Schenck Talks Bonhoeffer: Recent Episodes
Schenck Talks Bonhoeffer
In this episode, host Rob Schenck talks with Martin Doblmeier, the leading documentary filmmaker in the world of religion, faith, and spirituality. Having produced more than 30 feature-length documentary films, Martin Doblmeier has many awards, degrees, honors, and recognitions for the work that he has created. In 2003, Doblmeier released a documentary named, “Bonhoeffer.” Join Rob Schenck and Martin Doblmeier as they talk filmmaking, the impact of Bonhoeffer, and Bonhoefferian spirituality.
In this Bonhoeffer in the Arts Series episode, host Rob Schenck talks with composer and librettist Hugh M. McElyea, whose staged oratorio, “Tenebrae - The Passion of Dietrich Bonhoeffer" explores the inner world of our Institute’s namesake.
Hugh grew up in Central Florida in an abjectly racist culture. However, his college experience, later travels in the Air Force, and eventually, his work as a pianist in New York City would help him shed his bigotry.
Having read Bonhoeffer in the late 60s during the height of the civil rights struggle, Bonhoeffer's moral courage made a lasting impression on Hugh. Those memories later inspired him to depict the Nazi resister and martyr in a musical drama, using Bonhoeffer's relationship and prison correspondence with fiancée Maria von Wedemeyer as a device to delve deep into the inner thoughts of both.
Hugh styled Tenebrae along the lines of the ancient candlelight Passiontide service by the same name. Using twenty voices backed by twenty musicians, with two actors portraying Dietrich and Maria writing to each other as he sits in Tegel Prison, Hugh brings out a rarely examined emotional dimension to Dietrich.
TDBI President, Rev. Dr. Rob Schenck, talks with an extraordinary advocate of religious freedom and universal human rights, Dr. Aykan Erdemir, about increased anti-Semitism in the U.S. and globally. Rob and Aykan have known each other since they met at a symposium in Oxford, England, seven years ago.
Dr. Aykan Erdemir is a former member of the Turkish Parliament, Director of International Affairs Research at Anti-Defamation League, and steering group member of the International Panel of Parliamentarians for Freedom of Religion or Belief (IPPFoRB). Award winning analyst on Turkish politics, economy, and foreign policy with twenty-five-years of experience in academia, think tanks, and politics. Outspoken advocate for democracy, pluralism, rule of law, minority rights, and freedom of religion or belief in the Middle East and beyond. Frequent contributor to debates in global media outlets on foreign policy, security, illicit finance, sanctions, radical Islam, terrorism, extremism, and hate crimes.
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In this episode, Rev. Rob Schenck talks with Michael Hanegan.
TDBI Senior Fellow Michael Hanegan developed our approach to the World Council of Churches, asking for the suspension of Patriarchate Krill. Hanegan is an interdisciplinary thinker, moral theologian, writer, and teacher. He holds Masters Degrees in Religious Education and Theological Studies and works as an Intellectual Property Architect.
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Visit Michael Hanegan’s Website [https://michaelhanegan.com/]
Listen to Michael Hanegan’s TEDxColumbiaUniversity Talk [https://www.ted.com/talks/michael_hanegan_interruption_as_social_change]
Sign TDBI’s Petition to remove Moscow Patriarchate Krill from the World Council of Churches [https://tdbi.networkforgood.com/projects/158708-hold-corrupt-moscow-church-leaders-accountable]
Epi 74 – Interview with Mike Goldsworthy In this episode, the Rev. Rob Schenck speaks with Mike Goldsworthy, a ministry leader working in the spaces of deconstruction and reconstruction in post-evangelical communities. For 19 years, Mike served on staff with Parkcrest Christian Church in Long Beach, CA, with the last 11 of those years as the Lead Pastor. When he left that church, he shifted his focus to connecting and mentoring individuals and communities as they walk through transitions of deconstruction and reconstruction of their faith. He is an Adjunct Professor of Ministry and Bible at Hope International University and partners with Slingshot Group as a church staffing and coaching associate. What happens when one’s personal faith begins to theologically shift away from a church’s public stance? How do churches focus on the types of people they are forming? What would happen if Christianity wasn’t about making more Christians but helping humanity live a flourishing life together? Listen in as Rob and Mike discuss Bonhoeffer’s own struggles with church structure and reimagine a way for today’s “ecclesiastical homeless” to connect and build church communities in new forms and landscapes.
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In this episode, the Rev. Rob Schenck discusses the interconnecting network of faith leaders working towards gun violence prevention, the nonviolence of Bonhoeffer, and the importance of depolarization within American society with Mark Beckwith, longtime friend of TDBI and co-chair of Faith Leaders for Ending Gun Violence. Mark has been working in this overlapping space of nonviolence reform throughout his career. He is the retired Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark, co-founding the Newark Interfaith Coalition for Hope and Peace, a network of religious leaders committed to reducing gang violence in the city. He also co-founded Bishops United Against Gun Violence in 2012, which has grown to a network of 100 bishops. Now retired, Mark has become part of the leadership team for Braver Angels, a movement that seeks to depolarize America. The organization stands at the intersection of faith and politics, offering a path towards reconciliation and seeing across the divide within our own organizations. In March, he also released the book, “Seeing the Unseen: Beyond Prejudices, Paradigms, and Party Lines” with Morehouse Publishing. How can gun violence prevention advocates and gun rights advocates begin to understand each other? What do we need to do to depolarize our faith communities and reconcile with each other? How does silence offer a holy response and a common language for prayer? Listen in as Rob and Mark grapple with the tensions within our communities and how Bonhoeffer’s experience with the Black church informed his outlook on suffering and nonviolence. --
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In this episode, Rev. Rob Schenck speaks with manager of the Equal Justice USA Evangelical Network, Sam Heath. Sam uses his broad faith background to tell stories of justice and injustice in a holistic, truthful manner. Equal Justice USA works at the intersection of criminal justice, public health, and racial justice to elevate healing over retribution, meet the needs of survivors, advance racial equity, and build community safety. Though EJUSA is not a faith-based organization, Sam is the theological bridge from the organization to faith communities and tells us how he uses his faith as a measure to respond to unjust systems and violence.
Is “an eye for an eye” a biblical response to injustice? What does our faith say about how we address the criminal justice system? How should the church respond when harm is done? What is cheap and costly grace in the criminal justice system? Listen to Rob and Sam discuss these topics in this episode!
This episode is brought to you by The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute
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In this podcast, Rob talks with Reverend Dr. Katharine about her fascinating family background, which includes visits to her home from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's twin sister, Sabine, and her Jewish husband, Gerhard Leibholz, whom Dietrich helped escape to safety in England. Rob and Katharine also explore where she sees Christians and the church during these turbulent times, and what she thinks about our moral obligations in view of what is happening in Ukraine and so many other places of conflict around the world.
This episode is brought to you by The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute.
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In this episode of Schenck Talks Bonhoeffer, Rev. Dr. Rob Schenck talks with an important person in his life, Gary Waldron. Gary lives in a Catholic Worker home in Tacoma, Washington, where he is actively engaged in ministry to marginalized people. The Tacoma Catholic Worker community is an intentional community that provides transitional housing and support to people experiencing homelessness, recent immigrants, and folks reintegrating after incarceration. Gary tells of what it is like to live in this community of radical hospitality and dedication to social justice.
This episode is brought to you by The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute
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Tacoma Catholic Worker
Keeping with the life, times, and interests of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Rob Schenck talks with Glen Bloomstrom of LivingWorks Suicide Prevention Centre about a critical subject that touched Bonhoeffer personally. Bloomstrom discusses how suicide has historically been dealt with and how faith leaders can thoughtfully and sensitively approach the topic. He tells us that faith leaders are significantly underprepared to deal with suicide in their communities and how LivingWorks’ training and simulations are helping fix that. This episode is brought to you by The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute -- Resources: TDBI on Twitter TDBI on Facebook TDBI on Instagram LivingWorks Faith National Suicide Prevention Lifeline You are not alone. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, seek help now. 800-273-8255
Russian Orthodox supreme head, Moscow Patriarch Kirill, has enabled Putin’s aggression against Ukraine by styling the military campaign as a religious crusade. Cerny believes the World Council of Churches should eject Kirill and the other members of the patriarchate for violating the moral and spiritual obligations to do good to all people.
In this episode of Schenck Talks Bonhoeffer, Rev. Dr. Rob Schenck talks with ethicist, pastor, author, and advocate, Dr. David P. Gushee about his history in evangelicalism, his abandonment of the moniker, and his book Introducing Christian Ethics. Dr. Gushee discusses the profound impact Dietrich Bonhoeffer has on his ethics, as well as his hopes for the impact of this important book. Introducing Christian Ethics discusses issues like creation, patriarchy, white supremacy, abortion, sexuality, marriage, politics, crime, and more. If you find Christian ethics to be an important topic of conversation in today’s political and social climate, we encourage you to share this podcast and pre-order Dr. Gushee’s book in January 2022.
Dr. David P. Gushee (PhD, Union Theological Seminary, New York) is the Distinguished University Professor of Christian Ethics at Mercer University, and Chair of Christian Social Ethics at Vrije Universiteit(“Free University”) Amsterdam/IBTS. He is one of the world’s leading Christian scholars and is the elected Past-President of both the American Academy of Religion and Society of Christian Ethics.
