Homebrewed Christianity

Dr. Ryan Burge is back on the podcast with his most popular charts of data on religion. The graphs we discuss are the 5 most popular he shared over the last year on his nerdy twitter. Ryan P. Burge is an assistant professor of political science at Eastern Illinois University. Author of numerous journal articles, he is the co-founder of and a frequent contributor to Religion in Public, a forum for scholars of religion and politics to make their work accessible to a general audience. Burge is a pastor in the American Baptist Church. Previous Visits from Ryan Burge Evangelical Jews, Educated Church-Goers, & other bits of dizzying data 5 Religion Graphs w/ a side of Hot Takes Myths about Religion & Politics Here are the 5 most popular Chart Tweets we discussed In 1991, 87% of people aged 18-35 years old were Christians. 8% of them identified as religiously unaffiliated. By 1998, 73% of young people were Christians (a 14 point drop) and 21% of young people identified as nones (a 13 pt. increase). America lost its religion in 1990s. pic.twitter.com/oPL2UYzswY — Ryan Burge ? (@ryanburge) April 4, 2022 The drop in fertility over the last decade is primarily among Democrats. Peak parenting in 2010: 65% of Republicans in their late 30s were parents. 62% of Democrat Peak parenting in 2020: 60% of Republicans in their late 30s were parents. 50% of Democrat pic.twitter.com/m3HmjaT1Up — Ryan Burge ? (@ryanburge) November 28, 2022 Do people become more conservative as they age? This data tells a nuanced story. For those born between 1930 and 1949, they did move rightward between 2008 and 2021. 1950-1964 saw no change at all. Those born in 1965 or later have moved to the left between 2008 and 2021. pic.twitter.com/WqpGXy3T43 — Ryan Burge ? (@ryanburge) April 20, 2022 In 1988, 6% of white Democrats took an atheist or agnostic position about God. It was 3% of nonwhite Democrats. In 2021, 32% of white Democrats were atheist/agnostic. It was 8% of nonwhite Democrats. There’s never really been a racial God Gap for Republicans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today J.R.R. Tolkien turns 131! My buddy and pro-Tolkien nerd Nick Polk joined me to share a toast to Tolkien and reflect on a passage we selected as we enter a new year. After the toast, you will hear our special Tolkien Heads session from Theology Beer Camp, which was a bunch of fun. Nick Polk is the production editor for Mallorn, the academic journal of The Tolkien Society. His most recent research includes his essay entitled “Middle-earth in South Park: The Return of the Fellowship of the Ring to the Two Towers as Parody.†Other than Tolkien, his other loves include his wife Kelly, coffee, and punk. Nothing sounds better than starting the day reading a Tolkien book with a cup of coffee and ending it in a moshpit with loved ones. Experiencing God: an Open Online Class Kick off the new year with a nerdy good time. The next Homebrewed class will be a robust exploration of how the tools of science, philosophy, and theology help us discern meaning from divine encounters. We’ll discuss God-experiences as mediated through faith communities, the mind, nature, the Bible, psychedelics, and more. And we’ll do all this with an eye towards the future, exploring the possibilities for how a lived-theology could express itself in the world. Check it out here. Here’s the trailer for Experiencing God (the online class) Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Matthew Segall returns to the podcast! This was recorded in person in Napa, Ca where he gave a talk on Process-Relational Politic al Theology. You can see his blog post about the talk here. Dr. Segall is a transdisciplinary researcher and teacher applying process philosophy across various natural and social sciences, including the study of consciousness.  He is also the  Assistant Professor in the Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness Program at California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, CA. Make sure you check out his YouTube channel and the new book. You can listen to our last podcast conversation – Cosmology, Consciousness, and Whitehead’s God. Experiencing God: an Open Online Class Kick off the new year with a nerdy good time. The next Homebrewed class will be a robust exploration of how the tools of science, philosophy, and theology help us discern meaning from divine encounters. We’ll discuss God-experiences as mediated through faith communities, the mind, nature, the Bible, psychedelics, and more. And we’ll do all this with an eye towards the future, exploring the possibilities for how a lived-theology could express itself in the world. Check it out here. Here’s the trailer for Experiencing God (the online class) Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Myron Penner is back on the podcast! We discuss his current research project on sex, gender, and anthropology. In the second half of the episode Myron starts asking me questions and things get personal Dr. Myron Penner is a professor of philosophy at Trinity Western University and director of the Anabaptist-Mennonite Centre for Faith and Learning. On top of being a stellar scholar, he is a dear friend and the coolest Mennonite Canadian philosopher on planet earth ? Experiencing God: an Open Online Class Kick off the new year with a nerdy good time. The next Homebrewed class will be a robust exploration of how the tools of science, philosophy, and theology help us discern meaning from divine encounters. We’ll discuss God-experiences as mediated through faith communities, the mind, nature, the Bible, psychedelics, and more. And we’ll do all this with an eye towards the future, exploring the possibilities for how a lived-theology could express itself in the world. Check it out here. Here’s the trailer for Experiencing God (the online class) Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Previous Podcast Episodes w/ Myron Navigating Philosophy & Religion Religious Trauma, Bracketing Belief, & the Best Reason to Believe in God Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Diana is back for some Holiday fun! We gathered a bunch of questions where anything was on the table. This is what happened when we randomly answered member-submitted questions. To be a part of future zoom sessions and get access to past gatherings,  join Diana’s newsletter community, the Cottage &/or the Homebrewed Community. Want to attend a Ruining Dinner session in person? (we hope so) Well, you could always match up our calendars and bring us to your living room, or you could come to the Southern Lights conference over MLK weekend. This event has both in-person and live-streaming options. Experiencing God: an Open Online Class Kick off the new year with a nerdy good time. The next Homebrewed class will be a robust exploration of how the tools of science, philosophy, and theology help us discern meaning from divine encounters. We’ll discuss God-experiences as mediated through faith communities, the mind, nature, the Bible, psychedelics, and more. And we’ll do all this with an eye towards the future, exploring the possibilities for how a lived-theology could express itself in the world. Check it out here. Here’s the trailer for Experiencing God (the online class) Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Previous Episodes with Diana & Tripp Ruining Election Night Dinner The Over-Rated Genie God Bad Blood, Civil War, and other Soothing Topics Shall the Fundies (Keep) Winning?, Abortion, and Black Holes Theology and Spirituality in a Time of Rupture White Evangelical Theopolitics, John Shelby Spong, & Jesus 20 Years of Religious Decline Jesus After Religion and Beyond Fear Ruining Dinner with Diana Butler Bass and Robyn Henderson-Espinoza Evangelical Decline, the Supreme Court, and the Horizon of Possibility Debating, Praying, and Living with Tyrants Religion, Politics, & the Elephant in the Room Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Award-winning New Testament scholar, Dr. Daniel Kirk, discusses Pauline Christianity, the humanity of Jesus, God's faithfulness, and new creation theology. Explore theological insights, challenges of interpretation, and the significance of sacrificial love in this engaging and thought-provoking conversation.

