A Pastor and a Philosopher Walk into a Bar

Text us your questions!Why is "bar" part of the theme of our show (besides the obvious joke)? Kyle and Randy break this down with the help of an excellent article by Rich Manning called "The Complicated Journey from Holy Studies to Hospitality," which interviews various bartenders about their experiences in the seemingly contrasting spaces of the hospitality industry and the church.The article gives us occasion to discuss why we do adult beverage tastings, why people are often more comfortable in bars than churches, Randy's time in the hospitality industry, what we think about the risk of alcoholism, and more. It also gives us an opportunity to tease our Patreon in our regular episode feed. If you're already a subscriber, catch the full conversation over at our Patreon page. If you're not, enjoy this teaser and consider subscribing at www.patreon.com/apastorandaphilosopher. Thanks for your support!The bourbon featured in this episode is Noteworthy (Randy) and Bardstown Discovery Series (Kyle).You can find the transcript for this episode here.Production note: we don't typically use our usual fancy setup for bonus content, so apologies that the audio quality is a bit lower than our regular episodes.=====Want to support us?The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal. Other important info: Rate & review us on Apple & Spotify Follow us on social media at @PPWBPodcast Watch & comment on YouTube Email us at pastorandphilosopher@gmail.com Cheers!

Text us your questions!Deconstruction. What is it, why are so many doing it, and why are so many others apparently so threatened by it? We've said a few times on the show that we don't want to be just another deconstruction podcast, but we've never quite fully explained what we mean. So we sat down to work through our own experiences with deconstruction and what we've heard from others, to try to put our finger on what it is about it that leaves us wanting more, and to think together about what might be a richer alternative. Along the way, we try to be as respectful as we can to those going through it--which includes all of us in one way or another--and we also describe the weaknesses of some prominent critiques of it that we've heard. We hope this conversation will be beneficial to you if, like us, you've had reason to question the faith that you were given.The book Randy mentions in the conversation is Radical Amazement by Judy Cannato.The beverage we taste in this episode is Elliot's Revenge from the always stellar Manic Meadery.The beverage tasting is at 8:25. To skip to the main segment, go to 10:50.You can find the transcript for this episode here.Content note: this episode contains some mild profanity, mention of abuse, and some adult language.=====Want to support us?The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal. Other important info: Rate & review us on Apple & Spotify Follow us on social media at @PPWBPodcast Watch & comment on YouTube Email us at pastorandphilosopher@gmail.com Cheers!

Text us your questions!Brian McLaren is at it again, writing a book for people on the edge of Christianity, just barely holding on. Do I Stay Christian? is a brilliant book that takes a very honest look at Christianity, ponders reasons to go, and reasons to stay, while presenting us with a new kind of Christianity...one that's more Christ-like and rooted in this moment and on this earth we find ourselves on. I know...weird, right?In this episode, we tasted both the spectacular Wild Turkey Father and Son 13 Year and a select offering from New Riff Distilling.The beverage tasting is at 3:18. To skip to the interview, go to 8:26.You can find the transcript for this episode here.Content note: this episode contains some mild profanity and mention of (biblical) sexual assault and murder.=====Want to support us?The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal. Other important info: Rate & review us on Apple & Spotify Follow us on social media at @PPWBPodcast Watch & comment on YouTube Email us at pastorandphilosopher@gmail.com Cheers!

Text us your questions!Our first discussion with Beth Allison Barr and Scot McKnight at the end of Season 1 was so popular and helpful that they wanted to come back a second time to answer more questions about biblical translations, gender, and bias. We cover the editing process, translation committees, trusting the right experts, different translation styles, why translations aren't more diverse, what Beth and Scot are up to next, and more. These two obviously enjoy one another and have a great time talking through the complexities of how translations come together, what purposes they serve, and what makes a good one. Hint: the ESV isn't their favorite.Some of the works mentioned in the conversation are:"The Desire of the Woman: A Response to Susan Foh's Interpretation" - Rachel Green Miller"Losing Our (Medieval) Religion? The Cost of Not Teaching History…" - Beth Allison Barr"A Pastor’s Quick Guide to Reliable Historical Research" - Beth Allison Barr"Ideas about Women Matter: A Resource List for Women in Church History" - Beth Allison BarrStony the Road We Trod: African American Biblical InterpretationAbuelita Faith: What Women on the Margins Teach Us about Wisdom, Persistence, and Strength - Kat ArmasWomanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and the Throne - Wilda C. GafneyThe Blue Parakeet - Scot McKnightThe whiskey we sample in this episode is Hibiki Japanese Harmony. It's delightful.The beverage tasting is at 1:26. To skip to the interview, go to 5:19.You can find the transcript for this episode here.=====Want to support us?The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal. Other important info: Rate & review us on Apple & Spotify Follow us on social media at @PPWBPodcast Watch & comment on YouTube Email us at pastorandphilosopher@gmail.com Cheers!

Text us your questions!Buckle up, friends...this is a major episode. Lisa Sharon Harper wrote Fortune, which dives into and details the history of her ancestors from Africa, to slave ships, to plantations and displaced and colonized Native Americans, all the way through to her own lived experience and the trauma, bravery, and resilience she carries in her own body through her ancestors. The book details the history and making of America in brutally honest ways...ways we all need to hear. This interview is raw, honest, challenging, beautiful, and she wraps it up by taking us to church. Can somebody say, "Amen!"?!The whiskey we tasted in this episode is Maker's Mark Private Selection. It's delicious.The beverage tasting is at 3:11. To skip to the interview, go to 6:54.You can find the transcript for this episode here.Content note: this episode contains discussion of rape, slavery, drugs, racial violence, and some mild profanity.=====Want to support us?The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal. Other important info: Rate & review us on Apple & Spotify Follow us on social media at @PPWBPodcast Watch & comment on YouTube Email us at pastorandphilosopher@gmail.com Cheers!

