Homebrewed Christianity

Brian McLaren is joining me on four Sunday evenings for some live QnA. This is the first week! You can join the online class, future sessions, submit questions, and access the video guide to the book by heading over here. 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 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

Dr. Aaron Simmons is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Furman University. He returns to the podcast for some seriously nerdy fun. We tackled a number of questions from Homebrewed Community members. Our questions include… Polly — How do I stop feeling angry and sick when I think about the god I believed in for 35 years? Bryan (min 32)— Do I have a soul? Growing up in southern Baptist church I was convinced that my soul was the truest thing about me, but now I wonder if what God really wants of involves my physical body on this physical world we are situated in. Tyler (min 101)— What is the use of the church if everything it was founded on is myth? I just can’t see any reason to pick up my Bible or to congregate if there’s no absolute truth to the writings. Nothing matters. Nothing is real. Life feels completely purposeless. Becky (min 116) — How do people interpret the Bible in so many different ways that are so far apart? Nathan (min 125) — What is the purpose of concepts like “good, true, beautiful, justice†if they are always changing and never agreed upon? How are they more than a person or culture’s preferences in bold? His previous visits to the podcast include…”Off-Road Religion & Pandemic Philosophizing,” â€Smells Like Teenage Phenomenology†& “Whose Christianity, Which Postmodernism?†Youtube Channel, “Philosophy for Where We Find Ourselvesâ€: TedX Speaker: “The Failure of Success†Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Rings of Power is not out and about in the world! After seeing the first two episodes, I have been able to exhale, knowing the show isn’t going to be the nightmare many of us Tolkien Heads feared. It was surprisingly good. In this live-streamed episode, Nick Polk and I were joined by singer, poet, and connoisseur of fantasies, Kevin Max. Kevin is a four-time Grammy-winning vocalist, whose work began in DC Talk and has since explored a host of different genres from spoken-word, electronica, and rock. On his previous visit to the podcast, we discussed his most recent rock band – the Sad Astronauts. Great album! Don’t forget to check out his current Kickstarter. Each supporter gets a digital download of his collection of fantasy songs, including The Greatest Adventure from the Hobbit. Want to access the most zest lectures from the Tolkien Heads class? Head over here and join up.   Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when three of my best friends come on the podcast to answer your questions? This. My friends and friends of the pod, Sarah, Myron, and Dan are here for the nerdy fun. Recently, I have been reading collecting listener questions and then asking myself, ‘what nerdy friend should answer this first?’ In this episode we tackle three questions, each selected so a specific guest could answer the question first. It did not disappoint. If you want to hang with me, Dan from You Have Permission pod, Sarah and Myron, then come on out the Theology Beer Camp. Drop Dan’s code YHP in for $50 off your ticket. 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 ? Here’s Myron’s previous visit to the podcast – Navigating Philosophy & Religion Dr. Sarah Lane Ritchie received her B.A. in Philosophy & Religion from Spring Arbor University, an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and an M.Sc. in Science & Religion from the University of Edinburgh. She obtained her Ph.D. at the University of Edinburgh in Science & Religion with a thesis on divine action and the human mind, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of St. Andrews. She has published a book with Cambridge University Press and numerous articles in academic journals, and continues research in the field of science and religion. Sarah’s Previous Podcast Visits a Minimally Viable God Concept Staff Lounge Shenanigans Can Scientists study gods, souls, and rituals? an Integrated Physicality and the Sacred Trilogies, Atonement Power Rankings, & Sex Work at Happy Hour Everyone You Ever Loved Will Die, so Merry Christmas! Kombucha, Meditation, Tarot, and Stink Bombs Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tony Jones is back for some friend time and a little theology. In this conversation we discuss… Why Theology Beer Camp is gonna be awesome / drop that code REVHUNT for $50 off Mainline Protestant Bible Drills & Participation Trophies Tony and I discuss our potential new Old Man opinion How to develop a hunting liturgy – the episode with Murphy Robinson Tony mentions Books we have been rereading — Dune, God in Creation, and Children of Darkness, Children of Light We are also reading How Gods Become Real and short stories from Ted Chiang the struggle of Dad Friending Tony wants to play farkle at Camp and then all sorts of youth game discussion takes place Tripp discusses helping Trey Pearson do his first keg stand at Progressive Youth Ministry This episode is sponsored by PROGRESSIVE YOUTH MINISTRY. You can join me and a bunch of progressive youth ministers in Atlanta this coming February. Tony Jones is the author of Did God Kill Jesus? and contributing writer to several outdoors periodicals. He’s written a dozen books, including The New Christians: Dispatches from the Emergent Frontier and The Sacred Way: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life, developed the iPhone app, hosts the Reverend Hunter Podcast, and teaches at Fuller Theological Seminary. Tony is a sought after speaker and consultant in the areas of emerging church, postmodernism, and Christian spirituality, writing, and the outdoors. He served as a consultant on the television show, The Path, and he owns an event planning company, Crucible Creative. Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Joerg Rieger is back on the podcast for some fun theology QnA. In our conversation, we cover… an invitation to Solidarity Circles from the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice at Vanderbilt Divinity School. the most cancelable theological idea what concept/word should we recover? the nature of solidarity what did you learn from the pandemic? is there a theology of institutions? should we burn it all down? the problem with Resident Aliens ecclesiology liberals’ sin problem why Anslem is (possibly) awesome book recommendations why you should come to Theology Beer Camp! Joerg Rieger is Distinguished Professor of Theology and the Cal Turner Chancellor’s Chair of Wesleyan Studies. He is also the founding director of the Wendland-Cook Program in Religion and Justice. For more than two decades, he has worked to bring together theology and the struggles for justice and liberation that mark our age. His work addresses the relation of theology and public life, reflecting on the misuse of power in religion, politics, and economics. His main interest is in developments and movements that bring about change and in the positive contributions of religion and theology. His constructive work in theology draws on a wide range of historical and contemporary traditions, with a concern for manifestations of the divine in the pressures of everyday life. Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Previous Podcasts with Joerg & Tripp the End of Religion & Business as Usual Joerg Rieger: Jesus vs Caesar  Different Gods, Different Religions? Wild Goose Theology Happy Hour with Joerg Rieger and Emilie Townes The Economy, Election, Ayn Rand-Ryan-Romney, Occupy, & More Occupy the Church! Rita Nakashima Brock, Joerg Rieger, & Christophe Ringer Economics, Theology, and Discipleship Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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 invite you to come hang with us at Theology Beer Camp. Join us and a bunch of other “God Pods” at Theology Beer Camp this October 13-15. You can get $50 bucks off by using our code RUININGDINNER. More than coming to Camp, I wanted to lure you to join Diana’s Cottage community. If you join up she will give you a super secret discount for a $100 off camp! Head over here to become a supporting member of the cottage, and she will hook you up. Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Previous Episodes with Diana & Tripp 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

