On the Way Podcast

Many people are drawn to spirituality and the God of creation but struggle to know what to do with Jesus. For some, Jesus has become entangled with Trump-era politics, individualistic piety or the feel good religion of prosperity gospels. For others, disillusionment with their church or leadership has meant that they don’t want to leave the Jesus of their faith behind but feel like exiles from their church. Diana Butler Bass joins Peter, Sue and Dom to explore the ways Christians have experienced Jesus historically and gives old titles liberating new perspectives as she unpacks her experience of Jesus as Friend, Teacher, Saviour, Lord, Way and Presence. Diana Butler Bass has a doctorate in religious studies and is the author of eleven books, including Grateful , Grounded and Christianity for the Rest of Us.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rewilding is about letting natural processes have their way and shape the landscape. Steve Aisthorpe, mission development worker for the Church of Scotland and author of “Rewilding the Church”, joins the podcast to explore how the same principle could be a creative force for life in the ecosystem of faith and mission. Metaphors are powerful and this conversation brings this metaphor into dialogue with the issues of our time. There is no clear roadmap proposed, but rather an attentiveness to what is emerging and how we might be part of re-imagining the landscape of the church through the transformative and unpredictable power of the Spirit.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How can we give voice in our spiritual traditions to what the soul already knows? Religion can seem to be in the business of dispensing truth without giving credit to the knowledge we already have of the sacredness of the earth and of the human soul.  How we rediscover these natural rhythms of life and deepen our connections with God, each other and the earth determines our ability to respond to present ecological, social and spiritual crises. Writer and speaker and beloved Celtic teacher, John Philip Newell joins the podcast from Edinburgh to bring the wisdom from this rich tradition to enlighten our time.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  We generally hear the word “apocalypse” used in histrionic or fundamentalist ways, but Dr Catherine Keller joins the podcast to affirm the hope of a theology that calls us to action. Reading the book of Revelation not as prophecy of disaster but as an “unveiling” can recall us to a sense of our responsibility in our current global crisis. In this conversation, Catherine reclaims the role of the prophet as someone who sees clearly to tell us that we can do something to change our path, affirming our role as co-creators with God and agents of hopeful possibility. Catherine Keller is a professor in Constructive Theology at the Theological School of Drew University and author of many books.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What is it like to begin with practice as the unifying quality for a community rather than belief? The Rev’d Dr Sarah Bachelard rejoins the podcast to talk about prayer and what it takes to create life-giving habits of spiritual practice in a way that allows grace for all our mixed motivations and space for our struggles. Sue, Peter, Dom and Sarah chat about the habits that drive us, the distractions and complications that trip us up, and the forgiving nature of prayer that helps to draw again and again from the deep well that nourishes and gives us life.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

George Browning, in his role as Bishop of Canberra, was told by the then Prime Minister John Howard that his contribution to public debate was “not helpful.” Bishop George joins  Dom, Peter and Sue to share stories from Australian politics of where truth telling was an unwelcome intrusion, how self-interest and power are so often protected at the expense of the vulnerable and what this means for those who seek to follow the way of Jesus.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

  What happens when we accept the invitation to investigate all the wonder around us? Certainty about what we believe can get in the way of the kind of “holy envy” that opens us to new ways of seeing as we engage with other traditions. Barbara Brown Taylor joins Peter, Sue and Dom to cultivate our curiosity about other religions and spiritual practices, renew our commitment to loving one another and explore how our dualisms keep coming back to haunt us. This curious path can gift us with great spiritual treasures even as we learn more about our own beloved tradition.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brian McLaren joins Peter, Dom and Sue to talk about why sometimes our beliefs stop working and what we can do about it. While many people think of faith as unwavering certainty, Brian explores the idea of doubt as integral to the way of faith; a way which can move through stages with doubt as an adventurous and audacious companion. This conversation is perfect for anyone who has ever felt like a misfit in their faith community, for those who have been made to feel guilty for their lack of faith and for those courageous objectors accused of being a backslider or corrupting influence. Into this place of hurt and confusion, Brian points hopefully to communities of harmony where the search for the genuine is honoured: both in one another and in ourselves. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The inordinate obsession with sex in Christian history and the recent toxic fixation of the church on issues around gender and sexuality has led to great shame, guilt and a lack of love and respect for our embodied experience and the gifts of sexual pleasure. It is also led to a suppression of healthy sexuality and a lack of conversation around what it means to have relationships of goodness and integrity. Nadia Bolz-Weber joins the podcast to talk about her book, Shameless: A Sexual Reformation and why we need to have the grace and courage to reform our ideas about sex, gender and our bodies in order to find our way to healing. Her words strike a chord with any who have been harmed by religious teaching about sex and opens the space for us to all reclaim a faith that honours the dignity of our bodies and the joy and goodness of human relationships.  CW: Strong language. If any of the issues raised cause distress, confidential support is available through the following providers; 1800 Respect national helpline 1800 737 732 Lifeline (24 hour crisis line) 131 114 Beyond Blue 1300 224 636  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

St Paul has been often cast as an arch conservative. Douglas Campbell joins Dom, Peter and Sue to show how Paul has always been in the business of liberation. Douglas has devoted decades of his life to studying Paul and is determined to rescue him from his reputation as an authoritarian and recover the message of his writings as confrontingly, shockingly liberal and inclusive. In doing so, as this conversation discovers, there is a challenge for both the left and the right of the church to rediscover the life-giving heart of Paul’s letters. Douglas is the author of several books, including Pauline Dogmatics: The Triumph of God’s Love.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.