 1543, which cultivates integration between theology and the psychological sciences. Currently, she’s in preproduction on a feminist, sci-fi short film (winemakermovie.com). Before pursuing independent fiction and nonfiction projects, she worked for 10 years as part of Rob Zombie’s production and management team. More at secretartproject.com.Sarah, Dan, & Myron’s Previous Podcast Visits* Religious Trauma, Bracketing Belief, & the Best Reason to Believe in God * Sex, God, & Gender * Navigating Philosophy & Religion * a Minimally Viable God Concept * 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 * Only Friends Share Mixtapes * You Have Permission to be Awesome * The Best Antidote to Rampant Partisanship
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Legendary Bible Scholar, John Dominic Crossan, is back on the podcast! In this episode, we tackle some listener questions and let everyone know about an upcoming class – Easter Stories.
John Dominic Crossan is an Irish-American biblical scholar with two-year post-doctoral diplomas in exegesis from Rome’s Pontifical Biblical Institute and in archeology from Jerusalem’s École Biblique. He has been a mendicant friar and a catholic priest, a Co-Chair of the Jesus Seminar, and a President of the Society of Biblical Literature. His focus, whether scholarly or popular, in books, videos, or lectures, is on the historical Jesus as the norm and criterion for the entire Christian Bible. His reconstructed Jesus incarnates nonviolent resistance to the Romanization of his Jewish homeland and future hope of a transformed world and transfigured earth. Crossan’s method is to situate biblical texts within the reconstructed matrix of their own genre and purpose, their own time and place, and to hear them accurately for then before accepting or rejecting them for now.
Previous Podcast Episodes with Dom & Tripp* Saving the Biblical Christmas Stories * the most important discovery for understanding Jesus * The Bible, Violence, & Our Future * Resurrecting Easter * on the First Christmas * From Jesus’ Parables to Parables of God * Render Unto Caesar * on God & Empire
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Dr. Leah Robinson is Associate Professor of Religion at Pfieffer University. You should also follow her on twitter. Her previous visits to the podcast include Bad Theology & Jager Bomb Fountains and When a Practical Theologian talks about God.
Rev. Sarah Heath is a Methodist minister who left the ministry behind. She hosts several podcasts, including REVcovery. Her previous visits to the podcast include The Theology Beer Camp Debrief and The Gift of Being a Minister.
Sarey Martin Concepción is a writer, podcast producer, and filmmaker with roots in L.A. and Portland, OR. She has an MA in Theology and the Arts from Fuller Theological Seminary and works as communications director for Blueprint 1543, which cultivates integration between theology and the psychological sciences. Currently, she’s in preproduction on a feminist, sci-fi short film (winemakermovie.com). Before pursuing independent fiction and nonfiction projects, she worked for 10 years as part of Rob Zombie’s production and management team. More at secretartproject.com.
Experiencing God: an Open Online ClassKick off the new year with a nerdy good time. The next Homebrewed class will be a robust exploration of how the tools of science, philosophy, and theology help us discern meaning from divine encounters. We’ll discuss God-experiences as mediated through faith communities, the mind, nature, the Bible, psychedelics, and more. And we’ll do all this with an eye towards the future, exploring the possibilities for how a lived-theology could express itself in the world. Check it out here.
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
This is the kick-off live stream for our newest online class – Experiencing God Discerning the Divine in Human Experience. Check it out and join the fun!
Dr. Aaron Simmons is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Furman University.
- His previous visits to the podcast include…”Do I Have a Soul? & other cultural preferences in bold,” ”Off-Road Religion & Pandemic Philosophizing,” ”Smells Like Teenage Phenomenology” &
“Whose Christianity, Which Postmodernism?” - Youtube Channel, “Philosophy for Where We Find Ourselves”:
- TedX Speaker: “The Failure of Success”
Tim Whitaker runs the New Evangelicals and all its outputs. He was also “let go” as a drummer for asking too many questions. The gateway to their stuff is on IG ?
Sarey Martin Concepción is a writer, podcast producer, and filmmaker with roots in L.A. and Portland, OR. She has an MA in Theology and the Arts from Fuller Theological Seminary and works as communications director for Blueprint 1543, which cultivates integration between theology and the psychological sciences. Currently, she’s in preproduction on a feminist, sci-fi short film (winemakermovie.com). Prior to pursuing independent fiction and nonfiction projects, she worked for 10 years as part of Rob Zombie’s production and management team. More at secretartproject.com.
Experiencing God: an Open Online ClassKick off the new year with a nerdy good time. The next Homebrewed class will be a robust exploration of how the tools of science, philosophy, and theology help us discern meaning from divine encounters. We’ll discuss God-experiences as mediated through faith communities, the mind, nature, the Bible, psychedelics, and more. And we’ll do all this with an eye towards the future, exploring the possibilities for how a lived-theology could express itself in the world. Check it out here.
Here’s the trailer for Experiencing God (the online class)Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Dr. Ryan Burge is back on the podcast with his most popular charts of data on religion. The graphs we discuss are the 5 most popular he shared over the last year on his nerdy twitter.
Ryan P. Burge is an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University. Author of
numerous journal articles, he is the co-founder 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.
Previous Visits from Ryan Burge
- Evangelical Jews, Educated Church-Goers, & other bits of dizzying data
- 5 Religion Graphs w/ a side of Hot Takes
- Myths about Religion & Politics
Here are the 5 most popular Chart Tweets we discussed
In 1991, 87% of people aged 18-35 years old were Christians. 8% of them identified as religiously unaffiliated.
By 1998, 73% of young people were Christians (a 14 point drop) and 21% of young people identified as nones (a 13 pt. increase).
America lost its religion in 1990s. pic.twitter.com/oPL2UYzswY
— Ryan Burge ? (@ryanburge) April 4, 2022
The drop in fertility over the last decade is primarily among Democrats.
Peak parenting in 2010:
65% of Republicans in their late 30s were parents.
62% of DemocratPeak parenting in 2020:
60% of Republicans in their late 30s were parents.
50% of Democrat pic.twitter.com/m3HmjaT1Up— Ryan Burge ? (@ryanburge) November 28, 2022
Do people become more conservative as they age? This data tells a nuanced story.
For those born between 1930 and 1949, they did move rightward between 2008 and 2021.
1950-1964 saw no change at all.
Those born in 1965 or later have moved to the left between 2008 and 2021. pic.twitter.com/WqpGXy3T43
— Ryan Burge ? (@ryanburge) April 20, 2022
In 1988, 6% of white Democrats took an atheist or agnostic position about God. It was 3% of nonwhite Democrats.
In 2021, 32% of white Democrats were atheist/agnostic. It was 8% of nonwhite Democrats.
There’s never really been a racial God Gap for Republicans. <2 pts in 2021. https://t.co/eUz6NHngnf pic.twitter.com/R7tFKTl3HA
— Ryan Burge ? (@ryanburge) July 17, 2022
Doing interviews for 20 Myths, I often get asked what’s the biggest falsehood I see when it comes to data about religion.
It’s education leads people away from religion.
14 survey waves. Total N of ~550K.
In every single survey the less educated are more likely to be nones pic.twitter.com/4hC8hN2oJA
— Ryan Burge ? (@ryanburge) April 1, 2022
Experiencing God: an Open Online ClassKick off the new year with a nerdy good time. The next Homebrewed class will be a robust exploration of how the tools of science, philosophy, and theology help us discern meaning from divine encounters. We’ll discuss God-experiences as mediated through faith communities, the mind, nature, the Bible, psychedelics, and more. And we’ll do all this with an eye towards the future, exploring the possibilities for how a lived-theology could express itself in the world. Check it out here.
Here’s the trailer for Experiencing God (the online class)Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Today J.R.R. Tolkien turns 131! My buddy and pro-Tolkien nerd Nick Polk joined me to share a toast to Tolkien and reflect on a passage we selected as we enter a new year. After the toast, you will hear our special Tolkien Heads session from Theology Beer Camp, which was a bunch of fun.
Nick Polk is the production editor for Mallorn, the academic journal of The Tolkien Society. His most recent research includes his essay entitled “Middle-earth in South Park: The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers as Parody.” Other than Tolkien, his other loves include his wife Kelly, coffee, and punk. Nothing sounds better than starting the day reading a Tolkien book with a cup of coffee and ending it in a moshpit with loved ones.
Experiencing God: an Open Online ClassKick off the new year with a nerdy good time. The next Homebrewed class will be a robust exploration of how the tools of science, philosophy, and theology help us discern meaning from divine encounters. We’ll discuss God-experiences as mediated through faith communities, the mind, nature, the Bible, psychedelics, and more. And we’ll do all this with an eye towards the future, exploring the possibilities for how a lived-theology could express itself in the world. Check it out here.
Here’s the trailer for Experiencing God (the online class)Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Matthew Segall returns to the podcast! This was recorded in person in Napa, Ca where he gave a talk on Process-Relational Politic al Theology. You can see his blog post about the talk here.
Dr. Segall is a transdisciplinary researcher and teacher applying process philosophy across various natural and social sciences, including the study of consciousness. He is also the Assistant Professor in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Program at California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, CA.
Make sure you check out his YouTube channel and the new book. You can listen to our last podcast conversation – Cosmology, Consciousness, and Whitehead’s God.
Experiencing God: an Open Online ClassKick off the new year with a nerdy good time. The next Homebrewed class will be a robust exploration of how the tools of science, philosophy, and theology help us discern meaning from divine encounters. We’ll discuss God-experiences as mediated through faith communities, the mind, nature, the Bible, psychedelics, and more. And we’ll do all this with an eye towards the future, exploring the possibilities for how a lived-theology could express itself in the world. Check it out here.
Here’s the trailer for Experiencing God (the online class)Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Myron Penner is back on the podcast! We discuss his current research project on sex, gender, and anthropology. In the second half of the episode Myron starts asking me questions and things get personal
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 ?
Experiencing God: an Open Online Class Kick off the new year with a nerdy good time. The next Homebrewed class will be a robust exploration of how the tools of science, philosophy, and theology help us discern meaning from divine encounters. We’ll discuss God-experiences as mediated through faith communities, the mind, nature, the Bible, psychedelics, and more. And we’ll do all this with an eye towards the future, exploring the possibilities for how a lived-theology could express itself in the world. Check it out here.
Here’s the trailer for Experiencing God (the online class)Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.Previous Podcast Episodes w/ Myron* Navigating Philosophy & Religion * Religious Trauma, Bracketing Belief, & the Best Reason to Believe in God
Diana is back for some Holiday fun! We gathered a bunch of questions where anything was on the table. This is what happened when we randomly answered member-submitted questions. To be a part of future zoom sessions and get access to past gatherings, join Diana’s newsletter community, the Cottage &/or the Homebrewed Community.
Want to attend a Ruining Dinner session in person? (we hope so)
Well, you could always match up our calendars and bring us to your living room, or you could come to the Southern Lights conference over MLK weekend. This event has both in-person and live-streaming options.
Experiencing God: an Open Online Class Kick off the new year with a nerdy good time. The next Homebrewed class will be a robust exploration of how the tools of science, philosophy, and theology help us discern meaning from divine encounters. We’ll discuss God-experiences as mediated through faith communities, the mind, nature, the Bible, psychedelics, and more. And we’ll do all this with an eye towards the future, exploring the possibilities for how a lived-theology could express itself in the world. Check it out here.
Here’s the trailer for Experiencing God (the online class)Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.Previous Episodes with Diana & TrippRuining Election Night DinnerThe Over-Rated Genie GodBad Blood, Civil War, and other Soothing TopicsShall the Fundies (Keep) Winning?, Abortion, and Black HolesTheology and Spirituality in a Time of RuptureWhite Evangelical Theopolitics, John Shelby Spong, & Jesus20 Years of Religious DeclineJesus After Religion and Beyond FearRuining Dinner with Diana Butler Bass and Robyn Henderson-EspinozaEvangelical Decline, the Supreme Court, and the Horizon of PossibilityDebating, Praying, and Living with TyrantsReligion, Politics, & the Elephant in the Room
Long-time friend of the podcast and New Testament super nerd – the Good Doctor Daniel Kirk – is back on the podcast for some Christmas fun! This conversation was the first in-person live stream from the new Homebrewed Christianity headquarters. It was zesty.
Be sure to check out his newest book, Romans for Normal People: A Guide to the Most Misused, Problematic and Prooftexted Letter in the Bible. It is a nerdy banger of a book.