John Garth is the most epic living scholar of JRR Tolkien. He dropped an amazing lecture for the Tolkien Heads class we are currently running, and yesterday he joined our live stream for some nerdy fun. It was too much fun not to share. Plus some of you may not have joined the class to get those ohh so zesty lectures. Writer, editor and researcher John Garth is well known for his ongoing work on J.R.R. Tolkien’s life and creativity and was awarded the Tolkien Society’s Outstanding Contribution Award in 2017. His first book, Tolkien and the Great War (2003), won the Mythopoeic Scholarship Award, for which his second, Tolkien at Exeter College, was a nominee. His latest publication is  The Worlds of JRR Tolkien: The Places that Inspired Middle-earth (Princeton University Press; Frances Lincoln). A further book, examining Tolkien’s creative life as a response to the crises of his times, was begun while a Fellow of the Black Mountain Institute, Nevada, and is still in progress. Other publications include chapters in the  Blackwell Companion to J.R.R. Tolkien; in Catherine McIlwaine’s Bodleian Library exhibition book Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth; and in a forthcoming volume in memory of Christopher Tolkien. Garth has spoken on Tolkien to specialist and general audiences in the US and across Europe, as well as on television and other news media. He has taught courses on Tolkien, and sometimes C.S. Lewis too, for Oxford University, the University of Nevada in Las Vegas, and Signum University. After reading English at St Anne’s College, Oxford, Garth worked for the London Evening Standard for many years. Besides his work on Tolkien, he writes and edits more generally, both in print and online. Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Philip Clayton, a scholar and activist, discusses changing conversations around mind and consciousness, science engaged theology, panpsychism, mental causal power, and guardrails for theological thinking. Tripp and Phil delve into the intersection of science, philosophy, and theology, exploring various perspectives on the natural world, mind evolution, process theology, emergentism, God's creation, and divine life.

I am thrilled to have Rev. Dr. Ben Bosell on the podcast and honored to be a part of his book launch for Confronting Whiteness. Our conversation was recorded live at Common Market Southend in Charlotte, North Carolina, and it was a blast.  Ben and I became friends in undergrad at Campbell University and by the end of the podcast you will hear some fun stories. Before storytime, we explore his own wrestling with the concept and legacy of whiteness and his doctoral research seeking to address it in predominantly white congregations.  You can find Confronting Whiteness to purchase here and access all the online resources, videos, and such here. As a friend, I am super proud of Ben’s work and hope those of you looking for resources in your own context connect with Ben. He also recently released a collection of timely sermons, For the Facing of this Hour: Preaching that Resists White Christian Nationalism.  Benjamin Boswell is the Senior Minister of Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, NC, and a former Army Officer with degrees from Campbell University (B.A.), Duke Divinity School (M.Div.), and Saint Paul School of Theology (D.Min). He is a preacher, pastor, civil rights leader and public speaker who facilitates anti-racist spiritual formation courses for people racialized as White and for White dominant organizations. In 2021, Dr. Boswell was awarded the prestigious Martin Luther King Jr. Medallion, which is the city of Charlotte’s highest honor given to a person who promotes racial equality, social justice, and community service. He is the author of “For the Facing of this Hour: Preaching that Resists White Christian Nationalism,” and “Confronting Whiteness: A Spiritual Journey of Reflection, Conversation, and Transformation.” Follow the podcast, drop a review, or become a member of the HBC Community. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices