Homebrewed Christianity

Two Books, One Night: Finding Beauty in What We Can't Control with Diana Butler Bass & Andy and Kara Root

Nov 9, 2025
Diana Butler Bass, an insightful author and church historian, discusses her new book, A Beautiful Year, exploring the Christian calendar’s impact on spirituality and how to find meaning in time. She emphasizes anti-imperial, feminist, and ecological lenses for understanding Scripture. Joining her are Andy and Kara Root, who share experiences from their family pilgrimage and the challenges of parenting. They introduce the importance of letting go of control and embracing receptivity, echoing themes of connection and divine involvement in daily life.
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INSIGHT

Christian Year Reframes Time

  • Diana Butler Bass reframes the Christian year as an alternative vision of time that resists imperial, commercial chronologies.
  • She reads Scripture through anti-imperial, feminist, and environmental lenses to reclaim its courage and grounding.
INSIGHT

Time As Spiral, Not Line

  • Diana rejects linear time in favor of circles, spirals, and layers where unexpected events can reframe life.
  • This non-linear time makes room for surprises that shift our entire sense of meaning and action.
ANECDOTE

Unexpected 40,000-Word Proposal

  • Kara received an unexpected email from Andy declaring they would write a book together with 40,000 words already drafted.
  • That abrupt proposal launched their collaboration and shaped the book's candid, mixed-voice approach.
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