This episode is brought to you by The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute
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In this episode of Schenck Talks Bonhoeffer, Rev. Dr. Rob Schenck talks with Chrissy Odean RN, BSN who recently graduated from nursing school into the COVID-19 pandemic. Odean describes her experience as an ICU nurse considering the heightened stress environment of the pandemic and varying responses from Christians.
Chrissy Odean is a second career nurse licensed in the District of Columbia and Virginia. She started a nursing career in the ICU and is now working in the cardiovascular pre/post-procedural area, after having served ten years in the non-profit sector with employment in the U.S., and overseas as a public health missionary.
This episode is brought to you by The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute
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CDC Guidelines
TDBI Senior Fellows read from Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s 1943 letter, After Ten Years.
Read “After Ten Years”: https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9781506433387/After-Ten-Years
After Ten Years: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Our Times by Victoria J. Barnett copyright © 2017 Fortress Press. Posted by permission. No further transmission of this material allowed without written permission from Fortress Press.
In this podcast, TDBI President and Founder, Rev. Rob Schenck talks with Adam about his outstanding book, A More Perfect Union: A New Vision for Building the Beloved Community, intriguing background, and work at Sojourners, a committed group of Christians who work together to live a gospel life that integrates spiritual renewal and social justice.
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In this episode of Schenck Talks Bonhoeffer, Rev. Dr. Rob Schenck talks with TDBI Senior Fellow, Bishop Van Gayton, about the significance of his Pentecostal tradition and how God’s calling has manifested in his life. Dr. Van Gayton has over 40 years of experience as a professor, pastor, and conference speaker, teaching and training students and leaders all over the world. With a desire to educate and be educated, Dr. Gayton holds a number of Master and Doctorate degrees in Theology, most recently receiving a Doctor of Ministry from Reformed Theological Seminary. He has taught subjects such as Philosophy of Religion at Jamestown Community College, The African American Religious Experience at the University at Buffalo.
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In this special episode of Schenck Talks Bonhoeffer, TDBI’s President, Rev. Dr. Rob Schenck, and Executive Director, The Rev. Hope Christensen, sit down with “Mass” filmmaker, Fran Kranz, and renowned actor Ann Dowd to discuss their new, truth-telling film, “Mass.”
The filmmaker and actor give us behind-the-scenes insight of decisions made on and off-set, and how they sought to communicate forgiveness, grief, and grace in such a tragic film. TDBI’s namesake, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, had a few things to say about forgiveness, grief, and grace. This conversation gets into the intersections of the virtues of our namesake and how they show up in tragedy.
Fran Kranz tells us how he overcame the temptation of simplification that Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned us about – the temptation to label people as “good” or “bad” and miss the beautiful complexity that each human holds.
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“Mass” tells the story of two couples longing for understanding and connection. Years after an unspeakable tragedy tore their lives apart, two sets of parents (Jason Isaacs and Martha Plimpton, Reed Birney and Ann Dowd) meet in the basement of a small church to talk privately in an attempt to move forward. In Kranz’ writing and directing debut, he thoughtfully examines their journey of grief, anger, and acceptance by coming face-to-face with the ones who have been left behind. This timely film is a powerful vision of loss, grief, and reconciliation.
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In this episode of Schenck Talks Bonhoeffer, TDBI Founder and President, Rev. Dr. Rob Schenck, introduces newly named Senior Fellow Dr. Joel Looper and his new book, Bonhoeffer's America: A Land without Reformation. As Coordinator for Shalom Mission Communities, a peace church fellowship near the southern border, Joel, his wife, Anali, and their new baby girl, Daniela Bea, are actively helping migrants, refugees, and immigrants, principally through Anali's practice as an immigration attorney. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Baylor University.
This episode is brought to you by The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute.
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Theopolitics – Substack by Joel Looper
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Dr. Cremer specializes in religious nationalism, particularly western forms that include white supremacy, chauvinism, and Christian language, symbols, and monikers. He is working with colleagues at Oxford, Pembroke College, his alma mater, Cambridge, and numerous other institutions to address these issues. In this conversation with TDBI President, Rev. Dr. Rob Schenck, Dr. Cremer talks about his professional and personal pursuit of this violent movement and how it has manifested itself in the United States and beyond.
This episode is brought to you by The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute
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Faith, Nationalism, and the Future of Liberal Democracy
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In these introductory episodes to TDBI's series on Christian Nationalism, President Rev. Dr. Rob Schenck talks with German church historian and Holocaust scholar Dr. Robert Ericksen of Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington
Professor Ericksen is the author of several books on the German Church Struggle, including Theologians Under Hitler. In this special extended two-part conversation, Ericksen explains how and why Christians in the Nazi era embraced Hitler's Third Reich dictatorship and genocide against Jews, Roma, "homosexuals," and general political dissidents. Professor Ericksen broadens the lens used to examine this narrow time frame by bringing into context the present moment just enough to warn us of the ominous parallels between what happened in post-Weimar Germany and what we are experiencing in contemporary America.
This episode is brought to you by The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute
Links and Resources: Theologians Under Hitler
Complicity in the Holocaust: Churches and Universities in Nazi Germany
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In these introductory episodes to TDBI's series on Christian Nationalism, President Rev. Dr. Rob Schenck talks with German church historian and Holocaust scholar Dr. Robert Ericksen of Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington.
Professor Ericksen is the author of several books on the German Church Struggle, including Theologians Under Hitler. In this special extended two-part conversation, Ericksen explains how and why Christians in the Nazi era embraced Hitler's Third Reich dictatorship and genocide against Jews, Roma, "homosexuals," and general political dissidents. Professor Ericksen broadens the lens used to examine this narrow time frame by bringing into context the present moment just enough to warn us of the ominous parallels between what happened in post-Weimar Germany and what we are experiencing in contemporary America. This episode is brought to you by The Dietrich Bonhoeffer Institute.
Links and Resources:
Theologians Under Hitler
Complicity in the Holocaust: Churches and Universities in Nazi Germany
TDBI on Twitter
TDBI on Facebook
TDBI on Instagram
RS and Nikki Toyama-Szeto discuss her life, The Japanese American Church and Christians for Social Action.
RS and christian conservative dissenter David French discuss the crisis of christian nationalism.
RS and Dr. Stephen Plant discuss Plant's unique contribution to DB scholarship; his book "Letters To London".
RS and Rabbi Jack Moline discuss the Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam and how it applies to the time we are living in now.
RS and Rabbi Shaul Praver discuss the Sandy Hook Shootings and the more recent appearance of The Proud Boys.
RS and Ambassador Suzan Johnson Cook discuss Bonhoeffer and the Black Church in Harlem.
In response to increased awareness of racial violence, especially those acts perpetrated by authorities, toward black and brown people in the United States, TDBI presents this candid and important conversation between Rev. Rob Schenck and Dr. Walter McCray.
RS and Pastor Bob Melone discuss his new collection of Sermons titled "Sermons From the Days of Trump".
TDBI president Rob Schenck discusses religious nationalism with renowned Bonhoeffer scholar and historian on the Nazi-era German Protestant Church, Dr. Victoria Barnett.
RS and Dr. Matthew Rowley discuss his book "Trump and The Protestant Reaction to Make America Great Again" and the Protestant influence on Christianity in America.
Schenck and Doug Pagitt explore the work Pagitt is doing with “Vote Common Good”. A non-partisan organization meant to give Evangelicals an allowance to think a bit out of the normal when it comes to politics.
Rob Schenck and Dr. Mae Cannon discuss her life and books “Social Justice Handbook” and “Just Spirituality”.
Rev. Schenck and Prof. Garcia discuss the choice name for his firm, Logos Consulting, his life and newest title “The Power of Incendiary Language and How To Confront It”.
Rob Schenck and Rev. Amanda Henderson discuss her personal story, interfaith religion and her new book “Holy Chaos: Creating Connections in Divisive Times”.
Rev. Schenck discusses with Dr. Ron Sider his book; The Spiritual Danger of Donald Trump
Rev. Rob Schenck talks with Dr. Reggie Williams about Bonhoeffer's Harlem experience and his connection to the Abyssinian Baptist Church.
Listen to this intriguing interview with TDBI Senior Fellow and U.S. Army Chaplain, Col. Timothy Mallard
Rev. Rob Schenck talks with Joel Edward Goza about his new book, America’s Unholy Ghosts: The Racist Roots of Our Faith and Politics.
In this new episode of Schenck Talks Bonhoeffer, recorded at the Christian Unity Conference in Hampton, VA, Rev. Rob Schenck talks with Paul Alan McAllister about the real need for racial, ethnic, and Gospel unity in the Christian church in the United States.
In this new episode of Schenck Talks Bonhoeffer, Rev. Rob Schenck talks to Dr. John Fea regarding his book, “Believe Me: The Evangelical Road to Trump.” As an evangelical, Dr. Fea tells why it is important to learn from history, and to see why the path that American evangelicals have taken is a dangerous road -- both for the witness of the Gospel and for the trajectory of the role of faith in public life.
In this episode of Schenck Talks Bonhoeffer, Rev. Rob Schenck talks about the need of looking at America’s gun violence issue from the lens of Scripture and the example of Christ, and details out why the Fully Protected Bible Study (a downloadable FREE resource) is much needed in the Christian community today.
In this new episode of Schenck Talks Bonhoeffer, Rev. Schenck shares how World War II-era pastor, Hitler resister, and martyr, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, revolutionized his Christian walk and brought him back to the Christ-centric purity of the Gospel message.