Text us your questions!Does God move supernaturally in our world today? Should we expect miracles? These are questions that New Testament scholar Craig Keener investigated, documented, and wrote about in his book Miracles Today. The book is fascinating and a bit frustrating in some ways, but also compelling and deeply researched. Dr. Keener has also written a ridiculous amount of scholarly work on the New Testament, and we go into some of that expertise for our Patreon supporters, so subscribe if you're interested in some NT geeky time. It's good fun.The beer we tasted in this episode is Ghost Note by Casey Brewing.The beverage tasting is at 4:05. To skip to the interview, go to 7:13.You can find the transcript for this episode here.=====Want to support us?The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal. Other important info: Rate & review us on Apple & Spotify Follow us on social media at @PPWBPodcast Watch & comment on YouTube Email us at pastorandphilosopher@gmail.com Cheers!

Text us your questions!In this episode, we speak with science writer and award-winning journalist Jessica Nordell about her book The End of Bias: A Beginning. It's an extraordinarily well-researched and compellingly written explanation of the science of implicit bias, covering its manifestations in many areas, including sexism, racism, policing, and more. Our conversation tackles how to understand implicit bias, as well as evidence-based methods of attempting to solve the problems it creates. Along the way, we discuss practical police reforms, the benefits of mindfulness, the difficulty of judging past actors, and recognizing the bias and judgmentalism in ourselves. It's probably one of the most important conversations we've had on the show.The beverages we sample in the episode are Strawberry Hibiscus and SRV from Manic Meadery.The beverage tasting is at 3:20. To skip to the interview, go to 10:44.You can find the transcript for this episode here.Content note: this episode contains discussion of violence and some mild profanity.=====Want to support us?The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal. Other important info: Rate & review us on Apple & Spotify Follow us on social media at @PPWBPodcast Watch & comment on YouTube Email us at pastorandphilosopher@gmail.com Cheers!

Text us your questions!In this episode, we reflect on the documentary from Discovery Plus, Hillsong: A Megachurch Exposed.  If you haven't watched the three part miniseries, it's gross, tragic, and maddening, and yet it feels like many of us in the church find a part of our story in this broken story of manipulation, abuse, and consumerism. We talk about the fine line between being welcoming and being manipulative, how easy it is to abuse "volunteers," and how easy it is to throw anything and anybody under the bus in the name of "redeeming the world."  It's scary stuff, but these are conversations we need to have in the church if we're going to have any integrity whatsoever. We tasted Old Elk Blended Straight Bourbon Whiskey from Old Elk Distillery, who are doing some pretty cool things.The beverage tasting is at 7:20. To skip to the main segment, go to 10:23.You can find the transcript for this episode here.Content note: this episode contains mild profanity.=====Want to support us?The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal. Other important info: Rate & review us on Apple & Spotify Follow us on social media at @PPWBPodcast Watch & comment on YouTube Email us at pastorandphilosopher@gmail.com Cheers!

Text us your questions!We speak with philosopher Scott Coley about the phenomenon of pastors and internet theobrogians publicly critiquing the work of credentialed scholars. Why is this so popular, how are those that do it so confident, and how are normal people fooled by it? As Scott asks in an article, "What conditions make it possible for otherwise reasonable people to believe that the carefully considered arguments of accomplished scholars are vulnerable to obvious and devastating objections raised by non-experts?" That article, published on his blog, made us want to speak with him, and the conversation evolved from there. We discuss expertise, misinformation, intellectual ghettoization, ideology, propaganda, truth, logical positivism, cults and psychopaths, and more. Scott names some names and pulls no punches.The bourbon featured in this episode is Eagle Rare from Buffalo Trace Distillery.The beverage tasting is at 2:54. To skip to the interview, go to 4:47.You can find the transcript for this episode here.=====Want to support us?The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal. Other important info: Rate & review us on Apple & Spotify Follow us on social media at @PPWBPodcast Watch & comment on YouTube Email us at pastorandphilosopher@gmail.com Cheers!

Text us your questions!We've been excited to talk to a Jewish scholar for some time now...and not just for the obvious episode title opportunity, either. For those of us who consider ourselves Christians, to understand Judaism is to understand the roots of our faith tradition. In this episode, we interview Rabbi Or Rose from Hebrew College in Boston, MA. Rabbi Rose specializes in inter-religious studies and takes us into the world of inter-religious dialogue, the value of it, along with ancient Jewish practices of arguing and debating the Scriptures, and seeing that practice as holy. This is a fascinating episode. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we did.We drank The Prisoner Wine Co. Finish II by Bardstown Bourbon Company. It's phenomenal. The beverage tasting is at 1:50. To skip to the interview, go to 5:25.You can find the transcript for this episode here.=====Want to support us?The best way is to subscribe to our Patreon. Annual memberships are available for a 10% discount.If you'd rather make a one-time donation, you can contribute through our PayPal. Other important info: Rate & review us on Apple & Spotify Follow us on social media at @PPWBPodcast Watch & comment on YouTube Email us at pastorandphilosopher@gmail.com Cheers!