Theology Nerd Throwdown

In the first episode of The Story of God with Morgan Freeman this season things take a different trajectory… Morgan goes on a search for ‘The Chosen One.’ Almost every faith has a figure believed to be chosen by God and some of them are alive today. The episode centers around Morgan’s interaction with a number of different ‘chosen ones’ and the different shapes they take across the globe and religions. Barry and I catch up in order to discuss the episode and a number of insights inspired by the show. If you haven’t watched the episode get on it! Episode includes… Jalue Tsegyal – reincarnated Tibetan lama in MN Former North Korean missionary Kenneth Bae – held prisoner for 2 years for leading Christian prayer group Historian of Islam, Sajjad Rizvi Kamya Arora Mandeep Kaur Samra, a Sikh historian Sociologist Dr. Andreas Schneider  Karudee Chotithamaporn is a representative from the Bang Liao Dou Mu Gong Shrine – a center for Taoist worship Chief Arvol Looking Horse, the chosen one of the Nakota, Lakota, and Dakota tribes – His latest battle is in South Dakota, protesting an oil pipeline being built under the Missouri river. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We are re-launching our TNT podcast as The Theology Nerd with these 5 Extremely zesty reasons you should go process!  Listen to (or watch) Monica Coleman give you: A theological perspective that inspires 5 theological challenges classical theology can't handle Basic concepts of Process theology you can grasp and use How to nerd out with Whitehead We are putting this up on both podcast streams to remind you to subscribe to The Theology Nerd (formerly TNT) for more zesty episodes like this. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What’s up Theology Nerds! This is a short and sweet little invitation of an episode for any listeners who want to take their life and leadership to the next level. As you probably know I am the Director of Theology and the Humanities at Hatchery LA, an experimental graduate school for launching alternative spiritual communities, and this past semester we started our first online certificate program. We are just finishing up the first trimester and opening up applications for the next in-coming class and I would absolutely love for podcast listeners to be a part of it. In the episode I will share a bit about it, but you will also hear some testimonials from two different Homebrewed Deacons who are part of our first cohort. For more info and a free three video mini-course go sign-up here. Application info can be found here. If you have questions feel free to email me at tripp@mywebsite   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is a post-election podcast. It is very fresh. Christian and I talk about our feelings, thoughts, anger, and hopes after the election. We discuss it in three parts: as a Citizen, as a Husband-Parent, and as a Christian.  At the conclusion we decided to have a future (more reflective) episode and invited listeners of both podcasts to join it via the SpeakPipe. You can do that here and add your voice to a future episode.  We also mention an upcoming event in LA the day before Theology Beer Camp on January 18th called Third Rail Theology: Race, Class, & White Privilege in the Church. If you are a SoCal local you are invited, along with everyone coming to the Homebrewed event. If for some reason you don’t subscribe to both the CultureCast and HBC… think about it!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this special edition of the Story of God-cast you will hear from the one and only Morgan Freeman! It is kind of like talking to the voice of God about God. He joined fellow producer of The Story of God on the National Geographic Channel, Lori McCreary, for a conversation with Tripp about the series.  Afterwards Barry and Tripp dig into the sixth and final episode of the series on Miracles. Over the course of the discussion miracles are used to unpack divine action, chance, and the power of the mind. We tackle the rather amazing segment of the show on the passover, the Vatican’s investigation into the miraculous, gambling in Ancient Rome, the early harmony of science and religion in Islam, Barry’s time as a feng shui rider, the connection of prayer to healing, Tripp’s problem with David Hume, and most importantly [hint sarcastically] how “life is like a journey filled with pot holes.” If you love us make sure to go to iTunes & subscribe/rate the show. It is also on Stitcher (Tripp’s favorite podcast app), and you can go old school and grab the feed directly here. Sharing is caring & it makes God happy.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The problem of evil has occupied humanity ever since it realized it was born to suffer, kill, and die. Every religious tradition has to deal with this reality and today we are gonna discuss it. In this episode we talk about the fifth episode of The Story of God with Morgan Freeman – Evil. In this week’s podcast Barry, Tripp, and Princess Alice discuss eternal conscious torment, original sin, the evolution of religion, theodicy, elf on a shelf, the origins of evil, tattoos, and the possibility of moral capitalism after the death of god. Plus Barry and Princess Alice became friends and she went with him on a trip to Ireland. Upon return we will hear just how much fun they had. If you love us make sure to go to iTunes & subscribe/rate the show. It is also on Stitcher (Tripp’s favorite podcast app), and you can go old school and grab the feed directly here. Sharing is caring & it makes God happy.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Religion, science, faith, God, history, anthropology, prayer, and a few other topics all solicit questions. At least a few of them get tentative answers this week.  In this episode we talk about the fourth episode of The Story of God with Morgan Freeman – Creation.   In this week’s podcast Barry and Tripp discuss bones, ancestor veneration, SoCal pseudo-religion, Adam’s hidden bone under Golgotha, the Vatican’s poor science PR, Islam’s preservation of the West’s best thought, the sneaky snake in the garden, Mayan beheadings, corn deities, large cosmic rivers of creation and extremely generic ‘come together’ conclusions to religious pluralism. Plus Barry mentions a bunch of ACDC tunes. Tripp also decides not to stab his face after hearing the question everyone with philosophy graduate degrees student loans hates – “If God made the universe, who made God?” If you love us make sure to go to iTunes & subscribe/rate the show. It is also on Stitcher (Tripp’s favorite podcast app), and you can go old school and grab the feed directly here. Sharing is caring & it makes God happy.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who is God? That’s a question that’s easy to ask, hard to interpret and never quite answered.  In this episode we talk about the third episode of The Story of God with Morgan Freeman – about God. In the episode we will discuss the blues, the diversity and universality of God-talk, the emergence of polytheism and monotheism, Stonehenge and This is Spinal Tap’s Stonehenge, the role of culture in religious experience, divine manifestation in the brain, and the Osteen effect on America religion. Barry mentions two books you will want to check out. Oprah: Gospel of an Icon by Kathryn Lofton and God: an itinerary by Regis Debray.   If you love us make sure to go to iTunes & subscribe/rate the show. It is also on Stitcher (Tripp’s favorite podcast app), and you can go old school and grab the feed directly here. Sharing is caring & it makes God happy.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tripp and Barry are taking you to the end of the world…at least as they know it. In this episode we talk about the second episode of The Story of God with Morgan Freeman – Apocalypse. In the episode we will discuss the politics of apocalypse, the 1 century Jewish sect known as the Essenes, the role of the Temple in contemporary Israel, the whole 666 = ? thingy, radicalization of monotheism, the Mayan prediction, cyclical views of time, enlightenment, faith in crises, and a number of other goodies. Barry also drops some wisdom bombs about secular apocalyptic fantasies involving zombies and vampires. You will enjoy that if you enjoy using your brain.   If you love us make sure to go to iTunes & subscribe/rate the show. It is also on Stitcher (Tripp’s favorite podcast app), and you can go old school and grab the feed directly here. Sharing is caring & it makes God happy.    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Here it is! The first episode of a brand new podcast. On the Story of God-cast Tripp Fuller and Barry Taylor will be unpacking, exploring, and expanding the conversation Morgan Free starts. The National Geographic Channel produced a six part series called The Story of God with Morgan Freeman and we plan to dig deep into each one here for your listening pleasure. The first episode is titled Beyond Death. It tackles near death experiences, technological means to immortality, and the Day of the Dead. Morgan takes a trip to Jerusalem, the Ganges, Mexico City and a science lab. That’s not all, but it gives you a taste of what you get in just one episode. In this episode Barry and Tripp tackle a number of questions including… Why would a series on God start with an episode about death? What is the difference between life and death? Is it a state of existence, a thin veil, a hard transition or a problem to be fixed? Have human beings evolved to a healthier relationship toward death or have we just rearranged the symbols and upgraded our technology? If you love us make sure to go to iTunes & subscribe/rate the show. It makes God happy.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices