David Congdon came on to talk about his lecture from the Democracy in Tension summit, and man, did we get into it. We're unpacking what liberalism actually means - not the Fox News version or the MSNBC version, but the philosophical tradition that emerged because people were literally killing each other over interpretations of the Eucharist after the Reformation. David makes this case for why we need to rejuvenate liberalism as a framework for dealing with diversity, because the postliberals basically want to recreate medieval Christendom through authoritarian power, which is... problematic. We talked about historical amnesia, why privatizing religion isn't the same as excluding it from public life, how both the left and right misunderstand what liberalism offers, and why we can't just abandon institutions even when they're flawed. Plus David schooled me on what he's learned spending eight years working in political theory and philosophy, which has given him a way more nuanced view than most theologians have about this stuff.

You can get access to Congdon's lecture and the entire Democracy in Tension series here.

You can WATCH this conversation on YouTube

⁠⁠⁠⁠Join us at Theology Beer Camp, October 8-10, in Kansas City!

UPCOMING ONLINE LENT CLASS: Jesus in Galilee w/ John Dominic Crossan⁠⁠

What can we actually know about Jesus of Nazareth? And, what difference does it make?

⁠⁠This Lenten class ⁠⁠begins where all of Dr. John Dominic Crossan's has work begins: with history. What was actually happening in Galilee in the 20s CE? What did Herod Antipas' transformation of the "Sea of Galilee" into the commercial "Sea of Tiberias" mean for peasant fishing communities? Why did Jesus emerge from John's baptism movement proclaiming God's Rule through parables—and what made that medium so perfectly suited to that message? Only by understanding what Jesus' parables meant then can we wrestle with what they might demand of us now.

⁠⁠The class is donation-based, including 0, so join, get info, and join up here.⁠

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090: Longing for Your Presence (Through the Psalms) Psalm 84

Through the Psalms 2024

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