Daniel Kirk (Ph.D., Duke University) is an award-winning New Testament scholar whose work takes place at the intersection of history, biblical interpretation, and real life. He is currently broadening his intellectual and vocational horizons by studying to be a Physician Assistant. Look for upcoming work to have a robust dose of science and politics mixed into the biblical conversations.
Here’s the trailer for Experiencing God (the online class)Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
There is a list of scholars I reach out to every 18 months hoping they will come on the podcast. For 12 years, Marion Grau has been on the list, but no more! I can’t exaggerate how much nerdy fun I had hanging with Marion in Norway, and we recorded some of that fun for you.
Podcasting after a stroll through the rain in NorwayMarion Grau is Professor of Systematic Theology, Ecumenism and Missiology at MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion, and Society in Oslo, Norway. Before coming to Oslo, she taught at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA from 2001-2015. Her teaching interests are in constructive theology and critical intersectional theories. Her current research projects include a constructive theology of energy
transitions and climate change. In addition to various chapters and articles, she is the author of the monographs Pilgrimage, Landscape, and Identity: Reconstructing Sacred Geographies in Norway (Oxford University Press, 2021), Refiguring Theological Hermeneutics: Hermes, Trickster, Fool (Palgrave MacMillan, 2014), Rethinking Mission in the Postcolony: Salvation, Society, and Subversion (T&T Clark/Continuum, 2011), and Of Divine Economy: Refinancing Redemption (T&T Clark/Continuum, 2004).
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
The Magi get 12 verses in the Gospel of Matthew, but that was all we needed to remain fascinated with them across history. In his new book The Magi, Dr. Eric Vanden Eykel starts with the Biblical story and follows the Magi all the way to Biff (if you know, you know).
Eric Vanden Eykel is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and the Forrest S. Williams Teaching Chair in the Humanities at Ferrum College in Virginia. He received his Ph.D. in Judaism and Christianity from Antiquity from Marquette University in Milwaukee, and he also holds masters degrees from Marquette and the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta. Dr. Vanden Eykel’s primary area of research is early Christian apocryphal literature, with a special focus on texts and traditions about the infancies and childhoods of Jesus and Mary, his mother. He is the author of “But Their Faces Were All Looking Up: Author and Reader in the Protevangelium of James,” published by T&T Clark, co-editor of Sex, Violence, and Early Christian Texts, published by Lexington Books, and author of The Magi: Who They Were, How They’ve Been Remembered, and Why They Still Fascinate, published by Fortress Press.
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Dan Koch is one of my favorite people. He reached out to connect in person when he
was thinking of starting a podcast, and since then, he has not only produced several quality podcasts, but I have grown to love having him in my life. Like all good elder millennials, nothing says, “dude, I love being your friend,” like a quality mixtape. In this episode, we share our mixtape playlists to a stack of song categories collected from Twitter.
Pretty Good Vibrations analyzes and celebrates pop and rock music and its crucial role throughout our lives. Podcast veteran and host Dan Koch (You Have Permission Podcast) has been a professional musician for most of the last 20 years: songwriter for the emo-pop band Sherwood, then as a commercial composer since 2012. Multiple episode styles include bracket-style tournaments, chronological walk-throughs, and deep dives into genres, artists, and eras. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
I am pumped to have Dr. Delvyn Case on the podcast! What happens when a professional composer and theology nerd chronicles all the appearances of Jesus in Pop music? Well, you end up with a really cool project exploring the spiritual questions of our secular age. In this conversation we discuss his project and then dig into some secular Advent / Christmas tunes.
Dr. Case is a composer, conductor, scholar, performer, concert producer, and educator based in Boston and on faculty in the music department at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts.
What is the Jesus in Pop Music Project?From “Jesus, Take the Wheel” to “Jesus Walks”, Jesus has appeared in hundreds of songs by (secular) pop musicians over the past 50 years. Whether written by believers or atheists, all of these songs seek to answer the oldest questions in Christianity: who was Jesus, what was his message, and why is he important?Though not intended for Christians, these songs provide us with unique opportunities to explore our faith in ways that are contemporary, relevant, and spiritually valuable.The website includes an introduction to this fascinating phenomenon, Spotify playlists for each collection of songs, a searchable database of all 500+ songs, an online form that allows you to submit additions to this list, and links to more information about the project.The Secular Advent / Christmas PlaylistFollow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community.
Greg Farrand, Executive Director for Second Breath, is joining the podcast for a special episode exploring the spiritual journey of Advent. Homebrewed has done over 20+ online classes and one of the consistent requests from a portion of the participants is for some more devotional option. Since the classes include people from many different and… Read more about Greg Farrand: Second Breath & the Advent Journey
It is almost time for our next online class and John Dominic Crossan is here to lure to join Christmas Stories🙂 John Dominic Crossan is an Irish-American biblical scholar with two-year post-doctoral diplomas in exegesis from Rome’s Pontifical Biblical Institute and in archeology from Jerusalem’s École Biblique. He has been a mendicant friar and a… Read more about John Dominic Crossan: Saving the Biblical Christmas Stories
John Thatamanil returns to the podcast and it is one zesty conversation!! We were both in Napa, California for the Power & the God of Love conference. The event was wonderful and getting to record in person with one of my favorite theologians was a real treat. Dr. Thatamanil is Professor of Theology & World Religions at… Read more about John Thatamanil: What we do when we do theology
Diana Bass is back on the podcast for a session of our ongoing series “Ruining Dinner.” We talk about religion and politics with a bunch of zest. Normally these conversations are for our community members, but we decided to share this one far and wide. To be a part of future zoom sessions and get access to… Read more about Diana Butler Bass: Ruining Election Night Dinner
Diana Bass is back on the podcast for a session of our ongoing series “Ruining Dinner.” We talk about religion and politics with a bunch of zest. Normally these conversations are for our community members, but we decided to share this one far and wide. To be a part of future zoom sessions and get access to… Read more about Diana Butler Bass: Ruining Election Night Dinner
Thrilled to announce our upcoming Advent class with John Dominic Crossan. If you want to dig into the Biblical Christmas narratives with one of the most respected New Testament scholars alive, then signup. It will feature 4 visual lectures, live QnA, a discussion of his book ‘the First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About… Read more about John Dominic Crossan: the most important discovery for understanding Jesus
Thrilled to announce our upcoming Advent class with John Dominic Crossan. If you want to dig into the Biblical Christmas narratives with one of the most respected New Testament scholars alive, then signup. It will feature 4 visual lectures, live QnA, a discussion of his book ‘the First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About… Read more about John Dominic Crossan: the most important discovery for understanding Jesus
A couple of months ago, Ryan joined to discuss recent data on religion in America. It was a very popular episode, and members of the Homebrewed Community requested more charts! Here it is. Ryan P. Burge is an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University. Author of numerous journal articles, he is the… Read more about Ryan Burge: Evangelical Jews, Educated Church-Goers, & other bits of dizzying data
A couple of months ago, Ryan joined to discuss recent data on religion in America. It was a very popular episode, and members of the Homebrewed Community requested more charts! Here it is. Ryan P. Burge is an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University. Author of numerous journal articles, he is the… Read more about Ryan Burge: Evangelical Jews, Educated Church-Goers, & other bits of dizzying data
This is the final live stream QnA from the Do I Stay Christian? online class. It was a complete blast to hang with Brian and a couple thousand readers 🙂 To join Brian, Tripp, and a bunch of their friends at Southern Lights: an Adventure in Progressive Christianity this January head over here. If you decide to come… Read more about Brian McLaren: Should I Stay Christian if I don’t Believe?
This is the final live stream QnA from the Do I Stay Christian? online class. It was a complete blast to hang with Brian and a couple thousand readers 🙂 To join Brian, Tripp, and a bunch of their friends at Southern Lights: an Adventure in Progressive Christianity this January head over here. If you decide to come… Read more about Brian McLaren: Should I Stay Christian if I don’t Believe?
Mariana Rios Maldonado completed her undergraduate studies in Literature and Spanish Linguistics at the Autonomous University of Zacatecas, Mexico, and her master’s degree in Comparative Literature at the Peter Szondi Institute in Berlin’s Freie Universität. Her research focuses on the influence of Germanic mythology and culture in contemporary literature, Germanophonic fantastic literature between the 18thand… Read more about Mariana Rios Maldonado: Ethics & Otherness in Tolkien’s Middle-earth
WOW! Theology Beer Camp was amazing! I had to debrief it with some friends so I invited Nick Polk (Tolkien Heads), Kevin Garcia (Tiny Revolution), Sarah Heath (REVcovery), and Sam Perez (FUNctional Adults /Skip Sandwich Deluxe) to join the conversation. Want to be the first to find out details for Theology Beer Camp 2023? Just sign… Read more about Theology Beer Camp Debrief
Next week is Theology Beer Camp, and almost all of the speakers have been on the podcast multiple times except my friend and New Testament scholar Jennifer Bashaw. Well, let’s fix that! In this convo, we discuss her new book Scapegoats: The Gospel through the Eyes of Victims and her plans for karaoke Thursday night. Enjoy:)… Read more about Jennifer Garcia Bashaw: the Gospel through the Eyes of the Victim
Next week is Theology Beer Camp, and almost all of the speakers have been on the podcast multiple times except my friend and New Testament scholar Jennifer Bashaw. Well, let’s fix that! In this convo, we discuss her new book Scapegoats: The Gospel through the Eyes of Victims and her plans for karaoke Thursday night. Enjoy:)… Read more about Jennifer Garcia Bashaw: the Gospel through the Eyes of the Victim
I am excited to have Leah back on the podcast and coming to Theology Beer Camp. If you missed her first visit, then go check it out. It was one of the most popular this past year. The episode was Bad Theology & Jager Bomb Fountains. Dr. Leah Robinson is Associate Professor of Religion at… Read more about Leah Robinson: When a Practical Theologian talks about God
I am excited to have Leah back on the podcast and coming to Theology Beer Camp. If you missed her first visit, then go check it out. It was one of the most popular this past year. The episode was Bad Theology & Jager Bomb Fountains. Dr. Leah Robinson is Associate Professor of Religion at… Read more about Leah Robinson: When a Practical Theologian talks about God
What a treat! I was joined by both Tom Oord and Brian McLaren for this wonderful live stream. FYI, SacraSage Press recently published a 200+ page book with chapter samples from Tom’s best-selling books. Anyone who joins his newsletter will get a complimentary ecopy. “Power and the God of Love” is an in-person conference in… Read more about Brian McLaren & Thomas Jay Oord: a God Worthy of Love
What a treat! I was joined by both Tom Oord and Brian McLaren for this wonderful live stream. FYI, SacraSage Press recently published a 200+ page book with chapter samples from Tom’s best-selling books. Anyone who joins his newsletter will get a complimentary ecopy. “Power and the God of Love” is an in-person conference in… Read more about Brian McLaren & Thomas Jay Oord: a God Worthy of Love
Some pretty cool listeners sent a bunch of Process Theology questions & I got two #ProcessParty friends and scholars to hop on and answer them. Both Tom Oord and Andrew Davis will be at Theology Beer Camp and an upcoming event in Napa, CA – Power & the God of Love. Andrew M. Davis is… Read more about Process This: the Power of Love & the Experience of God w/ Tom Oord & Andrew Davis
Some pretty cool listeners sent a bunch of Process Theology questions & I got two #ProcessParty friends and scholars to hop on and answer them. Both Tom Oord and Andrew Davis will be at Theology Beer Camp and an upcoming event in Napa, CA – Power & the God of Love. Andrew M. Davis is… Read more about Process This: the Power of Love & the Experience of God w/ Tom Oord & Andrew Davis
Brian McLaren is joining me on four Sunday evenings for some live QnA. This is our third QnA! You can join the online class, future sessions, submit questions, and access the video guide to the book by heading over here. PS… there is a three short video guide to the book you can use with… Read more about Chandrika Phea & Brian McLaren: the Gift of Curiosity
Brian McLaren is joining me on four Sunday evenings for some live QnA. This is our third QnA! You can join the online class, future sessions, submit questions, and access the video guide to the book by heading over here. PS… there is a three short video guide to the book you can use with… Read more about Chandrika Phea & Brian McLaren: the Gift of Curiosity
Grace Ji-Sun Kim is back on the podcast to help me tackle some listener questions. We had a lot of fun as a theological tag team, and if you want to hang out with us, you can come to Theology Beer Camp! When registering for the event, drop the code MADANG for $50 off. Check… Read more about Grace Ji-Sun Kim: Godly QnA
Diana Bass is back on the podcast for a session of our ongoing series “Ruining Dinner.” We talk about religion and politics with a bunch of zest. Normally these conversations are for our community members, but we decided to share this one far and wide to invite you to come hang with us at Theology… Read more about Diana Butler Bass: the Over-Rated Genie God
Brian McLaren is joining me on four Sunday evenings for some live QnA. This is our second QnA! You can join the online class, future sessions, submit questions, and access the video guide to the book by heading over here. PS… there is a three short video guide to the book you can use with… Read more about Brian McLaren: Saying Yes to Christianity
Joerg Rieger has a brand new book and Catherine Keller joins the podcast for the celebration! You will want to check out Joerg’s new book Theology in the Capitalocene. In the episode I asked questions that bring themes from the book into conversation with Keller’s own work. While I may be bias, I am confident a theology… Read more about Joerg Rieger + Catherine Keller: Theology in the Capitalocene
Back by popular request is Dr. Ryan Burge! When he was last here, we discussed some myths about Religion and Politics. Today he returns to the podcast and brings 5 graphs of religion data and we proceed to explore them and generate hot takes about them. To see the graphs themselves, you can watch the… Read more about Ryan Burge: 5 Religion Graphs w/ a side of Hot Takes
Brian McLaren is joining me on four Sunday evenings for some live QnA. This is the first week! You can join the online class, future sessions, submit questions, and access the video guide to the book by heading over here. Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English… Read more about Brian McLaren: Questioning Christianity
Dr. Aaron Simmons is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Furman University. He returns to the podcast for some seriously nerdy fun. We tackled several questions from the Homebrewed Community members. PS if you want to come to Theology Beer Camp, then use the code ORT, get $50 off, and get ready for Aaron and Tom Oord… Read more about Aaron Simmons: Do I Have a Soul? & other cultural preferences in bold.
The Rings of Power is not out and about in the world! After seeing the first two episodes, I have been able to exhale, knowing the show isn’t going to be the nightmare many of us Tolkien Heads feared. It was surprisingly good. In this live-streamed episode, Nick Polk and I were joined by singer, poet,… Read more about Kevin Max & the Rings of Power #TolkienHeads
What happens when three of my best friends come on the podcast to answer your questions? This. My friends and friends of the pod, Sarah, Myron, and Dan are here for the nerdy fun. Recently, I have been reading collecting listener questions and then asking myself, ‘what nerdy friend should answer this first?’ In this… Read more about Religious Trauma, Bracketing Belief, & the Best Reason to Believe in God
Tony Jones is back for some friend time and a little theology. In this conversation we discuss… Why Theology Beer Camp is gonna be awesome / drop that code REVHUNT for $50 off Mainline Protestant Bible Drills & Participation Trophies Tony and I discuss our potential new Old Man opinion How to develop a hunting… Read more about Camp Games & a Little Theology
Joerg Rieger is back on the podcast for some fun theology QnA. In our conversation, we cover… an invitation to Solidarity Circles from the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice at Vanderbilt Divinity School. the most cancelable theological idea what concept/word should we recover? the nature of solidarity what did you learn from the pandemic? is there… Read more about Joerg Rieger: Divine Justice & our Ultimate Concern
Diana Bass is back on the podcast for a session of our ongoing series “Ruining Dinner.” We talk about religion and politics with a bunch of zest. Normally these conversations are for our community members, but we decided to share this one far and wide to invite you to come hang with us at Theology… Read more about Diana Butler Bass: Bad Blood, Civil War, and other Soothing Topics
John Garth is the most epic living scholar of JRR Tolkien. He dropped an amazing lecture for the Tolkien Heads class we are currently running, and yesterday he joined our live stream for some nerdy fun. It was too much fun not to share. Plus some of you may not have joined the class to… Read more about John Garth: Exploring Tolkien’s Life and Legendarium
Philip Clayton returns to the podcast! This conversation was inspired by an online academic conference I put together as part of the God & the Book of Nature project at the University of Edinburgh titled the Mindfulness of Nature. You can find videos of all the papers from the gathering here. As a scholar, Philip Clayton (Ingraham… Read more about Philip Clayton: on the Mindfulness of Nature
I am thrilled to have Rev. Dr. Ben Bosell on the podcast and honored to be a part of his book launch for Confronting Whiteness. Our conversation was recorded live at Common Market Southend in Charlotte, North Carolina, and it was a blast. Ben and I became friends in undergrad at Campbell University and by the end… Read more about Ben Boswell: Confronting Whiteness
This is a preview stream for our upcoming online class – Tolkien Heads. The class is for those who want to go deeper into Middle-earth, but don’t know where to start. In this class you’ll be accompanied by fellow Tolkien heads and guided by Tolkien experts like John Garth and Flemming Rutledge to help you… Read more about Tolken Heads: a Nerdy Journey into Middle-earth
In this special episode, I am joined by Carmen Butcher and Mike Morrell to have a convo about everyday mysticism. They are the hosts for The Mystics Summit and just finished interviewing more than 30 scholars, teachers, and contemporary mystics — including Heiwa No Bushi, Mirabai Starr, Banafsheh Sayyad, Father Greg Boyle, Alexander John Shaia, Taya Mâ, Kabir Helminski, Rabbi Rami Shapiro, Dr. Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, Hillary Raining, Matthew Fox , Micky ScottBey Jones, Sophie… Read more about Everyday Mysticism & the Wisdom of Brother Lawrence
We just finished the Christianity in Process class with John Cobb and had a bunch of lingering questions. So I called in my friend and super nerd, Tom Oord, for a little Process Theology QnA. These questions were all submitted by class members, but they ended up inspiring a conversation worth sharing. Plus, Tom and I have… Read more about Thomas Jay Oord: Process Theology QnA
This is a Fantasy Draft!! Joining me for all the fun are three friends with plenty of CCM wisdom for the fantasy battle. After you listen to the episode head down below and vote for the winner. Whoever wins the battle will be selecting a song for the four of us to rock during the karaoke… Read more about The CCM Fantasy Draft
Jon Ivan Gill is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Gustavus Adolphus College (St Peter, Mn.) And Cross-Community Coordinator at the Center for Process Studies (Salem, Or. and Claremont, Ca.). He is an avid scholar of Whiteheadian process thought, metaphysics, cultural studies, aesthetics, existentialist philosophy, and constructive & secular theology. His creative tangent ranges from underground… Read more about Jon Gill: Aesthetic Religion
What a treat! Joseph A. Bracken, SJ, is back on the podcast! He is an emeritus professor of theology at Xavier University and one of my favorite philosophical theologians. I even wrote a chapter about him in my last book. In the conversation we discuss… how he found the work of Whitehead in his journey… Read more about Joseph Bracken: Theology in an Event-Filled World
Occasionally this theology nerd comes out as the other kind of nerd, a comic book nerd. My absolute favorite comic book run is Jason Arron’s time on Thor and it is at the center of the next MCU film, Thor: Love and Thunder. In this episode, HBC’s Guru of Geekdom, Rev. Will Rose, is here with a… Read more about The Mighty Thor & the God Butcher Revival
BOOM! Jake Erickson is back on the podcast. This one is a complete blast. In our conversation we discuss… – The origin story of a Lutheran queer eco-process theologian from North Dakota – an exploration of religion & violence – exploring sexuality, queerness and desire – god is queer – after an orgasm tell God… Read more about Jacob Erickson: The Becoming of a Lutheran Queer Eco-Process Theologian from North Dakota
I have so much fun talking nerdy with Donna Bowman. I’m so pumped to have her back on the podcast and a part of the Christianity in Process series. Donna Bowman is professor of interdisciplinary studies in the Norbert O. Schedler Honors College at the University of Central Arkansas. In this conversation we discussed how Donna… Read more about Donna Bowman: Flowing with the Living God
In this special session of Ruining Dinner, Diana Bass and I are joined by our friend Brian McLaren. Normally we 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… Read more about Ruining Dinner: Democracy & Denominations on Life Support
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… Read more about Andrew Schwartz: Panentheism, Pluralism, and Ecological Civilization
I am so pumped to have Catherine Keller back on the podcast and helping to kick-off our new HBC class – Christianity in Process (which starts this week). This conversation is peak zest! In this conversation we discuss How Catherine Keller found Process theology via John Cobb’s Christ in a Pluralistic Age the problem of evil… Read more about Catherine Keller: Theology in Process
This is a podcast crossover! Tim Whitaker, from the New Evangelicals, had me on his podcast to talk Process Theology for evangelicals. We had a bunch of fun, went a couple of hours, and decided to put the second half of the convo here. To hear the first half, head over to his podcast and enjoy. Don’t… Read more about Tim Whitaker: the Process Party & the New Evangelicals (pt 2)
I love getting to talk with Tom Oord. In this episode, we finally got to hang out in person! We were both in Norway for the European Society for the Study of Science and Theology, and it became the occasion for a long-overdue hug. During the conference, we snuck off to my room to record… Read more about Thomas Jay Oord: Authority, Atonement, Abortion, and a Big Hug
Pumped to have my friend and fellow Process theologian, Thomas Hermans-Webster, on the podcast! He is Assistant Professor of United Methodist Church Studies at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkely, CA. We had a bunch of fun discussing a host of things including… How Thomas from Alabama became a Process theologian the Perkins style… Read more about Thomas Hermans-Webster: the Eucharist for Planetary Dining
When I friend drops a new book it is a good day to have a podcast! Today Brian McLaren puts his newest book out into the world. Do I Stay Christian? is completely wonderful. I was thrilled to get to stream with him about yesterday and here it is for your listening pleasure. In the… Read more about Brian McLaren: Do I Stay Christian?
Are you ready for some super nerdy fun? One of my favorite podcast episodes was the first time I had these three guests on. A number of members from the Homebrewed Community asked for a follow-up conversation and it did not disappoint! Juan, Stacey, and Mark are all back. Ohh if you missed the previous episode… Read more about The Altars Where We Worship
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… Read more about Pete Enns: Adaptive Christianity & the God of the Bible
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… Read more about EuroTripp’n Tony
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… Read more about Diana Bass: Shall the Fundies (Keep) Winning?, Abortion, and Black Holes
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… Read more about Leah Robinson: Bad Theology & Jager Bomb Fountains
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… Read more about Ryan Burge: Myths about Religion and Politics
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… Read more about William Greenway: Reasonable Faith for a Post-Secular Age
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… Read more about John Cobb: Why Stay Christian?
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’… Read more about The Bible, Violence, & Our Future: John Dominic Crossan & Diana Butler Bass
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… Read more about Helen Bond: the Historical Jesus & his Female Disciples
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… Read more about John Dominic Crossan: Render Unto Caesar
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… Read more about Matthew Novenson: Multiplicity at the Birth of Christianity
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?.”… Read more about Conrad Kanagy: a Church Dismantled
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… Read more about Natalie Wigg-Stevenson: From Transgressive Devotion to Snuggle Puppy
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… Read more about After Jesus Before Christianity
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… Read more about Tony Jones: The Future of Evangelicalism is (NOT) David Brooks
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… Read more about Jürgen Moltmann: The Crucified God
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… Read more about What is the Future of Spirituality?
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.… Read more about Bill Leonard: the Fundamentalization of American Religion
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… Read more about Sarah Lane Ritchie: a Minimally Viable God Concept
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!… Read more about Diana Butler Bass: De/Constructing Jesus & the Lenten Journey
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… Read more about Andrew Root: Churches and the Crisis of Decline
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… Read more about Thomas Jay Oord: from Pluriform Love to Divine Revelation
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… Read more about Leah Schade & Wilson Dickinson: Faith During an Ecological Collapse
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… Read more about Ryan Duns: Spiritual Exercises for a Secular Age
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… Read more about Grace Ji-Sun Kim: a Theology of Visibility
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… Read more about John Cobb: the Greatest Living Theologian Turns 97
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… Read more about Cancel Culture, Rogan, Whoopi, Chappelle, & the NFL
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… Read more about Andrew Schwartz: On the Zestiness of Process Theology
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… Read more about Jacob Alan Cook: Is the “Christian Worldview” a Supremacist Grift?
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,… Read more about Bethany Sollereder: Celebration, Suffering, & the Future of Science + Religion
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… Read more about Ruining Dinner: from the legacy of Thich Nhat Hanh to Jerry Falwell Jr blaming his Mom
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… Read more about Brian Zahnd: Learning to Pray & Change in the Pulpit
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… Read more about Gary Dorrien & Adam Clark: James Cone and the Emergence of Black Theology
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… Read more about Serene Jones & Adam Clark: Theology Matters and the Legacy of James Cone
Check out the upcoming class on Black Theology & the Legacy of James Cone 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… Read more about The Crisis of American Religion & Democracy: 1/6 a year later
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… Read more about Exploring the Matrix Resurrections!
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… Read more about Tony Jones: Progressive Christian Christmas
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… Read more about Anne Rice on Quitting Christianity (in Memoriam)
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… Read more about Adam Clark: Christmas, BLM, Abortion, & the War on White Evangelicalism
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… Read more about Mark Scandrette: Religion & Spirituality in the Way of Jesus
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… Read more about Chase Tibbs: Christian Communism, Revolutionary Violence & other Lite Topics
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… Read more about A Deacon’s Meeting with Tony Jones
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. We hope you enjoy it and check out the class below. Check out the class details and sign-up here
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… Read more about Rolf Jacobson: The Five Most Offensive Things… you learn in Seminary
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.… Read more about Matthew Novenson: Messiah, Lord, Logos, & Other Titles
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. We hope you enjoy it and check out the class and giveaway below. 5 Reasons the Church needs Kierkegaard today 1. Kierkegaard reminds us that faith… Read more about 5 Reasons the Church Needs Kierkegaard
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… Read more about Dustin Kensrue: Thrice & the #ProcessParty
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.
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… Read more about Brian McLaren: God – Pray – Driscoll
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… Read more about Myron Penner: Navigating Philosophy & Religion
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… Read more about Diana Butler Bass: Theology and Spirituality in a Time of Rupture
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),… Read more about Michael Showalter: The Eyes of Tammy Faye & the Nerd Culture Happy Hour
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… Read more about Diana Butler Bass: White Evangelical Theopolitics, John Shelby Spong, & Jesus
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… Read more about Matthew Segall: Cosmology, Consciousness, and Whitehead’s God
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… Read more about Josh Morris: Moral Injury & the War of Terror
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… Read more about Brian McLaren: Faith Beyond Fear in an Age of Terror
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… Read more about Thriving with Stone-Age Minds: Evolutionary Psychology, Christian Faith, and the Quest for Human Flourishing
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… Read more about Diana Bass & Brian McLaren: 20 Years of Religious Decline
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… Read more about Andrew Davis: Mind, Value, and Cosmos
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… Read more about Jason Ananda Storm: After Postmodernism
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,… Read more about Andrew Root: Acceleration, Resonance, & the Counting Crows
Rev. Dr. Stephen G. Ray Jr. is the President of Chicago Theological Seminary. In addition, he is the President of the Society for the Study of Black Religion. Having written and lectured broadly in the areas of Systematic Theology, African American religion, human rights and the intersection of religion and politics, President Ray’s current work… Read more about Stephen G. Ray Jr: how to be a passionate progressive dye in the wool Calvinist
Helen K. Bond is on the podcast! We talk about her most recent book The First Biography of Jesus: Genre and Meaning in Mark’s Gospel. Dr. Bond is the Professor of Christian Origins and Head of the School of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh. She is also the author of Pontius Pilate in History and Interpretation,… Read more about Helen Bond: the First Biography of Jesus… PS it is the Gospel of Mark
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… Read more about Apocalyptic #ProcessParty with Catherine Keller & Jacob Erickson
James F. McGrath is Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature. His PhD from the University of Durham became the basis for his first book, John’s Apologetic Christology, published by Cambridge University Press in the SNTS Monograph Series. He has also written a “prequel” about the broader context of monotheism and Christology… Read more about James McGrath: What Jesus Learned from Women
Rev. Dr. David Vásquez-Levy serves as President of Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California –a progressive, multidenominational seminary and center for social justice that prepares theologically and spiritually rooted leaders to work for the well-being of all. A committed pastor, a nationally recognized immigration leader, and a sought after speaker, Vásquez-Levy leads at the… Read more about David Vásquez-Levy: Theology for People on the Move
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… Read more about Thomas Jay Oord: Big God Twitter Takes
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… Read more about Diana Butler Bass: Jesus After Religion and Beyond Fear
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. Join the fun here: http://oursecularage.com Dr. Gerardo Marti is a professor of Sociology at Davidson in… Read more about Gerardo Marti: Secularization & Social Change
Dr. Philip Goodchild is Professor of Philosophy and Religion at the University of Nottingham. I have read and enjoyed Philip’s work for years and am thrilled to have him on the podcast. In this conversation, we discuss how he understands the task of philosophy of religion and then explore a number of themes from his… Read more about Philip Goodchild: God and Money
This is a special episode. Not only are there a bunch of impressive scholars participating, but it is from my digital trip to Vienna for a round table engaging my book Divine Self-Investment. I had a complete blast and was truly honored to have so many scholars take my text so seriously. Deeply grateful to Jason Alvis… Read more about Saving God from Tyranny
Bethany Sollereder is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Science and Religion at Oxford University and part of the “God and the Book of Nature’ project I am a part of. She specializes in theology concerning evolution and the problem of suffering and is currently working on the theological possibilities and human vocation in the light of irreversible changes… Read more about Bethany Sollereder: Theology and the Ecological Crisis
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… Read more about Richard Wolff: Why Marx? Why Now?
John Cottingham is Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Reading and Honorary Fellow, St John’s College, Oxford University. He is co-editor and translator of the three-volume Cambridge edition of The Philosophical Writings of Descartes. He was formerly an editor of Ratio, the international journal of analytic philosophy, president of the British Society for the Philosophy of… Read more about John Cottingham: Philosophy & the Spiritual Dimension
Dr. Aaron Simmons is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Furman University. He returns to the podcast for some seriously nerdy fun. For real. It was tons of fun. On top of nerdy things, we discussed parenting in lockdown, 90s music, off-roading, nostalgic film selection, teenagers, and more. Aaron’s website with lots of links and goodies… Read more about Aaron Simmons: Off-Road Religion & Pandemic Philosophizing
Dr. Bruce Rogers-Vaughn is a Public Theologian & Scholar, Psychotherapist, Teacher, and Advocate for Radical Care. Check out his book: Caring for Souls in a Neoliberal Age Here’s Bruce’s previous visit to the podcast Bruce Rogers-Vaughn: the Neo-Liberal Attack on the Soul
Peter Rollins returns to the podcast and we have a bunch of fun. Some of Pete’s previous visits Peter Rollins Casts Out a Demon & Plans a Middle School Purity Retreat #theologybeercamp Tony Jones & Peter Rollins on #TheGreatDebacle Soapbox Blabbery with Peter Rollins & Tony Jones Paul w/ Daniel Kirk & Peter Rollins Paul:… Read more about Peter Rollins: friends are friends forever
I am pumped to have Andy Root back on the podcast! Plus… we are doing a GIANT BOOK GIVEAWAY… And…. announcing a special summer reading group – Religion & the Spiritual Crisis: Ministry in a Secular Age. Andrew Root is the Carrie Olson Baalson Professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary, USA. He… Read more about Andrew Root: Ministry in a Secular Age
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. In this conversation, we not only get a vision of sociology of religion… Read more about Gerardo Marti: a Sociologist on American Religion
Long time friend of the podcast – Tony Jones – is back. This episode includes a bit of storytelling about origins of the podcast, the emerging church movement, and thoughts about the church post-collapse . Have you heard of the new app ClubHouse? Tony talked me into trying it out this coming FRIDAY at 7pm eastern. If… Read more about Tony Jones: the Post-Emergent Church
Dr. Petra Carlsson is an Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Stockholm School of Theology and a minister of the Lutheran Church of Sweden. It was a blast discussing her work and how radical material theology moves between the seminary classroom and the congregation. Be wise and go check out her YouTube channel. So zesty. Check… Read more about Petra Carlsson: Radical Material Theology
We just launched a brand new online pop-up learning community – Captial Change with Dr. Joerg Rieger. Over 6 weeks we will explore the intersection of religion and economic justice. To join learn more details and sign up just head over here. Want to get all the class sessions in a podcast feed and gain access… Read more about Joerg Rieger: the End of Religion & Business as Usual
“John Polkinghorne said his being a physicist-priest might strike some like being a vegetarian-butcher. But in his writings, speaking, teaching, and ministry, he showed one could affirm the best of both science and theology. John died on March 9, 2021. I was privileged to work with him on several projects, including a book we called… Read more about On John Polkinghorne: Creation, Prayer, Miracles, and Time
Douglas Ottati joins the podcast for his 5th visit to discuss his new book, A Theology for the Twenty-First Century. This is one of the most significant Protestant Systematic Theologies in years. I absolutely loved it. Of course, I talk about Ottati’s Christology in my recent book so I am a bit of a fan. Ottati… Read more about Douglas Ottati: Reformed Theology for the 21st Century
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… Read more about Chase Tibbs: Why Go Christian Socialist?
How do you become a hippie socialist Jesus Freak? Well, this is the story of one of them. Very excited to have Kevin Max on the podcast! Kevin is a four-time Grammy-winning vocalist, whose work began in DC Talk and has since explored a host of different genres from spoken-word, electronica, and rock. Currently, he… Read more about Kevin Max: From DC Talk to Spiritual Cosmonaut
We continue a hardcore lockdown here in Scotland, so I talked two of my co-workers into joining me digitally to answer some of your questions. Just think of it as an audio simulation of a staff lounge conversation. Dr. Joshua Ralston is a Reader in Christian-Muslim Relations here at the University of Edinburgh. He recently published… Read more about Staff Lounge Shenanigans with Sarah Lane Ritchie & Joshua Ralston
Friend of the podcast and theological super-star John Thatamanil is back on the podcast to talk about his ohhh sooo good new book Circling the Elephant. We had a bunch of nerdy fun and discussed… the task of comparative theology and its relation to constructive theology why the category of religion is problematic the patronizing… Read more about John Thatamanil: A Comparative Theology of Religious Diversity
Dr. Andrew Davison is a lecturer in the Divinity Faculty of the University of Cambridge, and a fellow at Corpus Christi College, where he is also the Dean of Chapel. He is a regular contributor to Church Times and the Times Literary Supplement. Since 2014, he has been the Canon Philosopher of St Albans Cathedral.… Read more about Andrew Davison: Participation in God
Excited to have Dr. Alister McGrath on the podcast. He is a public intellectual, a scholar of science and religion, a prolific author, and the Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at Oxford University. In the conversation we discuss: the relationship of religion and science Alister’s own testimony of faith Dawkins’ fluffy and boring atheism… Read more about Alister McGrath: Faith and the Big Picture
In this Big God Questions live stream Thomas Jay Oord joins me to tackle a stack of questions people just like yourself sent in. If you enjoyed this, then you should click on to OpenAndRelationalTheology.com and join our upcoming class Becoming Christian. In the class we will be going line by line through the ancient Apostles’… Read more about Big God Questions: Aliens, Hope, the Cross, & Divine Hiddenness
January 6th 2021 needed a theological debrief. I brought two friends of the pod and recent partners for reading groups, Adam Clark and Jeffrey Pugh. Recently Dr. Pugh and I hosted a Bonhoeffer reading group and Dr. Clark and I put on together on Black Theology. The topics and questions we cover were sent in by… Read more about Jan 6th Theological Debrief: Adam Clark and Jeffrey Pugh
Dr. Helene Russell is an Associate Professor of Theology at Christian Theological Seminary in Indianapolis. Russell has published the book The Pluralism Within: a Reconstruction of Theological Anthropology based on Soren Kierkegaard and Luce Irigaray and edited Creating Women’s Theology: A Movement Engaging Process Thought. She has also co-edited Augustine and Kierkegaard, with Kim Paffenroth. On top of… Read more about Helene Russell: Trauma Sensitive Theology
In this episode I am joined by the Norwegian philosopher and theologian Dr. Jan-Olav Henriksen. He is the Professor of Philosophy of Religion in MF Norwegian School of Theology, Norway, and Professor of Contemporary Religion at Agder University, Norway. I absolutely loved his recent trilogy of books and was thrilled to have him return to the… Read more about Jan-Olav Henriksen: Symbol-Deficit Disorder and other Theological Predicaments
This is one wild and crazy episode with three friends. Sarey and Dan (You Have Permission Podcast) join me and Mason (a People’s Theology Podcast) to launch a spectacular resource for those going through a faith transition – So You’re Deconstructing. You will definitely want to check out the site and book mark it to… Read more about The Evangelical Youth Group Fantasy Draft
This episode is #Zesty. Ever since I first started reading Dr. Jennings’ work I have wanted to get him on the podcast and it did not disappoint. We discuss Christian animism, the nature of whiteness, the hidden supersessionism in the Religion-Science dialogue, theological education, and more. Enjoy. Dr.Willie James Jennings is the Associate Professor of Systematic… Read more about Willie Jennings: Christianity Beyond Whiteness
This is a special episode where I share an audio version of my written response to Joerg Rieger’s book Jesus vs Caesar. If you haven’t read the book I imagine you can still follow along, especially if you listened to my recent interview with Rieger about it HERE. The main reason I am sharing this is… Read more about Different Gods, Different Religions?
I just saw Tom Oord’s tweet that Terence Fretheim passed away while I was reading his new book God So Enters into Relationship That… It is always shocking to hear how a live conversation partner you deeply value must shift to the page and these recordings. I can’t exaggerate Frethiem’s role in my own intellectual development. While… Read more about Terence Fretheim: God So Enters into Relationships That…
When we observe a tension between Jesus and Caesar, we acknowledge that a fundamental tension remains at the heart of Christianity. The tension is not between religion and atheism or secularism. Nor is it between organized religion and personal spirituality or between Christianity and other religions. The tension is located within the heart of Christianity… Read more about Joerg Rieger: Jesus vs Caesar
Dr. Robyn Henderson-Espinoza is founder and co-director of The Activist Theology Project, is a nonbinary transqueer activist, Latinx scholar, and public theologian living and working in the American South. Henderson- Espinoza, who teaches at Duke Divinity School, is author of Activist Theology (2019). Follow them on Twitter at @irobyn. Dr. Bass is an award-winning author, popular speaker,… Read more about Ruining Dinner with Diana Butler Bass and Robyn Henderson-Espinoza
Dr. Bass is an award-winning author, popular speaker, inspiring preacher, and one of America’s most trusted commentators on religion and contemporary spirituality. Diana’s passion is sharing great ideas to change lives and the world – a passion that ranges from informing the public about spiritual trends, challenging conventional narratives about religious practice, entering the fray… Read more about Diana Butler Bass: Evangelical Decline, the Supreme Court, and the Horizon of Possibility
Dr. Reggie Williams is the Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at McCormick Theological Seminary and author of Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus:Harlem Renaissance Theology and an Ethic of Resistance. Here’s Reggie’s previous visit to the podcast: Reggie Williams: Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus Dr. Bass is an award-winning author, popular speaker, inspiring preacher, and one of America’s most trusted… Read more about Reggie Williams & Diana Butler Bass: Debating, Praying, and Living with Tyrants
Keith Ward is a British philosopher, theologian, priest and scholar. He is a fellow of the British Academy and a priest of the Church of England. He was a canon of Christ Church, Oxford until 2003. Comparative theology and the relationship between science and religion are two of his main topics of interest. He was Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford from 1991 to 2004.… Read more about Keith Ward: Sharing in the Divine Nature
Who is ready for some religion, politics, history, inspiration and a few pretty intense questions? I hope you are because Diana Butler Bass is here. This is the kick-off of our newest online pop-up community – Ruining Dinner. When the headlines bleed and your relatives are screaming at each other online, who knows what this election season… Read more about Diana Butler Bass: Religion, Politics, & the Elephant in the Room
Dr. Daniel White Hodge is an associate professor of intercultural communications and the chair of the communication arts department at North Park University. Go check out his website here. Don’t forget to check out his podcast that all the cool kids are already listening to – Profane Faith. Check Out His Books Homeland Insecurity: A… Read more about Coming Out of (White) Evangelicalism with Dr. Daniel White Hodge
This week I had a great conversation with the filmmakers behind the new feature film Hosea – a modern-day retelling of the ancient biblical story through the eyes of its forgotten female character. The film comes out today on iTunes, Amazon, etc. and I definitely recommend you check it out. You can WATCH THE TRAILER… Read more about Hosea: a film
Today my friend and theological ethicist Ryan Newson is back the podcast. He has a brand new book out on Confederate monuments titled Cut in Stone and you don’t want to miss it. Dr. Ryan Newson is Assistant Professor of Theology and Ethics at Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC. Their mascot is a really cool Camel.… Read more about Ryan Newson: Confederate Monuments and Theological Disruption
David Gushee returns to the podcast for a book launch party! His brand new book After Evangelicalism is out and we had a live stream book launch. It was a bunch of fun to reconnect with David and celebrate my new favorite book of his. Dr. David P. Gushee is Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics and… Read more about David Gushee: After Evangelicalism
We had a bunch of questions and we attempted to answer them! The questions came from all the cool people in our Black Theology reading group. If you want to join and get access to the readings, deep dive lectures, and more than head over here. Here’s the books we recommended: Making a Way Out… Read more about From Lebron James to the Black Panther: Black Theology QnA w/ Adam Clark
Dr. Monica A. Coleman is back on the podcast and it is fun ride! Adam Clark and I were thrilled to welcome her as a special guest in the Black Theology reading group (which you can still join). Monica A. Coleman is committed to connecting faith and social justice. She is a widely sought speaker… Read more about Monica A. Coleman: Process Womanist Theology
The one and only Rev. Jesse Jackson is on the podcast!! I cannot exaggerate the respect I have for Rev. Jackson. When I found out that Dr. Adam Clark and I were going to be visited by Rev. Jackson and Dr. Grace Ji-Sun Kim I was beyond thrilled. The brand new book, Keeping Hope Alive is out now… Read more about Rev. Jesse Jackson: Keeping Hope Alive
Has Trump become a Process theologian? What doctrine from church history would you get rid of? How does Open and Relational thought frame how you handle strong disagreement? These are a few of the questions Thomas Jay Oord and I answered in a pretty fun live stream. Tom’s new book God Can’t Q&A is now available… Read more about Trump is (NOT) a Process Theologian & Other Questions w/ Thomas Jay Oord
In this episode you get to hear the story of historian, Episcopalian gone Rev., the nature of comparative theology, and the glories of weird Anglican twitter. Very happy to introduce you all to Dan and let you in on a fun conversation. The Rev. Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkoski, PhD, is the Duncalf-Villavoso Professor of Church History at… Read more about Daniel Joslyn-Siemiatkosk: a Christian Reading the Mishnah Avot & Weird Anglican Twitter
I had an inappropriate amount of fun talking with Dr. Fiona Ellis in this episode. If your inner-nerd doesn’t get pumped by the end, then it is hibernating. There’s a high likelihood you will end up getting her book God, Value, and Nature. Plus my son Elgin (12) joins for the intro and while he wasn’t… Read more about Fiona Ellis: Expansive Naturalism & the Desire for More
Dr. Adam Clark is here as we kick off the Black Theology Reading Group. This episode is not just a description and invitation to join the reading but, an outline of the centering questions of the class. If you don’t want to miss out on some amazing reading, lectures, conversation, and community then join up… Read more about Adam Clark: What is Black Theology?
Are you ready for a super fun and nerdy podcast? Dr. Stanely has been an important thinker for my current research project. His book on renowned Quaker physicist Arthur Eddington was one I kept on telling friends about. When his new book Einstein’s War came out I knew it would make for a good reason to… Read more about Matthew Stanley: Science & Religion Beyond the Conflict Model
This August we kick off the next Homebrewed reading group on James Cone and Black Theology. We will be joined by our lead theological facilitator, Dr. Adam Clark, Associate Professor of Theology at Xavier University. In this episode Adam and I discuss (the Father of Black Theology) James Cone, Black theology, and the present moment. After hearing… Read more about Adam Clark: James Cone was right
When people ask me about my favorite authors they aren’t surprised to hear me say Alfred North Whitehead, Elizabeth Johnson, or Origen, but when I say Jason Aaron I get a look of confusion. Then I explain how much I love comics and that Jason Aaron is my absolute favorite author. When I found out that… Read more about Jason Aaron: He is Worthy, but is God? Thor, Star Wars, and Southern Bastards
Dr. Stephen Haynes is the Albert Bruce Curry Professor of Religious Studies at Rhodes College and theologian-in-residence at Idlewild Presbyterian Church in Memphis, Tennessee. He joined the Rise of Bonhoeffer reading group and we decided it best to share with you. Enjoy! The figure of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) has become a clay puppet in modern American politics.… Read more about Stephen Haynes: the Battle for Bonhoeffer
Dr. Reggie Williams is the Associate Professor of Christian Ethics at McCormick Theological Seminary and author of Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus:Harlem Renaissance Theology and an Ethic of Resistance. The book is an analysis of exposure to Harlem Renaissance intellectuals, and worship at Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist on the German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer, during his year… Read more about Reggie Williams: Bonhoeffer’s Black Jesus
Dr. Jeffrey C Pugh joined the podcast tag-team of Crackers & Grape Juice + Homebrewed Christianity for a special live streaming Happy Hour. Dr. Pugh kicks things off by giving us 5 reasons to go Bonhoeffer… theologically speaking and then all sorts of things Qs find their As. It was a blast. If you want… Read more about Jeffrey C. Pugh: Why Go Bonhoeffer?
This is a really fun conversation with one of the most influential living scientist. Dr. Christof Koch is neuroscientist pioneering th the neural bases of consciousness. He is the president and chief scientist of the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle. In this conversation we discuss… Christof’s journey into the brain sciences and work with… Read more about Christof Koch: why you can’t squeeze consciousness out of a brain
I had a blast talking with Dr. Mark Wallace. We ended up having so much fun we’ve decided to do it again. Be on the lookout for details about a Homebrewed Happy Hour in which we will discuss Christian Animism and the questions/topics you send in. After you hear his account of Jesus as a… Read more about Mark Wallace: Faith After Religion
I have new nerd crush and it is Dr. Susan M. Shaw. This episode was one of the most fun conversations I have had in a while. It may be because we are both members of an endangered theological species… cradle southern baptists who went process, but none the less it was so fun it… Read more about Susan Shaw: the story of a Process Southern Baptist Feminist
Jacob J. Erickson is Assistant Professor of Theological Ethics at Trinity College Dublin. He previously taught Religion and Environmental Studies at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. There is no good reason not to follow him on twitter. This conversation came after a Jacob gave a lecture in the Theology and Ethics seminar at New College,… Read more about Jacob Erickson: a Theopoetics of the Earth
In this episode I am joined by Kevin Miller and Robyn Henderson-Espinoza to discuss the documentary film J.E.S.U.S.A. J.E.S.U.S.A. is an in-depth exploration of the relationship between Christianity and American nationalism and the violence that can often emerge from it. Far from a new phenomenon, this documentary traces the co-opting of Christianity by the state all… Read more about Violence, Nationalism, and other things that ruin Christianity
This is a Homebrewed Happy Hour in which I am joined by my friends Dan Koch & Dr. Sarah Lane Ritchie. This is an adult conversation with friends. Don’t listen with kids. Don’t listen if you don’t like potty language and bad jokes. Ohh and I said the phrase “5 shart Barthian.” To get invites… Read more about Trilogies, Atonement Power Rankings, & Sex Work at Happy Hour
Dr. Godehard Brüntrup is a German philosopher, Jesuit, and professor of philosophy at the Munich University of Philosophy with a focus on metaphysics , philosophy of mind and philosophy of language. I was beyond thrilled to talk with Dr. Brüntrup. He is not only a leading philosopher in Germany, but our shared interest in philosophy… Read more about Godehard Brüntrup: Emergent Panpsychism & Process Theology
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… Read more about Leah Schade: Preaching in a time of Crisis from Corona to Climate
The most important thing I can tell you about Bill Walker is that he simultaneously a brilliant scholar, a wonderful human, and a dear friend. We became friends while doing our PhDs and he currently serves as the Director of Vocation at Christ Church of Austin. He also teaches Christians ethics in the Business School at… Read more about Bill Walker: Globalization, Violence, and Salvation in the Drug War
It is getting near the most epic of the HBC online classes. As part of the celebration – and the emails I got saying MORE PODCASTS BECAUSE I AM SELF-DISTANCING – I combined two of my favorite previous visits into this episode. First you hear John Cobb give a theo-philosophical sermon on the materializing trajectory… Read more about John Cobb: Secularizing Christianity
I lost a very dear mentor and friend – Elgin Frank Tupper. I tried recording the intro over 10 times and just started crying, so I decided to save my thoughts for later and share this gem of an episode. This also happens to be the most downloaded episode in HBC history. Frank was a… Read more about Elgin Frank Tupper: a Scandalous Providence (in Memoriam)
A number of Homebrewed Community Members asked for this episode to come out of the Barrel and back into the world, so here it is. In this episode I am joined by one of my dissertation advisors for a fun conversation. Ingolf U. Dalferth (DrTheol, University of Tübingen) is Danforth Professor of Philosophy of Religion… Read more about Ingolf Dalferth: Hermeneutics and the Predicament of Faith #BarrelAged
This is a super special conversation between two preeminent scholars and dear friends. Two friends of the podcast gathered in Claremont a few years back as part of the Emergent Village Theological Conversation on Process Theology and this gem of a conversation happened! John Cobb and Tom Oord discuss Jesus and a number of other… Read more about JC on JC: a conversation with John Cobb and Tom Oord on Jesus #BarrelAged
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,… Read more about Wilson Dickinson: Faith After a Neo-liberal Compliant Church
Michael Northcott is Professor of Religion and Ecology, Indonesian Consortium of Religious Studies, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia and Professor Emeritus at the University of Edinburgh. While he was in town between semesters in Indonesia we got to connect in his home office for energizing and nerdy conversation that covers quite a bit of ground including…… Read more about Michael Northcott: God, Gaia, and the Working Class
I am beyond excited about the upcoming class with our guest in this episode – John Cobb. This is the very first interview I ever recorded with Cobb and in it we discuss a process account of the incarnation, Kin-dom of God, and other Christological goodies. You will likely notice how my accent has changed… Read more about John Cobb: Christology and Process Theology
Behind many Science and Religion conversations are a number of shaping, but often ignored questions. In this episode Jonathan and Sarah join me for a seriously nerdy and revealing dialogue about the nature and limits of science, the character of religious phenomena, the role of philosophy, naturalism(s), theology’s place at the table, and much more.… Read more about Jonathan Jong & Sarah Lane Ritchie: Can Scientists study gods, souls, and rituals?
Dr. John B. Cobb Jr. is the greatest living interpreter of Alfred North Whitehead and he is here to tell you Why Whitehead! In this special episode you will heard a powerful invitation from JC himself to join our upcoming online extravaganza – Probing PROCESS & REALITY. This 6 week online pop-up learning community is going… Read more about A SPECIAL INVITATION from John Cobb: Why Whitehead?
I am thrilled to introduce many of you to a wonderful scholar and new friend. Pete and I met this past summer in SoCal at the TheoPsych seminar put on by my friends in the STAR office at Fuller Seminary. (STAR=Science, Theology and Religion). Whenever someone comes on the podcast from a more conservative part… Read more about Peter Hill: Psychological Science and Religion
Douglas John Hall is Canada’s greatest living theologian & emeritus professor of theology at McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. He is a theologian of the cross, a contextual theologian, and a wonderfully articulate one as well. In this conversation we discuss his latest two books What Christianity is Not & Waiting for the Gospel, his… Read more about Douglas John Hall: What Christianity is Not & a Theology of the Cross
Ian McFarland has recently returned to Candler School of Theology after a few years at Cambridge. Since Candler sponsored the podcast this week I figured it was a good time to bring Ian’s first visit to the podcast out of the barrel for your listening pleasure. Dr. McFarland is the Robert W. Woodruff Professor of… Read more about Ian McFarland: Creation Out of Nothing #BarrelAged
Oliver Crisp is back on the podcast and bringing more of his Analytic Reformed excitement to you. I know some of you dear listeners love Calvin and analytic theology, so while I may be less interested in general with those theological trajectories I always enjoy getting to talk with Oliver. That is why, after some serious… Read more about Oliver Crisp: Analyzing Anthropology & the Systematic Turn #KeepItCrispy
The holidays are here and you know what that means? Awkward conversations about religion and politics with family, friends, and coworkers. Today on the podcast I am bringing you some wisdom… rules even… from two friends who work at the intersection of religion and the psychological sciences. Sarah Lane Ritchie and Kutter Callaway were part… Read more about Everyone You Ever Loved Will Die, so Merry Christmas!
Dr. Christopher Southgate is a biochemist turned influential theologian…who just happens to be a well published poet. (Read this powerful one… when it is safe to cry). Southgate is a Professor at Exeter University in the UK and part of the ‘God and the Book of Nature’ project I am working on. Since recording this… Read more about Christopher Southgate: Suffering, Trauma, and the Glory of God
Dr. Sallie McFague is a theological legend, a pioneer feminist theologian, and one of the most powerful thinkers in my own theological development. We learned that she passed away this weekend. Over the course of the podcast I have had the honor of interviewing her twice and since hearing the news of her passing I… Read more about Sallie McFague on Loving God and the World: in Memoriam
It is time to NERD OUT with your GEEK OUT! In this episode I am joined by my colleague and friend Dr. Sarah lane Ritchie. She was on the podcast this past summer and since moving to Edinburgh we’ve been planning to record again, so here it is. At the beginning of the episode Sarah… Read more about Kombucha, Meditation, Tarot, and Stink Bombs
I am super pumped to have Philip Goff on the podcast and give a gigantic endorsement of his new book Galileo’s Error: foundations for a new science of consciousness – now available in print, digital, and AUDIO. Goff is a leading philosopher of mind and advocate for a panpsychist account of mind. This new book is successfully written… Read more about Philip Goff: From Panpsychism to Religious Fictionalism
Who is Jesus Christ for us today? Is there a way to even attempt to answer the question with intellectual credibility? One of Germany’s greatest theologians, Michael Welker, is on the podcast discussing his new book God the Revealed: Christology. In the book and on the podcast we discuss the quest for the historical, theological engagement… Read more about Michael Welker and a Contemporary Constructive Christology
In this podcast Erin Law joins Tripp and Robyn to talk about her work in Somatics. They discuss… Why Erin Law is awesome. “Gender Trouble” as the Sermon on the Mount for humanity degrees… also Judith Butler is sometimes called J Buts. the nature of gender and sexuality what’s the deal with Christianity and bodies? how… Read more about Called to be Prophets: Erin Law, Robyn Henderson-Espinoza, Steed Davidson, and Brian McLaren
Justin L. Barrett joined the School of Psychology in 2011 as Thrive Professor of Developmental Science and served as director of the Thrive Center for Human Development from 2011 to 2014. He is currently the chief project developer for the Office for Science, Theology, and Religion Initiatives (STAR) and, from January to September 2018, also… Read more about Justin Barrett: This is Your Brain on God – Cognitive Science and the Naturalness of Belief
Dr. Jonathan Jong is a Research Fellow at Coventry University, and Deputy Director of the Brain, Belief and Behaviour group there. He is also a Senior Researcher at the Institute for Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Oxford. Most of his current research is on the psychology of religion and the philosophical issues associated with the scientific… Read more about Jonathan Jong: Religion, Culture, and Your Impending Death
This is a special live podcast episode. It was recorded at Wild Heaven Brewing in Atlanta Georgia with a bunch of our friends from McAfee School of Theology. During this zesty episode we discuss… what is a ‘wet baptist’? Dean Greg DeLoach gives beer style intros to Profs on the Mics the nature of missionary… Read more about LIVE from McAfee School of Theology: Kingdom Ethics and Moral Leadership in a Divided Age
Robert John Russell is the current Ian G. Barbour Professor of Theology and Science at the Graduate Theological Union in
Berkeley, CA. Since 1981, Dr. Russell has served as both founding director of the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences (CTNS) and professor of theology and science at the GTU. Holding a PhD in physics and an MDiv/MA in theology, Dr. Russell embodies the motto of the Ian G. Barbour Chair: “Where religion meets science.”
In this episode we discuss…
- his journey from physics to theology
- the challenge of bio-ethics
- the impact of science on Christian theology
- creation and the fall from a scientific perspective
- methodological naturalism
- does God do anything?
- the historical emergence of scientific inquiry from monotheistic traditions
- fine tuning and the anthropic principle
- why the debate between the many-worlds and a fine-tuned universe is metaphysical and not science
- the divine action debate & non-interventionist objective divine action
- moving beyond the conservative and liberal divide on divine action
- assessing the nature of divine action in the scriptures
- Big Bang Cosmology and a general resurrection?
- how Easter could shape metaphysics
- the ontological priority of the future
- the connection between the resurrection and the plausibility of God
- “Did Jesus witness to Chewbacca or was there a Wookie Christ figure?”
- the cosmic horizon of the gospel
- the incarnation as God’s self-investment
- if your Christology isn’t cosmic you are doing it wrong
- prolepsis… we talk about it so you can impress your friends
- a tear-jerking story… “is this how the Father felt when the Son died?”
- Tripp quotes the last chapter of his next book… “God has refused to be God without us.”
Texts By Dr. Russell
Favorite Books to Teach
Norman Wirzba was raised on a farm in Southern Alberta, Norman went on to study history at the University of Lethbridge, theology at Yale University Divinity School, and philosophy at Loyola University Chicago. Since then he has taught at Saint Thomas More College/University of Saskatchewan, Georgetown College (KY), and Duke University Divinity School. He’s the father of four children and is married to Gretchen Ziegenhals. He likes to bake, cook and make things with wood. He also enjoys playing the guitar. He used to be a good athlete! He enjoys being outdoors and spending time with his family and friends. He tries to grow some food. His work focuses on understanding and promoting practices that can equip both rural and urban church communities to be more faithful and responsible members of creation. Current research is centered on a recovery of the doctrine of creation and a restatement of humanity in terms of its creaturely life.
We discuss…
- how he came to be an academic within the Agrarian tradition
- the impact of Wendell Berry
- the growing cultural desire for freedom and autonomy
- the predicament of recognition
- hospitality to otherness
- a brief discussion of Richard Kearney‘s Anatheism
- we live in an anonymous economy of the one night stand
- where do we begin an ecological ethics?
- how do we begin to plan and prepare for post-collapse living?
- here’s the book Tripp read that inspired his bear turd dream: Rethinking Nature
- modernity’s elimination of value and purpose from the world and the deflation of creation into a value-less, amoral realm
- a shout out to Philip Goff’s new book, Galileo’s Error.
- how our technology has reshaped our humanity
- the power of returning to our own experience and body
BOOKS BY NORMAN
NORMAN’s BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS
David Wilkinson is Principal of St John’s College and lecturer in the Department of Theology and Religion. He holds PhDs in both theoretical astrophysics and systematic theology. Before turning to theology his research was in theoretical astrophysics, where he studied star formation, the chemical evolution of galaxies and terrestrial mass extinctions such as the event which wiped out the dinosaurs. Dr. Wilkinson is a Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society and have published a wide range of papers within the discipline. His current work involves the relationship of the Christian faith to contemporary culture, from science to pop culture. He also has current interests in the media, preaching, missiology and Christian communication.
He is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4’s Thought for the Day and travels widely to speak and broadcast on the relationship of science and faith. He is in high demand worldwide as a preacher and Bible teacher.
Over the course of our conversation we discuss…
- the nature of awe
- the transition from Newton’s clockwork universe [picturable and predictable] to that of the quantum world and special relativity
- determinism and freedom
- natural laws, divine action, and miracles
- the power and nature of prayer
- why “most Christians today are deists, not theists”
- the problem of evil
- Tripp vents about the multiverse and David helps him out
- Paul Davies’ “Goldilocks enigma” and the fine-tuning problem
- the search for Extra Terrestrial life
- Simon Conway Morris and convergence in evolution
- preference for STAR WARS over Star Trek
- the probability of intelligent life in our universe
- the nature of the universality of the Jesus event
- Sir. John Polkinghorne
- how practice shapes piety and piety shapes our plausibility
- why are the laws of physics so beautiful, predictable, and generative?
- discussing and sharing one’s faith in the context of science, humility, and awe.
Books by Dr. David Wilkinson
3 Books that had an impact on Dr. Wilkinson’s faith
Keith Ward is a British philosopher, theologian, priest and scholar. He is a fellow of the British Academy and a priest of the Church of England. He was a canon of Christ Church, Oxford until 2003. Comparative theology and the relationship between science and religion are two of his main topics of interest. He was Regius Professor of Divinity at the University of Oxford from 1991 to 2004.
Don’t forget to check out some amazing free lectures of Keith. Literally quality, zesty, nerdy, and free lectures.
Here’s his previous podcast visits:
- An Oxford Philosopher’s Journey from Atheism to Idealism with Keith Ward
- Keith Ward talks about the Bible
- The Christian Idea of God with Keith Ward
- Keith Ward’s Guide to Thinking God
- What do theologians really think?
We discuss…
- the question of religious pluralism
- the definition of religion
- the role of Durkheim in the study of religion
- reductive religionists and the ability to “explain away”
- the “perennial philosophy”
- difference across religious traditions
- the nature of situated knowledge
- the problem and challenge of religious syncretism
- why we don’t have to believe the same thing to get along
- diversity is good and Schleiermacher says so
- the role of hermeneutics in religion
- the curse of religion – trying to make people believe what you believe.
- the search for meaning and the historicity of a religion
- John Hick and religious pluralism
- cultivating the ability to celebrate pluralism
Here’s Keith’s ‘debate’ with Daniel Dennett.
Upcoming Events
Support my family’s move to Scotland
This is a zesty LIVE episode, recorded live in Nashville. I am joined by two friends, Stan Mitchell and Dr. Robyn Henderson-Espinoza. I get to ask them each 5 questions before we take questions from the people gathered for the fun.
If you are wise you will get inspired to check out Robyn’s new book. If you do… we got a bunch of goodies from Robyn to send you when you pre-order their new book Activist Theology. That’s right, when you pre-order the book just forward the receipt to goactivistheology [at] gmail [dot] com and we will send you our class Theologies of Resistance and Robyn’s lecture from Theology Beer Camp.
Called to be Prophets
SEPTEMBER 27-28 – Cary, NC – Called to Be Prophets I can’t wait for this event. It is not only going to be my last in the USA before my family’s move to the UK, but so many of my friends will be there. If you want to come to use the discount code TRIPP for 15% off.
Learn more about my family’s move to Scotland
Guess what theology nerds?
This is a special announcement.
I have just accepted a position as Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. There I will be part of a John Templeton Foundation project, God and the Book of Nature: Building a Science-Engaged Theology of Nature. It is hard to exaggerate how excited I am about this position and the opportunity to work in theological education. On top of that I will be able to interact and connect with a host of new voices for the podcast, across the pond.
It really is a dream come true for this theology nerd.
Here’s where I would absolutely love your help.
Taking an entry level academic position at a prestigious university will open doors in the long run, so we want to take the venture as a family. The transition over seas will have a pretty significant hit in our monthly income, but being frugal isn’t the biggest concern, it is the rather daunting costs of moving over seas. That’s why we setup a GoFundMe where you can make a tax-deductible donation to the process.
For over 11 years Homebrewed Christianity has been bringing you online theological resources. With 70k regular listeners and having crossed over 3 million downloads already this year, I know many of you enjoy it almost as much as I do. Your support not only makes the podcast possible, but has enabled me to continue to pursue my dream.
I am asking for those who are able to help out. Here’s two ways you can.
Donate to the GoFundMe to help us cover the moving costs. This donation is tax-deductible because of our partnership with ReWilder.
Join the Homebrewed Community and support the podcast with a monthly donation. You will also get access to a bunch of goodies including a year-long introduction to contemporary theology.
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Tripp
Michael Reiss is a British bioethicist, educator, and journalist. He is also an Anglican priest. Reiss is professor of science education at the Institute of Education, University College London, where he is assistant director, research and development. We had a fun conversation about his recent Boyle lecture (you can watch it here). We discuss a number of topics:
- how is ethics framed and formed by our evolutionary heritage?
- Dawkins and the genes eye view
- the role of language and rituals in the formation of the self reflection
- how human fictions shape our living
- the emergence of religion within humanity and the social brain
- how religious practice preceded ethics and belief
- how ethics evolved among our species
- the nature of humanity’s expanding in-group
- a shout out to Peter Singer
You can find out more about the Religion and the Social Brian project here.
He also has a number of articles available for download here.
Get ready for a bunch of nerdy fun.
Sarah Lane Ritchie is Lecturer in Theology and Science at the University of Edinburgh. She has a PhD in Science and Religion from the University of Edinburgh, where her doctoral work focused on the question of divine action in the human mind. A Michigander by birth, Sarah also holds a BA in Philosophy and Religion from Spring Arbor University, an MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary, and an MSc in Science and Religion from the University of Edinburgh. Her published work focuses on questions arising from the intersection of theology, philosophy, and the various brain-related sciences. Sarah’s research interests include divine action, philosophy of mind, naturalism, cognitive science of religion, and the psychology of belief formation.
Dr. Sarah Lane Ritchie joins the podcast to discuss her upcoming book Divine Action and the Human Mind and a bunch of other topics including…
- Her story of coming out of Southern Baptist Fundamentalism
- spiritually integrated physicality
- the Hard Problem of Consciousness
- physicalists, dualists, panpsychism, and more
- theologians should NOT be scared of scientific accounts
- embodied cognition’s rejection of downloadable consciousness
- why no more machine imagery, but organism!
- the problem with the contemporary Divine Action debate
- i proceed to offer Philip Goff’s Russellian Monism as an option
- the combination problem and the zombie thought experiment
- how the scientific study of religion has uncovered how natural it is
- why Mainline Protestants are working against sharing their faith with their children
- rethinking psychedelics for spiritual traditions (here’s the Rupert Sheldrake episode we mention)
- i told a story of bourbon, fasting, ketosis, mindfulness, and getting consumed by a skull
- we discuss divine action and why Sarah thinks Philip Clayton is almost right
- the relationship of divine action, the problem of evil, and theory of mind
- Sarah finished her Mdiv at Princeton without actually reading Karl Barth
- the ethical quandary of sex-bots and Tripp’s high quality sanitation dodge
- the relationship of religious traditions to spiritual practices
This episode is amazing. It is just super-duper spectacular. Oh, it is also packed with awesome sauce.
I can’t wait for all of you in helping professions to hear this and get yourself the book – Caring for Souls in a Neoliberal Age. Dr. Bruce Rogers-Vaughn is Associate Professor of the Practice of Pastoral Theology and Counseling at Vanderbilt Divinity School, an ordained minister, and practicing therapist.
Over the course of the conversation Dr. Vaughn mentions a couple articles he has kindly shared here: “Blessed Are Those Who Mourn” and “Pastoral Reflections on Debt in the Age of Trump.” These will surely inspire checking out the book
- how Capitalism and Neo-liberalism attack the soul
- learning from our pain
- the quasi-religion of neo-liberalism
- Deregulation, Liberalization, and Privatization
- the secret perversity of meritocracy
- the nature of soul
- the erosion of community and public life
- the neoliberal appropriation of identity politics
- distinguishing between types of suffering
- the pathology of normalcy
- student debt-slavery Join Now. The Introduction to Theology Class starts soon.
- reframing the nature of vocation
- educational industrial complex
- public outrage, trigger warnings, micro-aggressions, and virtue signaling
- the politics of recognition
- cultural resentment
- cultivating communities of harm-reduction
- human waste in the neo-liberal order
- how social media cultivates anxiety
An amazing collection of texts Bruce mentioned
This episode is sponsored by
Dr. Michael J. Murray is the President of the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations and former Arthur and Katherine Shadek Chair in Philosophy and the Humanities at Franklin & Marshall College and Senior Vice President of Programs at the John Templeton Foundation.
He received his BA from Franklin and Marshall and his MA and Ph.D from the University of Notre Dame. His research focuses on two primary areas. The first is seventeenth century history of philosophy and theology, with a particular focus on the work of Gottfried Leibniz. The second is contemporary philosophy of religion. His most recent work focuses on the problem of evil and animal suffering, and cognitive and evolutionary accounts of the origin and persistence of religious belief and practice. In our wide-ranging conversation we discuss…
- fine-tuning
- gene-editing
- climate change
- the theological significance of science
- cognitive science of religion
- evolutionary psychology
- cultivating vocations in science among the church
- the origins of religion (thorough and clear description of the different options)
- revelation’s relationship to history and religions
- situated knowledge and contextual for religious truth
- the historical Adam
- the pain and suffering within nature
- Extraterrestrial and Artificial Intelligence
Books by Dr. Murray
This episode is sponsored by
John D. Caputo is a hybrid philosopher/theologian who works in the area of radical theology. Prof. Caputo has spearheaded a notion he calls “weak theology,” by which he means a “poetics” of the “event” that is harbored in the name (of) God, or that “insists” in the name (of) “God,” a notion that depends upon a reworking of the notions of event in Derrida to theological ends.
Dr. Caputo joins the podcast to invite you to join our summer course in Theology of Culture. It is an open course, so clearly you should join.
For a long time I have been a fan of John Haught’s work. He is a Catholic theologian, invested in the conversation between religion and science, who brings together two of my favorite thinkers – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and Alfred North Whitehead. His recent award winning book, The New Cosmic Story: Inside Our Awakening Universe**, Haught’s mature theological voice is at work in a serious way. There he argues that an adequate understanding of cosmic history requires attention to the emergence of interiority, including religious aspiration. We discuss that and a number of other topics in this conversation including…
- Big History and its inside story
- the relationship of religion and science
- Layered Explanations of reality and meaning
- 3-fold pattern of growth: Divergence, Convergence, and Emergence
- the cosmological literalism of the New Atheists – a modernist form of fundamentalism
- the narrative shape of the cosmos
- Teilhard, Lonergan, Whitehead, Polyani
- the nature of religion in the evolution of homo sapiens
- ethical predicaments from the ecological crisis to abortion
- the role of beauty in the cosmos
- His article, Trashing Teilhard: How Not to Read a Great Religious Thinker
John F. Haught is Senior Fellow, Science & Religion, Woodstock Theological Center, Georgetown University. He was formerly Professor in the Department of Theology at Georgetown University (1970-2005) and Chair (1990-95). His area of specialization is systematic theology, with a particular interest in issues pertaining to science, cosmology, evolution, ecology, and religion.
Zesty books from John Haught
I am pumped to share this episode with you. For a long time I have enjoyed the work of biologist Kenneth R. Miller and over the course of this conversation we cover a number of topics which include…
- How the poetry of Thomas Merton help bring Ken back to faith
- His role in the debates between Creation Science, Intelligence Design, and Evolution
- “if Augustine and Aquinas were around today, they would be evolutionists”
- on the craft of being a baseball umpire
- the nature of Biblical truth and scientific discovery
- stories from the legal battles over Intelligent Design
- the overwhelming evidence for a common ancestor
- how humans are unique among the natural world
- the failure of Sam Harris’ argument on free will
- a sweet E.O. Wilson story on free will and its necessity for science
- his friendship and disagreement with Stephen Jay Gould about NOMA
- Ken’s theory of mind and consciousness
- he argues against Nagel about the nature of consciousness
- we discuss emergence via complexity
Score some free books Kenneth R. Miller is Professor of Biology. He did his undergraduate work at Brown, and earned a Ph D in 1974 at the University of Colorado. He spent six years as Assistant Professor at Harvard University before returning to Brown University in 1980. His research work on cell membrane structure and function has produced more than 60 scientific papers and reviews in leading journals, including CELL, Nature, and Scientific American.
You should definitely follow him on twitter and check out his visit to the Colbert Report.
Kenneth Miller’s Texts
The dynamic duo of dialectical theology – David Congdon & Travis McMaken – are on the podcast. These two scholars, friends, and theological provocateurs are here to bring you some dialectical theology. This conversation was recorded in their hotel room at the American Academy of Religion. Their room may or may not have had a bunch of crystals surrounding a giant collection of analytic theology texts. Travis was on the podcast in the past talking about Why God loves Justice and Why Go Barthian?. David joined the podcast to talk Bultmann’s Mission of Demythologizing. If you are inspired you should go join the Society for Dialectical Theology In this podcast we discuss…. – the day David convinced Travis the bodily resurrection wasn’t necessary – dialectical theology’s relationship to theological tradition – what does the term “event” mean for DT? – humans are messed up and are not the solution of our problem – the kenosis of the patriarchy – theology for the religiously unaffiliated – sadly Travis has no inner-life – how Badiou should relate to Theology… a theology of the trace – what makes an event christian – the contrast between dialectical theology and salvation history – tripp gets upset about theology without existential register – David is not happy about St. Andrews, analytical theology, or NT Wright’s historical confidence – analytical investigations of Kierkegaard aren’t cool – doing historical investigations doesn’t lead to the existential encounter of faith – the need to embrace the secularity of faith A Dialectical Theology Reading List
Reza Aslan is back on the podcast with the release of God: A Human History in paperback. Reza Aslan is a best-selling author (Zealot, No god But God), commentator, professor, and producer for The Leftovers (HBO), Of Kings and Prophets (ABC), Rough Draft (Ovation), and Believer (CNN). In our conversation we discuss a bunch of topics…
- the birth of God in human history
- cognitive science of religion
- evolutionary account of religion
- Reza resists scientific reductionism
- what comes first, myth or rituals?
- what is going on in religion?
- why religion is not primarily about beliefs, but identity
- the ignorance of ignoring religion
- a prophetic voice in a multi-traditioned culture
- Reza’s enthusiastic endorsement of Pete Buttigieg for President
- why Donald Trump is personified evil
- a minister who will not stand against racism is failing
- parenting in a multi-faith family
Here’s Reza’s previous visit to the podcast!
Reza Aslan LIVE 3D Event!
Earlier this week we were joined by A. Ron from the Bald Move podcast. His co-author for Gods of Thrones and historical Jesus scholar, Dr. Anthony Le Donne, is on the podcast talking comparative religion in the Game of Thrones. We have too much fun and get to a bunch of topics…
- Game of Thrones as a secular apocalypse narrative
- GOT and LOTR (Lord of the Rings)
- eucatastrophe in LOTR
- the end of ethical theories
- how Martin sees the nature of religion
- the influence of Catholicism and Roman religion
- the cultural phenomenon of GOT and its growing tribe
- anxiety, agency, and our global crises
- White Walkers and the Ecological Crisis
- blood and incest
- introduction to comparative religion in Westeros
- why fan theory is awesome
- from canonical texts to post-canonical TV
- how GOT tackles changing norms
- the historical Jesus had warts
- GOT and the emergence of a promo-democracy
- how to finish the books if Martin can’t
- an aside on the politics of historical Jesus research
Anthony Le Donne is Assistant Professor of New Testament at United Theological Seminary. He is the author/editor of seven books and serves as an editor of the Journal for the Study of the Historical Jesus.
Here’s the zesty GOT books your bookshelf is looking for.
Here’s some of Anthony’s other texts
WINTER IS COMING! A. Ron of the Bald Move is on the podcast talking podcasting, online community, and Game of Thrones (GOT). It is fun.
Not only is A. Ron host of my favorite GOT podcast, but he recently put out a two volume exploration of the religions of GOT. George R.R. Martin, author of GOT, recognized that many fantasy works (like LOTR) may explore religious themes, but they rarely have a rich tapestry of religious life. That is not a problem in Westeros.
I hope you enjoy the episode and get prepared for part two late this week with Dr. Anthony Le Donne.
In our conversation we cover a bunch of ground, including:
- How A. Ron fell in love with science fiction and fantasy
- forming community online and the Bald Move
- the Game of Thrones (GOT) experience
- what explains the cultural phenomenon that is GOT
- what is Martin getting at in the end game of GOT
- thinking through the redemptive arcs in GOT
- what are the motivations of the white walkers
- the Wall as the DMZ zone of the ancient war
- who is going to end on the iron throne… will there be a proto-democracy
- why we need more dire wolves
- Cleganebowl!!!
Here’s the zesty GOT books your bookshelf is looking for.
Michael Ruse was a complete treat as a guest. He is an insightful, energetic, and humorous conversation partner. On top of that, as a philosopher of science, Dr. Ruse brings a career’s worth of insights into the present state of the religion and science conversation. I have quite a bit of gratitude that Dr. Ruse took his time to join the podcast. During the podcast we discuss:
- the changing shape of the relationship between Religion – Science
- the battle over Creationism
- is there a purpose?
- the meaning of life
- the problem of holism
- evil, violence, and the problem of war
- the New Atheism as a Secular Religion
- moving beyond original sin
- growing up Quaker during war
Michael Ruse is Lucyle T. Werkmeister Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Program in the History and Philosophy of Science at Florida State University. He’s a British-born Canadian philosopher of science who specializes in the philosophy of biology and works on the relationship between science and religion, the creation–evolution controversy, and the demarcation problem within science.
Books from Dr. Ruse
I am super duper pumped to share my conversation with Robert Wright. For a long time I have enjoyed Bob’s podcast, books, and his new post-Trump newsletter. His return to the podcast follows my visit this past week on his own, which was a bunch of fun.
Here’s a number of topics we tackle:
- Why Buddhism is True
- The problem with getting rid of prayers of confession from worship
- Why everyone could use a class in evolutionary psychology
- Western love of secular buddhism
- Robert asks Tripp about confirmation and facilitating experiments in truth
- What is a “wet baptist”?
- The role and desire of religious rituals
- Can religions leave competition behind? Can Christianity become a wisdom tradition?
- The New Agnosticism
- The hard problem of consciousness
- “purpose” in the story of evolution
- the possibility of moral progress
- how a simple theist may end up being more accurate than the New Atheists
- how Process theology’s multiple ultimates gives a different way to connect eastern and western religious traditions
- the problem of religious pluralism and how to do solve it
- why I hope Bob talks with Simon Conway Morris
Want to check out more of Robert’s work? Here’s a few places to go.
- The video/podcasting network he started, BloggingHeads.TV
- The Mindful Resistance Newsletter (it is so good)
- His class on Buddhism and Modern Science
- Here’s his lecture from Union Theological Seminary on the New Agnosticism
- Here’s Robert’s previous visit to the podcast from 2009
Here’s the conversation I had with Robert the day before on his podcast Robert Wright is the New York Times bestselling author of The Evolution of God (a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize), Nonzero, The Moral Animal (named one of the ten best books of the year by The New York Times Book Review), Three Scientists and their Gods (a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award), and Why Buddhism Is True. He is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the widely respected Bloggingheads.tv and has written for The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Time, Slate, and The New Republic. He has taught in the psychology department at the University of Pennsylvania and the religion department at Princeton University, where he also created the popular online course “Buddhism and Modern Psychology.” He is currently Visiting Professor of Science and Religion at Union Theological Seminary in New York.
The most zesty newsletter I hope you try out
Books by Robert Wright
What is morality for? Where did ‘the good’ come from? Is the human even a trustworthy partner for asking these questions? In this episode I am joined by Dr. Robert Kurzban, an evolutionary psychologist, who has spent his life studying human behavior through an evolutionary framework. Robert was a complete blast to converse with and I grateful he took the time to talk to me off a cold email through the digital-space.
Over the course of our time you will get to know a bit about his own life and research, including….
- What is Evolutionary Psychology?
- A Modular Brain?
- The evolutionary origins and functions of morality and virtue
- How we hide our agendas from ourselves
- Climate Change and the public good problem
- How people of faith can endorse policies counter to the basic tenants of their faith
- Religion and the abortion debate
- The coercive force of spotting hypocrisy
- The role of wisdom in overcoming our biological hardware
Robert Kurzban is an evolutionary psychologist and author of two very readable and enjoyable texts – Why Everyone (Else) Is a Hypocrite: Evolution and the Modular Mind and The Hidden Agenda of the Political Mind: How Self-Interest Shapes Our Opinions and Why We Won’t Admit It. His research focuses on the nature of evolved cognitive adaptations for social life. These include processes involved with cooperative decision making, punishment, morality, close relationships, and mate choice. He uses methods drawn from experimental economics and cognitive psychology to study these processes.
Robert is proud to have served as both the editor-in-chief of the journal Evolution & Human Behavior and President of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society.
Physicist and regular contributor to the religion & science conversation, Dr. Karl Giberson is on the podcast. You will get to hear the inside story of this ex-evangelical scientist’s changing relationship to science and the church he first knew. Ultimately Dr. Giberson couldn’t see a way for the American evangelical community to reconcile with science and today, while still a Christian, works in a Catholic context.
The topics we cover are wide-ranging and include:
- Physics & Cosmology
- the Multiverse (and his skepticism)
- the fine-tuning of the universe
- chance, randomness, and divine action
- (the lack of a) literal Adam and Eve
- life after evangelicalism
- LGBTQ equality in the church
- evangelical anti-intellectualism
Dr. Giberson holds a PhD in Physics from Rice University. Dr. Giberson has lectured on science-and-religion at the Vatican, Oxford University, London’s Thomas Moore Institute, and at many prestigious American venues including MIT, Brigham Young University and Xavier University.
Dr. Giberson has published more than 200 reviews and essays, both technical and popular, in outlets that include NY Times, CNN.com, the Guardian, USA Today, LA Times, Salon.com, Discover, Weekly Standard, Quarterly Review of Biology, Perspectives on Science & Faith, The Edge.org, and Books & Culture. He has written or co-authored 10 books, and contributed to many edited volumes. Currently, Dr. Giberson is a faculty member at Stonehill College where he serves as the Scholar-in-Residence in science and religion.
Here’s Karl’s critical review of Lawrence Krauss’ account of Creation out of Nothing that gets mentioned.
Here’s the book recommendations from Dr. Giberson
Here’s a few of my favorite books by Dr. Giberson
You don’t have to be an Old Testament hater. I know it seems popular and pretty easy to dismiss the Hebrew scriptures, BUT it is a heresy and almost all the reasons you will think of apply to the New Testament as well. Here’s the deal – the reason we are easily attracted to ditching the Hebrew scriptures may be we really don’t want to read, hear, and listen as they intend to be heard. For that very reason I was pumped to Rolf Jacobson write the Homebrewed Christianity Guide to the Old Testament. The book is awesome.
We talk about the book and a bunch of other things in this podcast. I also hadn’t preached in 2 weeks when we recorded it, so there’s a small sermonette in the middle of it. [You can avoid a sermonette in the middle of a podcast by inviting me to speak :)]
We are just starting a zesty reading group with Thomas Jay Oord and you should join.
In this episode we are going to talk about a bunch of different topics in the larger science and religion conversation. Topics include cosmic history, divine action, the history of religions, astrotheology, and even extraterrestrial life. We are joined by a living legend in the field, Ted Peters. Ted is a Research Professor at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences. He is Research Professor Emeritus in Systematic Theology and Ethics at Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary.
You can check out his personal website for an overview of all his different work.
The Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences has a bunch of resources. Below are links to a few articles of Dr. Peters that touch our conversation: “From Big History to Cosmic History” , “Introducing Astrotheology”, “Science and Religion: Ten Models of War, Truce, and Partnership”, “Should CRISPR Scientists Play God?”, “Transhumanism and the Posthuman Future: Will Technological Progress Get Us There?”
Greg Jarrell is a friend and hero of mine. It was a real honor to not only have him on the podcast, but help host a little party to celebrate the release of his new book A Riff of Love. Greg is a founder of QC Family Tree, a community of hospitality in Charlotte, NC, where he shares life with his wife, Helms, their two kids, and a host of other neighbors who have become kin.
In our conversation we talk about his story and just how a southern baptist church boy ended up on a search for community, justice, and belonging. It was a blast and I am sure you will enjoy it.
Don’t forget to sign up for the upcoming reading group on Open and Relational Theology Reading Group with Tom Oord. The group kicks off March 1st but you will get all the sessions no matter when you join. Plus it is ‘pay what you can’ so you can definitely afford it.
It’s time for the great reversal!!
Brain McLaren takes the roll of the interviewer and turns to me for the A’s to the Q’s. It was a blast.
Personally I am extremely honored that Brian not only watched (and enjoyed) my film, The Road to Edmond, but that he took the time to plan a fun conversation about it. You will learn a bit about the movie production, writing, acting and such, but also hear us wrestle with the topics the film itself tackles.
Hopefully the conversation inspires you to go watch the film this month (Feb 2019), while it is available for your streaming pleasure at jesuslovesourmovie.com.
Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English teacher and pastor, he is a passionate advocate for “a new kind of Christianity” – just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good. He is an Auburn Senior Fellow and a leader in the Convergence Network, through which he is developing an innovative training/mentoring program for pastors, church planters, and lay leaders called Convergence Leadership Project. He works closely with the Center for Progressive Renewal/Convergence, the Wild Goose Festival and the Fair Food Program‘s Faith Working Group.