Marion Grau, a professor of theology, discusses topics such as theological journeys, ethical dilemmas in environmental activism, navigating the border between revolution and terrorism, and exploring moral responsibility in societal structures causing harm to marginalized communities.

The Magi get 12 verses in the Gospel of Matthew, but that was all we needed to remain fascinated with them across history. In his new book The Magi, Dr. Eric Vanden Eykel starts with the Biblical story and follows the Magi all the way to Biff (if you know, you know). Eric Vanden Eykel is Associate Professor of Religious Studies and the Forrest S. Williams Teaching Chair in the Humanities at Ferrum College in Virginia. He received his Ph.D. in Judaism and Christianity from Antiquity from Marquette University in Milwaukee, and he also holds masters degrees from Marquette and the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta. Dr. Vanden Eykel’s primary area of research is early Christian apocryphal literature, with a special focus on texts and traditions about the infancies and childhoods of Jesus and Mary, his mother. He is the author of “But Their Faces Were All Looking Up: Author and Reader in the Protevangelium of James,â€Â published by T&T Clark, co-editor of Sex, Violence, and Early Christian Texts, published by Lexington Books, and author of The Magi: Who They Were, How They’ve Been Remembered, and Why They Still Fascinate, published by Fortress Press.   Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dan Koch is one of my favorite people. He reached out to connect in person when he was thinking of starting a podcast, and since then, he has not only produced several quality podcasts, but I have grown to love having him in my life. Like all good elder millennials, nothing says, “dude, I love being your friend,” like a quality mixtape. In this episode, we share our mixtape playlists to a stack of song categories collected from Twitter. Pretty Good Vibrations analyzes and celebrates pop and rock music and its crucial role throughout our lives. Podcast veteran and host Dan Koch (You Have Permission Podcast) has been a professional musician for most of the last 20 years: songwriter for the emo-pop band Sherwood, then as a commercial composer since 2012. Multiple episode styles include bracket-style tournaments, chronological walk-throughs, and deep dives into genres, artists, and eras.  Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am pumped to have Dr. Delvyn Case on the podcast! What happens when a professional composer and theology nerd chronicles all the appearances of Jesus in Pop music? Well, you end up with a really cool project exploring the spiritual questions of our secular age. In this conversation we discuss his project and then dig into some secular Advent / Christmas tunes. Dr. Case is a composer, conductor, scholar, performer, concert producer, and educator based in Boston and on faculty in the music department at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. What is the Jesus in Pop Music Project? From “Jesus, Take the Wheel†to “Jesus Walksâ€, Jesus has appeared in hundreds of songs by (secular) pop musicians over the past 50 years.  Whether written by believers or atheists, all of these songs seek to answer the oldest questions in Christianity: who was Jesus, what was his message, and why is he important? Though not intended for Christians, these songs provide us with unique opportunities to explore our faith in ways that are contemporary, relevant, and spiritually valuable. The website includes an introduction to this fascinating phenomenon, Spotify playlists for each collection of songs, a searchable database of all 500+ songs, an online form that allows you to submit additions to this list, and links to more information  about the project. The Secular Advent / Christmas Playlist Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices