Homebrewed Christianity

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

Greg Farrand, Executive Director for Second Breath, is joining the podcast for a special episode exploring the spiritual journey of Advent. Homebrewed has done over 20+ online classes and one of the consistent requests from a portion of the participants is for some more devotional option. Since the classes include people from many different and no religious tradition, that always seemed a difficult request to meet. This time, with the Christmas Stories class we are going to try an optional more spiritual pathway. For those interested in a contemplative pathway over Advent, we are partnering with Second Breath, to provide guided meditations and spiritual conversations. Having done 20+ online classes like this, that focus on the intellectual side of things, I am excited to have such a respected partner, gifted in equipping others to go beyond an intellectual comprehension of God, faith, and love to actually experiencing them with mind, heart, and body. You will want to check out the Second Breath app, on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. It includes hundreds of spiritual practices and reflections and will feature an Advent series of encounters for the class. The best part of this partnership is it will not impact any of the time with Dom, but for those who have been requesting this kind of element, we can try it out. Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It is almost time for our next online class and John Dominic Crossan is here to lure to join Christmas Stories John Dominic Crossan is an Irish-American biblical scholar with two-year post-doctoral diplomas in exegesis from Rome’s Pontifical Biblical Institute and in archeology from Jerusalem’s École Biblique. He has been a mendicant friar and a catholic priest, a Co-Chair of the Jesus Seminar, and a President of the Society of Biblical Literature. His focus, whether scholarly or popular, whether in books, videos, or lectures, is on the historical Jesus as the norm and criterion for the entire Christian Bible. His reconstructed Jesus incarnates nonviolent resistance to the Romanization of his Jewish homeland and future hope of a transformed world and transfigured earth. Crossan’s method is to situate biblical texts within the reconstructed matrix of their own genre and purpose, their own time and place, and to hear them accurately for then before accepting or rejecting them for now. Previous Podcast Episodes with Dom & Tripp the most important discovery for understanding Jesus The Bible, Violence, & Our Future Resurrecting Easter on the First Christmas  From Jesus’ Parables to Parables of God  Render Unto Caesar on God & Empire Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joining the podcast, John Thatamanil discusses the challenges of teaching theology to a diverse student body. The conversation explores the evolution of theological tasks in various cultural contexts, emphasizing the importance of recognizing shared contemplative practices. They also delve into interpreting scripture, societal structures, and the intersection of Christian theology with divine affirmation across traditions.

Diana Bass is back on the podcast for a session of our ongoing series “Ruining Dinner.†We talk about religion and politics with a bunch of zest. Normally these conversations are for our community members, but we decided to share this one far and wide. 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. Previous Episodes with Diana & Tripp 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 Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join New Testament scholar John Dominic Crossan as he reveals significant archaeological discoveries about Jesus. Explore the historical context of figures like John the Baptist and Herod Antipas. Delve into Jesus' vision, solidarity against economic exploitation, and resistance to Romanization. Uncover impacts of globalization, neoliberal economics, and societal control. Learn about Advent events and visual presentations on Christmas narratives.

A couple of months ago, Ryan joined to discuss recent data on religion in America. It was a very popular episode, and members of the Homebrewed Community requested more charts! Here it is. 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 Vists from Ryan Burge 5 Religion Graphs w/ a side of Hot Takes Myths about Religion & Politics The Charts We Discuss…(follow Ryan on twitter for more charts) Religious attendance among African-Americans. Never/Seldom attend in 2008 vs 2021, by age: 18-35: 35% -> 46% (+11) 36-44: 31% -> 45% (+14) 45-54: 23% -> 43% (+20) 55-64: 25% -> 48% (+23) 65+: 24% -> 40% (+16) pic.twitter.com/jffEBD5cM2 — Ryan Burge ? (@ryanburge) October 26, 2022 This is empirically, undeniably false. This is 14 years of the Cooperative Election Study. Total sample size is 547,456. In no year are those with a college degree more likely to be religiously unaffiliated than those who stopped at a high school diploma. https://t.co/WPze6UCTjd pic.twitter.com/jI8tmSvGsd — Ryan Burge ? (@ryanburge) October 24, 2022 60% of Republican Protestants self-identify as evangelical/born-again. It’s 44% of Democrats. 19% of Republican Jews ID as evangelical. 6% of Democrats. 39% vs 15% for Muslims. 25% vs 8% for Buddhists. 37% vs 11% for Hindus. pic.twitter.com/2SNOL4nVJw — Ryan Burge ? (@ryanburge) October 22, 2022 The more white people attend religious services, the more likely they are to identify as politically conservative. The same is true for Black people. And Hispanic people. And Asian people. It’s hard to find a situation where greater attendance doesn’t lead to conservatism pic.twitter.com/VO6IuBE4Gy — Ryan Burge ? (@ryanburge) October 7, 2022 These are the 20 largest seminaries in the United States based on headcount. One is a mainline seminary: Duke, which is affiliated with the United Methodists. 20,172 students represented here. 97% of them being trained in evangelical seminaries. pic.twitter.com/7qLfc8vdKY — Ryan Burge ? (@ryanburge) October 24, 2022   Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the final live stream QnA from the Do I Stay Christian? online class. It was a complete blast to hang with Brian and a couple thousand readers To join Brian, Tripp, and a bunch of their friends at Southern Lights: an Adventure in Progressive Christianity this January head over here. If you decide to come in person message me so I can send info for the podcast hang. Brian D. McLaren is an author, speaker, activist, and public theologian. A former college English teacher and pastor, he is a passionate advocate for “a new kind of Christianity†– just, generous, and working with people of all faiths for the common good. He is a faculty member of  The Living School and podcaster with Learning How to See, which are part of the Center for Action and Contemplation. He is also an Auburn Senior Fellow and works closely with the Wild Goose Festival, the Fair Food Program, Vote Common Good, and Progressive Christianity. His recent projects include an illustrated children’s book (for all ages) called Cory and the Seventh Story and The Galapagos Islands: A Spiritual Journey, and Faith After Doubt. His newest book is Do I Stay Christian? and we are going to read it together. Previous Episodes with Brian a God Worthy of Love Saying Yes to Christianity Questioning Christianity Do I Stay Christian? God – Pray – Driscoll Faith Beyond Fear in an Age of Terror 20 Years of Religious Decline A New Kind of Road Trip Parenting for the Common Good We need a new story! Avoiding spiritual and planetary collapse Brian McLaren & Pando Populus Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join the Tolkien Heads class Mariana Rios Maldonado completed her undergraduate studies in Literature and Spanish Linguistics at the Autonomous University of Zacatecas, Mexico, and her master’s degree in Comparative Literature at the Peter Szondi Institute in Berlin’s Freie Universität. Her research focuses on the influence of Germanic mythology and culture in contemporary literature, Germanophonic fantastic literature between the 18thand 20th centuries, as well as J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary production. Mariana is currently a PhD candidate in Comparative Literature at the School of Modern Languages and Cultures of the University of Glasgow with the research project ?“Ethics, Femininity and the Encounter with the Other in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth Narratives”, funded by the Mexican National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) as well as Mexico’s National Foundation for Fine Arts and Literature (Fundación INBA). She is the Equality and Diversity Officer for the University of Glasgow?’s Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic.   Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WOW! Theology Beer Camp was amazing! I had to debrief it with some friends so I invited Nick Polk (Tolkien Heads), Kevin Garcia (Tiny Revolution), Sarah Heath (REVcovery), and Sam Perez (FUNctional Adults /Skip Sandwich Deluxe) to join the conversation. Want to be the first to find out details for Theology Beer Camp 2023? Just sign up here and I will let you know.   Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices